September 8: On This Day in World History … briefly
Most notable historic snippets or facts extracted from the book ‘On This Day’ first published in 1992 by Octopus Publishing Group Ltd, London, as well as additional supplementary information extracted from Wikipedia.
1966: Landmark American science fiction television series ‘Star Trek’ premieres with its first-aired episode ‘The Man Trap’
Star Trek is an American science fiction television series created by Gene Roddenberry that follows the adventures of the Starship USS Enterprise (NCC-1701) and its crew. It later acquired the retronym of Star Trek: The Original Series (TOS) to distinguish the show within the media franchise that it began.
The original starship Enterprise – Wikipedia
The show is set in the Milky Way galaxy, roughly during the 2260s. The ship and crew are led by Captain James T Kirk (William Shatner), first officer and science officer Spock (Leonard Nimoy), and chief medical officer Leonard McCoy (DeForest Kelley). Shatner’s voice-over introduction during each episode’s opening credits stated the starship’s purpose:
Space: the final frontier. These are the voyages of the Starship Enterprise. Its five-year mission: to explore strange new worlds, to seek out new life and new civilizations, to boldly go where no man has gone before.
Wikipedia
The series was produced from September 1966 to December 1967 by Norway Productions and Desilu Productions, and by Paramount Television from January 1968 to June 1969. Star Trek aired on NBC from September 8, 1966, to June 3, 1969, and was actually seen first on September 6, 1966, on Canada’s CTV network. Star Trek‘s Nielsen ratings while on NBC were low, and the network canceled it after three seasons and 79 episodes. Several years later, the series became a bona fide hit in broadcast syndication, remaining so throughout the 1970s, achieving cult classic status and a developing influence on popular culture.
Star Trek II – The Wrath of Khan – Wikipedia
Star Trek eventually spawned a franchise, consisting of six additional television series, thirteen feature films, numerous books, games, and toys, and is now widely considered one of the most popular and influential television series of all time. The series contains significant elements of Space Western, as described by Gene Roddenberry and the general audience.
The original cast:-
William Shatner as Captain James T Kirk – The commanding officer of the USS Enterprise – Wikipedia
Leonard Nimoy as Commander Spock – The ship’s half human half Vulcan science officer and executive officer – second in command -WikipediaJames Doohan as Lieutenant Commander Montgomery ‘Scotty’ Scott – Chief engineer and second officer – third in command – Wikipedia
George Takei as Lieutenant Sulu – The ship’s helmsman – Wikipedia
DeForest Kelley as Lieutenant Commander Dr Leonard Bones McCoy – Wikipedia
Walter Koenig as Ensign Pavel Chekov – A Russian born navigator introduced in the second season – Wikipedia
Nichelle Nichols as Lieutenant Uhura – The communications officer – Wikipedia
Majel Barrett as Nurse Christine Chapel – The ship’s head nurse and also voiced the ship’s computer – Wikipedia
