fbpx
Wikipedia

Star Trek: The Original Series

January 21, 2023

"The Original Series" redirects here. Not to be confused with Original programming.

Star Trek is an American science fiction television series created by Gene Roddenberry that follows the adventures of the starship USS Enterprise (NCC-1701) and its crew. It later acquired the retronym of Star Trek: The Original Series (TOS) to distinguish the show within the media franchise that it began.[2]

Star Trek: The Original Series
Also known asStar Trek
Genre
Created byGene Roddenberry
Starring
Theme music composerAlexander Courage
Opening theme"Theme from Star Trek"
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons3
No. of episodes79 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producerGene Roddenberry
Producers
Running time50 minutes[1]
Production companies
DistributorNBC
BudgetSeason one
$190,000 per episode
(~$1.4 million in 2019)
Season two
$185,000 per episode
Season three
$175,000 per episode
Release
Original networkNBC
Picture formatNTSC
Audio formatMonaural
Original releaseSeptember 8, 1966 (1966-09-08) –
June 3, 1969 (1969-06-03)
Chronology
Followed byStar Trek: The Animated Series
RelatedStar Trek TV series

The show is set in the Milky Way galaxy, circa 2266–2269. The ship and crew are led by Captain James T. Kirk (William Shatner), First Officer and Science Officer Spock (Leonard Nimoy), and Chief Medical Officer Leonard H. "Bones" McCoy (DeForest Kelley). Shatner's voice-over introduction during each episode's opening credits stated the starship's purpose:

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.

Norway Productions and Desilu Productions produced the series from September 1966 to December 1967. Paramount Television produced the show from January 1968 to June 1969. Star Trek aired on NBC from September 8, 1966, to June 3, 1969.[3] It was first broadcast on September 6, 1966, on Canada's CTV network.[4] Star Trek's Nielsen ratings while on NBC were low, and the network cancelled it after three seasons and 79 episodes. Several years later, the series became a hit in broadcast syndication, remaining so throughout the 1970s, achieving cult classic status and a developing influence on popular culture. Star Trek eventually spawned a media franchise consisting of 11 television series, 13 feature films, and numerous books, games, and toys, and is now widely considered one of the most popular and influential television series of all time.[5]

Creation

On March 11, 1964, Gene Roddenberry, a long-time fan of science fiction, drafted a short treatment for a science-fiction television series that he called Star Trek.[6] This was to be set on board a large starship named S.S. Yorktown in the 23rd century[7][8] bearing a crew dedicated to exploring the Milky Way galaxy.

Roddenberry noted a number of influences on his idea, some of which includes A. E. van Vogt's tales of the spaceship Space Beagle, Eric Frank Russell's Marathon series of stories, and the film Forbidden Planet (1956). Some have also drawn parallels with the television series Rocky Jones, Space Ranger (1954), a space opera that included many of the elements integral to Star Trek—the organization, crew relationships, missions, part of the bridge layout, and some technology.[5]: 24  Roddenberry also drew heavily from C. S. Forester's Horatio Hornblower novels that depict a daring sea captain who exercises broad discretionary authority on distant sea missions of noble purpose. He often humorously referred to Captain Kirk as "Horatio Hornblower in Space".[9]

Roddenberry had extensive experience in writing for series about the Old West that had been popular television fare in the 1950s and 1960s. Armed with this background, he characterized the new show in his first draft as "Wagon Train to the stars".[6][10] Like the familiar Wagon Train, each episode was to be a self-contained adventure story, set within the structure of a continuing voyage through space. Most future television and movie realizations of the franchise adhered to the "Wagon Train" paradigm of the continuing journey, with the notable exceptions of the serialized Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Star Trek: Discovery, Star Trek: Picard, and the third season of Star Trek: Enterprise.

In Roddenberry's original concept, the protagonist was Captain Robert April of the starship S.S. Yorktown. This character was developed into Captain Christopher Pike, first portrayed by Jeffrey Hunter. April is listed in the Star Trek Chronology, The Star Trek Encyclopedia, and at startrek.com as the Enterprise's first commanding officer, preceding Captain Pike.[11][12][13] The character's only television/movie appearance was in the Star Trek: The Animated Series episode "The Counter-Clock Incident".[14] until Strange New Worlds, where he is portrayed by Adrian Holmes.

Development

In April 1964, Roddenberry presented the Star Trek draft to Desilu Productions, a leading independent television production company.[15] He met with Herbert F. Solow, Desilu's director of production. Solow saw promise in the idea and signed a three-year program-development contract with Roddenberry.[16] Lucille Ball, head of Desilu, was not familiar with the nature of the project, but she was instrumental in getting the pilot produced.[17]

The idea was extensively revised and fleshed out during this time—"The Cage" pilot filmed in late 1964 differs in many respects from the March 1964 treatment. Solow, for example, added the "stardate" concept.[16]

Desilu Productions had a first-look deal with CBS.[18] Oscar Katz, Desilu's Vice President of Production, went with Roddenberry to pitch the series to the network.[19] They refused to purchase the show, as they already had a similar show in development, the 1965 Irwin Allen series Lost in Space.[20]

In May 1964, Solow, who had previously worked at NBC, met with Grant Tinker, then head of the network's West Coast programming department. Tinker commissioned the first pilot—which became "The Cage".[15][21] NBC turned down the resulting pilot, stating that it was "too cerebral".[22] However, the NBC executives were still impressed with the concept, and they understood that its perceived faults had been partly due to the script that they had selected themselves.[9]

NBC made the unusual decision to pay for a second pilot, using the script called "Where No Man Has Gone Before".[22] Only the character of Spock, played by Leonard Nimoy, was retained from the first pilot, and only two cast members, Majel Barrett and Nimoy, were carried forward into the series. This second pilot proved to be satisfactory to NBC, and the network selected Star Trek to be in its upcoming television schedule for the fall of 1966.

The second pilot introduced most of the other main characters: Captain Kirk (William Shatner), Chief Engineer Lt. Commander Scott (James Doohan) and Lt. Sulu (George Takei), who served as a physicist on the ship in the second pilot, but subsequently became a helmsman throughout the rest of the series. Paul Fix played Dr. Mark Piper in the second pilot; ship's doctor Leonard McCoy (DeForest Kelley) joined the cast when filming began for the first season, and he remained for the rest of the series, achieving billing as the third star of the series. Also joining the ship's permanent crew during the first season were the communications officer, Lt. Nyota Uhura (Nichelle Nichols), the first African-American woman to hold such an important role in an American television series;[23] the captain's yeoman, Janice Rand (Grace Lee Whitney), who departed midway through the first season; and Christine Chapel (Majel Barrett), the ship's nurse and assistant to McCoy. Walter Koenig joined the cast as Ensign Pavel Chekov in the series' second season.

In February 1966, before the first episode was aired, Star Trek was nearly cancelled by Desilu Productions. Desilu had gone from making just one half-hour show (The Lucy Show) to deficit-financing a portion of two expensive hour-long shows, Mission: Impossible and Star Trek.[24] Solow was able to convince Lucille Ball that both shows should continue.[18]

Production

 
The original starship Enterprise

Once the series had been picked up by NBC, the production moved to what was then Desilu Productions' Gower Street location. It had previously been the main studio complex used by RKO Pictures, and is now part of the Paramount Pictures lot. The series used what are now stages 31 and 32.[18] The show's production staff included art director Matt Jefferies, who designed the starship Enterprise and most of its interiors.[25] His contributions to the series were honored in the name of the "Jefferies tube", an equipment shaft depicted in various Star Trek series. In addition to working with his brother, John Jefferies, to create the hand-held phaser weapons of Star Trek, Jefferies also developed the set design for the bridge of the Enterprise (which was based on an earlier design by Pato Guzman). Jefferies used his practical experience as an airman during World War II and his knowledge of aircraft design to devise a sleek, functional, and ergonomic bridge layout.

The costume designer for Star Trek, Bill Theiss, created the striking look of the Starfleet uniforms for the Enterprise, the costumes for female guest stars, and for various aliens, including the Klingons, Vulcans, Romulans, Tellarites, Andorians, and Gideonites, among others.

Artist and sculptor Wah Chang, who had worked for Walt Disney Productions, was hired to design and manufacture props: he created the flip-open communicator, often credited as having influenced the configuration of the portable version of the cellular telephone.[26] Chang also designed the portable sensing-recording-computing "tricorder" device, and various fictitious devices for the starship's engineering crew and its sick bay. As the series progressed, he helped to create various memorable aliens, such as the Gorn and the Horta.

Season 1 (1966–1967)

Main article: Star Trek: The Original Series (season 1)
 
William Shatner as Captain James T. Kirk in action, from the episode "Where No Man Has Gone Before", 1966

NBC ordered 16 episodes of Star Trek, besides "Where No Man Has Gone Before".[22] The first regular episode of Star Trek, "The Man Trap",[27] aired on Thursday, September 8, 1966, from 8:30 to 9:30 as part of an NBC "sneak preview" block. Reviews were mixed; while The Philadelphia Inquirer and San Francisco Chronicle liked the new show, The New York Times and The Boston Globe were less favorable,[28] and Variety predicted that it "won't work", calling it "an incredible and dreary mess of confusion and complexities".[29] Debuting against mostly reruns, Star Trek easily won its time slot with a 40.6 share.[30] The following week against new programming, however, the show fell to second (29.4 share) behind CBS. It ranked 33rd (out of 94 programs) over the next two weeks, then the following two episodes ranked 51st in the ratings.[31][32]

I am an avid fan of Star Trek, and would simply die if it was taken off the air. In my opinion it is the best show on television.

—M.P., Oswego, New York, February 20, 1967[33]

 
Title used for the first season

Frederik Pohl, editor of Galaxy Science Fiction, wrote in February 1967 of his amazement that Star Trek's "regular shows were just as good" as the early episodes that won an award at Tricon in September. Believing that the show would soon be cancelled because of low ratings, he lamented that it "made the mistake of appealing to a comparatively literate group", and urged readers to write letters to help save the show.[34] Star Trek's first-season ratings would in earlier years likely have caused NBC to cancel the show. The network had pioneered research into viewers' demographic profiles in the early 1960s, however, and by 1967, it and other networks increasingly considered such data when making decisions;[35]: 115  for example, CBS temporarily cancelled Gunsmoke that year because it had too many older and too few younger viewers.[28] Although Roddenberry later claimed that NBC was unaware of Star Trek's favorable demographics,[36] awareness of Star Trek's "quality" audience is what likely caused the network to retain the show after the first and second seasons.[35]: 115  NBC instead decided to order 10 more new episodes for the first season, and order a second season in March 1967.[22][37] The network originally announced that the show would air at 7:30–8:30 pm Tuesday, but it was instead given an 8:30–9:30 pm Friday slot when the 1967–68 NBC schedule was released,[38] making watching it difficult for the young viewers that the show most attracted.[22]

Season 2 (1967–1968)

Main article: Star Trek: The Original Series (season 2)
 
Spock, Kirk and the Enterprise, 1968

Star Trek's ratings continued to decline during the second season. Although Shatner expected the show to end after two seasons and began to prepare for other projects,[39] NBC nonetheless may have never seriously considered cancelling the show.[40][28] As early as January 1968, the Associated Press reported that Star Trek's chances for renewal for a third season were "excellent". The show had better ratings for NBC than ABC's competing Hondo, and the competing CBS programs (number-three Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C. and the first half-hour of the number-12 CBS Friday Night Movie) were in the top 15 in the Nielsen ratings.[40][41] Again, demographics helped Star Trek survive.[35]: 116  Contrary to popular belief among its fans, the show did not have a larger audience of young viewers than its competition while on NBC.[28] The network's research did indicate that Star Trek had a "quality audience" including "upper-income, better-educated males", however, and other NBC shows had lower overall ratings.[35]: 116 [40]

Look! Look! It doesn't stop! They're lined up all the way down the street!

—Norman Lunenfeld, NBC executive, on the mail trucks delivering Star Trek fans' letters[42]

The enthusiasm of Star Trek's viewers surprised NBC.[28] The show was unusual in its serious discussion of contemporary societal issues in a futuristic context, unlike Lost in Space, which was more campy in nature.[43] The network had already received 29,000 fan letters for the show during its first season, more than for any other except The Monkees.[22] When rumors spread in late 1967 that Star Trek was at risk of cancellation, Roddenberry secretly began and funded an effort by Bjo Trimble, her husband John, and other fans to persuade tens of thousands of viewers to write letters of support to save the program.[42][44]: 377–394 [45] Using the 4,000 names on a mailing list for a science-fiction convention, the Trimbles asked fans to write to NBC and ask 10 others to also do so.[46]: 128  NBC received almost 116,000 letters for the show between December 1967 and March 1968, including more than 52,000 in February alone;[47][48][22] according to an NBC executive, the network received more than one million pieces of mail but only disclosed the 116,000 figure.[42] Newspaper columnists encouraged readers to write letters to help save what one called "the best science-fiction show on the air".[49] More than 200 Caltech students marched to NBC's Burbank, California studio to support Star Trek in January 1968, carrying signs such as "Draft Spock" and "Vulcan Power".[50] Berkeley and MIT students organized similar protests in San Francisco and New York City.[49]

The letters supporting Star Trek, whose authors included New York State Governor Nelson Rockefeller,[51] were different in both quantity and quality from most mail that television networks receive:

The show, according to the 6,000 letters it draws a week (more than any other in television), is watched by scientists, museum curators, psychiatrists, doctors, university professors, and other highbrows. The Smithsonian Institution asked for a print of the show for its archives, the only show so honored.[49]

In addition:

Much of the mail came from doctors, scientists, teachers, and other professional people, and was for the most part literate–and written on good stationery. And if there is anything a network wants almost as much as a high Nielsen ratings, it is the prestige of a show that appeals to the upper middle class and high-brow audiences.[39]

And now an announcement of interest to all viewers of Star Trek. We are pleased to tell you that Star Trek will continue to be seen on NBC Television. We know you will be looking forward to seeing the weekly adventure in space on Star Trek.

—NBC announcer, March 1, 1968[47][51][28]

NBC—which used such anecdotes in much of its publicity for the show—made the unusual decision to announce on television, after the episode "The Omega Glory" on March 1, 1968, that the series had been renewed.[35]: 116–117 [51] The announcement implied a request to stop writing—NBC's policy of replying to each viewer mail meant that the campaign cost the network millions of dollars[42]—but instead caused fans to send letters of thanks in similar numbers.[52]

Season 3 (1968–1969)

Main article: Star Trek: The Original Series (season 3)
 
"Spock's Brain" was the first episode of the third season.

NBC at first planned to move Star Trek to Mondays for the show's third season, likely in hopes of increasing its audience after the enormous letter campaign that surprised the network.[28] In March 1968, though, NBC instead moved the show to 10:00 pm Friday night, an hour undesirable for its younger audience,[45][53] so as not to conflict with the highly successful Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In on Monday evenings,[54] from whose time slot Laugh-In producer George Schlatter had angrily demanded it not be rescheduled. In addition to the undesirable time slot, Star Trek was now being seen on only 181 of NBC's 210 affiliates.[55]

Roddenberry was frustrated, and complained, "If the network wants to kill us, it couldn't make a better move."[45] He attempted to persuade NBC to give Star Trek a better day and hour, but was not successful. As a result of this and his own growing exhaustion, he chose to withdraw from the stress of the daily production of Star Trek, though he remained nominally in charge as its "executive producer".[56] Roddenberry reduced his direct involvement in Star Trek before the start of the 1968–69 television season, and was replaced by Fred Freiberger as the producer of the television series. NBC next reduced Star Trek's budget from $185,000 per episode in season 2 (it was $190,000 per episode in season 1) to $175,000 per episode in season 3 (as the per-minute commercial price had dropped from $39,000 to $36,000 compared to the season-two time slot).[57] This caused what some perceive as a decline in quality for the 1968–69 season, although there was a trade off in some lower production costs since the special effects technology had improved over time. By season 3 William Shatner felt that the main characters had become more compromised or exaggerated and the story lines more improbable.[58] Leonard Nimoy felt that financial concerns dominated.[59] Associate Producer Bob Justman, who left during the third season, said budget cuts caused the crew to become necessarily limited in the type of filming that could be done, such as outdoor work,[60] with only one episode, "The Paradise Syndrome", shot largely outdoors. Nichelle Nichols described the budget-cutting during the final year as an intentional effort to kill off Star Trek:

While NBC paid lip service to expanding Star Trek's audience, it [now] slashed our production budget until it was actually 10% lower than it had been in our first season ... This is why in the third season you saw fewer outdoor location shots, for example. Top writers, top guest stars, top anything you needed was harder to come by. Thus, Star Trek's demise became a self-fulfilling prophecy. And I can assure you, that is exactly as it was meant to be.[61]

The last day of filming for Star Trek was January 9, 1969,[22] and after 79 episodes[62] NBC cancelled the show in February despite fans' attempt at another letter-writing campaign.[28] One newspaper columnist advised a protesting viewer:

You Star Trek fans have fought the "good fight," but the show has been cancelled and there's nothing to be done now.[63]

In 2011, the decision to cancel Star Trek by NBC was ranked number four on the TV Guide Network special, 25 Biggest TV Blunders 2.[64]

Syndication

Surprisingly, one show no longer programmed by a network but syndicated to local television stations (Star Trek) sometimes appeared among the top-five favorites in areas where the show is carried.

—"Students rate television", 1971[65]

Although some of the third season's episodes were considered of poorer quality, it gave Star Trek enough episodes for television syndication.[66] Most shows require at least four seasons for syndication, because otherwise not enough episodes are available for daily stripping. Kaiser Broadcasting, however, purchased syndication rights for Star Trek during the first season for its stations in several large cities. The company arranged the unusual deal because it saw the show as effective counterprogramming against the Big Three networks' 6 pm evening news programs.[67]: 138 [22] Paramount began advertising the reruns in trade press in March 1969;[68] as Kaiser's ratings were good, other stations, such as WPIX in New York City and WKBS in Philadelphia, also purchased the episodes[69]: 91–92  for similar counterprogramming.[35]: 121 

Through syndication, Star Trek found a larger audience than it had on NBC, becoming a cult classic.[70][67]: 138–139  Airing the show in the late afternoon or early evening attracted many new viewers, often young.[71] By 1970, Paramount's trade advertisements claimed that the show had significantly improved its stations' ratings,[68] and the Los Angeles Times commented on Star Trek's ability to "acquire the most enviable ratings in the syndication field".[35]: 121  By 1972, what the Associated Press described as "the show that won't die" aired in more than 100 American cities and 60 other countries; and more than 3,000 fans attended the first Star Trek convention in New York City in January 1972.[72][71]

Since that dark day in 1969 when NBC brought the programming hammer down on Star Trek, there probably hasn't been a 24-hour period when the original program, one of the original episodes, wasn't being aired somewhere.

—Chicago Tribune, 1987[73]

Fans of the show became increasingly organized, gathering at conventions to trade merchandise, meet actors from the show, and watch screenings of old episodes. Such fans came to be known as "trekkies",[70] who were noted (and often ridiculed) for their extreme devotion to the show and their encyclopedic knowledge of every episode.[74] Because fans enjoyed re-watching each episode many times, prices for Star Trek rose over time, instead of falling like other syndicated reruns.[35]: 122 [75][76][70][77] People magazine commented in 1977 that the show "threatens to rerun until the universe crawls back into its little black hole".[78] By 1986, 17 years after entering syndication, Star Trek was the most popular syndicated series;[79] by 1987, Paramount made $1 million from each episode;[22] and by 1994, the reruns still aired in 94% of the United States.[80]

From September 1 to December 24, 1998, the Sci-Fi Channel broadcast a "Special Edition" of all the original series episodes in an expanded 90-minute format hosted by William Shatner. Now titled Star Trek: The Original Series, these broadcasts restored scenes that had been edited out of the syndicated episodes.[2] In addition to introductory and post-episode commentary by Shatner, the episodes included interviews with members of the regular production team and cast, writers, guest stars, and critics (titled as "Star Trek Insights"). The episodes were broadcast in the original broadcast sequence, followed by "The Cage", to which a full 105-minute segment was devoted. (For details on each episode's original airdate, see List of Star Trek: The Original Series episodes.) Leonard Nimoy hosted a second run from December 28, 1998 to March 24, 1999, but not all the episodes were broadcast because the show was abruptly cancelled before completion.[citation needed][original research?]

Remastered edition

In September 2006, CBS Domestic Television (now known as CBS Media Ventures, the current rights holders for the Star Trek television franchises) began syndication of an enhanced version of Star Trek: The Original Series in high definition with new CGI visual effects.[81]

Under the direction of Star Trek producer David Rossi, who consulted with Mike and Denise Okuda, the visual and special effects were recreated to give Star Trek: The Original Series a more modern look. Special attention was given to such elements as the Enterprise, alien planets and their images depicted from space, planets seen from orbit, alien spacecraft, and technology such as computer readouts, viewscreen images, and phaser beams.

The restoration and enhancement was performed by CBS Digital. All live-action footage was scanned in high definition from its first-generation 35 mm film elements. While it was possible to retouch and remaster some visual effects, all new exterior ship, space, and planet shots were recreated under the supervision of Niel Wray, a recent visual-effects Emmy nominee.

As noted in the "making of" DVD feature, first-generation "original camera negatives" were used for all live-action footage, but not for external shots of the ship and planets. Notable changes include new space shots with a CGI Enterprise, and other new models (for example, a Gorn ship is shown in "Arena"), redone matte background shots, and other minor touches such as tidying up viewscreens.

A small number of scenes were also recomposed, and sometimes new actors were placed into the background of shots.[82] The opening theme music was also re-recorded in digital stereo.

The first episode to be released to syndication was "Balance of Terror" on the weekend of September 16, 2006. Episodes were released at the rate of about one a week and broadcast in a 4:3 aspect ratio. Despite the HD remastering, CBS chose to deliver the broadcast syndication package in Standard Definition (SD TV). The HD format was made commercially available through Blu-ray, or by streaming and download such as iTunes, Netflix, and Xbox Live.[83]

While the CGI shots were mastered in a 16:9 aspect ratio for future applications, they were initially broadcast in the U.S. and Canada—along with the live-action footage—in a 4:3 aspect ratio to respect the show's original composition. If the producers were to choose to reformat the entire show for the 16:9 ratio, live-action footage would be cropped, significantly reducing the height of the original image.

