1. "STAR TREK"
"Space- the final frontier. These are the voyages of the Starship Enterprise. Its five-year mission: to explore strange new worlds, to seek out new life and new civilisations, to boldly go where no man has gone before."
The Idea
The sixties were strongly influenced by the constant conflict between the two supremacies of the world, the United States and the Soviet Union. The most overt and least hostile was the "Space Race" to the moon. It is hard to imagine how the concept of space travel seized the imagination of the public, but reaching the planetoid would uphold the belief in supremacy, either Western or Eastern. Gene Roddenberry recognised in this concept the potential for plot and inspirational characters for a television series.
The original concept for Star Trek was then triggered by the long-running western series Wagon Train. Roddenberry conceived in 1964 the idea for a science fiction series set 300 years in the future, which he first nicknamed "Wagon Train to the Stars". Many of the elements of Roddenberry's creation were already in place in the popular western: the group, with its strong leader; the quest; the unknown environment and the hidden enemy. Apart from the obvious difference between the two shows - one is set in the 19th century American West and the other in 23rd century space - the most significant departure from conventional American television was the decision to have a multi - ethnical crew. Roddenberry was already well-known as an able scriptwriter due to his first TV series "The Lieutenant", and so it was easy for him to find people interested in his ideas for a new TV series.
The First Pilot
In 1965, he convinced the staff of Desilu studios to produce Star Trek. NBC ordered the series although it first seemed to be impossible to be produced on a weekly basis. Rumours said that NBC was interested in snatching away the famous and long-running "Lucy Show" (also produced by Desilu) from CBS, the scheduling of Star Trek would have been the initial step to do so. Anyway, NBC was interested in having a Desilu show on their network because they never had a development deal with this studio, and the Lucy Show convinced Program Presidents of its capabilities. As standard network procedure, NBC invested in pilot movies in order to "test" the show. If it had not been televised as series, it could have still be run as TV special in order to recoup the invested money.
The first pilot introduced the starship enterprise with its crew under command of Captain Christopher Pike. One of the most famous TV aliens was also introduced with the first pilot: The "Vulcan" Mr. Spock.
The Second Chance
NBC was very impressed what the production staff of Desilu had achieved. It was very interested in the concept, but found it "too cerebral". After the first pilot, Star Trek was given a second chance: a new, shorter, less creatively fulfilling second pilot with major changes in cast and crew finally convinced the heads of NBC one year later to televise the new series. Every crew member was substituted by another actor, except Leonard Nimoy as Spock, although NBC first was afraid of his negative influence on children due to his satanic appearance. New Captain "Kirk" became Will Shatner, who impressed Roddenberry in a guest appearance in the "Twilight Zone" TV series. Like Nimoy, DeForrest Kelley and Walter Koenig were already well-known to Roddenberry because of their appearance in his first series, The Lieutenant. In order to complete the racial mix of the crew, oriental George Takei and black Nichelle Nichols were hired as crew members.
As the show got increasingly famous, so did the stars. Any episode was usually over the 200.000 $ budget, but when the stars demanded more and more money, the studio came into serious troubles and finally cancelled the show because it was never too popular. Overall, the series ran for three seasons, from September 1966 to June 1969. The last show went to air a few weeks before Neil Armstrong landed on the moon.
Space travel had simultaneously achieved the ultimate heroic glamour and lost a little of its mystery.
Reborn in Reruns
The series was never very popular while on air in the US, but it soon became a cult hit when repeated endlessly on local stations across the US and around the world soon after the moon landing in the beginning of the seventies. It gained more exposure than it ever had before - the cult grew exponentially, and the first Star Trek convention, held in New York in 1972, attracted already over 3,000 visitors.
Star Trek Lives!
Following their late success, Star Trek was resurrected as a Saturday morning animated show in 1973, with 22 half-hour episodes produced. A completely new Roddenberry TV series called the "Questor Tapes", planned to anchor a new Paramount TV network Desilu studios were merged into in the late 70ies, was abandoned when Paramount failed to go through with their network plan (eventually, a series by Roddenberry did- Star Trek: Voyager anchors the new United Paramount Network, launched in 1995).
Instead, Paramount decided to make a movie, Star Trek: The Motion Picture, which was a blockbuster cinematic smash in 1979, but was widely derided as being slow and boring. This failed to deter Paramount and the increasingly geriatric original stars, as they donned wigs and false teeth to make five more movies into the early 1990s. Star Trek: Generations was the first movie with the cast of The Next Generation, but included Captain Kirk, Chekov, and Scotty.
