Star Trek (1966–1969)
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In the hallways of the Enterprise there are tubes marked "GNDN" - - these initials stand for "goes nowhere does nothing".
Leonard Nimoy's father was a barber, who was still operating a barbershop at the time the series became popular. In a mid-1960s interview with 16 Magazine, Nimoy revealed that youngsters often came into the shop asking for a "Mr. Spock" haircut, never realizing that "Mr. Spock's dad" was cutting their hair.
When NBC was promoting Star Trek in magazines, all shots of Spock's pointed eyebrows and ears were airbrushed out of the pictures because NBC thought that no one would watch the show due to Spock's resemblance to the Devil. However, this concern was quickly invalidated upon the series' airing with Spock becoming not only one of the most popular characters, but also a sex symbol with young female viewers, an audience reaction no one in the cast or crew anticipated.
In many interviews, Leonard Nimoy recounted the origin of the Vulcan salute, which he introduced into the show. In one such interview (with The A.V. Club in July 2010), he explained, "the gesture that I introduced into Star Trek, the split-fingered Vulcan salute, we'll call it... that came from an experience - I'm going all the way back to my childhood again - when I was about eight years old, sitting in the synagogue at high holiday services with my family. There comes a moment in the ceremony when the congregation is blessed by a group of gentlemen known as Kohanim, members of the priestly tribe of the Hebrews. And the blessing is one that we see in the Old and New Testament: "May the Lord bless you and keep you; may the Lord cause His countenance to shine upon you," and so forth. When they give this blessing, you're told not to look! You're supposed to avert your eyes. I peeked, and I saw these guys with their hands stretched out-there were five or six of them, all with their hands stretched out toward the congregation-in that gesture, that split-fingered gesture. Some time later, I learned that the shape that hand creates is a letter in the Hebrew alphabet, the letter shin, which is the first letter in the word Shaddai, which is the name of the Almighty. So the suggestion is that they're using a symbol of God's name with their hands as they bless the congregation."
Shortly after the cancellation of the series, the staff of the marketing department of NBC confronted the network executives and berated them for cancelling this show, the most profitable show on the network in terms of demographic profiling of the ratings. They explained that although the show was never higher than number fifty-two in the general ratings, its audience profile had the largest concentration of viewers of ages sixteen to thirty-nine, the most sought after television audience for advertisers to reach. In other words, the show, despite the low ratings, had the precise audience for which advertisers hungered, which was more than ample justification to consider the show a big success.
James Doohan (Scotty) lost his right middle finger during World War II. Most of his scenes are shot to hide it. However, it is very noticeable in Star Trek: Catspaw (1967). When Scotty is holding a phaser pistol on Kirk and Spock, only two fingers are holding the butt of the phaser. This is also noticeable in Star Trek: The Trouble with Tribbles (1967), when Kirk's food comes out of the food dispenser filled with tribbles and Scotty walks in carrying a big load of tribbles.
Gene Roddenberry and James Doohan (Lieutenant Commander Scott), after death, had vials containing small amounts of their ashes launched into orbit via satellites.
The uniforms were color coded to show what division of the ship the crew member was assigned to. The colors were: gold: command (including navigation and weaponry); red: operations (including engineering, security, and ship's services, such as communications); and blue: sciences (including medicine). It was a few shows into regular series production before red shirts appeared, however, with Uhura and Scott being seen in command gold. In practice, the gold uniforms often appeared apple green, which some have attributed to local interference with television signals. However, the command tunic was actually green, but under most lighting conditions on the set it appeared gold. The true color can be seen in Kirk's special "wrap-around" tunic and to some extent in the special occasion "dress" uniforms, both of which were made out of other materials which reflected the light differently. The uniforms were dry-cleaned, but the velour tended to shrink, so they had to constantly be altered which is why they often looked short on the actors and actresses.
Gene Roddenberry created the characters of Uhura and Nurse Chapel especially for Nichelle Nichols and Majel Barrett respectively, both of whom were having affairs with Roddenberry when he conceived the series. Nichols broke off her affair with Roddenberry not long after the series began, though Barrett would eventually marry the series creator. They remained together until his death.
It's revealed in "Star Trek: Wolf in the Fold (1967)" that Scotty's full name is Montgomery Scott. The name was improvised on the spot by James Doohan and Gene Roddenberry: "Scott" because Roddenberry liked Doohan's Scottish brogue, and "Montgomery" because it's Doohan's middle name.
On at least two occasions (Star Trek: Miri (1966) and Star Trek: The City on the Edge of Forever (1967)) the exterior Mayberry set from The Andy Griffith Show (1960) was used. In "City", as Kirk (William Shatner) walks Edith (Dame Joan Collins) home, they pass by the easily recognizable courthouse, Floyd's barbershop, Emmett's repair shop, and the grocery.
In 2000, the show was listed in the Guinness Book of Records as having the largest number of spin-off productions, which included the feature film franchise and the numerous television series.
The series was originally produced at Desilu Studios, which was owned by Lucille Ball. Ball heavily advocated for the show, and it was largely her influence with NBC which lead to a second chance after rejection of the original pilot. Ball was also said to be a genuine fan of the show, and often is affectionally referred to as Star Trek's Godmother.
Leonard Nimoy modeled Spock after George Burns and his cigar. George's amused and unflustered acceptances of Gracie Allen's ramblings influenced Spock's interactions with Dr. McCoy. This is what led to the whales in Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (1986) being named George & Gracie.
Had the series been renewed for a fourth season, producers planned to bring back Koloth from "Star Trek: The Trouble with Tribbles (1967)" as a recurring villain. The fourth season would also have seen Roger C. Carmel playing Harry Mudd for the third time, and an introduction of McCoy's daughter Joanna.
According to producers Herbert F. Solow and Robert H. Justman, William Shatner originally wore 1.5" lifts in his shoes so he would appear taller than Leonard Nimoy. Since Shatner was only 5'9", the combination of lifts and the 2" heels of his shoes brought his height to over 6'. It distorted his posture to such a degree that his stomach stuck out. Understandably, Gene Roddenberry forbade him to wear them, instead opting to dress Nimoy and DeForest Kelley in shoes with only a 1" heel as opposed to Shatner's 2" heel.
The eleven-foot studio model of the U.S.S. Enterprise is on display in the National Air and Space Museum of the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C.
The shimmer of the transporter beam was actually a film of aluminum powder being blown into the air by an industrial fan, under a bright spotlight.
According to George Takei, William Shatner had Takei's lines and camera time cut due to Shatner's ego. Shatner denied this and their relationship was contentious ever since. According to episode writer Norman Spinrad, Shatner had it in his contract that he would have more lines than anyone and had some of the other actors' lines cut.
One of the writers, D.C. Fontana, was told to use the initials "D.C." by Gene Roddenberry because networks at the time generally wouldn't hire women writers. Her first name is Dorothy.
Even though they played father and son, Mark Lenard (Sarek) was only six years older than Leonard Nimoy (Spock).
Leonard Nimoy and Majel Barrett are the only actor and actress to appear in both the first (Star Trek: The Cage (1966)) and last (Star Trek: Turnabout Intruder (1969)) episodes of the series.
William Shatner requested his name in the opening credits be ten percent larger in size than those of his co-stars, Leonard Nimoy and DeForest Kelley.
