Star Trek is Alive and Well at 50

On September 8th, the venerable TV series Star Trek will officially turn 50. While a number of old "properties" have been resurrected from the dust bins lately, Star Trek never really died.

When it premiered in 1966, NBC was very proud of the show with its racially-integrated, multinational crew of men and women. It was a radical departure from shows that avoided controversy like the plague. Storylines often tackled burning social issues of the day, including race relations and even the Vietnam War. Many theses would be written about the cultural impact of Gene Roddenberry's daring creation.

Unfortunately, Star Trek never ranked better than 51 in the Nielsen Ratings. It was therefore dropped after only two seasons (and was on thin ice from day one). It should have been dead and forgotten along with many other fine shows and pilots.

Yet, in an unprecedented move, NBC reversed their decision and renewed Star Trek for a third season as a result of a massive letter writing campaign. The effort was organized by Bjo Trimble. She was also responsible for organizing the first Star Trek conventions. In 1979, she was honored with an uncredited role in the first Star Trek feature film. Bjo is now 82, still lives in L.A., and still loves Star Trek.

The renewal of Star Trek for a third season was a critical event. Although the third season would be its last, it made the inventory of Star Trek episodes large enough for the series to go into syndication, usually running five days-aweek on local stations. It is in this venue that Star Trek really found success. It not only went on to become the most successful syndicated TV series in history, it spawned the most successful science fiction media property of all time. To this day, Star Trek is aired daily around the world in over a hundred languages.

Disney's Star Wars is indeed a valuable property, but CBS's Star Trek boasts over 700 hour-long quality episodes from five successful TV series and 14 feature films; all of these are available in DVD or Blu-Ray. The latest film, Star Trek: Beyond, which was released just last month, has already grossed $197 million! Who knows how much the gaming, books, conventions, and other paraphernalia are worth.

Most importantly are the members of Star Trek Fandom. Drawn by its message of inclusion, tolerance, and universal brotherhood, a Star Trek convention is one of the greatest gatherings of diverse and tolerant people. They also tend to be quite intelligent and educated with an eye toward the future rather than past antagonisms.

William Shatner (Captain Kirk), who is notoriously narcissistic, always thought Star Trek was about him. He had to produce a documentary film about Star Trek fans to finally learn that it was about all of us and our common futures. On his 80th birthday, he humbly announced to a packed convention hall that he "finally got it!"

There is also a new Star Trek "TV" series in production. But to see it, you're going to need an Internet connection! Star Trek: Discovery will be the first series for CBS All Access, a new Internet video subscription service. Due to premiere in January, the series is set ten years before the original/classic series. A woman will command the USS Discovery as they follow up on a previously mentioned event from Star Trek history. Sounds like fun!

Speaking of history...

From the beginning, Star Trek became an important partner in America's efforts to reach out into space. When the show premiered in September of 1966, NASA was still reeling from the horrific Apollo 1 fire that killed Astronauts Grissom, White, and Chaffee. Star Trek needed NASA's efforts to seem credible, and NASA needed Star Trek to promote NASA's vision of humanity's future in space.

I remember a speech that Captain Kirk was giving to his senior officers when considering whether to take on a risky mission that had great potential for human advancement. He asked, "Do you wish that the first Apollo missions hadn't reached the moon, and that we hadn't gone on to Mars and then to the nearest stars....Risk is our business. That's what this starship is all about." Watching that episode today it's easy to overlook the fact that when it first aired the first Apollo astronauts had yet to leave the ground! This historical context is vital to understanding the early impact of Star Trek on our space program.

NASA named its first Space Shuttle Enterprise and enlisted Nichelle Nichols (Lt. Uhura) to help them recruit female and minority astronauts. And when interest in spending money on space waned, Star Trek was always there to remind us where we were headed. It's hard to imagine someone working for NASA today who doesn't like Star Trek.

Since 1976, the original 11-foot model of the USS Enterprise has been on permanent exhibit at the Smithsonian National Air & Space Museum in Washington, D.C. To my knowledge, no other science fiction artifact has been so honored.

In 1996, the big model was carefully packed up and hauled back to Paramount Studios where it was carefully photographed from all angles to create a detailed digital record. The old Enterprise was then seen again in all her glory in a crafty tongue-incheek Deep Space Nine episode involving time travel back into the beloved original series episode "The Trouble with Tribbles."

If that weren't enough, an obsessed team went back and used those new Enterprise images and modern computer graphics technology to painstakingly update every one of the original 79 episodes with stunning new special effects. I've never heard of any other such undertaking, especially on such a scale.

After undergoing a meticulous restoration, the Enterprise model now greets visitors at the Smithsonian's Independence Avenue entrance as part of the Boeing Milestones of Flight Hall. She is now preserved in a new state-of-the-art climate controller case. Her close company includes the Spirit of St. Louis, the X-1 and X-15, SpaceShipOne, and John Glenn's Friendship 7. It's poignant to note that she doesn't sit that far from a moon rock that everyone can touch and was brought back only a few short years after she was made.

An Excuse to Party

Star Trek's 50th birthday is being celebrated in many ways. The largest Star Trek costume party in history was held in Las Vegas last weekend (as I write) at the annual Star Trek Convention. Although an increasing number of the old crew are no longer with us, William Shatner, now 85, was as full of energy as Captain Kirk ever was.

Star Trek: Beyond premiered at Comic-Con in San Diego outdoors by the water to a live orchestra!

Star Trek fans have been pestering the Postal Service for a commemorative stamp since the 1970s. The Postmaster has steadfastly refused, insisting that something had to be fifty years old to rate a stamp. Well, its time has come. The Star Trek commemorative stamp set is due for release on September second.

Not to be outdone, Canada released their own set of stamps, and the Royal Canadian Mint even released a set of pure silver coins in Star Trek's honor. I'm sure there are many more such tributes around the world.

As for myself, I think I'll invite a few special friends over to watch a classic episode and to toast the ever continuing voyages of the Starship Enterprise.

Gene Roddenberry could hardly have dreamed that Star Trek would outlast him. Dare I dream that it could be alive and well when I'm gone!? I'll drink to that!

Airport Star Party

The partying continues at Aviator Park on the evening of Saturday, September 10th – a star party, that is. Bring your picnic supper, binoculars, telescopes, curiosity, and sense of Wonder to the Tehachapi Airport for an evening of spaced-out fun!

The gate at "I" Street will open at 6 p.m. Your local astronomers, aviators, and space enthusiasts look forward to sharing their passions and toys with you!

Almanac

If you haven't noticed, watch Mars as it rockets to the left between Saturn and Antares as the month progresses. Since we seldom see points of light move swiftly in the sky, we can't help but be fascinated by those that do. It's important to note that this rapid movement of Mars is actually due to the movement of the earth in its faster orbit around the sun.

Autumn officially begins on September 22 at 7:21 a.m.

Sunrise/Sunset: 6:26 a.m./7:21 p.m. (September 1)