Star Trek: The Original Series
Star Trek: The Original Series
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Star Trek: The Original Series

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Star Trek: The Original Series

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 acquired the retronym of Star Trek: The Original Series (TOS) to distinguish the show within the media franchise that it began.

The show is set in the Milky Way galaxy, c. 2266–2269. 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 H. "Bones" McCoy (DeForest Kelley). Each episode starts with the "Where no man has gone before" speech.

Norway Productions and Desilu Productions produced the series from September 1966 to December 1967. Paramount Television produced the show from January 1968 to June 1969. Star Trek aired on NBC from September 8, 1966, to June 3, 1969. It was first broadcast on September 6, 1966, on Canada's CTV network. While on NBC, Star Trek's Nielsen ratings were low and the network canceled it after three seasons and 79 episodes. In the United Kingdom, the series was not broadcast until July 12, 1969, when it was shown on the BBC One television network, coinciding with the Apollo 11 mission to land the first humans on the Moon. Through broadcast syndication, it became an international success in the 1970s, achieving cult classic status and a developing influence on popular culture. Star Trek eventually spawned a media franchise consisting of 11 television series, 13 feature films, and numerous books, games, and toys, and is now widely considered one of the most popular and influential television series of all time.

On March 11, 1964, Gene Roddenberry, a long-time fan of science fiction, drafted a short treatment for a science-fiction television series that he called Star Trek. This was to be set on board a large starship named S.S. Yorktown in the 23rd century bearing a crew dedicated to exploring the Milky Way galaxy.

Roddenberry noted a number of influences on his idea, some of which includes A. E. van Vogt's tales of the spaceship Space Beagle, Eric Frank Russell's Marathon series of stories, and the film Forbidden Planet (1956). Some have also drawn parallels with the television series Rocky Jones, Space Ranger (1954), a space opera that included many of the elements integral to Star Trek—the organization, crew relationships, missions, part of the bridge layout, and some technology. Roddenberry also drew heavily from C. S. Forester's Horatio Hornblower novels that depict a daring sea captain who exercises broad discretionary authority on distant sea missions of noble purpose. He often humorously referred to Captain Kirk as "Horatio Hornblower in Space".

Roddenberry had extensive experience in writing for series about the Old West that had been popular television fare in the 1950s and 1960s. Armed with this background, he characterized the new show in his first draft as "Wagon Train to the stars". Like the familiar Wagon Train, each episode was to be a self-contained adventure story, set within the structure of a continuing voyage through space.

In Roddenberry's original concept, the protagonist was Captain Robert April of the starship S.S. Yorktown. This character was developed into Captain Christopher Pike, first portrayed by Jeffrey Hunter. April is listed in the Star Trek Chronology, The Star Trek Encyclopedia, and at startrek.com as the Enterprise's first commanding officer, preceding Captain Pike. The character's only television/movie appearance was in the Star Trek: The Animated Series episode "The Counter-Clock Incident", until Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, where he is portrayed by Adrian Holmes.

Lloyd Bridges was offered a starring role on what became Star Trek. Bridges declined, saying he got along well with Roddenberry on a personal level but had no desire to work in science fiction.

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