Star Trek – A Warp Speed History – Part I
The Star Trek universe was first introduced to the general public in 1966, when the first episode of the original Star Trek television series was aired. The series, which was created by Gene Roddenberry, revolved around Captain James Tiberius Kirk and his USS Enterprise crew as they embarked on a five year mission to 'explore strange new worlds' and 'boldly go where no man has gone before'.
The original Star Trek television series starred William Shatner as Kirk, Leonard Nimoy as Mr Spock, James Doohan as Scotty, DeForest Kelley as Dr McCoy, George Takei as Sulu, Walter Koenig at Chekov and Nichelle Nichols as Uhura. Although all of these Star Trek characters are now household names (and have been so for decades) the original television series ran for just three seasons, from 1966 to 1969.
Although two seasons of Star Trek: The Animated Series were aired between 1973 and 1974, the live-action versions of Captain Kirk and his crew didn’t reappear until the Star Trek: The Motion Picture was released by Paramount Pictures in 1979. This movie reunited the cast members of the original series and cost $46 million to make even though the original budget was $15 million. Fortunately for Star Trek fans, the movie grossed $139 million at the box office, making it financially viable for a sequel to be made.
Between 1982 and 1991, five Star Trek sequels were released which focused on the original crew of the USS Enterprise. These were, in chronological order, The Wrath of Khan, The Search for Spock, The Voyage Home, The Final Frontier and The Undiscovered Country.
In 1987, as the original USS Enterprise crew were enjoying huge success on the big screen, the first episode of a brand new Star Trek television series was aired. Star Trek: The Next Generation revolved around the adventures of Captain Jean-Luc Picard and his crew aboard the Enterprise-D, and the series was set approximately a century after the adventures of James T. Kirk. Star Trek: The Next Generation ran for seven seasons – four more than the original television series – and the last episode was first aired in 1994.
Later that same year, a new Star Trek movie was released. Star Trek: Generations featured both Captain Kirk and Captain Picard, as well as their respective crews, in a plot which was designed to pass the movie mantle from one crew to the other. Three further Star Trek movies featuring the crew from The Next Generation were released between 1996 and 2002, and these were entitled First Contact, Insurrection and Nemesis.
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