In Modern Geekdom there seems to be works that we believe will stand the test of time. If you ask somebody what the premiere creation of the Fantasy genre is, they’re likely to tell you it’s The Lord of the Rings. Every geek parent knows it is their sacred duty to expose their children to the original Star Wars movies. And we’d like to think that Harry Potter will be considered a literary classic even 50 years from now. Some of these stories are newer and haven’t actually had a chance to die yet, some get perpetuated by new content, but all of them are perpetuated from generation to generation by the fans themselves.

However, there’s one great fandom that hasn’t had its original content catch hold among the newer generation, and that’s Star Trek. Now, let me make a few things clear in this argument. First of all, there is no way I’d ever propose this diminishes the value of Star Trek. Geeks, Filmographers, and Social Historians alike will tell you that Star Trek shaped the current face of television in general and science fiction, also in general. I’d also be a fool to propose that there isn’t a decent sized Star Trek fandom within our current generation, who did have it handed to them by their geek parents. And finally, I believe that even if the Star Trek fandom is not what it once was, it’s impact on the Geekdom is still felt, and can be seen in the massive amounts of references and memes that still circulate, even among geeks who have never watched a single episode.

But my argument is that there’s a huge swath of young geeks who haven’t seen a single episode. And that’s weird, for a work that influenced so much of geek culture. If I had to guess, I’d say it’s just because of its medium. Television is not a medium that perpetuates itself well over many years. They simply haven’t had a chance to watch it, or haven’t looked for one.

That makes for a tough situation for the creators of this new trilogy of movies. They have the huge task of creating a story with the purpose of bringing in and appealing to new fans, while also appealing to the old fandom. Add that to the fact that making a movie is all you have to do to piss off the vocal minority on the internet. As someone who never really had a chance to watch more than a few episodes of Star Trek, I’ve loved watching the new movies. Being able the see the characters and themes that I know about as a geek in a setting built by modern artists J.J. Abrams, Alex Kurtzman, and now Simon Pegg. And I’m very excited to see the action spin that director Justin Lin will put on Star Trek Beyond.

But I’m sure you have your own opinions on this. Tell me how you think the new movies have done at appealing to a new audience in the comments below, I’d love to converse with you. Speaking of which… We’re giving away a pair of tickets to Star Trek Beyond on our Facebook page. All you have to do is like our Facebook page, and then like the post shown below. That’s it! Make sure you watch our Facebook page over the next few days, we’ll be announcing the winner on Monday. (UPDATE: Monday is a Holiday, and we don’t know when the tickets will get here, so we’re pushing back the deadline. Sorry for the confusion!)