The slanting crawlway that leads up to the warp-drive nacelles is referred to as a "Jefferies tube." This is a reference to Art Director Walter M. Jefferies.
Recently, James Doohan's son attempted to purchase a life-sized wax replica of his father at a Hollywood wax museum auction, but was outbid by an unidentified fan.
James Doohan was cast largely for his ability to speak in multiple accents and dialects. Gene Roddenberry had no set nationality or ethnic background in mind for the Enterprise's Chief Engineer. Upon being cast, Doohan tried out many accents for the character, and along with Roddenberry determined the Scottish accent worked best. Doohan also pointed out the history of great engineers of Scottish origin or descent, most notably Robert Fulton. Gerry Anderson's science fiction puppet series Fireball XL5 (1962) also featured a Scottish engineer called Jock Campbell and predated this show by two years.
The character of Uhura was one of the first black regular characters on any series (predating Diahann Carroll's groundbreaking lead role as a young, widowed nurse and single mother in Julia (1968) by two years), and she was especially significant because her character avoided many of the stereotypes that were common amongst depictions of African Americans on television at the time. Nichelle Nichols, who played Uhura, has said that Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. himself told her how important it was for her to keep playing the role, since it was so rare to see a positive portrayal of a black character on television. During her interview for the documentary Trekkies (1997), Nichols said that she later heard from at least one viewer for whom King's words had been true as a child: when Whoopi Goldberg (who later went on to star in Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987)) first watched Star Trek (1966), she yelled out, "Momma! There's a black lady on TV, and she ain't no maid!" During a 2011 "Storycorps" interview, Carl McNair, brother of Ronald McNair (the second black person in space and one of the seven astronauts who died in the January 28, 1986, Challenger explosion), recalled the impact that watching "Star Trek" had on Ron: "Now, Star Trek showed the future where there were black folk and white folk working together. I just looked at it as science fiction, 'cause that wasn't going to happen, really. But Ronald saw it as science possibility. He came up during a time when there was Neil Armstrong and all of those guys; so how was a colored boy from South Carolina, wearing glasses, never flew a plane, how was he gonna become an astronaut? But Ron was one who didn't accept societal norms as being his norm, you know? That was for other people. And he got to be aboard his own Starship Enterprise." During the 1970s and 1980s, because of her status as the first black person "in space," N.A.S.A. hired Nichols (during the mid 1970s) to help recruit minority and female astronauts to the program. As a result, N.A.S.A. Astronaut Group 8 (selected in January 1978) yielded the astronauts she helped sign including Colonel Guion Bluford (the first African American in space), Dr. Judith A. Resnik (the first Jewish American person in space), and Dr. Ron McNair. Four of the astronauts (Judith Resnik, Ron McNair, Ellison Onizuka, and Francis Richard "Dick" Scobee) recruited from N.A.S.A. Group 8 perished in the Space Shuttle Challenger on January 28, 1986, which was later commemorated during the introduction of Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (1986).
The series' running gag, "I'm a doctor, not a..." may have originated in the mystery "The Kennel Murder Case (1933)." The coroner in that movie, played by Etienne Girardot, repeatedly claims to be a doctor not a reporter, detective, etc.
Stagehands would pull the turbolift doors on cue with ropes and cables. They would also slide panels by to give the illusion of decks being passed inside the turbolift cars. Some of the more familiar bloopers are that of main actors nonchalantly running into sliding doors that hadn't opened as their characters needed to show full faith in the technology of the Enterprise while stagehands often missed their cues. One of the show's "blooper reels", often shown at Star Trek conventions, includes a full minute of shots of William Shatner walking into various doors and reacting with his favorite profanity (which is not spelled S-H-A-T).
Leonard Nimoy's make-up had a faint greenish hue to it, because of his green Vulcan blood. Because the make-up was hand-mixed, the amount of green varied slightly, and in many shots (even close-ups) it's not really visible.
Many elements of the Spock character were improvised by Leonard Nimoy during production. For instance, the "Vulcan neck pinch" was his suggestion during filming of "Star Trek: The Enemy Within (1966)" for how Spock could subdue an opponent. The "Vulcan salute" was created during the production of Star Trek: Amok Time (1967) using a version of a traditional Jewish religious hand gesture as a distinctive Vulcan greeting.
Two models of the U.S.S. Enterprise were used on this show. One is three feet long and the other is eleven feet long.
George Takei claimed in 2014 that his homosexuality was a guarded secret amongst the cast. Nevertheless, he privately pitched to Gene Roddenberry a story idea in which homosexuality would be allegorically depicted by an alien race the crew encounters. Takei claimed that Roddenberry liked the idea, but reluctantly decided it would be too controversial.
Notable for being the first scripted American television show to display a kiss between black and white races, William Shatner (Kirk) and Nichelle Nichols (Uhura), in "Star Trek: Plato's Stepchildren (1968)" broadcast November 22, 1968 to considerable controversy. Though the series was well-known for its social commentary, Nichols later claimed that more letters were received about that kiss than anything else during the show's run.
Gene Roddenberry originally conceived the Klingons as looking more alien than they do in the series, but budget restriction prevented this, although a very metallic cast to the skin was added to the make-up design in the third season. When the show finally was made into a series of movies, the higher budget and demands of film finally enabled what Rodenberry had envisioned to come to fruition. The resulting continuity break between the original series and all other Star Trek projects was addressed by a humorous comment from Gene Roddenberry, as a "difference between Northern and Southern Klingons". On-screen explanations were played with. In Star Trek: Deep Space Nine: Trials and Tribble-ations (1996) where members of DS9 travel back in time, Dr. Bashir and Miles O'Brien speculated about the differing appearance being the result of genetic engineering or viral mutation. Worf said it was something Klingons "do not discuss it with outsiders". In the fourth and final season of Star Trek: Enterprise (2001), a two-parter comes up with an explanation which turns out to be a combination of those two things.
Many "guest" voices were actually supplied by James Doohan, including those of Sargon (Star Trek: Return to Tomorrow (1968)), the M-5 and Commodore Enwright (Star Trek: The Ultimate Computer (1968)), Providers 2 and 3 Star Trek: The Gamesters of Triskelion (1968)), a N.A.S.A. technician (Star Trek: Assignment: Earth (1968)), and a radio announcer (Star Trek: A Piece of the Action (1968)).
Sulu and Uhura didn't have first names in the series. Sulu did get a first name (Hikaru) in source books, but it was not spoken on-screen until Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country (1991). In the season two DVD Special Features, Nichelle Nichols revealed that she and Gene Roddenberry accepted the first name "Nyota" for her character, which is a Swahili word meaning "Star". Uhura is a "girly" variant of "Uhuru", Swahili for "freedom". However, the 1968 book, "The Making of Star Trek" by Stephen J. Whitfield and Gene Roddenberry, gave her the first name of Penda. Trek fandom's insistence on ignoring this remains a mystery, as they cite this work on many other points. Nyota was finally spoken on-screen in Star Trek (2009).
Gene Roddenberry originally conceived Spock's skin color to be red, which would have meant extra hours in make-up for Leonard Nimoy. Fortunately for him, an early make-up test showed the red color appeared as black on black-and-white televisions. As most televisions in the '60s were still black-and-white, the idea was dropped.