The success of the movies convinced Paramount a new Star Trek TV series could be popular, and so Star Trek: The Next Generation was born in 1987. In 1993 and 1995, two more series called "Deep Space Nine" and "Voyager" followed.
2. The Production
In the 60ies, Television was in its infancy. Special effects like we nowadays know and expect from any series or movie did not exist at that time, thus the production of The Classic Series looks more than primitive compared to nowadays standards. The regular alien had bad hair and weird make-up, sometimes combined with a strangely shaped forehead-mask and a wig. Planet beam down scenery consisted of an either blue or green sky and purple rocks - or green purple rocks with a bit of blue left over from last week The special effects team just had polystyrene paint and hoped the audience had imagination.
A space anomaly was done by using a Kaleidoscope and some "really spooky music", sometimes the kaleidoscope was replaced by a strange floaty face with an echoed voice. When the Enterprise would become engaged in some serious trouble, the engines made some incredible noises, which actually sounded more like repairing bad plumbing than "faster than light speed engines in trouble".
3. Gene Roddenberry - The Creator
Gene Roddenberry was born in El Paso, Texas, on August 19, 1921. After High School, he studied three years of college pre-law and then transferred his academic interest to aeronautical engineering and qualified for a pilot's license.
He volunteered for the U.S. Army Air Corps in 1941 and was ordered into training as a flying cadet when the war began. Emerging from Kelly Field, Texas, as a Second Lieutenant, Roddenberry was sent to the South Pacific where he entered combat. He was decorated with the Distinguished flying Cross and the Air Medal (1941-1946).
While in the South Pacific, he also began to write. He sold stories to flying magazines, and later poetry to publications including The New York Times.
Upon his return from combat, he became a crash investigator for the Air Force working out of Washington, D.C. (1946-1949). During this time, he also studied literature at Columbia University.
At war's end, he joined Pan American World Airways as an airline pilot (1949-1953). On a flight from Calcutta his plane lost two engines and caught fire in flight, crashing at night in the Syrian desert. As the senior surviving officer, Roddenberry sent two Englishmen swimming across the Euphrates River in quest of the source of a light he had observed just prior to the crash. Meanwhile, he parleyed with nomads who had come to loot the dead. The Englishmen reached a Syrian military outpost, which sent a small plane to investigate. Roddenberry returned in the plane to the outpost, where he broadcast a message that was relayed to Pan Am, which sent a stretcher plane to the rescue. Roddenberry later received a Civil Aeronautics commendation for his efforts during and after the crash.
Back in the States, Roddenberry continued flying until he saw television for the first time. Correctly estimating television's future, he realised that the new medium would need writers and decided that Hollywood's film studios would soon dominate the new industry. He acted immediately, left his flying career behind and moved to Los Angeles, only to find Hollywood and the television industry still in its infancy, with few openings for inexperienced writers. At a friend's suggestion, he joined the Los Angeles Police Department in order to see life from perspectives valuable to a writer.
By the time he became Sergeant, Roddenberry was selling scripts to such shows as "Goodyear Theatre", "The Kaiser Aluminum Hour", "Four Star Theatre", "The Jane Wyman Theatre", and "Naked City".
Established as a writer, he turned in his badge and became a freelancer. Later, he served as head writer for the highly popular series "Have Gun, Will Travel". His episode "Helen of Abiginian" won him the Writers Guild Award and was distributed to other writers as a model script for the series. Next, he created and produced "The Lieutenant" TV series, starring Gary Lockwood, who also eventually played Lieutenant Commander Gary Mitchell in the second Star Trek pilot, "Where No Man Has Gone Before", and Robert Vaughn, the story of a young man learning the lessons of life while in the United States Marine Corps. Other series he wrote for included Highway Patrol and Dr Kildare.
His best known creation, of course, Star Trek, followed (1966-l969). Once on the air, Star Trek developed a loyal following and has since become the first television series to have an episode preserved in the Smithsonian, where an 11-foot model of the U.S.S. Enterprise is also exhibited on the same floor as the Wright brothers' original aeroplane and Lindbergh's "Spirit of St. Louis". In response to hundreds of thousands of letters from Star Trek fans, NASA's prototype space shuttle, was named after the beloved Starship, "Enterprise".
The show went outside television to win science fiction's coveted Hugo Award and then ultimately became a succession of feature films.
In addition to having served as executive consultant on Star Trek feature productions, Roddenberry added "novelist" to his writing repertoire - reputation as a futurist began to grow. His novelization of "Star Trek: The Motion Picture" (Pocket Books, 1979) sold close to a million copies and was ranked number one on national best seller lists for many weeks.
