Star Trek: The Original Series

Star Trek: The Tour Original Bridge: Conrad Quilty-Harper

Star Trek: The Original Series

American science fiction television program created by Gene Roddenberry that ran for three seasons from 1966-1969.

Although the starship Enterprise’s five year mission to explore new worlds was cut short by poor ratings, the ship and crew didn’t dematerialize quite that fast.

Devoted viewers clamored for more. And as the fan mail piled up, the show’s uniqueness was soon realized and a series of successful movies were produced throughout the 1970’s to 1990’s, along with several new Star Trek TV spin-offs, closely following the format of the original program.

While a few second-rate academics might still scoff at the idea, Star Trek TOS and its offshoots have taken on a mythic status. Instead of Sumerian gods carved in stone, Star Trek provides gods etched on film. And there’s arguably not all that much difference between the two.

Star Trek TOS Cutting Room Floor Clippings: The Rocketeer / Kevin Trotman

Trying to be progressive in its day, the original Star Trek pilot episode featured a female first officer. But due to poor ratings she was replaced by the male Vulcan, Mr. Spock.

The revised cast boasted a host of international characters at the command center, which for the mid-1960’s was virtually unheard of.

In the episode, “Plato’s Stepchildren” (1968) Captain Kirk and the black Lt. Uhura are forced by telekinesis to kiss, a controversial first for fiction characters on U.S. TV. And in the episode Balance of Terror (1966) Kirk scolds his navigational officer Styles for making a racial slur:

Leave any bigotry in your quarters. There’s no room for it on the bridge.

Some say that the whole Star Trek phenomenon has all the earmarks of a religion because it exhibits the following characteristics:

• A social component (Star Trek conventions are periodically held around the world)
• The Star Trek ‘creed’ (the Prime Directive)
• A general goodwill ethic
• Implied transcendental ideas

In 2009 the hit movie Star Trek, directed by J. J. Abrams, brought the popular character Spock back into the spotlight. This time he’s both an elderly (played by Leonard Nimoy) and young man (played by Zachary Quinto). The fact that Leonard Nimoy is showcased in this blockbuster film while William Shatner (who played the original Captain Kirk) isn’t is perhaps telling as to Spock’s ongoing cultural significance in the 21st century.

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Star Trek : The Next Generation

strangely, not a Star Trek: TNG set - Jason Permenter

Star Trek : The Next Generation

This is the first and extremely successful remake of the original Star Trek TV show.

The Next Generation ran for seven seasons from 1987-94.

The captain of the new and beefed up United Federation of Planets starship Enterprise is played by the British character actor Patrick Stewart.

Many new characters and innovations such as a holodeck – where entire environments are created through light imaging – were added. Also noteworthy is the fact that the Klingons are no longer arch enemies of the Federation. In fact, Lt. Commander Worf, a Klingon, serves on the Enterprise.

And when the crew felt unhappy or estranged by its various space adventures, a psychological counselor, Deanna Troi, was now available.

Another memorable character is Lieutenant Commander Data, an android who, like the Tin Man in The Wizard of Oz, wanted to know what it was like to be human. And then there was “Q,” played by actor John de Lancie, who was something akin to a classical Greek god in that he had powers and knowledge extending beyond our normal conception of space and time. Also like the Greek gods, he often abused these powers in childish ways and even challenged the authority of the Q Continuum (the ruling body of the Q, representing its status quo), resulting in his frequent punishment.

Perhaps the most formidable new enemy of the Federation was the Borg, a horrid collective of cyborgs who sucked the life and technological knowledge out of any living creature deemed worthy of its cold malice.

These and other innovations made TNG rival the original Star Trek series in terms of sheer creativity. This isn’t surprising because Gene Roddenberry, the producer of the original show, was directly involved in TNG.

TNG’s immense popularity attracted the film star Whoopi Goldberg, who played the super-intuitive bartender and wise advisor Guinan. Goldberg apparently approached the producers of Star Trek TNG, expressing her desire to be on the show.

Several films based directly on the TV series were released at theatres: Star Trek Generations (1994); Star Trek: First Contact (1996); Star Trek: Insurrection (1998); Star Trek Nemesis (2002).

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Star Trek: Enterprise

Star Trek: The Tour Beamed up in the Transporter: Conrad Quilty-Harper

Star Trek: Enterprise

The most recent incarnation in the Star Trek TV series, running for four seasons from 2001-2005.

