With the premiere of Star Trek on NBC in September 1966, few could have imagined that this ambitious yet often uneven science-fiction series would go on to become one of the most actively celebrated and financially lucrative narrative franchises in television history. Although the original series enjoyed only a modest run of three season and 79 episodes, the story world created by that series eventually led to a library of popular novelizations and comic books, a cycle of motion-pictures, an international fan community, and a number of spin-off series that made the Star Trek universe a bedrock property for Paramount Studios in the 1980s and 1990s.

    Star Trek followed the adventures of the U.S.S. Enterprise, a flagship in a 23rd-Century interplanetary alliance known as "the Federation." The ship's five year mission was "to seek out new life and new civilizations, to boldly go where no man has gone before," a mandate that series creator and philosophical wellspring Gene Roddenberry described as "Wagon Train in space." Each episode brought the crew of the Enterprise in contact with new alien races or baffling wonders of the universe. When not exploring the galaxy, the crew of the Enterprise often scrapped with the two main threats to the Federation's benevolent democratization of space, the Hun-like Klingons and the more cerebral yet equally menacing Romulans.

    The program's main protagonists, Captain James T. Kirk (William Shatner), Mr. Spock (Leonard Nimoy), and Dr. Leonard McCoy (DeForest Kelly) remain three of the most familiar (and most parodied) characters in television memory. As commander of the Enterprise, the hyper-masculine Kirk engaged in equal amounts of fisticuffs and intergalactic romance, and was known for his nerves of steel in negotiating the difficulties and dangers presented by the ship's mission. McCoy was the ship's cantankerous chief medical officer who, when not saving patients, gave the other two leads frequent personal and professional advice. Perhaps most complex and popular of the characters was Spock. Half-human and half-Vulcan, Spock struggled to maintain the absolute emotional control demanded by his Vulcan heritage, and yet occasionally fell prey to the foibles of a more human existence. In addition to the three leads, Star Trek featured a stable of secondary characters who also became central to the show's identity. These included the ship's chief engineer, Scotty (James Doohan), and an ethnically diverse supporting cast featuring Uhura (Nichelle Nichols), Chekov (Walter Koening), Sulu (George Takei), Yeoman Rand (Grace Lee Whitney), and Nurse Chapel (Majel Barrett).

    Scripts for the original series varied greatly in quality, ranging from the literate time-travel tragedy of Harlan Ellison's "City on the Edge of Forever" and the Sophoclean conflict of Theodore Sturgeon's "Amok Time," to less inspired stock adventure plots, such as Kirk's battle to the death with a giant lizard creature in "Arena." With varying degree of success, many episodes addressed the social and political climate of late-sixties America, including the Vietnam allegory, "A Private Little War," a rather heavy-handed treatment of racism in "Let That Be Your Last Battlefield," an even an encounter with space hippies in "The Way to Eden."

    NBC threatened to cancel Star Trek after its second season, but persuaded in some degree by a large letter-writing campaign by fans to save the show, the network picked up the series for a third and final year. Canceled in 1969, Star Trek went on to a new life in syndication where it found an even larger audience and quickly became a major phenomenon within popular culture. Beginning with a network of memorabilia collectors, fans of the show became increasingly organized, gathering at Star Trek conventions to trade merchandise, meet stars from the show, and watch old episodes. Such fans came to be known as "trekkies," and were noted (and often ridiculed) for their extreme devotion to the show and their encyclopedic knowledge of every episode. Through this explosion of interest, many elements of the Star Trek universe made their way into the larger lexicon of popular culture, including the oft heard line, "Beam me up, Scotty" (a reference to the ship's teleportation device), as well as Spock's signature commentary on the "illogic" of human culture. Along with Spock's distinctively pointed ears, other aspects of Vulcan culture also became widely popularized as television lore, including the Vulcan "mind-meld" and the Vulcan salute, "live long and prosper."

    As "trekkie" culture continued to grow around the show during the seventies, a central topic of conversation among fans concerned rumors that the series might one day return to the airwaves. There was talk that the series might return with the original cast, with a new cast, or in a new sequel format. Such rumors were often fueled by a general sense among fans that the show had been unjustly canceled in the first place, and thus deserved a second run. Initially, Paramount did not seem convinced of the commercial potential of resurrecting the story world in any form, but by the late seventies, the studio announced that a motion picture version of the series featuring the original cast was under development. Star Trek: The Motion Picture premiered in 1979, and though it was a very clumsy translation of the series into the language of big-budget, big-screen science-fiction, it proved to be such a hit that Paramount developed a chain of sequels, including Star Trek II: The Wrath of Kahn (1982), Star Trek III: The Search of Spock (1984), and Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (1986).

