Today is Star Trek’s 50th anniversary: Treat Yourself to These Episodes
LOS ANGELES – NOVEMBER 17: Nichelle Nichols as Uhura, DeForest Kelley as Dr. Bones McCoy,William Shatner as Captain James T. Kirk, Leonard Nimoy as Mr. Spock, unidentified actor and Walter Koenig as Chekov in the STAR TREK episode, ‘Journey to Babel.’ Season 2, episode 10 originally broadcast November 17, 1967. (Photo by CBS via Getty Images)
Star Trek celebrates five decades, and it’s still going strong. Read up on its history and check out some episodes to get started in this huge fandom.
Today marks the 50th anniversary of the first Star Trek episode aired on television. “The Man Trap” aired on September 8, 1966, marking the beginning of one of the longest-lived entertainment franchises in modern history. It also starred a salt vampire. Seriously.
That first episode was followed by 78 more episodes of what would eventually be called “The Original Series”. Since then, Star Trek has grown to include five television series (with a sixth on the way) and fourteen films. Fans regularly crowd Star Trek conventions to meet actors, show off cosplay, and build community. In fact, Star Trek fans helped develop many of the fandom traditions we treasure today, including fan fiction, cosplay, and fan conventions. The original series was even renewed for a third season thanks to a fan-led letter writing campaign.
The first pilot was actually “The Cage”, filmed in 1965 with a largely different cast. A woman is second in command of the Enterprise, the captain is named Christopher Pike, and Spock smiles way too much. NBC executives were unhappy with the Star Trek pilot, complaining that it was “too intellectual” for modern audiences. Thanks in part to the efforts of studio head Lucille Ball, they asked for a second pilot. That second try became “Where No Man Has Gone Before” which, confusingly, was aired as the third episode of the first season.
NBC executives were unhappy with the Star Trek pilot, complaining that it was “too intellectual” for modern audiences.
Following the show’s cancellation in 1969, Paramount Television released the series to stations as a syndication package. This move vastly increased the popularity of the series and paved the way for the sprawling sci-fi franchise we know today. This included Star Trek: The Next Generation, starring Patrick Stewart as Captain Jean-Luc Picard, as well as Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Star Trek: Voyager, Star Trek: Enterprise, and the upcoming 2017 series, Star Trek: Discovery.
With the premiere of the reboot 2009 movie, simply titled Star Trek, fans were reintroduced to the series through a new cast and new(ish) stories. The new series, Star Trek: Discovery, will air in 2017 under the supervision of Bryan Fuller (Hannibal, American Gods).
If you have only now emerged from a cave and haven’t seen Star Trek, here are five episodes to get you started. Warning: this is a very biased list and will almost certainly omit somebody’s favorite. I’ve avoided some of the obvious picks, because there are wonderful episodes that don’t get nearly enough attention.
Also, remember that there are over 700 episodes of Star Trek. I am only a single human who occasionally needs to emerge into the light of day. As a result, this list only gives you jumping-off points for each series. If you watch one and really enjoy it, then by all means dive into the rest of the show.
These descriptions contain spoilers. They shouldn’t diminish your enjoyment of the episodes, but proceed with caution. If you wish to watch these episodes unsullied, read at your own risk.
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