It was the mid-1960s. The US was in the throes of the Apollo Program, and the Mercury Program was a fading memory. I believe it was in September of 1966, and I was still a sprouting Science Fiction fan. However, there was this new show, mentioned by my mom (a sci-fi fanatic) in the NBC Fall lineup. I heard the title as “Star Trick.” “Huh?” I mumbled, and then I heard the title correctly as “Star Trek.”
Great…now a nine-year-old had to figure-out what the word “trek” meant. Fortunately, I had a dictionary: “[…to travel or migrate, especially slowly or with difficulty…]”
I watched the show, and became instantly fascinated with things like pointy-eared, green-skinned extra-terrestrials, logic, computers that could think, predict, speak, and with the concept of spreading one’s atoms across the universe to move from point to point. I found I could do a decent Scottish accent (all the better, being half scottish, and learned that “Scotch is what a Scotsman drinks to wet his whistle!”). The concepts of highly-advanced medicine, of travel faster than light (there is debate now on what that all means, and poor Old Albert Einstein’s equations are being questioned…we have no clue where this will all lead; hey, we have hope!!!), and of simply “going where no man has gone before” became entrenched in my psyche, and indeed into the minds and imaginations of nearly everyone around the world.
“All ahead, warp factor 1″ became the all too familiar command which whisked us into the imaginations of a rather exciting time of space travel, well-before we finally landed on the Moon with Apollo 11. However, Captain James Tiberius Kirk had gone well beyond the moon, and into the future. His acting abilities, and those of the contributing cast, were far too believable, and I found myself spellbound by each word. The character development was, as I was taught in Creative Writing, 100%, so this made each person believable and credible. There were some human sides woven-in, and especially so with Mr. Spock.
I think what won me over were the human sides, the quotes, the quibbling. Another author lists his Top Ten Star Trek Quotes, and I agree! Please read them here.
This became my all-time favorite TV show. I had favorites, of course, but this one topped them all. It was the technology: things we now come closer and closer to fully enjoying, yet they were accurately forecast then, in the 60’s.
Now, for the trivia question of the day: what was Mr. Spock’s first name? Of course, it’s a trick question, as “[…you could never pronounce it…]” However, the scuttle-butt is that the name is most likely (from an unnamed Star Trek paperback)” S’chn T’gai.” I stick with the preferred “unpronounceable” answer, to remain a “purist” Trekkie.
Star Trek evolved into several spin-offs, some highly successful (Star Trek: Next Generation “TNG”) with Patrick Stewart as the hardy and eloquent Captain Jean-Luc Picard. I can see now why he made such an excellent Shakespearean actor! This series, though not the original purist series from my youth, also inspired me. The word “ENGAGE!” became a universally recognized command, and a favorite way for me to begin any vacation trip.
I think it noteworthy to mention how Captain Picard always used something like an IPAD for his note-taking. Isn’t it interesting how things evolve?
At this point, I find the list of Star Trek episodes and spin-offs fairly well documented as follows, quoting contributor “Mary W:”
“Star Trek (the original series)
Star Trek (animated, with most of the original cast from TOS)
Star Trek: The Next Generation
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
Star Trek: Voyager
Star Trek: Enterprise (the prequel)
and a zillion movies; Mad Magazine satires.”
As for the movies, you can find the list here. Indeed, the movies were noteworthy, and the Big Screen made them more magical. My favorite, “Star Trek 4: The Voyage Home,” got me going with Mr. Scott’s famous line “Thar be whales here, Captain!” There was also this discussion about “transparent aluminum” which I found rather “quaint.”
Do we dare to dream of space travel, deep into space? Of course we do! Human nature is to satisfy our curiosity, and we will not stop until we have (somehow) taken ourselves into the deepest regions of space. Like so many science fiction tales before it, Star Trek has likely predicted our future course (science fiction becomes science fact), and it’s “thatta way…out there…”
It is “only logical…”