Where you been, bro? The Russian spacecraft Luna 9 became the first spacecraft to soft-land on the moon, on February 3, 1966 — eight months ago.
Sorry Walloon , I guess I should have specified that I meant people, not just ‘spacecraft’.
Russian’s are people too right? I’ve been watching American TV lately, and I’m not sure…
thwartme
Russian’s what?
Actually, I liked his little speech about starting with a penny, doubling it every day, and in a month you’d be a millionaire. It’s realistic that people in the future still use money. I’ve read sci-fi stories about future societies that didn’t use money because humanity had developed some vaguely-defined sense of nobility or something, and that’s just stooopid.
So, what do you suppose Kirk’s middle name is? We now know it starts with “R”.
You know, I just realized while it’s supposed to be an international crew there aren’t any Russians on board. I mean they’ve got that Chinese guy, and the Scottish guy, and they even have that Colored gal, you’d think they’d have a Russian. Particularly with Sputnik and all.
Maybe the Cold War is still going on! It would be cool if they met up with a spaceship full of Russians and things got all tense, like there was going to be a showdown or something … .
R is for Rudolph…
Yes, this is the first one because Gene Robbinderry showed it in Cleveland at the big Scientifiction gathering over Labor Day weekend (or maybe it was Memorial Day–I forget). He also showed a black and white one that was made even earlier, and it had Spock and Jeffery Hunter as Captain Peck, not Wm Shatner as Capt. Kirk.
R is for Robbinderry!
Sir Rhosis
Rudolph is too pedestrian. Someone like the captain of a spaceship needs a really powerful name. Something regal. Like a Roman Emperor! Maybe Romulus?
Heh-heh, hunt and peck…
No, Assiron, you must be forgetting. Rudolph can fly, he is not a pedestrian.
Sir Rhosis
oh, okay… 
I don’t think he’s Chinese. He was referred to as “Astrophysicist Sulu,” which isn’t a Chinese name. I’d say that he’s Japanese, except that they don’t have the “l” sound in their syllabary.
My encyclopedia says that “Sulu” is an island in the Philippines, but I don’t think it’s a Filipino name.
Anyway, unless they make this guy a recurring character, we may never know for sure.
Gosh Darn!! Those pants on Gary Conway were obscenely tight!! I had to hold my hand across the Mrs. eyes!!
Boy I hope their collars get even bigger. Bigger collars are cool.
The thing that got me was how come they called it “Where No Man has gone before”
They were following where another ship had already been, weren’t they?
This did not happen in 1966. You can’t make up events.
Um, yes it did. He stole a copy of Where No Man Has Gone Before from Desilu and flew to Cleveland where he strongarmed Bjo Trimble into showing it for him and then told Isaac Asimov to sit down and shut up while the episode was playing.
I don’t feel like googling a cite but it’s common fan lore and is repeated in William Shatner’s Get a Life!.
Okay, strike that. A star+trek+cleveland+ohio+bjo+trimble+gene+roddenberry+isaac +asimov google search brought up this page, which says:
*Quoting from a 5/18/66 letter from Bill Thailing, Con Secretary:
"Since four months ago we have been heavily over-programmed and we had to make some cuts."
In no particular order, here are some recollections:
The most memorable thing, in retrospect, is that the STAR TREK TV pilot was previewed at this Con with Gene Roddenberry speaking and taking questions. For the life of me I can’t recall whether it was the version before or after Bill Shatner was added to it – of course the Captain of the Enterprise wasn’t an American icon yet, so this may be forgiven…*
Even as huge a fan as I am, I wouldn’t argue TOS trivia with Sir Rhosis.
What I am referring to is the showing of both pilots at the convention in 1966. Only one pilot was shown, so ya gotta pick one. Given that Roddenberry would be trying to promote his upcoming show, which would be debuting in a matter of days, it was most likely a Shatner episode.
I do know that Roddenberry later showed his black and white 16mm work print of The Cage at conventions — I was at one of them in the '70s.
Quoting from my copy of Get a Life!* :
As legend has it, Gene made good use of his police background that day by jimmying a lock or two and then “borrowing” a seixteen-millimeter print of the pilot “Where No Man Has Gone Before” (at that point the only Star Trek episode completely edited and scored) as well as a print of “The Menagerie” (Star Trek’s first pilot, rejected by the network). Making a fast, clean getaway, Gene hopped into his car, sped toward the airport, purchased a first-class ticket to Cleveland, and crashed Tricon’s party.
page 33
and
*Wrong on both counts. Far from hating “Where No Man Has Gone Before,” the audience was enthralled. In fact, the crowd was so thoroughly wrapped up in the film that even now, they sat riveted, silently reading the credit roll. Moments later, as Gene stood alone, pale, beaten, and depressed, the projector clicked off, the houselights rose, and so did the audience. Standing, clapping, stomping their feet, whistling, pounding on the metal chairs, the audience made their true feelings crystal clear. They also demanded more. Though the convention was already running behind schedule, overwhelming audience demand prompted the promoters into screening “The Menagerie” as an extra added attraction.
An hour later, “The Menagerie” proved just as big a hit…*
page 39
*Yes, I realize the irony in my quoting this book.
I was wrong (based on some accounts that mentioned only one pilot). Thanks for the correction, Aesiron.
It’s no problem… glad to help.
By the way, rereading my posts, I sound snarky but that wasn’t my intent and I apologize if that is how they came across to you.