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Star Trek is an American science fiction entertainment series and media franchise. The Star Trek fictional universe created by Gene Roddenberry is the setting of six television series including the original 1966 Star Trek, in addition to ten feature films with an eleventh in post-production to be released on May 8, 2009. The franchise also extends to dozens of computer and video games, hundreds of novels and instances of fan fiction, several fan-created video productions, as well as a themed attraction in Las Vegas.
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Star Trek is an American science fiction entertainment series and media franchise. The Star Trek fictional universe created by Gene Roddenberry is the setting of six television series including the original 1966 Star Trek, in addition to ten feature films with an eleventh in post-production to be released on May 8, 2009. The franchise also extends to dozens of computer and video games, hundreds of novels and instances of fan fiction, several fan-created video productions, as well as a themed attraction in Las Vegas. Beginning with the original TV series and continuing with the subsequent films and series, the franchise has created a cult phenomenon and has spawned many pop culture references.
Conception and setting
As early as 1960, Gene Roddenberry had put together a proposal for the science fiction series which would become Star Trek. Although he publicly marketed it as a Western in outer space, a so-called "Wagon Train to the stars", he privately told friends that he was actually modeling it on Swift's "Gulliver's Travels", intending each episode to act on two levels, first as a suspenseful adventure story, but also as a morality parable.
In the Star Trek universe, humans developed faster-than-light space travel, using a form of propulsion referred to as "warp drive", following a nuclear war and a post-apocalyptic period in the mid-21st century. According to the story timeline, the first warp flight happened on 5 April 2063, and the Vulcans, an advanced alien race, made first contact with Earth on that day after detecting the warp drive signature. Partly as a result of the intervention and scientific teachings of the Vulcans, humans largely overcame many Earth-bound frailties and vices by the middle of the 22nd century, creating a quasi-utopian society where the central role is played not by money, but rather by the need for exploration and knowledge. Later, mankind united with some of the other sentient species of the galaxy, including the Vulcans, to form the United Federation of Planets.
Star Trek stories usually depict the adventures of humans and aliens who serve in the Federation's Starfleet. The protagonists are essentially altruists whose ideals are sometimes only imperfectly applied to the dilemmas presented in the series. The conflicts and political dimensions of Star Trek form allegories for contemporary cultural realities: Star Trek: The Original Series addressed issues of the 1960s, just as later spin-offs have reflected issues of their respective eras. Issues depicted in the various series include war and peace, the value of personal loyalty, authoritarianism, imperialism, class warfare, economics, racism, human rights, sexism and feminism, and the role of technology. Gene Roddenberry stated: "[By creating] a new world with new rules, I could make statements about sex, religion, Vietnam, politics, and intercontinental missiles. Indeed, we did make them on Star Trek: we were sending messages and fortunately they all got by the network."
It should be noted that many fans believe that later producers deviated from this formula. Star Trek: Enterprise, the last TV incarnation of Trek, had very few "messages" or "morality plays," some fans claim.
Television series
Star Trek originated as a television series in 1966, although it had been in the planning stages for at least six years prior to that. It was canceled after its third television season due to low ratings. It was, however, highly popular with science-fiction fans and engineering students, in spite of generally low Nielsen ratings. During its original run, it was nominated several times for the Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation and won twice : for the two-parter "The Menagerie" and the Harlan Ellison-written episode "The City on the Edge of Forever". (See also Awards below.) It has served as the foundation for four additional live-action television series, one animated television series and ten theatrical films. An 11th film is expected to be released to theaters 8 May 2009. The six television series comprise a total of 716 episodes - 10 of which are feature-length - across 23 seasons (30 when counting seasons that aired concurrently). See Lengths of science fiction film and television series for more on comparative series lengths.
