It launched with a five-year mission "to boldly go where no man has gone before," but half a century on "Star Trek" has become a visionary blueprint of humanity at its very best. As the multi-billion-dollar cultural phenomenon, adored by fans the world over, marked its 50th anniversary, it is being held up as a utopian masterplan for an inclusive society free of prejudice and hate.
When the show debuted on September 8, 1966 the concept was a three-season television show following the crew of the starship Enterprise as they ventured into the galaxy to seek out new civilizations. An inauspicious first episode, "The Man Trap," told of a shape-shifting alien that attacked members of the Enterprise to harvest their salt. Little did NBC know it would snowball into a touchstone in entertainment spawning six shows with a combined 725 episodes and 13 movies, and turning its stars into household names. "To be talking about the 50th anniversary is insane. I was born the same year that Star Trek was," veteran filmmaker J.J. Abrams, the creative force behind the new "rebooted" trilogy, told a convention in Hollywood in May.
The original series starred William Shatner, now 85, as the suave Captain James T. Kirk and Leonard Nimoy, who died last year at the age of 83, as his stilted sidekick -- a half-human, half-Vulcan science officer named Mr Spock. Gene Roddenberry wrote the pilot in 1965, the same year as the first US spacewalk, and pitched the show as "a wagon train to the stars," figuring that westerns were popular in Hollywood at the time. Fans say Roddenberry examined earthly social issues with an unparalleled sensitivity, presenting television's first truly multiracial cast, and the first televised interracial kiss.
Korean-American actor John Cho, who plays Starfleet Officer Hikaru Sulu in the rebooted trilogy -- including the 50th anniversary film "Star Trek Beyond" -- describes multiculturalism as one of its "defining features." "I really believe theoretically in 'Star Trek' movies. It's a good cultural product, in my opinion. I wanted to be a part of something I felt was an important, positive cultural contribution," the 44-year-old said back in July..
The franchise has attracted a devoted global cult unified by their affection for the Roddenberry vision, and today "Trekkies" are the only fan group listed by name in the Oxford English Dictionary. "Unbelievable!!!!!," a feature-length sci-fi parody of the franchise, premiered in Hollywood a few days ago, in what organizers described as possibly "one of the largest historic gatherings of former 'Star Trek' actors." The movie follows the exploits of four astronauts -- one of whom is an animatronic marionette resembling Kirk -- who travel to the moon to rescue missing comrades. "We wanted to create a unique and original film that sci-fi fans can watch again and again, celebrating their love for this iconic TV show," said Steven Fawcette, who made the film with his wife Angelique.
A new series, which begins filming in Toronto this month ahead of a premiere planned for January next year, will be the franchise's first new outing in more than a decade. US television network CBS announced at San Diego Comic-Con in July that it would be called "Star Trek Discovery."
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Factfile
• Star Trek’s creator, Gene Rodenberry, said that he modelled it on Jonathan Swift’s Gulliver’s Travels, with each episode combining an adventure with a morality tale.
• After its debut in 1966, Star Trek ran for only three seasons before it was cancelled.
• Reruns and syndication from 1969, however, were a huge success creating a cult following which led to Star Trek: The Next Generation in 1987.
• The earliest recorded use of the word Trekkie for a Star Trek fan was in 1976.
• In 1993, Stephen Hawking became the only person to portray himself on Star Trek where he played poker with Newton, Einstein and Data