    By the mid-1980s, the Star Trek mythos had proven so commercially viable that Paramount announced plans for a new Star Trek series for television. Once again supervised by Roddenberry, Star Trek: The Next Generation debuted in first-run syndication in 1987 and went on to become one of the highest rated syndicated shows in history. Set in the 24th century, this series followed the adventures of a new crew on a new Enterprise (earlier versions of the ship having been destroyed in the movie series). The series was extremely successful at establishing a new story world that still maintained a continuity with the premise, spirit, and history of the original series. On the new Enterprise, the command functions were divided between a more cultured Captain, Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart), and his younger, more headstrong "number one," Commander William Riker (Jonathan Frakes). Spock's character functions were distributed across a number of new crew members, including ship's counselor and Betazoid telepath, Deanna Troi (Marina Sirtis), the highly advanced android, Lt. Commander Data (Brent Spiner), who provided the show with "logical" commentary as ironic counter-point to the peculiarities of human culture, and finally, Lieutenant Worf (Michael Dorn), a Klingon raised by a human family who struggled to reconcile his warrior heritage with the demands of the Federation. Other important characters included Lt. Geordi La Forge (LeVar Burton), the ship's blind engineer whose "vision" was processed by a high-tech visor, Dr. Beverly Crusher (Gates McFadden), the ship's medical officer and implicit romantic foil for Picard, and Wesley Crusher (Wil Wheaton), the doctor's precocious son.

    Running for 178 episodes, Star Trek: The Next Generation was able to develop its characters and storylines in much more detail than the original series. As with many other hour-long dramas its era, the series abandoned a wholly episodic format in favor of more serialized narratives that better showcased the expanded ensemble cast. Continuing over the run of the series were recurring encounters with Q, a seemingly omnipotent yet extremely petulant entity, the Borg, a menacing race of mechanized beings, and Lars, Data's "evil" android brother. Other continuing stories included intrigue and civil war in the Klingon empire, Data's ongoing quest to become more fully human, and often volatile political difficulties with the Romulans. This change in the narrative structure of the series from wholly episodic to a more serialized form can be attributed in some part to the activities of the original series' enormous fan following. A central part of fan culture in the 1970s and 1980s involved fans writing their own Star Trek based stories, often filling in blanks left by the original series and elaborating incidents only briefly mentioned in a given episode. Star Trek: The Next Generation greatly expanded the potential for such creative elaboration by presenting a more complex storyworld, one that actively encouraged the audience to think of the series as a foundation for imagining a larger textual universe.

    Despite the show's continuing success, Paramount canceled Star Trek: The Next Generation after seven seasons to turn the series into a film property and make room for new television spin-offs, thus beginning a careful orchestration of the studio's Star Trek interests in both film and television. The cast of the original series returned to the theater for Star Treks 5 and 6, leading finally to Star Trek: Generations, in which the original cast turned over the cinematic baton to the crew of Next Generation. Star Trek: Deep Space Nine premiered in January of 1993 as the eventual replacement for Next Generation on television. In contrast to the usually optimistic and highly mobile structure of the first two series, Deep Space Nine was a much more claustrophobic reading of the Star Trek universe. Set aboard an aging space-station in orbit around a recently liberated planet, Bajor, the series generated its storylines from the aftermath of the war over Bajor and from a nearby "wormhole" that brought diverse travelers to the station from across the galaxy.

    Hoping to compete with Fox and Warner Brothers in creating new broadcast networks, Paramount developed a fourth Star Trek series as the anchor for their United Paramount Network. Star Trek: Voyager inaugurated UPN in January 1995, serving as he network's first broadcast. Responding perhaps to the stagebound qualities and tepid reception of Deep Space Nine, Voyager opted for a premise that maximized the crew's ability to travel and encounter new adventures. Stranded in a distant part of the galaxy after a freak plasma storm, the U.S.S. Voyager finds itself seventy-five years away from earth and faced with the arduous mission of returning home.

    Both Deep Space Nine and Voyager attracted the core fans of Star Trek, as expected, but neither series was as popular with the public at large as the programs they were designed to replace. Despite this, at century's end, there would seem to be every indication that the world of Star Trek will survive into the new millennium.

    -Jeffrey Sconce

    CAST

    Captain James T. Kirk ...........................William Shatner

    Mr. Spock.............................................. Leonard Nimoy

    Dr. Leonard McCoy ...............................DeForest Kelley

    Yeoman Janice Rand (1966-1967)..... Grace Lee Whitney

    Sulu .........................................................George Takei

    Uhura................................................... Nichelle Nichols

    Engineer Montgomery Scott..................... James Doohan

    Nurse Christine Chapel............................... Majel Barrett

    Ensign Pavel Chekov (1967-1969)............. Walter Koenig

    PRODUCERS

    Gene Roddenberry, John Meredyth Lucas, Gene L. Coon, Fred Freiberger

    PROGRAMMING HISTORY

    79 Episodes

    NBC

    September 1966-August 1967   Thursday 8:30-9:30

    September 1967-August 1968   Friday 8:30-9:30

    September 1968-April 1969   Friday 10:00-11:00

    June 1969-September 1969   Tuesday 7:30-8:30

     

    FURTHER READING

    Alexander, David, and Ray Bradbury. Star Trek Creator: The Authorized Biography of Gene Roddenberry. New York: Roc, 1994.

    Asherman, Allan. The Star Trek Compendium. New York: Pocket, 1989.

    Dillard, J. M., and Susan Sackett. Star Trek, Where No One Has Gone Before: A History in Pictures. New York: Pocket, 1994.

    Gerrold, David. The World of Star Trek. New York, Ballantine, 1974.

    Gibberman, Susan R. Star Trek: An Annotated Guide to Resources On The Development, The Phenomenon, The People, The Television Series, The Films, The Novels, and The Recordings. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland, 1991.

    Jenkins, Henry. Textual Poachers: Television Fans and Participatory Culture. New York: Routledge, 1992.