On July 26, 2007, CBS Home Entertainment (with distribution by Paramount Home Entertainment) announced that the remastered episodes of TOS would be released on an HD DVD/DVD hybrid format. Season one was released on November 20, 2007. Season two had been scheduled for release in the summer of 2008, but it was cancelled when Toshiba (which had been helping finance the remastering of the show) pulled out of the HD DVD business.[84] On August 5, 2008, the remastered season two was released on DVD only.[85] For this release, CBS and Paramount used discs without any disc art, making them look like the "Season 1 Remastered" HD DVD/DVD combo discs, despite having content only on one side.[citation needed] Season 3 was released on DVD only on November 18, 2008.[86] On February 17, 2009, Paramount announced the season one of TOS on Blu-ray Disc for a May release to coincide with the new feature film coming from Paramount.[87] The second season was released in a seven disc set on Blu-ray in the U.S. on September 22, 2009.[88] The third season was released on Blu-ray in the U.S. on December 15.[89] With the release of the "Alternate Realities" box set, remastered Original Series episodes were included in a multi-series compilation for the first time. If future compilation releases would exclusively use the remastered episodes or not was unknown.[90]

In regions two and four, all three seasons of the remastered Original Series became available on DVD in the slimline edition (in the UK and Germany in steelbook editions) on April 27, 2009, as well as the first season in Blu-ray.[citation needed]

Cast

Main article: List of Star Trek: The Original Series cast members
Actor Character Position Appearances Character's species Rank
William Shatner James T. Kirk Commanding Officer Seasons 1–3 Human Captain
The Commanding Officer of the USS Enterprise, born in Riverside, Iowa, in the year 2233. His two best friends are Spock and Dr. McCoy; one will advise Kirk with logic, while the other one uses emotional instincts.
Leonard Nimoy Spock First/Executive Officer
Science Officer		 Seasons 1–3 Half-Human/Half-Vulcan Lieutenant Commander Season 1 Commander Seasons 1–3
The half-human, half-Vulcan First/Executive Officer (i.e. second-in-command) and science officer. He is one of Kirk's best friends and uses logic to solve problems.
DeForest Kelley Dr. Leonard "Bones" McCoy Chief Medical Officer Seasons 1–3 Human Lieutenant Commander
The ship's chief medical officer, he is Kirk's other best friend and gives him advice with his human emotional feelings, whilst Spock uses logic.
James Doohan Montgomery "Scotty" Scott Second Officer and Chief Engineer Seasons 1–3 Human Lieutenant Commander
The Enterprise's Scottish Chief Engineer and Second Officer (i.e. third-in-command), who is very protective of the ship. Scotty's technical knowledge and skill allow him to devise unconventional and effective last-minute solutions to dire problems.
Nichelle Nichols Nyota Uhura Communications Officer Seasons 1–3 Human Lieutenant
The ship's communication officer. She is depicted as a capable bridge officer and readily assumed control of the helm, navigation and science stations on the bridge when the need arose. Uhura was also a talented singer, and enjoyed serenading her shipmates when off-duty; Spock occasionally accompanied her on the Vulcan lyre.

Note: Uhura's first name was not spoken at any time during the series or the movies starring the original cast, and it was not even clear that Uhura was not a mononym.

George Takei Hikaru Sulu Helmsman Seasons 1–3 Human Lieutenant
Sulu is the ship's helmsman and has many interests and hobbies, including gymnastics, botany, fencing, and ancient weaponry.
Walter Koenig Pavel Chekov Navigator Seasons 2–3 Human Ensign
Chekov is a Russian-born navigator introduced in the show's second season.
Majel Barrett Christine Chapel Head Nurse Seasons 1–3 Human N/A
The ship's head nurse who works with Dr. McCoy.

Note: Barrett, who played the ship's first officer (Number One) in "The Cage", also voiced the ship's computer.

Grace Lee Whitney Janice Rand Yeoman Season 1 Human N/A
The captain's personal Yeoman.

Note: Although Rand appears in several promotional images for the show, she was fired after appearing in only eight episodes of the first season.

While still casting the roles, Gene Roddenberry had mandated that Bones McCoy and Spock be male. According to Nichelle Nichols, "They gave me a three-page script to read from that had three characters named Bones, Kirk and somebody called Spock, and they asked me if I would read for the role of Spock. When I looked at this great text, I said to myself, 'I'll take any one of these roles,' but I found the Spock character to be very interesting, and I asked them to tell me what she [Spock] was like". They then told Nichols that the role had already been offered to Leonard Nimoy.[91]

It was intended that Sulu's role be expanded in the second season, but owing to Takei's part in John Wayne's The Green Berets, he appeared in only half the season, his role being filled by Walter Koenig as the relatively young, mop-topped Russian navigator Ensign Pavel Chekov. When Takei returned, the two had to share a dressing room.[92] The two appeared together at the Enterprise helm for the remainder of the series. There may be some truth to the unofficial story that the Soviet Union's newspaper Pravda complained that among the culturally diverse characters there were no Russians, seen as a personal slight to that country since the Soviet Russian Yuri Gagarin had been the first man to make a spaceflight. Gene Roddenberry said in response that "The Chekov thing was a major error on our part, and I'm still embarrassed by the fact we didn't include a Russian right from the beginning."[9] However, documentation from Desilu suggests that the intention was to introduce a character into Star Trek with more sex appeal to teenaged girls.[9] Walter Koenig noted in the 2006 40th anniversary special of Star Trek: The Original Series that he doubted the rumor about Pravda, since Star Trek had never been shown on Soviet television. It has also been claimed that the former member of The Monkees, Davy Jones, was the model for Mr. Chekov.[93]

In addition, the series frequently included characters (usually security personnel wearing red uniforms) who are killed or injured soon after their introduction. So prevalent was this plot device that it inspired the term "redshirt" to denote a stock character whose sole purpose is to die violently in order to show the danger facing the main characters.

Characterizations

 
Promotional photo of the cast of Star Trek during the third season (1968–1969). From left to right: James Doohan, Walter Koenig, DeForest Kelley, Majel Barrett, William Shatner, Nichelle Nichols, Leonard Nimoy, and George Takei.

Star Trek made celebrities of its cast of largely unknown actors. Kelley had appeared in many films and television shows, but mostly in smaller roles that showcased him as a villain. Nimoy also had previous television and film experience but was not well known either. Nimoy had partnered previously with Shatner in a 1964 episode of The Man from U.N.C.L.E., "The Project Strigas Affair," and with Kelley (as a doctor) in a 1963 episode of The Virginian, "Man of Violence," both more than two years before Star Trek first aired. Before Star Trek, Shatner was well known in the trade, having appeared in several notable films, played Cyrano de Bergerac on Broadway, and even turned down the part of Dr. Kildare. However, when roles became sparse he took the regular job after Jeffrey Hunter's contract was not renewed.

After the original series ended, cast members found themselves typecast because of their defining roles in the show. (Star Trek: The Next Generation actor Michael Dorn stated in 1991, however: "If what happened to the first cast is called being typecast, then I want to be typecast. Of course, they didn't get the jobs after Trek. But they are making their sixth movie. Name me someone else in television who has made six movies!")[66]

The three main characters were Kirk, Spock, and McCoy, with writers often playing the different personalities off each other: Kirk was passionate and often aggressive, but with a sly sense of humor; Spock was coolly logical; and McCoy was sardonic, emotional, and illogical, but always compassionate. In many stories the three clashed, with Kirk forced to make a tough decision while Spock advocated the logical but sometimes callous path and McCoy (or "Bones", as Kirk nicknamed him) insisted on doing whatever would cause the least harm. McCoy and Spock had a sparring relationship that masked their true affection and respect for each other, and their constant arguments became popular with viewers.[94]: 153–154  The show so emphasized dialogue that writer and director Nicholas Meyer (involved with the Star Trek films) called it a radio drama, playing an episode for a film class without video to prove that the plot was still comprehensible.[66]

The Spock character was at first rejected by network executives, who were apprehensive that his vaguely "Satanic" appearance (with pointed ears and eyebrows) might prove upsetting to some viewers, and (according to Leonard Nimoy) they repeatedly urged Roddenberry to "drop the Martian." Roddenberry was also dismayed to discover that NBC's publicity department deliberately airbrushed out Spock's pointed ears and eyebrows from early publicity stills sent to network affiliates, because they feared that his "demonic" appearance might offend potential buyers in the religiously conservative southern states. Spock, however, went on to become one of the most popular characters on the show, as did McCoy's impassioned country-doctor personality. Spock, in fact, became a sex symbol of sorts[95]—something no one connected with the show had expected. Leonard Nimoy noted that the question of Spock's extraordinary sex appeal emerged "almost any time I talked to someone in the press ... I never give it a thought ... to try to deal with the question of Mr. Spock as a sex symbol is silly."[96]

Characters' cameo appearances in later series

The sequel to the original series, Star Trek: The Next Generation, which premiered in 1987, was set about 100 years after the events of TOS. As that show and its spin-offs progressed, several TOS actors made appearances reprising their original characters:

  • James Kirk disappears in 2293 during the maiden voyage of the Enterprise-B as seen in the film Star Trek: Generations. However, now chronologically 138 years old, but still only physically 60 years old Kirk is recovered after spending 78 years in The Nexus, an alternative plane of existence, by Enterprise-D Captain Jean-Luc Picard in the same film. Kirk's time in the 24th century is short however; he is killed while helping to defeat Dr. Tolian Soran.
  • Spock, now a Vulcan ambassador, goes underground in the Romulan Empire in hopes of fostering peaceful coexistence with the Federation and reunification with Vulcan society ("Unification, Parts I and II"). He also appears in the 2009 reboot film where his science vessel originated from the 24th century–era of TNG. He ends up stranded in the 23rd century of the film series, where he settles on new Vulcan; in the sequel film Star Trek Into Darkness, he is contacted by his younger self regarding the villainous Khan Noonien Singh. While not appearing in Star Trek Beyond, it is mentioned in the film that the character has died, as an homage to the real-life passing of actor Leonard Nimoy.
  • Leonard "Bones" McCoy, now a crusty 137-year-old admiral and head of Starfleet's Medical Division, inspects the Enterprise-D before her first mission in "Encounter at Farpoint," briefly meeting the android officer Lt. Cdr. Data, telling him, "Well, this is a new ship. But she's got the right name. Now, you remember that, you hear? ... You treat her like a lady, and she'll always bring you home."
  • Montgomery Scott, now chronologically 147 years old, but still only physically 72 years old after spending 75 years trapped in a transporter buffer, is rescued by the Enterprise-D crew and resumes his life in "Relics". Working along with Chief Engineer Geordi La Forge, Scotty uses some creative engineering to save the Enterprise. A grateful Captain Picard lends him a shuttlecraft indefinitely.
  • Sarek, Spock's father, continues to be an ambassador for the next century until his final mission during which he and Captain Picard mind-meld together because Sarek shows signs of Bendii Syndrome ("Sarek"). He later dies suffering from this affliction, but not before giving Captain Picard key information for locating his missing son ("Unification").
  • Kang, Koloth, and Kor, the three Klingons featured in "Day of the Dove" (Kang), "The Trouble with Tribbles" (Koloth) and "Errand of Mercy" (Kor), continue to serve the Empire well into the 24th century. They appear in the Star Trek: Deep Space Nine episode "Blood Oath" in which Kang and Koloth are killed. Kor later appears in two more episodes: "The Sword of Kahless" and finally in "Once More Unto the Breach" where, fighting in the Dominion War, he dies honorably in battle. A younger version of Kang, from the era of Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country, later appears in the Star Trek: Voyager episode "Flashback".
  • Hikaru Sulu, promoted to captain of the USS Excelsior in Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country, reprises his role from that performance in the Star Trek: Voyager episode "Flashback". Janice Rand also appears in that same episode.
  • Arne Darvin, the Klingon disguised as a human in "The Trouble with Tribbles", appears in the Star Trek: Deep Space Nine episode "Trials and Tribble-ations" with the intent to return to Deep Space Station K7 in 2267 and assassinate Kirk, whom Darvin blamed for his disgrace in the Klingon Empire.

Besides the above examples, numerous non-canon novels and comic books have been published over the years in which The Original Series era crew are depicted in The Next Generation era, either through time-travel or other means. In addition, many actors who appeared on The Original Series later made guest appearances as different characters in later series, most notably Majel Barrett, who not only provided the voice for most Starfleet computers in episodes of every spin-off series (including a single appearance on Star Trek: Enterprise, where the computers normally did not speak at all), but also had the recurring role of Lwaxana Troi in The Next Generation and Deep Space Nine. Diana Muldaur, a guest star in the episodes "Return to Tomorrow" and "Is There in Truth No Beauty?" of the original Star Trek series, played series regular Dr. Katherine Pulaski in the second season of Star Trek: The Next Generation.

Notable guest appearances

Guest roles on the series have featured actors such as:

Seasons and episodes

Main article: List of Star Trek: The Original Series episodes

Seasons

SeasonEpisodesOriginally aired
First airedLast aired
129September 8, 1966 (1966-09-08)April 13, 1967 (1967-04-13)
226September 15, 1967 (1967-09-15)March 29, 1968 (1968-03-29)
324September 20, 1968 (1968-09-20)June 3, 1969 (1969-06-03)

Broadcast history

Season Time slot (ET)
1966–67 Thursday at 8:30 pm
1967–68 Friday at 8:30 pm
1968–69 Friday at 10:00 pm (episodes 1–23)
Tuesday at 7:30 pm (episode 24)


Episode analysis

 
Shatner and Julie Newmar (1967)

In its writing, Star Trek is notable as one of the earliest science-fiction TV series to use the services of leading contemporary science fiction writers, such as Robert Bloch, Norman Spinrad, Harlan Ellison, and Theodore Sturgeon, as well as established television writers.

Roddenberry often used the setting of a space vessel set many years in the future to comment on social issues of 1960s America, including sexism, racism, nationalism, and global war.[45] In November 1968, just a few months after the first televised interracial touch, the episode "Plato's Stepchildren" went incorrectly[98] down in history as the first American television show to feature a scripted interracial kiss between characters (Capt. Kirk and Lt. Uhura), although the kiss was only mimed (obscured by the back of a character's head) and depicted as involuntary.[99] There is however some dispute to this being the first interracial kiss of the series because the 1967 episode, "Space Seed" – introducing reoccurring villain Khan (Ricardo Montalbán) – has him seducing and kissing Lt. Marla McGivers (Madlyn Rhue) as part of his malicious machinations. "Let That Be Your Last Battlefield" presented a direct allegory about the irrationality and futility of racism. Anti-war themes appear in episodes such as "The Doomsday Machine", depicting a planet-destroying weapon as an analogy to nuclear weapons deployed under the principle of mutually assured destruction, and "A Taste of Armageddon" about a society which has "civilized" war to the point that they no longer see it as something to avoid.

Episodes such as "The Apple", "Who Mourns for Adonais?", "The Mark of Gideon" and "The Return of the Archons" display subtle anti-religious (owing mainly to Roddenberry's own secular humanism) and anti-establishment themes. "Bread and Circuses" and "The Omega Glory" have themes that are more pro-Christian or patriotic.[original research?]

The show experienced network and/or sponsor interference, up to and including wholesale censorship of scripts and film footage. This was a regular occurrence in the 1960s and Star Trek suffered from its fair share of tampering. Scripts were routinely vetted and censored by the staff of NBC's Broadcast Standards Department, which copiously annotated every script with demands for cuts or changes (e.g. "Page 4: Please delete McCoy's expletive, 'Good Lord'" or "Page 43: Caution on the embrace; avoid open-mouthed kiss").[100]

The series was noted for its sense of humor, such as Spock and McCoy's pointed, yet friendly, bickering. Certain episodes, such as "The Trouble with Tribbles", "I, Mudd" and "A Piece of the Action", were written and staged as comedies with dramatic elements. Most episodes were presented as action/adventure dramas, frequently including space battles or fist fights between the ship's crew and guest antagonists.

Several episodes used the concept of planets developing parallel to Earth, allowing reuse of stock props, costumes and sets. "Bread and Circuses", "Miri" and "The Omega Glory" depict such worlds; "A Piece of the Action", "Patterns of Force" and "Plato's Stepchildren" are based on alien planets that have adopted period Earth cultures (Prohibition-era Chicago, Nazi Germany and ancient Greece, respectively). Two episodes depicting time travel ("Tomorrow Is Yesterday" and "Assignment: Earth") conveniently place Enterprise in orbit above 1960s Earth; a third ("The City on the Edge of Forever") places members of the crew on 1930s Earth.

Top ranked episodes

Several publications have ranked the ten best episodes of Star Trek:

Rank Entertainment Weekly
(1995)[101]		 IGN
(2012)[102]		 Newsweek
(2016)[103]		 Hollywood.com
(2013)[104]		 Den of Geek
(2021)[105]
1 "The City on the Edge of Forever" "The City on the Edge of Forever" "The Doomsday Machine" "The City on the Edge of Forever" "A Taste of Armageddon"
2 "Space Seed" "Balance of Terror" "Space Seed" "Arena" "The City on the Edge of Forever"
3 "Mirror, Mirror" "Mirror, Mirror" "Mirror, Mirror" "Mirror, Mirror" "The Corbomite Maneuver"
4 "The Doomsday Machine" "Space Seed" "The Trouble with Tribbles" "Balance of Terror" "The Devil in the Dark"
5 "Amok Time" "The Trouble with Tribbles" "The Enterprise Incident" "Space Seed" "A Piece of the Action"
6 "The Devil in the Dark" "Where No Man Has Gone Before" "Journey to Babel" "The Galileo Seven" "Space Seed"
7 "The Trouble with Tribbles" "The Enemy Within" "Balance of Terror" "Amok Time" "Balance of Terror"
8 "This Side of Paradise" "The Naked Time" "Arena" "Journey to Babel" "Arena"
9 "The Enterprise Incident" "This Side of Paradise" "Amok Time" "The Doomsday Machine" "Let That Be Your Last Battlefield"
10 "Journey to Babel" "Arena" "The City on the Edge of Forever" "The Enterprise Incident" "The Man Trap"

Of the twenty-one different episodes listed above, thirteen – "Where No Man Has Gone Before", "The Enemy Within", "The Naked Time", "Balance of Terror", "The Galileo Seven", "Arena", "Space Seed", "This Side of Paradise", "The Devil in the Dark", "A Taste of Armageddon", "The Corbomite Maneuver", "The Man Trap", and "The City on the Edge of Forever" – are from the first season and six – "Amok Time", "The Doomsday Machine", "Mirror, Mirror", "The Trouble with Tribbles", "A Piece of the Action", and "Journey to Babel" – are from the second season. Only two – "The Enterprise Incident" and "Let That Be Your Last Battlefield" – derive from the third season.

Only two episodes, "The City on the Edge of Forever" and "Space Seed", appear on all five lists.

Leonard Nimoy: Star Trek Memories

In 1983, Leonard Nimoy hosted a one-hour special as a promotional tie-in with the film Star Trek III: The Search for Spock, in which he recounted his memories of working on the original series and explained the origins of things such as the Vulcan nerve pinch and the Vulcan salute, as well as a re-airing of the TOS episode "Space Seed".[106]

Music

Theme tune

Main article: Theme from Star Trek

The show's theme tune was written by Alexander Courage and has been featured in several Star Trek spin-off episodes and motion pictures. Gene Roddenberry subsequently wrote a set of accompanying lyrics, even though the lyrics were never used in the series, nor did Roddenberry ever intend them to be; this allowed him to claim co-composer credit and hence 50% of the theme's performance royalties. Courage considered Roddenberry's actions, while entirely legal, to be unethical.[107] Series producer Robert Justman noted in the book Inside Star Trek: The Real Story, that work on the film Doctor Dolittle kept Courage from working on more than two episodes of the first season. However, Justman also believed that Courage lost enthusiasm for the series because of the "royalty" issue.[44]: 185  Courage did not score any episodes of the second season; however, he did conduct a recording session for about 30 minutes of "library cues" for the second season, on June 16, 1967.[108] Courage returned to score two episodes of the third season.

Later episodes used stock recordings from Courage's earlier work. Jazz trumpeter Maynard Ferguson recorded a jazz fusion version of the tune with his band during the late 1970s, and Nichelle Nichols performed the song live complete with lyrics.

The lyrics for the song are:

Beyond the rim of the starlight
My love is wandering in star flight
I know he'll find
In star clustered reaches
Love, strange love
A starwoman teaches

I know his journey ends never
His Star Trek will go on forever
But tell him while
He wanders his starry sea
Remember
Remember me[109]

Dramatic underscore

For budgetary reasons, this series made significant use of "tracked" music, or music written for other episodes that was reused in later episodes. Of the 79 episodes that were broadcast, only 31 had complete or partial original dramatic underscores created specifically for them. The remainder of the music in any episode was tracked from other episodes and from cues recorded for the music library. Which episodes would have new music was mostly the decision of Robert H. Justman, the Associate Producer during the first two seasons.

Screen credits for the composers were given based on the amount of music composed for, or composed and reused in, the episode. Some of these final music credits were occasionally incorrect.

Beyond the short works of "source" music (music whose source is seen or acknowledged onscreen) created for specific episodes, eight composers were contracted to create original dramatic underscore during the series run: Alexander Courage, George Duning, Jerry Fielding, Gerald Fried, Sol Kaplan, Samuel Matlovsky, Joseph Mullendore, and Fred Steiner. The composers conducted their own music. Of these composers, Steiner composed the original music for thirteen episodes and it is his instrumental arrangement of Alexander Courage's main theme that is heard over many of the end title credits of the series.

The tracked musical underscores were chosen and edited to the episode by the music editors, principal of whom were Robert Raff (most of Season One), Jim Henrikson (Season One and Two), and Richard Lapham (Season Three).[110]

Some of the original recordings of the music were released in the United States commercially on the GNP Crescendo Record Co. label. Music for a number of the episodes was re-recorded by Fred Steiner and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra for the Varèse Sarabande label; and by Tony Bremner with the Royal Philharmonic for the Label X label. Finally in December 2012, the complete original recordings were released by La-La Land Records as a 15-CD box set, with liner notes by Jeff Bond.[111]

Episodes with original music

Listed in production order. Episodes that were only partially scored are in italics.[112]

Season 1:

  1. "The Cage"/"The Menagerie" (Alexander Courage)
  2. "Where No Man Has Gone Before" (Alexander Courage)
  3. "The Corbomite Maneuver" (Fred Steiner)
  4. "Mudd's Women" (Fred Steiner)
  5. "The Enemy Within" (Sol Kaplan)
  6. "The Man Trap" (Alexander Courage)
  7. "The Naked Time" (Alexander Courage)
  8. "Charlie X" (Fred Steiner)
  9. "Balance of Terror" (Fred Steiner)
  10. "What Are Little Girls Made Of?" (Fred Steiner)
  11. "The Conscience of the King" (Joseph Mullendore)
  12. "Shore Leave" (Gerald Fried)
  13. "The City on the Edge of Forever" (Fred Steiner)

Season 2:

  1. "Catspaw" (Gerald Fried)
  2. "Metamorphosis" (George Duning)
  3. "Friday's Child" (Gerald Fried)
  4. "Who Mourns for Adonais?" (Fred Steiner)
  5. "Amok Time" (Gerald Fried)
  6. "The Doomsday Machine" (Sol Kaplan)
  7. "Mirror, Mirror" (Fred Steiner)
  8. "I, Mudd" (Samuel Matlovsky)
  9. "The Trouble with Tribbles" (Jerry Fielding)
  10. "By Any Other Name" (Fred Steiner)
  11. "Patterns of Force" (George Duning)
  12. "The Omega Glory" (Fred Steiner)
  13. "Return to Tomorrow" (George Duning)

Season 3:

  1. "Spectre of the Gun" (Jerry Fielding)
  2. "Elaan of Troyius" (Fred Steiner)
  3. "The Paradise Syndrome" (Gerald Fried)
  4. "The Enterprise Incident" (Alexander Courage)
  5. "And the Children Shall Lead" (George Duning)
  6. "Spock's Brain" (Fred Steiner)
  7. "Is There in Truth No Beauty?" (George Duning)
  8. "The Empath" (George Duning)
  9. "Plato's Stepchildren" (Alexander Courage)

Note: Although "The Way to Eden" had no original score, the episode had special musical material by Arthur Heinemann (the episode's writer), guest star Charles Napier and Craig Robertson. "Requiem for Methuselah" contains a Johannes Brahms interpretation by Ivan Ditmars.

