September 8, 2016 marked the 50th anniversary of Star Trek‘s maiden voyage across the airwaves and into pop culture, and there’ve been all sort of events marking that half-century already. (Star Trek Beyond would be my favorite.)

But this week, TIFF kicks off a season-long salute to Gene Roddenberry’s nerdy brainchild, so in this week’s NOW I take a moment to think about what the show means to me. Turns out it’s pretty significant.