"Star Trek" (1966) TV series 1966-1969

User Rating:

8.6/10   

Creator:

Gene Roddenberry

Seasons:

1 | 2 | 3

Release Date:

8 September 1966 (USA)

Genre:

Adventure | Sci-Fi

Tagline:

Boldly Go. Again. (2006 remasters tagline)

Plot:

Capt. Kirk and the crew of the Starship Enterprise explore space and defend the United Federation of Planets.

Plot Keywords:

Federation | Space | Starship | Computer | Vulcan

Awards:

Nominated for 5 Primetime Emmys. Another 5 wins & 10 nominations

US TV Schedule:

Sun. July 12

1:00 AM

CW

Day of the Dove

#3.7

Cast

Leonard Nimoy	...	Mr. Spock / ... (80 episodes, 1966-1969)
William Shatner	...	Captain James T. Kirk / ... (79 episodes, 1966-1969)
DeForest Kelley	...	Dr. McCoy (76 episodes, 1966-1969)
Nichelle Nichols	...	Uhura (68 episodes, 1966-1969)
James Doohan	...	Scott / ... (65 episodes, 1966-1969)
Eddie Paskey	...	Lt. Leslie / ... (59 episodes, 1966-1968)
Bill Blackburn	...	Lt. Hadley / ... (59 episodes, 1966-1969)
George Takei	...	Sulu (51 episodes, 1966-1969)
Frank da Vinci	...	Lt. Brent / ... (44 episodes, 1966-1969)
Walter Koenig	...	Chekov (36 episodes, 1967-1969)
Majel Barrett	...	Nurse Chapel / ... (33 episodes, 1966-1969)
Roger Holloway	...	Lt. Lemli (32 episodes, 1967-1969)

Also Known As:

"Star Trek: TOS" (USA) (promotional abbreviation)
"Star Trek: The Original Series" (USA) (informal title)

Runtime:

47 min (79 episodes)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Colour:

Colour (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Germany:12 (some episodes) | Germany:16 (one episode) | Germany:6 (some epiosodes) | UK:PG (some episodes) | UK:U (some episodes) | Finland:K-18 (2006) (DVD) (self applied) | Canada:G (Quebec) | Canada:PG (TV rating) | Singapore:PG | Brazil:12 (season 2 and 3) | Brazil:Livre (Season 1) | Australia:G (some episodes) | Australia:PG (some episodes) | Argentina:Atp

Filming Locations:

Backlot, Desilu Studios - 9336 W. Washington Blvd., Culver City, California, USA

Company:

Desilu Productions

Trivia:

Captain Kirk's birthplace was established to be the state of Iowa, according to Gene Roddenberry in his book "The Making of Star Trek". Although an exact city was never established throughout the series, in 1985 the town of Riverside, Iowa officially proclaimed itself to be the "Future Birthplace of James T. Kirk". Steve Miller, a member of the Riverside City Council who had read Roddenberry's book, suggested to the council that Riverside should proclaim itself to be the future birthplace of Kirk. Miller's motion passed unanimously and the council later wrote to Roddenberry for his permission to be designated as the official birthplace of Kirk, to which Roddenberry agreed. The town is home to many Star Trek-related attractions, events and displays, including a replica of the USS Enterprise (named the USS Riverside), as well as plays host to the annual Riverside Trek Festival.

Goofs:

Continuity: The deck locations for Kirk's Quarters, Sickbay and Transporter Room vary (usually between decks 4-7) throughout the series.

Quotes:

[Opening narration]
Capt. Kirk: Space, the final frontier. These are the voyages of the starship Enterprise. Its 5-year mission: to explore strange new worlds, to seek out new life and new civilizations, to boldly go where no man has gone before.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "The Simpsons: Radioactive Man (#7.2)" (1995)

Soundtrack:

Theme

The magic was in the interaction between the characters.

I have loved Star Trek since I first watched it as a child. However, the series which followed - Star Trek: TNG, Star Trek: Voyager, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, and Star Trek: Enterprise - although generally still entertaining, seem to me to have left out the element which made the original series so special. Namely, the interaction between the characters, particularly Spock, Jim, and Bones.

So well written, and generally well acted.

With Bones (Dr Leonard H McCoy) being the opposite to Spock in terms of personality, so that the two of them always found something to argue about. Jim (Captain James T Kirk) in the middle, as a referee, displaying faults and strengths taken from both extremes. Extremes in the sense of McCoy being a very caring, compassionate, yet also highly emotional character. Representative of humanity, perhaps. Spock, the dry, cold, logical, emotionless Vulcan. Jim "a man of deep feelings", as Spock once said, yet also no stranger to thorough analysis of whatever situation the crew found themselves in. Bones seeking always to heal, to return everybody he met (whether friend or foe, human or otherwise) to as close to perfect health as possible. Frustrated by the fact that he (Bones) could not fully understand, for example, Spock's Vulcan anatomy. All three of them the closest friends. All three displaying unwavering loyalty toward each other - even though Spock would have found the suggestion of his displaying such a human quality to be insulting.

The dynamics involved, the interaction, led to brilliant moments of humour. A science fiction programme to be not only enjoyed for the imaginative stories and the themes, but also for the humour, for the humanity.

Which is not to suggest that the other characters were in any way second rate. Scotty's loyalty and his supreme confidence in his engineering abilities, Chekov's almost adolescent playfulness and humour, Sulu's loyalty, honour, and physical prowess, Uhura's dedication to duty and femininity in a masculine world, all added important and welcome elements to what I still consider to be the best science fiction television series ever.

The special effects were often laughable, the sets cheap and often reused, but the humanity, the character interaction, the stories, imagination, the brilliant writing... all added up to something very special indeed.