50 years ago this year...

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jlf1961 -> 50 years ago this year... (8/14/2016 8:40:37 PM)
Star Trek aired for the first time. The show was so controversial that some tv stations in the south refused to air it because there was an African American woman on the bridge crew. The show was not one of the top hits when it was first aired, but lived on in syndication, spawning conventions just for Star Trek fans (Trekkies, not trekkers.) A few interesting trivia facts. The appearance of the mini skirts in the series predated the actual sale of mini skirts in the US. The man that developed the first flip cell phone was motivated by the desire to make it look like a star trek communicator. The automatic sliding door was inspired by star trek (it was interesting that two of the men who developed it once asked Gene Roddenberry how he got the doors to work so fast in the show, his answer "We had two men hidden to operate the doors." Nichelle Nichols almost left the show for a show on Broadway, but Martin Luther King jr. talked her out of it and staying on Star Trek. Apple wanted to call the first IPad a PADD (after the one used on TNG,) but Paramount threatened to sue if they did. Star Trek was the first TV series where they used "Bibles" to maintain continuity. While Paramount and Desilu studios loved the show's first pilot, they had a problem with a female first officer, thus Spock became the first officer in the series. Now, granted, the original series is fifty years old, and I remember watching it on prime time from the first season. I remember when we first got cable tv, and the whole motivation was so that Dad could catch the reruns in syndication. I remember when the animated series premiered on Saturday morning tv.

Dvr22999874 -> RE: 50 years ago this year... (8/14/2016 8:46:47 PM)
We had a show on TV a few weeks ago, where the host showed how they made the noise of those doors sliding open and closed...................it was simply a sheet of A4 copy paper being slid in and out of an envelope. Amazing what special effects come up with.

DaddySatyr -> RE: 50 years ago this year... (8/14/2016 9:26:43 PM)
I think you missed two interesting little bits of trivia: In the episode "Plato's Stepchildren", Bill Shatner and Nichelle Nichols engaged in the first inter-racial kiss on network television. The entire series was aired and cancelled before we had our first man on the moon. Michael

jlf1961 -> RE: 50 years ago this year... (8/14/2016 9:30:26 PM)
quote: ORIGINAL: DaddySatyr I think you missed two interesting little bits of trivia: In the episode "Plato's Stepchildren", Bill Shatner and Nichelle Nichols engaged in the first inter-racial kiss on network television. The entire series was aired and cancelled before we had our first man on the moon. Michael I was actually going for the stuff that was not so well known, but you do have a valid point.

MrRodgers -> RE: 50 years ago this year... (8/14/2016 10:27:16 PM)
Plus Shatner was not the captain on the pilot...Jeff Hunter was, who died 5/69 (at 43) before ST was canceled 6/69.

Gauge -> RE: 50 years ago this year... (8/14/2016 10:41:18 PM)
I wish I could find the article that I once read about Star Trek being canceled because it dealt with hot political topics in its day. Whether or not that is true is something I cannot prove, but I think we could all agree, the series was well ahead of its time.

DaddySatyr -> RE: 50 years ago this year... (8/14/2016 11:42:28 PM)
quote: ORIGINAL: Gauge I wish I could find the article that I once read about Star Trek being canceled because it dealt with hot political topics in its day. Whether or not that is true is something I cannot prove, but I think we could all agree, the series was well ahead of its time. The show cost $100,000 per episode, back then and was not justifying the cost with the amount of advertising dollars. It aired on a different night of the week in each of its three seasons. NBC announced plans to cancel it and a young lady named (I'm gonna get this wrong) Bjo Trimble organized a write-in campaign to make NBC bring it back (there was a belief that each letter received represented 100 viewers because not many people would write). For the final season, NBC put it on Friday night at 10:00 P.M.; the "death slot", considering the shows core viewers (18-24 years old, I believe). Essentially, NBC wanted the show gone and made sure they could justify their reasoning. Live long and prosper, Michael

WhoreMods -> RE: 50 years ago this year... (8/15/2016 5:06:10 AM)
Another, less positive factoid: Gene Roddenberry made a point of writing lyrics for the theme tune so that he could claim a writing credit on it, and so get a share of the publishing royalties, rather than letting the guy who composed the tune (Alexander Courage) have them all. By most accounts, this led to a falling out between the two of them.

needlesandpins -> RE: 50 years ago this year... (8/15/2016 8:28:01 AM)
I was exceptionally excited to see the latest film, and will be seeing it again soon too. I've always been a fan of the original series, but not so much of all the spin offs. I liked the whole point that they were always trying to give us something to think about too. Needles

DaddySatyr -> RE: 50 years ago this year... (8/15/2016 8:30:17 AM)
Part of the fun of being a Trekkie is knowing all the "facts" and "history" of the Star Trek Universe. The new re-boots have turned all of that tits up and they are (IMHO) teats on a bull. Michael

dcnovice -> RE: 50 years ago this year... (8/15/2016 8:48:50 AM)
FR Fascinating read. http://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/oral-history-star-trek-180958779/?no-ist

DesFIP -> RE: 50 years ago this year... (8/15/2016 10:54:32 AM)
I remember my mother joining the letter writing campaign. Even that young, I understood that it wouldn't make a difference. Yes, the people who watched it were fanatics but most people wouldn't watch it.

MasterG2kTR -> RE: 50 years ago this year... (8/15/2016 6:34:38 PM)
Majel Barrett-Roddenberry, who was Number One (first officer) in the original 1964 pilot with Jeffery Hunter, was also Nurse Chapel in TOS and Lwaxana Troi in TNG, and was the computer voice in every series and movie except for the latest reboot movies.

DocStrange -> RE: 50 years ago this year... (8/15/2016 9:39:26 PM)
All I got to say is Live Long and Prosper \/

AtUrCervix -> RE: 50 years ago this year... (8/16/2016 4:44:37 PM)
quote: ORIGINAL: jlf1961 Star Trek aired for the first time. The show was so controversial that some tv stations in the south refused to air it because there was an African American woman on the bridge crew. The show was not one of the top hits when it was first aired, but lived on in syndication, spawning conventions just for Star Trek fans (Trekkies, not trekkers.) A few interesting trivia facts. The appearance of the mini skirts in the series predated the actual sale of mini skirts in the US. The man that developed the first flip cell phone was motivated by the desire to make it look like a star trek communicator. The automatic sliding door was inspired by star trek (it was interesting that two of the men who developed it once asked Gene Roddenberry how he got the doors to work so fast in the show, his answer "We had two men hidden to operate the doors." Nichelle Nichols almost left the show for a show on Broadway, but Martin Luther King jr. talked her out of it and staying on Star Trek. Apple wanted to call the first IPad a PADD (after the one used on TNG,) but Paramount threatened to sue if they did. Star Trek was the first TV series where they used "Bibles" to maintain continuity. While Paramount and Desilu studios loved the show's first pilot, they had a problem with a female first officer, thus Spock became the first officer in the series. Now, granted, the original series is fifty years old, and I remember watching it on prime time from the first season. I remember when we first got cable tv, and the whole motivation was so that Dad could catch the reruns in syndication. I remember when the animated series premiered on Saturday morning tv. Spectacular TV show....and....one I never tire of (the old/original series).

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