Awards

Main article: List of awards and nominations received by Star Trek: The Original Series

Although this series never won any Emmys, Star Trek was nominated for the following Emmy Awards:

  • Outstanding Dramatic Series (Gene Roddenberry and Gene L. Coon), 1967
  • Outstanding Dramatic Series (Gene Roddenberry), 1968
  • Outstanding Supporting Actor (Leonard Nimoy as Mr. Spock), 1967, 1968, 1969
  • Individual Achievement in Art Direction and Allied Crafts (Jim Rugg), 1967
  • Individual Achievement in Cinematography (Darrell Anderson, Linwood G. Dunn, and Joseph Westheimer), 1967
  • Individual Achievement in Film and Sound Editing (Doug Grindstaff), 1967
  • Outstanding Achievement in Film Editing (Donald R. Rode), 1968
  • Special Classification of Individual Achievement for Photographic Effects (The Westheimer Company), 1968
  • Outstanding Achievement in Art Direction and Scenic Design (John Dwyer and Walter M. Jefferies), 1969
  • Outstanding Achievement in Film Editing (Donald R. Rode), 1969
  • Special Classification Achievements for Photographic Effects (The Howard A. Anderson Company, The Westheimer Company, Van der Veer Photo Effects, Cinema Research), 1969.

Eight of its episodes were nominated for one of science-fiction's top awards, the Hugo Award, in the category "Best Dramatic Presentation". In 1967, the nominated episodes were "The Naked Time", "The Corbomite Maneuver", and "The Menagerie". In 1968, all nominees were Star Trek episodes: "Amok Time", "Mirror, Mirror", "The Doomsday Machine", "The Trouble with Tribbles", and "The City on the Edge of Forever". Star Trek won both years for the episodes "The Menagerie" and "The City on the Edge of Forever", respectively. In 1968, Star Trek won a special Hugo Award for Dramatic Presentation. No episode was named. This was the show's 3rd Hugo Award, and 9th Hugo nomination.

In 1967, Star Trek was also one of the first television programs to receive an NAACP Image Award.

In 1968, Star Trek's most critically acclaimed episode, "The City on the Edge of Forever," written by Harlan Ellison, won the prestigious Writers Guild of America Award for Best Original Teleplay, although this was for Ellison's original draft script, and not for the screenplay of the episode as it aired.

In 1997, "The City on the Edge of Forever" was ranked #92 on TV Guide's 100 Greatest Episodes of All Time.[113]

In 2004 and 2007, TV Guide ranked Star Trek as the greatest cult show ever.[114][115]

In 2013, TV Guide ranked Star Trek as the greatest sci-fi show (along with Star Trek: The Next Generation)[116] and the #12 greatest show of all time.[117]

Distribution

Home media

Episodes of the Original Series were among the first television series to be released on the VHS and laserdisc formats in North America. The first episode on VHS for sale to the public was Space Seed released in June 1982 (to celebrate the release of the second Star Trek film, The Wrath of Khan) at a price of $29.95, as prior to this titles were rental only.[118] In 1985, the first 10 episodes went on sale on video at a price of $14.95 with further batches of 10 during 1985 and 1986, making it the first long-running TV series to be released on home video in its entirety,[119] with all episodes eventually being released on both formats. By 1986, sales had reached 1 million units.[120] With the advent of DVD in the mid-1990s, single DVDs featuring two episodes each in production order were released. In the early 2000s, Paramount Home Video reissued the series to DVD in a series of three deluxe season boxes with added featurettes and documentaries. In February 2009 CBS and Paramount announced that they would release the Original Series on Blu-ray. Season one, two, and three were released on April 28, September 22, and December 15, respectively. The Blu-ray releases let the user choose between "Enhanced Effects" or "Original Effects" via a technique called multi-angle.[121]

All 79 episodes of the series have been digitally remastered by CBS Home Entertainment (distributed by Paramount) and have since been released on DVD. CBS Home Entertainment released season one of The Original Series on Blu-ray on April 28, 2009. The Blu-ray release contains both Original and Remastered episodes by seamless branching.

Blu-ray name Ep # Discs Region 1/A (USA) Region 2/B (UK) Region 4/B (Australia) Blu-ray special features
Season One 29 7 April 28, 2009 April 27, 2009 May 6, 2009 Starfleet Access for "Where No Man Has Gone Before"

Spacelift: Transporting Trek Into the 21st Century

Starfleet Access for "The Menagerie, Parts I and II"

Reflections on Spock

Starfleet Access for "The Balance of Terror"

Life Beyond Trek: William Shatner

To Boldly Go... Season One

The Birth of a Timeless Legacy

Starfleet Access for "Space Seed"

Sci-Fi Visionaries

Interactive Enterprise Inspection

Billy Blackburn's Treasure Chest: Rare Home Movies and Special Memories

Kiss 'n' Tell: Romance in the 23rd Century

Starfleet Access for "Errand of Mercy"

Season Two 26 7 September 22, 2009 October 9, 2009 October 1, 2009 Billy Blackburn's Treasure Chest: Rare Home Movies and Special Memories Part 2

Starfleet Access for "Amok Time"

"Content to Go" featurette via Mobile-Blu: Writing Spock

"Content to Go" featurette via Mobile-Blu: Creating Chekov

"Content to Go" featurette via Mobile-Blu: Listening to the Actors

"More Tribbles, More Troubles" audio commentary by David Gerrold

DS9: "Trials and Tribble-ations"

"Trials and Tribble-ations": Uniting Two Legends

Star Trek: The Original Series on Blu-ray

"Trials and Tribble-ations": An Historic Endeavor

Starfleet Access for "The Trouble with Tribbles"

"Content to Go" featurette via Mobile-Blu: Spock's Mother

To Boldly Go... Season Two

Designing the Final Frontier

Star Trek's Favorite Moments

Writer's Notebook: D.C. Fontana

Life Beyond Trek: Leonard Nimoy

Kirk, Spock & Bones: Star Trek's Great Trio

Star Trek's Divine Diva: Nichelle Nichols

Enhanced Visual Effects Credits

Season Three 24 6 December 15, 2009 March 22, 2010 May 1, 2013 Life Beyond Trek: Walter Koenig

Chief Engineer's Log

Memoir from Mr. Sulu

Captain's Log: Bob Justman

"Where No Man Has Gone Before" (Unaired, alternate version)

David Gerrold Hosts 2009 Convention Coverage

"The Anthropology of Star Trek" Comic-Con Panel 2009

The World of Rod Roddenberry – Comic-Con 2009

Billy Blackburn's Treasure Chest: Rare Home Movies and Special Memories Part 3

To Boldly Go... Season Three

Collectible Trek

Star Trek's Impact

Online distribution

CBS Interactive is presenting all 3 seasons of the series via the tv.com iPhone app. The full-length episodes, without the new CGI but digitally processed to remove the original celluloid artifacts, are available to users in the US at no charge but with embedded ads. Short clips from the shows are also viewable at their web site.[122] The company has recently presented all 3 seasons of the series via its Paramount+ premium streaming service. It has all full-length episodes, without the new CGI, like the tv.com app, and is available to users in the US with subscription without ad interruptions.

In January 2007, the first season of Star Trek: The Original Series became available for download from Apple's iTunes Store. Although consumer reviews indicate that some of the episodes on iTunes are the newly "remastered" editions, iTunes editors had not indicated such, and if so, which are which. All first-season episodes that had been remastered and aired were available from iTunes, except "Where No Man Has Gone Before", which remains in its original form. On March 20, 2007, the first season was again added to the iTunes Store, with separate downloads for the original and remastered versions of the show, though according to the customer reviews, the original version contains minor revisions such as special effect enhancements.[citation needed]

Netflix began online streaming of five of the six Star Trek television series on July 1, 2011; Deep Space Nine followed on October 1, 2011.[123]

Films

The Original Series films

Main article: Star Trek (film series) § The Original Series films

Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry first suggested the idea of a Star Trek feature in 1969.[124] When the original television series was canceled, he lobbied to continue the franchise through a film. The success of the series in syndication convinced the studio to begin work on a feature film in 1975.[125] A series of writers attempted to craft a suitably epic screenplay, but the attempts did not satisfy Paramount, so the studio scrapped the project in 1977. Paramount instead planned on returning the franchise to its roots with a new television series (Phase II). The massive worldwide box office success of Star Wars in mid-1977 sent Hollywood studios to their vaults in search of similar sci-fi properties that could be adapted or re-launched to the big screen. Following the huge opening of Columbia's Close Encounters of the Third Kind in late December 1977, production of Phase II was cancelled in favor of making a Star Trek film.[126] Beginning with Star Trek: The Motion Picture in 1979, it was followed by five sequels, 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) and Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country (1991). Leonard Nimoy directed Star Treks III and IV, while William Shatner directed Star Trek V.

Reboot films (The Kelvin Timeline)

Main article: Star Trek (film series) § The Kelvin Timeline

After the poor reception of the final Next Generation film Nemesis and the cancellation of the television series Enterprise, the franchise's executive producer Rick Berman and screenwriter Erik Jendresen began developing a new film,[127] titled Star Trek: The Beginning, which would take place after Enterprise but before The Original Series.[128] In February 2007, J. J. Abrams accepted Paramount's offer to direct the new film, having been previously attached as producer.[129] Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman wrote a screenplay that impressed Abrams, featuring new actors portraying younger versions of the original series' cast. The Enterprise, its interior, and the original uniforms were redesigned.

This revival of the franchise is often considered to be a reboot, but is also a continuation of the franchise, with Nimoy reprising his role of the elderly Spock. This route was taken to free the new films from the restrictions of established continuity without completely discarding it, which the writers felt would have been "disrespectful". This new reality was informally referred to by several names, including the "Abramsverse", "JJ Trek" and "NuTrek", before it was named the "Kelvin Timeline" (versus the "Prime Timeline" of the original series and films) by Michael and Denise Okuda for use in official Star Trek reference guides and encyclopedias. The name Kelvin comes from the USS Kelvin, a starship involved in the event that creates the new reality in Star Trek (2009).[130] Abrams named the starship after his grandfather Henry Kelvin, whom he also pays tribute to in Into Darkness with the Kelvin Memorial Archive.[130][131]

The three films in the Kelvin Timeline include Star Trek (2009), Star Trek Into Darkness (2013) and Star Trek Beyond (2016). The last was dedicated to Nimoy, who died in 2015 and Anton Yelchin, who died in a car crash in the summer it was released.

Merchandising

Star Trek: The Original Series has inspired many commercial products, including toys, comic books, and many other materials. The comics are generally considered non-canon.

Action figures

In the early 1970s the Mego Corporation acquired the license to produce Star Trek action figures, which the company successfully marketed from 1974 to 1976. During this period, the company produced a line of 8" figures featuring Captain Kirk, Mr. Spock, Leonard McCoy, Mr. Scott, Lt. Uhura, "Aliens" (a Klingon, a Neptunian, the Keeper, a Gorn, a Cheron, a Romulan, a Talosian, an Andorian, and a Mugato), and numerous playsets. (Mego also produced a "life-size" toy tricorder.)

In the mid-2000s, Paul "Dr. Mego" Clarke and Joe Sena founded EMCE Toys (pronounced "MC") to bring Mego toys back to the marketplace. (Mego went out of business in 1983.)[132] Working with Diamond Select Toys, current holders of the Star Trek license, these figures have been selling in comics shops. New characters are currently[when?] being produced that Mego did not originally make, such as Lt. Sulu, Ensign Chekov, and "Space Seed" villain Khan Noonien Singh. The Gorn that Mego produced had a brown Lizard head (identical to the Marvel Comics villain) on a brown body wearing a Klingon outfit. Star Trek fans had frequently wished that Mego had made a "TV-accurate" Gorn; EMCE Toys and DST produced a new green Gorn based on the TV episode "Arena".[citation needed] EMCE Toys hired original Mego packaging artist Harold Schull to illustrate new artwork for Sulu, Chekov, Khan, and the Gorn.[citation needed] EMCE Toys is continuing the Mego revival with the production of more Star Trek figures, including Captain Pike and the Salt Vampire.[citation needed]

Comic books

Main article: Star Trek (comics)

The first Star Trek comics were published by Gold Key Comics between 1967 and 1978. These comics were highly stylized and diverged wildly from the TV series continuity. Most storylines used in the Gold Key series featured original characters and concepts, although later issues did include sequels to the original series episodes "The City on the Edge of Forever", "Metamorphosis" and "I, Mudd". Writers included George Kashdan, Arnold Drake and Len Wein. Originally they were illustrated by Alberto Giolitti, an Italian artist who had never seen the series and only had publicity photos to use as references. Since Giolitti didn't have a publicity photo of James Doohan, early issues of the series had Mr. Scott drawn differently. The original issues, most of which featured photographic covers showing images from the series, are highly collectable. They are fondly remembered by fans, and a series of reprints ("The Key Collection") of these original titles began to appear in 2004, published by Checker. The Gold Key series had a run of 61 issues. Gold Key lost the Star Trek license to Marvel Comics in 1979 (although Marvel's license from Paramount prohibited them from utilizing concepts introduced in the original series).[133]

From 1969 to 1973, a series of weekly Star Trek comic strips ran in the British comics magazine eventually known as TV Century 21. A total of 258 issues were produced, as well as various annuals and specials. All were original stories. Two more annuals, under the Mighty TV Comic banner, also produced original Star Trek materials. In addition, the weekly TV Comic reprinted serialized versions of the U.S. Gold Key comics.[134]

In 1977–1978, before home video was widely available, Mandala Productions and Bantam Books published FotoNovels of TOS that included direct adaptations of actual color television episode frames (with word balloons) in comics format.

From February 1984 through February 1996, DC Comics held the license to publish comic books based upon the Star Trek franchise, including Star Trek: The Original Series. The main DC Comics Star Trek title was published in two series, comprising 136 issues, 9 annuals, and a number of special issues, plus several mini-series that linked TOS and the subsequent series Star Trek: The Next Generation (TNG).

Marvel Comics again obtained the Star Trek license in 1996. Marvel (under the "Marvel/Paramount comics" imprint) published various one-shots and the quarterly Star Trek Unlimited series, which covered TOS as well as TNG.[135] They also introduced the new series Star Trek: Early Voyages, which dealt with Christopher Pike's adventures as captain of the Enterprise (as depicted in the rejected TOS pilot "The Cage"). Fan acceptance of these comics got off to a shaky start when Marvel's inaugural publication of its new Star Trek line turned out to be a crossover between TOS and Marvel's popular superhero team, the X-Men. However, the series turned out to be relatively popular, registering strong sales.

Beginning in 2006, Tokyopop published two projects based upon the original series. The new comic anthologies, produced by Joshua Ortega, were released annually in September 2006 (Shinsei Shinsei) and 2007 (Kakan ni Shinkou). Five artists and writer teams presented five new stories, per volume, based on the original series.[136]

Legacy and cultural influence

Main article: Cultural influence of Star Trek

Parodies

The Original Series has been parodied many times in other television series. Saturday Night Live produced two famous sketches parodying The Original Series, "The Last Voyage of the Starship Enterprise" in 1976[137] and William Shatner's own "Get a life" sketch in 1986 (which parodied the show's "trekkie" followers). "The Last Voyage of the Starship Enterprise" is a twelve-minute sketch, written by Michael O'Donoghue. It was described by TrekMovie.com as "one of the best Star Trek parody sketches of all time".[137] TVSquad ranked Shatner's "Get a life" sketch alongside "The Last Voyage ..." as one of the most famous parodies of the show.[138]

The Canadian comedy duo Wayne and Shuster parodied Star Trek as Star Schtick in the late 1970s. An entire Finnish parody series Star Wreck was produced starting in 1992, culminating with Star Wreck: In the Pirkinning in 2005, all available as legal downloads on the web.[139]

The series has also been parodied on The Simpsons,[138] Family Guy and notably in the Futurama episode "Where No Fan Has Gone Before", which was described by Wired magazine as a "touchstone" for fans.[140] The 1999 film Galaxy Quest portrays the lives of a once-popular television space-drama crew who are kidnapped by real aliens who have mistaken the fictional series for reality.[141][142] The main characters are parodies of Star Trek characters, and many of the plot elements refer to or parody popular 1960s TV-series customs.[143] On Adult Swim's FishCenter Live, a parody of the USS Enterprise was featured called the "USS FishCenterprise NCC-1065."[144]

The series was also parodied in print as "Star Blecch" in the December, 1967 issue of Mad Magazine (Issue #115)[145]

John Scalzi's novel Redshirts, winner of the 2013 Hugo Award for Best Novel, uses the theme of red-shirted Star Fleet officers as cannon fodder.

(T)raumschiff Surprise – Periode 1 (2004) is a movie directed by Michael Herbig which parodies Star Trek and Star Wars.

Fan productions

See also: Star Trek fan productions

Star Trek has inspired many fans to produce stories for free Internet distribution. Many of these are set in the time of The Original Series, including Star Trek: Phase II which was nominated for a Hugo Award and received support from actors and writers who were involved with The Original Series.

"Star Trek: Continues" chronicles the last year of the 5-year voyage of The Enterprise. Gene Roddenberry's son, "Rod", announced after a showing in 2014 that this series would have been considered canon by his father.[146] Comprising 11 full episodes and numerous additional materials, Star Trek: Continues was produced from 2013 to 2017 and funded by a kickstarter.

Series sequels

Main article: List of Star Trek television series
 
The Captains, together in London at Destination Star Trek

The original Star Trek was followed in 1973 and beyond with more shows filling in its legacy, including the equally successful, yet ever-popular The Next Generation, starring Patrick Stewart as Captain Jean-Luc Picard. The following series include:

Reception

Rod Serling said of the series that "Star Trek was again a very inconsistent show which at times sparkled with true ingenuity and pure science fiction approaches. At other times it was more carnival-like, and very much more the creature of television than the creature of a legitimate literary form."[147]

Isaac Asimov and Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry developed a unique relationship during Star Trek's initial run in the late 1960s. Asimov wrote a critical essay on Star Trek's scientific accuracy for TV Guide magazine. Roddenberry retorted respectfully with a personal letter explaining the limitations of accuracy when writing a weekly series. Asimov corrected himself with a follow-up essay to TV Guide claiming despite its inaccuracies, that Star Trek was a fresh and intellectually challenging science fiction television show. The two remained friends to the point where Asimov even served as an adviser on a number of Star Trek projects.[148]

On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, Season 1 received an approval rating of 92% based on 24 reviews, with an average rating of 9/10. The critical consensus reads, "An optimistic ode to humanity, Star Trek may look dated, but its gadgetry and solid storytelling solidify its place as one of pop culture's most enduring franchises."[149] Season 2 received an approval rating of 100% based on 6 reviews, with an average rating of 7.33/10.[150] Season 3 received an approval rating of 50% based on 10 reviews, with an average rating of 5.5/10. The critical consensus reads, "Budget cuts leave the stars of Star Trek stranded among shoddy set pieces and clunky writing – though even at its worst fans may still enjoy its campy delights."[151]

In 2016, in a listing that included each Star Trek film and TV series together, this series was ranked first by the L.A. Times, ahead of the 1982 film Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan and Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, in third place.[152]

In 2017, Vulture ranked the original Star Trek the third best live-action Star Trek television show, while at the same time praising it for "laying down the foundation".[153]

In 2018, IndieWire ranked Star Trek the original series as the 8th best space science fiction show set in outer space, including 18 overall shows from this genre.[154]

In 2018, Io9/Gizmodo ranked the fictional spacecraft design shown in this television series, the Enterprise, as the number one best version of starship Enterprise of the Star Trek franchise.[155] They felt that the original design was still superior to almost a dozen different later versions.[155]

In 2019, Nerdist ranked the original series number one best out of seven Star Trek franchise television series, including up to the second season of Star Trek: Discovery.[156]

In 2019, Popular Mechanics ranked Star Trek the 6th best science fiction television show ever.[157]

In 2021, Empire magazine ranked it the 36th greatest television show ever.[158]

