As we celebrate the golden 50th anniversary to one of the greatest science fiction television shows ever created "Star Trek" was a 23rd- century tale of exploration and hope that became the seminal space saga of the late 20th century. With a cast that was startlingly diverse of its time and pie-in-the-sky technology we can hold in our hands today, "Star Trek" and the voyages of the Starship Enterprise have left an indelible mark on our culture,inspiring many young scientists and a supportive base of die-hard loyal fans of the original television series that has evolved into today's powerful fan culture. The initial mid- 1960's NBC series which centered on the able crew of the Enterprise as it explored strange new worlds and new civilizations, led to five more television series based on the original show("Star Trek:The Next Generation",1987-1994; "Star Trek:Deep Space Nine",1993-1999; "Star Trek:Voyager",1995-2001; "Star Trek:Enterprise", 2001-2005; "Star Trek:Discovery",in 2017), it's very own animated Saturday Morning cartoon show that also aired on NBC from 1973-1975; and thirteen theatrical feature films that is still going strong to this day.
The original "Star Trek" television series was viewed as producer- created Gene Roddenberry's answer to "Wagon Train In The Stars" and set in the frontier spectacle of outer space. The series was suppose to live longer than expected that was guaranteed at the beginning. In an era when science fiction was viewed as a not-so-desirable niche, it took two pilots to get "Star Trek" on the air,and low ratings sparked fears of cancellation. That arrived after three seasons-two years short of the Enterprise's five-year mission-despite the efforts of passionate,letter writing viewers who pleaded with network executives at NBC helped win the show in its final season. "Star Trek" during its three season run was moved around in different time slots with the third and final season of the series that proved fatal. The series premiered on NBC's Thursday prime-time schedule on September 8,1966 where it was placed at the 8:30 eastern/7:30 central time slot where it preceded "Daniel Boone" and before "The Hero" where it went opposite "My Three Sons" and "Bewitched" for all 29 episodes in its first season until April 13,1967. On September 15,1967 the network moved the series from Thursday nights to Friday nights at the 8:30 eastern/7:30 central time slot preceding "Tarzan" and was opposite "Hondo" and "Gomer Pyle" for all 26 episodes in season two until March 29, 1968. Then in its third and final season, Gene Roddenberry pleaded with network executives at NBC to move the series to Monday nights in an earlier time slot in order to attract a larger audience and improve ratings. The network rejected its offer. "Star Trek" was moved to a later time slot on Friday nights at the 10:00 eastern/9:00 central for all 24 episodes where it preceded the 90-minute "The Name of the Game" and was opposite "Judd for the Defense",and CBS' Friday Night Movie that clobbered it in the ratings from September 20,1968 until the final episode of the series on June 3,1969. "Star Trek" was produced from September,1966 to December,1967 by Desilu Productions and the Norway Corporation. From January,1968 to June,1969 was produced by Paramount Television and the Norway Corporation. The series produced 79 episodes in color.
Out of the actors that were with this series only actors William Shatner along with Leonard Nimoy and Deforest Kelley were the only cast members that appeared in all 79 episodes. Nichelle Nichols appeared in 70 episodes while James Doohan appeared in 66 episodes. George Takei appeared in 52 episodes and Majel Barrett appeared in 36 episodes. Walter Koenig didn't come onto the series until Season 2 and appeared in 36 episodes. Grace Lee Whitney was with the series for Season 1 only and appeared in eight episodes.
"Star Trek" during its original three season run on NBC explored science fiction conundrums, such as the effects of changing the past("The City on the Edge of Forever",Season 1, Episode 28)while dealing with modern issues-including racism("Let That Be Your Last Battlefield",Season 3,Episode 15);nuclear arms("The Doomsday Machine",Season 2,Episode 6);the fear of technological dominance("The Ultimate Computer",Season 2,Episode 24 and "The Changeling",Season 2,Episode 3),and social inequality("The Cloud Minders",Season 3,Episode 21),not to mention dealing with mutiny and treason("Court Martial",Season 1,Episode 20 and the two part episode "The Menagerie",Season 1, Episodes 11 and 12)not to mention dealing with space villains("Space Seed",Season 1, Episode 22),and other great episodes("Mirror,Mirror",Season 2, Episode 4), ("Balance of Terror",Season 1,Episode 14),("Amok Time",Season 2, Episode 1),("Journey to Babel",Season 2,Episode 10),and ("Errand of Mercy",Season 1,Episode 26). Let's not forget other great episodes that made "Star Trek" the must watch series of the mid-1960's ranging from "The Man Trap", "Arena", "The Naked Time", "The Enemy Within", the controversial "Plato's Stepchildren", to "Where No Man Has Gone Before" to "Devil In The Dark","Taste of Armageddon","This Side of Paradise", "The Corbomite Maneuver","Wolf In The Fold","The Tholian Web',the only time it venture into comedy like "The Trouble With Tribbles",and "Metamorphosis" just to name a few of the great episodes this series had even though it remained on the air for three seasons.
