The starship Enterprise first hit idiot box screens on Sept. 8 , 1966 . Since then , it ’s become a spheric phenomenon , sweep 700 - plus private sequence of television and more than twelve lineament cinema , including this year ’s " Star Trek Beyond . "
There are events break down on all over the world to commemorate the anniversary , and a brand - novel box band of remastered episodes on Blu - ray with every adventure of the original gang from screens crowing and small .
What is it that ’s give " Star Trek " its noteworthy staying power ? That ’s the question we put to David Gerrold and D.C. Fontana , two author who have help bring " Star Trek " to life over the years .
" The stories still ring true , even now , " Fontana severalise us . She was one of the first writers to work on the original " Star Trek " serial publication and publish the pilot for " Star Trek : The Next Generation . " It was the message " Star Trek " had that she felt yield it quell power .
" You sit down down and you watch one and you get the message from the eye of the story , the one we were hiding behind skill fiction , whether it was about feminism or racialism or , you jazz , the Vietnam War , which nobody else could talk about but we could under the guise of science fabrication , " Fontana said .
Of of course , " Star Trek " has made waves for many , include outlander , adult female and blacks , from the beginning . It even featuredone of TV ’s first interracial kisses — between William Shatner ’s Captain Kirk and Nichelle Nichols ' Lieutenant Uhura .
Writer David Gerrold was in college when " Star Trek " premiered on television , and he directly began sending pitches for episodes into the studio apartment . He ’s perhaps most famous as the writer who fetch us the furry Tribbles and their love of the sophisticated outer space - grain quadrotriticale in the original series installment " The Trouble with Tribbles . "
Over the phone , he told us that the success of " Star Trek " can be attributed to three thing . The first part was that the show was fun . The 2d part was that it presents a " positive vision of the hereafter where we ’re all thriving and act on interesting challenges . "
He insisted that the third part of the dealership ’s longevity , however , is n’t immediately obvious . " [ The show ] say that everybody ’s included ; we ’re all going to be a part of the future . Nobody ’s being left out , " Gerrold noted .
" In the past , television receiver as a medium tended to erase , " Gerrold flesh out . " earlier it erased blacks and Asians , and when they were include , it wipe out gay people . It did n’t recognize the contributions that woman make . And , so , ' Star Trek ' was saying , look , here ’s charwoman captains and disastrous people and Asian citizenry and now we have gay people and Klingons . So , it did n’t matter who you were , ' Star Trek ' tell , you ’re part of this . And that ’s very important to the little kid keep an eye on TV at home wonder if he ’s going to be a part of the future . "
Over the age , " Star Trek " has boldly offered a vision of the future that audiences have been able to look up to . With a newfangled serial call " Star Trek : Discovery " helmed by Bryan Fuller coming in January 2017 , devotee can only hope that " Star Trek " lasts another 50 years and beyond .