After the "Star Trek" series ended, Roddenberry produced the motion picture "Pretty Maids All in a Row," starring Rock Hudson, Angie Dickinson and Telly Savalas, and has also made a number of pilots for TV. Among these are "Genesis II" for CBS (1973), about Earth recovering from World War III. Next came "The Questor Tapes" for NBC (1974), the story of an android in search of his creator.
Roddenberry also served as a member of the Writers Guild Executive Council and as a Governor of the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences. He held three honorary doctorate degrees: Doctor of Humane Letters from Emerson College in Boston, Mass.; Doctor of Literature from Union College in Los Angeles (1977), and Doctor of Science from Clarkson College in Potsdam, New York (1981).
In 1986, Gene Roddenberry's fans presented him with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, the FIRST writer/producer to be so honoured.
In September 1987, "Star Trek: The Next Generation" continued the legend that Gene Roddenberry began more than 20 years earlier. As creator and producer of the original "Star Trek" television series, he launched a phenomenon without precedent in show business and attained a celebrity status unique among his peers. "Star Trek: The Next Generation," in its first year in syndication, was awarded with the 1987 Peabody Award for the "Best of the Best." The series garnered a total of eleven prestigious Emmy awards.
In February 1990, the March of Dimes honoured Roddenberry with the Jack Benny Memorial Award for lifetime achievement.
On Thursday, October 24, 1991, in Santa Monica, Gene Roddenberry died of cardiac arrest. His remains were flown in space on the space shuttle in a astronaut's personal items. He is survived by his wife Majel Barrett and their 19-year-old son, Gene Roddenberry, JR. He is also survived by his two grown daughters, Darlene and Dawn, from a previous marriage, as well as two grandchildren.
4. The Fans
As creator of the beloved Starship Enterprise and its crew, Roddenberry unwittingly unleashed a phenomenon in which "Star Trek" enthusiasts became a veritable cult with aerospace engineers, physicists, intellectuals, housewives, children, teachers and senators among its devotees (affectionately known as "Trekkies" or "Trekkers"). Although Star Trek's primary mission has always been to entertain, in the process it has become a phenomenon in and of itself. The combination of Star Trek and its loyal fans are much more than the sum of the parts; together, they represent a distinctive element in popular culture. The Star Trek story did not stop with the death of its creator Roddenberry, for the phenomenon has acquired a momentum of its own, strong enough to keep the myth alive. Roddenberry lived long enough to see his creation grow and develop, reflecting and even shaping American culture.
5. The Crew
Star Trek follows the lives of the Captain and crew of an interstellar spaceship, the U.S.S. Enterprise, on a mission of discovery and exploration in our galaxy. The U. S. S. Enterprise is a sleek "Constitution Class" vessel with the registry number NCC-1701. It embarked with a regular crew compliment of just over 400 people under the command of Captain James Tiberius Kirk.
The crew includes a cultural cross section: the ethnic mix of the Enterprise's crew testifies to Roddenberry's faith that by the 23rd century it would be so normal for all races to live and work together that it would neither excite nor surprise.
Captain James Tiberius Kirk
Kirk's success in captaincy could not be argued even though he often bucked the system. A romantic at heart, Kirk never formed a lasting, romantic relationship due to his devotion to career (although he falls in love regularly with a succession of female other - worldly visitors). Kirk's historically rapid rise to a captaincy and command of a loyal and respectful crew of the Enterprise are reflected in the awards and commendations he had garnered It was on this Enterprise that he assembled a crew and forged friendships with fellow officers who would themselves become Starfleet legends.
William Shatner
William Shatner was born on March 22, 1931 in Montreal, Canada. He studied commerce at McGill University in Montreal, later switching to acting. While there he was in many student productions, and went on to perform with the Stratford (Ontario, Canada) Shakespeare Festivals, playing a number of Shakespearean roles. In 1956, he moved to New York, and worked in live TV dramas and on Broadway, where he attracted the attention of TV producers. After some guest appearances in TV series like the Outer Limits or Twilight Zone, he was casted for Star Trek. After the original show had finished, he starred in seven of the Star Trek movies. He played "T.J. Hooker" and "Bascom" in the "TekWar" series and made guest appearances in The Man from U.N.C.L.E., Mission: Impossible, Hawaii Five-O, Kung Fu, Columbo, SeaQuest DSV and even The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. He has written several books, including the TEK series. He married and divorced Gloria Rand in the 50's. He married Marcy Lafferty in 1976, but later divorced. Since 1997 he has been married to Nerine Kidd. He has 3 daughters, Lesley, Lizebeth, and Melanie, and one son, Daniel and lives with them in Southern California
Science Officer Mr. Spock
Science officer Mr. Spock is half Vulcan and half Human. He endures constant torment between the stern discipline of his Vulcan side and the emotional side inherited from his human mother. Roddenberry used the persona of a half-breed to explore the personal effect of conflict between cultures, and Spock's attempts to reconcile both sides of his character generated a number of plots. It was Nimoy who invented the famous Vulcan salute, based on the gesture of Hebrew blessing that the Jewish Nimoy had grown up with, as well as the salute "Live long and prosper," now used by all Star Trek fans. He also persuaded the scriptwriters that the rational and superintelligent Vulcans would have developed a less violent means of dealing with trouble; thus the Vulcan nerve pinch was born.
