Today, September 8th, is Star Trek Day. What makes today even more special is that it marks the 60th anniversary of when the original series premiered in 1966 on NBC with its first episode, The Man Trap.
The original Star Trek ran for only 3 years, running its final episode on June 3, 1969. But that was hardly the end of Star Trek. The animated series would carry on the adventures of the Enterprise crew for another 2 years in 1974, and in 1979, the original cast would reprise their roles on the big screen in Star Trek: The Motion Picture. What would follow was a series of films featuring the cast of the original series, which would then overlap with Star Trek: The Next Generation returning the franchise to television. And on television and on movie screens, Star Trek has continued to entertain audiences to this day.
The Enduring Appeal of Star Trek
I think the appeal of Star Trek lies firmly in its vision of the future. Creator Gene Roddenberry envisioned a future where a group of diverse civilizations, a Federation of Planets if you will, existed for mutual betterment. The U.S.S. Enterprise wasn’t heading out into space to conquer, or colonize: it was on a mission of exploration. As the opening narration stated:
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 civilizations, to boldly go where no man has gone before.
Of course, by the time of the feature films, it became the more egalitarian, “to boldly go where no one has gone before.”
But despite that, Roddenberry had created a television series that celebrated diversity. Star Trek had an alien first officer. A black woman communications officer. A Japanese-American helmsman. The original Star Trek also featured the first black-white interracial kiss on American scripted television, with the 1968 episode Plato’s Stephildren.
This was a series that came into existence during the Civil Rights movement, and one that showed a future where mankind had made its way through strife to a time when everyone was truly equal. The Vulcan philosophical principal of IDIC, or, “Infinite Diversity in Infinite Combinations,” shows the series’ aspiration for open-mindedness and multiculturalism. And while Star Trek has had its share of exciting adventures through the years, it’s this core premise of a future where everyone is treated equally and is free from want that keeps people always returning to and enjoying Star Trek. It’s setting is a universe full of danger, but also full of hope.
My Personal Connection With Star Trek
Growing up, I was too young to have seen the original series on television. But thanks to reruns (remember those?) I fell in love with Star Trek as a young boy. I remember playing Star Trek with my best friend- he was Captain Kirk, and I was always Mr. Spock. I had several of the Star Trek MEGO figures, and even a diecast Dinky Toys Starship Enterprise.
Fast forward to the 90’s, when Star Trek was going strong on television and I was in graduate school for theater at UCLA. I had befriended television director Kim Friedman, who at the time was directing episodes of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine and Star Trek: Voyager. On many a weekend, I could be found on the Paramount Star Trek soundstages, helping her to plan the actor blocking and shot setups for the episodes she would be filming the following week. Every once in awhile, some of the series actors, like Armin Shimmerman, would even come in to rehearse their roles with us on the sets. Actor René Auberjonois asked me to help him out in the same way when he was directing a couple of episodes of Deep Space Nine.
I wasn’t getting paid (well, except for getting taken out for lunch at Astro Burger after we were done) but those times are some of my fondest memories from my time in Los Angeles. The sets were amazing. It was almost like being able to just walk around on a Disneyland ride like Pirates of the Caribbean or The Haunted Mansion at your leisure.
One time when I was helping Kim out with a Star Trek: Voyager episode, Jetrel, they needed a body double for the character of Neelix. It was for a dream sequence in which the character is literally struggling with himself. I’m a couple of inches taller than actor Ethan Phillips, but the makeup fit me the best out of all the people that casting saw for the part. And so, suddenly I was a paid performer on Star Trek.
I had a 5 AM call for makeup, and as it turned out, I didn’t get out of makeup until 11pm that night. A long day, but still, I was on an episode of Star Trek! A set photo of me even ended up in a Star Trek magazine- you could tell it was me because I only wore the top part of Neelix’ costume during the shoot, as they were only filming me above the waist. And in the photo, you can see the jeans and boots I was wearing the day of the shoot under Neelix’ tunic. Thankfully, I had a friend that was working on the Paramount lot that day, and took several pictures of me in full makeup and while getting the makeup removed:
While my brief time on camera on Star Trek: Voyager didn’t translate into anything greater within the Star Trek universe, it was still a magical experience that I’ll always treasure. I’ve continued to be a fan of Star Trek to this day, watching all of the series and movies. As we speak, I’m currently up to date on the latest episode of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds. And for the record, I thought that the crew suddenly finding themselves in a soap opera thanks to Trelane was pretty hilarious.
Towards the Future With Star Trek
Currently, we’re heading towards a slightly uncertain future with Star Trek. There are no new Star Trek television series in development at this time, and the two current series, Strange New Worlds and Starfleet Academy, are both due to wrap up in 2027. Paramount is developing a new Star Trek film, but it’s supposed to be set far enough in the future that it won’t have any of the characters from any of the past or present Star Trek series.
But even if the immediate future seems rocky for Star Trek, there is a huge worldwide fanbase that will always want to keep coming back to the hopeful future of Starfleet and the Federation of Planets. We’re celebrating 60 years of Star Trek, and I wouldn’t be surprised if Star Trek was just getting started.
So to all the Star Trek fans out there: Happy Star Trek Day, and Live Long and Prosper.
If you’re interested in all the many ways you can celebrate Star Trek Day, visit the Star Trek website.
