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In a story I've told so many times that it better be true, my earliest memories of television watching were sitting with my dad in his big reclining chair watching reruns of the original "Star Trek."

Amazingly, however, I really don't have any memories of watching Star Trek films, until one day when I couldn't have been older than 8, I watched "Star Trek III: The Search For Spock" at my friend Aaron's house.

It was airing on HBO, like all movies did, and I was just completely fascinated by it. I mean, we had HBO at home, but I didn't watch it much because they had a tendency to show breasts, and my mom wasn't exactly fond of that idea. And going to the movies where I grew up was always a special, but rare treat. I remember going to the drive-in to see some re-release of "Bambi" in like 1979 or 1980 when I was barely able to understand what was going on, and my dad took my sister and I to see "E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial" when I was in first grade. So that was it.

But there was "Star Trek III." Some would say that it wasn't the greatest of the Star Trek movies, but it had a tough act to follow. "Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan" was an amazing, film, and blew audiences away. But as I watched Spock grow up. As I experienced Capt. Kirk's fight with Doc Brown in Klingon makeup, I went from having a passing interest in Star Trek like many kids did then, to an outright love for it.

When the original "Star Trek" aired, I was about a decade away from being born. By the time I was born, "Star Wars" hadn't even premiered yet. Growing up as a young child, there would be no television version of the show giving us new episodes until I was 11, so there was practically nothing that could suck me into the world of Star Trek.

But there it was. "Star Trek III." And I was hooked.

Some 25 years later, there once again is no Star Trek on television, at least not pumping out new episodes. Many fans are people at least my age, many captured during the early movie era of the franchise. There really wasn't much of anything pulling in a new generation to Star Trek, certainly not "Star Trek: Voyager" or "Star Trek: Enterprise."

But now we have "Star Trek XI." I've seen the film four times by now, and judging by the list of people who want to watch it with me, I'm sure I will have to make at least another half-dozen trips to the theater before it's all said and done. What I love about it is that there will be a new generation following Star Trek.

At a sneak preview I attended, there was a young man sitting next to me who was a junior in high school, making him say 17 years old. Thinking about it from his perspective, there hasn't been any new Star Trek since he was around 13. And there hasn't been good Star Trek since he was 7 ... and even then, I doubt a 7-year-old would find "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine" fascinating.

There has been nothing reminding him or even introducing him to Star Trek. But he wanted to see this film, and even fought to get into a sneak preview because of the trailers and the hype of "Star Trek XI." He did not go home disappointed. In fact, he went energized, and is likely now looking at Star Trek's past and becoming more and more of a fan.

Reboot or not. New actors in iconic roles or not. Different feel of the overall franchise or not. It doesn't matter. Eugene Roddenberry Jr. told me last week (in an interview I really need to get up this weekend) that the most important aspect of Star Trek for his father was the message that we will make it through tough times. Banks might be collapsing around us, people are losing jobs, money is tight, and terrorism threats still loom ... but somehow, we get through all of that, and we as a human race come out even stronger in the end.

The commercial's might say it's not your father's Star Trek, but actually, it is. And for the first time in a long time, the original philosophy of Gene Roddenberry has been recaptured.

Because of that, Star Trek achieved something not even Capt. Kirk could do (at least in the old timeline): Achieve immortality.