Star TrekLauren Kneeland and Katie Hardwick

Background Information

•Screenwriter/producer was Gene Roddenberry

•Was shown on NBC

•Aired from 1966-1969

•Target audience was teens and adults; attracted men

•Today it would attract mostly male adults

Plot/Setting

•Setting: in the future; 23rd Century (2400’s)

•Follows crew of the USS Enterprise, lead by Captain Kirk

•On a mission for the United Federation of Planets to “explore strange new worlds” and “boldly go where no man has gone before”

•Had a variety of episode styles including adventure, comedy, and romance, and drama

The Cast/Main Characters•Leonard Nimoy as Lt. Cmdr. Spock

•William Shatner as Captain James T. Kirk

•James Doohan as Montgomery Scott

•DeForest Kelley as Dr. McCoy

•George Takei as Lieutenant Sulu

•Walter Koenig as Ensign Chekov

•Nichelle Nichols as Lieutenant Uhura

What was going on at the time (1960s)

•Kennedy was in office as president of the U.S.

•Civil Rights Movement was being embraced

•The use/popularity of TV was growing

•The Vietnam War and the Cold War

•Tension between generations was growing (young vs old)

How the show was received at the time•Not widely popular, but had small and loyal fanbase

•Acting was melodramatic/overacted

•Special effects were bad/low quality

•Critics liked it because it broke the “rules” of society, but it wasn’t successful with the public

•Eventually cancelled due to poor ratings

•Gained greater popularity during the airing of reruns, directly after the shows cancellation

How it was influential/significant

•Addressed social issues such as race relations

•Had one of the most diverse casts on TV at the time

•Had first interracial kiss on TV (caused controversy over whether relationships between races was “acceptable” for TV)

•Inspired physicists and engineers to create new innovations (technologic advances) and got people interested in science/technology

•Recognized gender equality

•Addressed the Vietnam War and the Cold War

How it influenced TV beyond its time

•4 other Star Trek series were later created

•11 Star Trek movies later made

•Still popular years later

•”Ahead of its time” when it came to race/diversity on TV - set an example for other shows

Sources

Batchelor, Bob. "Topics / Introduction to the 1960s / Introduction to the 1960s (Overview)." Pop Culture Universe: Icons, Idols, Ideas. ABC-CLIO, 2015. Web. 10 Nov. 2015.

Batchelor, Bob, ed. "Entertainment of the 1960's." American Pop: Popular Culture Decade by Decade. Vol. 3. Westport, CT: Greenwood, 2009. Print.

Edelstein, Andrew J. The Pop Sixties: A Personal and Irreverent Guide. New York, NY: World Almanac Publications, 1985. Print.

Gitlin, Martin. "Star Trek (TV, 1966)." Pop Culture Universe: Icons, Idols, Ideas. ABC-CLIO, 2015. Web. 13 Nov. 2015.

Goldweber, Dave. "Star Trek." St. James Encyclopedia of Popular Culture. Ed. Sara Pendergast and Tom Pendergast. Vol. 4. Detroit: St. James Press, 2000. 508-511. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 12 Nov. 2015.

"Star Trek." International Encyclopedia of the Social Sciences. Ed. William A. Darity, Jr. 2nd ed. Vol. 8. Detroit: Macmillan Reference USA, 2008. 99. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 12 Nov. 2015.