Leonard Nimoy
Leonard Nimoy was born in Boston, Massachusetts, on March 26, 1931. His film debut came 20 years later, in 1951, when he landed a small part in the movie, "Queen for a Day." Subsequent small roles he had in obscure films and serials were a valuable training ground for him. In 1952, his first lead film role came in "Kid Monk Baroni.".
During the late 50s and early 60s, Nimoy appeared in all the well-known TV shows of the period including "Wagon Train," "Man from U.N.C.L.E.," and "Perry Mason" to name just a few. He also appeared in several feature films.
However, it was Nimoy's enormous success in the science fiction television series, "Star Trek," which gained him world-wide recognition.. Nimoy's portrayal of the Vulcan, Spock, earned him three Emmy nominations.
Nimoy also became a successful movie director, responsible for "Star Trek III: The Search for Spock" and "Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home." Additional directional credits include for example "Three Men and a Baby". Nimoy has starred in numerous stage productions. On television, he spent two years on the "Mission: Impossible" series and appeared in a number of television movies.
Nimoy is also a well-known author. His first autobiography, I AM NOT SPOCK, was published in 1975, followed by a second autobiography, I AM SPOCK, published in 1995. A story which he co-authored with the late Isaac Asimov is the basis for "PriMortals," a new monthly comic book published by Techno Comix.
Chief Medical Officer Leonard "Bones" McCoy
The ship's Chief Medical Officer was played by DeForest Kelley. Apart from Spock, "Bones" McCoy is perhaps Kirk's closest friend, and like Spock he tries to curb Kirk's romantic enthusiasm for unsuitable targets. His temperament is sometimes argumentative, a cynic's outer crustiness masking deep caring beneath the surface. As the series developed, so did McCoy's relationship with Spock, moving from gentle mocking to genuine respect and friendship.
DeForrest Kelley
DeForest Jackson Kelley was born in Atlanta Georgia, January 20, 1920. Kelley always wanted to be a doctor, just like his uncle, but when the Depression hit, his family did not have the money for him to go to medical school. When Kelley turned 17, he went to Long Beach, California and joined a local theater group. Another member of the theater group at the time was Carolyn Dowling, who would become Mrs. Kelley in 1945. A Paramount talent scout spotted Kelley in a Navy training film during World War II, which resulted in a screen test and a studio contract. Kelley stayed with Paramount for two-and-a-half years, and while there he starred in his first feature film "Fear In The Night". After a stint working in stock companies and television in New York, Kelley returned to the West Coast to continue his acting career. He was often cast -as a "bad guy" - in westerns such as The Gunfight at OK Corral , Raintree County and Warlock. He also appeared on TV programs such as Bonanza.
Chief Engineer Montgomery "Scotty" Scott
Montgomery Scott, better known as "Scotty," is the Chief Engineer: he is frequently responsible for getting the U. S. S. Enterprise out of warp - speed crises with nothing more than a spanner and his Scottish accent. Even when he says that the engines are going to blow because he "canna hold them, Cap'n," we can feel reasonably that his skill and experience will win through.
James Doohan
James Doohan was born in Vancouver and spent his early years in Vancouver, British Columbia and Sarnia, Ontario. Surviving the anguish of living with an alcoholic father, he left home to join the Canadian Forces, fighting with the Allies in World War II. During war, Doohan was wounded in the leg and hand, and eventually lost a finger.
