Five Years, 50 Years—Mission Accomplished

Tonight marks 50 years since the debut of the NBC-TV series Star Trek. Terence Towles Canote has a nice in-depth post up about this anniversary, which notes that

Since September 8, 1966, Star Trek has become the stuff of television legends. It was the low-rated science-fiction show saved by its fans from cancellation that became a phenomenon in syndicated reruns. While there is some truth to the legend (in its initial network run Star Trek’s ratings were always moderate to low), there is much about the legend that simply isn’t true. Indeed, even while in its first run there were signs that Star Trek was on its way to becoming a phenomenon.

Comic-book writer Christopher Mills offers his own thoughts on the show, in Atomic Pulp, explaining that the original, 1966-1969 Trek “inspired and informed the person I became.

I learned the value of reason and logic from an alien with pointed ears and a Satanic visage. I learned the nobility of humanity and compassion toward all life, regardless of shape, color or form, from an anachronistic Southern medic. And, most importantly, I learned about the worth of boldness, courage, and tempered wisdom from a charming leader with a confident swagger sporting a gold tunic. [Captain James T.] Kirk was a fighter, a diplomat, a philosopher—and a libidinous wolf—but in my eyes, he was the best of us as a species. He wasn’t perfect—and to his credit, usually admitted his flaws and acknowledged his mistakes—but he was also a man of intelligence and action, who sought out brave new worlds and always had his eye on the future.

My own experience with Star Trek didn’t begin until the early 1970s, when I was old enough and aware enough to appreciate television. To my mother’s regret and my father’s everlasting bewilderment, I became a Trek fan for life as a result of watching reruns of that series’ original 79 episodes about a multi-cultural crew of explorers who raced across the galaxy in a sleek starship, bringing help to humans and aliens in need, and taking with them a message of hope and love and peace. (It didn’t hurt, either, that there was the occasional Orion dancing girl to catch a young boy’s eye!) I have since seen all of the Star Trek spinoffs and every Trek movie save the most recent one. I even went with my niece one year to a Trek convention, during which I had the pleasure of listening to William Shatner recount his hilarious experience in traveling to Seattle for that event.

I think creator Gene Roddenberry’s vision for Star Trek has been greatly enhanced and deepened by some of the people who took over the franchise after his death in 1991, particularly executive producer Rick Berman. Yet Roddenberry gave television watchers the blueprint, and even half a century later, his “Wagon Train to the stars” is as durable and promising and hopeful as ever.

Live long and prosper, my fellow Star Trek fans!

READ MORE: “To Boldly Imagine: Star Trek’s Half Century,” by Andrew Liptak (Kirkus Reviews); “Star Trek’s Still as Relevant on the 50th Anniversary,” by Dave Marinaccio (Bookgasm); “The Mission to Restore the Original Starship Enterprise,” by Jackie Mansky (Smithsonian); “Star Trek at 50: The Theme Song Has Lyrics. No, Really,” by Chris Barton (Los Angeles Times).

Claim That Tune

I don’t know how much longer this will remain available, but at least for now, the unsold 1974 TV pilot film, The Questor Tapes--conceived and executive produced by Star Trek’s Gene Roddenberry, and still not available on DVD--can be watched on YouTube

in its entirety. (It also appears to be available on that site in a 12-part collection of videos, beginning here.)

Not only is The Questor Tapes an interesting boob-tube artifact, but that science-fiction film about an android contains a surprise. Beginning at the 1:13 mark, we first hear a piece of music that will later become familiar as the main theme of Kolchak: The Night Stalker, starring Darren McGavin. (The introduction to Questor appears at the top of this post, while the Kolchak intro is embedded at left.) Sure enough, the composer responsible for the Kolchak theme, Gil Mellé, is also listed in the cast and crew credits for The Questor Tapes. Roddenberry’s teleflick debuted on NBC on January 23, 1974; Kolchak began its seven-month run on September 13, 1974.