On this show, the "arrowhead" badge worn by the crew of the Enterprise was meant to be an insignia for the Enterprise only. If you'll notice, on any "guest" Starfleet character, they all wear different symbols on their uniforms. And Commadores wore a "starburst" or "sun" insignia. By the time Star Trek hit the big screen in Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979), the Arrowhead insignia was adopted as the official Starfleet symbol and has remained so throughout the movies and spin-off series, with the exception of Star Trek: Enterprise (2001), which pre-dates this show.
The Enterprise is a Constitution-class ship, The space shuttle Enterprise, which was named for her after a fan lobbying campaign of N.A.S.A., was originally supposed to be named Constitution. Further, Enterprise NCC-1701 was named for the aircraft carrier Enterprise CVN-65, which, along with "Old Ironsides", U.S.S. Constitution is the longest-serving warship in the U.S. Navy, having been commissioned in 1797.
Largely reflecting their on-screen roles as Kirk and Spock, William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy came to be close friends in real-life. However, some of the other cast members, notably James Doohan and George Takei, have said they found it difficult to work with and deal with William Shatner, resulting in their dislike of him on a personal level as well.
The series' opening theme has lyrics which were never used (although they were published in the book "The Making of Star Trek", by Stephen J. Whitfield). The lyrics were written by Gene Roddenberry, not so they would be sung on-screen (which he never intended or even wanted), but so he could take a co-writer credit, and receive residual payments for the theme's use alongside Composer Alexander Courage. Roddenberry did this nearly a year after the show was first aired, taking advantage of a contract clause, of which Courage claimed not to have been aware. Although Courage never took the matter to court, he expressed resentment on numerous occasions to the way Roddenberry "swindled" fifty percent of the popular theme's royalties from him. Roddenberry's response was, "Hey, I have to get some money somewhere. I'm sure not going to get it out of the profits of Star Trek." After the first season of Star Trek, the two never worked together again, although the music has been used in various forms in many of the spin-off projects.
In several episodes, prop beverage bottles were modified from existing alcohol bottles. Aldeberan Whiskey bottles were Cuervo Gold 1800 Tequila bottles. Bottles used for Saurian Brandy were George Dickel Tennessee Sour Mash Whiskey carafes.
The green Captain's uniform was developed because William Shatner tended to gain weight during the season.
Gene Roddenberry once hypothesized that the Enterprise carried a platoon of Starfleet Marines, but they never appeared on-screen in the original series. The Starfleet Marines would eventually make an appearance, but not until Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country (1991) and Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (1993). The idea was revived with the addition of a group of "space marines", called "M.A.C.O.S.", beginning in the 2003-2004 season of Star Trek: Enterprise (2001).
Kirk's nickname for McCoy "Bones" stems from the term "sawbones", which is often used as slang for a surgeon, particularly a Naval or Military doctor, but also appeared in westerns which Gene Roddenberry, DeForest Kelley, and other members of the cast and crew "cut their teeth on" prior to this show. The term refers to the process of amputation, a distressingly common response to an inordinate number of problems until very recently. Kirk did call McCoy "Sawbones" once, in Star Trek: A Piece of the Action (1968). In original scripts for Star Trek: Shore Leave (1966), Sulu called McCoy "Sawbones". Interestingly, a different origin for the nickname was presented in Star Trek (2009); during his first conversation with Jim Kirk, McCoy tells about how he lost everything in his divorce, and all he has left are his "bones".
Mark Lenard, best known for his role as Sarek, Spock's father, was the first actor to play a member of all three of the major alien races: Romulan (Star Trek: Balance of Terror (1966)), Vulcan (Star Trek: Journey to Babel (1967) and other entries), and Klingon (Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979)).
During the second season, there were rumors that the series was to be cancelled due to its low ratings. A group of science fiction fans, led by Bjo Trimble, organized a letter writing campaign to NBC, begging that the show be renewed for a third season. This campaign was so successful, inundating the offices of NBC with thousands of letters that the series was not only renewed, but voice-over announcements were made over the credits of several episodes of the summer reruns of the show, thanking the viewers for their support of the show and promising that it would return for a third season in the fall. Unfortunately, the third season episodes were then broadcast on Fridays between 10 and 11 p.m., commonly known as the "Friday night death slot" when viewing rates are lowest. Combined with significant budget reductions that caused a drop in the show's quality, the resulting drop in ratings finally led to its cancellation, prompting allegations that the network intentionally tried to kill the show. It wasn't until this show went into syndication that the show attracted a large audience, and was finally considered a success.
Television shows of the era that filmed at the same studios often shared minor cast members. It is common to see familiar faces in episodes of this show, Batman (1966), Mission: Impossible (1966), Get Smart (1965), The Time Tunnel (1966), Lost in Space (1965), and The Wild Wild West (1965). Many were The Twilight Zone (1959) veterans as well.
Due to budget constraints, the element of "parallel" or "mirror" Earth planets was used on several occasions to keep set and make-up costs down. (i.e. Star Trek: Miri (1966), Star Trek: Bread and Circuses (1968), Star Trek: A Piece of the Action (1968), Star Trek: Patterns of Force (1968) and more.)
As the first season progressed, producers feared that Leonard Nimoy would eventually quit the series. As a result, they put together a list of actors to consider for re-casting the role of Spock should Nimoy have left. Amongst the actors considered was Mark Lenard who would eventually be cast as Spock's father Sarek.
Kirk never says "Beam me up, Scotty" in any episode, although this misquote is one of pop culture's most popular Star Trek mottoes (used frequently in spoofs), and the title of a memoir-book by William Shatner. Kirk says many similar lines throughout the series -"Scotty, beam us up", "Beam me up", "Scotty, beam me up", "Beam them out of there, Scotty", et cetera - but never "Beam me up, Scotty." The closest came during the animated spin-off "Star Trek: Yesteryear (1973)," when Kirk said "Beam us up, Scotty."
Spock's farewell remark "Live long and prosper" was ranked number five in TV Guide's list of "TV's 20 Top Catchphrases" (August 21-27, 2005 issue).
Stardates are used throughout the series to give the audience an unrealistic look at the time-frame in which the series occurred. However, NBC paid no attention to the producers' intents when deciding on airing order, so the dates were not heard in numerical sequence.
Captain Kirk's birthplace was established to be the state of Iowa, according to Gene Roddenberry in his book "The Making of Star Trek". Although an exact city was never established throughout the series, in 1985, the town of Riverside, Iowa officially proclaimed itself to be the "Future Birthplace of James T. Kirk". Steve Miller, a member of the Riverside City Council, who had read Roddenberry's book, suggested to the council that Riverside should proclaim itself to be the future birthplace of Kirk. Miller's motion passed unanimously, and the council later wrote to Roddenberry for his permission to be designated as the official birthplace of Kirk, to which Roddenberry agreed. The town is home to many Star Trek-related attractions, events, and displays, including a replica of the U.S.S. Enterprise (named the U.S.S. Riverside), as well as playing host to the annual Riverside Trek Festival.
Grace Lee Whitney was supposed to be the lead female character, hence her prominent role as Yeoman Janice Rand in the first season. However, the producers let go of the character after the first half of the first season, much to the fans' regret. Whitney, however was asked back for most of the "Star Trek" movies, reprising her role as Janice.
Leonard Nimoy's favorite episodes were Star Trek: This Side of Paradise (1967), Star Trek: Amok Time (1967), Star Trek: The City on the Edge of Forever (1967), Star Trek: The Naked Time (1966), Star Trek: Journey to Babel (1967), and Star Trek: The Devil in the Dark (1967).
