May Day! May Day!

Decided to get little Geoana up to speed on something crucial to her future functioning.

A working knowledge of "Star Trek."

Thanks to the business entity that is Netflix we are now having episodes of Star Trek: TOS delivered to us three episodes at a time. We got her started this past week with "Where No Man Has Gone Before," "The Man Trap," and "Charlie X."

She's observant. In "WNMHGB," she picked up on Gary Mitchell's hair slowly turning gray which is something I didn't catch in numerous viewings. She also got scared by the true appearance of the creature in "The Man Trap," turning her face away from the screen and having us tell her when the creature was gone.

In all fairness it is one of the most grotesque beings ever seen on "Trek."

One thing that struck me in watching these episodes is just how well they hold up after all this time. Even though they're more than 40 years old these eps show that good storytelling is truly timeless. (That the special effects have been updated in recent years doesn't hurt.) Plus the acting, still superb today even with Shatner's mannerisms and speech now fodder for the comics.

Case in point: When the mutating Gary Mitchell turns to the camera (knowing he's being watched by the senior officers) and gives them an arrogant glare it can send a chill down your spine.

There's a good reason for the little one to start on her Trekkie journey. Both Geogal and I are fans, plus my mom has been watching the series since it first aired in 1966. I remember as a little kid my mother watching the reruns on weekends even though Dad hated (and still despises) TOS although he is much more partial towards "The Next Generation."

Geogal and I have fond memories of catching "TNG" in its first-run syndication while we were in college. And now, with little Geoana enjoying shows such as "Futurama" we figured it was time to let her in on the Star Trek jokes plus have her enjoy some of the best science fiction television around (well, maybe not season 3 of TOS).

The little girl sometimes will join us in watching TNG reruns on weeknights (though they're on at 10, a bit late for her right now). Many weeks ago I kept an eye on the schedule and finally was able to watch "The Inner Light" episode from start to finish.

You remember that episode, even if the title doesn't ring a bell. It's the one where Picard is knocked unconscious by an alien probe, during which he lives most of the adult life of a man from a planet that's long gone. When the probe releases the good captain it turns out only 25 minutes has passed on the Enterprise.

Again, good storytelling is timeless (no pun intended).