After returning home to Canada, Doohan performed a few scenes for the local radio station, and was awarded a two-year scholarship to the Neighborhood Playhouse in New York City. Beginning in 1946, he trained at the Playhouse and studied alongside such future stars as Leslie Nielsen. In the ensuing eight years, Doohan shuttled between New York and Canada where he worked on many radio programs as well as variety and dramatic television shows, several films and plays, and Shakespearean productions. Though he became known as Canada's busiest actor, he eventually found himself following other fellow actors in the pilgrimage to Hollywood. There, his versatility and talent as a dialectician helped him earn parts in more than 100 motion pictures and television series, including "The Twilight Zone," "Outer Limits," "Fantasy Island," and of course, "Star Trek." He has also appeared in all seven "Star Trek" motion pictures, as well as many other films, including "Loaded Weapon". In the years since the final episode of Star Trek, the original series, Doohan has pursued a speaking career which has taken him to more than 250 colleges throughout the U.S. and Canada. In addition, he makes appearances at numerous Star Trek conventions. Doohan recently moved to Washington State, where he lives with his wife Wende, and his sons Eric and Thomas.
Communications officer Uhura
Uhura served as communications officer aboard the Enterprise The actress who played her became heartily sick of having to say "hailing frequencies open" and not much more in episode after episode, and decided to quit. She was persuaded to stay by Martin Luther King, who told her that she was a symbol and inspiration for both blacks and women. One of those women was acclaimed Whoopi Goldberg, who successfully campaigned for a recurring role in the Next Generation series because Nichols first inspired her to believe that a black woman could be a successful and accepted actress.
Nichelle Nichols
Nichelle Nichols was born in Robbins, Illinois, near Chicago. Her father was both the town mayor of Robbins and its chief magistrate. She has studied in Chicago as well as New York and Los Angeles. Nichelle toured the United States, Canada and Europe as a singer with the Duke Ellington and Lionel Hampton bands. Prior to being cast as Lt. Uhura in Star Trek, Nichelle had guested on Gene Roddenberry's first series, The Lieutenant. At the end of Star Trek's first season, Nichelle was thinking seriously of leaving the show, but a chance and moving meeting with Martin Luther King changed her mind. He told her she couldn't give up she was a vital role model for young black women in American. Needless to say, Nichelle stayed with the show and has appeared in six of the seven subsequent movies. Following Star Trek's cancellation in 1969, Nichelle went on to appear in films like "Made in Paris" and "Porgy and Bess". Turning her sights toward her music, Nichelle released an album, "Dark Side of the Moon," which includes the song she wrote in tribute to Gene Roddenberry, "Gene.".
Among the minor characters appearing regularly in the Original Series were Japanese helms officer Sulu and Russian navigator Pavel Chekov.
6. Interpretation
The Original Series reflected the massive social upheaval that the United States was undergoing in the 1960s. As well as racial issues, Star Trek tackled the drug culture, imperialism, causes of war, the dangers of technical progress and human emotions, particularly love, hate and jealousy. When problems arise, the Federation's solution lies in a rational approach, not in violence. Aggression must be defeated, both in the enemy and within oneself. During the series, Star Trek established the "Prime Directive" - the regulation prohibiting Starfleet Personnel from interfering in the normal development of any society, even at the risk of their own lives. The natural desire of crew members to correct what they see to be cruel or immoral, and thereby risk altering the course of events for that world, has been the main subject of many Star Trek plots.
Misplaced racial sensitivity prevented almost one of the most famous episodes: "Plato's Children", in which Kirk and Uhura kiss. It was 1969 and the first time that Americans had seen an inter-racial kiss on television. Despite executive's fears the anticipated flood of protest failed to materialise. Indeed, the famous inter - racial kiss between the black communications officer, Uhura, and the white Captain Kirk, expected by the television executives to cause an uproar, received almost no complaints but was recognised as a milestone for American broadcasting
In "Let That Be Your Last Battlefield", the racial issue was tackled again, with less subtlety perhaps, but still effectively. This episode portrays two warring peoples, one black on the right side and white on the left, the other black on the left side and white on the right.
Captain Kirk's crew dealt with the hippie culture of the sixties in "The Way to Eden" and "This Side of Paradise", which argued against mind-numbing, energy-sapping drugs. Star trek also came out strongly in favour of non-interference in other countries' conflicts in The Omega Glory And A Private Little War, at a time the Vietnam War reached its climax.
As with so much of Star Trek, parallels between contemporary political conflicts and intergalactic power struggles can easily be drawn, although the temptation to accept the often conflict as a simple allegory of the Cold War should be resisted.
The classic scene in Star Trek is the beaming down of an expedition crew, consisting of Kirk, Spock, McCoy and some minor characters. The crew encounters an alien lifeform, usually either physically or psychologically superior to the humans. The alien kills the minor characters in order to give McCoy the chance to recite his classic line "He's dead Jim" while examining one of the dead corpses. Spock remarks "Fascinating" or "Most Illogical", quarrels with the doctor but finally manages to employ his nerve pinch to stun the alien which threatened the rest of the crew.