The Original Series (1966–1969)
Star Trek (Also known as "TOS", The Original Series) debuted in the United States on NBC on September 8, 1966. The show tells the tale of the crew of the starship Enterprise and its crew's five-year mission "to boldly go where no man has gone before." The original 1966-1969 television series featured William Shatner as Captain James Tiberius Kirk, Leonard Nimoy as Spock, DeForest Kelley as Dr. Leonard "Bones" McCoy, James Doohan as Montgomery Scott, Nichelle Nichols as Uhura, George Takei as Hikaru Sulu, and Walter Koenig as Pavel Chekov. In its first two seasons it was nominated for awards as Best Dramatic Series. After three seasons, however, the show was canceled and the last original episode aired on June 3, 1969. The series subsequently became popular in reruns and a cult following developed, complete with fan conventions. Originally presented under the title Star Trek, it has in recent years become known as Star Trek: The Original Series or as "Classic Star Trek" — retronyms that distinguish it from its sequels and the franchise as a whole. All subsequent films and television series, except the animated series of the 1970s and the earlier seasons of Enterprise, have had secondary titles included as part of their official names. A re-release of the series began in September 2006 with computer-generated imagery "enhancements" as a high-definition "Remastered" edition. The entire series has been remastered. The remastered episodes currently air in syndication while the originals appear on many countries' channels although these broadcasts are infrequent and irregular.
The Animated Series (1973–1974)
Star Trek: The Animated Series was produced by Filmation and ran for two seasons from 1973 to 1974. Most of the original cast performed the voices of their characters from The Original Series, and many of the original series' writers, such as D. C. Fontana, David Gerrold and Paul Schneider wrote for the series.
While the animated format allowed larger and more exotic alien landscapes and lifeforms, animation and soundtrack quality, the liberal reuse of shots pioneered by Jonnie 'Roy' White and musical cues as well as occasional animation errors has detracted from the reputation of the series. Although it was originally sanctioned by Paramount (who became the owners of the Star Trek franchise following its acquisition of Desilu in 1967), Roddenberry forced Paramount to stop considering the series canonical. Even so, elements of the animated series have been used by writers in later live-action series and movies. Kirk's middle name, Tiberius, first used in TAS episode "Bem", was made official in Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country, and elements of Spock's childhood from "Yesteryear" were mentioned in the TNG episode "Unification, Part 1". The holodeck also made its first appearance in TAS episode "The Practical Joker".
TAS won Star Trek's first Emmy Award on May 15, 1975. Star Trek TAS briefly returned to television in the mid-1980s when it was rebroadcast on the children's cable network Nickelodeon and in the early 1990s on the cable network Sci-Fi Channel. The complete TAS was also released on Laserdisc format during the 1980s. The complete series was first released in the USA on eleven volumes of VHS tapes in 1989. All 22 episodes were released on DVD in 2006.
Phase II
Star Trek: Phase II was set to air in June 1978 as the flagship series of a proposed Paramount Pictures television network, the Paramount Television Service, and 12 episode scripts were written before production was due to begin. The series would have put most of the original crew back aboard the Enterprise for a second five-year mission, except for Leonard Nimoy as Spock, who did not agree to return due to legal disputes with Paramount (detailed in his autobiography, I Am Not Spock). A younger, full-blooded Vulcan named Xon was planned as a replacement, although it was still hoped that Nimoy would make guest appearances. Sets were constructed and several minutes of test footage were filmed. However, the risks of launching a fourth network and the popularity of the then-recently released film Star Wars led Paramount to make a Star Trek film instead of a weekly television series. The first script of this aborted series ("In Thy Image") formed the basis of Star Trek: The Motion Picture, while two others ("The Child" and "Devil's Due") were eventually adapted as episodes of Star Trek: The Next Generation during the 1988 Writers Guild of America strike.
The Next Generation (1987–1994)
Star Trek: The Next Generation (Also known as "TNG" and The Next Generation) is set approximately 70 years after The Original Series. It features a new starship, the Enterprise-D, and a new crew led by Captain Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) and Commander William Riker (Jonathan Frakes). The series introduced new alien races as crew members, including Deanna Troi, a half-Betazoid counselor played by Marina Sirtis, and Worf as the first Klingon officer in Starfleet, played by Michael Dorn. It also featured Gates McFadden as Dr. Beverly Crusher, LeVar Burton as chief engineer Geordi La Forge, and the android Data portrayed by Brent Spiner. The show premiered on September 28, 1987 and ran for seven seasons, ending on May 23, 1994. Unlike the previous television outings, the program was syndicated instead of airing on network television. It had the highest ratings of any of the Star Trek series and was the #1 syndicated show during the last few years of its original run, allowing it to act as a springboard for ideas in other series. Many relationships and races introduced in TNG became the basis of episodes in DS9 and Voyager. It was nominated for an Emmy for Best Dramatic Series during its final season. It also received a Peabody Award for Outstanding Television Programming for the episode "The Big Goodbye".