During the nine days when N.A.S.A. astronaut Dr. Mae C. Jemison was a mission specialist on her spaceflight (STS-47, September 12-20, 1992), she would start each shift not according to N.A.S.A. protocol for opening communications with Mission Control, but instead with the words "hailing frequencies open." These were the words that Lieutenant Uhura used on this show whenever she opened lines of communication. Jemison, the first African-American woman in space, has said in many interviews that seeing Uhura on this show as a child was a major inspiration for her to become an astronaut. After retiring from N.A.S.A., Jemison had a small guest-starring role on Star Trek: The Next Generation: Second Chances (1993), making her the first person to have travelled in space and appeared on a Star Trek show.
Chekov at one point was to be British, as his looks and appearance were modelled after The Beatles and The Monkees, who are also said to be the inspiration for the creation of the character.
Both pilots for Star Trek - "Star Trek: The Cage (1966)" and "Star Trek: Where No Man Has Gone Before (1966)" - were the only episodes not filmed at the present-day Paramount Studio lot in Hollywood. They were filmed at the present-day Sony Pictures Culver Studios in Culver City, California.
In the mid 2000s, a competition was held amongst real-life Scottish cities and towns to be declared as Scotty's Official Birthplace (and Home Town). Linlithgow made a strong push, claiming direct reference in some of the show's production notes. Aberdeen won out, largely on the basis of a brief line of dialogue from Star Trek: Wolf in the Fold (1967). James Doohan also said he based Scotty's accent on that of someone he knew who had been from Aberdeen.
When Nichelle Nichols was asked what her favorite episode was, she replied, "Any time Uhura got off the bridge."
According to William Shatner's Star Trek TV memoirs, DeForest Kelley was the first one considered for the role of Spock. Kelley's own claims contradict this, however. He preferred working in Westerns, but Roddenberry talked him into playing a lawyer in a pilot which did not sell, and subsequently approached Kelley for the role of a doctor, in what turned out to be a science fiction setting. Noting that Hollywood was making fewer and fewer Westerns, the actor accepted.
The Klingons were created by Screenwriter Gene L. Coon, and first appeared in the 1967 script "Star Trek: Errand of Mercy (1967)." They were named after Lieutenant Wilbur Clingan, who served with Star Trek Creator Gene Roddenberry in the Los Angeles Police Department. In the early appearances of Klingons, if you listen carefully most characters pronounce the name Klingon like "Klingin".
In the first season, only William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy had their names appear in the opening credits. It wasn't until the start of the second season that the opening credits were slightly extended to include DeForest Kelley as well. The names for James Doohan, Walter Koenig, Nichelle Nichols, and George Takei have all appeared in the closing credits for all three seasons of the show, since they didn't always appear together in every episode.
At the time of N.A.S.A.'s first space shuttle launches, Nichelle Nichols was an official spokeswoman for the administration.
Gene Roddenberry originally envisioned the Enterprise as one of only about twelve to fifteen starships comprising the Federation Starfleet due to the incredible cost in time and resources in building such vessels. This accounts for the Enterprise constantly encountering new or relatively unknown planets and aliens, as well as being the only ship "in range" when some crisis would break out. This idea was gradually dropped with the advent of the movies and especially later, with Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987) by which time the Enterprise-D has become the flagship of an entire armada of ships patrolling the galaxy.
Chekov was added to the show in season two in an attempt to reach out to and expand the show's younger (particularly female) demographics. A discredited story claims that Chekov was created as a Russian after Gene Roddenberry heard about the Soviet newspaper Pravda complaining about the lack of Russian presence on the series, specifically because the Russians were the first to put men in space. There was no such article, as the Soviet Union did not broadcast this show.
In many episodes, alien art work and wall hangings were in reality discarded protective Styrofoam shipping box liners from tape recorders used by fellow Desilu/Paramount show Mission: Impossible (1966), spray painted various colors and arranged into various combined forms.
The Star Trek crews from all of the "Star Trek" series were ranked number two in TV Guide's list of the "25 Greatest Sci-Fi Legends" (August 1, 2004 issue).
An episode was written for comedian Milton Berle to guest star, titled "He Walked Among Us". Berle would have played a sociologist playing God in a primitive society. Berle was a fan of the series, and wanted to show his dramatic acting range. But Norman Spinrad's script was re-written by Story Editor Gene L. Coon into a comedy. Spinrad was so angry that he wanted the episode scrapped. Gene Roddenberry agreed to scrap the episode after reading the script.
Chekov's middle name was Andreievich. In Russian custom, this means his father's name was Andrei (also transliterated Andrey). Aside from Kirk (James T.) and McCoy (Leonard H.), he was the only original series character whose middle name (or initial) was revealed.
The favored episodes of each cast member are as follows: William Shatner - Star Trek: The Devil in the Dark (1967). Leonard Nimoy - Star Trek: This Side of Paradise (1967) DeForest Kelley - Star Trek: The Empath (1968). James Doohan - Star Trek: The Doomsday Machine (1967). Nichelle Nichols - Star Trek: Plato's Stepchildren (1968) for the groundbreaking kiss and because Uhura got off the bridge. George Takei - Star Trek: The Naked Time (1966) for the scene of him shirtless with the fencing sword. Walter Koenig - Star Trek: Spectre of the Gun (1968) because he got to make out with Bonnie Beecher (Sylvia).
For many decades, unbeknownst to the fans, the color shirt Captain Kirk, Mr. Sulu, and Ensign Checkov wore was NOT yellow/gold, as everyone believes, but instead the shirts are actually green. In recent interviews, various cinematographers who worked on the series have stated that the series utilized two different types of film stock. One of the film stocks caused the greens of the uniform shirts to come out yellow/gold in the processing. The other film stock also was a little off, which is why the gold sometimes has a greenish hue. However, according to the crew members on the show, the shirts were indeed an olive green. This also explains why Captain Kirk's alternate uniform shirt of a wrap around tunic with the "arrowhead" insignia as a belt was green as opposed to his regular "gold" uniform. Because of the public perception that the shirts were yellow/gold, this "error" was accepted into series and Trek Universe canon and all of the subsequent series and films utilized the gold color from the original series onward.
Jerry Goldsmith was Gene Roddenberry's first choice to write the theme for this series. Many years later, Goldsmith wrote the theme to "Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979)," which was also used for "Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987)."
The name "Sulu" is not Japanese in origin. Gene Roddenberry named the character after the Sulu Sea, which he noted touched the shores of all Asian countries. Actors of various different Asian backgrounds auditioned for the part, and George Takei's Japanese heritage largely lead to Sulu specifically being identified as such.
William Shatner and James Doohan are originally Canadian.
Star Trek: Mirror, Mirror (1967) marks the only time in the series where Scotty addresses Captain Kirk as "Jim".
Lloyd Bridges was approached to play Captain Pike in the original pilot Star Trek: The Cage (1966) but turned it down believing that a science fiction show would hurt his career. Jeffrey Hunter, who played Captain Pike, was replaced after his salary demands were deemed to be too high.
According to the DVD commentary, many of the sets used for the series were built with easily removable wall panels designed to allow for easy camera placement and easy redressing of the sets for other uses.
