Getting back in gear with Weekend stuff, especially reviewing the new Star Trek movie that Princess Di and special guest star Steve Spears saw Saturday.

Too bad it wasn't in IMAX but I thought it was 3-D for a minute, when the movie started and Spears' heart burst from his chest with excitement. Between the spray and his gurgling drool, it was like sitting in the splatter zone of a Gallagher show. The guy takes his Trek seriously.

I don't, and we're using that yin-yang for a sidebar in Weekend, in which I note from a virtual neophyte's p.o.v. what makes me know Star Trek is the real deal, and why it isn't from Spears' vastly superior geekish point of view. It'll make sense. It did when we plotted it over a pitcher of sangria and burritos afterward.

Which got me thinking back to Nov. 18, 1994, when I only had about 18 months on this job, and I was forced to admit to a world of Trekkers that my opinion of the Kirk-Picard collision in Star Trek: Generations wasn't the most informed.

As you'll read later this week, I've come a long way in my appreciation of the franchise -- mostly on Saturday.

But I remember it as if were only yesterday ... (dream-water camera effect, twinkly piano music):

"Trekkers forgive me, for I have sinned.

This is not an easy confession. Unbelievable, perhaps, considering the list of motion pictures I've seen in 30 years of serious movie-watching.

Not one of them has been a Star Trek flick.

Never caught a glimpse of V'ger, Khan or those whales the Enterprise crew saved in part 4. Can't guess if Mr. Spock is certainly dead or sequel-dead. And the only episode of the original series I recall sitting through was The Trouble with Tribbles in reruns after hearing so much about it. You could fit my combined experience with The Next Generation into one episode, with extra room for commercials.

Nothing personal. Just not much of a sci-fi devotee, and I've never liked joining any conspiratorial clique after everybody else.

Like anyone who follows pop culture, I'm familiar with the characters and general themes. Even attended a minor-league Trek convention as a favor to my wife, who is a fan. I don't begrudge Trekkers for their commitment, but my attention quickly wanders when they start dissecting each episode as if it were the Koran.

So, if you're looking for an expert's opinion of Star Trek: Generations, the seventh film voyage of the Enterprise, better subscribe to the Internet. If you want to know if this is a worthwhile movie experience for the masses, not merely an elaborate inside joke among Trekkers, you're on the right page."

Yes, I typed "subscribe to the Internet." But, hey, it was 1994.