Space: the final frontier. These are the voyages of the starship Enterprise. Its five-year mission: to explore strange new worlds, to seek out new life and new civilizations, to boldly go where no man has gone before.
With those words a science fiction and cultural icon was born. At the time, little did anyone know that on September 8, 1966 the world, as we know it will never be the same. 47% of homes across America watched the premiere episode “The Man Trap” on NBC. 50 years, 5 live action series, 1 animated series and 13 feature films later, Star Trek has not only lived long but it has prospered and endured time. It is as relevant today and has boldly gone where really no fandom has ever gone before or since.
“The Cage” Before Kirk there was Captain Pike
Yes Virginia, Captain James T. Kirk (William Shatner) was not the original Captain of the Enterprise when the TV series was first being optioned to NBC. In fact, other than Mister Spock (Leonard Nimoy), there was a considerable difference between the original and rejected pilot was and the one that NBC finally accepted. The episode in question was called “The Cage” and it starred Jeffery Hunter as Christopher Pike. Unfortunately, NBC executives thought the pilot was too cerebral and said no to the series. Fortunately for us, creator Gene Roddenberry didn’t take no for an answer and convinced them to do another pilot, “Where No Man Has Gone Before”. Everything was changed except for the character of Spock and William Shatner took on the role of a lifetime as Kirk. The rest as they say, is history.
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| Jeffery Hunter as Captain Pike |
5-Year Mission
Season 1 (1966–67)
On Thursday, September 8, 1966 at 8:30pm, “The Man Trap” aired to mixed reviews. It did however win its time slot. Overall the first-season ratings were ok at best. By today’s standards, it probably would have been cancelled after the first. After its initial order of 16 episodes, NBC ordered additional episodes bringing the season total to 29. Despite lackluster ratings, the network ordered a second season to air in the fall of 1967.
Season 2 (1967–68)
As with season one, Star Trek‘s ratings continued to decline and the threat of cancellation once again seemed imminent. A letter writing campaign unlike anything that had been seen before had begun in order to save the show. Even New York State Governor Nelson Rockefeller wrote his support for Star Trek. With someone like Rockefeller showing his support, NBC ordered a third and what will turn out to be, final season.
Season 3 (1968–69)
Unfortunately the constant shifting in time slots and days of airing did more to Star Trek’s demise than anything else. NBC pretty much killed off its own product. On January 9, 1969, and 79 episodes, Star Trek was no more. Fans try to rally again with another letter writing campaign but it was not to be.
Syndication
Usually shows the only last three seasons, syndication is rarely an option. But because Star Trek had produced 79 episodes, it was more than enough to warrant going into syndication. This is where Star Trek gained new life and found a larger audience. It aired during the late afternoon and early evenings, the perfect family time. The favorable time choice attracted younger viewers and gave stations an opportunity to profit with its advertising. By 1987 just as a new Star Trek series was about to air, Paramount was making nearly $1 million per episode thus making Star Trek the most popular syndicated series in television history.
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| The Original Crew of the USS Enterprise NCC-1701 Mr. Scott (James Doohan), Mr. Chekov (Walter Koenig), Dr. McCoy (DeForest Kelley), Nurse Chapel (Majel Barett), Capt. Kirk (William Shatner), Lt. Uhura (Nichelle Nichols), Mr. Spock (Leonard Nimoy) and Mr. Sulu (George Takei) |
The Birth of the Sci-Fi and Pop Culture Conventions
If you’re anything like me, I’m sure you’ve gone to a convention or two. Before mega conventions like San Diego International, DragonCon, Wizard World and New York Comic Con, there was the Star Trek Convention. The first one took place in January 1972 in New York City. By all accounts it was a small gathering of fans. Today, hundreds of thousands attend such conventions around the world. You can also credit Star Trek conventions as the birthplace for cosplay as it is widely popular to dress up as your favorite Trek character. Star Trek transcended science fiction and become the definition of Pop Culture.
If you’re anything like me, I’m sure you’ve gone to a convention or two. Before mega conventions like San Diego International, DragonCon, Wizard World and New York Comic Con, there was the Star Trek Convention. The first one took place in January 1972 in New York City. By all accounts it was a small gathering of fans. Today, hundreds of thousands attend such conventions around the world. You can also credit Star Trek conventions as the birthplace for cosplay as it is widely popular to dress up as your favorite Trek character. Star Trek transcended science fiction and become the definition of Pop Culture.