    Nemecek, Larry. The Star Trek: The Next Generation Companion. New York: Pocket, 1992.

    Okuda, Michael, Denise Okuda, Debbie Mirek, and Doug Drexler. The Star Trek Encyclopedia: A Reference Guide to The Future. New York: Pocket, 1994.

    Shatner, William, with Chris Kreski. Star Trek Memories. New York: Harper Collins, 1993.

    Trimble, Bjo. The Star Trek Concordance. New York: Ballantine, 1976.

    Tulloch, John, and Jenkins, Henry. Science Fiction Audiences: Watching Doctor Who and Star Trek. London; New York: Routledge, 1995.

    Van Hise, James, and Hal Schuster. Trek, The Unauthorized Story Of The Movies. Las Vegas, Nevada: Pioneer Books, 1995.

    Whitfield, Stephen E., and Gene Roddenberry. The Making Of Star Trek. New York, Ballantine, 1968.

    Thumbnail of George Takei

    George Takei on the character of Mr. Sulu on Star Trek

    05:31
    Thumbnail of Dorothy C. Fontana

    Dorothy Fontana on Star Trek's production schedule and how the series was initially picked up

    03:36
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    Nichelle Nichols on the Star Trek episode "Plato's Stepchildren" in which she shared television's first interracial kiss with "Captain Kirk" (William Shatner)

    16:02
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    William Shatner on his Star Trek character "Captain James T. Kirk"

    05:56
    Thumbnail of Richard Matheson

    Richard Matheson on writing the Star Trek episode "The Enemy Within"

    01:55
    Thumbnail of Herbert F. Solow

    Herbert F. Solow on the two pilots for Star Trek and how it became a series

    18:52

    Howard Anderson, Jr.

    Howard Anderson Jr. on creating the opening titles and special effects for Star Trek (Part 1)

    08:01

    Howard Anderson Jr. on creating special effects and titles for Star Trek

    04:19

    Howard Anderson Jr. on creating the opening sequence for Star Trek

    04:10

    Howard Anderson Jr. on working with Gene Roddenberry on Star Trek

    01:23

    Howard Anderson Jr. on creating special effects for Star Trek

    04:03

    Howard Anderson Jr. on the biggest challenge of creating Star Trek special effects

    04:01

    Howard Anderson Jr. on creating the effects for the different planets on Star Trek

    01:52

    Howard Anderson Jr. on working with the cast and crew of Star Trek

    02:08

    Howard Anderson Jr. on the legacy of his work on Star Trek

    00:59

    Harve Bennett

    Harve Bennett on how he came to produce the Star Trek  features

    04:11

    Harve Bennett on choosing "Khan" as the villain for the feature "Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan"

    01:58

    Harve Bennett on the cast of Star Trek

    03:02

    Harve Bennett on killing off "Spock" in the feature film "Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan"

    02:20

    Rick Berman

    Rick Berman on the then-future of the Star Trek franchise

    01:16

    Rick Berman on the legacy of Star Trek

    01:44

    Rick Berman on the future of the Star Trek  franchise

    01:16

    Sharon Bialy

    Sharon Bialy on how the diversity of the actors on Star Trek influenced her as a casting director

    00:56

    Robert Blackman

    Robert Blackman on designing costumes for Star Trek: Enterprise

    08:15

    Robert Blackman on designing costumes for the "Star Trek" feature films

    02:58

    Robert Blackman on the legacy of Star Trek

    00:42

    LeVar Burton

    LeVar Burton on being a fan of Star Trek and Gene Roddenberry

    00:42

    Robert Butler

    Robert Butler on directing the original pilot of Star Trek  ("The Cage")

    06:59

    Leo Chaloukian

    Leo Chaloukian on doing sound for the Star Trek pilot

    01:59

    Alexander Courage

    Alexander Courage on how he was asked to write the theme music for Star Trek

    02:58

    Alexander Courage on how he composed the theme music for Star Trek

    01:08

    Alexander Courage on creating the sound effects for the alien planet on Star Trek

    01:08

    Alexander Courage on creating the main title sound effects for the Enterprise on Star Trek

    01:00

    Alexander Courage on creating the fanfare for the main title on Star Trek

    01:33

    Alexander Courage on music for the second Star Trek pilot, "Where No Man Has Gone Before" 

    01:54

    Alexander Courage on music for the original Star Trek pilot "The Cage" and his initial thoughts on the show

    02:30

    Alexander Courage on the recording session for the music for the original Star Trek pilot "The Cage" and the show's main titles

    03:46

    Alexander Courage on the inspiration for the Star Trek theme and playing it for Gene Roddenberry

    01:44

    Alexander Courage on scoring two episodes of Star Trek during its first season and deciding to work on the film "Dr. Doolittle" rather than stay with Star Trek

    03:34

    Alexander Courage on the deterioration of his relationship with Gene Roddenberry over royalities

    02:15

    Alexander Courage on scoring additional episodes of Star Trek during the show's third season

    01:14

    Alexander Courage on not being asked to score the Star Trek movie

    01:25

    Alexander Courage on scoring many episodes of Lost in Space and wishing he had stayed at Star Trek

    01:08

    Alexander Courage on the highlight of his career - Star Trek (and his experience at a convention)

    01:18

    Elinor Donahue

    Elinor Donahue on guest starring on the Star Trek episode "Metamorphosis" (airdate: November 10, 1967)

