"A Short History of Star Trek"

by Matt Russell


Star Trek has a very large effect on the world that most people do not know about. In 1965, a writer named Gene Roddenberry went to NBC with a new idea. A "Wagon Train to the Stars." NBC was intrigued by the idea and ordered a pilot episode to be made. After the pilot was made and rejected by the network for being too cerebral, the executives who were very intrigued with the idea ordered a rare second pilot. Roddenberry did so and the pilot was accepted. On September 8, 1966, viewers first heard the famous "Space, the final frontier" opening to the show.

William Shatner was cast as the strong, courageous Captain James T. Kirk. Leonard Nimoy was cast as the logical, unemotional, pointy-eared, green-blooded alien, Mr. Spock, the ships second in command and science officer. DeForest Kelley played the very emotional Dr. Leonard H. "Bones" McCoy, the ship's Chief Medical Officer. James Doohan portrayed the ship's Scottish Chief Engineer, Montgomery Scott, along with an Asian helmsman named Hikaru Sulu played by George Takei and an African American communications officer named Nyota Uhura played by Nichelle Nichols. In the second season, a Russian navigator was added to the multiracial crew of the Earth ship, USS Enterprise NCC-1701.

The series portrayed many things going on in the sixties that were not allowed to be shown on regular shows. Roddenberry used a science fiction twist as the excuse to get away with it. In one such episode entitled "Let that be your Last Battlefield," Roddenberry had two alien men on the Enterprise, making the Enterprise go to their home planet. One was painted black on the right side of his face and white on the left. The other was painted white on the right side and black on the left side. He had the two be arched enemies just due to the fact that one was white on the right side and the other was black on the right side. This episode was used to symbolize racism in America. In the end, the two sides had destroyed themselves and their world.

When the show was nearing the end of its second season, it was in trouble. The show was going to be cancelled by NBC. Science fiction writers such as Ray Bradbury and many others wrote letters to the network to keep Star Trek on. Then, fans started writing. "The fans wrote in great numbers and pasted on all the windows of the executives' cars 'Star Trek Lives,'" says William Shatner in his video based on his best-selling book, "William Shatner's Star Trek Memories." Thousands of letters were received by the network, and convinced them to keep Star Trek alive for another season, but with two drastic changes. The show's budget was cut. Roddenberry was promised a good time slot on Tuesday nights at seven o'clock, but instead was given the "death slot." The show was put to air at ten o'clock on Friday nights.

After the third season had ended, the show was cancelled for sure. According to Leonard Nimoy in "William Shatner's Star Trek Memories, "I think it was two or three years later that I really began to feel something. I thought by that time the show would be gone. A couple of years of re-runs and then shoot into oblivion, but instead my mail was getting heavier and the phone was ringing with more and more requests for appearances."

In 1972, fans decided to rent a hotel ballroom and talk about the show and exchange merchandise that they had collected and even have the stars there to talk to. George Takei said that after being called and told that they would pay for his flight, hotel room, and expenses as well as the others and recalls thinking that they were foolish. The planners of the event figured out that if they could get 300 people to attend, they could pay for it. And 3, 500 people ended up attending. "When we were out on stage, you couldn't say a word, everything you said, like hello created a wall of emotion coming out at you. And we were all taken back and touched deeply by it," says Leonard Nimoy.

In 1978, it was announced that production was starting on Star Trek: The Motion Picture and it would be released late the next year. The entire cast of the series were reunited to work on Star Trek finally after they were signed for several other Trek projects that never did work out. The film, after being very successful at the box office, which created an interest for Paramount to make a sequel. In 1982, a sequel with more action and adventure was released entitled, Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan. The film starred Ricardo Montalbahn reprising his role as the evil Khan from the episode "Space Seed." However, the success of the film created a problem. At the end of the film, Leonard Nimoy's famous character, Spock was killed off, and no one could think of the series continuing without him. So, the studio asked Nimoy if he would be interested in playing Spock again, and said that he was very interested. But, he was not only interested in reprising his role, he was also interested in directing the film as well, and was given the assignment. In 1984, Star Trek III: The Search for Spock, Spock's resurrection was released. It was considered by many critics as the best of the first three films, which meant a fourth film had to be made. Nimoy, who was given the directorial assignment again for the film, also co-wrote the story. In 1986, during Star Trek's 20th Anniversary, Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home was released and is now considered the best of the entire series.

But another important milestone in Star Trek history happened in 1986. It was announced that a new Star Trek series would be made entitled, Star Trek: The Next Generation, which became very successful. During its third season, the fifth film was released. This time it was directed by William Shatner, entitled, Star Trek V: The Final Frontier. Sadly, the film ended up making a disappointing $55 million and it was questionable as to whether or not there would even be another film. But it was decided that one last film would made as the farewell to the original cast and make way for the Next Generation cast. In 1991, on Trek's 25th Anniversary, Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country was released. It would be the only film featuring the entire original series cast that Gene Roddenberry would not be able to see.

