1966: The voyages of the starship Enterprise commence
Gene Roddenberry’s Utopian dream of life in the 23rd century came to primetime with the debut of Star Trek on NBC. Now known as Star Trek: The Original Series, the space drama spawned a franchise that encompasses five other TV series, 11 movies, and a seemingly endless landscape of pop culture paraphernalia. The adventures of the USS Enterprise, whose intrepid crew was led by William Shatner’s Capt. James T. Kirk and Leonard Nimoy’s Mr. Spock, ran for three seasons.
Star Trek‘s reach and influence extended far beyond what anyone could have expected from a show that aired only 79 mostly low-rated episodes. In fact, the show became so ubiquitous that the crack research staff at This Was Television On has determined that every available piece of snark regarding Star Trek, Star Trek fan culture, and/or William Shatner has already been used. Instead, please enjoy this clip of Kirk and Spock crossing swords. -A.D.
Today’s Birthdays: David Arquette, cougar town elder (41); Sid Caesar, your host of hosts (90); Frank Cady, country storekeeper (d. 2012); Nate Corddry, his brother’s still STANDING IN THE MIDDLE OF AFGHANISTAN (35); Martin Freeman, paper salesman (41); Lisa Kennedy (“Kennedy”), alterna-VJ (40); Larenz Tate, rescuer (37); Heather Thomas, fall gal (55); Jonathan Taylor Thomas, Tool Man’s tot (31).
Still watch the reruns, when available.