The action is set in the future but before the time of Captain Kirk (of the original series).

This is the story of the very first U.S.S. Enterprise, equipped with new warp drive technology, all set to leave Earth and our solar system for deep space exploration.

The alien, technologically superior and emotionless Vulcan race has been present on Earth for a while, holding back the Earth space program because the apparently ‘overly emotional’ human race wasn’t ready for extended inter-species contact.

Captain Jonathan Archer doesn’t like how the Vulcans have been stalling humanity for years, but initial tensions between Archer and his Vulcan Science Officer, T’Pol, gradually resolve into mutual respect.

At first, the series received encouraging reviews but soon after its fan base dwindled and, despite attempts at innovation, the show became increasingly juvenile and Enterprise eventually ‘fell out of warp’ in the TV ratings.

However, Enterprise did have its bright moments amidst the steady decline, especially when dealing with the topic of time travel. And the cultural and mythic importance of the entire Star Trek franchise is hard to overlook. The Oxford English Dictionary, for instance, now includes the word Klingon.

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Spock

Can Art 14 (Spock): Matthew Niemi

Spock

In the TV Star Trek: The Original Series Mr. Spock is a Vulcan science officer aboard the U.S.S. Enterprise, played by actor Leonard Nimoy.

As Captain Kirk’s right hand man, he plays an important role as the only non-human crew member.

Spock’s father was Vulcan and his mother human. As such he has an internal conflict between suppressing his emotions, which Vulcans are known for, and permitting their expression, as human do.

While this was a clever idea back in the 1960s, the notion that any species would try to live purely on logic, as Vulcans claim to do, seems impractical. Along these lines, the Swiss depth psychiatrist C. G. Jung advocated the integration of thinking, feeling, sensation and intuition (albeit for human beings).

When Star Trek first appeared in 1966, Spock’s skin was reddish in color, he looked more devilish and his speech was somewhat rough. He originally conformed to the “red Martian” stereotype of the 1950s and 60s. But Trek producers quickly became interested in developing a more complex character and Spock’s appearance softened.

His looks became more elfin than devilish and he began to harbor intense emotions under the fragile veneer of Vulcan rationality. The changes paid off. At times Spock’s popularity rivaled Kirk’s. The Vulcan psychological, cultural and even political tension between logic and emotion is also brought out in Star Trek: Enterprise through the female character, T’Pol.

In 2009 the hit movie, Star Trek, directed by J. J. Abrams brought Spock back into the spotlight. This time he’s both an old (played by an elderly Leonard Nimoy) and a young man (played by Zachary Quinto). The fact that Leonard Nimoy is showcased in this blockbuster film while William Shatner (who played the original Captain Kirk) isn’t is perhaps telling as to Spock’s ongoing popularity and cultural significance in the 21st century.

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Sisko, Commander Benjamin

Image credit: Michael Zenke

Sisko, Commander Benjamin

Head of a Federation Space Station located at the edge of a wormhole as portrayed in the American TV series, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.

DS9 is a checkpoint before travelers enter the farthest reaches of the unknown through the wormhole, and many different species come and go.

Avery Brooks, the black actor who portrays Sisko was a part-time university professor prior to becoming part of the Star Trek franchise.

He says he accepted the role to provide black children “who are planning their own funerals the chance to think the long thought, to believe that our people will be alive 300 years hence.”

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Seven of Nine

Jeri Ryan aka 7 OF 9 by Jim Bacon

Seven of Nine

A female Borg, convincingly played by actor Jeri Ryan in the American TV series, Star Trek: Voyager.

Originally a human, Seven of Nine was transformed into a semi-cybernetic entity when assimilated by the Borg while still a child.

Seven’s humanity was restored, however, when Commander Chakotay stimulated her human memories through a technologically manufactured mind-link.

She joined the crew of the starship Voyager and through trial and error relearned how to interact appropriately with her fellow human beings and the other bipedal life forms that constitute the starship’s crew.

Seven is a fascinating symbol of something gone wrong going right again. She adds a new twist to the fall and resurrection motif so common in mythic stories of old.

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Sargon

King Sargon II and a Dignatary by Sharon Mollerus

Sargon

The Star Trek franchise arguably has created a modern myth by recasting elements of ancient history, myth and legend in an optimistic, socially progressive future.

