Star Trek: From Concept to Time Enduring Cult Classic
By Mike “Rubber Warrior” Plunkett
Over the last forty years much has been written about Star Trek and Gene Roddenberry, its creator. It’s been said that Roddenberry presented his vision of mankind centuries into the future, at a point in time where the human race had not only managed to come to terms with itself, learning from the follies of its history, earth had managed to branch out to other worlds as a key figure among a Federation of planets and alien cultures.
The whole Star Trek concept was a good one, an idealistic vision underscored by hope. But the fact is behind that colorful curtain of concept Roddenberry and the networks were looking to make a buck by pitching something bold and different. Westerns were the order of the day on television and Roddenberry masterfully sold the idea of Star Trek somewhat based on that genre to NBC, pitching it as a sort of futuristic “wagon train to the stars”; an action adventure series with a cast of diverse characters and a strong recognizable hero, with weekly adventures that would stimulate the imagination, entertain the masses and move product for the sponsors. In the years since that first pitch, Star Trek has gone on to become one of the most successful franchises in television history, spawning four follow-up series, eleven movies and countless merchandise. In short it went on to become a time-proven success of legendary proportions and arguably the most popular television series of all-time.
As a five year-old child I discovered Star Trek on Sunday afternoons, a time when my father would be surfing the channels in wind-down mode after a hectic week. I was drawn to the bold colors the show made extensive use of in their imaginative sets and costumes, not to mention Mr. Spock, the character masterfully portrayed by actor Leonard Nimoy. Those bright and extreme colors were an integral part of the show; in those days the networks wanted to pitch shows of color as back then, the industry stood to incrementally benefit from the ever increasing sales of color televisions. The special effects were an added bonus and as a five year-old they were somewhat awe inspiring. Relative to today those effects are undeniably primitive but at the time and given my age it was all very well put together and unique. As for the stories, over the course of three years the pendulum often swung to extremes. Roddenberry loved to deliver hidden messages to the audience and all too often the episodes came off as thinly veiled social commentary on the times. At other points excellent science fiction or all out action and adventure would be the focal point of an episode. As for the acting, so often it is described as being over the top, but the fact is television specialized in larger than life stories with bold and dramatic characterization back in those days. It was the 60’s; the mainstream news outlets carried the plight of the Cold War, Vietnam and social upheaval on a daily basis. The post-war love affair with middle-class urban existence had ground down to a near halt. Peace protests, rock music, free love, the anti-establishment mindset and the hippie movement were in full swing. People looked for distraction when they tuned into television. They wanted to be taken away on a journey. It was a time where characters were often written boldly in broad strokes and a period where the hottest show on television featured Adam West in tights.
The original pitch to the networks resulted in a pilot known as “The Cage”. It was deemed too cerebral by the network execs and Roddenberry was asked to retool the concept for the sake of broader appeal. The result was a rare for the industry second pilot, this time with a new star, the energetic William Shatner as Captain James T. Kirk, whose passion and sense of drama spilled over onto the screen with terrific effect. That second pilot, “Where No Man Has Gone Before” took Trek to another level, clinching network commitment, and as they say, the rest is history.
Watching the original series today one cannot help but notice that it was conceived at a point in time when political correctness wasn’t prevalent in society. Women were often objectified and the solution to a problem often resembled many of the cowboy shoot ‘em ups of the period, but if you stepped back and allowed yourself to enjoy Trek for what it actually was, you see that it was good, plain old-fashioned fun.
The story of Star Trek has over time taken on mythical proportions. Aside from generations of fanfare, the never ending tales of behind the scenes discontent and feuding amongst its key players and the many treatments given it such as the release of a remastered version of the series on DVD a few years back, or J.J. Abrams highly successful 2009 major motion picture interpretation, I continually marvel at how enduring Roddenberry’s golden child actually has been. It has sparked interest for nearly half a century. Amazingly, on a personal level, I love the show as much now and even more than I did as a child, years after being introduced to it; racing home from school each day just in time to catch it on an obscure Buffalo cable station. But despite all the talk, the myth and the lore associated with its development and evolution, I cannot help but believe that way back in the day when it was being made and struggling in the ratings, very few involved with it, if anybody, realized they were creating a classic that would endure for decades. Watch it and enjoy it for what it is; high quality entertainment from a period where television was meant to take you on a journey.