Deep Space Nine (1993–1999)
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (Also known as "DS9", Deep Space Nine) is set during the same time frame as The Next Generation and was in production for seven seasons, debuting in January 1993. Like Star Trek: The Next Generation, it aired in syndication in the United States and Canada. It is the only Star Trek series to take place primarily on a space station rather than aboard a starship. It is set on the Cardassian-built space station Deep Space Nine, located near the planet Bajor and a uniquely stable wormhole that provides immediate access to the distant Gamma Quadrant. The show chronicles the events of the station's crew, led by Commander (later Captain) Benjamin Sisko, played by Avery Brooks. Recurring plot elements include the repercussions of the lengthy and brutal Cardassian Occupation of Bajor, Sisko's unique spiritual role for the Bajorans as the Emissary of the Prophets and in later seasons a war with the Dominion. Deep Space Nine stands apart from earlier Trek series for its lengthy serialized storytelling, conflict within the crew, and religious themes — all of which were elements that Roddenberry had forbidden in earlier Trek programs. Nevertheless, he was made aware of plans to make DS9 before his death, so this was the last Star Trek series with which he was connected.
Voyager (1995–2001)
Star Trek: Voyager was produced for seven seasons from 1995 to 2001, launching a new Paramount-owned television network UPN. It features Kate Mulgrew as Captain Kathryn Janeway, the first female commanding officer in a leading role of a Star Trek series. Voyager takes place at about the same time as Deep Space Nine. The premiere episode has the USS Voyager and its crew pursue a Maquis ship (crewed by Starfleet rebels). Both ships become stranded in the Delta Quadrant about 75,000 light years from Earth. Faced with a 75-year voyage to Earth, the crew must avoid conflict and defeat challenges on the long and perilous journey home. Like Deep Space Nine, early seasons of Voyager feature greater conflict between its crew than is seen in later shows, as a large contingent of the crew is made up of Maquis fugitives forced by circumstance to cooperate with Starfleet regulations instead of doing things the Maquis way. Eventually, though, they settle their differences, after which it becomes more reminiscent of The Original Series. Voyager is originally isolated from many of the familiar aspects and races of the Star Trek franchise, barring those few represented on the crew. This allowed for the creation of new races and original plot lines within the series. Later seasons, however, brought an influx of characters and races from prior shows, such as the Borg, Q, the Ferengi, Romulans, Klingons, Cardassians as well as cast members of The Next Generation.
Enterprise (2001-2005)
Star Trek: Enterprise (originally titled Enterprise prior to the third season), produced from 2001 to 2005, is a prequel to the other Star Trek series, taking place in the 2150s, some 90 years after Zefram Cochrane developed the first warp-capable starship from a ballistic missile. The series shows how the first extraterrestrial contact with the Vulcans and subsequent guidance led to Earth's first warp-five capable starship, the Enterprise, commanded by Captain Jonathan Archer (Scott Bakula). For the first two seasons, Enterprise is mostly episodic, like the original series and The Next Generation. The third season's "Xindi mission" arc carried through the entire season. Season 4 was especially known for showing the origins of several common elements in the other series, due to the producers having recruited as writers Trek experts Mike Sussman and the writing team of Judith and Garfield Reeves-Stevens. In addition, season 4 rectified and resolved some core continuity problems in the series (some of which were created in season 1 of Enterprise), most notably the decades-old issue of the drastic change in the appearance of the Klingons between TOS and other Trek series. The fourth season's story arcs are often spread to two or three episodes. Ratings for Enterprise started strong but declined rapidly, although longtime viewers were pleased by the final season's many homages to other Trek series.