    05:37

    Gerald Perry Finnerman

    Gerald Perry Finnerman on how he came to be hired by Gene Roddenberry as cinematographer on Star Trek

    05:44

    Gerald Perry Finnerman on how Star Trek was initially described to him, and on his early ideas for the show

    06:13

    Gerald Perry Finnerman on his ideas as cinematographer for Star Trek, and on being "too artsy"

    04:14

    Gerald Perry Finnerman on the colors of Star Trek

    02:00

    Gerald Perry Finnerman on the challenge of making planets look real on Star Trek

    01:27

    Gerald Perry Finnerman on working with Gene Roddenberry on Star Trek

    03:00

    Gerald Perry Finnerman on working with producer Robert Justman on Star Trek

    03:47

    Gerald Perry Finnerman on his professional fears as a cinematographer on Star Trek

    02:21

    Gerald Perry Finnerman on dealing with the color scheme on Star Trek, and on the visual style of the show

    03:20

    Gerald Perry Finnerman on working with Leonard Nimoy's deep set eyes and William Shatner's hair pieces on Star Trek

    01:27

    Gerald Perry Finnerman on the equipment used to shoot Star Trek, and on the special effects of the show

    03:19

    Gerald Perry Finnerman on working with the crew on Star Trek

    01:21

    Gerald Perry Finnerman on making the Enterprise lurch forward or stop short on Star Trek, and on the challenges of lighting the interior

    02:11

    Gerald Perry Finnerman on creating the special effects that made the Enterprise fly on Star Trek

    01:32

    Gerald Perry Finnerman on working with William Shatner and as "Captain James T. Kirk" and the rest of the cast on Star Trek

    02:08

    Gerald Perry Finnerman on working with his friend DeForest Kelley as "Dr. Leonard 'Bones' McCoy," and on using "diffusion" on women and men

    05:24

    Gerald Perry Finnerman on working with Walter Koenig as "Pavel Chekov" and Nichelle Nichols as "Lt. Nyota Uhura" on Star Trek

    01:23

    Gerald Perry Finnerman on working with, and sometimes conflicting with, the directors of Star Trek including Joseph Pevney

    03:54

    Gerald Perry Finnerman on Star Trek directors Ralph Senensky, Marc Daniels, and Joseph Pevney

    04:41

    Gerald Perry Finnerman on dealing with the budgets of Star Trek as the cinematographer

    01:01

    Gerald Perry Finnerman on the pilot episode of Star Trek, "The Cage"

    01:11

    Gerald Perry Finnerman on the Star Trek episode "The Enemy Within"

    05:39

    Gerald Perry Finnerman on the Star Trek episode "Space Seed" starring Ricardo Montalban

    03:27

    Gerald Perry Finnerman on the Star Trek episode "Errand of Mercy"

    01:22

    Gerald Perry Finnerman on the Star Trek episode "The City on the Edge of Forever" starring Joan Collins as "Edith Keeler"

    00:41

    Gerald Perry Finnerman on the Star Trek episode "The Trouble with Tribbles"

    00:27

    Gerald Perry Finnerman on his favorite Star Trek episodes

    01:00

    Gerald Perry Finnerman on color correction on Star Trek

    00:49

    Gerald Perry Finnerman on exiting Star Trek in 1968 to work on a feature starring Sidney Poitier and directed by Robert Alan Aurthur

    08:24

    Gerald Perry Finnerman on turning down the opportunity to be the cinematographer for Star Trek again, and on working with Gene Roddenberry

    05:34

    Dorothy C. Fontana

    Dorothy Fontana on the original concept and vision of Star Trek, the pilot process, and the sale of the series to NBC

    04:58

    Dorothy Fontana on Star Trek's production schedule and how the series was initially picked up

    03:36

    Dorothy Fontana on Star Trek's initial production crew and on developing the look of the series and of the starship

    03:36

    Dorothy Fontana on Star Trek's creation of aliens using "the Horta" from "The Devil in the Dark" episode as an example

    01:52

    Dorothy Fontana on the technology used in Star Trek's world

    02:42

    Dorothy Fontana on her duties on Star Trek

    08:37

    Dorothy Fontana on the direction given to Star Trek writers

    08:30

    Dorothy Fontana on the cast of Star Trek and their characters

    10:32

    Dorothy Fontana on the Star Trek episode "Charlie X"

    02:38

    Dorothy Fontana on the Star Trek episode "This Side of Paradise", which elevated her to story editor on the series

    02:04

    Dorothy Fontana on her favorite Star Trek episode "Journey to Babel" about Spock's parents

    01:27

    Dorothy Fontana on the Star Trek episode "Friday's Child", over which she argued with Gene Rodenberry about the portrayal of women; she had a different ending

    01:56

    Dorothy Fontana on the Star Trek episode "By Any Other Name"

    01:02

    Dorothy Fontana on the Star Trek episode "The Ultimate Computer"

    00:36

    Dorothy Fontana on the Star Trek episode "The Enterprise Incident"

    02:10

    Dorothy Fontana on establishing continuity on Star Trek

    01:23

    Dorothy Fontana on the Star Trek episodes "That Which Survives" and "Way to Eden"

    03:05

    Dorothy Fontana on "Captain Kirk's" many love interests on Star Trek

    00:38

    Dorothy Fontana on her favorite episodes of Star Trek including "The Trouble with Tribbles"