The broadcast rights to this show in the U.K. were originally held by the BBC, and that network banned the episodes "Star Trek: The Empath (1968),""Star Trek: Whom Gods Destroy (1969)," "Star Trek: Plato's Stepchildren (1968)," and "Star Trek: Miri (1966)" for many years. "Miri" was shown once in 1970 before being proscribed and "The Empath" was scheduled that year, but not aired. The BBC considered this show to be a children's show and stated that the episodes "all dealt most unpleasantly with the already unpleasant subjects of madness, torture, sadism, and disease." British fans cried foul, and hypocrisy as well, noting that the BBC's "Doctor Who (1963),: aired in the same time slot, had scenes more gruesome than anything on this show and that the BBC also purveyed "I, Claudius (1976)," which featured torture, murder, and even cannibalism. The banned episodes were screened at conventions, released on video, and finally aired by the BBC in the 1990s.
The episode "Star Trek: Who Mourns for Adonais? (1967)" was the first episode to feature all seven members of the original cast, including Walter Koenig (Chekov), who was the last to join the cast, at the beginning of season two.
Nichelle Nichols revealed in 2011 that she auditioned for Spock.
The creation of the the show's "transporters" and concept of beaming off and on the ship was largely due to budget constraints and pacing issues. Gene Roddenberry was unable to find a way to plausibly show the Enterprise repeatedly landing on and taking off from different locations in almost every episode.
Martin Landau was originally offered the role of Commander Spock. Leonard Nimoy had appeared on "The Lieutenant (1963)," an earlier series produced by Gene Roddenberry, who at the time thought that the actor would be well cast as an alien (when he ran out of choices). Nimoy inspired the creation of the character. Shortly after this show's cancellation, he took over the role of disguise expert on "Mission: Impossible (1966)" when Landau left that show. "Mission: Impossible" (1966) was also filmed on the same lot, therefore, when "Star Trek" ended, Nimoy merely went next door to go to his new job. Also, Landau went on to star in another science fiction space exploration television series, Space: 1999 (1975), whose last season was produced by Fred Freiberger, who also produced this show's final season.
Gene Roddenberry believed the show's initial higher than expected ratings when the series entered syndication were a fluke and expected the sudden birth of interest in the series to die down.
The Klingons were intended to look slightly Asian in appearance, but the idea was dropped. However, the concept of Klingon's Warrior Class System, and Imperial nature were similar to aspects of some Asian cultures. The Klingons came to be developed as reflecting Soviet Communists in plots paralleling Cold War issues and tensions of the time (with The Federation representing the U.S. and its allies). The real-life changes in the Soviet Union/Russia would subsequently be reflected by the Klingons in the movies and the later Trek series. The Romulans, who were more secretive in nature, and having an uneasy alliance with the Klingons have come to be viewed as reflecting Red China.
Gene Roddenberry wrote lyrics for the show's theme song. They do not fit the tune exactly and are said to be difficult to sing. They are :
Beyond
The rim of the star-light
My love
Is wand'ring in star-flight
I know
He'll find in star-clustered reaches
Love,
Strange love a star woman teaches.
I know
His journey ends never
His star trek
Will go on forever.
But tell him
While he wanders his starry sea
Remember, remember me.
Beyond
The rim of the star-light
My love
Is wand'ring in star-flight
I know
He'll find in star-clustered reaches
Love,
Strange love a star woman teaches.
I know
His journey ends never
His star trek
Will go on forever.
But tell him
While he wanders his starry sea
Remember, remember me.
The images displayed during the end credits of the show tended to follow a specific format. The first image was either an external shot of the Enterprise in space, or in orbit of a planet (seasons one and two) or a shot of the Melkotian head from Star Trek: Spectre of the Gun (1968) (season three). The second image was often a specific scene from that particular episode aired, while the rest of the images up until the final one were various images from random episodes, and finally, the final image at the end of the credits would be either a shot of the Orion slave girl (from Star Trek: The Cage (1966)) during season one, a shot of Big Balok (from Star Trek: The Corbomite Maneuver (1966)) during season two, and a simple space shot for season three. Also worth mentioning is that the opening and closing credits text for seasons one and two were yellow, while the text for season three was light blue.
Leonard Nimoy received Emmy Award nominations for Best Supporting Actor in a Dramatic Role for each of the show's three seasons. These would be the only Emmy Award nominations in acting categories for any series in the Star Trek franchise.
Mr. Spock was played as much more emotional and "human" in the original rejected pilot, "Star Trek: The Cage (1966)." This is very noticeable during the flashback sequences of "Star Trek: The Menagerie: Part I (1966)" and "Star Trek: The Menagerie: Part II (1966)." The flashbacks were simply scenes from the original pilot, re-edited into the new episodes.
There are contradictory indicators as to just how far into the future the series was set. A calendar year for the adventures of the Enterprise crew is never given in any episode, and Gene Roddenberry said the series could have taken place anywhere from the twenty-first to the thirty-first centuries. However, in Star Trek: Tomorrow Is Yesterday (1967), which involves a time-trip to Earth in the 1960s, Kirk is arrested by security at Omaha Air Force Base. When an officer threatens to lock him up for two hundred years if he does not explain who he is and why he is there, Kirk mutters, "That ought to be just about right." Stronger is Star Trek: Space Seed (1967), where a ship filled with people in suspended animation capsules is dated to the 1990s. When the first person revived asks "How long?" a few minutes later, the response is, "We estimate two centuries." An advance print ad for Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979) had a blurb across the top that began, "In the 23rd Century...," leading fans to protest on the basis of those two original series statements. The ad was soon changed to bear a non-time specific blurb, but "Trekkies" refused to acknowledge the fact that "23rd century" was an error. In Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982), after the opening credits, the words "In the 23rd Century" appear. By the time of Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987), calendar years for Trek adventures had been established and the official Star Trek Chronology now indicates that the original "Star Trek" television series takes place between the years 2266 and 2269. (Later, in Star Trek: Voyager: Q2 (2001), it was said that Kirk's five-year mission ended in 2270.) It wasn't until Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (1986) that the 23rd century time line is internally established, in a conversation between Kirk and Dr. Gillian Taylor (Catherine Hicks).
William Shatner admitted in his autobiography that he and Leonard Nimoy did not get along throughout the series. According to Shatner, he was bothered by Nimoy's massive popularity because Shatner felt that he was the star of the series. According to Nimoy's memoir, Shatner demanded some of Nimoy's lines to be given to him instead. In one incident, a photographer from Life Magazine was on the set to do a profile on Nimoy. Shatner demanded the photographer to be removed from the set and refused to come out of his dressing room. Nimoy stormed off to his dressing room and refused to come out until the photographer was allowed back. Filming was delayed for hours while the executives pleaded with both stars to return to work. According to Nimoy, Gene Roddenberry sought Isaac Asimov's advice to help settle the feud. Shatner and Nimoy eventually reconciled during the making of the "Star Trek" film franchise and remained good friends for decades.
McCoy, Spock, and Scotty were shown to still be living during the time of Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987), taking place approximately seventy years after the events of this show. Ironically, however, DeForest Kelley, James Doohan, and Leonard Nimoy were the first three primary cast members to die.
Although frequently referred to as a "low-budget series", this is only in comparison to the costs of series made in the following decades, adjusted for inflation. The typical budget per episode of this show was almost equal to an episode of contemporary series such as Lost in Space (1965) and Mission: Impossible (1966).
