Geek Girl in Hollywood: New ‘Star Trek’ show means a new hope

It’s finally happening. We’re getting a new “Star Trek” series. The announcement happened on Monday, Nov. 2 and it’s all anyone is talking about on the internet.

“The brand-new ‘Star Trek’ will introduce new characters seeking imaginative new worlds and new civilizations, while exploring the dramatic contemporary themes that have been a signature of the franchise since its inception in 1966,” said the official announcement on CBS.com. The show isn’t related to the upcoming film “Star Trek Beyond,” but no one knows much more about it. (Well, we do know that it will stream on CBS’s paid service, but that’s another post entirely.)

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You guys know me as a “Star Wars” fan, tried and true. However, that doesn’t mean I’m not a huge “Star Trek” fan as well. In fact, I’ve loved the show ever since I was a little kid and watched reruns of the original series. Heck, I co-wrote chapters in the upcoming book “Star Trek Psychology: The Mental Frontier”! Why? “Star Trek,” despite the conflict on other worlds and with other peoples, is inherently about the goodness of humanity (whether you’re human or not) and acceptance. It’s about the drive to make things better. Though I’m not sure I believe we still have that in us (hey, I work on the Internet), I’d love to believe in our better angels and watching the shows gives me hope. I recently had to re-watch a ton of episodes for the book and I swear to you, I was nicer to people in traffic for just a little while!

“Star Trek” has been ground breaking in so many ways, from the first interracial kiss on TV to showing a woman in a military command position to discussions about religion, to showing a society without one. “Star Trek”’s idealism may seem like innocence in a time like ours, but the show showed us that belief in the “better” is never wrong. Whatever you think of the new films, whichever series was your favorite (“The Next Generation” for me), there is something hopeful about the show. It was never afraid to take on big ideas or ask hard questions. Sometimes stories don’t resolve. Sometimes people just die. (I’m still not over Tasha.) We hope for utopia at the same time we see utopian societies fail and we still keep striving.

It’s long past the time for this. My geeky little heart is happy. New “Star Wars” and new “Star Trek”? Hey, maybe world peace is possible, too.