As the show's viewer ratings dwindled, J. Michael Straczynski and Bryce Zabel proposed rebooting the franchise with the crew of the original series. They proposed a two-hour pilot where Kirk and Bones meet Spock and start the five year mission. Each season would chronicle a year on the Enterprise, as the crew embark on finding the common ancestor of every intelligent lifeform, with some stand-alone episodes in addition to "four or five episodes" building to a season finale. To further differentiate the show from past incarnations, they wanted to delete the holodeck, completely reinvent the technology, make the tribbles vicious, or even make Scotty a woman (though they made clear that example was a joke). They also suggested hiring famous novelists (Michael Crichton and Stephen King were some of their suggestions) to write episodes just as the original show made use of the likes of Richard Matheson. Straczynski explained Paramount ignored the proposal as they were not "even willing to talk about Star Trek".
Feature films
| Title | Synopsis | Release date |
|---|
| The Motion Picture | Kirk, now an Admiral, retakes command of the freshly upgraded Enterprise to stop a hostile and sentient massive energy cloud advancing toward Earth. | December 7, 1979 | | The Wrath of Khan | While The USS Reliant is exploring test sites for the Genesis terraforming project, it is hijacked by Khan Noonien Singh, bent on revenge against Kirk who frustrated his plans to build a race of superhumans. | June 4, 1982 | | The Search for Spock | Concerned about McCoy's unstable condition since Spock's death, Kirk learns that in his final moments, Spock transferred his katra, or spirit, to the doctor. To reunite Spock with his soul, Kirk must violate a quarantine law and steal the Enterprise to retrieve Spock's body from the Genesis planet. | June 1, 1984 | | The Voyage Home | Kirk and his crew head for Earth to stand at their court martial for the theft of the late Enterprise, and its subsequent destruction, when they find Earth under siege by a giant probe transmitting a destructive signal -- intended for the extinct humpback whales. Kirk takes his crew back to the late 20th century to retrieve some so they can respond. | November 26, 1986 | | The Final Frontier | Exiled from Vulcan, Spock's emotional half-brother Sybok believes he is called by God and hijacks the partially-retrofitted Enterprise-A to take it to the Great Barrier at the centre of the Milky Way to meet his maker. | June 9, 1989 | | The Undiscovered Country | After their homeworld is wracked by an environmental disaster, the Klingons attempt to make peace with the Federation though many on both sides are opposed. Just before the summit conference, Kirk and McCoy are arrested for the murder of a Klingon chancellor. | December 6, 1991 | | Generations | An energy ribbon cuts a swath through the galaxy on the day of the maiden voyage of the newly commissioned Enterprise-B, and Kirk is presumed killed in an encounter with it. 78 years later, Picard and his crew race against time to stop Tolian Soren, a scientist intent on deflecting it off course to re-experience the euphoria experienced inside it. | November 18, 1994 | | First Contact | The crew of the Enterprise pursues the Borg back in time as they threaten to prevent first contact between Humans and Vulcans, thus destroying the Federation before its founding. | November 22, 1996 | | Insurrection | The crew of the Enterprise aids a rebellion on the Baku homeworld against Picard’s superior officer, Admiral Dougherty, who wants to relocate the Baku to gain possession of the medicinal cosmic radiation that floods their planet. | December 11, 1998 | | Nemesis | Captain Picard confronts the villainous new Romulan leader Shinzon, a younger genetic clone of himself who kidnaps him to replenish his own DNA while plotting to destroy Earth. The story also involves a predecessor of Data named B-4. | December 13, 2002 | | Star Trek | A newly Captained James T. Kirk of the USS Enterprise fights a Romulan menace. | May 8, 2009 |
Paramount Pictures has produced ten Star Trek feature films, with an eleventh film currently in post-production, set for release on May 8, 2009. The first six films continue the adventures of the The Original Series cast; the seventh was designed as a transition from that cast to The Next Generation; the most recent three were exclusively Next Generation. Although North American and UK releases of the films were no longer numbered following the sixth film, European releases continued numbering the films. The eleventh film is a semi-prequel set primarily following Captain Kirk's graduation from Starfleet Academy and promotion to the rank of Captain. It is about his first mission as Captain of the Enterprise and its crew, though according to writer Roberto Orci, the film is not set entirely within the original Star Trek canon and features an alternate timeline created through the actions of the main villain.
