The date, September 8th, 1966, fans of Science Fiction gather round their TV's and watch the premier of a new sci-fi series that would mark a change in Science Fiction programs for generations...a course that we are still moving forward on as a community at full warp speed.
Star Trek wasn't considered a 'hit' at the time, and in fact NBC threatened to end the Enterprise's five year mission only three months into the show. But the fans would not be denied at that time, and the show continued for three years. Perhaps if the fans of that day had not flooded NBC with letters to try and save the show during that first year, Star Trek may have become nothing more than a small footnote in the history of Sci-fi TV. The names of Kirk and Spock, McCoy and Scotty, Sulu and Chekov, Uhura and Chapel, wouldn't have come to be as recognized as they are today. Yet, the fans stood up and made their voices heard, our parents and in some cases grand parents. We as a younger generation have them to thank, for without them we might not have had the old shows to watch as children, wouldn't have grown up with Captain Picard and crew bringing us an updated way to boldly go where no one had gone before.
How would Science Fiction TV, literature, and internet sites differ if Star Trek had died out after those first three months, fading away into the past like a burned out star? Would the Sci-fi industry even be the same as it is? Just think for a moment, no Trek conventions, no Trek influence on writers, bloggers, actors, screen play writers...no ST: TNG, no DS9, no Voyager...*gasp* no Klingons at general Sci-fi conventions...no Trek movies...
In my mind, it was Star Trek that has made the Science Fiction genre and culture what it is today. Just think, how many other shows, books, movies, artwork were inspired by Star Trek? This is why I am so glad that Trek is still showing no signs of dying out. From time to time it wans, but it continues. There are no current TV series, yet if you go online you can find fan project films, episodes, novels, short stories, etc, etc, etc... and now the new movies, the prequels if you will, which bring us into an alternate time line. Ah yes, the brain child and phenomenon born of the imagination of Gene Rodenberry all those years ago still lives on...and is thriving!
RD Williams
"Course heading Captain?"
"Second star to the right...and straight on till morning..."
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