Being a geek parent is a game of waiting. There is so much you want to share with your child. So many TV shows that you enjoyed that you want them to enjoy. I, like many geek moms, is taking the time to introduce my son to these in hopes of bonding. This is the chronicle of those experiences.
Star Trek Original Series
This was the show my husband and I tried to start with. And being naive, we thought it would fun to start from the beginning. Which means. . .
Mantrap
DEAR LORD THIS EPISODE IS SLOW!!! No, really, slow. And really bad. A salt monster who slowly stalks the crew.
This was the first one broadcast? That is a testament to how long shows had to establish themselves in the 1960s. Given how little time shows have now, this episode would have torpedoed the whole thing. Only thing going for it is that it is McCoy centric. OK, and the fact that the salt monster would take on the appearance of any gender to try and get salt. That was cool for now, let alone 1960s.
And the boy hated it so much, he didn’t want to watch any more. We had to beg and bribe him to watch
The Trouble with Tribbles
God bless you, David Gerrold. This is an almost perfect episode, with the right mix of humour and action (bar fight anyone?), Klingons and a nice lack of romantic subplot. It also contains my all time favourite scene of Star Trek, ever.
When Kirk opens up a storage container to check on the grain, only to have tribbles rain down on him, I grin. Because for the rest of that scene consists of random tribbles drop down on Kirk, many hitting him in the head. You know there is a prop person sitting on a ladder aiming at Shatner’s head as the scene went on and on. I like to fantasize that I am that prop guy. It gets better, too. I have heard that they had to reshoot this scene several times. Maybe many of the prop guys had the same fantasy.
And let’s talk about storing grain in the overhead compartment. That’s where the carry-on goes, people. Grain goes under the seat!
The boy loved the episode, especially the barfight.
So at the end of our first installment of Boywatch, we had mixed results. The boy is not sure if he wanted to continue, but we had a secret weapon.
An exhibit.