Star Trek: Shore Leave (1966) has the only scene in which the U.S.S. Enterprise is seen orbiting a planet from right to left. The U.S.S. Enterprise also does this briefly in the parallel universe, in the pre-credits sequence of Star Trek: Mirror, Mirror (1967), but by the beginning of Act I, it is again orbiting from left to right.
Early on in season two, to save the time in later episodes, the producers took aside George Takei and Walter Koenig and sat them facing the bridge's viewscreen, with the camera directly behind them. While the camera was running, they were asked to carry on as normal pressing buttons, et cetera for a few minutes. Then George was told to "turn to face the camera and look worried." Then Walter was told to do the same. Then they were told to both face the camera and look worried. It is not known how often, or when these shots were edited into the subsequent shows.
One of Starfleet's Prime Directives is that it can't let the inhabitants of planets visited learn of their technology. Yet, there are numerous episodes where communicators, phasers, and other sophisticated equipment is left behind.
The story that the U.S.S. Enterprise's registry number "NCC-1701" was derived from Walter M. Jefferies' antique Waco biplane (FAA registration NC17704) is mostly apocryphal. According to Jefferies himself, the Star Fleet "NCC" was a mix of the original international codes "NC" for United States commercial vehicles and "CC CC" for Russian vehicles. The "1701" was selected for visual clarity, with "17" representing the seventeenth basic Federation ship design, and "01" marking Enterprise as the first commissioned vessel of that design. Interestingly, there was once in fact a Waco YKS biplane registered with the FAA as NC17701.
The Romulans and the Romulan Empire were noticeably modelled after the Roman Empire, in clothing as well as the use of military terms such as Centurion and Praetor. Their home planet of Romulus (with its moon Remus) were named for the two brothers who, according to ancient mythology, founded the city of Rome together. The Romulans were created by Paul Schneider, who said "it was a matter of developing a good Romanesque set of admirable antagonists, an extension of the Roman civilization to the point of space travel." It is never explained in Star Trek lore how these aliens (an offshoot of the Vulcans) would end up modelling and naming themselves after a human civilization with which they never had contact. A fan theory states that the Romulans may have come in contact with aliens who had also visited Earth and were worshiped as gods by the Romans, in the same way that an alien claimed to have been responsible for inspiring the ancient Greek civilization in Star Trek: Who Mourns for Adonais? (1967).
CBS initially expressed an interest in picking up the series, but ultimately passed on it, since they were already developing another science fiction television series Lost in Space (1965). CBS would come to own and distribute the series as a result of their corporate connections with Paramount.
In a TV Guide interview two months before his death, Gene Roddenberry listed his ten favorite episodes - Star Trek: Amok Time (1967), Star Trek: Balance of Terror (1966), Star Trek: The City on the Edge of Forever (1967), Star Trek: The Devil in the Dark (1967), Star Trek: The Enemy Within (1966), Star Trek: The Menagerie: Part I (1966)/Star Trek: The Menagerie: Part II (1966), Star Trek: The Naked Time (1966), Star Trek: The Return of the Archons (1967), Star Trek: Where No Man Has Gone Before (1966), and Star Trek: The Trouble with Tribbles (1967).
Many owners of a Canadian five-dollar bill would doodle on the portrait of Sir Wilfrid Laurier to make him look like Mr. Spock, because of his striking resemblance to him. This was also known as "Spocking Fives". In 2013, the portrait of Laurier has been updated to make the resemblance to Spock less obvious and to discourage people from altering the portrait again.
There are conflicting reasons as to why Janice Rand was written out of the series after only eight appearances during the first season. Gene Roddenberry has said it was a budgetary move, but others have claimed that as the show progressed her role as the Captain's Woman, or potential love interest for Kirk became impractical. Other stories have claimed that Grace Lee Whitney was having issues with alcoholism, which was said to be affecting her work on the series. Whitney said she may have been let go to keep her quiet over accusations of a network executive having sexually assaulted her at a wrap party. Whitney would later return to reprise her role as Rand, making brief appearances in some of the Star Trek movies, and a guest appearance on Star Trek: Voyager: Flashback (1996).
The series no longer holds the record for the first ever televised interracial kiss due to a recently discovered recording of a the British series Emergency-Ward 10 (1957) that predates it by two years.
Nichelle Nichols was the only regular cast member not to reprise her role in crossovers with the Star Trek spin-off projects, although Uhura was seen in archive footage in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine: Trials and Tribble-ations (1996). McCoy, Spock and Scotty appeared on Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987). Kirk, Scotty, and Chekov appeared in Star Trek: Generations (1994). Sulu (along with Janice Rand) appeared on Star Trek: Voyager: Flashback (1996). While Christine Chapel did not make any such appearances, Majel Barret would play the recurring role of Lwaxanna Troi on Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987) and Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (1993), as well as continuing as computer voices for all Star Trek spin-offs until her death in 2008.
Malachi Throne provided the voice of the Talosian Keeper in the first pilot Star Trek: The Cage (1966), which was also Leonard Nimoy's first "Star Trek" appearance. Throne was also with Nimoy for Star Trek: The Next Generation: Unification II (1991), the latter's final Star Trek television appearance (he appeared in some Trek movies afterwards).
According to his character biography in the series Writer's Guide, McCoy was divorced and had a college-aged daughter named Joanna. None of this was mentioned in any episode, though there were a couple of unsuccessful attempts to feature an appearance by Joanna. The character of Irina (Mary Linda Rapelye) in Star Trek: The Way to Eden (1969) was originally to have been Joanna. Joanna was mentioned in the animated series, and also depicted or referred to in non-canonical Star Trek novels and comics. Finally, in Star Trek (2009), McCoy's bitter divorce is prominently mentioned during his fist conversation with Jim Kirk (though there was no mention of a daughter).
George Takei was unavailable for nine episodes during the second season. Takei had been cast in The Green Berets (1968), which provided scheduling conflicts.
While Spock's name appears to be a singular one, he explains in Star Trek: This Side of Paradise (1967) that he has a surname which is largely unpronounceable for non-Vulcans.
Pavel Chekov was also the name of playwright Anton Chekhov's father.
To keep his mouth moist, Leonard Nimoy would suck on a lollipop between takes. When the scene was taking place off the ship, he would often hide the lollipop inside his tricorder before they filmed.
According to the Hollywood Entertainment Museum, as of fall 2003, only a few pieces of the original 1960s bridge survive. The museum, on Hollywood Boulevard, incorporates two original turboshaft doors into its Star Trek display, while a Los Angeles bookstore reportedly owns the original Captain's chair.
Personnel changes (eg. arrivals, deaths, or disappearances)
- Star Trek: The Naked Time (1966) (September 29, 1966) Nurse Christine Chapel's first appearance.
- Star Trek: Balance of Terror (1966) (December 15, 1966) Yeoman Janice Rand's final appearance.
- Star Trek: Amok Time (1967) (September 15, 1967) First appearance of Pavel Chekov.
James Hong auditioned for Sulu, but was passed over in favor of George Takei.
Most episodes revolve around Kirk, Spock, and/or McCoy. Producers often proclaimed intentions to feature stories focusing on the supporting characters. While Scotty achieved greater prominence in some episodes as the show went on, promised episodes centering around Sulu, Chekov, or Uhura never materialized. For this reason, Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987), and all henceforth series in the Trek franchise, having taken great care to make use of their complete ensemble casts.
