"Star Trek" (1966) TV series 1966-1969

User Rating:

8.6/10   

Creator:

Gene Roddenberry

Seasons:

1 | 2 | 3

Release Date:

8 September 1966 (USA)

Genre:

Adventure | Sci-Fi

Tagline:

Boldly Go. Again. (2006 remasters tagline)

Plot:

Capt. Kirk and the crew of the Starship Enterprise explore space and defend the United Federation of Planets.

Plot Keywords:

Federation | Space | Starship | Computer | Vulcan

Awards:

Nominated for 5 Primetime Emmys. Another 5 wins & 10 nominations

Cast

Leonard Nimoy	...	Mr. Spock / ... (80 episodes, 1966-1969)
William Shatner	...	Captain James T. Kirk / ... (79 episodes, 1966-1969)
DeForest Kelley	...	Dr. McCoy (76 episodes, 1966-1969)
Nichelle Nichols	...	Uhura / ... (68 episodes, 1966-1969)
James Doohan	...	Scott / ... (65 episodes, 1966-1969)
Eddie Paskey	...	Lt. Leslie / ... (59 episodes, 1966-1968)
Bill Blackburn	...	Lt. Hadley / ... (59 episodes, 1966-1969)
George Takei	...	Sulu (51 episodes, 1966-1969)
Frank da Vinci	...	Lt. Brent / ... (44 episodes, 1966-1969)
Walter Koenig	...	Chekov (36 episodes, 1967-1969)
Majel Barrett	...	Nurse Chapel / ... (33 episodes, 1966-1969)
Roger Holloway	...	Lt. Lemli (32 episodes, 1967-1969)

Also Known As:

Star Trek: TOS (USA) (promotional abbreviation)
Star Trek: The Original Series (USA) (informal title)

Runtime:

47 min (79 episodes)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Sound Mix:

Mono | DTS (re-mastered version) | Dolby Digital (re-mastered version)

Certification:

Germany:12 (some episodes) | Germany:16 (one episode) | Germany:6 (some epiosodes) | UK:PG (some episodes) | UK:U (some episodes) | Finland:K-18 (2006) (DVD) (self applied) | Canada:G (Quebec) | Canada:PG (TV rating) | Singapore:PG | Brazil:12 (season 2 and 3) | Brazil:Livre (Season 1) | Australia:G (some episodes) | Australia:PG (some episodes) | Argentina:Atp

Filming Locations:

Backlot, Desilu Studios - 9336 W. Washington Blvd., Culver City, California, USA

Company:

Desilu Productions

Trivia:

The Star Trek Crews from all the "Star Trek" series were ranked #2 in TV Guide's list of the "25 Greatest Sci-Fi Legends" (1 August 2004 issue).

Goofs:

Continuity: The rank structure for female crew members contains a number of inconsistencies. Uhura, presumably a graduate of Starfleet Academy but without an advanced degree, is a full lieutenant, but Helen Noel, a full medical doctor of psychiatry, Christine Chapel, a registered nurse, and Tina Lawton, a yeoman third class, are all ensigns, two ranks below Uhura.

Quotes:

Spock: Do you know what it is, Captain?
Capt. Kirk: [referring to the lethal gaseous entity] Something that can't possibly exist... but it does.
[looks on to dead crewmen sprawled on the ground]

Movie Connections:

Referenced in The Neon Palace (1971)

Soundtrack:

Theme

Why didn't they install seatbelts?

Ah, yes; the "granddaddy" of all Treks! The place where we got our first glimpse of the future. Apparently, mini-skirts would be back in style and everyone would wear their pajamas at work. Also, a goatee signified evil.

When I was a kid, the series was the coolest; lots of action, some humor, weird aliens, etc. When I was older, it was still entertaining. Some episodes held up very well, with the outstanding writing making more of an impression. Some things were fairly silly, and some were downright goofy.

Although never blessed with the greatest budget, the show put as much money on the screen as it could. For the time and for television, the effects were pretty good, aside from the bridge shaking stuff. The exteriors tended to get a little repetitive; it seems that the galaxy looks a lot like southern California and a studio interior. The styrofoam geological forms were quite interesting.

To me. this is still the best series. Yes, Next Gen had better acting (at least from Patrick Stewart) and better effects, but this series was more fun. These guys didn't sit around in conference rooms while the Romulans were firing on their ship. There was no technobabble while the engineer reconfigured the microwave oven to create a transwarp carbourator inversion and emit a tachyon diode stream. Nope, Scotty just crossed a couple of wires and then BLAMMO! Kirk got more action than any of the other skippers, and Spock was more fun than Data. Of course, the women weren't very emancipated, but that still hasn't changed as much as the producers like to claim, in later series.

To sum it up, you just can't beat Trbbles, Klingons with smooth foreheads, green women, and planets with Nazis and gangsters. I'll take the Squire of Gothos over Q any day (yes, I've read the Peter David book). My only quibble is that no one ever thought to put seatbelts on the bridge. Wasn't there some 23rd Century Ralph Nader around? And with all of Kirk's "friends" throughout the galaxy, is anyone else surprised we have only come across one child of his? I have a feeling he kept going on missions to avoid process servers.