Stardate 08.27.2026
It was surreal.
Yesterday, while eating my sardines outside my hotel dining room, an interview from 1975 showed up in my YouTube recommendations.
There I was, sitting alone with my breakfast, watching William Shatner recount his days aboard the USS Enterprise.
A young Geraldo Rivera was interviewing Shatner about what the series meant to him. Shatner explained that Star Trekhad been canceled after two seasons because the ratings were falling.
Then something happened.
Fans from all over flooded the network with outrage. The response was so strong that the network brought the cast back for another season.
The studio audience, dressed as Romulans, Klingons, and other Star Trek characters, cheered.
Ten years had passed since seven-year-old Michael sat down after school to watch Captain Kirk and the crew of the Enterprise.
The fans were still there.
So was the love for Star Trek.
This vintage blog is dedicated to Gene Roddenberry, the creator of Star Trek.
During the interview, Rivera teased Shatner with rumors about bringing Star Trek back. Shatner said he had heard the rumors, but he didn't think it would happen.
It did.
Today, William Shatner is in his 90s. Most of the original cast has crossed the neutral zone, including Leonard Nimoy and DeForest Kelley.
Yet Spock and Bones are still with me every day.
They live on in the Captain's Addendum, where Alberta and I continue the conversation in cyberspace.
That seven-year-old boy is still here, too.
I remember watching Star Trek after school and being completely captivated by what I saw. Space travel. Strange worlds. New civilizations. A crew working together aboard a starship.
Yesterday, for a few minutes, I was that boy again.
A 1975 interview had somehow traveled through five decades and landed in front of me while I was sitting outside a hotel eating sardines.
Sometimes the past finds us when we aren't looking for it.
“Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.” — Hebrews 13:8
That verse came to mind as I watched Shatner on the screen.
People age. Casts change. Shows end. Generations move on.
Some things continue.
The wonder I felt as a seven-year-old is still part of who I am today.
Join me here:
https://substack.com/@michaelmulliganlivelong
Live long and prosper.
Captain's Addendum
Spock: Michael, your discovery yesterday appears to have transported you back nearly sixty years.
Bones: Spock, leave him alone. The man was eating sardines. Clearly, he was already living dangerously.
Spock: An interesting observation, Doctor.
Some memories never really leave us.
I'm grateful for the people who created something that gave a young boy a sense of wonder. I'm grateful that the journey continues in ways Gene Roddenberry could never have imagined.
And I'm grateful that yesterday, for a few minutes, I got to sit beside that seven-year-old boy again.
Live long and prosper.
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