Traditionally, science fiction stories had depicted space travel craft as either flying saucers or oblong capsules, often shaped like cigars or fountain pens. The design of the Enterprise combined both traditional concepts.
While there are many possible permutations of the origin of the Vulcan greeting "Live long and prosper", in keeping with Trek's affinity for William Shakespeare allusions, it seems entirely possible that it was lifted from Act 5, Scene 3 of Romeo and Juliet, where Romeo bids farewell to his best friend Balthazar for the last time, saying "Live and be prosperous, and farewell, good fellow."
In 2017, two years after the death of Leonard Nimoy, his son Adam Nimoy got engaged to Terry Farrell, who played Jadzia Dax on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (1993).
At numerous Star Trek conventions, many of the actors openly revealed that they actively disliked William Shatner, because of the way he would take good lines from their characters for himself.
Considering the time period and budget of this show, one of the most impressive realistic visual effects were the phaser beams. As well as having a consistent sound effect, they were colored just enough so that the viewer could actually see through them. This made them a lot more believable as opposed to other science fiction television and movies at the time where they were obvious animations.
Walter Koenig claimed he wasn't aware of being cast as Chekov, until he was summoned to wardrobe, and one of the dressers started to take measurements for his uniform.
Each starship and starbase had its own insignia, which was worn on the left breast of the uniform. The Enterprise's insignia was the now well-known arrowhead shape. The boomerang shape from the side of the ship was the Starfleet Command insignia.
Three of the main cast members were the children or grandchildren of Russian-Jewish immigrants: Leonard Nimoy's parents came to North America from the Ukraine, as did William Shatner's grandparents, while Walter Koenig's parents were from Lithuania.
Diana Muldaur, who appeared as Ann Mulhall in Star Trek: Return to Tomorrow (1968) and Miranda Jones in Star Trek: Is There in Truth No Beauty? (1968), later played the character of Dr. Katharine Pulaski during season two of Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987). Although she appeared in almost every episode of the season, she was never considered a regular.
During the second season, Leonard Nimoy performed the song "The Ballad of Bilbo Baggins" for his album "Two Sides of Leonard Nimoy". The song was the story of Bilbo Baggins and his adventures in J.R.R. Tolkien's novel "The Hobbit". Spock and Bilbo Baggins have pointy ears.
William Shatner named Star Trek: The Devil in the Dark (1967) as his favorite episode, followed by Star Trek: The City on the Edge of Forever (1967).
DeForest Kelley's favorite episode was Star Trek: The Empath (1968).
James Doohan's favorite episode was Star Trek: The Doomsday Machine (1967).
After appearances in each of the first two seasons, a script featuring Harry Mudd was written for the third season. However, Roger C. Carmel was unavailable to reprise the role, and the episode was put aside for use during the show's fourth season (which never occurred due to the show's cancellation). Carmel returned to voice Harry Mudd in the Star Trek (1973) animated series episode Star Trek: Mudd's Passion (1973). Mudd was also considered for appearances in Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (1986) and Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987), but those ideas were scrapped due to Carmel's declining health and subsequent death. Mudd continued to make non-canonical appearances in various Star Trek novels, comic book stories, and other non traditional media adaptations.
In season one, there appeared to be an endless supply of new planet rock wall scenery. On binge watching season two, it soon becomes apparent, and slightly confusing, that the in-studio planet exterior set is a simply redressed re-use of the Star Trek: Amok Time (1967) planet set. With the dirt floor as the central focus of the planet surface set, and with a low planet horizon on the backdrop, screen right is usually a large re-dressed tall rock face, and screen left is smaller rocky outcrops, with various set dressings such and foliage and re-arranged minor rocks.
Unlike Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987), not all of the same main crew characters are always seen on the bridge, apart from Kirk, McCoy, and Spock. This can be explained by the other "minor" characters being on leave and/or a different shift, considering the Enterprise would be a continually twenty-four hour operating vessel.
Before Star Trek, William Shatner, and Leonard Nimoy appeared in The Man from U.N.C.L.E.: The Project Strigas Affair (1964).
Michael Ansara from Star Trek: Day of the Dove (1968) later reprised his role as Kang in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine: Blood Oath (1994) and Star Trek: Voyager: Flashback (1996).
Much of the futuristic architecture depicted and set designs were inspired by displays and pavilions featured at the 1964-65 New York City World's Fair.
Reportedly, when the show was first pitched to Desilu Studios, upon first seeing the title Star Trek, studio owner Lucille Ball thought the proposed series was a sitcom, or variety show about a group of travelling U.S.O. performers.
According to DVD commentary, a rotating drum with a slot cut out for light to shine through was used to give the turbolifts the illusion of motion.
In the U.K., Star Trek: Miri (1966) had received a lot of complaints by the BBC from parents of young viewers, that had felt that the show was unsuitable for children, because it dealt with the subject matter of madness, torture, sadism, and disease, and the BBC later excluded (#1.8) from repeat transmissions, and was not broadcast again until the 1990s.
The following excerpt from Star Trek Guide (April 17, 1967, page 25) instructed writers for this show on how to select stardates for their scripts. "We invented 'Stardate' to avoid continually mentioning Star Trek's century (actually, about two hundred years from now), and getting into arguments about whether this or that would have developed by then. Pick any combination of four numbers plus a percentage point, use it as your story's stardate. For example, 1313.5 is twelve o'clock noon of one day and 1314.5 would be noon of the next day. Each percentage point is roughly equivalent to one-tenth of one day. The progression of stardates in your script should remain constant but don't worry about whether or not there is a progression from other scripts. Stardates are a mathematical formula which varies depending on location in the galaxy, velocity of travel, and other factors, can vary widely from episode to episode." The in-story definition of a Stardate would certainly explain why they vary so much, even though the voyage shown in the series is only "three of your Earth years", or thirteen Earth years, if the events of the two pilots are included.
The outwardly adversarial, but personally respectful, relationship between the country doctor McCoy and the Captain's logical intelligent sidekick Spock, was similar to the Gunsmoke (1955) relationship between the logical intelligent Doctor Adams and the Marshall's country sidekick Festus.
George Takei's favorite episode was Star Trek: The Naked Time (1966).
Stonn, played by Lawrence Montaigne in Star Trek: Amok Time (1967), is the only male Vulcan in the original series without a letter "K" in his name.
The opening Kirk voice-over containing "...where no man has gone before" has often been criticized for being sexist and inappropriate to the theme of twenty-third century equality. This would be rectified in Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987), on which "No man..." was changed to "No one..." in Picard's voice-over. While other Star Trek series do not use the voice-over monologue, they occasionally work it into a character's speech, usually in the "no one" version.
Walter Koenig's favorite episode was Star Trek: Spectre of the Gun (1968).
Nichelle Nichols' favorite episode was Star Trek: Plato's Stepchildren (1968).
The comic strip version of this show appeared in the U.K. comic "Joe 90" some time before the show itself aired in the U.K. A tin-eared lettering artist wrote Captain Kirk as "Captain Kurt".
Star Trek: Turnabout Intruder (1969) was the show's final episode, and also the only one to air after Jeffrey Hunter's death.
Out of all the principle characters, the only ones whose living quarters are shown on-screen are Kirk (repeatedly), Scotty (Wink of an Eye), Spock in Star Trek: Amok Time (1967), McCoy (The Man Trap), and Uhura in Star Trek: Elaan of Troyius (1968). Yeoman Rand's are also seen in Star Trek: The Enemy Within (1966) and Charlie X.