See also

References

  1. ^ "Star Trek". imdb.com. September 8, 1966. from the original on July 21, 2010. Retrieved July 19, 2010.
  2. ^ a b Strauss, Larry (September 3, 1998). "Trekkers' paradise found on local TV". News-Press. Fort Myers, Florida. p. E1. from the original on September 5, 2019. Retrieved September 5, 2019 – via newspapers.com. (Strauss:) ... thanks ... to the Sci-Fi Channel ... which brought the original series back to TV Tuesday night. Dubbed 'Star Trek: The Original Series', scenes that were cut from episodes that aired in syndication have been restored, and shows have been digitally remastered and color-corrected.
  3. ^ "Star Trek (a titles & telecast dates guide)". epguides.com. from the original on February 24, 2010. Retrieved April 4, 2010.
  4. ^ "Today's TV Previews". Montreal Gazette. September 6, 1966. p. 36. from the original on April 8, 2017. Retrieved September 8, 2016.
  5. ^ a b Asherman, Allan (1981). The Star Trek Compendium. New York: Simon & Schuster. ISBN 0-671-79145-1.
  6. ^ a b Roddenberry, Gene (March 11, 1964). Star Trek Pitch May 12, 2016, at the Wayback Machine, first draft. Accessed at LeeThomson.myzen.co.uk.
  7. ^ . Startrek.com. Archived from the original on July 3, 2009. Retrieved July 14, 2009.
  8. ^ Okuda, Michael; Okuda, Denise (November 1, 1996). Star Trek Chronology: The History of the Future. ISBN 0-671-53610-9.
  9. ^ a b c d Whitfield, Stephen E.; Roddenberry, Gene (1968). The Making of Star Trek. New York: Ballantine Books. ISBN 0-345-31554-5. OCLC 23859.
  10. ^ Beck, Donald R. (Director) (1991). Star Trek: 25th Anniversary Special.
  11. ^ Okuda, Michael; Okuda, Denise (1996). Star Trek Chronology: The History of the Future. Pocket Books. ISBN 0-671-53610-9.
  12. ^ Okuda, Michael; Okuda, Denise; Mirek, Debbie (1994). The Star Trek Encyclopedia. ISBN 0671869051.
  13. ^ "Enterprise, U.S.S." April 21, 2007. from the original on July 12, 2010. Retrieved October 16, 2017.
  14. ^ "The Counter-Clock Incident". Star Trek: The Animated Series. Season 2. Episode 6. Paramount Television. October 12, 1974. NBC.
  15. ^ a b "Star TrekHistory – Behind the Scenes". startrekhistory.com. from the original on February 17, 2015. Retrieved February 12, 2015.
  16. ^ a b "Articles & Archives". dartmouth.org. from the original on February 18, 2014. Retrieved February 12, 2015.
  17. ^ Meryl Gottlieb (July 8, 2016). "Lucille Ball is the reason we have 'Star Trek' – here's what happened". Business Insider. from the original on January 10, 2017. Retrieved January 4, 2017.
  18. ^ a b c "Desilu". Memory Alpha. from the original on March 3, 2015. Retrieved February 12, 2015.
  19. ^ "Herbert F. Solow". Memory Alpha. from the original on January 29, 2015. Retrieved February 12, 2015.
  20. ^ Roberta Pearson; Máire Messenger Davies (2014). Star Trek and American Television. University of California Press. pp. 21–. ISBN 978-0-520-95920-0. from the original on May 17, 2016. Retrieved February 12, 2015.
  21. ^ Greenberger, Robert (2012). Star Trek. ISBN 9780760343593.
  22. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Davies, Máire Messenger; Pearson, Roberta; Michael Lowell Henry (2007). "The Little Program That Could: The Relationship Between NBC and Star Trek". In Hilmes, Michele; Henry, Michael Lowell (eds.). NBC: America's Network. University of California Press. pp. 212–222. ISBN 978-0-520-25079-6. from the original on June 11, 2016. Retrieved November 12, 2015.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  23. ^ Spiegel, Lee (February 6, 2012). "Nichelle Nichols on Having First Major Black Female TV Role And That First Interracial Kiss On 'Star Trek'". The Huffington Post. from the original on July 31, 2012. Retrieved August 11, 2012.
  24. ^ "How Lucille Ball Made Star Trek Happen" March 15, 2015, at the Wayback Machine (September 8, 2013). BadAssDigest.com (Birth.Movies.Death).
  25. ^ "Matt Jefferies". Memory Alpha. from the original on February 18, 2015. Retrieved February 12, 2015.
  26. ^ William Shatner; Chip Walter; William Walters (2002). I'm Working on That: A Trek From Science Fiction to Science Fact. Star Trek. ISBN 978-0-671-04737-5. Retrieved June 26, 2010.
  27. ^ "The Man Trap". IMDb. September 8, 1966. from the original on December 22, 2017. Retrieved June 30, 2018.
  28. ^ a b c d e f g h "Television Obscurities – A Look at Star Trek". Television Obscurities. September 1, 2006. from the original on August 16, 2011. Retrieved May 14, 2011.
  29. ^ Millrod, Jack (September 16, 1996). "The Trek Continues (? Illegible)". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. p. D1. from the original on May 8, 2016. Retrieved April 26, 2011.
  30. ^ "The numbers game, part one". Broadcasting. September 19, 1966: 58–60.
  31. ^ Gowran, Clay. "Nielsen Ratings Are Dim on New Shows". Chicago Tribune. October 11, 1966: B10.
  32. ^ Gould, Jack. "How Does Your Favorite Rate? Maybe Higher Than You Think". The New York Times. October 16, 1966: 129.
  33. ^ Scheuer, Steven H. (February 20, 1967). "TV Key Mailbag". The Morning Record. Meriden, Connecticut. p. 4A. from the original on May 5, 2016. Retrieved May 12, 2011.
  34. ^ Pohl, Frederik (February 1967). "More About Being Bad". Editorial. Galaxy Science Fiction. pp. 4, 6.
  35. ^ a b c d e f g h Pearson, Roberta; Niki Strange (2011). "Cult Television as Digital Television's Cutting Edge". In Bennett, James; Strange, Niki (eds.). Television as Digital Media. Duke University Press. pp. 105–131. ISBN 978-0-8223-4910-5.
  36. ^ Bob Thomas (May 25, 1976). "Roddenberry would like to leave 'Star Trek' behind". Williamson Daily News. Williamson, WV. Associated Press. p. 14. from the original on December 22, 2015. Retrieved May 15, 2011.
  37. ^ "NBC fills final hole for 1967–68." Broadcasting. March 6, 1967: 52.
  38. ^ Gent, George. "Alex Segal to Produce 3 Danny Thomas TV Shows." The New York Times. March 15, 1967: 9.5.
  39. ^ a b Lowry, Cynthia (March 29, 1968). "TV Fans Save Space Ship Enterprise From Mothballs". Florence Times – Tri-Cities Daily. Florence, AL: Tri-Cities Newspapers, Inc. Associated Press. p. 15. from the original on March 11, 2016. Retrieved November 3, 2013.
  40. ^ a b c Lowry, Cynthia (January 17, 1968). "One Network Goes 'Unconventional'". Nashua Telegraph. Associated Press. p. 13. from the original on May 11, 2016. Retrieved April 29, 2011.
  41. ^ "US TV Nielsen Ratings 1967–1968". The Classic TV Archive. from the original on January 21, 2011. Retrieved April 29, 2011.
  42. ^ a b c d Poe, Stephen Edward (1998). A Vision of the Future. Simon & Schuster. pp. 138–139. ISBN 0-671-53481-5. from the original on June 23, 2020. Retrieved July 14, 2017.
  43. ^ Conley, Rita (April 16, 1972). "Day-To-Day Fare Can Help People Cope With Life". Sarasota Herald-Tribune. p. 13. from the original on May 6, 2016. Retrieved May 4, 2011.
  44. ^ a b Solow, Herbert F.; Justman, Robert H. (1997). Inside Star Trek: The Real Story. Simon & Schuster. ISBN 0-671-00974-5.
  45. ^ a b c d Page, Don (August 15, 1968). "'Star Trek' Lives Despite Taboos". Toledo Blade. from the original on May 12, 2016. Retrieved April 29, 2011.
  46. ^ Michaud, Michael A.G. (1986). Reaching for the high frontier: the American pro-space movement, 1972–84. Praeger. ISBN 0-275-92150-6.
  47. ^ a b "Letters For 'Star Trek' Hit 114,667". The Modesto Bee. April 14, 1968. p. 26. Retrieved December 9, 2014.
  48. ^ "Star Trekkers Are Restored May 12, 2012, at the Wayback Machine". Hartford Courant March 17, 1968. 12H.
  49. ^ a b c Scott, Vernon (February 7, 1968). "Letters Can Save 'Star Trek'". The Press-Courier. Oxnard, California. United Press International. p. 17. from the original on April 24, 2016. Retrieved April 29, 2011.
  50. ^ Harrison, Scott (April 25, 2011). "'Star Trek' protest". Los Angeles Times. from the original on May 25, 2011. Retrieved April 26, 2011.
  51. ^ a b c Svetkey, Benjamin (September 27, 1991). "The 'Enterprise' turns 25". Entertainment Weekly. from the original on November 19, 2011. Retrieved May 14, 2011.
  52. ^ David Gerrold, quoting Bjo Trimble, in The World of Star Trek, Ballantine Books, 1973, p. 166.
  53. ^ Lowry, Cynthia (May 21, 1969). "Why Some Shows Expired". The Free Lance-Star. Fredericksburg, Virginia. Associated Press. p. 2. from the original on April 29, 2016. Retrieved May 6, 2011.
  54. ^ "Laugh-In staying put." Broadcasting. March 18, 1968: 9.
  55. ^ "Missing links in the TV chains." Broadcasting. January 13, 1969: 48–52.
  56. ^ David Gerrold, The World of Star Trek, Ballantine Books, 1973.
  57. ^ "Fall line-ups go on the street." Broadcasting. March 4, 1968: 23–28.
  58. ^ Shatner, William (1993). Star Trek Memories. p. 266.
  59. ^ Nimoy, Leonard (1995). I Am Spock. p. 120.
  60. ^ Shatner, William (1993). Star Trek Memories. pp. 290–293.
  61. ^ Nichols, Nichelle (1994). Beyond Uhura: Star Trek and Other Memories. G. P. Putnam's. p. 189. ISBN 0-399-13993-1. from the original on May 8, 2016. Retrieved November 12, 2015.
  62. ^ "Star Trek". CBS Studios. Startrek.com. from the original on June 28, 2010. Retrieved June 26, 2010. "78 episodes (counting the two-part "The Menagerie" only once, and not counting the first commissioned pilot, "The Cage," which did not air during this time)."
  63. ^ "Ask TV Scout". The Palm Beach Post. July 18, 1969. Retrieved April 29, 2011.
  64. ^ "25 Biggest TV Blunders 2". 25 Biggest TV Blunders. July 31, 2011. TV Guide Network. #4 – NBC Cancels 'Star Trek'
  65. ^ "Students rate television". Telegraph Herald. Dubuque, IA. April 28, 1971. p. 6. from the original on May 16, 2016. Retrieved May 12, 2011.
  66. ^ a b c Teitelbaum, Sheldon (May 5, 1991). "How Gene Roddenberry and his Brain Trust Have Boldly Taken 'Star Trek' Where No TV Series Has Gone Before : Trekking to the Top". Los Angeles Times. p. 16. from the original on November 6, 2015. Retrieved January 24, 2012.
  67. ^ a b Abbott, Stacey (March 10, 2010). The Cult TV Book. I.B. Tauris. ISBN 978-1-84885-026-2.
  68. ^ a b "Star Trek Syndication Advertisements, Circa 1969–1970". Television Obscurities. December 15, 2008. from the original on July 17, 2011. Retrieved May 15, 2011.
  69. ^ Meehan, Eileen R. (2005). Why TV is not our fault: television programming, viewers, and who's really in control. Rowman & Littlefield. ISBN 0-7425-2486-8.
  70. ^ a b c Hale, Barrie (April 26, 1975). "Believing in Captain Kirk". Calgary Herald. p. 10. from the original on September 25, 2013. Retrieved May 14, 2011.
  71. ^ a b Shult, Doug (July 3, 1972). "Cult Fans, Reruns Give 'Star Trek' an Out of This World Popularity". Milwaukee Journal. from the original on May 6, 2016. Retrieved March 4, 2011.
  72. ^ Buck, Jerry (March 14, 1972). "'Star Trek' Engenders Cult in U.S., England". Associated Press. from the original on May 10, 2016. Retrieved March 4, 2011.
  73. ^ Daley, Steve (January 4, 1987). "Staying Power: What Is It That Transforms a Few TV Programs into Cult Classics While Thousands of Others Fade into Oblivion?". Chicago Tribune. p. 4.
  74. ^ "Star Trek". Museum of Broadcast Communications. from the original on June 29, 2011. Retrieved August 11, 2012.
  75. ^ "Star Trek Rechanneled". Evening Independent. St. Petersburg, Florida. May 6, 1972. pp. 3A. from the original on May 20, 2016. Retrieved May 12, 2011.
  76. ^ Sedgeman, Judy (May 29, 1972). "Fan of Star Trek Works At Getting TV Show Returned". St. Petersburg Times. from the original on November 17, 2020. Retrieved May 4, 2011.
  77. ^ Montgomery, Paul L. (March 11, 1973). "'Star Trekkies' Show Devotion". The Ledger. Lakeland, Florida. The New York Times. p. 34. from the original on May 12, 2016. Retrieved May 12, 2011.
  78. ^ Darrach, Brad (July 25, 1977). "Leonard Nimoy Beams Himself Aboard 'Equus' and Out from Under Mr. Spock's Pointy Ears". People. from the original on March 2, 2015. Retrieved March 2, 2015.
  79. ^ Harmetz, Aljean (November 2, 1986). "New 'Star Trek' Plan Reflects Symbiosis of TV and Movies". The New York Times. p. 31. from the original on February 12, 2015. Retrieved February 11, 2015.
  80. ^ Cerone, Daniel (April 2, 1994). "Trek on into the 21st Century". Los Angeles Times. from the original on November 17, 2020. Retrieved March 7, 2011.
  81. ^ "Original Star Trek Getting a CGI Makeover!". TrekMovie.com. August 28, 2006. from the original on April 3, 2007. Retrieved April 23, 2007.
  82. ^ Anthony Pascale (November 20, 2006). "Behind the Scenes at CBS Digital". TrekMovie.com. from the original on April 3, 2007. Retrieved April 23, 2007.
  83. ^ "TOS Remastered: Format". Trekmovie.com. from the original on September 20, 2012. Retrieved September 7, 2012.
  84. ^ David Lambert (February 18, 2008). . tvshowsondvd.com. Archived from the original on February 21, 2008. Retrieved February 19, 2008.
  85. ^ David Lambert (March 21, 2008). . TVShowsOnDVD.com. Archived from the original on March 24, 2008. Retrieved March 22, 2008.
  86. ^ David Lambert (March 21, 2008). . TVShowsOnDVD.com. Archived from the original on July 30, 2008. Retrieved March 22, 2008.
  87. ^ "Star Trek – The Original Series – Season 1 – Complete Blu-ray". from the original on February 25, 2009. Retrieved February 18, 2009.
  88. ^ . Homemediamagazine.com. July 9, 2009. Archived from the original on July 16, 2009. Retrieved July 15, 2009.
  89. ^ . TVShowsOnDVD.com. Archived from the original on September 14, 2012. Retrieved September 7, 2012.
  90. ^ . TVShowsOnDVD.com. Archived from the original on October 23, 2012. Retrieved September 7, 2012.
  91. ^ Lee Speigel (November 30, 2011). "Gene Roddenberry's Son Reveals Unhappy 'Star Trek' Family Life". Huffington Post. from the original on September 18, 2018. Retrieved February 21, 2020.
  92. ^ William Shatner's Star Trek Memories – documentary film, released 1995.
  93. ^ Lindley, Robin (2005). "Russian Crewlette". snopes.com. from the original on November 17, 2020. Retrieved December 13, 2006.
  94. ^ Rioux, Terry Lee (February 1, 2005). From sawdust to stardust: the biography of DeForest Kelley, Star trek's Dr. McCoy. Simon and Schuster. ISBN 0-7434-5762-5.
  95. ^ Leonard Nimoy, I Am Spock, Hyperion Books, 1995. pp. 85–88.
  96. ^ Robert Jewett & John Lawrence, The Myth of the American Superhero, William B. Eerdsman Co, 2002. p. 230
  97. ^ Star Trek, Episode 3/13. Lucas, John Meredith. "Elaan of Troyius." First aired December 20, 1968. Retrieved October 25, 2017.
  98. ^ Brown, Mark (November 20, 2015). "TV archive discovers couple who beat Kirk and Uhura to first interracial kiss". the Guardian. from the original on November 22, 2015. Retrieved July 23, 2016.
  99. ^ McFarland, Melanie (February 14, 2006). "Interracial romance now the norm on TV, but real-life issues are ignored". Seattle Post-Intelligencer. from the original on November 17, 2020. Retrieved August 11, 2012.
  100. ^ Peter Műller, Star Trek: The American Dream Continued? The Crisis of the American Dream in the 1960s and its Reflection in a Contemporary TV Series; Oldenburg University thesis, 1994, pp. 63, 139 July 19, 2011, at the Wayback Machine.
  101. ^ "Star Trek: The Ultimate Trip Through the Galaxies". Entertainment Weekly. No. Special Edition. January 18, 1995.
  102. ^ "IGN's Top 10 Classic Star Trek Episodes". IGN. from the original on July 16, 2012. Retrieved August 11, 2012.
  103. ^ Baker, Tim (January 2, 2016). "The Top 10 Original Star Trek Episodes". Newsweek. No. Special Edition, Star Trek–50 Years. from the original on June 11, 2016. Retrieved June 9, 2016.
  104. ^ TV: Best Of/Worst Of (May 18, 2013). "Ranking All 79 'Star Trek: The Original Series' Episodes from Worst to Best". Hollywood.com. from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved June 9, 2016.
  105. ^ "The Star Trek: The Original Series Episodes That Best Define the Franchise". March 3, 2021.
  106. ^ Leonard Nimoy: Star Trek Memories at IMDb
  107. ^ "Unthemely Behavior". Urban Legends Reference Pages. March 10, 1999. from the original on November 17, 2020. Retrieved August 19, 2010.
  108. ^ Bond, Jeff. Liner notes for the Original Series Soundtrack Collection box set. La-La Land Records, 2012, season 2, pp. 29, 31.
  109. ^ "Star Trek Theme Lyrics". Lyrics On Demand. from the original on June 22, 2020. Retrieved April 8, 2019.
  110. ^ Steiner, Fred (1985). "Music for Star Trek: Scoring a Television Show in the Sixties". In Newsom, Iris (ed.). Wonderful inventions: motion pictures, broadcasting, and recorded sound at the Library of Congress. Washington: Library of Congress. OCLC 10374960.
  111. ^ . Archived from the original on January 1, 2013. Retrieved January 6, 2013.
  112. ^ Bond, Jeff (1999). "Star Trek Episode Production Guide". The Music Of Star Trek. Los Angeles: Lone Eagle Publishing Company. ISBN 1-58065-012-0.
  113. ^ "Special Collectors' Issue: 100 Greatest Episodes of All Time". TV Guide (June 28 – July 4). 1997.
  114. ^ TV Guide – The 25 Top Cult Shows Ever! May 30 – June 5, 2004 issue
  115. ^ TV Guide Names the Top Cult Shows Ever – Today's News: Our Take August 12, 2012, at the Wayback Machine TV Guide: June 29, 2007
  116. ^ "The official site of TV Guide Magazine". TV Guide Magazine. September 16–22, 2013.
  117. ^ Fretts, Bruce; Roush, Matt. "The Greatest Shows on Earth". TV Guide Magazine. 61 (3194–3195): 16–19.
  118. ^ ""Space Seed," Khan Forever Changed VHS Releases". startrek.com. from the original on July 4, 2019. Retrieved July 4, 2019.
  119. ^ "Par Home Vid Cutting Prices on 'Trek' Tapes". Daily Variety. December 21, 1984. p. 1.
  120. ^ Inc, Nielsen Business Media (August 30, 1986). Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. from the original on November 17, 2020. Retrieved July 26, 2019. {{cite book}}: |last= has generic name (help)
  121. ^ "Star Trek – The Original Series – Series 1 – Complete – Remastered [Blu-ray] [1966]: Amazon.co.uk: DVD". Amazon.co.uk. from the original on November 6, 2015. Retrieved May 23, 2009.
  122. ^ Waldman, Allison (February 21, 2008). "CBS adds TV classics to web line up". TV Squad. from the original on March 5, 2008. Retrieved March 30, 2008.
  123. ^ Pascale, Anthony (April 6, 2011). "Netflix Update: All Star Trek TV Series To Begin Streaming In July". Trekmovie.com. from the original on October 5, 2012. Retrieved August 11, 2012.
  124. ^ Reeves-Stevens, 155–158.
  125. ^ Brown, Charles, ed. (October 1975). "Star Trek Movie". Locus. 1 (180).
  126. ^ "What happened to Star Trek: Phase II? : A canceled Star Trek show from the '70s quietly shaped every sequel since". SyfyWire. SyFy. September 27, 2017. from the original on July 28, 2020. Retrieved July 28, 2020.
  127. ^ McNary, Dave (February 13, 2005). "Trekkers consider series' future". Variety. Retrieved June 1, 2007.
  128. ^ Hinman, Michael (April 12, 2006). . SyFy Portal. Archived from the original on January 9, 2008. Retrieved September 24, 2007.
  129. ^ Siegel, Tatiana (February 24, 2007). . The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on May 16, 2008. Retrieved April 14, 2008.
  130. ^ a b . MSN. June 27, 2016. Archived from the original on August 19, 2016. Retrieved July 24, 2016.
  131. ^ Staff, TrekCore (June 26, 2016). "STAR TREK Alternate Universe Finally Gets Official Name | TrekCore Blog". trekcore.com. from the original on July 23, 2016. Retrieved July 24, 2016.
  132. ^ Caringer, Kevin. "The Rise and Fall of a Toy Giant," May 30, 2015, at the Wayback Machine White's Guide to Collecting Figures vol. 2, #1 (Jan. 1996). Archived at the New Force Comics website.
  133. ^ Curt Danhauser. "Guide to the Gold Key Star Trek Comics". from the original on January 9, 2002. Retrieved December 25, 2006.
  134. ^ Rich Handley. . Archived from the original on February 12, 2006. Retrieved December 25, 2006.
  135. ^ "Star Trek: Unlimited monthly series from Marvel Paramount Comics, 1996–1998". from the original on August 29, 2011. Retrieved December 29, 2006.
  136. ^ [1] February 4, 2012, at the Wayback Machine
  137. ^ a b Pascale, Anthony (May 29, 2010). "Flashback to May 29, 1976 – Watch SNL's "The Last Voyage of the Starship Enterprise" Skit". trekmovie.com. TrekMovie.com. from the original on September 5, 2015. Retrieved July 23, 2010.
  138. ^ a b Keller, Richard (July 18, 2008). "Star Trek: the television parodies – Videos". TV Squad. TV Squad. from the original on May 31, 2009. Retrieved July 28, 2010.
  139. ^ . Lame.lut.fi. Archived from the original on March 14, 2012. Retrieved August 2, 2012.
  140. ^ Baker, Chris (December 17, 2007). "Videogames & Futurama, Part 1: Raiders of the Lost Arcade". Wired. from the original on August 4, 2011. Retrieved February 2, 2008.
  141. ^ "What did Patrick Stewart think of Galaxy Quest?". BBC Online. from the original on January 13, 2014. Retrieved August 11, 2012.
  142. ^ Lyall, Sarah (January 27, 2008). "To Boldly Go Where Shakespeare Calls". The New York Times. from the original on November 6, 2015. Retrieved June 28, 2008.
  143. ^ "Wil Wheaton dot NET: Where is my mind?: Tangent". Wilwheaton.net. September 24, 2001. Retrieved August 15, 2021.
  144. ^ Hillebrand, Jörg; Schneider, Bernd (January 1, 2020). "Ex Astris Scientia – Visual Crossovers with Other Series/Movies". Ex Astris Scientia. ex-astris-scientia.org. from the original on January 4, 2020. Retrieved January 3, 2020.
  145. ^ "Star Blecch, 'Mad Magazine' #115, December 1967, pp. 4-8".
  146. ^ "Statement of Rod Roddenberry about Star Trek Continues". Facebook. from the original on November 17, 2020. Retrieved December 20, 2019.
  147. ^ Charlie Jane Anders (April 15, 2014). "Was Star Trek Ever Really Intelligent, Grown-Up Science Fiction?". IO9. from the original on April 19, 2014. Retrieved April 20, 2014.
  148. ^ "Getting Star Trek on the air was impossible". Letters of Note. June 25, 2012. Retrieved September 6, 2014.
  149. ^ Star Trek: Season 1, from the original on August 7, 2020, retrieved June 6, 2020
  150. ^ Star Trek: Season 2, from the original on August 7, 2020, retrieved June 6, 2020
  151. ^ Star Trek: Season 3, from the original on August 7, 2020, retrieved June 6, 2020
  152. ^ Bernardin, Marc (September 8, 2016). "Ranking every 'Star Trek' movie and TV series from first to worst". Los Angeles Times. from the original on July 12, 2019. Retrieved July 12, 2019.
  153. ^ "Every Star Trek TV Show, Ranked From Worst to Best". vulture.com. September 22, 2017. from the original on July 12, 2019. Retrieved July 12, 2019.
  154. ^ Miller, Liz Shannon (April 18, 2018). "The 18 Best Sci-Fi TV Shows Set In Space, Ranked". IndieWire. from the original on July 6, 2019. Retrieved February 27, 2019.
  155. ^ a b Whitbrook, James. "All 11 Versions of the U.S.S. Enterprise, Ranked". Gizmodo. from the original on July 9, 2019. Retrieved July 9, 2019.
  156. ^ "All 7 Star Trek Series, Ranked". Nerdist. from the original on July 9, 2019. Retrieved July 6, 2019.
  157. ^ Hoffman, Jordan; Wakeman, Gregory (July 12, 2019). "The 50 Best Sci-Fi TV Shows Ever". Popular Mechanics. from the original on January 29, 2015. Retrieved July 20, 2019.
  158. ^ "The 100 Greatest TV Shows Of All Time". Empire. Retrieved March 29, 2021.

