For a little show that only lasted three years, Star Trek has certainly made a name for itself. Most shows that last such a short amount of time are lucky if they even make it into syndication. Today is the 40th anniversary of the first showing of Star Trek on NBC. Unlikely as it sounds, it premiered right after Daniel Boone.
But if you doubt the cultural significance of Star Trek, consider the impact it has had on the entertainment industry. Star Trek has spawned four spin-offs (The Next Generation, Voyager, Deep Space Nine, and Enterprise), an animated series (The Animated Adventures of Gene Roddenberry’s Star Trek), and ten movies (First Contact, The Wrath of Khan, The Voyage Home, Star Trek: The Motion Picture, Insurrection, The Undiscovered Country, Generations, Nemesis, The Search for Spock, and The Final Frontier). This is not even counting the books, video games, and other merchandise that is just too vast to mention.
Even people who were not fans of the original show know the names of the main stars (William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy) and those of their characters (Captain Kirk and Spock). If you live and breathe Star Trek, then you are a Trekkie, the name given to those die-hard fans that know the show inside and out and often attend conferences about the show, dressed as their favorite character.
So here’s to 40 years of Star Trek, the sci-fi show that has surely influenced all those since its creation! Here are a few facts you may not have known about Star Trek and those who worked on it:
Two people involved in the show (James Doohan, the actor who played engineer Scotty and creator Gene Roddenberry) had their ashes blasted into space on a rocket.
Christopher Pike (played by Jeffrey Hunter) was the captain of the Enterprise before Kirk.
Actor Martin Landau was originally slated to play Spock, but turned down the role.
Captain Kirk never said, “Beam me up, Scotty” in any episode, despite popular belief.
There are real blueprints for the USS Enterprise. The blueprints, released to the public in 1975, show that the Enterprise had among other things, a bowling alley, a garden, and a swimming pool.