Now, I can’t be the only one to have noticed this shared tune ...

READ MORE: “Return to Tomorrow: Old Sci-Fi Series from ‘Star Trek’ Creator May Get New Life,” by Dave Itzkoff (The New York Times).

Ten-hut!

Here’s news of particular interest to old-television buffs, brought to you by Stephen Bowie of the Classic History TV Blog:

Warner Archive will be releasing The Lieutenant (1963-1964) next year. I’ve been hearing rumors about this for months, but it was confirmed on Warner Archive’s Facebook page this week. The Lieutenant, of course, was the first series Gene Roddenberry created for television. It was a show about the peacetime military (although apparently it contained early references to the Vietnam conflict) that defied easy generic classification. Today, The Lieutenant is probably best remembered because it featured appearances by several actors associated with Roddenberry’s Star Trek; Gary Lockwood (guest star in the second Trek pilot, “Where No Man Has Gone Before”) played the title character, and Leonard Nimoy, Nichelle Nichols, Walter Koenig, Majel Barrett, and Ricardo Montalban all guest-starred.

Like Dr. Kildare and The Man From U.N.C.L.E. (whose star, Robert Vaughn, was the second lead in The Lieutenant), Roddenberry’s creation was an MGM show produced under the banner of Norman Felton’s Arena Productions, which generally guaranteed high production values and compelling stories. Whether that applies to The Lieutenant, I don’t know. Aside from TNT broadcasts of few episodes in the late eighties, The Lieutenant hasn’t been rerun during my lifetime. Even if it doesn’t live up to the hype, The Lieutenant will be one of the classic TV events of 2011.

You can read more from Bowie here. And there are some scenes from The Lieutenant available on YouTube, including part of an episode titled “To Set It Right,” which focused on race relations and wasn’t broadcast during the show’s run.

Where No TV Series Has Gone Before

[[M I L E S T O N E S]] * Who would’ve thought, after the original Star Trek TV series was abruptly cancelled--just three years into its run--that the whole world would now be celebrating the 40th anniversary of its debut on September 8, 1966? But for those who discovered Gene Roddenberry’s final frontier either during the show’s initial broadcast, during repeats of that original series (which was my case), or as a result of the four series, 10 theatrical films, and one cartoon series that Star Trek spawned over the last four decades, the attraction was hard to miss.

Roddenberry originally conceived of his show as “a Wagon Train to the stars,” and there has always been a great deal of high adventure and the wide-eyed sense discovery to these series. However, Star Trek has evolved beyond a merely action-oriented and conflict-heavy concept, to embrace psychological issues, racial issues, and the xenophobia to be expected when so many different species come into contact with one another. Imparting too much philosophical importance to a TV series seems naïve; yet while Star Trek has been overwhelmingly a source of entertainment, it has also used the conventions and unconventionality of science fiction to tell stories that mirror the troubles and truths of the late 20th and early 21st century. The fact that space travelers 100, 300, and 400 years from now must deal with problems not so dissimilar from those facing people nowadays demonstrates the root fallibility of mankind, but also the expectation that what we think of now as insurmountable woes are, from the perspective of the far future, only matters to daunt but not defeat us. If there is any overriding message to Star Trek, it is that hopes survives.

And, it seems, so does the baby Roddenberry birthed on the small screen 40 years ago. As has been reported recently, an 11th Star Trek movie is on the drawing boards, to be produced by Lost co-creators J. J. Abrams and Damon Lindelof. Although I am concerned to see the franchise pass out of the hands of longtime steward Rick Berman, I can only be pleased that its longevity is ensured, at least in the short term. I grew up on Star Trek; I’d like to see future generations do the same.

May it live long and prosper, to quote a certain Vulcan.

Below: This version of the original Star Trek opening and closing features Alexander Courage’s famous theme music.



READ MORE: “My Second-Favorite Trek ...,” by Christopher Mills (Atomic Pulp).