    01:07

    Dorothy Fontana on her least-favorite episode of Star Trek; Klingons; on Gene Roddenberry's "Great Bird of the Galaxy" nickname

    02:11

    Dorothy Fontana on moving on from Star Trek

    00:52

    Gerald Fried

    Gerald Fried on his work on Star Trek (including his work on the episodes "Shore Leave", "Cat's Paw", "Amok Time", "The Paradise Syndrome")

    14:03

    Gerald Fried on demonstrations of some of his compositions from Star Trek

    03:08

    Sandra Gimpel

    Sandra Gimpel on how her job as Bill Mumy's stunt double on Lost in Space led to her appearing on Star Trek

    00:35

    Sandra Gimpel on how she came to work on Star Trek, appearing in the first filmed episode, "The Cage", as a Talosian, and on her costume for that role

    02:18

    Sandra Gimpel on playing a Talosian in the original pilot episode of Star Trek, "The Cage", and on being the Salt Vampire in the episode "The Man Trap"

    01:55

    Sandra Gimpel on the experience of wearing the costume as a Talosian on the Star Trek episode "The Cage"

    01:26

    Sandra Gimpel on playing the Salt Vampire in the Star Trek episode "The Man Trap", and on the challenges of the costume for the part

    02:43

    Sandra Gimpel on working with William Shatner on the Star Trek episode "The Man Trap"

    02:18

    Sandra Gimpel on her costume and makeup as the Salt Vampire on the Star Trek episode "The Man Trap"

    02:08

    Sandra Gimpel on working with director Marc Daniels on Star Trek, on the experience of working on Star Trek, and on Gene Roddenberry's brilliance

    02:36

    Sandra Gimpel on Star Trek fans' reaction to her, as the person who portrayed the Salt Vampire, and on the impact of Star Trek on its fans

    02:26

    Sandra Gimpel on performing stunts on Star Trek as a crew member

    00:46

    Whoopi Goldberg

    Whoopi Goldberg on wanting to be in the Star Trek reboot, Star Trek: The Next Generation, because Star Trek was the first show to depict Black people in the future

    04:19

    Leslie Hoffman

    Leslie Hoffman on Star Trek conventions

    01:39

    James Hong

    James Hong on running into George Takei when they were both interviewing for Star Trek's Sulu

    01:33

    Joseph Jennings

    Joseph Jennings on the biggest challenges of preparing for a show as an art director and on doing art direction for science fiction shows including Star Trek

    03:39

    Joseph Jennings on planning the art direction for the first "Star Trek" feature film

    04:26

    Joseph Jennings on acting as art director for Star Trek

    01:42

    Joseph Jennings on creator Gene Roddenberry's input on the art direction of Star Trek and on the "logic" of science fiction 

    03:14

    Joseph Jennings on creating his vision of the future on Star Trek

    06:12

    Joseph Jennings on working within the constraints of Star Trek's budget and on memorable designs and episodes for Star Trek

    02:42

    George Clayton Johnson

    George Clayton Johnson on how he came to write for Star Trek 

    09:13

    George Clayton Johnson on the early storylines and character ideas for Star Trek

    02:26

    George Clayton Johnson on Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry; on Roddenberry rewriting his work

    16:32

    George Clayton Johnson on Gene Roddenberry's vision for Star Trek and how Roddenberry was inspired by the program Wagon Train

    12:34

    George Clayton Johnson on the nickname "Bones" on Star Trek

    01:20

    George Clayton Johnson on race relations on Star Trek

    01:23

    George Clayton Johnson on the set of the Starship Enterprise on Star Trek

    03:06

    George Clayton Johnson on the Star Trek episode he wrote, "The Man Trap," being the premiere episode 

    03:42

    George Clayton Johnson on Star Trek Associate Producer Robert Justman

    01:25

    George Clayton Johnson on coming up with the story for the Star Trek episode "Rock-a-Bye Baby Or Die", which Gene Coon did not want to produce

    04:56

    George Clayton Johnson on arguments he had over storyline with the producers of Star Trek

    03:22

    George Clayton Johnson on the legacy of Star Trek

    02:30

    Julie Ann Johnson

    Julie Ann Johnson on doing stunt work on Star Trek

    01:06

    Robert Justman

    Robert Justman on working on the Mission: Impossible pilot and the Star Trek pilots

    09:46

    Associate producer Robert Justman on the development of Star Trek

    15:24

    Associate producer Robert Justman on the props created for Star Trek

    03:19

    Robert Justman on working with the cast and crew of Star Trek; on various episodes of the series

    27:31

    Robert Justman on "The City of the Edge of Forever" episode of Star Trek

    02:27

    Robert Justman on "The Menagerie" episode of Star Trek

    02:16

    Robert Justman on some notable episodes of Star Trek; on leaving the series

    15:37

    Walter Koenig

    Walter Koenig on acting in Star Trek: The Motion Picture directed by Robert Wise

    02:50

    Walter Koenig on being cast as "Pavel Chekov" on Star Trek and making the character Russian

    07:24

    Walter Koenig on the development of his character "Pavel Chekov" on Star Trek

    04:33

    Walter Koenig on the personality of his character "Pavel Chekov" on Star Trek and his relationship with "Captain Kirk"

