Cultural impact of Star Trek

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is one of the most culturally influential television shows – and perhaps the most influential science fiction TV series – in history. The original series, which aired in the late sixties, has since spawned four successor series, ten movies, a plethora of merchandise, and a multibillion dollar industry collectively known as the Star Trek franchise (owned by CBS Paramount Television). Arguably, only Star Wars has had comparable impact as a science fiction and pop culture phenomenon.

Contents

1 ''Star Trek'', the original series
2 Cancellation and aftermath
3 Waxing and waning
4 Sources

Star Trek, the original series

The diverse main cast (command crew) of .

Gene Roddenberry sold (TOS), to NBC as a classic adventure drama, calling it a "Wagon Train to the Stars" and "Horatio Hornblower in Space." Set aboard the starship Enterprise (NCC-1701), the format of the TV show borrowed heavily from the 1955 movie Forbidden Planet. In reality, Roddenberry wanted to tell more sophisticated stories, using futuristic situations as analogies for current problems on Earth and rectifying them through humanism and optimism. The show's writers frequently addressed moral and social issues in the episodes by tackling topics such as slavery, warfare, and discrimination. 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 modelled on classical mythological storytelling. Harking of human diversity and unity, Roddenberry included a multiethnic crew including a Sub-Saharan African woman (who later partook in the first multiracial kiss, with Kirk, on TV), a Scotsman, a Japanese American, and – most notably – an alien, the half-Vulcan Spock. In the second season, reflecting the contemporaneous Cold War, Roddenberry added a Russian crewmember.

Although the show is often chided today for cheesy effects and campy acting, TOS was a groundbreaking show which garnered multiple Emmy award nominations during its run, setting standards for shows that followed it. While there were other successful science fiction TV shows like The Twilight Zone, TOS was the first series aimed at adults that told of morality tales with complex narratives. Despite a limited budget, the show's special effects were superior to contemporaneous TV shows, its stories were often written by notable science fiction authors, and many of its production values – particularly costuming – were of high calibre.

During its initial run from 1966 to 1969, TOS did not garner substantial TV ratings and was almost cancelled after its second season. A letter-writing campaign by fans, unprecedented in television, prompted network executives to reverse their decision and renew the series for a third season. NBC put the show in a timeslot when it was watched by few, and TOS was finally cancelled after its third season.

Cancellation and aftermath

In 1976, a letter-writing campaign compelled NASA to name the inaugural (and test) space shuttle Enterprise after the fictional titular starship.

After its cancellation, Star Trek took on a life of its own, becoming more popular and reaching a much wider audience than when it had originally aired. In the early seventies, a group of fans decided to hold a convention featuring the original actors: hundreds were expected, but (surprisingly) thousands arrived.

In 1976, following another fan-organised letter-writing campaign, NASA named its first space shuttle orbiter, Enterprise (OV-101), after the fictional starship. The Enterprise was used in a number of flight tests, but NASA's plans to make it spaceworthy were cancelled as impractical. Enterprise was occasionally used for engineering tests, but has spent much of its life in storage and is now displayed at the Smithsonian Institution's Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center outside Washington, DC. The opening sequence of the later series (2001) features a shot of this real-life space shuttle in homage, intending to show it as a namesake for other titular ships in the Star Trek universe.

NASA also employed Nichelle Nichols to attempt recruiting African-Americans and women to become astronauts. During her work on the show, Nichols became frustrated at her relative lack of lines and was considering quitting. She was talked out of this decision by Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr., who told her that a show that depicted a black woman working alongside whites in a position of importance helped further the goal of racial equality.

Waxing and waning

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Underlying the influence of Star Trek, a commemorative postage stamp was issued by the United States Postal Service.

In the late seventies, encouraged by the burgeoning fan base for the show, Roddenberry sought to start a second television series ('); this abortive attempt morphed into ' in 1979. The movie did sufficiently well at the box office, grossing more than $80 million, and spawned several more movies during the eighties. In 1986, Roddenberry created a second TV show, (TNG), which was set aboard the fifth Federation starship Enterprise (NCC-1701-D) more than seventy years after events in the earlier series and related movies. Unlike TOS – which often reflected a bold, interventionist American philosophy – TNG had a less aggressive and more socially liberal message. This show, unlike its progenitor, was syndicated and sold to individual local TV stations rather than a nationwide network. It became the number one syndicated TV show, lasting seven seasons, and spawned two sequels, a prequel, four movies, and a vast marketing business.

Star Trek and its spinoffs have proved highly popular in television repeats, shown endlessly on TV stations in the US and worldwide. The Star Trek franchise is similarly prolific: arguably, only Star Wars has had as significant an impact as a science fiction and pop culture phenomenon. According to Forbes magazine:

The show’s cultural impact goes far beyond its longevity and profitability. An entire subculture grew up around the show and, anecdotally, there are indications that Star Trek has influenced many peoples' lives. This is apparent from the reported testimonials of people, such as scientists and engineers, who claim that their professional and life choices were influenced by Star Trek. Whoopi Goldberg, harking of Nichols' portrayal, was compelled to act and would later appear on TNG regularly. In addition, phrases like "Beam me up, Scotty", "Resistance is futile" (from the iconic Borg), and Treknobabble have entered vernacular, and "Trekkie" is the only fan label listed in the Oxford English Dictionary. Fictional devices in the show have also been claimed as inspirations for actual devices like mobile phones (communicator), medical technology (hypospray and diagnostic imaging), and even elements of naval architecture (bridge).

Many fans contend that the Star Trek franchise, particularly after the death of Roddenberry in 1991 (during TNG’s run), is in decline and has reached a nadir. Reduced viewership of ' and ', lacklustre performance of , and the short tenure of Star Trek: Enterprise connote decreased popularity. Some assert that the many incarnations are formulaic, repetitive, mediocre, and sometimes discontinuous. Others ascribe this decline to static leadership at Paramount, which has been usurping the phenomenon as a cash cow and asserting copyright at the expense of fandom.

Cultural impact of Star Trek

Star Trek, the original series

Cancellation and aftermath

Waxing and waning

Sources