Exactly 45 years ago to the day, a new television series graced the television sets of America, a television series like no other seen before it.
Star Trek - originally titled
Wagon Train to the Stars - sent viewers to places they had never seen before, witnessed alien species unimaginable at the time, using technology they could only dream of.
Star Trek was different. It was radical. It was Gene Roddenberry's vision of the future.
But on September 6th, 1966,
Star Trek was just another new show. It didn't have a massive fanbase, the ratings weren't that great and none of the cast were well known actors. In fact, things were very different to how they are now and the show was cancelled after three seasons.
However, upon the announcement of its cancellation, the few fans of the show there were bound together and showed their loyalty to
Star Trek by writing letters upon letters to NBC, something unheard of at the time. That small but dedicated group of fans did the impossible. They brought a television show back from cancellation for another season.
Though
Star Trek got its fourth season, it was again cancelled due to low ratings. But the story doesn't end there. The series was put into syndication through the 1970s giving millions more people the opportunity to see this wonderful new show. And from there, the
Star Trek franchise kicked off with a bang.
Today, the
Star Trek franchise consists of a magnificent six television series, eleven feature films, dozens of games, hundreds of novels, as well as a themed attraction in Las Vegas (opened in 1998 and closed in September 2008), and at least two traveling museum exhibits of props.
Join us now as we celebrate together what
Star Trek is and what it means to us as a fleet.
What
Star Trek means to...
Riley T. MunroGrowing up most children watched
Power RangersStar Trek.
Wrath of Khan to be exact. That was the beginning. After that we started taping the original series every night, it came on right after
Little House On The Prairie on WGN. I was in a gymnastic class at the time, my mom would take me two times a week and as soon as we got home, I'd run into the living room to watch my taped episode. I ended up quitting gymnastics because it was cutting into my
Star Trek time. After that, well, you all know me... Just figured I'd share some of my
Star Trek life.
| | | |
In 1993, I insisted I wanted to be Spock for Halloween... | A signed photo of my favorite Star Trek character, sent to me from my Aunt. | A letter reply from Walter Koenig after I wrote to him in the hospital. | My ticket to the experience, I miss it. |
What
Star Trek means to...
Taras Cadenza | |
This is me and my dear friend Abigail. We've been fans of Star Trek in all of its incarnations for many, many years, and I would say it has made an impact on both of our lives, in such small ways, such as using the Vulcan hand gesture as a greeting, and in major ways, such as our personal beliefs when it comes to people and socializing. | It has to be said, that picture is my absolute dream. I can certainly only hope that the future as depicted by Star Trek, for better or for worse, becomes reality. |
What
Star Trek means to...
John KawolskyStar Trek was the show that got me into science fiction as a whole. It opened my eyes to the possibilities of the future and what is waiting for us out there in space. I've never been one to dress up in a uniform and go to conventions (we don't generally have a lot of them here in the UK), but
Star Trek does hold a special place in my thoughts. I share Gene Roddenberry's vision of a world where everyone is equal, where there is no famine or cruelty or illness. That is a world I want to live in. Whenever I watch an episode or movie of
Star Trek, its not just entertainment for me, but the hopes that we, as a race - as a planet - could join together as one peaceful species. Then the episode is over and I'm brought back to reality. But I can't help but think...what will the future be like? Only time will tell, I guess.
Star Trek means something different to each and every one of us. Join us in our celebration of 45 years by commenting below with your best and worst episodes, character moments, ships, technology, storylines...anything at all! Let us show our support and celebration for what has been a tremendous four and a half decades of space exploration.
And if you didn't submit anything for official collation above, I have just one question for you: what does
Star Trek mean to you?