External links

  • Official website  
  • Star Trek: The Original Series at Paramount Plus
  • Star Trek: The Original Series at IMDb  
  • Star Trek: The Original Series at Memory Alpha (a Star Trek wiki)
  • Star Trek: The Original Series at Memory Beta
  • Star Trek: The Original Series collected news and commentary at The New York Times

January 21, 2023
star, trek, original, series, original, series, redirects, here, confused, with, original, programming, star, trek, american, science, fiction, television, series, created, gene, roddenberry, that, follows, adventures, starship, enterprise, 1701, crew, later, . The Original Series redirects here Not to be confused with Original programming Star Trek is an American science fiction television series created by Gene Roddenberry that follows the adventures of the starship USS Enterprise NCC 1701 and its crew It later acquired the retronym of Star Trek The Original Series TOS to distinguish the show within the media franchise that it began 2 Star Trek The Original SeriesAlso known asStar TrekGenreAction Adventure Science fictionCreated byGene RoddenberryStarringWilliam Shatner Leonard Nimoy DeForest KelleyTheme music composerAlexander CourageOpening theme Theme from Star Trek Country of originUnited StatesOriginal languageEnglishNo of seasons3No of episodes79 list of episodes ProductionExecutive producerGene RoddenberryProducersGene L Coon John Meredyth Lucas Fred FreibergerRunning time50 minutes 1 Production companiesDesilu Productions 1966 1968 Paramount Television 1968 1969 Norway CorporationDistributorNBCBudgetSeason one 190 000 per episode 1 4 million in 2019 Season two 185 000 per episodeSeason three 175 000 per episodeReleaseOriginal networkNBCPicture formatNTSCAudio formatMonauralOriginal releaseSeptember 8 1966 1966 09 08 June 3 1969 1969 06 03 ChronologyFollowed byStar Trek The Animated SeriesRelatedStar Trek TV seriesThe show is set in the Milky Way galaxy circa 2266 2269 The ship and crew are led by Captain James T Kirk William Shatner First Officer and Science Officer Spock Leonard Nimoy and Chief Medical Officer Leonard H Bones McCoy DeForest Kelley Shatner s voice over introduction during each episode s opening credits stated the starship s purpose 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 Norway Productions and Desilu Productions produced the series from September 1966 to December 1967 Paramount Television produced the show from January 1968 to June 1969 Star Trek aired on NBC from September 8 1966 to June 3 1969 3 It was first broadcast on September 6 1966 on Canada s CTV network 4 Star Trek s Nielsen ratings while on NBC were low and the network cancelled it after three seasons and 79 episodes Several years later the series became a hit in broadcast syndication remaining so throughout the 1970s achieving cult classic status and a developing influence on popular culture Star Trek eventually spawned a media franchise consisting of 11 television series 13 feature films and numerous books games and toys and is now widely considered one of the most popular and influential television series of all time 5 Contents 1 Creation 2 Development 3 Production 3 1 Season 1 1966 1967 3 2 Season 2 1967 1968 3 3 Season 3 1968 1969 3 4 Syndication 3 5 Remastered edition 4 Cast 4 1 Characterizations 4 2 Characters cameo appearances in later series 4 3 Notable guest appearances 5 Seasons and episodes 5 1 Seasons 5 2 Broadcast history 5 3 Episode analysis 5 4 Top ranked episodes 5 5 Leonard Nimoy Star Trek Memories 6 Music 6 1 Theme tune 6 2 Dramatic underscore 6 3 Episodes with original music 7 Awards 8 Distribution 8 1 Home media 8 2 Online distribution 9 Films 10 Merchandising 10 1 Action figures 10 2 Comic books 11 Legacy and cultural influence 11 1 Parodies 11 2 Fan productions 11 3 Series sequels 12 Reception 13 See also 14 References 15 External linksCreation EditOn March 11 1964 Gene Roddenberry a long time fan of science fiction drafted a short treatment for a science fiction television series that he called Star Trek 6 This was to be set on board a large starship named S S Yorktown in the 23rd century 7 8 bearing a crew dedicated to exploring the Milky Way galaxy Roddenberry noted a number of influences on his idea some of which includes A E van Vogt s tales of the spaceship Space Beagle Eric Frank Russell s Marathon series of stories and the film Forbidden Planet 1956 Some have also drawn parallels with the television series Rocky Jones Space Ranger 1954 a space opera that included many of the elements integral to Star Trek the organization crew relationships missions part of the bridge layout and some technology 5 24 Roddenberry also drew heavily from C S Forester s Horatio Hornblower novels that depict a daring sea captain who exercises broad discretionary authority on distant sea missions of noble purpose He often humorously referred to Captain Kirk as Horatio Hornblower in Space 9 Roddenberry had extensive experience in writing for series about the Old West that had been popular television fare in the 1950s and 1960s Armed with this background he characterized the new show in his first draft as Wagon Train to the stars 6 10 Like the familiar Wagon Train each episode was to be a self contained adventure story set within the structure of a continuing voyage through space Most future television and movie realizations of the franchise adhered to the Wagon Train paradigm of the continuing journey with the notable exceptions of the serialized Star Trek Deep Space Nine Star Trek Discovery Star Trek Picard and the third season of Star Trek Enterprise In Roddenberry s original concept the protagonist was Captain Robert April of the starship S S Yorktown This character was developed into Captain Christopher Pike first portrayed by Jeffrey Hunter April is listed in the Star Trek Chronology The Star Trek Encyclopedia and at startrek com as the Enterprise s first commanding officer preceding Captain Pike 11 12 13 The character s only television movie appearance was in the Star Trek The Animated Series episode The Counter Clock Incident 14 until Strange New Worlds where he is portrayed by Adrian Holmes Development EditIn April 1964 Roddenberry presented the Star Trek draft to Desilu Productions a leading independent television production company 15 He met with Herbert F Solow Desilu s director of production Solow saw promise in the idea and signed a three year program development contract with Roddenberry 16 Lucille Ball head of Desilu was not familiar with the nature of the project but she was instrumental in getting the pilot produced 17 The idea was extensively revised and fleshed out during this time The Cage pilot filmed in late 1964 differs in many respects from the March 1964 treatment Solow for example added the stardate concept 16 Desilu Productions had a first look deal with CBS 18 Oscar Katz Desilu s Vice President of Production went with Roddenberry to pitch the series to the network 19 They refused to purchase the show as they already had a similar show in development the 1965 Irwin Allen series Lost in Space 20 In May 1964 Solow who had previously worked at NBC met with Grant Tinker then head of the network s West Coast programming department Tinker commissioned the first pilot which became The Cage 15 21 NBC turned down the resulting pilot stating that it was too cerebral 22 However the NBC executives were still impressed with the concept and they understood that its perceived faults had been partly due to the script that they had selected themselves 9 NBC made the unusual decision to pay for a second pilot using the script called Where No Man Has Gone Before 22 Only the character of Spock played by Leonard Nimoy was retained from the first pilot and only two cast members Majel Barrett and Nimoy were carried forward into the series This second pilot proved to be satisfactory to NBC and the network selected Star Trek to be in its upcoming television schedule for the fall of 1966 The second pilot introduced most of the other main characters Captain Kirk William Shatner Chief Engineer Lt Commander Scott James Doohan and Lt Sulu George Takei who served as a physicist on the ship in the second pilot but subsequently became a helmsman throughout the rest of the series Paul Fix played Dr Mark Piper in the second pilot ship s doctor Leonard McCoy DeForest Kelley joined the cast when filming began for the first season and he remained for the rest of the series achieving billing as the third star of the series Also joining the ship s permanent crew during the first season were the communications officer Lt Nyota Uhura Nichelle Nichols the first African American woman to hold such an important role in an American television series 23 the captain s yeoman Janice Rand Grace Lee Whitney who departed midway through the first season and Christine Chapel Majel Barrett the ship s nurse and assistant to McCoy Walter Koenig joined the cast as Ensign Pavel Chekov in the series second season In February 1966 before the first episode was aired Star Trek was nearly cancelled by Desilu Productions Desilu had gone from making just one half hour show The Lucy Show to deficit financing a portion of two expensive hour long shows Mission Impossible and Star Trek 24 Solow was able to convince Lucille Ball that both shows should continue 18 Production Edit The original starship Enterprise Once the series had been picked up by NBC the production moved to what was then Desilu Productions Gower Street location It had previously been the main studio complex used by RKO Pictures and is now part of the Paramount Pictures lot The series used what are now stages 31 and 32 18 The show s production staff included art director Matt Jefferies who designed the starship Enterprise and most of its interiors 25 His contributions to the series were honored in the name of the Jefferies tube an equipment shaft depicted in various Star Trek series In addition to working with his brother John Jefferies to create the hand held phaser weapons of Star Trek Jefferies also developed the set design for the bridge of the Enterprise which was based on an earlier design by Pato Guzman Jefferies used his practical experience as an airman during World War II and his knowledge of aircraft design to devise a sleek functional and ergonomic bridge layout The costume designer for Star Trek Bill Theiss created the striking look of the Starfleet uniforms for the Enterprise the costumes for female guest stars and for various aliens including the Klingons Vulcans Romulans Tellarites Andorians and Gideonites among others Artist and sculptor Wah Chang who had worked for Walt Disney Productions was hired to design and manufacture props he created the flip open communicator often credited as having influenced the configuration of the portable version of the cellular telephone 26 Chang also designed the portable sensing recording computing tricorder device and various fictitious devices for the starship s engineering crew and its sick bay As the series progressed he helped to create various memorable aliens such as the Gorn and the Horta Season 1 1966 1967 Edit Main article Star Trek The Original Series season 1 William Shatner as Captain James T Kirk in action from the episode Where No Man Has Gone Before 1966 NBC ordered 16 episodes of Star Trek besides Where No Man Has Gone Before 22 The first regular episode of Star Trek The Man Trap 27 aired on Thursday September 8 1966 from 8 30 to 9 30 as part of an NBC sneak preview block Reviews were mixed while The Philadelphia Inquirer and San Francisco Chronicle liked the new show The New York Times and The Boston Globe were less favorable 28 and Variety predicted that it won t work calling it an incredible and dreary mess of confusion and complexities 29 Debuting against mostly reruns Star Trek easily won its time slot with a 40 6 share 30 The following week against new programming however the show fell to second 29 4 share behind CBS It ranked 33rd out of 94 programs over the next two weeks then the following two episodes ranked 51st in the ratings 31 32 I am an avid fan of Star Trek and would simply die if it was taken off the air In my opinion it is the best show on television M P Oswego New York February 20 1967 33 Title used for the first season Frederik Pohl editor of Galaxy Science Fiction wrote in February 1967 of his amazement that Star Trek s regular shows were just as good as the early episodes that won an award at Tricon in September Believing that the show would soon be cancelled because of low ratings he lamented that it made the mistake of appealing to a comparatively literate group and urged readers to write letters to help save the show 34 Star Trek s first season ratings would in earlier years likely have caused NBC to cancel the show The network had pioneered research into viewers demographic profiles in the early 1960s however and by 1967 it and other networks increasingly considered such data when making decisions 35 115 for example CBS temporarily cancelled Gunsmoke that year because it had too many older and too few younger viewers 28 Although Roddenberry later claimed that NBC was unaware of Star Trek s favorable demographics 36 awareness of Star Trek s quality audience is what likely caused the network to retain the show after the first and second seasons 35 115 NBC instead decided to order 10 more new episodes for the first season and order a second season in March 1967 22 37 The network originally announced that the show would air at 7 30 8 30 pm Tuesday but it was instead given an 8 30 9 30 pm Friday slot when the 1967 68 NBC schedule was released 38 making watching it difficult for the young viewers that the show most attracted 22 Season 2 1967 1968 Edit Main article Star Trek The Original Series season 2 Spock Kirk and the Enterprise 1968 Star Trek s ratings continued to decline during the second season Although Shatner expected the show to end after two seasons and began to prepare for other projects 39 NBC nonetheless may have never seriously considered cancelling the show 40 28 As early as January 1968 the Associated Press reported that Star Trek s chances for renewal for a third season were excellent The show had better ratings for NBC than ABC s competing Hondo and the competing CBS programs number three Gomer Pyle U S M C and the first half hour of the number 12 CBS Friday Night Movie were in the top 15 in the Nielsen ratings 40 41 Again demographics helped Star Trek survive 35 116 Contrary to popular belief among its fans the show did not have a larger audience of young viewers than its competition while on NBC 28 The network s research did indicate that Star Trek had a quality audience including upper income better educated males however and other NBC shows had lower overall ratings 35 116 40 Look Look It doesn t stop They re lined up all the way down the street Norman Lunenfeld NBC executive on the mail trucks delivering Star Trek fans letters 42 The enthusiasm of Star Trek s viewers surprised NBC 28 The show was unusual in its serious discussion of contemporary societal issues in a futuristic context unlike Lost in Space which was more campy in nature 43 The network had already received 29 000 fan letters for the show during its first season more than for any other except The Monkees 22 When rumors spread in late 1967 that Star Trek was at risk of cancellation Roddenberry secretly began and funded an effort by Bjo Trimble her husband John and other fans to persuade tens of thousands of viewers to write letters of support to save the program 42 44 377 394 45 Using the 4 000 names on a mailing list for a science fiction convention the Trimbles asked fans to write to NBC and ask 10 others to also do so 46 128 NBC received almost 116 000 letters for the show between December 1967 and March 1968 including more than 52 000 in February alone 47 48 22 according to an NBC executive the network received more than one million pieces of mail but only disclosed the 116 000 figure 42 Newspaper columnists encouraged readers to write letters to help save what one called the best science fiction show on the air 49 More than 200 Caltech students marched to NBC s Burbank California studio to support Star Trek in January 1968 carrying signs such as Draft Spock and Vulcan Power 50 Berkeley and MIT students organized similar protests in San Francisco and New York City 49 The letters supporting Star Trek whose authors included New York State Governor Nelson Rockefeller 51 were different in both quantity and quality from most mail that television networks receive The show according to the 6 000 letters it draws a week more than any other in television is watched by scientists museum curators psychiatrists doctors university professors and other highbrows The Smithsonian Institution asked for a print of the show for its archives the only show so honored 49 In addition Much of the mail came from doctors scientists teachers and other professional people and was for the most part literate and written on good stationery And if there is anything a network wants almost as much as a high Nielsen ratings it is the prestige of a show that appeals to the upper middle class and high brow audiences 39 And now an announcement of interest to all viewers of Star Trek We are pleased to tell you that Star Trek will continue to be seen on NBC Television We know you will be looking forward to seeing the weekly adventure in space on Star Trek NBC announcer March 1 1968 47 51 28 NBC which used such anecdotes in much of its publicity for the show made the unusual decision to announce on television after the episode The Omega Glory on March 1 1968 that the series had been renewed 35 116 117 51 The announcement implied a request to stop writing NBC s policy of replying to each viewer mail meant that the campaign cost the network millions of dollars 42 but instead caused fans to send letters of thanks in similar numbers 52 Season 3 1968 1969 Edit Main article Star Trek The Original Series season 3 Spock s Brain was the first episode of the third season NBC at first planned to move Star Trek to Mondays for the show s third season likely in hopes of increasing its audience after the enormous letter campaign that surprised the network 28 In March 1968 though NBC instead moved the show to 10 00 pm Friday night an hour undesirable for its younger audience 45 53 so as not to conflict with the highly successful Rowan amp Martin s Laugh In on Monday evenings 54 from whose time slot Laugh In producer George Schlatter had angrily demanded it not be rescheduled In addition to the undesirable time slot Star Trek was now being seen on only 181 of NBC s 210 affiliates 55 Roddenberry was frustrated and complained If the network wants to kill us it couldn t make a better move 45 He attempted to persuade NBC to give Star Trek a better day and hour but was not successful As a result of this and his own growing exhaustion he chose to withdraw from the stress of the daily production of Star Trek though he remained nominally in charge as its executive producer 56 Roddenberry reduced his direct involvement in Star Trek before the start of the 1968 69 television season and was replaced by Fred Freiberger as the producer of the television series NBC next reduced Star Trek s budget from 185 000 per episode in season 2 it was 190 000 per episode in season 1 to 175 000 per episode in season 3 as the per minute commercial price had dropped from 39 000 to 36 000 compared to the season two time slot 57 This caused what some perceive as a decline in quality for the 1968 69 season although there was a trade off in some lower production costs since the special effects technology had improved over time By season 3 William Shatner felt that the main characters had become more compromised or exaggerated and the story lines more improbable 58 Leonard Nimoy felt that financial concerns dominated 59 Associate Producer Bob Justman who left during the third season said budget cuts caused the crew to become necessarily limited in the type of filming that could be done such as outdoor work 60 with only one episode The Paradise Syndrome shot largely outdoors Nichelle Nichols described the budget cutting during the final year as an intentional effort to kill off Star Trek While NBC paid lip service to expanding Star Trek s audience it now slashed our production budget until it was actually 10 lower than it had been in our first season This is why in the third season you saw fewer outdoor location shots for example Top writers top guest stars top anything you needed was harder to come by Thus Star Trek s demise became a self fulfilling prophecy And I can assure you that is exactly as it was meant to be 61 The last day of filming for Star Trek was January 9 1969 22 and after 79 episodes 62 NBC cancelled the show in February despite fans attempt at another letter writing campaign 28 One newspaper columnist advised a protesting viewer You Star Trek fans have fought the good fight but the show has been cancelled and there s nothing to be done now 63 In 2011 the decision to cancel Star Trek by NBC was ranked number four on the TV Guide Network special 25 Biggest TV Blunders 2 64 Syndication Edit Surprisingly one show no longer programmed by a network but syndicated to local television stations Star Trek sometimes appeared among the top five favorites in areas where the show is carried Students rate television 1971 65 Although some of the third season s episodes were considered of poorer quality it gave Star Trek enough episodes for television syndication 66 Most shows require at least four seasons for syndication because otherwise not enough episodes are available for daily stripping Kaiser Broadcasting however purchased syndication rights for Star Trek during the first season for its stations in several large cities The company arranged the unusual deal because it saw the show as effective counterprogramming against the Big Three networks 6 pm evening news programs 67 138 22 Paramount began advertising the reruns in trade press in March 1969 68 as Kaiser s ratings were good other stations such as WPIX in New York City and WKBS in Philadelphia also purchased the episodes 69 91 92 for similar counterprogramming 35 121 Through syndication Star Trek found a larger audience than it had on NBC becoming a cult classic 70 67 138 139 Airing the show in the late afternoon or early evening attracted many new viewers often young 71 By 1970 Paramount s trade advertisements claimed that the show had significantly improved its stations ratings 68 and the Los Angeles Times commented on Star Trek s ability to acquire the most enviable ratings in the syndication field 35 121 By 1972 what the Associated Press described as the show that won t die aired in more than 100 American cities and 60 other countries and more than 3 000 fans attended the first Star Trek convention in New York City in January 1972 72 71 Since that dark day in 1969 when NBC brought the programming hammer down on Star Trek there probably hasn t been a 24 hour period when the original program one of the original episodes wasn t being aired somewhere Chicago Tribune 1987 73 Fans of the show became increasingly organized gathering at conventions to trade merchandise meet actors from the show and watch screenings of old episodes Such fans came to be known as trekkies 70 who were noted and often ridiculed for their extreme devotion to the show and their encyclopedic knowledge of every episode 74 Because fans enjoyed re watching each episode many times prices for Star Trek rose over time instead of falling like other syndicated reruns 35 122 75 76 70 77 People magazine commented in 1977 that the show threatens to rerun until the universe crawls back into its little black hole 78 By 1986 17 years after entering syndication Star Trek was the most popular syndicated series 79 by 1987 Paramount made 1 million from each episode 22 and by 1994 the reruns still aired in 94 of the United States 80 From September 1 to December 24 1998 the Sci Fi Channel broadcast a Special Edition of all the original series episodes in an expanded 90 minute format hosted by William Shatner Now titled Star Trek The Original Series these broadcasts restored scenes that had been edited out of the syndicated episodes 2 In addition to introductory and post episode commentary by Shatner the episodes included interviews with members of the regular production team and cast writers guest stars and critics titled as Star Trek Insights The episodes were broadcast in the original broadcast sequence followed by The Cage to which a full 105 minute segment was devoted For details on each episode s original airdate see List of Star Trek The Original Series episodes Leonard Nimoy hosted a second run from December 28 1998 to March 24 1999 but not all the episodes were broadcast because the show was abruptly cancelled before completion citation needed original research Remastered edition Edit In September 2006 CBS Domestic Television now known as CBS Media Ventures the current rights holders for the Star Trek television franchises began syndication of an enhanced version of Star Trek The Original Series in high definition with new CGI visual effects 81 Under the direction of Star Trek producer David Rossi who consulted with Mike and Denise Okuda the visual and special effects were recreated to give Star Trek The Original Series a more modern look