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Happy Birthday, Star Trek!
Sep. 8th, 2005 05:56 pmOn this day, September 8th, 1966, a spark of light shone in the darkness of the night.
Ever so slowly, it grew brighter...and brighter....It changed colors...all at once there was yellow, blue, red, green, brown, the complete spectrum of shades...it came at us at incredible speed...light speed...*warp* speed.... In a flash of color and indescribable glory, the vacuum was filled...and the U.S.S. Enterprise 1701 blazed past us into the sunrise, Warp 9.
Yes, folks. Today is the 39th Anniversary of Star Trek: The Original Series. It began with Episode 1: The Man Trap, which introduced the world to the courageous Captain Kirk, the intrepid, intelligent (and ridiculously handsome) Vulcan Mr. Spock, and the good ol' country Dr. "Bones" McCoy. An unbreakable triumvirate was born as well as an incredible vision for a fully universal and peaceful future.
I will raise my glass today first off to Gene Roddenberry, the man who had the wonderful dream of such a future and the creative drive to assemble a multi-ethnic cast amidst the constant racial and gender conflict and discrimination of the late 60's. He shut everyone up by placing Lt. Nyota Uhura, whose name means "Freedom" in Swahili, on the bridge in the important position of Head of Communications. Even Martin Luther King, Jr. commented on the importance of her role in Star Trek. Then, in the midst of the crisis in Vietnam and with conflict with Japan still fresh in contemporary minds, we have Lt. Hikaru Sulu, the best helmsman in the fleet. Even with our shaky relations with Russia, we had a Russian, Lt. Pavel Chekov at navigation. Finally, with all the paranoia in the 1950's about alien invaders, Gene Roddenbery fought his toughest battles to keep the pointy-eared, slanty-eyebrowed Mr. Spock on board and at his science station. Of course, it was only logical to have a Scotsman as Chief Engineer. Multiracial. Multigendered. Briliant. Beautiful.
I will then raise my glass to those people who made these first wonderful characters real for so many of us. William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, DeForest Kelly, James Doohan, Nichelle Nichols, George Takei, Walter Koenig, Majel Barrett, and Mark Lenard. Their rich development and thoughtful interpretation of their respective characters made them so multifaceted, so beloved to all who watched them week after week. The series had humor, silliness, passion, verve, and a wonderful dose of morality and common sense; while many would cite the "cheesiness" of the series, I would argue for its emotional depth, its strength of character, and its drive to portray the inherent goodness of mankind. I will further raise my glass to toast those wonderful actors who contributed so much to the series who have left this plane to voyage to the next. In my own romantic way, Bones, Scotty, and Sarek haven't really died...they're just traveling the galaxy a bit more.
Then, I will thank the writers, screenwriters, producers, novelists, directors that have brought this to life for all the fans on the big and small screens, in novels and magazines. Their continued devotion to the Star Trek ethos keeps the phenomena going and satisfies those insatiable needs of fans like myself for more, More, MORE!! Bless you all, and many thanks.
All the other casts and crews receive my toast next. For they were the not-too-distant-future of Trek after the end of the first few movies and the original series. These women and men invested their time into a fandom still in its early stages; it had not yet achieved the staying power that it now has and surely success must have seemed to be riding on the edge of a knife.
I raise my glass to all of you who made Star Trek what it was, what it is today, and what it will continue to be for generations to come.
Cheers, friends and fans. And Q'apla!
*Tosses back her Saurian brandy and beams up*
Ever so slowly, it grew brighter...and brighter....It changed colors...all at once there was yellow, blue, red, green, brown, the complete spectrum of shades...it came at us at incredible speed...light speed...*warp* speed.... In a flash of color and indescribable glory, the vacuum was filled...and the U.S.S. Enterprise 1701 blazed past us into the sunrise, Warp 9.
Yes, folks. Today is the 39th Anniversary of Star Trek: The Original Series. It began with Episode 1: The Man Trap, which introduced the world to the courageous Captain Kirk, the intrepid, intelligent (and ridiculously handsome) Vulcan Mr. Spock, and the good ol' country Dr. "Bones" McCoy. An unbreakable triumvirate was born as well as an incredible vision for a fully universal and peaceful future.
I will raise my glass today first off to Gene Roddenberry, the man who had the wonderful dream of such a future and the creative drive to assemble a multi-ethnic cast amidst the constant racial and gender conflict and discrimination of the late 60's. He shut everyone up by placing Lt. Nyota Uhura, whose name means "Freedom" in Swahili, on the bridge in the important position of Head of Communications. Even Martin Luther King, Jr. commented on the importance of her role in Star Trek. Then, in the midst of the crisis in Vietnam and with conflict with Japan still fresh in contemporary minds, we have Lt. Hikaru Sulu, the best helmsman in the fleet. Even with our shaky relations with Russia, we had a Russian, Lt. Pavel Chekov at navigation. Finally, with all the paranoia in the 1950's about alien invaders, Gene Roddenbery fought his toughest battles to keep the pointy-eared, slanty-eyebrowed Mr. Spock on board and at his science station. Of course, it was only logical to have a Scotsman as Chief Engineer. Multiracial. Multigendered. Briliant. Beautiful.
I will then raise my glass to those people who made these first wonderful characters real for so many of us. William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, DeForest Kelly, James Doohan, Nichelle Nichols, George Takei, Walter Koenig, Majel Barrett, and Mark Lenard. Their rich development and thoughtful interpretation of their respective characters made them so multifaceted, so beloved to all who watched them week after week. The series had humor, silliness, passion, verve, and a wonderful dose of morality and common sense; while many would cite the "cheesiness" of the series, I would argue for its emotional depth, its strength of character, and its drive to portray the inherent goodness of mankind. I will further raise my glass to toast those wonderful actors who contributed so much to the series who have left this plane to voyage to the next. In my own romantic way, Bones, Scotty, and Sarek haven't really died...they're just traveling the galaxy a bit more.
Then, I will thank the writers, screenwriters, producers, novelists, directors that have brought this to life for all the fans on the big and small screens, in novels and magazines. Their continued devotion to the Star Trek ethos keeps the phenomena going and satisfies those insatiable needs of fans like myself for more, More, MORE!! Bless you all, and many thanks.
All the other casts and crews receive my toast next. For they were the not-too-distant-future of Trek after the end of the first few movies and the original series. These women and men invested their time into a fandom still in its early stages; it had not yet achieved the staying power that it now has and surely success must have seemed to be riding on the edge of a knife.
I raise my glass to all of you who made Star Trek what it was, what it is today, and what it will continue to be for generations to come.
Cheers, friends and fans. And Q'apla!
*Tosses back her Saurian brandy and beams up*
