Tonight I rewatched Star Trek: TNG’s “Coming of Age” and “The Dauphin.” I’ve been trying to choose episodes that (1) I haven’t seen recently and (2) seem likely to appeal to my kids. And I remembered both of those episodes being compelling when I was young.
I remember finding a lot of Wesley episodes compelling as a kid, and rewatching them, I can see Wil Wheaton does a really good job of subtly conveying very strong emotions. He provides a kind of anchor point for a kid to latch onto — someone still learning and feeling lost.
Tonight as we watched Star Trek, the 7-year-old claimed to not be interested & stayed at the table, working on a puzzle. But at all the key moments — when Crusher faced his psych test or was startled by the Dauphin shape-shifting — they suddenly drifted over to pay attention.
I knew before having kids that I wanted Star Trek: TNG to be central to their moral upbringing.
There are a lot of things that change after having kids — details you simply can’t foresee or changes in the world.
But watching my kids watch TNG? That’s going exactly as expected.