Stardate: 40 years ago

A wagon train to the stars took flight. STAR TREK would be the trail-blazer
against future space-oriented science fiction tv and even movies would be
judged. It wasn't the first to discover tv science fiction, but like
Columbus wasn't the first European to discover America, its path shone so
brightly, it would be credited with the discovery. Others would follow in
its path.

For all its faults, and there were quite a few, it got so much right, which
was far more. After much behind the scenes struggle to make to air, two
pilots, several recastings, and not just recasting the lead but changing the
lead character altogether, but finally, finally, one Thursday evening,
September 8, 1966, at 7:30 PM Central, STAR TREK took to the airwaves.

This particular human adventure ... was only the beginning .... 5 spin-offs,
including an animated version, ten movies and hundreds and hundred of books
that were really able to realize Star Trek's potential in ways even the
televised budgets could at best hint at. Then again, fans of science fiction
were used to the smallest sparks igniting their larger than average
imagination into filling in the blanks. Star Trek happened to a gigantic
spark for many fans old and new.

hancock4...

We must remember that many years passed between the end of the TV show
and resurrection of the idea into a movie. They had to wait for
special effects technology to catch up as well as public interest in
sci-fi space entertainment. I think Star Wars came out before the S/T
movie and played a role.

Steven L....

Actually, it was amazing how far SFX advanced in just a few short years.
In 1971, ABC broadcast an unsold pilot, "Earth II," about a giant
orbiting space habitat. (Back then unsold pilots were commonly
broadcast as made-for-TV movies.) And its SFX were stunning, compared
to Star Trek TOS. Reminiscent of the 1968 movie "2001: A Space
Odyssey," in fact. Anticipated "Babylon 5" by 20 years.

(ABC's "Earth II" is not to be confused with other productions with
similar titles, including one Roddenberry himself did.)

Greg Bryant...

Finally saw that again recently after many years. Though the story and
acting remained strong, I found the sets a little cheesy.

If Star Trek had been revived in the mid 1970's, even before Star Wars,
it could have benefited from vastly improved SFX. "Space 1999"
premiered in 1975, two years before Star Trek, and its SFX were vastly
improved over TOS.

I still think the original TV show, as campy and low-tech as it was,

Joe Negron...

But surely not *deliberately* camp.

was the best. Since it was lo-tech, they had to focus more on the
story lines and not fall back on high tech. Many of their plots dealt

Ad absurdum per aspera...

Yep, the sets, props, and special effects were already looking dated by
the early 70s, and even a budget greater than their apparent $1.49 an
episode probably wouldn't have helped. However, the show wasn't
afraid of an *idea* -- that runs counter to the (reductive and
prejudiced and simplistic) stereotype of TV entertainment, but is the
very heart of good science fiction in any medium.

It also escaped one of the reductive and prejudiced and simplistic
stereotypes of science fiction by having characters you cared about.
They were perhaps a bit too archetypical sometimes (not that that's
necessarily bad; one of my literature professors heard strong echoes of
the Transcendentalists in it, Hawthorne and the "tragedy of the
half-man" in particular), but they were real people. Or whatever
their species was, a real one of it.

The movies and sequels were at their best when they remembered all
this...

I wonder if kids today feel that the period-piece aesthetic of the show
is a barrier to enjoying it (besides the more sophisticated visual
effects, today's movies and shows are a lot more hyper in pacing, not
to mention in soundtrack*); or if they watch it in a multi-level, so
postmodern you have to be ironic about your own irony sort of way; or
if they just appreciate it at face value.

with the failure of technology or wrongful application of it.

My favorite episode was "Mirror Mirror" which for once broke the
goody-two-shoes benevolence of the Federation. In that, the Federalion
was a nasty empire. Cool!

(Would anyone know if that gets run on TV anywhere?)

Greg Bryant...

I keenly remember the 70's and every build up of anticipation followed by a
huge let down when they announced another attempt to revive Star Trek.

Trek had never been successful in network broadcast. It was only when it hit
syndicated TV around 1970 or 1971 that Paramount saw what a goldmine it had.
They began countless attempted plans to bring the series back, but each
faltered for some reason or other.

Ken from Chicago...

Kinda like Batman movie rumors in the 1970s and 80s or Superman movie rumors
in the 90s.

The early 70's did see the Saturday morning animated series.

But it was may of 1977 that really got the ball rolling. Star Wars smashed
through all box office expectations. Every studio got on the bandwagon after
Star Wars, planning their own space epic. Even James Bond. The followup to
The Spy Who Loved Me was supposed to be For Your Eyes Only, but those plans
were shelved in favor of sending James Bond into space with Moonraker.

John Baker...

And after seeing that, I put my eyes out with knitting needles and never
saw another thing again. So sad.

Greg Bryant...

Oh, it's not that bad. Moonraker grew on me over the years. You just have to
lower your expectations a little (and also be glad that Bond roared back
into form with For Your Eyes Only).

Paramount immediately saw the writing on the wall and announced Star
Trek:TMP.

Anim8rFSK...

Nope. Paramount reacted the exact opposite. They said "well, all the
ticket money that will ever be spent on a space movie has all been
spent, so no one should ever make another" -- it took them awhile to

trike...

Hey Jack, I keep meaning to ask you... are you any relation to James
Bohn from Dayton?

Jack Bohn...

No, at least not without tracing it back to the Old Country.

Ken from Chicago...

Hey! What are YOU doing with the manual? NASA needs that.

Jack Bohn...

I was checking it against the anime series Planetes, they show
manuals with a similar layout.

I just picked up the Mars One Crew Manual, should I send that
along to make it up for them?

notice that Star Wars wasn't a one shot fluke, and that anybody could
put out anything resembling it and turn a profit.

Charles M...

Which was actually quite a let down. (and that's pretty much true with
all the following ST series, albeit to a lesser degree).

But I do miss the original, amazing special effects (for the time state of the
art, and no Trek since has equalled that), perhaps the most watch show at the
time (~100% audience - what- you believe Nielson?) and stories (I wonder if
the censorship vs Roddenberry and crew had a balance that seemed so
right for the time, much like has been argued for the Paul,John conflict in
the Beatles), and it came at a time when man first was stepping on the moon
and everything about ST seemed so possible.

Ken from Chicago...

Don't forget BATTLESTAR GALACTICA: TOS and BUCK ROGERS IN THE 25TH CENTURY.

Greg Bryant...

Thanks for the reminder, Ken!

I knew the day was around here somewhere, but sometimes I tend to take the
series for granted that I forget what an impact it's had on my life!