7. Xenology
7. 1. Klingons
The Klingon race, being based on a warrior society, whose concepts are based on dedication to duty and strife for honour. Klingons would prefer to die in battle, a glorious death, for family and empire. This is closely related to the concepts of the Samurai. The well-statured warrior race has a genetic predisposition to hostility, but the culture's warrior ethic runs so deep that rivals in war can meet and drink as equal fighters for periods of time before or after battles. During these get-togethers, a great deal of growling, wrestling, snarling and generally loud revelry takes place, Klingons seeming to derive tremendous satisfaction from drinking with their enemies on the night before a battle. A true warrior fights to the death and would rather be killed than taken hostage - an act which brings dishonour on himself and his family for three generations. Their scientists are not highly regarded in the culture.
In the traditional sense, the Klingon people hold honour above life - although as with any culture, high-level politics and personal gain get in the way. In Klingon culture, lower-ranked officers consider it a duty to kill off a superior who is perceived as weak.
Viewed through their Spartan perspective, illness (especially terminal) is not honourable; one is not supposed to faint, at least as an adult, thus such cases are left to die - or to perform the ritual suicide
In the The Original Series, the Klingons were portrayed as an adversary. Starfleet represented the United States and the Klingons the USSR: the series represented an analogy of this struggle between the super powers of the time.
The Klingons developed in the Star Trek culture from minor recurring alien race to starfleet's worst but most popular enemy: thus, scriptwriters invented rituals, customs and even a whole language (which consists mainly of consonants - this sounds harsh enough to fit the aggressive Klingons)
7. 2. Vulcans
A humanoid race, with copper-based blood and notably pointed ears, they are typically stronger than Humans though they do not boast of this strength. The Vulcans are responsible in a large part for the founding of the Federation. They have developed a culture dedicated to the complete mastery of logic, learning to suppress their once-violent emotions in nearly every aspect of their existence. In ancient times, Vulcans were a war-like race, thus civil wars nearly lead to their extinction.
7. 3. Romulans
The Romulans, whose name derives from their homeplanets Romulus and Remus are an offshoot of the Vulcan species. Although descended from the same ancestors as the Vulcans, the Romulans are surprisingly different than their distant cousins both in physiology and in behavioral customs. The race claims to be the highest developped race in the galaxy and therefore still believes in discarding genetically or physically inferior infants.
8. The Technics
Although Star Trek is science fiction and not science fact, Roddenberry always insisted on following scientific procedures and principles. In fact some of the scientific techniques and gadgets shown on Star Trek have not merely kept up with but have predicted what is happening in the real world. Perhaps the transporter will never be invented, but scientists are already exploring the possibilities of warp cores. Other devices that seemed fantastic at the time, such as the computerised message pad and virtual reality ("holodecks") are now commercially available.
8. 1. Transporters
In Star Trek, starship crew move to and from planet surfaces using transporters. These installations were originally devised by the show's creators to enable them to change scenes without needing lengthy and expensive landing sequences.
A Transporter is a device that converts matter into energy, beams the energy to another location, then converts the energy back into matter. As well as transporting crew members and equipment between starships and planet surfaces, Transporters can beam them from site to site on planet surfaces.
8. 2. Warp Drives
Starships in Star Trek have powerful engines, called warp drives. A starship powered by a warp drive can travel faster than the speed of light by distorting the time and space around it. Starship engines are powered by reactions between matter and antimatter. When these meet, they annihilate one another and their total energy is released. In countless episodes of the original Star Trek series, Chief engineer Scott is anxious about the state of the dilithium crystals at the heart of the starship's warp drive. These crystals do not fuel the ship but control the reactions that generate the power. Although these crystals are entirely fictional, matter and antimatter are concepts used by physicists in real life. Warp factor is the unit used to measure faster-than-light travel, warp ten is theorised to be infinite and with current technology, unobtainable.
8. 3. Phasers
Phasers are intense beams of energy, generated by hypothetical short-lived subatomic particles called nadions. Starships are equipped with phasers as well as crew members, who are also issued with pocket-sized phasers that can be used on any setting from "stun" to "dematerialise"
9. Star Trek: The Animated Series
Late in 1972, NBC was anxious to capitalise on the rapidly growing interest in Star Trek. Thus, the animated series, (sometimes known as the forgotten Star Trek) closely linked to the Original Series, debuted on NBC, Saturday. April 8, 1973. Being animated, the series could boldly go where the original series could not: It was able to show more exotic planetscapes, spaceships, and aliens than was possible with the live action series. Roddenberry was given control, and most of the originals cast were recruited to provide their characters' voices. When Nimoy discovered that George Takei (Mr. Sulu) and Nichelle Nichols (Lieutenant Uhura) were left out of the crew he refused to participate unless they were reinstated, pointing out that the ethnic mix of Star Trek should never be compromised, so they were duly brought in. It broke much new ground, and all of the 22 episodes of the animated series were highly praised by the critics for its "imaginative skill and literary flair". Despite that, it was cancelled after two seasons, the last episode to be produced on October 12th 1974, ironically winning an Emmy award long after the last episode had been televised, and left a lasting impression on the Star Trek universe.