The Fantastic Journey (1977), a short-lived science fiction series, used sound effects from this show in a few of its episodes.
Walter Koenig appeared on another science fiction television series, Babylon 5 (1993), where he played recurring antagonist Alfred Bester.
The role of Mr. Spock was originally given to a young man named Ted Nomura, but he quit because he didn't think anything would come of it. Ted became a well-known artist and part creator of Warrior Nun Areala.
In the end credits for the second season, the picture of Big Balok from Star Trek: The Corbomite Maneuver (1966) was used when Herbert F. Solow's credit came on. Apparently, the feelings for Mr. Solow were rather poor, to put it mildly.
Of the many Star Trek novels, there was one called "Ishmael", in which there was a crossover with the television series Here Come the Brides (1968), a series that starred Mark Lenard. In the novel, Spock reveals his mother's full name to be Amanda Stempel Grayson, a descendant of Bride's Aaron Stempel, played by Mark Lenard.
As of 2018, there are now at least three alternate presentations of the original series run being used by broadcasters and/or streaming video services. The original special effects version in original aspect ratio, the original special effects version cropped top and bottom for widescreen, the remastered special effects version in original aspect ratio, and a re-mastered version cropped for widescreen. All excluding additional edits certain broadcasters may make to their showings.
None of the Enterprise men have facial hair. Apparently, this is a Federation mandate that may differ from time to time and place to place: Commander Riker was allowed to have a beard in Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987), yet Tom Paris was once reprimanded for not having shaved in Star Trek: Voyager (1995).
In a broadcast celebration of Star Trek's 40th Anniversary back in 2006, Leonard Nimoy mentioned in an interview that George Lindsey, who played Goober Pyle on The Andy Griffith Show (1960), had been Gene Roddenberry's first choice to portray Spock. While some questioned the validity of Nimoy's claim, another big star confirmed this curious piece of television history a couple of years later. Ernest Borgnine published a memoir in 2008. In it he wrote he and Lindsey became great friends. He said "To this day I think that George Lindsey is one of the great guys in the world. I can't say too much about that old boy and how he used to keep me in stitches talking about his home in Alabama, how he gave up being a science teacher to act, and how, my hand to God, he turned down the part of Mr. Spock on TV's Star Trek."
At one point, Leonard Nimoy received an acting award for his performance as Spock. This didn't go down very well with William Shatner, who was hoping for a nomination.
It's been rumored that the reason Jeffrey Hunter dropped out of the series, was because his wife intervened and told Gene Roddenberry her husband wasn't interested.
Despite not being shown until 1988, clips of Star Trek: The Cage (1966) were actually shown during Star Trek: The Menagerie: Part I (1966)/Star Trek: The Menagerie: Part II (1966).
Being a heavy smoker at the time, Leonard Nimoy always had his pack of cigarettes near by after a scene had been completed.
Thirty years after this show first premiered on American television, James Doohan played another Scottish character, Damon Warwick, in the soap opera The Bold and the Beautiful (1987).
During the show's production, there were feelings of animosity between William Shatner and James Doohan. Till the end of his life, Doohan never made peace with Shatner.
While Star Trek generally follows naval rank structure, the cuff stripes are hopelessly inconsistent. The lieutenants wear a single ensign's stripe. Scott and McCoy, as Lt Commanders, wear the 1 1/2 stripes of a Lt, junior grade. Spock, regularly referred to as a Lt Commander, wears a second full stripe, which would designate a full commander's rank. In reality, 2 full stripes represent a Lt, senior grade. Kirk, as Captain, wears the 2 full stripes-1 half stripe of a Lt Commander. Only Admirals are portrayed in line with reality, with a single oversized band. In Star Trek: The Naked Time (1966), Joe Tormolen wears a single half stripe, a rank that does not occur at all.
Walter Koenig later starred in another sci-fi series Babylon 5 (1993) as Alfred Bester. Majel Barrett guest starred in Babylon 5: Point of No Return (1996) as Lady Morella.
By the Starfleet time period of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (1993), there are three Klingons who've gained great notoriety and have achieved legendary status. Captain Kirk fought all three: Kor, Kang, and Koloth during the run of the original series. He also fought a phantasm of Kahless, the renowned founder of the Klingon Empire.
James Doohan had played the minor character Lawrence Tobin in Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea: Hot Line (1964) and Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea: Hail to the Chief (1964), a series with some thematic similarities to Star Trek. He was offered the role of Chief Francis Sharkey, a regular character on that series, but chose to play Montgomery Scott on Star Trek instead.
First Officer Spock was from the planet Vulcan which orbited 40 Eridani A. In astronomy the planet Vulcan was a theory of a small hypothetical planet that was proposed to exist in an orbit between Mercury and the Sun which 19th-century French mathematician Urbain Le Verrier hypothesized.
William Shatner, DeForest Kelley, and James Doohan previously made guest appearances on The Fugitive. Although Leonard Nimoy never appeared on that series, Bruce Dern made several appearances in different role. Years later, Dern appeared in Mulholland Falls as LAPD Chief Bill Parker, the inspiration for Spock.
Nichelle Nichols revealed that she almost left the series after season one and did stay because of Martin Luther King who's a fan of the show told Nichols she was the only Black actor on TV in a role worth having, and she was a role model to his children.
Contrary to popular belief, William Shatner wore a hairpiece throughout the entire series. He had been wearing one since about the mid 1950s.
Like many a TV show, "Star Trek" was made according to a gruelling schedule. The crew members from different areas of the show, was said to be working nearly 100 hours a week.
Initially, the false ears made for Leonard Nimoy didn't fit over his real ones. A phone call was made to the makeup department of M.G.M., where a brand pair of false ears were made to fit the actor.
William Shatner wrote in his book about the show, that he celebrated his being cast as Kirk, by taking his children to dinner in Los Angeles.
DeForest Kelley's first filmed Star Trek performance was Star Trek: The Corbomite Maneuver (1966).
Spoilers
A recurring theme within the series concerned the frequent death of security crewmen wearing red uniforms. Fans who did a thorough investigation, concluded that about seventy-three percent of characters who died in the series wore a red shirt (yet, only ten percent of the red shirts seen eventually died). This became such an inside joke that the term "red shirt" later became synonymous for a stock character in a series whose sole purpose is to be killed off in the story.
In Captain's Kirk's backstory: Kirk was born to Starfleet officer Lieutenant George Kirk and his wife Winona and he was raised in Iowa. Inspired by his father, Kirk also joined Starfleet and after Christopher Pike was promoted to Fleet Captain, Kirk was promoted to Captain and became the new Captain of the U.S.S. Enterprise. In Star Trek (2009), Spock Prime mentions this to Kirk in the alternate time-line.
Spock's species, the Vulcans, are like a race of computers, with a reputation for an almost robotic stoicism. Centuries ago (in the series' timeline), Vulcans rejected and repressed their emotion, devoting themselves to logic. Spock, however, is half-human and, at times, it shows. In Star Trek: The Naked Time (1966) Spock breaks down and cries when he is infected by a mysterious virus that causes its victims to behave irrationally. In Star Trek: Journey to Babel (1967) Captain Kirk and Dr. McCoy meets Spock's estranged father Ambassador Sarek and Spock's human mother, Amanda Grayson.