    01:49

    Walter Koenig on the look of his Star Trek character "Pavel Chekov"

    01:17

    Walter Koenig on the challenge of coming into Star Trek in season 2 and dealing with special effects and props

    05:22

    Walter Koenig on working with the different personalities on Star Trek

    04:36

    Walter Koenig on the filming of Star Trek

    01:21

    Walter Koenig on the reasons Star Trek's iconic status

    05:48

    Walter Koenig on working with Star Trek producer Robert Justman

    00:52

    Walter Koenig on working with various people on Star Trek

    08:46

    Walter Koenig on his favorite episodes of Star Trek

    05:54

    Walter Koenig on Gene Roddenberry leaving Star Trek

    01:47

    Walter Koenig on playing a Russian character on Star Trek

    01:39

    Walter Koenig on the financial aspects of being on Star Trek

    04:35

    Walter Koenig on attending Star Trek conventions

    02:38

    Walter Koenig on the legacy of Star Trek

    04:21

    Marty Krofft

    Sid and Marty Krofft on the writers on Land of the Lost coming from Star Trek

    00:33

    Sid Krofft

    Sid and Marty Krofft on the writers on Land of the Lost coming from Star Trek

    00:33

    Richard Matheson

    Richard Matheson on writing the Star Trek episode "The Enemy Within"

    01:55

    Eryn Krueger Mekash

    Eryn Krueger Mekash on spending a lot of time in the hospital as a child -- where she watched Star Trek and movies and became fascinated with monsters and science fiction

    00:36

    Ricardo Montalban

    Ricardo Montalban on his role of Khan in Star Trek and in the feature film Star Trek: The Wrath of Khan

    05:25

    Diana Muldaur

    Diana Muldaur on working on Star Trek

    05:15

    Nichelle Nichols

    Nichelle Nichols on Gene Roddenberry coming up with the idea for Star Trek, and wanting a diverse cast

    06:11

    Nichelle Nichols on auditioning for Star Trek

    10:22

    Nichelle Nichols on naming her Star Trek character "Nyota Upenda Uhura" with show creator Gene Roddenberry

    07:34

    Nichelle Nichols on the backstory and personality of her Star Trek character "Nyota Upenda Uhura"

    03:33

    Nichelle Nichols on being protective of her Star Trek character "Nyota Upenda Uhura"

    07:05

    Nichelle Nichols on starting out as a day player on Star Trek which allowed her to also appear on Peyton Place

    07:40

    Nichelle Nichols on almost leaving Star Trek, and then staying at the behest of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

    11:38

    Nichelle Nichols on fan reaction to her role on Star Trek, and on attending the Star Trek conventions

    04:14

    Nichelle Nichols on meeting Coretta Scott King, and discussing Star Trek with her

    07:47

    Nichelle Nichols on her frustrations with how her role was written on Star Trek

    02:28

    Nichelle Nichols on Gene Roddenberry making Star Trek a breakthrough for diversity on television

    04:58

    Nichelle Nichols on Gene Roddenberry's "Charlie X" episode of Star Trek

    03:05

    Nichelle Nichols on the Star Trek episode "Space Seed"

    00:57

    Nichelle Nichols on the Star Trek episode "City on the Edge of Forever"

    02:20

    Nichelle Nichols on the Star Trek episode "The Trouble with Tribbles"

    00:51

    Nichelle Nichols on the Star Trek episode "Plato's Stepchildren" in which she shared television's first interracial kiss with "Captain Kirk" (William Shatner)

    16:02

    Nichelle Nichols on fan reaction to the Star Trek episode "Plato's Stepchildren" in which she shared television's first interracial kiss with "Captain Kirk"

    03:12

    Nichelle Nichols on some of her favorite and least favorite episodes of Star Trek

    02:50

    Nichelle Nichols on having had children named after her because of her role on Star Trek

    02:24

    Nichelle Nichols on the end of the original run of Star Trek, and on the show's long second life including the Star Trek Conventions

    07:57

    Nichelle Nichols on Leonard Nimoy is "Mr. Spock" on Star Trek

    00:42

    Nichelle Nichols on DeForest Kelley as "Dr. McCoy" on Star Trek

    00:18

    Nichelle Nichols on James Doohan as "Scotty" on Star Trek

    00:26

    Nichelle Nichols on George Takei as "Sulu" on Star Trek

    00:58

    Nichelle Nichols on Walter Koenig as "Chekov" on Star Trek

    00:37

    Nichelle Nichols on William Shatner as "Captain Kirk" on Star Trek

    02:24

    Nichelle Nichols on Majel Barrett as "Nurse Chapel" on Star Trek

    01:29

    Nichelle Nichols on the Star Trek feature films

    05:44

    Nichelle Nichols on her original Star Trek costume

    01:00

    Nichelle Nichols on the legacy of Star Trek

    00:42

    Nichelle Nichols on then-current projects

    05:12

    Leonard Nimoy

    Leonard Nimoy on auditioning and winning a guest part on The Lieutenant, which led him to be cast on Star Trek

    02:30

    Leonard Nimoy on Marc Daniels directing him in his last TV guest role (on Gunsmoke) before they collaborated on Star Trek

    00:31

    Leonard Nimoy on working with William Shatner on The Man From U.N.C.L.E. previous to Star Trek, but not interacting much with him