The Next Generation filled fans' craving for more Trek as the original cast finished their final film, but what would happen after The Next Generation was went off the air? In 1993, a new series was created by Rick Berman and Michael Piller entitled Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. Also, that year, another series entitled Star Trek: Voyager was released and later that year, the Next Generation was went off the air after seven successful seasons. The next year in 1994, the seventh film in the series was released, featuring William Shatner, Walter Koenig and James Doohan reprising their roles as Kirk, Chekov and Scotty. Koenig and Doohan were asked to star in the film after Kelley and Nimoy turned down the offer, not wanting to damage their characters by a short walk-on appearance. The three appeared briefly in the opening scene until the film flashed 78 years into the future to show the Next Generation cast. The film, Star Trek: Generations was a success, but is still under dispute by fans due to the death of Shatner's character. Two years later in 1996, Star Trek: First Contact was released and two years after that, in 1998, Star Trek: Insurrection was released, making it a total of nine films and still going.

So how could all of this affect the world? Well, it has touched the hearts of many. Star Trek fans, or Trekkies/Trekkers as they are called are quite popular for their devotion to the franchise. But, people think of them as geeks without lives. "Get a life," said William Shatner in a Saturday Night Live skit. It was not taken well at all by fans. It took time for Shatner to adjust to the sincere love people had for the show. If you ask a large number of fans why they like Star Trek so much, just about every single one will probably say, "because it gives a positive view of the future where everyone is equal and man lives in peace exploring the galaxy, working to better themselves."

But just how devoted are these fans? Well, "Trekkies" are the only fans listed by name in the Oxford English Dictionary. In the documentary, "Trekkies," released by Paramount pictures about the phenomenon, 14 year old Star Trek fan, Gabriel Koerner, now 17, estimated that he spends about 300-400 dollars a year on Star Trek merchandise. The average Star Trek fan spends $400 a year on Trek merchandise. There are hundreds of thousands of fan-club Star Trek fans. Star Trek conventions are held every weekend of every year, in at least three cities, attracting a million fans. Over thirty million fans watch Star Trek programming around the world every week. Over 250, 000 fans attend conventions annually. Over 53% of the American public considered themselves Star Trek fans.

The Star Trek phenomenon actually started in 1972 when the first Convention was held. After drawing 3, 500 fans at that convention, the New York convention grew to 15, 000 by 1974 and several thousand more were turned away at the door. In 1979, 33 novels and children Trek books were published, thirty manufacturers made Trek merchandise, and there were over 300 Trek fan-clubs.

How successful has Star Trek been? According to the Official Trekkies Website, since July 1986, every new classic Trek novel published by Pocket Books has been a New York paperback bestseller, making it the best-selling series in publishing history. The total retail value of the entire Star Trek franchise (movies, books, merchandise) has now exceeded $100, 000, 000, 000. Star Trek: The Next Generation has made over $5 million in syndication and merchandising. Paramount has received five billion dollars from the Star Trek franchise. Star Trek products have elicited over a billion dollars in retail sales in the last five years.

In "Trekkies," Nimoy explains that he still wonders about the phenomenon and that he hopes it lasts forever. Also, James Doohan says, "I do it [conventions] 30-40 a year. It is so wonderful to feel that emotional welcome pour at you." Shatner has loosened up and has "fallen in love" with the fans. In "William Shatner's Star Trek Memories," he states that the fans are what made Star Trek so wonderful.

But Star Trek has not only affected the world with fans. If it had, Trek would not have effected everyone. Trek has affected the world technologically. In 1976, after 4, 000 letters were sent to Washington D.C. from Star Trek fans, the National

Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) named the first U.S. Space Shuttle "Enterprise." Star Trek inspired flip phones with their flip communicators, CDs, desktop computers, electronic milk pads, and soon to be released are wristwatch communicators as seen in Star Trek: The Motion Picture and Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan. NASA is already working on warp flight. NASA's motto is "To boldly go…" as in Star Trek's very famous line, "To boldly go where no man has gone before…" And finally, a module of the International Space Station that is yet to be launched by Russia will be named Enterprise.

Star Trek originally started off as a just an idea from a young writer for anew television series. Yet it has become a large part of our lives. Even for people who aren't fans. Yet, Star Trek is still going. Voyager is still being aired, a tenth film is being planned as well as a fifth series, and about 50 books and calendars will be released this year. As well as merchandise ranging from action figures to Trek themed bottled water. What's next? As William Shatner said, "Nothing is more certain, than the fact that Star Trek's mission has just begun. The journey continues…."

SpockMatt1701@aol.com