He was crestfallen.
The actor John DeLancie was standing in front of an auditorium filled with hundreds of people. It was August 2011, at the official Star Trek convention. Best known for his role of Q in Star Trek: the Next Generation, he had just name-dropped the TV series Breaking Bad. DeLancie had just appeared on that show in it’s second year, playing the father of a recovering drug addict. He was nominated for an Emmy for this work. It was an amazing performance, on an amazing show.
None of the people in the audience had seen it. Except, apparently, me.
Because it wasn’t science fiction. It wasn’t Star Trek.
“Any of you watch a show called Breaking Bad?” he had asked, and when only one person – me – clapped… he shrugged, and then said, sadly, “You should watch it… It’s a good show.” He then moved on to another topic.
That moment… And the idea that all these people were so obsessed with one thing – Star Trek – make me sad, too.
We are living in a golden age, and available to us in an instant is any number of amazing works. Some of the best television ever is being produced, not to mention the huge library that has come before. We have some fantastic films that are being made… They just aren’t always in your local megatheatre. Writing, art, design… We have a gets of riches available to us, sometimes at the click of a mouse.
So, to come to my core point: don’t limit yourself. Explore, try new things. Open yourself up to things that are outside your comfort zone.
Learn. Live. And love more than just one genre or show. Yes, Virginia, there is more to the world than just Star Trek.