Star Trek marks 60th anniversary of its first television broadcasts in the US
In the United States, the Star Trek franchise is marking the 60th anniversary of its first television broadcasts. The series, created by Gene Roddenberry, presented a future in which representatives of different planets and biological species coexist and work together as part of an interplanetary Federation.
As Daily Maverick writes, the series emerged during the peak of the Cold War between the United States and the USSR and the final stage of the Space Race, when audience interest in space exploration was particularly high. The ABC, NBC and CBS television networks initially showed little interest in the project, but it was supported by Lucille Ball, who had influence at the independent Desilu Studios.
The Enterprise crew
In the original series, the central characters were Captain James T. Kirk, played by William Shatner, and the Vulcan Spock, portrayed by Leonard Nimoy. The crew also included Nichelle Nichols as Nyota Uhura, George Takei as Hikaru Sulu, as well as the characters Pavel Chekov, Montgomery Scott and Dr. Leonard McCoy.
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The Vulcan phrase “Live long and prosper” and the corresponding hand gesture are connected to Nimoy’s childhood memories of the Jewish religious blessing birkat kohanim. After the third season, none of the national television networks commissioned a continuation of the show, but the series gained a new audience through broadcasts on local television channels.
From a series to a major franchise
The popularity of reruns contributed to the emergence of fan conventions, feature films and the new series Star Trek: The Next Generation. In it, Patrick Stewart played Jean-Luc Picard, captain of the new Enterprise, while the characters included the Klingon Worf, Guinan played by Whoopi Goldberg, and other non-human heroes.
Later, the Star Trek universe expanded with the series Deep Space 9, Voyager and Enterprise, as well as animated projects, comics, graphic novels and book adaptations. The author of the article links the franchise’s longevity to ideas of tolerance, cooperation, the development of science and technology for the benefit of society, environmental protection and limiting the use of force.