Even though it never won a Prime Time Emmy,"Star Trek" was nominated for an impressed 13 Prime-Time Emmy nominations(Leonard Nimoy was nominated twice for Best Supporting Actor in a Television series and won the Prime-Time Emmy for Outstanding Special Effects) and in 1967 won the NAACP Image Award for its most critically episode that was written by Harlan Ellison. Even after 50 years since its original broadcast on NBC,and to this day still airing in syndicated repeats around the world "Star Trek" still holds themes that remained relevant today...this coming from a science fiction television show that didn't do well in the ratings but became a phenomenon when it first aired in 1966. And still lives long to prosper. Happy 50th Anniversary "Star Trek"......
The original "Star Trek" television series was viewed as producer- created Gene Roddenberry's answer to "Wagon Train In The Stars" and set in the frontier spectacle of outer space. The series was suppose to live longer than expected that was guaranteed at the beginning. In an era when science fiction was viewed as a not-so-desirable niche, it took two pilots to get "Star Trek" on the air,and low ratings sparked fears of cancellation. That arrived after three seasons-two years short of the Enterprise's five-year mission-despite the efforts of passionate,letter writing viewers who pleaded with network executives at NBC helped win the show in its final season. "Star Trek" during its three season run was moved around in different time slots with the third and final season of the series that proved fatal. The series premiered on NBC's Thursday prime-time schedule on September 8,1966 where it was placed at the 8:30 eastern/7:30 central time slot where it preceded "Daniel Boone" and before "The Hero" where it went opposite "My Three Sons" and "Bewitched" for all 29 episodes in its first season until April 13,1967. On September 15,1967 the network moved the series from Thursday nights to Friday nights at the 8:30 eastern/7:30 central time slot preceding "Tarzan" and was opposite "Hondo" and "Gomer Pyle" for all 26 episodes in season two until March 29, 1968. Then in its third and final season, Gene Roddenberry pleaded with network executives at NBC to move the series to Monday nights in an earlier time slot in order to attract a larger audience and improve ratings. The network rejected its offer. "Star Trek" was moved to a later time slot on Friday nights at the 10:00 eastern/9:00 central for all 24 episodes where it preceded the 90-minute "The Name of the Game" and was opposite "Judd for the Defense",and CBS' Friday Night Movie that clobbered it in the ratings from September 20,1968 until the final episode of the series on June 3,1969. "Star Trek" was produced from September,1966 to December,1967 by Desilu Productions and the Norway Corporation. From January,1968 to June,1969 was produced by Paramount Television and the Norway Corporation. The series produced 79 episodes in color.
Out of the actors that were with this series only actors William Shatner along with Leonard Nimoy and Deforest Kelley were the only cast members that appeared in all 79 episodes. Nichelle Nichols appeared in 70 episodes while James Doohan appeared in 66 episodes. George Takei appeared in 52 episodes and Majel Barrett appeared in 36 episodes. Walter Koenig didn't come onto the series until Season 2 and appeared in 36 episodes. Grace Lee Whitney was with the series for Season 1 only and appeared in eight episodes.
"Star Trek" during its original three season run on NBC explored science fiction conundrums, such as the effects of changing the past("The City on the Edge of Forever",Season 1, Episode 28)while dealing with modern issues-including racism("Let That Be Your Last Battlefield",Season 3,Episode 15);nuclear arms("The Doomsday Machine",Season 2,Episode 6);the fear of technological dominance("The Ultimate Computer",Season 2,Episode 24 and "The Changeling",Season 2,Episode 3),and social inequality("The Cloud Minders",Season 3,Episode 21),not to mention dealing with mutiny and treason("Court Martial",Season 1,Episode 20 and the two part episode "The Menagerie",Season 1, Episodes 11 and 12)not to mention dealing with space villains("Space Seed",Season 1, Episode 22),and other great episodes("Mirror,Mirror",Season 2, Episode 4), ("Balance of Terror",Season 1,Episode 14),("Amok Time",Season 2, Episode 1),("Journey to Babel",Season 2,Episode 10),and ("Errand of Mercy",Season 1,Episode 26). Let's not forget other great episodes that made "Star Trek" the must watch series of the mid-1960's ranging from "The Man Trap", "Arena", "The Naked Time", "The Enemy Within", the controversial "Plato's Stepchildren", to "Where No Man Has Gone Before" to "Devil In The Dark","Taste of Armageddon","This Side of Paradise", "The Corbomite Maneuver","Wolf In The Fold","The Tholian Web',the only time it venture into comedy like "The Trouble With Tribbles",and "Metamorphosis" just to name a few of the great episodes this series had even though it remained on the air for three seasons.
Even though it never won a Prime Time Emmy,"Star Trek" was nominated for an impressed 13 Prime-Time Emmy nominations(Leonard Nimoy was nominated twice for Best Supporting Actor in a Television series and won the Prime-Time Emmy for Outstanding Special Effects) and in 1967 won the NAACP Image Award for its most critically episode that was written by Harlan Ellison. Even after 50 years since its original broadcast on NBC,and to this day still airing in syndicated repeats around the world "Star Trek" still holds themes that remained relevant today...this coming from a science fiction television show that didn't do well in the ratings but became a phenomenon when it first aired in 1966. And still lives long to prosper. Happy 50th Anniversary "Star Trek"......