Star Trek transports one to a time far, far ahead, a time of intergalactic travel and multi planetary interactions. The Star Trek fictitious universe was conceived and created by Gene Roddenberry in the 1960s. Its journey started off as a TV series in NBC in 1966. It chronicled the endeavors of Captain Kirk played by William Shatner and his crew ‘to boldly go where no man has gone before’. The crew is aboard starship Enterprise and is a member of the United Federation of Planets. Throughout, the series the crew members come in proximity to new worlds and civilizations as well as threats from rebellious alien species. The original series continued for 3 years and ended in 1969.
From 1973 to 1974, Star Trek: the Animated Series ran and comprised majority of the original cast. The animation allowed the depiction of vivid backgrounds and weird life forms. The Star Trek: Next Generation series accounts the voyage of an entirely new crew aboard a new starship again named Enterprise in time nearly a century ahead of the original series. The crew is led by Captain Jean-Luc Picard played by Patrick Stewart.
This series gained widespread acceptance and ran from 1987 to 1994. The next series was Star Trek: Deep space Nine in which the story revolved around the space station of the same name. The Star Trek Voyager in 1995 had a female Captain Kathryn Janeway as the crew captain. Star Trek: Enterprise (2001) showcased the years of the formation of the United Federation. The popularity of the TV series led to the making of 10 feature films, computer games and novels.
The Star Trek rise to fame was followed by an inevitable cult following and has led to the availability of various mementoes and collectibles such as model kits, trading cards, games, costumes, clothing, badges, figures, games as well as the series and films on CD or DVD. |