The first three feature films introduced a widespread upgrade to the technology and starship designs in the Star Trek universe, making for a dramatic visual departure from The Original Series. Most notable was the Starship Enterprise having been "refitted" with a modernized exterior design, and extensive changes to the interiors sets. Many of the set elements created for the aborted "Phase II" television series were further enhanced and adapted for use in the first feature film. Several concepts, designs, sets and props were used in the remaining feature films, as well as the subsequent television spin off series'.
In terms of plot, each film mostly stands alone, though the second, third, and fourth films loosely form a trilogy, with the later plots building on elements of the earlier ones. The third film picks up within several days of the conclusion of the second, the fourth a few weeks after the third. The fifth film also seems to start shortly after the fourth, although the plot of the fifth is otherwise unrelated to the prior trilogy. The fourth film has much more light-hearted comic relief than others. The sixth film is intended as a send-off for the original crew, and both it and the seventh film acts as a bridge between the original series and Star Trek: The Next Generation. The sixth film explained how peace was established between the Federation and the Klingons, and introduced a character who was the grandfather of Next Generations Worf (both played by Michael Dorn). The seventh film spanned different time-eras and had characters from both the original series and Next Generation.
The first film is often criticized for being essentially a synthesis of the plots of the original episodes "The Changeling" and "The Doomsday Machine", and for its generally slow pace. Both the second and eighth film were sequels to specific episodes of a Star Trek television series. Although the tenth film is a Next Generation film, it does contain a cameo by Captain Janeway from Star Trek: Voyager. Initial plans were for the Voyager crew to feature in at least one theatrical release, but these plans were scuttled due to the poor box office receipts of Nemesis.
Some fans consider the even-numbered Star Trek films to be superior to the odd-numbered Star Trek films (the so-called "Star Trek movie curse"); the second, fourth, sixth, and eighth films are considered fan favorites, whereas the first, third, fifth, seventh, and ninth are often considered the weaker films.
This fan impression roughly corresponds to the critics' reviews of the films. According to Rotten Tomatoes website, the best of the Star Trek films are: The Wrath of Khan (92% fresh), First Contact (91% fresh), The Voyage Home (86% fresh), and The Undiscovered Country (84% fresh). The worst films are The Final Frontier (18% rotten) and Nemesis (36% rotten), which is the even-numbered 10th film. The Search for Spock received generally favourable reviews (77% fresh). Critics were almost evenly divided on the remaining 3 films (The Motion Picture, Generations, and Insurrection).
Cultural impact
The Star Trek franchise is a multi-billion dollar industry, currently owned by CBS. Gene Roddenberry sold Star Trek to NBC as a classic adventure drama; he pitched the show as "Wagon Train to the stars" and as Horatio Hornblower in space. The opening line, "to boldly go where no man has gone before," was taken almost verbatim from a US White House booklet on space produced after the Sputnik flight in 1957. The central trio of Kirk, Spock, and McCoy was modeled on classical mythological storytelling.
Roddenberry implicitly intended the show to have a progressive, almost radical political agenda reflective of the emerging sexualized counter-culture of the youth movement. However, his efforts were largely thwarted by the network's concerns over marketability. Star Trek showed mankind what it might develop into, if only it would learn from the lessons of the past, most specifically by ending violence. An extreme example are the Vulcans, who had a very violent past but learned to control their emotions.
Star Trek and its spin-offs have proved highly popular in television repeats and are currently shown on TV stations worldwide. The show’s cultural impact goes far beyond its longevity and profitability. Star Trek conventions have become popular, though now are often merged with conventions of other genres and series, and fans have coined the term "Trekkie" to describe themselves. Others, however, prefer the term "Trekkers". Fans of Deep Space Nine are better known as "Niners". An entire subculture has grown up around the show which was documented in the film Trekkies.