10. The Movies
There have been nine Star Trek films to date, beginning with Star Trek: THE MOTION PICTURE released in 1979. This first Star Trek film reunited all of the original cast after some ten years apart. Despite its lack of critical success, it had fans queuing round the block, not only in the United states but throughout the world.
The second film, Star Trek II: THE WRATH OF KHAN, focused more on the camaraderie of the U.S.S. Enterprise crew, which had made the original series so well-loved and which many felt had been wrongly sacrificed in the first movie. It also faced up to it's characters ageing; this is set, after all, some time after that first five-year mission. We learn that Captain Kirk has a son, which precipitates something of a mid-life crisis, before Spock makes the ultimate sacrifice as the crew saves the universe from Khan (played by Ricardo Montalban).
Star Trek III: THE SEARCH FOR SPOCK was released in 1984, two years after Star Trek II. The previous film had left the ending ambiguous, allowing for a sequel in which Spock returns from the dead. Leonard Nimoy was enticed back to direct this movie, as well as its 1986 follow-up, Star Trek IV: THE VOYAGE HOME.
In this later film the plot device, though preposterous (the crew have gone back to 20th-century California to rescue two humpback whales) results in an extremely entertaining movie, giving the cast ample opportunity to poke fun at themselves and at contemporary fads and attitudes. Ecological problems, which have dominated the last quarter of this century, are often examined in Star Trek episodes but Star Trek IV is the only film devoted to such issues.
Star Trek V: THE FINAL FRONTIER, released in 1989, was directed by William Shatner. The Plot, creaky and overreaching, involved a quest by Spock's half-brother to find God. Although the cast and crew enjoyed working together and admired Shatner's directorial ability, Star Trek V was panned by the critics and failed at the box office.
The sixth Star Trek movie, was Star Trek VI: THE UNDISCOVERED COUNTRY His Klingon villain, played by Christopher Plummer, spouts Shakespeare (sometimes in Klingon); Even the title is a quotation from Hamlet: the "undiscover'd country from whose bourn no traveller returns" is death itself. The film was a huge success with both critics and fans. There is also a poignancy in the playing; the actors and the audience are both aware that this is a sort of goodbye for the original U.S.S. Enterprise crew.
In the seventh film, Paramount introduced the cast of Star Trek: The Next Generation to the silver screen. The torch is officially passed from Captain Kirk to Captain Picard, and Kirk dies after helping Picard defeat the evil Soran (Malcom McDowell). Although the studio had tried to keep Kirk's imminent demise a secret, copies of the script were changing hands for exorbitant prices.
Since Star Trek: FIRST CONTACT, Captain Kirk's crew has finally left the service. The eight movie deals with the final battle against the Next Generation's worst enemy, half-cyborg beings called BORG.
The most recent and already ninth film Star Trek: INSURRECTION sends the Enterprise on a mission to stop their rampaging android officer, Lieutenant Data. When the crew manages to capture him, they have to learn that they were misused in a vendetta between two parties of the same people.
11. The Future of Star Trek
Star Trek is in a bit of a corner. The films may go on for one more, but a Star Trek 11 with a Next Generation cast is seeming more and more unlikely. Deep Space Nine will end this year, and Voyager will end in 2001.
The movie franchise may continue, although movies with the crews of Deep Space Nine or Voyager are unlikely as they have never been that popular, at least not in the sense of The Next Generation popularity; illustrated by the fact that Voyager plummeted to its lowest rating figure ever late last year. So the movie franchise may be at a bit of a dead end. The classic Trek crew very doubtfully makes a comeback: it is not even possible with so many of the original cast being in ill health.
GOODBYE STAR TREK?
Whatever happens, Star Trek will continue without doubt. It may need a rest, because the movies are in a corner, and the series are coming to an end. Some crew have said they will not work on a new series as creatively they are. Michael Piller, co-creator of Deep Space 9 and Voyager, and Jeri Taylor, co-creator of Voyager, have now both left the Trek franchise to go their own ways, so the last remaining creator/producer, the long-time Star Trek boss Rick Berman finds himself without some of his closest and most important staff. That is why Star Trek finds itself stuck in many areas.