    00:27

    Leonard Nimoy on getting cast on Star Trek (after submitting an episode of Dr. Kildare to show his "range" to producer/creator Gene Roddenberry)

    03:03

    Leonard Nimoy on his make-up as Star Trek's "Mr. Spock" and how it eventually gravitated toward a "cooler, more controlled" look

    01:47

    Leonard Nimoy on his discover that the original marketing campaign of Star Trek tried to de-emphasize Spock's "devilish" look

    02:31

    Leonard Nimoy on the "Spock" character's inclusion being questioned within a network television system that relied on the norm

    01:28

    Leonard Nimoy on the premise of Star Trek

    01:44

    Leonard Nimoy on how Star Trek was useful as a platform for its writers

    00:31

    Leonard Nimoy on what he was told about lead Jeffrey Hunter's departure following the initial pilot of Star Trek

    01:16

    Leonard Nimoy on his Star Trek character "Mr. Spock"

    04:50

    Leonard Nimoy on developing his Star Trek character "Mr. Spock" and an important "note" he received from a series director (which has been attributed to Joseph Sargent)

    01:39

    Leonard Nimoy in the precedent of the "Spock" character in Michael Rennie's "Klaatu" from The Day the Earth Stood Still

    00:55

    Leonard Nimoy on being influenced in his Star Trek "Mr. Spock" characterization by something he saw Harry Belafonte do on stage circa the 1950s

    01:45

    Leonard Nimoy on abandoning an actor's "emotion" as a requirement for playing "Mr. Spock" and how playing "Spock" effected him personally

    01:27

    Leonard Nimoy on his Star Trek character "Mr. Spock's" trademark eyebrow arching

    00:40

    Leonard Nimoy on his typical workweek on Star Trek

    02:43

    Leonard Nimoy on Star Trek's "transporter"

    01:01

    Leonard Nimoy on Star Trek's bridge set

    01:02

    Leonard Nimoy on Star Trek's restrictive budget

    01:01

    Leonard Nimoy on Lucille Ball saying hello in the commissary to him during the run of Star Trek (which was being produced by her studio Desilu)

    00:27

    Leonard Nimoy on the directors of Star Trek and the tight adherence to schedule

    01:50

    Leonard Nimoy on how he and William Shatner expressed interest in directing for Star Trek, but the opportunity wasn't offered

    00:52

    Leonard Nimoy on being firm with script notes despite the pressures of TV production on Star Trek

    00:50

    Leonard Nimoy compares the shooting schedule of Star Trek to "sister series" Mission:Impossible

    00:56

    Leonard Nimoy on Star Trek creator/producer Gene Roddenberry's involvement during the show's run and vision for the series

    01:36

    Leonard Nimoy on Star Trek writer/producer Gene L. Coon and his idea of the Klingons

    01:34

    Leonard Nimoy on Star Trek associate producer Robert Justman

    01:04

    Leonard Nimoy on "McCoy" and "Spock" representing the humanist and rational sides of "Capt. Kirk" on Star Trek

    01:35

    Leonard Nimoy on working with the ensemble cast of Star Trek: DeForest Kelley, James Doohan, Nichelle Nichols, George Takei, Walter Koenig

    02:32

    Leonard Nimoy on working with Star Trek co-star William Shatner (in comparison to pilot episode co-star Jeffrey Hunter)

    01:00

    Leonard Nimoy on Star Trek's popularity and the network's mismanaging of its timeslot, which hastened its cancellation

    01:24

    Leonard Nimoy on the Star Trek episode "The Devil in the Dark," and "Spock's" mind meld ability

    02:11

    Leonard Nimoy on his creation of the Vulcan nerve pinch

    02:08

    Leonard Nimoy on his creation of the Vulcan salute and its use in the episode "Amok Time"

    01:51

    Leonard Nimoy on his favorite and least favorite episodes of Star Trek

    01:27

    Leonard Nimoy on being Emmy-nominated for all three seasons of Star Trek, yet never winning due to his belief that there's a prejudice against awarding performances in the science fiction genre

    01:28

    Leonard Nimoy on the legacy of Star Trek

    01:16

    Leonard Nimoy compares his two '60s series: Star Trek and Mission:Impossible in terms of approach to the written word

    00:39

    Leonard Nimoy on having more "down time" on Mission:Impossible versus Star Trek during shooting

    00:57

    Leonard Nimoy on how the quality of the screenplay for the feature film Star Trek—The Motion Picture mirrored the poor quality of the writing on the third and last season of the original Star Trek series

    02:02

    Leonard Nimoy on an idea he came up with to inject some humor into the final scene of Star Trek—The Motion Picture, which was not used

    01:22

    Leonard Nimoy on the video release of Star Trek—The Motion Picture (1979), which included previously cut material

    00:21

    Leonard Nimoy on the "death" of Spock in the Star Trek feature films and on getting an opportunity to direct two of them

    00:33

    Leonard Nimoy on his reaction to being Emmy-nominated for Star Trek

    00:26

    Leonard Nimoy on his satisfaction with the positive response to the feature film Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home

    00:59

    Hank Rieger

    Hank Rieger on publicity for Star Trek and the protests over the show's cancellation