Depth psychologists and cultural theorists say that the use of ancient history in storytelling sets off a subconscious resonance, giving a story charm and numinous allure.

Sargon is a good example of this.

In the original Star Trek TV show Sargon is a forceful and intelligent mind residing in a glowing orb who abducts Captain Kirk and plans to inhabit his body.

This fictional Sargon is named after two actual, ancient Sargons. Sargon I was a Babylonian king (2400 BCE). Sargon II was an Assyrian king (around 700 BCE). Both were successful militarists.

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Uhura, Lieutenant

Nichelle Nichols by Karl Palutke

Uhura, Lieutenant

Lieutenant Uhura is the communications officer serving on the bridge of the starship Enterprise and Enterprise-A in the original TV Star Trek and the first six Star Trek films, respectively.

The character is played by the American actress and singer Nichelle Nichols.

Urhura is one of the few black women to take a prominent role in 1960’s American television.

Previously, black women had been cast as servants or foreign ‘primitives’ in the popular media.

As for the name itself:

“Uhura” comes from the Swahili word uhuru, which means “freedom”. Nichols states in her book Beyond Uhura that the name was inspired by the fact that she had with her a copy of the book Black Uhuru on the day she read for the part.†

With the inclusion of an international crew, the program creator Gene Roddenberry hoped to eradicate racism and many other forms of prejudice.

The original series, however, may seem sexist from a contemporary standpoint.

» Star Trek: The Original Series

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† http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uhura

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Virtual Reality

The VERTEX

Originally uploaded by Roger Smith

Virtual Reality

The use of computer hardware and software to create an artificial (i.e. ‘virtual’) environment.

The user normally enters the environment by wearing a headset that blocks normal vision. The environment is manipulated with an electronic glove – or a similar device – connecting the user to the computer.

The term has been traced back to the brilliant French playwrite Antonin Artaud who believed that the internal world of so-called fantasy and the imagination was just as real as the outside world.

This view parallels to some degree C. G. Jung’s reflections on the art of alchemy, where relationships with matter and particularly with other people are viewed as something analogous to chemical interactions. And the hypothesized Jungian dynamics of transference, counter-transference and especially syntonic counter-transference point in a similar direction.

Artaud’s understanding of virtual reality also touches on the notion articulated by John Donne that no man is an island–that is, neither distance nor even death entirely separates one individual from another.

No man is an island, entire of itself
every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main

Virtual reality is having a significant impact on business, medicine and the entertainment industry, where virtual users enjoy, relax or express violent and sexual impulses in socially acceptable ways.

But not everyone sees it this way. Some say that violent virtual reality games should be reexamined in the event that they may promote rather than prevent actual violence.

This is a relatively familiar debate stemming back to the days before home computers. Before the PC the effects of violent TV shows, especially on children, were studied by researchers and public health officials.

Scientific and consumer watchdog concerns about public safety, however, have not deterred virtual reality from taking off. There’s always money to be made through the commodification of sex and violence and definite laws must be passed to regulate the process.

The idea of virtual reality also figures prominently in science fiction TV (e.g. Star Trek’s holodeck) and movies like Total Recall (1990) and The Matrix (1999) where users enter computer generated worlds indistinguishable from day to day life.

Given the fact of today’s microchip implant technologies, these fantastic scenarios seem probable for the not too distant future.

» Burrows (William S.), Gould (Glenn), McLuhan (Marshall Herbert)

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Worf (Lieutenant)

Worf, Lieutenant Worf

Originally uploaded by patries71

Worf (Lieutenant)

A Klingon officer in Star Trek: The Next Generation and Star Trek: Deep Space Nine played by actor Michael Dorn.

Unlike the hostile Klingons of the original Star Trek, Worf and his race are allied with the Federation of Planets, a federation that includes Earth.

Apparently Star Trek producer Gene Roddenberry initially didn’t envision Worf as a regular in the series because he didn’t want to rehash existing themes from the original TV series (i.e. the Klingons).

But Worf’s popularity was undeniable, and Roddenberry along with subsequent producers modified their outlook regarding the Star Trek mythos, embracing and adapting past episodes to further enhance the overall story, which in literary circles is recognized as a device called ‘retroactive continuity.’

» Star Trek: Enterprise, Star Trek: The Next Generation, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Star Trek: The Original Series

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