…And the Children Shall Lead.
I’ve been doing some heavy nostalgia bits over the past couple months as I work on the DDM Redux an hour or so every night and all weekends (And trying my best not to alienate my sweetie, Heather… who I’m convinced is the “most understanding woman I’ve ever met”… to quote Scotty) … and I’ve been trying to remember how it was when I was little, and discovering the obsession I’ve had with this silly TV show.
My earliest recollections of what I thought was “Star Trek” were when I was visiting my Grandparents in Pennsylvania with my parents in, I think, around 1971. I remember my Grandpa, Charlie, would only watch westerns and this other show about spacemen. I don’t remember much… but I do remember the color red.
A couple of years later, I recall, I started watching the Animated Star Trek adventures every saturday morning… (In black and white, I might add…) and caught the fever. They would repeat the shows because there were only a few of them, but I remember seeing the first episode, “Beyond the Farthest Star” and being drawn to it, and also frightened. (for more of an exploration of this phenomenon, see my Corbomite post.) Then I saw the model kit of the ship in the local dime store… and I was hooked. I realized that the real live action show was being broadcast on the local New York Station, WPIX… and I watched it all the time. (Still in glorious black and white… it wasn’t until about 1976 that we got our first color TV…) The Mego craze happened… (Planet of the Apes got me hooked on that) and Star Trek soon followed.
So, what I’m saying is, I got hooked pretty darn early on in my life. As this picture (drawn from looking at the AMT kit box, I think) shows. Thank goodness I had the foresight to date the picture and print my age. lol I would have never remembered when this was done. But it just makes me realize that I’ve been constantly trying to make this picture in various forms throughout my life… 
(click to see a larger version)
So here’s to letting our Children (inner AND outer) get excited about what they like… and nourish the creative forces that guide our lives.
January 29th, 2007 at 12:09 pm
Hmm,
You have taken a serious step backward this week. The image doesn’t even look CGI !! Your engineering section doesn’t look quite right and the nacelles are way too short. There also appears to be a rotoscoping problem with your planet against the background of space (a dark line follows the curvature of the planet). Finally, the phasers are the wrong color. What is most disturbing about your image is the fact that the Enterprise is apparently firing on a helpless planet. I take that this is a rough image that will be cleaned up in post-p?
On the bright side, you appear to have those “white balls” fixed at the end of the nacelles, your font is a bold reinterpretation of the original, and the assymmetry of the lines of your Enterprise give the ship a distinctive style.
January 29th, 2007 at 12:19 pm
LOL
I’ll strive to do better.
January 29th, 2007 at 6:49 pm
Ah yes, the famous picture as chronicled in your interview on Creative Cow! Sweet! Thanks for sharing. I, too got into Trek by drawing it at a young age. I’m going to have to go digging now…
January 31st, 2007 at 4:59 pm
:) Takes me back to when I used to doodle The Enterprise on all of my school books. Probably one of the first things I ever drew, and looked very much like this one. Nice to see how our dreams stay with us, they just change.
January 31st, 2007 at 5:57 pm
You know, the older I get, the more I find there were guys out there just like me in the late 60s and early 70s… doodling the Enterprise on schoolbooks and in sketchbooks. Where the heck were you guys when I was in grade school?!? LOL! I think I still have my sketchbook from when I was a kid… and one of the very first drawings of the Enterprise I ever did… using pastel chalks… before I realized they weren’t crayons!
Today, I can draw the original Enterprise, detail for detail and practically in my sleep. Hey, I’ve had 40 years of practice!! LOL! Now, if I can ever find the time, I want to dabble in Lightwave and do my own 3D art. I so desperately want a screen-saver composed of nothing but high quality beauty shots of the Enterprise!
Our dreams do stay with us.
January 31st, 2007 at 7:07 pm
Maybe we can have a “submit your drawings” entry, so that people can share the drawings they made when they were kids…
Ok, back to rendering.
January 31st, 2007 at 7:13 pm
I did almost exactly the same drawing when I was in second grade and Star Trek arrived in syndication in my hometown. I still remember that first episode as clearly as if it were yesterday: “By Any Other Name”. And thirty-five years later (!) I’m still as much in love with the Gray Lady as I was on that first day back in 1972.
Oh and p.s., I am totally stoked that you have decided to finish this. Mazel tov!! I can’t wait to see your finished version and compare it to the “official” reimagining… the week of February 10th will be a veritable Doomsdaypalooza!
January 31st, 2007 at 7:19 pm
Welcome Scott…
I wish you would finish yours too! There can never be too many DD machines out there! Oh, I know… busy with work and life and all that stuff, huh? pfft…
a Jedi craves not these things… oh wait, wrong franchise.
I think everyone should scan their pictures they drew of the 1701 from when they were kids, and I’ll make a special blog post with them in it… Let’s say, deadline is a week from today. Go to it… get those scanners humming.
Send them to: enterpix@betafive.com
No prizes, but you get the benefit of being smug when your picture is posted.
February 1st, 2007 at 5:25 am
Thanks for sharing the memories and the sentiments. I, too, became hooked in the early 70s, drawing countless sketches (unfortunately I didn’t keep any for your blog), writing my own stories, and building many versions of the Big E out of Legos (the challenge was always how to keep the warp engines upright). I am also delighted to report that all 3 of my kids, ages 11, 9 and 5, are hooked on TOS and pester me every night to watch one of the eps on DVD after dinner.
Looking forward to your version of Doomsday. Excellent work!
February 1st, 2007 at 10:20 am
Thank you for sharing your memories with us Mr. Daren.
I too have one of many Star Trek memories to share……..
I remember in the ’70’s my brother and I staying up late to catch the latest rerun of Star Trek. The one that stands out the most is “Charlie X.” The reason is because, the part where Charlie makes the crew woman’s face disappear still kinda scares me to this day!
Thank you again Mr. Daren,
Jim
February 2nd, 2007 at 6:57 am
The earliest recollections I have of Star Trek was screaming my head off when I saw Balok’s puppet’s head at the close of season 2 credits. Who would have thought I wuld have become such a devotee of the show?
Peace
Bill
February 4th, 2007 at 10:06 am
Remarkably, I may have some old pics I did as a teenager. I will see.
I got a new Canon PIXMA MP510 so this will be the perfect way to test it.
Steve