Peer pressure is a strong thing. This was especially true for me regarding becoming a fan of Star Trek: The Next Generation. It began with me somehow meeting TNG fans from all areas of my life in 2011. First it was three of my friends being fans (one long-term friend and two new) and getting into excited conversations about how awesome Data, Q and Picard were, leaving me clueless. This got even stronger when my younger brother became hooked and joined in with the talks.

And by the way, Picard is awesome.

Afterwards, my meeting of TNG fans continued. A fellow intern at my internship was revealed to be a fan and frequently spoke with a certain tone while we edited together. When I asked about it, she replied that she liked to mimic how Data spoke. (Tilt head up and say to herself, “Interesting!”)

The 5th Trekker to come into my life was a new girl at my part-time job. When I found out that she was a Doctor Who fan, I excitedly began to talk about my favorite things about the show (which are everything). Then it came about that I mentioned how my brother and several friends loved Star Trek. She excitedly concurred.

Fast forward to January. With a big move on the horizon, I temporarily moved out of Los Angeles and back to West Covina to spend my last weeks in California with my family. Back to where my brother watched Star Trek on Netflix very often. Back to where it was playing in front of me all the time. Casual watching turned into slight interest. And slight interest turned into a realization of just how awesome Star Trek: The Next Generation is. Drama-wise, Doctor Who and Torchwood were the best things that happened to be in 2011. Will Star Trek be one of them for 2012?

And when I say “one of them,” I am speaking of Sherlock, my other drama discovery of the year.  But more on that later.