Special attention was given to such elements as the Enterprise alien planets and their images depicted from space planets seen from orbit alien spacecraft and technology such as computer readouts viewscreen images and phaser beams The restoration and enhancement was performed by CBS Digital All live action footage was scanned in high definition from its first generation 35 mm film elements While it was possible to retouch and remaster some visual effects all new exterior ship space and planet shots were recreated under the supervision of Niel Wray a recent visual effects Emmy nominee As noted in the making of DVD feature first generation original camera negatives were used for all live action footage but not for external shots of the ship and planets Notable changes include new space shots with a CGI Enterprise and other new models for example a Gorn ship is shown in Arena redone matte background shots and other minor touches such as tidying up viewscreens A small number of scenes were also recomposed and sometimes new actors were placed into the background of shots 82 The opening theme music was also re recorded in digital stereo The first episode to be released to syndication was Balance of Terror on the weekend of September 16 2006 Episodes were released at the rate of about one a week and broadcast in a 4 3 aspect ratio Despite the HD remastering CBS chose to deliver the broadcast syndication package in Standard Definition SD TV The HD format was made commercially available through Blu ray or by streaming and download such as iTunes Netflix and Xbox Live 83 While the CGI shots were mastered in a 16 9 aspect ratio for future applications they were initially broadcast in the U S and Canada along with the live action footage in a 4 3 aspect ratio to respect the show s original composition If the producers were to choose to reformat the entire show for the 16 9 ratio live action footage would be cropped significantly reducing the height of the original image On July 26 2007 CBS Home Entertainment with distribution by Paramount Home Entertainment announced that the remastered episodes of TOS would be released on an HD DVD DVD hybrid format Season one was released on November 20 2007 Season two had been scheduled for release in the summer of 2008 but it was cancelled when Toshiba which had been helping finance the remastering of the show pulled out of the HD DVD business 84 On August 5 2008 the remastered season two was released on DVD only 85 For this release CBS and Paramount used discs without any disc art making them look like the Season 1 Remastered HD DVD DVD combo discs despite having content only on one side citation needed Season 3 was released on DVD only on November 18 2008 86 On February 17 2009 Paramount announced the season one of TOS on Blu ray Disc for a May release to coincide with the new feature film coming from Paramount 87 The second season was released in a seven disc set on Blu ray in the U S on September 22 2009 88 The third season was released on Blu ray in the U S on December 15 89 With the release of the Alternate Realities box set remastered Original Series episodes were included in a multi series compilation for the first time If future compilation releases would exclusively use the remastered episodes or not was unknown 90 In regions two and four all three seasons of the remastered Original Series became available on DVD in the slimline edition in the UK and Germany in steelbook editions on April 27 2009 as well as the first season in Blu ray citation needed Cast EditMain article List of Star Trek The Original Series cast members James T Kirk Spock Leonard McCoy Montgomery Scott Nyota Uhura Hikaru Sulu Pavel Chekov Christine Chapel Janice RandActor Character Position Appearances Character s species RankWilliam Shatner James T Kirk Commanding Officer Seasons 1 3 Human CaptainThe Commanding Officer of the USS Enterprise born in Riverside Iowa in the year 2233 His two best friends are Spock and Dr McCoy one will advise Kirk with logic while the other one uses emotional instincts Leonard Nimoy Spock First Executive OfficerScience Officer Seasons 1 3 Half Human Half Vulcan Lieutenant Commander Season 1 Commander Seasons 1 3The half human half Vulcan First Executive Officer i e second in command and science officer He is one of Kirk s best friends and uses logic to solve problems DeForest Kelley Dr Leonard Bones McCoy Chief Medical Officer Seasons 1 3 Human Lieutenant CommanderThe ship s chief medical officer he is Kirk s other best friend and gives him advice with his human emotional feelings whilst Spock uses logic James Doohan Montgomery Scotty Scott Second Officer and Chief Engineer Seasons 1 3 Human Lieutenant CommanderThe Enterprise s Scottish Chief Engineer and Second Officer i e third in command who is very protective of the ship Scotty s technical knowledge and skill allow him to devise unconventional and effective last minute solutions to dire problems Nichelle Nichols Nyota Uhura Communications Officer Seasons 1 3 Human LieutenantThe ship s communication officer She is depicted as a capable bridge officer and readily assumed control of the helm navigation and science stations on the bridge when the need arose Uhura was also a talented singer and enjoyed serenading her shipmates when off duty Spock occasionally accompanied her on the Vulcan lyre Note Uhura s first name was not spoken at any time during the series or the movies starring the original cast and it was not even clear that Uhura was not a mononym George Takei Hikaru Sulu Helmsman Seasons 1 3 Human LieutenantSulu is the ship s helmsman and has many interests and hobbies including gymnastics botany fencing and ancient weaponry Walter Koenig Pavel Chekov Navigator Seasons 2 3 Human EnsignChekov is a Russian born navigator introduced in the show s second season Majel Barrett Christine Chapel Head Nurse Seasons 1 3 Human N AThe ship s head nurse who works with Dr McCoy Note Barrett who played the ship s first officer Number One in The Cage also voiced the ship s computer Grace Lee Whitney Janice Rand Yeoman Season 1 Human N AThe captain s personal Yeoman Note Although Rand appears in several promotional images for the show she was fired after appearing in only eight episodes of the first season While still casting the roles Gene Roddenberry had mandated that Bones McCoy and Spock be male According to Nichelle Nichols They gave me a three page script to read from that had three characters named Bones Kirk and somebody called Spock and they asked me if I would read for the role of Spock When I looked at this great text I said to myself I ll take any one of these roles but I found the Spock character to be very interesting and I asked them to tell me what she Spock was like They then told Nichols that the role had already been offered to Leonard Nimoy 91 It was intended that Sulu s role be expanded in the second season but owing to Takei s part in John Wayne s The Green Berets he appeared in only half the season his role being filled by Walter Koenig as the relatively young mop topped Russian navigator Ensign Pavel Chekov When Takei returned the two had to share a dressing room 92 The two appeared together at the Enterprise helm for the remainder of the series There may be some truth to the unofficial story that the Soviet Union s newspaper Pravda complained that among the culturally diverse characters there were no Russians seen as a personal slight to that country since the Soviet Russian Yuri Gagarin had been the first man to make a spaceflight Gene Roddenberry said in response that The Chekov thing was a major error on our part and I m still embarrassed by the fact we didn t include a Russian right from the beginning 9 However documentation from Desilu suggests that the intention was to introduce a character into Star Trek with more sex appeal to teenaged girls 9 Walter Koenig noted in the 2006 40th anniversary special of Star Trek The Original Series that he doubted the rumor about Pravda since Star Trek had never been shown on Soviet television It has also been claimed that the former member of The Monkees Davy Jones was the model for Mr Chekov 93 In addition the series frequently included characters usually security personnel wearing red uniforms who are killed or injured soon after their introduction So prevalent was this plot device that it inspired the term redshirt to denote a stock character whose sole purpose is to die violently in order to show the danger facing the main characters Characterizations Edit Promotional photo of the cast of Star Trek during the third season 1968 1969 From left to right James Doohan Walter Koenig DeForest Kelley Majel Barrett William Shatner Nichelle Nichols Leonard Nimoy and George Takei Star Trek made celebrities of its cast of largely unknown actors Kelley had appeared in many films and television shows but mostly in smaller roles that showcased him as a villain Nimoy also had previous television and film experience but was not well known either Nimoy had partnered previously with Shatner in a 1964 episode of The Man from U N C L E The Project Strigas Affair and with Kelley as a doctor in a 1963 episode of The Virginian Man of Violence both more than two years before Star Trek first aired Before Star Trek Shatner was well known in the trade having appeared in several notable films played Cyrano de Bergerac on Broadway and even turned down the part of Dr Kildare However when roles became sparse he took the regular job after Jeffrey Hunter s contract was not renewed After the original series ended cast members found themselves typecast because of their defining roles in the show Star Trek The Next Generation actor Michael Dorn stated in 1991 however If what happened to the first cast is called being typecast then I want to be typecast Of course they didn t get the jobs after Trek But they are making their sixth movie Name me someone else in television who has made six movies 66 The three main characters were Kirk Spock and McCoy with writers often playing the different personalities off each other Kirk was passionate and often aggressive but with a sly sense of humor Spock was coolly logical and McCoy was sardonic emotional and illogical but always compassionate In many stories the three clashed with Kirk forced to make a tough decision while Spock advocated the logical but sometimes callous path and McCoy or Bones as Kirk nicknamed him insisted on doing whatever would cause the least harm McCoy and Spock had a sparring relationship that masked their true affection and respect for each other and their constant arguments became popular with viewers 94 153 154 The show so emphasized dialogue that writer and director Nicholas Meyer involved with the Star Trek films called it a radio drama playing an episode for a film class without video to prove that the plot was still comprehensible 66 The Spock character was at first rejected by network executives who were apprehensive that his vaguely Satanic appearance with pointed ears and eyebrows might prove upsetting to some viewers and according to Leonard Nimoy they repeatedly urged Roddenberry to drop the Martian Roddenberry was also dismayed to discover that NBC s publicity department deliberately airbrushed out Spock s pointed ears and eyebrows from early publicity stills sent to network affiliates because they feared that his demonic appearance might offend potential buyers in the religiously conservative southern states Spock however went on to become one of the most popular characters on the show as did McCoy s impassioned country doctor personality Spock in fact became a sex symbol of sorts 95 something no one connected with the show had expected Leonard Nimoy noted that the question of Spock s extraordinary sex appeal emerged almost any time I talked to someone in the press I never give it a thought to try to deal with the question of Mr Spock as a sex symbol is silly 96 Characters cameo appearances in later series Edit The sequel to the original series Star Trek The Next Generation which premiered in 1987 was set about 100 years after the events of TOS As that show and its spin offs progressed several TOS actors made appearances reprising their original characters James Kirk disappears in 2293 during the maiden voyage of the Enterprise B as seen in the film Star Trek Generations However now chronologically 138 years old but still only physically 60 years old Kirk is recovered after spending 78 years in The Nexus an alternative plane of existence by Enterprise D Captain Jean Luc Picard in the same film Kirk s time in the 24th century is short however he is killed while helping to defeat Dr Tolian Soran Spock now a Vulcan ambassador goes underground in the Romulan Empire in hopes of fostering peaceful coexistence with the Federation and reunification with Vulcan society Unification Parts I and II He also appears in the 2009 reboot film where his science vessel originated from the 24th century era of TNG He ends up stranded in the 23rd century of the film series where he settles on new Vulcan in the sequel film Star Trek Into Darkness he is contacted by his younger self regarding the villainous Khan Noonien Singh While not appearing in Star Trek Beyond it is mentioned in the film that the character has died as an homage to the real life passing of actor Leonard Nimoy Leonard Bones McCoy now a crusty 137 year old admiral and head of Starfleet s Medical Division inspects the Enterprise D before her first mission in Encounter at Farpoint briefly meeting the android officer Lt Cdr Data telling him Well this is a new ship But she s got the right name Now you remember that you hear You treat her like a lady and she ll always bring you home Montgomery Scott now chronologically 147 years old but still only physically 72 years old after spending 75 years trapped in a transporter buffer is rescued by the Enterprise D crew and resumes his life in Relics Working along with Chief Engineer Geordi La Forge Scotty uses some creative engineering to save the Enterprise A grateful Captain Picard lends him a shuttlecraft indefinitely Sarek Spock s father continues to be an ambassador for the next century until his final mission during which he and Captain Picard mind meld together because Sarek shows signs of Bendii Syndrome Sarek He later dies suffering from this affliction but not before giving Captain Picard key information for locating his missing son Unification Kang Koloth and Kor the three Klingons featured in Day of the Dove Kang The Trouble with Tribbles Koloth and Errand of Mercy Kor continue to serve the Empire well into the 24th century They appear in the Star Trek Deep Space Nine episode Blood Oath in which Kang and Koloth are killed Kor later appears in two more episodes The Sword of Kahless and finally in Once More Unto the Breach where fighting in the Dominion War he dies honorably in battle A younger version of Kang from the era of Star Trek VI The Undiscovered Country later appears in the Star Trek Voyager episode Flashback Hikaru Sulu promoted to captain of the USS Excelsior in Star Trek VI The Undiscovered Country reprises his role from that performance in the Star Trek Voyager episode Flashback Janice Rand also appears in that same episode Arne Darvin the Klingon disguised as a human in The Trouble with Tribbles appears in the Star Trek Deep Space Nine episode Trials and Tribble ations with the intent to return to Deep Space Station K7 in 2267 and assassinate Kirk whom Darvin blamed for his disgrace in the Klingon Empire Besides the above examples numerous non canon novels and comic books have been published over the years in which The Original Series era crew are depicted in The Next Generation era either through time travel or other means In addition many actors who appeared on The Original Series later made guest appearances as different characters in later series most notably Majel Barrett who not only provided the voice for most Starfleet computers in episodes of every spin off series including a single appearance on Star Trek Enterprise where the computers normally did not speak at all but also had the recurring role of Lwaxana Troi in The Next Generation and Deep Space Nine Diana Muldaur a guest star in the episodes Return to Tomorrow and Is There in Truth No Beauty of the original Star Trek series played series regular Dr Katherine Pulaski in the second season of Star Trek The Next Generation Notable guest appearances Edit Guest roles on the series have featured actors such as Gary Lockwood and Sally Kellerman in Where No Man Has Gone Before Diana Muldaur in Return to Tomorrow and Is There in Truth No Beauty Muldaur also appeared throughout the second season of Star Trek The Next Generation as the Enterprise D s chief medical officer Dr Pulaski Ricardo Montalban as Khan Noonien Singh in Space Seed He then reprised the role in the film Star Trek II The Wrath of Khan Madlyn Rhue as Lieutenant Marla McGivers in Space Seed Michael Ansara as Klingon commander Kang in Day of the Dove reprising the role in the Deep Space Nine episode Blood Oath and the Voyager episode Flashback William Marshall in The Ultimate Computer Julie Newmar in Friday s Child Kim Darby and Michael J Pollard in Miri Robert Lansing and Teri Garr in Assignment Earth William Windom in The Doomsday Machine John Colicos as the Klingon Commander Kor in Errand of Mercy reprising the role in three episodes of Deep Space Nine Robert Walker Jr in Charlie X Lee Meriwether in That Which Survives Roger C Carmel and Karen Steele in Mudd s Women Carmel returned in I Mudd France Nuyen in Elaan of Troyius possibly the first Vietnamese actress to appear on American television 97 Mark Lenard the only actor to play members of three major non human races in The Original Series as the Romulan commander in Balance of Terror the Klingon Commander in Star Trek The Motion Picture and most notably as Spock s father Sarek in Journey to Babel reprising this role in the films Star Trek III The Search for Spock Star Trek IV The Voyage Home and Star Trek VI The Undiscovered Country as well as in the TNG episodes Sarek and Unification Part 1 Jane Wyatt as Spock s mother Amanda Grayson in Journey to Babel reprising the role in the film Star Trek IV The Voyage Home Glenn Corbett and Elinor Donahue in Metamorphosis Elisha Cook Jr and Joan Marshall in Court Martial Nancy Kovack in A Private Little War Vic Tayback and Anthony Caruso in A Piece of the Action Jeff Corey and Fred Williamson in The Cloud Minders Barbara Bouchet and Warren Stevens in By Any Other Name Michael Forest and Leslie Parrish in Who Mourns for Adonais Charles Napier in The Way to Eden Frank Gorshin and Lou Antonio in Let That Be Your Last Battlefield Ted Cassidy and Sherry Jackson in What Are Little Girls Made Of Cassidy also voiced the Balok mannequin in The Corbomite Maneuver and the Gorn in Arena Mariette Hartley in All Our Yesterdays Joan Collins in The City on the Edge of Forever Celia Lovsky and Arlene Martel in Amok Time David Soul in The Apple James Gregory in Dagger of the Mind Barbara Anderson in The Conscience of the King James Daly in Requiem for Methuselah Jill Ireland in This Side of Paradise Melvin Belli and Pamelyn Ferdin in And the Children Shall Lead Keye Luke Yvonne Craig and Steve Ihnat in Whom Gods Destroy Michael Dunn and Barbara Babcock in Plato s Stepchildren Clint Howard in The Corbomite Maneuver Barbara Luna in Mirror Mirror David Opatoshu in A Taste of Armageddon Barbara Babcock in A Taste of Armageddon and Plato s Stepchildren Her voice was also heard in The Squire of Gothos Assignment Earth The Tholian Web and The Lights of Zetar Morgan Woodward in Dagger of the Mind and The Omega Glory Arnold Moss as mysterious actor Anton Karidian who proves to have originally been the tyrannical Governor Kodos of Tarsus IV in The Conscience of the King Marianna Hill in Dagger of the Mind Joanne Linville in The Enterprise Incident Louise Sorel in Requiem for Methuselah John Fiedler in Wolf in the Fold Vic Perrin in Mirror Mirror His voice was also heard in The Menagerie Arena and The Changeling Susan Oliver Jeffrey Hunter and Malachi Throne in The Menagerie Malachi Throne also voiced the main Talosian Keeper with the voice modified so as not to be heard to be the same as the other character he played Commodore Mendez Antoinette Bower in Catspaw Angelique Pettyjohn and Joseph Ruskin in Gamesters of Triskelion Seasons and episodes EditMain article List of Star Trek The Original Series episodes Seasons Edit SeasonEpisodesOriginally airedFirst airedLast aired129September 8 1966 1966 09 08 April 13 1967 1967 04 13 226September 15 1967 1967 09 15 March 29 1968 1968 03 29 324September 20 1968 1968 09 20 June 3 1969 1969 06 03 Broadcast history Edit Season Time slot ET 1966 67 Thursday at 8 30 pm1967 68 Friday at 8 30 pm1968 69 Friday at 10 00 pm episodes 1 23 Tuesday at 7 30 pm episode 24 Episode analysis Edit Shatner and Julie Newmar 1967 In its writing Star Trek is notable as one of the earliest science fiction TV series to use the services of leading contemporary science fiction writers such as Robert Bloch Norman Spinrad Harlan Ellison and Theodore Sturgeon as well as established television writers Roddenberry often used the setting of a space vessel set many years in the future to comment on social issues of 1960s America including sexism racism nationalism and global war 45 In November 1968 just a few months after the first televised interracial touch the episode Plato s Stepchildren went incorrectly 98 down in history as the first American television show to feature a scripted interracial kiss between characters Capt Kirk and Lt Uhura although the kiss was only mimed obscured by the back of a character s head and depicted as involuntary 99 There is however some dispute to this being the first interracial kiss of the series because the 1967 episode Space Seed introducing reoccurring villain Khan Ricardo Montalban has him seducing and kissing Lt Marla McGivers Madlyn Rhue as part of his malicious machinations Let That Be Your Last Battlefield presented a direct allegory about the irrationality and futility of racism Anti war themes appear in episodes such as The Doomsday Machine depicting a planet destroying weapon as an analogy to nuclear weapons deployed under the principle of mutually assured destruction and A Taste of Armageddon about a society which has civilized war to the point that they no longer see it as something to avoid Episodes such as The Apple Who Mourns for Adonais The Mark of Gideon and The Return of the Archons display subtle anti religious owing mainly to Roddenberry s own secular humanism and anti establishment themes Bread and Circuses and The Omega Glory have themes that are more pro Christian or patriotic original research The show experienced network and or sponsor interference up to and including wholesale censorship of scripts and film footage This was a regular occurrence in the 1960s and Star Trek suffered from its fair share of tampering Scripts were routinely vetted and censored by the staff of NBC s Broadcast Standards Department which copiously annotated every script with demands for cuts or changes e g Page 4 Please delete McCoy s expletive Good Lord or Page 43 Caution on the embrace avoid open mouthed kiss 100 The series was noted for its sense of humor such as Spock and McCoy s pointed yet friendly bickering Certain episodes such as The Trouble with Tribbles I Mudd and A Piece of the Action were written and staged as comedies with dramatic elements Most episodes were presented as action adventure dramas frequently including space battles or fist fights between the ship s crew and guest antagonists Several episodes used the concept of planets developing parallel to Earth allowing reuse of stock props costumes and sets Bread and Circuses Miri and The Omega Glory depict such worlds A Piece of the Action Patterns of Force and Plato s Stepchildren are based on alien planets that have adopted period Earth cultures Prohibition era Chicago Nazi Germany and ancient Greece respectively Two episodes depicting time travel Tomorrow Is Yesterday and Assignment Earth conveniently place Enterprise in orbit above 1960s Earth a third The City on the Edge of Forever places members of the crew on 1930s Earth Top ranked episodes Edit Several publications have ranked the ten best episodes of Star Trek Rank Entertainment Weekly 1995 101 IGN 2012 102 Newsweek 2016 103 Hollywood com 2013 104 Den of Geek 2021 105 1 The City on the Edge of Forever The City on the Edge of Forever The Doomsday Machine The City on the Edge of Forever A Taste of Armageddon 2 Space Seed Balance of Terror Space Seed Arena The City on the Edge of Forever 3 Mirror Mirror Mirror Mirror Mirror Mirror Mirror Mirror The Corbomite Maneuver 4 The Doomsday Machine Space Seed The Trouble with Tribbles Balance of Terror The Devil in the Dark 5 Amok Time The Trouble with Tribbles The Enterprise Incident Space Seed A Piece of the Action 6 The Devil in the Dark Where No Man Has Gone Before Journey to Babel The Galileo Seven Space Seed 7 The Trouble with Tribbles The Enemy Within Balance of Terror Amok Time Balance of Terror 8 This Side of Paradise The Naked Time Arena Journey to Babel Arena 9 The Enterprise Incident This Side of Paradise Amok Time The Doomsday Machine Let That Be Your Last Battlefield 10 Journey to Babel Arena The City on the Edge of Forever The