50th anniversary of the original series Star Trek
 

It's hard to believe that the original series is now 50 years old.

Quote : Star Trek, a groundbreaking sci-fi series, premiered on NBC on Sept. 8, 1966, and used space exploration as a metaphor for peaceful coexistence at a tumultuous time in history. The original series, which starred William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy and a diverse supporting cast, struggled and was cancelled after three seasons, but its impact lives on: Trek spawned six TV sequels (including a new one due in January), several films and countless fan gatherings and merchandising opportunities. Let’s celebrate its 50th anniversary!

http://www.usatoday.com/topic/star-trek/local


Many high tech gadgets we use today look very similar to the original star trek props. The flip up cell phones we used are very similar to the communicators used on the show.


There were a number of hokey episodes but one episode stands out as an example of the enormous potential this series had.

" A Balance of Terror "

The Enterprise under the command of a fairly new captain, James kirk, encounters a Romulan ship, which has attacked outposts near the " Neutral Zone ". The episode introduces a cloaking device which renders a ship " invisible " The new technology has some real world scince behind it such as the selective bending of light waves. The Romulans have had an isolationist period for a decade but sought to test federation resolve.

It end with the destruction of the Romulan ship. the episode is somewhat reminiscent of movies we have all seen that featured naval combat. " The enemy below " with Kurt Jurgens and Robert Mitchum comes to mind "


The greatest feature of the series was that the cast was comprised of the collective talents of people from different countries. Hikaru Sulu as a Japanese Helsman, Pavel Chekov as the navigator and science officer. Montgomery Scott as the Scottish chief engineer and Uhura as a communications officer. It also included iconic science officer Spock from the planet Vulcan. Creator Gene Roddenberry had a vision of a future where everybody worked together.


Excerpts from " a balance of terror "

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0GRGu6uXknM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UYB30M98uCo


Happy Birthday and anniversary to Star trek and it's revolutionary themes.

I'm rewatching TOS from the beginning. The show was under terrible budget and dealine pressures but still managed a ground breaking series.

How many time did Kirk battle a computer and win?

I recall the "Not of the body" one and the M5 computer and one in a dragon's head cave. Must be one or two more.

Return of the Archons, I think.

Yea that's the not of the body one. :up:

How many times did Capt. Kirk get the woman? :)

How many times did McCoy say, "He's dead, Jim" or some variation.(It was said by others as well, including Kirk)?

How many times were the crew subjected to a. mysterious sickness b. hallucinations c. evil twins

How many times did Scotty object to the demands placed on his beloved beasties?

How many times did poor Uhura say, "Hailing frequency open" ?

Landru loves you, Steed!:03:

I still remember watching this for the first time when I was only about 8 or 9. As you mentioned, some iffy episodes but for the most part, a great show. I think "The Doomsday Machine" is probably my favorite for the action/tension episodes with "The City on the Edge of Forever" being my favorite for the drama/thought provoking episodes. I think that episode name is gotta be the best one ever used for any TV series episode ever made.

It's pretty amazing how well it holds up after all these years. Much better than the first couple seasons of TNG. Thankfully, TNG eventually found it's way and came up with some great seasons. It will be interesting to see how the new series does.

Funny how something set in the distant future can evoke such nostalgia for the past :hmmm: I never missed an episode.

Not just "reminiscent of", but taken directly from the movie. I noticed this when the episode aired for the first time. I was sixteen, and the movie was one of my favorites.
http://memory-alpha.wikia.com/wiki/B...error_(episode)

And that's not a complaint. It's also one of my favorite episodes. I rewatched the series four years ago, and found it just as fascinating as it was in 1966.

I am pretty much an original Trekkie, watched most shows when the series was on, watched each episode at least 10+ times when they were endlessly re-run in the 70-80s.

Since we finally got Netflix a few months back, I have been re-watching many of the episodes.

For a low budget, 50 year old TV show it has held up surprisingly well. The strength of the show was the stories, some were hokey, but you had a lot of classic science fiction themes that were explored.

favorite episode: "Mirror, Mirror"

https://youtu.be/deq6_p47g54

HA HA! how many Dilitium crystals (Li2) got cracked?... in retrospect the only serious problem aboard the Enterprise...still the only bible under my pillow:https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikiped...c1/STTNGTM.jpg I'm watching the TV marathon as I post...with a Loowitt Brewing's Dilithium Crystal Fresh Hop pale ale of course!.:yeah:

The Trouble with Tribbles...

Steed, you're not of the " body " either :03:
The M5 computer was from the Episode " the ultimate Computer "

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vzuIijxHBh0

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HzmLRNRhltU




The doomsday machine was another cool episode. The only question was the original version or the remade one with more special effects. Another great episode was the " Ultimate Computer " which pitted the Enterprise against 4 other identical starships in a war games scenario gone wrong .


I'm not sure if it was a direct take off or not Steve. I first saw Star trek, the original episodes from reruns that were old then. By then, I had already seen " the enemy below " with Kurt Jurgens and Robert Mitchum. It remains a classic. One can't argue the cat and mouse game played by Mitchum and Jurgens is the same as the one played by Kirk and the Romulan Commander in Star Trek. As you said, it was a great episode.

I however always wondered if the writer of this epidode or Gene Roddenbury himself was a fan of that Submarine movie. It's a safe bet they probably were.


Everyone had their favorites like Bilge Rat. I think He liked " Mirror Mirror " cause he got to see some skin. :D It was an interesting episode to see what the counterparts of the Enterprise would be like.

The Enterprise name itself was taken from the most decorated ship of WW2. It was none other than the " Big E " or the Carrier Enterprise CV 6 of the Yorktown Class.

I confess that I have not seen the movie, but I read the book. The captain notices the u-boat keeps returning to a certain course to make a rendezvous.
In the Star Trek episode, the Romulan ship keeps returning to a certain course to return home.

Take that for what it's worth.