Considering the popularity of the Star Trek myth, it will not take very long until we hear again from the famous starship and it's crew, who boldly goes where no man has gone before.
Personal Opinion
I like the series very much because Roddenberry portrays a possible future: he always insisted in the stories on following scientific principles. The employed technics are predicted inventions, e. g. the hypospray, a syringe without a needle - medicine is injected with high pressure.
Errand of Mercy (first Klingon appearance)
Kirk and Spock attempt to persuade the council of neutral Organia to join the Federation. While they negotiate, the nefarious Klingons invade and enslave the planet's sheeplike citizens. The Organians help Kirk and Spock disguise them as civilians, only to hand them over to the Klingons! The Enterprise and the Klingon ship poise to engage in an all-out battle!
Trouble with Tribbles
When the U.S.S. Enterprise receives a top priority order to protect a shipment of quadrotriticale grain on Space Station K-7, Kirk is irritated to be guarding a shipment of "wheat." But the shipment is meant for famine-struck Sherman's Planet, and Klingon's are taking shore leave on the Space Station. Adding to Kirk's irritation is Federation Undersecretary for Agriculture, Nilz Barris and his pesty assistant, Arne Darvin who inform Kirk that Starfleet Command is afraid the Klingon's may try to steal the grain.
Another problem arises when space trader, Cyrano Jones, gives Uhura a purring ball of fluff known as a Tribble. Charmed by the creature, Uhura takes it back to the U.S.S. Enterprise. However, as McCoy soon learns, Tribbles are born pregnant and the more they eat and they eat constantly the more they multiply. Soon the starship is overrun by the furry creatures.
Kirk soon finds that the bins that were once full of the precious quadrotriticale are now full of dead Tribbles. The grain has been poisoned by a Klingon agent disguised as the Undersecretary's assistant. He is exposed when Kirk discovers that Tribbles do not like Klingon's (and vice versa) and squeak whenever they are in near proximity. The Klingons leave the space station and Scotty rids the U.S.S. Enterprise of the Tribbles by beaming them aboard the departing Klingon ship where, as he tells Kirk, "they'll be no tribble at all."
A Private Little War
The U.S.S. Enterprise is sent to the planet Neural to gather vegetation samples, were years ago, Kirk had headed a planetary survey and became friends with one of the planet's leader, Tyree. Looking forward to renewing that acquaintance, Kirk is shocked when Spock is shot by natives using flintlock rifles - a technology they should not have possessed for many more years.
Kirk manages to get Spock back on board the U.S.S. Enterprise, then seeks out Tyree on the surface. During his search, Kirk is attacked by a mugatu, a dangerous indigenous animal. Kirk is taken into Tyree's care and cured of his wounds by Tyree's, Kanutu witch doctor wife, Nona.
Kirk learns from Tyree that the villagers have been supplied with the flintlocks by the Klingons. Nona schemes to make her husband a great leader and to force him to fight back against the villagers - something Tyree has refused to do. Kirk will not launch an offensive for the hill people, but offers to equal the odds and offers Tyree his own flintlocks. Tyree refuses. Nona plays on the bond she created with Kirk during his healing and steals his phaser. Wishing to demonstrate the superior power of this new weapon, Nona appears before the villagers. However, before she can use the phaser, the villagers kill her.
Deep in grief, Tyree finally finds, vengeance, reason enough to fight back and accepts Kirk's offer of the flintlocks. Knowing the Federation will have to match the Klingons offer for offer to keep the balance of power, Kirk and McCoy leave the planet to its unhappy fate.
Day of the Dove
A U.S.S. Enterprise landing party beams to a human-colonized planet in answer to a distress call. A Klingon ship, apparently damaged, is detected and a group of Klingons accuse Kirk of having damaged their ship. Kang, their leader, claims the U.S.S. Enterprise as a prize and Kirk beams the Klingons on board, reluctantly. However, Spock is warned by Kirk and quickly takes the Klingons prisoner. Both ships seem to have received the same, false, distress call.
A malevolent entity has entered into the U.S.S. Enterprise computer and excites both sides to aggressive behavior. It forces the ship out of control, rushing toward the galactic rim, while isolating a number of Klingons and U.S.S. Enterprise crew, heightening their sense of paranoia and violence turning them against each other. Phasers become swords and the battle begins.
Spock finally realizes that the entity feeds off hatred and emotional excitation and has acted as a catalyst to provoke combat, keeping the numbers on both sides even. Kirk is able, in the end, to make a common-cause truce with the Klingons and they drive the creature out of the ship with their laughter.
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