This week marked the 60th anniversary of Star Trek (it was Tuesday, actually, but alas! I was distracted by the whole “return to work” thing). And the show almost didn’t make it at all.
How ‘Star Trek’ almost failed to launch
“The Cage” – a complicated story about alien mind-control – was an ambitious pilot. When Roddenberry presented it to NBC, the programming executives were blown away. But the sales and marketing department wasn’t convinced. Not enough action, they thought. It would be hard to promote. Pass.
“Star Trek,” it seemed, was dead.
Fortunately, there’s more to that story, and the show not only got off the ground but became the entertainment juggernaut it is today.
I wasn’t a Trek fan growing up, in large part, I think, because my parents had made the conscious decision not to have a television. Now that I’m all grown up and have a TV of my own, though, I appreciate the ideals and more behind the sometimes campy but always fun franchise. So inspiring, and not just for everyday fans.
When it premiered in 1966, no one could have predicted that it would lead to more than a dozen spinoff shows, more than a dozen movies and one of the most enduring fandoms in popular culture.
“Star Trek” is also unusual for its close connections to NASA, both in its storylines and in the real world. Decades of “Star Trek” adventures have ignited a love of spaceflight across generations, inspiring many who now work as space professionals.
Let’s hear it for the real-world powers of fiction. And now, in life and the imagination, go boldly!
* * *
You must be logged in to post a comment.