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| The Animated Crew of the Enterprise |
Star Trek: The Animated Series (1973 to 1974)
After Star Trek was cancelled in 1969, a revival in the form of animation gave new life and in 1973 Star Trek: The Animated Series was born. It lasted two seasons for a total of 22 episodes. With the exception of Walter Koenig as Chekov, all of the original crew reprised their role and provided the voices for their characters. It was in the animated series that we learn that the “T” in James T. Kirk stood for Tiberius thanks to writer David Gerrold.
Star Trek Film Legacy
In 1979, ten years after its final episode, Star Trek: The Motion Picture arrived in theaters to a lot of fanfare and expectation. The journey to the big screen occurred much earlier than that. In fact shortly after being cancelled, Gene Roddenberry pitched the idea for a feature film. It wasn’t until 1975 on the heals of the show’s success on syndication that Paramount decided to move forward with the idea only to scrap it two years later and replace it with the thought of a new TV series. Then, Star Wars happened. The box office success that Star Wars experienced led the studio to push forward with a Star Trek film of their own.
In late summer of 1978 director Robert Wise began principal photography and on December 7, 1979 The Motion Picture was released. TMP received mixed reviews but grossed over 82 million domestically and over 139 worldwide. It wasn’t the commercial success the studio had hoped for but they did green light several sequels starting with Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan which starred Ricardo Montalban reprising his iconic role of Khan from the original series episode, “Space Seed”.
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| Their final voyage in Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country |
The original crew ended up doing a total of six films ending in 1991 with Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country. In 1994 Star Trek: The Next Generation took over the film franchise with Star Trek Generations. Much like TMP, Generations received mixed reviews although it showcased Kirk and Picard working together for the first time to defeat a common enemy. The TNG cast wound up doing four films ending its run in 2002.
After a 7-year film hiatus, Star Trek starring Chris Pine as Kirk and Zachary Quinto as Spock rebooted the franchise and shattered box office records in 2009. It was critically well received by everyone and more importantly by the fans. To date, these 13 feature films have amassed over 2.2 billion dollars in box office receipts. It has also received 15 Academy Award nominations winning one in 2010 for Best Makeup. As of this writing, a fourth film starring Pine and Quinto has already been green lit insuring that the future of Star Trek films remains intact.
The list of films: Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979), Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982), Star Trek III: The Search for Spock (1984), Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (1986), Star Trek V: The Final Frontier (1989), Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country (1991), Star Trek Generations (1994), Star Trek: First Contact (1996), Star Trek: Insurrection (1998), Star Trek: Nemesis (2002), Star Trek (2009), Star Trek Into Darkness (2013) and Star Trek Beyond (2016)
The Spin-Offs
18 years after the original series faded to black a new generation was born in 1987 with Star Trek: The Next Generation. This highly successful series both critically and from the fan base gave birth to two spin offs, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine(1993) and Star Trek: Voyager (1998) and a prequel series called Star Trek: Enterprise (2001). In 2017 a new series will make its way back to the small screen on CBS with Star Trek: Discovery.
Fun Facts
In total there has been 33,603 minutes or 560+ hours of programming. To watch it all it would take over 23 days watching 24/7 to complete it all. Talk about binge watching. FYI, Netflix has pretty much every minute available to watch and experience on your own.
Finally, the impact of Star Trek, its Legacy and the Future
The greatest impact that Star Trek has ever had on society is their unwavering view of the future and our survival as a race. Whether it was during the turbulent 60’s and the Vietnam War or the fall of Communism and the Cold War of the 80’s, Star Trek has challenged our point of view and opened discussions on acceptance and tolerance. Sadly, we still have a long way to go to fulfill Gene Roddenberry’s vision.
As for the future, with a new series slated for 2017 and fourth film on the horizon, that future appears to be in a good place. In the world of science, everything that once seemed out of this world and fictional is becoming a reality. Whether it was the birth of the smart phone or touchscreen devices or advances in medicine and technology to travel beyond the stars to distant planets, Star Trek undoubtedly has played a major role in who and what we are as a human race. Roddenberry’s vision of the future has lived long and prospered through TV, film and print, we can only hope that mankind can do the same in reality and exceed it.
Live Long and Prosper,
JPB
The Dork Knight
