Star Trek 101: The Basics for Beginners.....Part 1

If you are a beginner to the Star Trek series and you have only seen the two J.J. Abrams films, then this section is for you. 

Gene Roddenberry, the creator of Star Trek, used the show to portray a future Earth that was void of war, racism, poverty, disease - where humans battled other aliens and not each other. It also gave him a way to address such issues in a non-threatening manner (Star Trek was created during very turbulent times - Vietnam, Civil Rights, etc.). 

There are four separate Star Trek series. Here they are listed in order of creation:

Star Trek, The Original Series (also known as TOS). 

Star Trek, The Original Series, originally aired 1966-1969. 

Officers:       

Captain: James Tiberius Kirk

First Officer: Spock (of the Planet Vulcan)

Chief Engineer: Lieutenant Commander Montgomery Scott (aka Scotty)

Communications Officer: Lieutenant Uhura

Chief Medical Officer: Dr. Leonard McCoy

Nurse: Christine Chapel

Navigator: Pavel Chekov

Helmsman: Hikaru Sulu

*Originally, the Captain was Christopher Pike in the original pilot. The actor, Jeffery Hunter, wasn't interested in the role so he turned it down and Captain Kirk was born.

Captain Pike - Original pilot episode.

* Originally, Majel Roddenberry (wife of creator Gene Roddenberry) played the female First Officer, known as Number One. However, the studios did not want a female first officer, so that role was given to Spock. 

*Because of racism/sexism, the studios refused to give Nichelle Nichols, who portrayed Lieutenant Uhura, the same working contract as the other actors. Since Gene Roddenberry had the power to hire her on a daily basis, he defied the studios and did so. 

Nichelle Nichols at Lt. Uhura.

Captain Kirk's ship The Enterprise

 Each Uniform color represents a department. Gold - Command & Navigation. Blue - Medical & Science Red - Communications, Engineering, Security.

Except for the main characters, almost everyone who wore a red shirt in the series dies in each episode. So, if you ever want to know who is going to die first, look for the "Red Shirts

Famous Sayings: "Beam Me Up Scotty", "He's Dead Jim", "To Boldly Go", "Dammit Jim I'm a Doctor", "Hailing Frequencies Open", "I'm giving her all she's got, Captain!".

Nichelle Nichols, who portrayed Uhura - was going to leave the show. The weekend that she was to leave, she  attended a NAACP event when someone told her that one of her biggest fans wanted to meet her. When she turned around, it was Dr. Martin Luther King. It was Dr. King who convinced her to stay on the show. 

Although the series was cancelled in 1969, it was not the end of the trek franchise because nine years later in 1978 Star trek was reborn on the big screen. The original cast returned in what was to be a new series originally called Star Trek Phase2. However, it was renamed and made into the two hour feature film Star Trek: The Motion Picture. which was followed by Star Trek 2: The Wrath Of Khan, Star Trek 3: The Search for Spock, Star Trek 4: The Voyage Home,
Star Trek 5: The Final Frontier and Star Trek 6 : The Undiscovered Country.

 Star Trek 6: The Undiscovered Country was Released on December 6, 1991 two months after Gene Roddenberry's Passing on October 24th 1991. This movie was Dedicated to him. This was the final film for the Original Crew and It would mark their retirement from starfleet but this would not be the end of Star Trek because the Trek adventure continues with a new crew and a new Captain. Star Trek: The Next Generation.