I belive that today is the 40th anniversary of the first network broadcast of the original series. Still the best of the franchise for my money.
At least 50% of the reason the internet took off I’d say.
Well done crew!
“Space…the final frontier. These are the voyages of the Starship Enterprise. Its five-year mission: to explore strange new worlds…to seek out new life and new civilizations…to boldly go where no man has gone before.”
Happy 40th to a great franchise.
I watched Star Trek back in that first season, too. It was the start of 40 years of enjoyment. It was one of the best series of any genre (TNG, DS9, VOY, and ENT and the movies are all subjects for other discussions). I’m glad to see so much of the cast still alive and active. Shatner, Nimoy, Takei, Koenig, and Nichols. Rest in peace, DeForest “Bones” Kelley and James “Scotty” Doohan. Nichelle Nichols wanted to quit ST because she felt her role as Lt. Uhura was too limited. None other than Martin Luther King persuaded her to stay. She and Shatner had the first inter-racial kiss on TV. Some of the most respected science fiction writers such as Harlan Ellison and Robert Bloch wrote scripts. The U.S.S Enterprise, NCC-1701, no bloody A, B, C, or D, is one of the most recognized vehicles of any type and gave its name to the prototype for the U.S. Space Shuttle. The Klingons are iconic bad guys. Let’s hope one day we reach Gene Roddenberry’s vision of an Earth at peace with itself with everybody cooperating to achieve common goals.
40 years. Whoa.
Looking forward to the next iteration, whenever it comes.
–Cliffy, Trekkie
Somehow it’s comforting to know I have never lived in a world that didn’t have Star Trek.
I’m still trying to figure out why they don’t just have a Star Trek Network and just have wall to wall Trek. Must not be enough money in it is the only reason I can think of.
Ah, I remember the first episode quite well! We didn’t have a color TV yet, and I had to keep fiddling with the rabbit ears to see it, but I was a faithful viewer all 3 seasons.
I was in sixth grade that first year. My teacher, Mr. Bradbury, was in his first year of teaching, young and enthusiastic. He liked sci-fi and fantasy too. So when he gave us a assignment to write a sci fi story he posted them on the classroom walls. I remember one kid who blatantly plagiarized an episode of the new show “Star Trek”, changing a few names to try and hide it.
1966 was a cool year.
Time to get a convertible shuttlecraft and start hitting on the female cadets. 
They DO have that. It’s called Spike TV. 
There is an ancient Vulcan proverb: “Life begins at forty.”
Live long and prosper, Trek.
Another Vulcan saying:
“Only Nixon can go to China.”
Peace and long life, y’all.
Did he like dandelion wine? Was he an illustrated man? Had he ever been to a travelling show run by Pandemonium and Dark?
Just wondering…
No, not that Bradbury, this one was a Charles.
He got married the summer after that class, and invited the class to his wedding. Eight of us actually showed up, all girls of course, the boys wouldn’t be caught dead doing something “romantic” at that age. The wedding was in a town about fifty miles away, where my dad was born. So he and my mom drove me and three other girls up there. I felt so sophisticated, it was the first time I’d worn nylons, and this was before pantyhose. I wore gloves, and when the usher offered me his arm, after asking “friends of the bride or groom?” I just about swooned, although Mom had coached me on etiquette.
My favorite scene, out of all the Trek shows, was from “The Trouble with Tribbles” It’s the fight in the bar, when Scotty finally gives in to the gibes of the Klingon, stands up slowly, and punches him in the face. It was just like something out of a Western.
My second favorite scene is from “Journey to Babel”, near the end, when Amanda starts ranting at her husband.
“Logic, logic, Im sick to death of your logic! Do you want to know what I think of your logic?”
Comments Spock, to his father*:“Emotional, isn’t she?”*
Sarek: Indeed, she has always been that way.
Spock: Then why did you marry her?
Sarek: At the time, it seemed the logical thing to do.
Amanda starts to puff up in further anger, but then realizes that, in as much as it is ever possible, her Vulcan husband is teasing her, and she smiles.
My fave TOS line. Uttered by the Captain himself. as the closing line of an astounding episode of TV sci-fi. Heck, of TV period. Really, a powerful line. Sets up the whole future of Kirk through these 40 yrs, if you ask me. His attitude, his actions, his reactions…
Can you guess it?
Here it is:
Let’s get the hell out of here.
I did not see them until syndication on WPIX channel 11 in NYC. My older brother and I watched every night. It went on a 6pm right before the Yankee Games. I will always have a soft spot for Star Trek and NCC-1701. Named after our Navy’s first Nuke Carrier CV65 and our most decorated ship of WWII CV6 the original Big E.
I was born 3 days after the first episode aired. So I do not remember watching a single first run episode, but according to my brother I watched a few of the third season episodes.
Baker: My favorite lines in Star Trek were also in **Trouble with Tribble ** and involved Kirk and Scotty. It was the scene were Kirk was trying to find out what happened in the bar.
Courtesy of the IMDB Quotes page:
One of the best comedy exchanges this side of “Who’s on First?”
Jim
I saw every episode of TOS during its original run. (Og, I’m old.) Not only that, I dated one of the world’s first Trekkies. She was getting dragged by her parents to see Gone with the Wind, so I said I’d tape Star Trek for her. (Audio tape back then.) It turned out to be Trouble with Tribbles.
I still have a picture of the Enterprise she did for me sitting around somewhere.
After seeing garbage like Lost in Space, it was such a relief to have an sf show on TV that realized you couldn’t go ftl by pressing harder on the accelerator. You had to be around back then to see how much better it was as a semi-hard sf show than anything else in TV history.
My wife painted a picture of Kirk and sent it to him. Before I met her I accompanied another girl to a speech by Gene Roddenberry in the period before the first movie and there I ran into ANOTHER another girl who looked at us together with daggers in her eyes. I never before or since saw myself as a ladykiller but I since then I’m one of the few who associates Star Trek with romance.
Is Journey to Babel the one that introduces Sarek? I love the salute thing the Starfleet security guys do. Yaknow, the one we never see again.
Lots of my favorite little things from TOS was one-shot stuff we never got to see again, actually, like Photon Mortars. And the sexy female Romulan Commander (not the last time we saw a female Romulan, but it WAS the last time we saw a sexy one, or even an attractive one.
Also, the episode where Spock went into Pon Far, one of my favorite lines:
“JIM! Er… Captain… you’re alive.”
And my favorite thing about Trouble with Tribbles was the DS9 crossover, Trials and Tribbleations, where they tied in a bunch of stuff that happened in the TOS episode with stuff the DS9 crew did, like the tribbles falling on Kirk’s head.
For a little background, some other shows debuting in 1966 were Batman, Family Affair, That Girl, The Monkees, Tarzan, The Girl from UNCLE, Time Tunnel and Dark Shadows.
Many happy returns Star Trek
The Sci-fi channel in the UK is finally showing some SF and last week was a tour de force. Pretty much wall to wall Trek, as a bonus TOS was shown digitally remastered.
I can remember it as the 2nd show I watched on TV, even the episode, Return of the Archons. Great stuff