Title
Star Trek: The Original Series
Original Air Dates
September 8th, 1966 - June 3, 1969
Main Story Line
"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."
In all sincerity, approaching this series has been the most difficult. An iconic show that first went on the air 47 years ago. Man. Whatever I write, some people will be upset. That being said, please keep in mind this is commentary by a Trek rookie, for Trek rookies (and those that are on the verge of becoming part of the fold.)
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James Tiberius Kirk (William Shatner)
Action oriented. Ladies' man, regardless of what planet is being visited. Although quick to act, inner turmoil regarding ethical issues is apparent. As with all other Captains, extremely loyal to his crew, and expects the same in return. Commanding presence, yet sense of humor is ever present. Of all five Captains, most prone to using violence to solve problems.
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| L to R: Scotty, Chekov, Bones, Chapel, Kirk, Uhura, Spock, Sulu. |
Commander Spock (Leonard Nimoy) Half Vulcan, half human. The only non-human on the crew. Serves as counterpoint to Kirk's impulsiveness. Quite often is blamed by other characters for not being "human enough." However, from my point of view, his ability to let reason overcome emotion is a goal for which all humans should strive.
Chief Medical Officer Leonard "Bones" McCoy (DeForest Kelley) Highly ethical and always well intentioned, but quite often grumpy. If Kirk is "action" and Spock is "logic", then Bones could be described as "heart."
Lieutenant Commander Montgomery "Scotty" Scott (James Doohan) - Whenever the Captain asks for more power to the warp drive, Scotty is always able to find it. Very fond of the drink. Always ready with a smile. Unbelievably patient. Criticize him, Starfleet, even the Captain, and he'll keep his cool. But disparage the Enterprise? Fists will fly.
Communications Officer Nyota Uhura (Nichelle Nichols) - From all I've gathered, the first major female African-American character on television. This was a major step considering that only a few years before this show aired, segregation still existed in the U.S.
Helmsman Hikaru Sulu (George Takei) - Again, another major breakthrough. TOS aired twenty years after WWII. Many people's lives were scarred by that war and a good portion of the TV viewing audience still viewed the Japanese as "the enemy." And if you think that 20 years is a big deal, their 1946 is like our 1993. Doesn't seem that far away.
Navigator Pavel Chekov (Walter Koenig) - Once read that Chekov was brought on-board to be "the cute guy" to appeal to the younger female demographic. Also lead to much humor. However, when TOS aired, we were at the height of the Cold War with the Soviet Union. Taking on a Russian character and having him function peacefully was a major risk. Would be similar to having someone from Iran on a series today.
Nurse Christine Chapel (Majel Barrett) - A seemingly minor character, but still of note. She eventually went on to play Lwaxana Troi in TNG and DS9. Her voice was used for the majority of the on-board computer interfaces throughout most of the series. And she also was married to the creator of Star Trek, Gene Roddenberry.
Alpha-Delts
Special note: Throughout the TFR series, it is usually at this point where I list Alphas (the good) and Deltas (the not so good.) However, for TOS will be combining them as Alpha-Delts. Simply put, the things that many may find awesome about the series may be exactly the same things that turn others off.
Acting: The 1960s were very much a different time. It would be difficult to say that anyone on the show (with maybe the exception of Nimoy) was acting according to modern standards. I would venture to state that they were in character. Melodrama more than drama. Some may think it cheesy, whereas other may find it refreshing.
Special Effects/Make-up/Costuming: There are children in grade school today that can create CGI that the makers of TOS could only dream about. Low-budget graphics and models were used for the series, which was operating under severe budgetary constraints. There are episodes in which one can see walls on the set shaking! Again, some may find this distracting or unintentionally humorous. But it is fascinating to see what was done in an era without CGI. For many, the absence of high tech imagery is more endearing than a negative. And in any case, when the series was brought to Blu-ray, there were touch ups. Still...there's something to be said about the awesomeness of a rubber Gorn suit.
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| Gorn! |
Editing: For anyone under 20, let me explicitly state that attention span will be required. Today, a film or TV show's editing is fast. There can be up to twenty camera angles within a minute. TOS was on the air when television was still in its infancy. A time when directors thought "We'll treat it just like theater on the stage, point the camera, now act!" While some may think,"This is rather slow, isn't it?" others may appreciate the minimal pace.
Writing: Most of my life, my impression of Star Trek, particularly that of TOS, was that of a show about green alien women and men with ray guns. However, after watching the first few episodes, obsession set in. Hard. Why? I discovered that even with its coating of cheese, the vast majority of writing for TOS was brilliant. Morality tales wrapped in, I dare say, existentialism. Turns out all those "geek Trekkies" that many made fun of were actually more tuned in with truth than people who claimed to be "normal." If I were the Secretary of Education, I would do all within my power to ensure that TOS was utilized within the school system as a method of teaching a multitude of ethical concepts. And to counteract a popular myth: You don't have to be smart to watch Star Trek. You just have to want to think.
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| A lighter moment during a break in filming. |
Who Should Watch Star Trek: The Original Series?
As always, if someone new to the Trek realm asks me,"What Trek series should I watch?" I always respond,"All of them!" Either do what I did, starting in the order that they were filmed, or if someone is really young, I'd recommend going with the chronological order of the Trek universe, starting with Enterprise, so that the editing and special effects are more timely.
However, say that a person only has a limited amount of time, maybe taking a year or two to get through a series? Then what?
In the previous four articles, I shared how each different series might fit with a particular type of mind. So, who would best be served by TOS?
If you have an attention span and an existentialist sense of humor; if special effects don't make or break a series for you; if you find it interesting to explore ethics and morality; if you want to understand how the most popular science fiction franchise ever had it's start; then Star Trek: The Original Series just may be what's right for you!
Up next on the launch pad? A final overview of the Trek franchise, giving a simple synopsis as a quick reference guide.
If you have the time and inclination, here are links to previous articles in the series. (If you have any problems with the links, just right click "Open In New Tab" or go to the Action A Go Go home page and enter "Trek For Rookies" into the search engine.)
TFR - Overview
TFR - Enterprise
TFR Supplemental - How To Cope With The Enterprise Theme Song
TFR - Voyager
TFR - Deep Space Nine
TFR - The Next Generation
And here are some other Trek related pieces that may be of interest:
Klingon Wisdom!
Star Trek Into Darkness - Haters are illogical!
Sumner Goes Full Vulcan!
Sumner's Kolinar Results
Five Klingon Phrases Every Geek Should Know
Star Wars vs Star Trek: This. Ends. Here! This. Ends. Now!
Stephen Sumner is the science fiction columnist for Action A Go Go. He's proficient in Klingon swearing and has attempted the Vulcan process of Kolinar (with only mild success.) His favorite sci-fi series include Firefly, Battlestar Galactica and Star Trek. He can be followed on Twitter at https://twitter.com/VierLights or on the Tumblr machine at http://vierlights.tumblr.com/.
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