You nailed it my friend. I'm a little younger than you, but not by much. Like everyone in our generation, I grew up on the re-runs. I used to fold the TV guide pages to remind me when it was coming on. And growing up on a farm believe me, there was little in the way of entertainment, so a Star Trek re-run was the highlight of the day. From the early 70's on, we waited, and waited, never daring to dream we would see another Star Trek, even thought the conventions in the big cities were starting taking off, or so we heard. And we WAITED for information, ANY information. It wasn't like we could pull it up on our phones or computers. Every month I begged to go to the news stand in town to get a Starlog magazine and scoured it multiple times to glean information. I knew when that magazine was hitting the stands. And then.........................rumors of a TV show. YES! Finally. And then............................not. Tidbits and rumors on Entertainment Tonight....................................if you caught it, because that sure as hell wasn't going to go into reruns. And then, it was announced, after years of waiting, a NEW TV SHOW! YES! And then............not. And then, because of Star Wars, we were getting a MOVIE! And when it finally hit the theaters, I was there. And......................what the hell did they do to the Enterprise? Why the hell is Spock a hippie? And what's with the pajamas? And is there a Gorn in that cloud that Kirk can fight, or a green chick he could bang? Nope. I left with mixed feelings. I was sooooooooooooo happy to see the gang again, but the movie.....................eh. But like everyone else has said, it's a nostalgia thing for us. TMP has grown on me over the years, not because it's gotten better in the directors cuts or anything, but because it takes me back to a simpler time and I understand now what my 14 year old mind couldn't back then, that this was what Gene thought when he thought Star Trek. And because I know it led to other movies. So there, for you youngins, a peek back to the seventies and why we hold this movie so dear.Just a few words about “TMP”.
Most of you “younger“ people don’t realize HOW MUCH that film meant to us oldsters.
I’m old school. I’m 60 + years old. I watched TOS in its original run on NBC.
We had been teased and tortured for 10 years with rumor of a new series and/or films, only to be disappointed each year as published plans fell through.
I was 20 years old when TMP finally premiered. It was the FIRST time that an Enterprise was seen on a BIG wide theater screen. It was AWESOME !
And the audience applauded when each of the main characters entered the scene and appeared on screen .
The story and the film may have been longer than necessary and a somewhat slow moving and lacking a fierce Vader-like villain. But TREK WAS BACK !
It’s a matter of perspective and experience. Of course you younger people can’t appreciate it in the same context as us seniors. Many of you have commented that you have only seen it for the first time in recent years on your home television after growing up first being exposed to the red uniform Khan and Klingon films or the sequel/spinoff television series.