Fifty
years ago on September 8, 1966, the Federation Starship U.S.S. Enterprise (Starfleet
designation NCC-1701) set out on a five-year mission that initially
lasted only three years but ultimately went on to encompass an
animated television series, 13 motion pictures, five more television
series, and countless fan conventions, games, toys, books, and all
manner of merchandising.
The
Decades channel celebrates the momentous occasion with an all-day
marathon on September 8 of Star Trek specials from previous
anniversaries and milestone events.
And
Me TV presents the original series' first broadcast episode, “The
Man Trap,” in the show's usual 9 p.m. timeslot this Saturday,
followed by a special Svengoolie screening of the first Star Trek
pilot, “The Cage,” in which the only familiar faces are Leonard
Nimoy as Spock and Majel Barrett (Star Trek creator Gene
Roddenberry's future wife and Nurse/Doctor Christine Chapel in the
original series and movies) as the Enterprise's female executive
officer, Number One. And on the same night Star Wars: Episode VII
– The Force Awakens makes its television debut on all Starz
channels!
I
have been a Trekker, Trekkie, and all manner of nomenclature
associated with dedicated devotees of Star Trek for 36 years,
and I shall happily continue to be.
Not
only have I had the pleasure of being a fan of the franchise for all
those years, but I have also had the honor and privilege of
professionally interviewing several of its prominent representatives
– original series stars William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy and their
Star Trek VI costar Kim Catrall, and Next Generation-ers
Patrick Stewart, Jonathan Frakes, LeVar Burton, and John de Lancie. I
also had the good fortune to meet Shatner, James Doohan, and Walter
Koenig in person. (And I saw Gates McFadden and Alexander Siddig –
Siddig El Fadil at the time – at a special Star Trek
exhibition at the Hayden Planetarium in New York City.)
May
Star Trek continue to live long and prosper (as it currently
does with the original series on Me TV, Star Trek: The Next
Generation on BBC America, theatrical feature films, and the
forthcoming CBS television series, Star Trek: Discovery).
--Raj
Manoharan
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