60 years ago, on September 8th, 1966, Star Trek premiered on NBC, so I wanted to post something about it before the day is over. The show was saved from cancellation twice, but couldn't make it a third time, and so it was canceled after 3 seasons, with a total of 79 episodes. It found a second life in syndication, becoming a success, which gave Paramount the idea of reviving the show (under the title Star Trek Phase II) to be its main show on a planned fourth network to compete against ABC, NBC and CBS. But then, the success of Star Wars in 1977 made them change their minds, and so it was decided to bring the whole original cast in a movie, which premiered in 1979 under the title Star Trek: The Motion Picture. 5 more movies followed, and also, in 1987, a new TV show, with a new cast, titled Star Trek: The Next Generation, which lasted for 7 seasons, and then had 4 movies of its own. Three other shows were also produced: Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Star Trek: Voyager, and Star Trek: Enterprise. While the first two also lasted 7 seasons each, the last one was canceled at the end of its 4th season, just as it was finding its footing...
Currently, the rights to the title "Star Trek" have been acquired by CBS, but sadly, they've just applied the label to productions which don't respect the lore of the original, and they don't even bother trying to hide the fact that they are using it as propaganda for their own agenda. While Star Trek used science fiction to expose different issues to the public, it let them reach their own conclusions and make their own decisions, while the current productions using that name blatantly try to impose their own point of view on the audience (or whatever is left of it at this point). It's the fandom which is currently keeping the true spirit of Star Trek alive, instead, as much as that infuriates the current usurpers.
I leave you with a couple videos of models from my diecast collection: the original show's Constitution-Class starship USS Enterprise and a Romulan Bird of Prey, both from Johnny Lightning's "Legends of Star Trek" series, Release 1:
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