Enterprise Incident The Man Trap Of the twenty one different episodes listed above thirteen Where No Man Has Gone Before The Enemy Within The Naked Time Balance of Terror The Galileo Seven Arena Space Seed This Side of Paradise The Devil in the Dark A Taste of Armageddon The Corbomite Maneuver The Man Trap and The City on the Edge of Forever are from the first season and six Amok Time The Doomsday Machine Mirror Mirror The Trouble with Tribbles A Piece of the Action and Journey to Babel are from the second season Only two The Enterprise Incident and Let That Be Your Last Battlefield derive from the third season Only two episodes The City on the Edge of Forever and Space Seed appear on all five lists Leonard Nimoy Star Trek Memories Edit In 1983 Leonard Nimoy hosted a one hour special as a promotional tie in with the film Star Trek III The Search for Spock in which he recounted his memories of working on the original series and explained the origins of things such as the Vulcan nerve pinch and the Vulcan salute as well as a re airing of the TOS episode Space Seed 106 Music EditTheme tune Edit Main article Theme from Star Trek The show s theme tune was written by Alexander Courage and has been featured in several Star Trek spin off episodes and motion pictures Gene Roddenberry subsequently wrote a set of accompanying lyrics even though the lyrics were never used in the series nor did Roddenberry ever intend them to be this allowed him to claim co composer credit and hence 50 of the theme s performance royalties Courage considered Roddenberry s actions while entirely legal to be unethical 107 Series producer Robert Justman noted in the book Inside Star Trek The Real Story that work on the film Doctor Dolittle kept Courage from working on more than two episodes of the first season However Justman also believed that Courage lost enthusiasm for the series because of the royalty issue 44 185 Courage did not score any episodes of the second season however he did conduct a recording session for about 30 minutes of library cues for the second season on June 16 1967 108 Courage returned to score two episodes of the third season Later episodes used stock recordings from Courage s earlier work Jazz trumpeter Maynard Ferguson recorded a jazz fusion version of the tune with his band during the late 1970s and Nichelle Nichols performed the song live complete with lyrics The lyrics for the song are Beyond the rim of the starlight My love is wandering in star flight I know he ll find In star clustered reaches Love strange love A starwoman teaches I know his journey ends never His Star Trek will go on forever But tell him while He wanders his starry sea Remember Remember me 109 Dramatic underscore Edit For budgetary reasons this series made significant use of tracked music or music written for other episodes that was reused in later episodes Of the 79 episodes that were broadcast only 31 had complete or partial original dramatic underscores created specifically for them The remainder of the music in any episode was tracked from other episodes and from cues recorded for the music library Which episodes would have new music was mostly the decision of Robert H Justman the Associate Producer during the first two seasons Screen credits for the composers were given based on the amount of music composed for or composed and reused in the episode Some of these final music credits were occasionally incorrect Beyond the short works of source music music whose source is seen or acknowledged onscreen created for specific episodes eight composers were contracted to create original dramatic underscore during the series run Alexander Courage George Duning Jerry Fielding Gerald Fried Sol Kaplan Samuel Matlovsky Joseph Mullendore and Fred Steiner The composers conducted their own music Of these composers Steiner composed the original music for thirteen episodes and it is his instrumental arrangement of Alexander Courage s main theme that is heard over many of the end title credits of the series The tracked musical underscores were chosen and edited to the episode by the music editors principal of whom were Robert Raff most of Season One Jim Henrikson Season One and Two and Richard Lapham Season Three 110 Some of the original recordings of the music were released in the United States commercially on the GNP Crescendo Record Co label Music for a number of the episodes was re recorded by Fred Steiner and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra for the Varese Sarabande label and by Tony Bremner with the Royal Philharmonic for the Label X label Finally in December 2012 the complete original recordings were released by La La Land Records as a 15 CD box set with liner notes by Jeff Bond 111 Episodes with original music Edit Listed in production order Episodes that were only partially scored are in italics 112 Season 1 The Cage The Menagerie Alexander Courage Where No Man Has Gone Before Alexander Courage The Corbomite Maneuver Fred Steiner Mudd s Women Fred Steiner The Enemy Within Sol Kaplan The Man Trap Alexander Courage The Naked Time Alexander Courage Charlie X Fred Steiner Balance of Terror Fred Steiner What Are Little Girls Made Of Fred Steiner The Conscience of the King Joseph Mullendore Shore Leave Gerald Fried The City on the Edge of Forever Fred Steiner Season 2 Catspaw Gerald Fried Metamorphosis George Duning Friday s Child Gerald Fried Who Mourns for Adonais Fred Steiner Amok Time Gerald Fried The Doomsday Machine Sol Kaplan Mirror Mirror Fred Steiner I Mudd Samuel Matlovsky The Trouble with Tribbles Jerry Fielding By Any Other Name Fred Steiner Patterns of Force George Duning The Omega Glory Fred Steiner Return to Tomorrow George Duning Season 3 Spectre of the Gun Jerry Fielding Elaan of Troyius Fred Steiner The Paradise Syndrome Gerald Fried The Enterprise Incident Alexander Courage And the Children Shall Lead George Duning Spock s Brain Fred Steiner Is There in Truth No Beauty George Duning The Empath George Duning Plato s Stepchildren Alexander Courage Note Although The Way to Eden had no original score the episode had special musical material by Arthur Heinemann the episode s writer guest star Charles Napier and Craig Robertson Requiem for Methuselah contains a Johannes Brahms interpretation by Ivan Ditmars Awards EditMain article List of awards and nominations received by Star Trek The Original Series Although this series never won any Emmys Star Trek was nominated for the following Emmy Awards Outstanding Dramatic Series Gene Roddenberry and Gene L Coon 1967 Outstanding Dramatic Series Gene Roddenberry 1968 Outstanding Supporting Actor Leonard Nimoy as Mr Spock 1967 1968 1969 Individual Achievement in Art Direction and Allied Crafts Jim Rugg 1967 Individual Achievement in Cinematography Darrell Anderson Linwood G Dunn and Joseph Westheimer 1967 Individual Achievement in Film and Sound Editing Doug Grindstaff 1967 Outstanding Achievement in Film Editing Donald R Rode 1968 Special Classification of Individual Achievement for Photographic Effects The Westheimer Company 1968 Outstanding Achievement in Art Direction and Scenic Design John Dwyer and Walter M Jefferies 1969 Outstanding Achievement in Film Editing Donald R Rode 1969 Special Classification Achievements for Photographic Effects The Howard A Anderson Company The Westheimer Company Van der Veer Photo Effects Cinema Research 1969 Eight of its episodes were nominated for one of science fiction s top awards the Hugo Award in the category Best Dramatic Presentation In 1967 the nominated episodes were The Naked Time The Corbomite Maneuver and The Menagerie In 1968 all nominees were Star Trek episodes Amok Time Mirror Mirror The Doomsday Machine The Trouble with Tribbles and The City on the Edge of Forever Star Trek won both years for the episodes The Menagerie and The City on the Edge of Forever respectively In 1968 Star Trek won a special Hugo Award for Dramatic Presentation No episode was named This was the show s 3rd Hugo Award and 9th Hugo nomination In 1967 Star Trek was also one of the first television programs to receive an NAACP Image Award In 1968 Star Trek s most critically acclaimed episode The City on the Edge of Forever written by Harlan Ellison won the prestigious Writers Guild of America Award for Best Original Teleplay although this was for Ellison s original draft script and not for the screenplay of the episode as it aired In 1997 The City on the Edge of Forever was ranked 92 on TV Guide s 100 Greatest Episodes of All Time 113 In 2004 and 2007 TV Guide ranked Star Trek as the greatest cult show ever 114 115 In 2013 TV Guide ranked Star Trek as the greatest sci fi show along with Star Trek The Next Generation 116 and the 12 greatest show of all time 117 Distribution EditHome media Edit Episodes of the Original Series were among the first television series to be released on the VHS and laserdisc formats in North America The first episode on VHS for sale to the public was Space Seed released in June 1982 to celebrate the release of the second Star Trek film The Wrath of Khan at a price of 29 95 as prior to this titles were rental only 118 In 1985 the first 10 episodes went on sale on video at a price of 14 95 with further batches of 10 during 1985 and 1986 making it the first long running TV series to be released on home video in its entirety 119 with all episodes eventually being released on both formats By 1986 sales had reached 1 million units 120 With the advent of DVD in the mid 1990s single DVDs featuring two episodes each in production order were released In the early 2000s Paramount Home Video reissued the series to DVD in a series of three deluxe season boxes with added featurettes and documentaries In February 2009 CBS and Paramount announced that they would release the Original Series on Blu ray Season one two and three were released on April 28 September 22 and December 15 respectively The Blu ray releases let the user choose between Enhanced Effects or Original Effects via a technique called multi angle 121 All 79 episodes of the series have been digitally remastered by CBS Home Entertainment distributed by Paramount and have since been released on DVD CBS Home Entertainment released season one of The Original Series on Blu ray on April 28 2009 The Blu ray release contains both Original and Remastered episodes by seamless branching Blu ray name Ep Discs Region 1 A USA Region 2 B UK Region 4 B Australia Blu ray special featuresSeason One 29 7 April 28 2009 April 27 2009 May 6 2009 Starfleet Access for Where No Man Has Gone Before Spacelift Transporting Trek Into the 21st CenturyStarfleet Access for The Menagerie Parts I and II Reflections on SpockStarfleet Access for The Balance of Terror Life Beyond Trek William ShatnerTo Boldly Go Season OneThe Birth of a Timeless LegacyStarfleet Access for Space Seed Sci Fi VisionariesInteractive Enterprise InspectionBilly Blackburn s Treasure Chest Rare Home Movies and Special MemoriesKiss n Tell Romance in the 23rd CenturyStarfleet Access for Errand of Mercy Season Two 26 7 September 22 2009 October 9 2009 October 1 2009 Billy Blackburn s Treasure Chest Rare Home Movies and Special Memories Part 2 Starfleet Access for Amok Time Content to Go featurette via Mobile Blu Writing Spock Content to Go featurette via Mobile Blu Creating Chekov Content to Go featurette via Mobile Blu Listening to the Actors More Tribbles More Troubles audio commentary by David GerroldDS9 Trials and Tribble ations Trials and Tribble ations Uniting Two LegendsStar Trek The Original Series on Blu ray Trials and Tribble ations An Historic EndeavorStarfleet Access for The Trouble with Tribbles Content to Go featurette via Mobile Blu Spock s MotherTo Boldly Go Season TwoDesigning the Final FrontierStar Trek s Favorite MomentsWriter s Notebook D C FontanaLife Beyond Trek Leonard NimoyKirk Spock amp Bones Star Trek s Great TrioStar Trek s Divine Diva Nichelle NicholsEnhanced Visual Effects CreditsSeason Three 24 6 December 15 2009 March 22 2010 May 1 2013 Life Beyond Trek Walter Koenig Chief Engineer s LogMemoir from Mr SuluCaptain s Log Bob Justman Where No Man Has Gone Before Unaired alternate version David Gerrold Hosts 2009 Convention Coverage The Anthropology of Star Trek Comic Con Panel 2009The World of Rod Roddenberry Comic Con 2009Billy Blackburn s Treasure Chest Rare Home Movies and Special Memories Part 3To Boldly Go Season ThreeCollectible TrekStar Trek s ImpactOnline distribution Edit CBS Interactive is presenting all 3 seasons of the series via the tv com iPhone app The full length episodes without the new CGI but digitally processed to remove the original celluloid artifacts are available to users in the US at no charge but with embedded ads Short clips from the shows are also viewable at their web site 122 The company has recently presented all 3 seasons of the series via its Paramount premium streaming service It has all full length episodes without the new CGI like the tv com app and is available to users in the US with subscription without ad interruptions In January 2007 the first season of Star Trek The Original Series became available for download from Apple s iTunes Store Although consumer reviews indicate that some of the episodes on iTunes are the newly remastered editions iTunes editors had not indicated such and if so which are which All first season episodes that had been remastered and aired were available from iTunes except Where No Man Has Gone Before which remains in its original form On March 20 2007 the first season was again added to the iTunes Store with separate downloads for the original and remastered versions of the show though according to the customer reviews the original version contains minor revisions such as special effect enhancements citation needed Netflix began online streaming of five of the six Star Trek television series on July 1 2011 Deep Space Nine followed on October 1 2011 123 Films EditThe Original Series films Main article Star Trek film series The Original Series films Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry first suggested the idea of a Star Trek feature in 1969 124 When the original television series was canceled he lobbied to continue the franchise through a film The success of the series in syndication convinced the studio to begin work on a feature film in 1975 125 A series of writers attempted to craft a suitably epic screenplay but the attempts did not satisfy Paramount so the studio scrapped the project in 1977 Paramount instead planned on returning the franchise to its roots with a new television series Phase II The massive worldwide box office success of Star Wars in mid 1977 sent Hollywood studios to their vaults in search of similar sci fi properties that could be adapted or re launched to the big screen Following the huge opening of Columbia s Close Encounters of the Third Kind in late December 1977 production of Phase II was cancelled in favor of making a Star Trek film 126 Beginning with Star Trek The Motion Picture in 1979 it was followed by five sequels 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 and Star Trek VI The Undiscovered Country 1991 Leonard Nimoy directed Star Treks III and IV while William Shatner directed Star Trek V Reboot films The Kelvin Timeline Main article Star Trek film series The Kelvin Timeline After the poor reception of the final Next Generation film Nemesis and the cancellation of the television series Enterprise the franchise s executive producer Rick Berman and screenwriter Erik Jendresen began developing a new film 127 titled Star Trek The Beginning which would take place after Enterprise but before The Original Series 128 In February 2007 J J Abrams accepted Paramount s offer to direct the new film having been previously attached as producer 129 Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman wrote a screenplay that impressed Abrams featuring new actors portraying younger versions of the original series cast The Enterprise its interior and the original uniforms were redesigned This revival of the franchise is often considered to be a reboot but is also a continuation of the franchise with Nimoy reprising his role of the elderly Spock This route was taken to free the new films from the restrictions of established continuity without completely discarding it which the writers felt would have been disrespectful This new reality was informally referred to by several names including the Abramsverse JJ Trek and NuTrek before it was named the Kelvin Timeline versus the Prime Timeline of the original series and films by Michael and Denise Okuda for use in official Star Trek reference guides and encyclopedias The name Kelvin comes from the USS Kelvin a starship involved in the event that creates the new reality in Star Trek 2009 130 Abrams named the starship after his grandfather Henry Kelvin whom he also pays tribute to in Into Darkness with the Kelvin Memorial Archive 130 131 The three films in the Kelvin Timeline include Star Trek 2009 Star Trek Into Darkness 2013 and Star Trek Beyond 2016 The last was dedicated to Nimoy who died in 2015 and Anton Yelchin who died in a car crash in the summer it was released Merchandising EditThis section needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed September 2016 Learn how and when to remove this template message Star Trek The Original Series has inspired many commercial products including toys comic books and many other materials The comics are generally considered non canon Action figures Edit In the early 1970s the Mego Corporation acquired the license to produce Star Trek action figures which the company successfully marketed from 1974 to 1976 During this period the company produced a line of 8 figures featuring Captain Kirk Mr Spock Leonard McCoy Mr Scott Lt Uhura Aliens a Klingon a Neptunian the Keeper a Gorn a Cheron a Romulan a Talosian an Andorian and a Mugato and numerous playsets Mego also produced a life size toy tricorder In the mid 2000s Paul Dr Mego Clarke and Joe Sena founded EMCE Toys pronounced MC to bring Mego toys back to the marketplace Mego went out of business in 1983 132 Working with Diamond Select Toys current holders of the Star Trek license these figures have been selling in comics shops New characters are currently when being produced that Mego did not originally make such as Lt Sulu Ensign Chekov and Space Seed villain Khan Noonien Singh The Gorn that Mego produced had a brown Lizard head identical to the Marvel Comics villain on a brown body wearing a Klingon outfit Star Trek fans had frequently wished that Mego had made a TV accurate Gorn EMCE Toys and DST produced a new green Gorn based on the TV episode Arena citation needed EMCE Toys hired original Mego packaging artist Harold Schull to illustrate new artwork for Sulu Chekov Khan and the Gorn citation needed EMCE Toys is continuing the Mego revival with the production of more Star Trek figures including Captain Pike and the Salt Vampire citation needed Comic books Edit Main article Star Trek comics The first Star Trek comics were published by Gold Key Comics between 1967 and 1978 These comics were highly stylized and diverged wildly from the TV series continuity Most storylines used in the Gold Key series featured original characters and concepts although later issues did include sequels to the original series episodes The City on the Edge of Forever Metamorphosis and I Mudd Writers included George Kashdan Arnold Drake and Len Wein Originally they were illustrated by Alberto Giolitti an Italian artist who had never seen the series and only had publicity photos to use as references Since Giolitti didn t have a publicity photo of James Doohan early issues of the series had Mr Scott drawn differently The original issues most of which featured photographic covers showing images from the series are highly collectable They are fondly remembered by fans and a series of reprints The Key Collection of these original titles began to appear in 2004 published by Checker The Gold Key series had a run of 61 issues Gold Key lost the Star Trek license to Marvel Comics in 1979 although Marvel s license from Paramount prohibited them from utilizing concepts introduced in the original series 133 From 1969 to 1973 a series of weekly Star Trek comic strips ran in the British comics magazine eventually known as TV Century 21 A total of 258 issues were produced as well as various annuals and specials All were original stories Two more annuals under the Mighty TV Comic banner also produced original Star Trek materials In addition the weekly TV Comic reprinted serialized versions of the U S Gold Key comics 134 In 1977 1978 before home video was widely available Mandala Productions and Bantam Books published FotoNovels of TOS that included direct adaptations of actual color television episode frames with word balloons in comics format From February 1984 through February 1996 DC Comics held the license to publish comic books based upon the Star Trek franchise including Star Trek The Original Series The main DC Comics Star Trek title was published in two series comprising 136 issues 9 annuals and a number of special issues plus several mini series that linked TOS and the subsequent series Star Trek The Next Generation TNG Marvel Comics again obtained the Star Trek license in 1996 Marvel under the Marvel Paramount comics imprint published various one shots and the quarterly Star Trek Unlimited series which covered TOS as well as TNG 135 They also introduced the new series Star Trek Early Voyages which dealt with Christopher Pike s adventures as captain of the Enterprise as depicted in the rejected TOS pilot The Cage Fan acceptance of these comics got off to a shaky start when Marvel s inaugural publication of its new Star Trek line turned out to be a crossover between TOS and Marvel s popular superhero team the X Men However the series turned out to be relatively popular registering strong sales Beginning in 2006 Tokyopop published two projects based upon the original series The new comic anthologies produced by Joshua Ortega were released annually in September 2006 Shinsei Shinsei and 2007 Kakan ni Shinkou Five artists and writer teams presented five new stories per volume based on the original series 136 Legacy and cultural influence EditMain article Cultural influence of Star Trek Parodies Edit The Original Series has been parodied many times in other television series Saturday Night Live produced two famous sketches parodying The Original Series The Last Voyage of the Starship Enterprise in 1976 137 and William Shatner s own Get a life sketch in 1986 which parodied the show s trekkie followers The Last Voyage of the Starship Enterprise is a twelve minute sketch written by Michael O Donoghue It was described by TrekMovie com as one of the best Star Trek parody sketches of all time 137 TVSquad ranked Shatner s Get a life sketch alongside The Last Voyage as one of the most famous parodies of the show 138 The Canadian comedy duo Wayne and Shuster parodied Star Trek as Star Schtick in the late 1970s An entire Finnish parody series Star Wreck was produced starting in 1992 culminating with Star Wreck In the Pirkinning in 2005 all available as legal downloads on the web 139 The series has also been parodied on The Simpsons 138 Family Guy and notably in the Futurama episode Where No Fan Has Gone Before which was described by Wired magazine as a touchstone for fans 140 The 1999 film Galaxy Quest portrays the lives of a once popular television space drama crew who are kidnapped by real aliens who have mistaken the fictional series for reality 141 142 The main characters are parodies of Star Trek characters and many of the plot elements refer to or parody popular 1960s TV series customs 143 On Adult Swim s FishCenter Live a parody of the USS Enterprise was featured called the USS FishCenterprise NCC 1065 144 The series was also parodied in print as Star Blecch in the December 1967 issue of Mad Magazine Issue 115 145 John Scalzi s novel Redshirts winner of the 2013 Hugo Award for Best Novel uses the theme of red shirted Star Fleet officers as cannon fodder T raumschiff Surprise Periode 1 2004 is a movie directed by Michael Herbig which parodies Star Trek and Star Wars Fan productions Edit See also Star Trek fan productions Star Trek has inspired many fans to produce stories for free Internet distribution Many of these are set in the time of The Original Series including Star Trek Phase II which was nominated for a Hugo Award and received support from actors and writers who were involved with The Original Series Star Trek Continues chronicles the last year of the 5 year voyage of The Enterprise Gene Roddenberry s son Rod announced after a showing in 2014 that this series would have been considered canon by his father 146 Comprising 11 full episodes and numerous additional materials Star Trek Continues was produced from 2013 to 2017 and funded by a kickstarter Series sequels Edit Main article List of Star Trek television series The Captains together in London at Destination Star Trek The original Star Trek was followed in 1973 and beyond with more shows filling in its legacy including the equally successful yet ever popular The Next Generation starring Patrick Stewart as Captain Jean Luc Picard The following series include The Animated Series 1973 1974 The Next Generation 1987 1994 films Deep Space Nine 1993 1999 Voyager 1995 2001 