    04:44

    Joseph Sargent

    Joseph Sargent on directing Star Trek

    03:04

    Joseph Sargent on explaining how to play "Spock" to Leonard Nimoy

    02:01

    Joseph Sargent on Clint Howard guest-starring on Star Trek

    01:03

    Joseph Sargent on Star Trek fans

    00:41

    William Schallert

    William Schallert on appearing on the Star Trek episode "The Trouble with Tribbles"

    03:14

    William Schallert on being remembered for working on Star Trek

    00:46

    Herbert S. Schlosser

    Herbert S. Schlosser on programming and developing Star Trek

    05:19

    Ralph Senensky

    Ralph Senensky on directing six episodes of Star Trek

    03:04

    Ralph Senensky on directing the "Metamorphosis" episode of Star Trek

    00:41

    Ralph Senensky on directing the "Obsession" episode of Star Trek

    01:08

    Ralph Senensky on directing the "Return to Tomorrow" episode of Star Trek

    02:16

    Ralph Senensky on directing the "Bread and Circuses" episode of Star Trek

    02:00

    Ralph Senensky on controversy over a prop when directing the "Is There No Truth in Beauty?" episode of Star Trek

    02:14

    Ralph Senensky on directing "The Tholian Web" episode of Star Trek

    04:14

    Ralph Senensky on directing the cast of Star Trek; on the legacy of the show

    05:38

    William Shatner

    William Shatner on being cast by Gene Roddenberry as "Captain James T. Kirk" on Star Trek, and on his input into the character and the stories

    04:08

    William Shatner on his Star Trek character "Captain James T. Kirk"

    05:56

    William Shatner on filming a typical episode of Star Trek, and on Gene Roddenberry's role in the production of the series

    02:15

    William Shatner on how he felt about the success of Star Trek

    02:18

    William Shatner on the directors of Star Trek including Vincent McEveety, Leo Penn, Marc Daniels, James Goldstone, Michael O'Hurlihy, and Herschel Daugherty

    02:42

    William Shatner on the process of playing "Captain James T. Kirk" on Star Trek, and on producers Gene Roddenberry and Gene Coon guiding the show

    04:06

    William Shatner on Leonard Nimoy as "Mr. Spock" on Star Trek

    00:41

    William Shatner on DeForest Kelley as "Dr. Leonard McCoy" and James Doohan as "Mr. Scott" on Star Trek

    00:53

    William Shatner on the popularity of Star Trek after it was cancelled

    00:39

    William Shatner on individual episodes of Star Trek

    01:51

    William Shatner on his awareness of the Star Trek phenomenon, and the reasons for its popularity

    03:59

    William Shatner on the message and themes of Star Trek, and on "Captain Kirk" as role model

    04:59

    William Shatner on on directing "Star Trek: The Final Frontier", and how he feels about directing

    02:56

    Herbert F. Solow

    Herbert F. Solow on how he first heard about Star Trek

    03:22

    Herbert F. Solow on the development process for Star Trek and initial hurdles which occurred and how it became a pilot

    08:43

    Herbert F. Solow on the two pilots for Star Trek and how it became a series

    18:52

    Herbert F. Solow on casting for Star Trek

    22:46

    Herbert F. Solow on his favorite episode of Star Trek

    00:40

    Fred Steiner

    Fred Steiner on composing for Star Trek and on working with Gene Roddenberry

    03:03

    Fred Steiner on composing for the Star Trek episode "The Corbomite Maneuver"

    02:28

    Fred Steiner on composing for the Star Trek episodes "Who Mourns for Adonais?" and "Charlie X"

    04:00

    Fred Steiner on composing for the Star Trek episode "Mudd's Women"

    00:48

    Fred Steiner on composing for the Star Trek episode "What Are Little Girls Made Of?"

    02:00

    Fred Steiner on composing for the Star Trek episode "Balance of Terror"

    03:47

    Fred Steiner on composing for the Star Trek episode "Mirror Mirror"

    03:02

    Fred Steiner on scoring specific episodes of Star Trek

    13:46

    George Takei

    George Takei on being cast on Star Trek as "Mr. Sulu"

    03:09

    George Takei on the character of Mr. Sulu on Star Trek

    05:31

    George Takei on working with the special effects, props and costumes on Star Trek

    05:00

    George Takei on Gene Roddenberry and Star Trek's commentary on American society at the time

    05:32

    George Takei on working with Star Trek colleagues James Doohan, Nichelle Nicols, and Walter Koenig

    06:24

    George Takei on his favorite Star Trek episode "Naked Time"

    06:13

    George Takei on the Star Trek episode "Mirror, Mirror"

    02:03

    George Takei on Star Trek going off the air and its legacy and his character's legacy

    05:29

    George Takei on Gene Roddenberry's last appearance at the Star Trek 25th anniversary convention

    01:55

    Joseph M. Wilcots

    Joseph M. Wilcots on doing visual effects for Star Trek

    05:45

    Joseph M. Wilcots on working with Gene Roddenberry on Star Trek

    01:57

    Joseph M. Wilcots on shooting models for the visual effects on Star Trek and on how they held up over the years

    02:21

    Jane Wyatt

    Jane Wyatt on her work as "Spock's mother" on Star Trek

    01:30

    Jane Wyatt on her work on Star Trek contd. and fan mail she receives; on attending Star Trek conventions

    01:26

    Leo Yoshimura

    Leo Yoshimura on playing "Sulu" in several Star Trek parodies on Saturday Night Live over the years

    06:08

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