On board the Enterprise, the little ship that could, man was voyager not coloniser. And Vulcans, those superior, logical, point-eared chaps, could work side by side with humans, appreciating our heart and humanity (and with Spock and Kirk, developing a bromance that defined the series). Romulans were open to peaceful resolution. Klingons, seemingly barbaric, were merely territorial. Young ensign Pavel Chekov was loyal to the crew even as he displayed his love for Russia.Įven the aliens just wanted to get along. In a world preoccupied by the Space Race and the Cold War, the Enterprise looked into the future and saw the Russians as allies, not bushy-browed villains. And when Nichols wanted to quit the show, it was Martin Luther King who urged her to stay on and continue representing the community. Actress Whoopi Goldberg credits Uhura’s portrayal as an Enterprise equal as an inspiration to become an actress. Nichelle Nichols (who played Uhura) inspired several young black women to enter the workplace, even pursue the sciences. Roddenberry’s fiercely fought casting choice had far reaching effects. Communications officer Uhura, a woman and black, is fourth in command of the Enterprise. Women weren’t intergalactic secretaries, they were full officers. In Roddenberry’s 23rd-century universe, mankind had conquered conflict and catapulted into space as a unified species – men, women, Chinese, Russians, Africans.Īnd it seemed to work. Listen again to Kirk’s opening lines, “Space, the final frontier….” The show, released in the decade of the Vietnam War, American Civil Rights protests, the second wave of the feminist movement and the threat of nuclear war, dared to imagine what peace might look like. Many local networks refused to air the episode. And here’s what you’ll find…ĬAST FROM A NEW MOULD It was Star Trek‘s Captain Kirk and Uhura that gave American television its first mainstream interracial kiss. What makes the original Star Trek still such engaging viewing? Look past the retro appeal - miniskirts, Eastman color palette and cardboard sets. And Discovery’s devious former captain Georgiou might just helm a Starfleet ship, and a show, of her own. For the kids, Nickelodeon is sketching out an animated Star Trek. A popular sister series, The Next Generation, is getting its own sequel, about an ageing, ruminative Captain Jean-Luc Picard, on Amazon Prime. The newest spinoff Star Trek: Discovery, will soon air its third season. You can watch all the original episodes on Netflix. Gene Roddenberry’s show has since spawned 13 films, six successor shows and a legacy that refuses to fizzle out. India first fell in love with Star Trek in 1984, as Doordarshan aired episodes to the country’s 40 lakh TVs on Sunday mornings and again in 1996, via satellite TV to a middle-class aching for the world beyond. Over four years and 79 episodes, it had already boldly gone where no men had gone before – further in space, in imagination, in popularity and in pushing social and political boundaries. Our heroes triumphed, of course, and the Enterprise zipped off into the galaxy. India first fell in love with Star Trek in 1984, as Doordarshan aired episodes to the country’s 40 lakh TVs on Sunday mornings. Captain Kirk, Spock, Uhura, Bones and the gang visited the planet Camus, where (in a shocking twist) an old girlfriend switched bodies with Kirk and tried to take control of the ship. Fifty years ago, on June 3, 1969, the Federation starship, Enterprise, set out on its last adventure in space.
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