Movies - TV
12 Reasons Why The Original Series Is The Best Star Trek Show
By LUKE Y. THOMPSON
Genre Flexibility
While most television shows in the ‘60s stuck to one genre, “Star Trek” was a space series that dabbled in everything from historical fiction to comedy, and explored difficult themes, like prejudice. This versatility was also a result of the constant back and forth between NBC – who wanted more action – while creator Gene Roddenberry wanted the show to be more intellectual.
The Catchphrases
Even if someone has never watched “Star Trek,” they probably know “Beam me up, Scotty,” which Kirk actually never said word-for-word in the series, but said variations like "Scotty, beam us up” and "Scotty, beam me up." Spock’s "Illogical" and "Fascinating" and Dr. McCoy's "Damn it, he's dead, Jim," and "I'm a doctor, not a [blank]" are also classic catchphrases.
MLK-Recommended
The late Nichelle Nichols (Uhura) wanted to quit “Star Trek,” but was convinced to stay by Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. King at an NAACP meeting. He told her that it was important for the television audience to see a Black woman playing the role of an authority figure and also said that “Star Trek” was the only show he and his wife let their three children stay up late to watch.
Modern Fandom
Trekkies were the first fans to collectively take action to keep a show from getting canceled with their letter-writing campaign helping “Star Trek” get renewed for Season 3. Fan conventions were also made popular by Trekkies, and common fandom tropes like the “Mary Sue” character and “slash” fan fiction also originated in the “Star Trek” fandom.
Diverse Casting
Nowadays, the sour corners of the internet complain of "forced diversity" every time an actor of color gets cast in a major sci-fi story, but for the original "Star Trek," that was the actual point. Gene Roddenberry went out of his way to depict a multi-racial, multinational crew to give Cold War-era audiences hope that in the future, racism, nationalism, and xenophobia would be quaint relics of the past.