Enterprise 2001 2005 Discovery 2017 present Star Trek Short Treks 2018 2020 Picard 2020 present Lower Decks 2020 present Prodigy 2021 present Strange New Worlds 2022 present Reception EditRod Serling said of the series that Star Trek was again a very inconsistent show which at times sparkled with true ingenuity and pure science fiction approaches At other times it was more carnival like and very much more the creature of television than the creature of a legitimate literary form 147 Isaac Asimov and Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry developed a unique relationship during Star Trek s initial run in the late 1960s Asimov wrote a critical essay on Star Trek s scientific accuracy for TV Guide magazine Roddenberry retorted respectfully with a personal letter explaining the limitations of accuracy when writing a weekly series Asimov corrected himself with a follow up essay to TV Guide claiming despite its inaccuracies that Star Trek was a fresh and intellectually challenging science fiction television show The two remained friends to the point where Asimov even served as an adviser on a number of Star Trek projects 148 On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes Season 1 received an approval rating of 92 based on 24 reviews with an average rating of 9 10 The critical consensus reads An optimistic ode to humanity Star Trek may look dated but its gadgetry and solid storytelling solidify its place as one of pop culture s most enduring franchises 149 Season 2 received an approval rating of 100 based on 6 reviews with an average rating of 7 33 10 150 Season 3 received an approval rating of 50 based on 10 reviews with an average rating of 5 5 10 The critical consensus reads Budget cuts leave the stars of Star Trek stranded among shoddy set pieces and clunky writing though even at its worst fans may still enjoy its campy delights 151 In 2016 in a listing that included each Star Trek film and TV series together this series was ranked first by the L A Times ahead of the 1982 film Star Trek II The Wrath of Khan and Star Trek Deep Space Nine in third place 152 In 2017 Vulture ranked the original Star Trek the third best live action Star Trek television show while at the same time praising it for laying down the foundation 153 In 2018 IndieWire ranked Star Trek the original series as the 8th best space science fiction show set in outer space including 18 overall shows from this genre 154 In 2018 Io9 Gizmodo ranked the fictional spacecraft design shown in this television series the Enterprise as the number one best version of starship Enterprise of the Star Trek franchise 155 They felt that the original design was still superior to almost a dozen different later versions 155 In 2019 Nerdist ranked the original series number one best out of seven Star Trek franchise television series including up to the second season of Star Trek Discovery 156 In 2019 Popular Mechanics ranked Star Trek the 6th best science fiction television show ever 157 In 2021 Empire magazine ranked it the 36th greatest television show ever 158 See also Edit Science Fiction portal Speculative fiction portal Television portal 1960s portal Beam me up Scotty Outline of Star Trek Timeline of Star TrekReferences Edit Star Trek imdb com September 8 1966 Archived from the original on July 21 2010 Retrieved July 19 2010 a b Strauss Larry September 3 1998 Trekkers paradise found on local TV News Press Fort Myers Florida p E1 Archived from the original on September 5 2019 Retrieved September 5 2019 via newspapers com Strauss thanks to the Sci Fi Channel which brought the original series back to TV Tuesday night Dubbed Star Trek The Original Series scenes that were cut from episodes that aired in syndication have been restored and shows have been digitally remastered and color corrected Star Trek a titles amp telecast dates guide epguides com Archived from the original on February 24 2010 Retrieved April 4 2010 Today s TV Previews Montreal Gazette September 6 1966 p 36 Archived from the original on April 8 2017 Retrieved September 8 2016 a b Asherman Allan 1981 The Star Trek Compendium New York Simon amp Schuster ISBN 0 671 79145 1 a b Roddenberry Gene March 11 1964 Star Trek Pitch Archived May 12 2016 at the Wayback Machine first draft Accessed at LeeThomson myzen co uk STARTREK COM Universe Timeline Startrek com Archived from the original on July 3 2009 Retrieved July 14 2009 Okuda Michael Okuda Denise November 1 1996 Star Trek Chronology The History of the Future ISBN 0 671 53610 9 a b c d Whitfield Stephen E Roddenberry Gene 1968 The Making of Star Trek New York Ballantine Books ISBN 0 345 31554 5 OCLC 23859 Beck Donald R Director 1991 Star Trek 25th Anniversary Special Okuda Michael Okuda Denise 1996 Star Trek Chronology The History of the Future Pocket Books ISBN 0 671 53610 9 Okuda Michael Okuda Denise Mirek Debbie 1994 The Star Trek Encyclopedia ISBN 0671869051 Enterprise U S S April 21 2007 Archived from the original on July 12 2010 Retrieved October 16 2017 The Counter Clock Incident Star Trek The Animated Series Season 2 Episode 6 Paramount Television October 12 1974 NBC a b Star TrekHistory Behind the Scenes startrekhistory com Archived from the original on February 17 2015 Retrieved February 12 2015 a b Articles amp Archives dartmouth org Archived from the original on February 18 2014 Retrieved February 12 2015 Meryl Gottlieb July 8 2016 Lucille Ball is the reason we have Star Trek here s what happened Business Insider Archived from the original on January 10 2017 Retrieved January 4 2017 a b c Desilu Memory Alpha Archived from the original on March 3 2015 Retrieved February 12 2015 Herbert F Solow Memory Alpha Archived from the original on January 29 2015 Retrieved February 12 2015 Roberta Pearson Maire Messenger Davies 2014 Star Trek and American Television University of California Press pp 21 ISBN 978 0 520 95920 0 Archived from the original on May 17 2016 Retrieved February 12 2015 Greenberger Robert 2012 Star Trek ISBN 9780760343593 a b c d e f g h i j Davies Maire Messenger Pearson Roberta Michael Lowell Henry 2007 The Little Program That Could The Relationship Between NBC and Star Trek In Hilmes Michele Henry Michael Lowell eds NBC America s Network University of California Press pp 212 222 ISBN 978 0 520 25079 6 Archived from the original on June 11 2016 Retrieved November 12 2015 a href Template Cite book html title Template Cite book cite book a CS1 maint multiple names authors list link Spiegel Lee February 6 2012 Nichelle Nichols on Having First Major Black Female TV Role And That First Interracial Kiss On Star Trek The Huffington Post Archived from the original on July 31 2012 Retrieved August 11 2012 How Lucille Ball Made Star Trek Happen Archived March 15 2015 at the Wayback Machine September 8 2013 BadAssDigest com Birth Movies Death Matt Jefferies Memory Alpha Archived from the original on February 18 2015 Retrieved February 12 2015 William Shatner Chip Walter William Walters 2002 I m Working on That A Trek From Science Fiction to Science Fact Star Trek ISBN 978 0 671 04737 5 Retrieved June 26 2010 The Man Trap IMDb September 8 1966 Archived from the original on December 22 2017 Retrieved June 30 2018 a b c d e f g h Television Obscurities A Look at Star Trek Television Obscurities September 1 2006 Archived from the original on August 16 2011 Retrieved May 14 2011 Millrod Jack September 16 1996 The Trek Continues Illegible Pittsburgh Post Gazette p D1 Archived from the original on May 8 2016 Retrieved April 26 2011 The numbers game part one Broadcasting September 19 1966 58 60 Gowran Clay Nielsen Ratings Are Dim on New Shows Chicago Tribune October 11 1966 B10 Gould Jack How Does Your Favorite Rate Maybe Higher Than You Think The New York Times October 16 1966 129 Scheuer Steven H February 20 1967 TV Key Mailbag The Morning Record Meriden Connecticut p 4A Archived from the original on May 5 2016 Retrieved May 12 2011 Pohl Frederik February 1967 More About Being Bad Editorial Galaxy Science Fiction pp 4 6 a b c d e f g h Pearson Roberta Niki Strange 2011 Cult Television as Digital Television s Cutting Edge In Bennett James Strange Niki eds Television as Digital Media Duke University Press pp 105 131 ISBN 978 0 8223 4910 5 Bob Thomas May 25 1976 Roddenberry would like to leave Star Trek behind Williamson Daily News Williamson WV Associated Press p 14 Archived from the original on December 22 2015 Retrieved May 15 2011 NBC fills final hole for 1967 68 Broadcasting March 6 1967 52 Gent George Alex Segal to Produce 3 Danny Thomas TV Shows The New York Times March 15 1967 9 5 a b Lowry Cynthia March 29 1968 TV Fans Save Space Ship Enterprise From Mothballs Florence Times Tri Cities Daily Florence AL Tri Cities Newspapers Inc Associated Press p 15 Archived from the original on March 11 2016 Retrieved November 3 2013 a b c Lowry Cynthia January 17 1968 One Network Goes Unconventional Nashua Telegraph Associated Press p 13 Archived from the original on May 11 2016 Retrieved April 29 2011 US TV Nielsen Ratings 1967 1968 The Classic TV Archive Archived from the original on January 21 2011 Retrieved April 29 2011 a b c d Poe Stephen Edward 1998 A Vision of the Future Simon amp Schuster pp 138 139 ISBN 0 671 53481 5 Archived from the original on June 23 2020 Retrieved July 14 2017 Conley Rita April 16 1972 Day To Day Fare Can Help People Cope With Life Sarasota Herald Tribune p 13 Archived from the original on May 6 2016 Retrieved May 4 2011 a b Solow Herbert F Justman Robert H 1997 Inside Star Trek The Real Story Simon amp Schuster ISBN 0 671 00974 5 a b c d Page Don August 15 1968 Star Trek Lives Despite Taboos Toledo Blade Archived from the original on May 12 2016 Retrieved April 29 2011 Michaud Michael A G 1986 Reaching for the high frontier the American pro space movement 1972 84 Praeger ISBN 0 275 92150 6 a b Letters For Star Trek Hit 114 667 The Modesto Bee April 14 1968 p 26 Retrieved December 9 2014 Star Trekkers Are Restored Archived May 12 2012 at the Wayback Machine Hartford Courant March 17 1968 12H a b c Scott Vernon February 7 1968 Letters Can Save Star Trek The Press Courier Oxnard California United Press International p 17 Archived from the original on April 24 2016 Retrieved April 29 2011 Harrison Scott April 25 2011 Star Trek protest Los Angeles Times Archived from the original on May 25 2011 Retrieved April 26 2011 a b c Svetkey Benjamin September 27 1991 The Enterprise turns 25 Entertainment Weekly Archived from the original on November 19 2011 Retrieved May 14 2011 David Gerrold quoting Bjo Trimble in The World of Star Trek Ballantine Books 1973 p 166 Lowry Cynthia May 21 1969 Why Some Shows Expired The Free Lance Star Fredericksburg Virginia Associated Press p 2 Archived from the original on April 29 2016 Retrieved May 6 2011 Laugh In staying put Broadcasting March 18 1968 9 Missing links in the TV chains Broadcasting January 13 1969 48 52 David Gerrold The World of Star Trek Ballantine Books 1973 Fall line ups go on the street Broadcasting March 4 1968 23 28 Shatner William 1993 Star Trek Memories p 266 Nimoy Leonard 1995 I Am Spock p 120 Shatner William 1993 Star Trek Memories pp 290 293 Nichols Nichelle 1994 Beyond Uhura Star Trek and Other Memories G P Putnam s p 189 ISBN 0 399 13993 1 Archived from the original on May 8 2016 Retrieved November 12 2015 Star Trek CBS Studios Startrek com Archived from the original on June 28 2010 Retrieved June 26 2010 78 episodes counting the two part The Menagerie only once and not counting the first commissioned pilot The Cage which did not air during this time Ask TV Scout The Palm Beach Post July 18 1969 Retrieved April 29 2011 25 Biggest TV Blunders 2 25 Biggest TV Blunders July 31 2011 TV Guide Network 4 NBC Cancels Star Trek Students rate television Telegraph Herald Dubuque IA April 28 1971 p 6 Archived from the original on May 16 2016 Retrieved May 12 2011 a b c Teitelbaum Sheldon May 5 1991 How Gene Roddenberry and his Brain Trust Have Boldly Taken Star Trek Where No TV Series Has Gone Before Trekking to the Top Los Angeles Times p 16 Archived from the original on November 6 2015 Retrieved January 24 2012 a b Abbott Stacey March 10 2010 The Cult TV Book I B Tauris ISBN 978 1 84885 026 2 a b Star Trek Syndication Advertisements Circa 1969 1970 Television Obscurities December 15 2008 Archived from the original on July 17 2011 Retrieved May 15 2011 Meehan Eileen R 2005 Why TV is not our fault television programming viewers and who s really in control Rowman amp Littlefield ISBN 0 7425 2486 8 a b c Hale Barrie April 26 1975 Believing in Captain Kirk Calgary Herald p 10 Archived from the original on September 25 2013 Retrieved May 14 2011 a b Shult Doug July 3 1972 Cult Fans Reruns Give Star Trek an Out of This World Popularity Milwaukee Journal Archived from the original on May 6 2016 Retrieved March 4 2011 Buck Jerry March 14 1972 Star Trek Engenders Cult in U S England Associated Press Archived from the original on May 10 2016 Retrieved March 4 2011 Daley Steve January 4 1987 Staying Power What Is It That Transforms a Few TV Programs into Cult Classics While Thousands of Others Fade into Oblivion Chicago Tribune p 4 Star Trek Museum of Broadcast Communications Archived from the original on June 29 2011 Retrieved August 11 2012 Star Trek Rechanneled Evening Independent St Petersburg Florida May 6 1972 pp 3A Archived from the original on May 20 2016 Retrieved May 12 2011 Sedgeman Judy May 29 1972 Fan of Star Trek Works At Getting TV Show Returned St Petersburg Times Archived from the original on November 17 2020 Retrieved May 4 2011 Montgomery Paul L March 11 1973 Star Trekkies Show Devotion The Ledger Lakeland Florida The New York Times p 34 Archived from the original on May 12 2016 Retrieved May 12 2011 Darrach Brad July 25 1977 Leonard Nimoy Beams Himself Aboard Equus and Out from Under Mr Spock s Pointy Ears People Archived from the original on March 2 2015 Retrieved March 2 2015 Harmetz Aljean November 2 1986 New Star Trek Plan Reflects Symbiosis of TV and Movies The New York Times p 31 Archived from the original on February 12 2015 Retrieved February 11 2015 Cerone Daniel April 2 1994 Trek on into the 21st Century Los Angeles Times Archived from the original on November 17 2020 Retrieved March 7 2011 Original Star Trek Getting a CGI Makeover TrekMovie com August 28 2006 Archived from the original on April 3 2007 Retrieved April 23 2007 Anthony Pascale November 20 2006 Behind the Scenes at CBS Digital TrekMovie com Archived from the original on April 3 2007 Retrieved April 23 2007 TOS Remastered Format Trekmovie com Archived from the original on September 20 2012 Retrieved September 7 2012 David Lambert February 18 2008 Reports Say HD DVD Format To Be Discontinued tvshowsondvd com Archived from the original on February 21 2008 Retrieved February 19 2008 David Lambert March 21 2008 Release Date for Star Trek Season 2 Remastered on DVD TVShowsOnDVD com Archived from the original on March 24 2008 Retrieved March 22 2008 David Lambert March 21 2008 Release Date Exclusive Early Look at Package Art for Remastered 3rd Season of TOS TVShowsOnDVD com Archived from the original on July 30 2008 Retrieved March 22 2008 Star Trek The Original Series Season 1 Complete Blu ray Archived from the original on February 25 2009 Retrieved February 18 2009 Home Media Magazine 16319 Star Trek Season 2 Blu Ray Due Sept 22 16319 Homemediamagazine com July 9 2009 Archived from the original on July 16 2009 Retrieved July 15 2009 Star Trek DVD news Announcement for Star Trek Season 3 on Blu ray Disc TVShowsOnDVD com Archived from the original on September 14 2012 Retrieved September 7 2012 Star Trek DVD news Update about Star Trek Alternate Realities TVShowsOnDVD com Archived from the original on October 23 2012 Retrieved September 7 2012 Lee Speigel November 30 2011 Gene Roddenberry s Son Reveals Unhappy Star Trek Family Life Huffington Post Archived from the original on September 18 2018 Retrieved February 21 2020 William Shatner s Star Trek Memories documentary film released 1995 Lindley Robin 2005 Russian Crewlette snopes com Archived from the original on November 17 2020 Retrieved December 13 2006 Rioux Terry Lee February 1 2005 From sawdust to stardust the biography of DeForest Kelley Star trek s Dr McCoy Simon and Schuster ISBN 0 7434 5762 5 Leonard Nimoy I Am Spock Hyperion Books 1995 pp 85 88 Robert Jewett amp John Lawrence The Myth of the American Superhero William B Eerdsman Co 2002 p 230 Star Trek Episode 3 13 Lucas John Meredith Elaan of Troyius First aired December 20 1968 Retrieved October 25 2017 Brown Mark November 20 2015 TV archive discovers couple who beat Kirk and Uhura to first interracial kiss the Guardian Archived from the original on November 22 2015 Retrieved July 23 2016 McFarland Melanie February 14 2006 Interracial romance now the norm on TV but real life issues are ignored Seattle Post Intelligencer Archived from the original on November 17 2020 Retrieved August 11 2012 Peter Muller Star Trek The American Dream Continued The Crisis of the American Dream in the 1960s and its Reflection in a Contemporary TV Series Oldenburg University thesis 1994 pp 63 139 Archived July 19 2011 at the Wayback Machine Star Trek The Ultimate Trip Through the Galaxies Entertainment Weekly No Special Edition January 18 1995 IGN s Top 10 Classic Star Trek Episodes IGN Archived from the original on July 16 2012 Retrieved August 11 2012 Baker Tim January 2 2016 The Top 10 Original Star Trek Episodes Newsweek No Special Edition Star Trek 50 Years Archived from the original on June 11 2016 Retrieved June 9 2016 TV Best Of Worst Of May 18 2013 Ranking All 79 Star Trek The Original Series Episodes from Worst to Best Hollywood com Archived from the original on March 4 2016 Retrieved June 9 2016 The Star Trek The Original Series Episodes That Best Define the Franchise March 3 2021 Leonard Nimoy Star Trek Memories at IMDb Unthemely Behavior Urban Legends Reference Pages March 10 1999 Archived from the original on November 17 2020 Retrieved August 19 2010 Bond Jeff Liner notes for the Original Series Soundtrack Collection box set La La Land Records 2012 season 2 pp 29 31 Star Trek Theme Lyrics Lyrics On Demand Archived from the original on June 22 2020 Retrieved April 8 2019 Steiner Fred 1985 Music for Star Trek Scoring a Television Show in the Sixties In Newsom Iris ed Wonderful inventions motion pictures broadcasting and recorded sound at the Library of Congress Washington Library of Congress OCLC 10374960 Star Trek The Original Series Soundtrack Collection Limited Edition Archived from the original on January 1 2013 Retrieved January 6 2013 Bond Jeff 1999 Star Trek Episode Production Guide The Music OfStar Trek Los Angeles Lone Eagle Publishing Company ISBN 1 58065 012 0 Special Collectors Issue 100 Greatest Episodes of All Time TV Guide June 28 July 4 1997 TV Guide The 25 Top Cult Shows Ever May 30 June 5 2004 issue TV Guide Names the Top Cult Shows Ever Today s News Our Take Archived August 12 2012 at the Wayback Machine TV Guide June 29 2007 The official site of TV Guide Magazine TV Guide Magazine September 16 22 2013 Fretts Bruce Roush Matt The Greatest Shows on Earth TV Guide Magazine 61 3194 3195 16 19 Space Seed Khan Forever Changed VHS Releases startrek com Archived from the original on July 4 2019 Retrieved July 4 2019 Par Home Vid Cutting Prices on Trek Tapes Daily Variety December 21 1984 p 1 Inc Nielsen Business Media August 30 1986 Billboard Nielsen Business Media Inc Archived from the original on November 17 2020 Retrieved July 26 2019 a href Template Cite book html title Template Cite book cite book a last has generic name help Star Trek The Original Series Series 1 Complete Remastered Blu ray 1966 Amazon co uk DVD Amazon co uk Archived from the original on November 6 2015 Retrieved May 23 2009 Waldman Allison February 21 2008 CBS adds TV classics to web line up TV Squad Archived from the original on March 5 2008 Retrieved March 30 2008 Pascale Anthony April 6 2011 Netflix Update All Star Trek TV Series To Begin Streaming In July Trekmovie com Archived from the original on October 5 2012 Retrieved August 11 2012 Reeves Stevens 155 158 Brown Charles ed October 1975 Star Trek Movie Locus 1 180 What happened to Star Trek Phase II A canceled Star Trek show from the 70s quietly shaped every sequel since SyfyWire SyFy September 27 2017 Archived from the original on July 28 2020 Retrieved July 28 2020 McNary Dave February 13 2005 Trekkers consider series future Variety Retrieved June 1 2007 Hinman Michael April 12 2006 Star Trek XI Is Down But It Is Not Out SyFy Portal Archived from the original on January 9 2008 Retrieved September 24 2007 Siegel Tatiana February 24 2007 Abrams takes helm of Star Trek The Hollywood Reporter Archived from the original on May 16 2008 Retrieved April 14 2008 a b The Kelvin Timeline Official Name for the New Star Trek Universe MSN June 27 2016 Archived from the original on August 19 2016 Retrieved July 24 2016 Staff TrekCore June 26 2016 STAR TREK Alternate Universe Finally Gets Official Name TrekCore Blog trekcore com Archived from the original on July 23 2016 Retrieved July 24 2016 Caringer Kevin The Rise and Fall of a Toy Giant Archived May 30 2015 at the Wayback Machine White s Guide to Collecting Figures vol 2 1 Jan 1996 Archived at the New Force Comics website Curt Danhauser Guide to the Gold Key Star Trek Comics Archived from the original on January 9 2002 Retrieved December 25 2006 Rich Handley The Star Trek Comic Strips Archived from the original on February 12 2006 Retrieved December 25 2006 Star Trek Unlimited monthly series from Marvel Paramount Comics 1996 1998 Archived from the original on August 29 2011 Retrieved December 29 2006 1 Archived February 4 2012 at the Wayback Machine a b Pascale Anthony May 29 2010 Flashback to May 29 1976 Watch SNL s The Last Voyage of the Starship Enterprise Skit trekmovie com TrekMovie com Archived from the original on September 5 2015 Retrieved July 23 2010 a b Keller Richard July 18 2008 Star Trek the television parodies Videos TV Squad TV Squad Archived from the original on May 31 2009 Retrieved July 28 2010 Star Wreck mirror Lame lut fi Archived from the original on March 14 2012 Retrieved August 2 2012 Baker Chris December 17 2007 Videogames amp Futurama Part 1 Raiders of the Lost Arcade Wired Archived from the original on August 4 2011 Retrieved February 2 2008 What did Patrick Stewart think of Galaxy Quest BBC Online Archived from the original on January 13 2014 Retrieved August 11 2012 Lyall Sarah January 27 2008 To Boldly Go Where Shakespeare Calls The New York Times Archived from the original on November 6 2015 Retrieved June 28 2008 Wil Wheaton dot NET Where is my mind Tangent Wilwheaton net September 24 2001 Retrieved August 15 2021 Hillebrand Jorg Schneider Bernd January 1 2020 Ex Astris Scientia Visual Crossovers with Other Series Movies Ex Astris Scientia ex astris scientia org Archived from the original on January 4 2020 Retrieved January 3 2020 Star Blecch Mad Magazine 115 December 1967 pp 4 8 Statement of Rod Roddenberry about Star Trek Continues Facebook Archived from the original on November 17 2020 Retrieved December 20 2019 Charlie Jane Anders April 15 2014 Was Star Trek Ever Really Intelligent Grown Up Science Fiction IO9 Archived from the original on April 19 2014 Retrieved April 20 2014 Getting Star Trek on the air was impossible Letters of Note June 25 2012 Retrieved September 6 2014 Star Trek Season 1 archived from the original on August 7 2020 retrieved June 6 2020 Star Trek Season 2 archived from the original on August 7 2020 retrieved June 6 2020 Star Trek Season 3 archived from the original on August 7 2020 retrieved June 6 2020 Bernardin Marc September 8 2016 Ranking every Star Trek movie and TV series from first to worst Los Angeles Times Archived from the original on July 12 2019 Retrieved July 12 2019 Every Star Trek TV Show Ranked From Worst to Best vulture com September 22 2017 Archived from the original on July 12 2019 Retrieved July 12 2019 Miller Liz Shannon April 18 2018 The 18 Best Sci Fi TV Shows Set In Space Ranked IndieWire Archived from the original on July 6 2019 Retrieved February 27 2019 a b Whitbrook James All 11 Versions of the U S S Enterprise Ranked Gizmodo Archived from the original on July 9 2019 Retrieved July 9 2019 All 7 Star Trek Series Ranked Nerdist Archived from the original on July 9 2019 Retrieved July 6 2019 Hoffman Jordan Wakeman Gregory July 12 2019 The 50 Best Sci Fi TV Shows Ever Popular Mechanics Archived from the original on January 29 2015 Retrieved July 20 2019 The 100 Greatest TV Shows Of All Time Empire Retrieved March 29 2021 External links EditStar Trek The Original Series at Wikipedia s sister projects Media from Commons Quotations from Wikiquote Data from Wikidata Official website Star Trek The Original Series at Paramount Plus Star Trek The Original Series at IMDb Star Trek The Original Series at Memory Alpha a Star Trek wiki Star Trek The Original Series at Memory Beta Star Trek The Original Series collected news and commentary at The New York Times Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Star Trek The Original Series amp oldid 1133251277, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

article

, read, download, free, free download, mp3, video, mp4, 3gp, jpg, jpeg, gif, png, picture, music, song, movie, book, game, games.