During the late 1990s and 2000s, Star Trek, in the words of Jeff Jensen of Entertainment Weekly, "devolved into a near-irrelevant cultural joke, likely to inspire giggles and unprintable curses from even its most ardent supporters." Leonard Nimoy remarked the franchise "had run its course". Director J. J. Abrams argued "people [may not] even understand what Star Trek means anymore", and joked a parody like Galaxy Quest "spoils" the show. Even on set, Abrams felt nervous "with all these tattooed faces and pointy ears, bizarre weaponry and Romulan linguists, with dialogue about 'Neutral Zones' and 'Starfleet'". In covering the relaunch film, Jensen remarked the series' optimistic nature ran counter to an increasingly cynical culture, and that the film had been delayed from December 2008 to May 2009 to "rehab" the series' image.
The Star Trek franchise is believed to have influenced the design of many current technologies, including the Tablet PC, the PDA, mobile phones, and the MRI (based on Dr. McCoy's diagnostic table). It has also brought to popular attention the concept of teleportation with its depiction of "matter-energy transport." Phrases such as "Beam me up, Scotty" have entered the public vernacular. In 1976, following a letter-writing campaign, NASA named its prototype space shuttle Enterprise, after the fictional starship.
Riverside, Iowa has proclaimed itself the future birthplace of Captain James T. Kirk. Gene Roddenberry, the creator of Star Trek, asserts in the book "The Making of Star Trek" by Stephen Whitfield, that the character of Kirk had been born in the state of Iowa.
In March 1985, when the town was looking for a theme for its annual town festival, Steve Miller, a member of the Riverside City Council who had read Roddenberry's book, suggested to the council that Riverside should proclaim itself to be the future birthplace of Kirk. Miller's motion passed unanimously. The council later wrote to Roddenberry for his permission to be designated as the official birthplace of Kirk, and Roddenberry agreed.
The city of Garland, Texas is the first city known to have an official place name based on the TV series: "Star Trek Lane," located off of Apollo Road and east of North Jupiter Road. The city of Birmingham, Alabama also boasts a "Star Trek Lane," and "Star Trek Circle," in the Sunrise East subdivision of its Roebuck neighborhood.
An unincorporated area near the Las Vegas Strip contains a residential street named "Roddenberry Avenue." While the mailing address lists the avenue as being located in Las Vegas, Nevada, the physical address is an unincorporated township called "Enterprise". There is no indication that the township's name has any connection with the Star Trek series, and it is unknown whether or not the street name is a deliberate tribute to the Star Trek creator.
A limited number of Famous Players theatres in Canada house large replicas of the USS Enterprise NCC-1701-A. One such theatre can be found in the town of Thunder Bay, Ontario, another in Windsor, Ontario, another at the 'Colliseum' theatre in Ottawa, Ontario another in Richmond, British Columbia as well as one in Winnipeg, Manitoba. In the Greater Toronto Area, replicas can be seen in the Yorkdale Shopping Centre, Toronto, and in the SilverCity in Richmond Hill, Ontario. In addition, a replica of the Sovereign-class USS Enterprise NCC-1701-E can be found in Laser Planet in Oakville, Ontario.
Influence on other science-fiction, fantasy, and television
First television Competitor
The first television series to be considered a serious competitor to Star Trek was the 1990s series Babylon 5. When pitching the series, the producer J. Michael Straczynski had hoped that television executives would think Trek had opened up the market for science-fiction on TV. However, he was told that Star Trek only created a market for more Star Trek and that the prospects for non-Trek related science-fiction was considered dismal. Eventually, Babylon 5 was greenlighted. Three script writers who had worked for Treks original series in the 1960s were on the writing staff of Babylon 5 including D.C. Fontana who had written for three different Trek series. Furthermore, the plot premise bore a strong resemblance to Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. These and the casting of Walter Koenig invited comparison to Star Trek. In addition, Babylon 5 was the first television series since Star Trek to get nominated for or win the coveted Hugo award for best science-fiction drama, which had only nominated or awarded feature films since Star Trek. Gene Roddenberry's widow and Star Trek actress, Majel Barrett Roddenberry, publicly stated that her decision to do a guest star appearance on Babylon 5 was to stop the feuding and bickering between hardline fans of Star Trek and those of Babylon 5 which occurred now and then at science-fiction conventions.
Fictional Characters who like Star Trek
The character of Xander on Buffy the Vampire Slayer is a stated Star Trek fan, and so multiple episodes have Trek references. In particular, the Season 5 episode The Replacement in which there are two Xanders is a simultaneous tribute to three episodes of the original series in which there are two Captain Kirks.
