Star Trek’s 50th anniversary: a half-century of entertainment

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Photo courtesy of Arc Games

2016 marks the 50th year since the first airing of the iconic “Star Trek” franchise. WS students are excited for this release.

Michael Perlak, Entertainment Editor

Anybody who has paid attention to entertainment in the past half century knows that Gene Roddenberry’s “Star Trek” series has certainly left a lasting impression on entertainment nationwide.
This year marks the 50th anniversary of the show’s original airing in September of 1966.
It starred Captain James T. Kirk, Officer Spock and Dr. McCoy, played by William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy and DeForest Kelley respectively, along with Engineer Scotty (James Doohan), Uhura (Nichelle Nichols), Sulu (George Takei), and Chekov (Walter Koenig).
Set in the 23rd century, the crew travelled to the far reaches of our galaxy on the ship USS Enterprise with a mission to “boldly go where no man has gone before.”
The original show lasted three seasons on CBS and attracted a decent following before its cancellation in 1969 due to poor ratings (this is ironic for a show about space, as 1969 was the year we first landed on the moon).
Ten years later the series saw its first movie, “Star Trek: The Motion Picture,” which was not met with praise by most.
The most notable of later “Star Trek” experiments in the 20th century was the reboot of the TV series titled “Star Trek: The Next Generation,” airing from 1987 to 1994.
This show took place about 100 hundred years later in the 24th century and had a new cast. The most memorable character in the show, played by Patrick Stewart, is Captain Jean-Luc Picard (a figure who was later revitalized in various internet jokes). Other major characters on the show included Commander William T. Riker (Jonathan Frakes), Worf (Michael Dorn), and Mr. Data (Brent Spiner).
In the 2000s, there were numerous reboot movies such as 2009s “Star Trek” (remake of the original movie), 2013s “Star Trek: Into Darkness,” and this year’s “Star Trek: Beyond.”
The series as a whole has collected millions of fans over the years, who were attracted by everything from exciting battle scenes in space to intriguing story lines.
But, of course, it is met with criticism when compared to its rival: the other major space franchise in entertainment, “Star Wars.”
“’Star Trek’ is one of the biggest science fiction franchises that exists,” said sophomore Logan Allen, “but I think ‘Star Wars’ deserves to be more recognized because it has withstood all the ridicule it has received without bounce-back.”
It can be pointed out that “Star Trek” in fact predates “Star Wars,” which only started in 1977. Overall, Star Trek is known for the precedent it set for science fiction.
Whatever your opinion or knowledge of the show, it can’t be denied that Star Trek has lived long and prospered.