Cultural influence of Star Trek
But Roddenberry wanted to tell more sophisticated stories, using futuristic situations as analogies for current problems on Earth and showing how they could be rectified through humanism and optimism.
A major inspiration for Star Trek was the science fiction film Forbidden Planet (1956), whose influence is especially apparent in the pilot episode "The Cage".
At a time when there were few non-white or foreign roles in American television dramas, Roddenberry created a multi-ethnic crew for the Enterprise, including an African woman (Uhura), a Scotsman (Montgomery Scott), an Asian man (Hikaru Sulu), and an alien, the half-Vulcan Spock.
In the second season, reflecting the contemporaneous Cold War, Roddenberry added a Russian crew member, Pavel Chekov (played by Walter Koenig).
The original series is also credited with American television's first interracial kiss, between a white man and an African-American woman, although this had happened earlier in a British medical soap opera, Emergency – Ward 10.
Star Trek's contributions to television history include giving women jobs of respect, most notably through the casting of Nichelle Nichols, a black actress, as Uhura, the ship's communications officer.
In fact, Whoopi Goldberg recalled that the first time she saw Uhura, she excitedly told her mother: "Mama, there's a black woman on television and she ain't no maid!
[15] After the series, Nichelle Nichols, who played Uhura, used her public standing to speak for women and people of colour and against their exclusion from the human space program of the United States.
[23] However, this perceived difference in quality is not reflected in box-office performance with the odd and even numbered entries having a virtually identical attendance in the United States and Canada on average.
[33][full citation needed] The inventor of the first non-vehicular cell phone, Martin Cooper, states he was motivated to develop it from watching Star Trek.
Most widely believed to be the first K/S fan fiction is a 40-page privately-circulated novel written in 1968 by Jennifer Guttridge titled The Ring of Soshern, which was later printed in the highly controversial fanzine Alien Brothers without the author’s knowledge and soared in popularity and notoriety within the fandom.
The release in May 2009 of Star Trek, a reboot involving characters from the original series and set in an alternate timeline, was developed with the partial hope to resurrect the franchise.
[45][46] Jeff Jensen of Entertainment Weekly, in reviewing the new film states that the Star Trek franchise had "devolved into a near-irrelevant cultural joke, likely to inspire giggles and unprintable curses from even its most ardent supporters.
"When I was in high school, I'd smoke a joint in my closet in Yonkers, New York, and watch Star Trek," recalled Aerosmith front-man Steven Tyler.
These include Jay Chattaway, Cliff Eidelman, Michael Giacchino, Jerry Goldsmith, James Horner, Dennis McCarthy and Leonard Rosenman.
In the Cold War submarine film Crimson Tide (1995), in a moment of crisis, the USS Alabama's executive officer (played by Denzel Washington) gives a pep talk to his young radioman, urging him to repair the ship's radio by referring to Captain Kirk telling Scotty they need "more power".
In those series, Colonel Jack O'Neill makes unsuccessful pitches to name new space vessels after the Enterprise, and also gives the Vulcan salute in tribute to Trek.
In an earlier episode of Stargate: SG-1, O'Neill travels back in time to the 1960s and during an interrogation by an Air Force officer he refers to himself as "James T. Kirk, captain of the federation starship Enterprise".
Also the series features Wil Wheaton in a recurring role as a fictionalized version of himself plus guest appearances from Brent Spiner, LeVar Burton and William Shatner, and a voice-only cameo from Leonard Nimoy, who voices a Mr. Spock action figure talking to Sheldon in his dreams.
[citation needed] In August 2010, the members of the Internal Revenue Service created a six-minute Star Trek themed training video for an agency conference.
Revealed to the public in 2013, the spoof along with parodies of other media franchises was cited as an example of the misuse of taxpayer funds and "insulting the beloved sci-fi TV show".
[citation needed] Actor William Shatner re-enacted his battle fighting the Gorn, for an advertisement for the 2013 Star Trek video game (Kelvin Timeline).
[65] In the spot they have similar fight, but it takes place in a modern day living room starts with the two playing a console video game together in co-op mode.
[66] Starting in 2017, Seth MacFarlane produced a TV series heavily inspired by the original Star Trek and its Next Generation successor, titled The Orville.
Like the series it pays homage to, The Orville is set in the 25th century, features an interstellar alliance of Earth and many other planets, and follows an exploratory space vessel interacting with various monocultures.
In addition, a replica of the Sovereign-class USS Enterprise (NCC-1701-E) can be found in Laser Planet in Oakville, Ontario as well as in the Colossus theatres, in Langley, British Columbia and Laval, Québec.
At a time when Black women were seldom seen on screen, Nichelle’s portrayal as Nyota Uhura on Star Trek held a mirror up to America that strengthened civil rights,” said Administrator Bill Nelson.
After Apollo 11, Nichelle made it her mission to inspire women and people of color to join this agency, change the face of STEM and explore the cosmos.
Today, as we work to send the first woman and first person of color to the Moon under Artemis, NASA is guided by the legacy of Nichelle Nichols.”[73]This connection remained solid throughout the 1990s, when many of the cast members began narrating documentaries about the franchise's content and space exploration.
In 2020, the United States effort to develop a vaccine to protect against COVID-19 was named Operation Warp Speed, which is the brainchild of a huge Star Trek fan, Dr. Peter Marks.