Similarly, the sitcom Frasier has a recurring character, Noel, who is a Star Trek fan. This plays a role in several episodes including one in which he deceives Frasier into believing a speech is written in Hebrew when it is really in the Klingon language.
The television series Stargate SG-1 and Stargate Atlantis mention Star Trek on many occasions. Colonel Jack O'Neill makes unsuccessful pitches to name new space vessels after the Enterprise. Another character gives the Vulcan salute in tribute to Trek. The absence of Trek's 'beaming' technology is bemoaned. There are many other nods to Trek in the combined 15 seasons of Stargate. In addition to this, over a dozen actors from various Star Trek series have made guest appearances on one or the other of the Stargate series; though to date, only one actor has made the jump from the Stargate franchise into Trek (Paul McGillion of Stargate Atlantis will be appearing in the 2009 Star Trek movie).
In the animated series Futurama, the character Philip J. Fry is a Star Trek fan. One entire episode entitled Where No Fan Has Gone Before revolves around this.
In the Cold War submarine film Crimson Tide, the USS Alabama executive officer played by Denzel Washington compares himself to Captain Kirk and the radioman to Scotty to emphasize the critical need for "more power", or in this case the need to restore radio communications.
Parodies
Parodies of Star Trek include the internet-based cartoon series Stone Trek, the movie Star Wreck, the Star Wreck (novel series), the song Star Trekkin' by The Firm and the feature film Galaxy Quest.
Science-fiction Awards and honors
Of the various science-fiction awards given for drama, only the Hugo award dates back as far as the original series. Although the Hugo is mainly given for print-media science-fiction, its "best drama" award is usually given to film or television presentations. The Hugo does not give out awards for best actor, director, or other aspects of film production. Prior to 2002, films and television shows competed for the same Hugo, before the split of the drama award into short drama and long drama. In 1968, all five nominees for a Hugo award were individual episodes of Star Trek, as were three of the five nominees in 1967 (the other two being the films Fahrenheit 451 and Fantastic Voyage). The only Star Trek series to not get even a Hugo nomination are the animated series and Voyager, though only the original series and Next Generation ever actually won the award. No Star Trek film has ever won a Hugo, though a few were nominated.
The prestigious science-fiction Saturn award did not exist during broadcasting of the original series. Unlike the Hugo, the Saturn award does give out prizes for best actor, special effects, music, etc. Also unlike the Hugo (until 2002) movies and television shows have never competed against each other for Saturns. The two Star Trek series to win multiple Saturn awards during their run were The Next Generation (twice winning for best television series) and Voyager (twice winning for best actress- Kate Mulgrew and Jeri Ryan). The original series retroactively won a Saturn award for best DVD release. Several Star Trek films have won Saturns including categories such as best actor, actress, director, costume design, and special effects. However, Star Trek has never won a Saturn for best make-up.
Frequently discussed continuity problems
Star Trek has a multi-faceted and layered universe, and no single individual has helmed Star Trek through its many versions. As with many character and fantasy franchises, continuity problems have surfaced in the series, and fans are fond of discussing continuity difficulties in the series. Three entire books on Star Trek continuity glitches have been published, one for each of the first three canonical series. Many of these glitches affect only one TV series, but a few span multiple incarnations of Star Trek. In particular the first season of the sixth series Enterprise introduced a number of continuity problems with the original series which were addressed in its the former's final season. Noted problems include small issues such as the extent of money in the 24th century and the size of the Enterprise. The list is endless, but a few have received extremely wide discussion as they have been noticed by even casual fans, span across multiple versions of Star Trek (and over decades), and Paramount Studios has gone to some trouble to address them in response to feedback.
The issue of Klingon appearance is described on Paramount pictures' website as probably the "single most popular topic of conversation among Star Trek fans". It spans three TV series and the films.
Why do Klingons look different during Captain Kirk's day than all the times after and before? What happened to their forehead ridges during that period? ...In fact, at conventions fans consistently ask if that discrepancy would ever be explained on the show, thus becoming "canon."
The Klingons in the original series in the 1960s are humanoid looking, but appear more alien in the very first movie in 1979. As noted by the Paramount site, the real world explanation for this is the shift from the modest budget of television to a million-dollar budget of movies. However, this could not be written off as dramatic license (or a retcon) when a 1996 episode of Deep Space Nine involving Klingons and time-travel actually mentioned (and showed with old TOS footage) the difference. Not until the final season of Enterprise in 2005 do we learn that stolen material from illegal genetic engineering experiments by human scientists in efforts to breed a super-race contaminated many Klingons with human DNA.
When Star Trek was still working only with the original cast (and the Star Trek universe was much less detailed), the most popular film of the series was the second one. Much comment was generated by Khan's recognition of Chekov, who had not yet become a cast member in the episode of the original series ("Space Seed") in which Khan appeared. In the book Adaptations: From Text to Screen, Screen to Text by Deborah Cartmell, Imelda Whelehan calls this "the apparent gaffe notorious throughout Star Trek fandom" This issue was addressed both in the novelization of the film, in non-canonical novels, and in a comical way at many Star Trek conventions.
It is the official position of Paramount Pictures that all Star Trek novels and comic books are non-canonical and are not considered to have taken place in the main Star Trek universe. This has allowed the television series to forego all efforts to maintain continuity with the novels.
Star Trek on DVD
The history of the release of Star Trek on DVD does not follow the overall history of Star Trek. Most of the films were released on DVD prior to any of the television series, starting with the 8th one. Following that ST:TOS came out in a series of separate discs with two episodes per disc.
In 2001 there was an enormously successful release of a re-edited director's cut of the first film along with remastered CGI special effects. It's success motivated Paramount to release special editions of all the other films in two disc sets.
Subsequently, boxed sets of complete seasons of Star Trek, with the first to be released in this format being ST:TNG followed by ST:DS9 and Voyager the last of which coincided with a season boxed set of ST:TOS. Extended special features were included for the first time on the subsequent release of Enterprise. The last series to be released on DVD was The Animated Series.
In the late 1990s, there was a series of boxed videotape sets presenting episodes following a particular theme or story arc. In 2003, similar but much larger compilations of thematically-related episodes from multiple Star Trek series were released on DVD, initially only in Region 2. For example, the DVD set Star Trek: Klingon contains Klingon-themed episodes from all five of the non-animated series. A DVD collection of all two-part episodes of ST:TNG has only been released in Region 2.
Interest has been generated with the project to remaster ST:TOS, with slightly modernized CGI special effects that retain the basic look-and-feel of the original series' effects but with a smoother look to them. These new versions have been broadcast in some television markets and all three seasons are out on DVD. The remastered episodes of the series will be released on Blu Ray disc in 2009.
All of Star Trek before 2001 was released on VHS videotape, though late seasons of Voyager were issued by a different distributor when interest in VHS lagged. However, the last three out of four seasons of Enterprise were never on videotape at all.
Franchise future
A new movie, a prequel to the original series simply titled Star Trek, is scheduled for release on May 8, 2009. Paramount is negotiating for director J. J. Abrams, writers Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman, and producers Damon Lindelof and Bryan Burk, to return for a sequel. The film's major cast members have signed on for two sequels, which is standard practice.
An MMORPG based on Star Trek called Star Trek Online will launch later this year. It is being developed by Cryptic Studios.
In 2006, it was announced that there was a pitch in the works for a new animated series that would, if produced, be released as several 6-minute episodes, available online (similar to The Animatrix and Star Wars: Clone Wars). The series is to be set 150 years after the Star Trek: The Next Generation time line, during an era of upheaval and strife in the Federation. The Romulans have used several "Omega Particle" explosions to render much of Federation space impassable by traditional Federation vessels. Many Federation worlds have been isolated and some races, including the Vulcans, have withdrawn from the Federation altogether. The series is, as yet, untitled and there has been no full confirmation.
External links
- —The Official Star Trek website
- —Star Trek actor links website
- —A Star Trek encyclopedia that uses information only from canon sources licensed by Paramount.
- —A Star Trek encyclopedia that uses information from both canon and non-canon sources licensed by Paramount.
- —Free full-length Star Trek: The Original Series episodes provided by CBS
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