50 Years: A Long and Prosperous Journey
SALT MONSTERS, SPACE SHUTTLES, SHAKESPEAREAN ACTORS AND SPINOFFS ALL BECAME PART OF THIS GALACTIC ADVENTURE
1964 Desilu Studios tries to sell Star Trek to CBS, which declines and decides to air Lost in Space instead.
September 1966 NBC broadcasts the first episode, “The Man Trap”: Kirk outwits a salt-loving alien who has eyes for McCoy.
March 1967 McCoy says, “I’m a doctor, not a bricklayer”— first variation of this phrase.
1967 Even at its ratings peak, Star Trek ranks No. 52, behind such shows as Mr. Terrific and Iron Horse.
December 1967 “The Trouble with Tribbles”: peak of Star Trek humor.
Summer 1968 NBC announces the cancellation of the series but receives 1 million letters of protest and renews it.
November 1968 TV’s first interracial kiss takes place between Kirk and Uhura. Censors insist on “no racial overtones,” no open mouths.
1969 After 79 episodes, NBC cancels the series.
January 1972 The first Star Trek convention is held in New York City. Sci-fi guru Isaac Asimov attends.
1975 Leonard Nimoy writes I Am Not Spock.
1976 After receiving thousands of letters from Trekkers, NASA names its space-shuttle prototype Enterprise.
November 1979 Star Trek: The Motion Picture is released. The franchise lives!
December 1982 Star Trek II: Wrath of Khan is released; it features Kirstie Alley and Ricardo Montalbán’s cleavage. Spock dies.
June 1984 Star Trek III: The Search for Spock. Spock lives!
November 1986 Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home premieres. In 1980s San Francisco, Spock and Kirk save the whales.
1987 TV series Star Trek: The Next Generation debuts, with Shakespearean actor Patrick Stewart on the bridge and an android riding shotgun.
June 1989 Star Trek V: The Final Frontier, directed by William Shatner himself, is released.
October 1990 With its 80th episode, TNG surpasses the original series’s run. Classic Trek fans are aghast.
October 1991 Gene Roddenberry dies.
March 1992 “Star Trek the Exhibition” opens at the National Air and Space Museum and becomes its most heavily attended exhibit ever.
January 1993 Spinoff series Deep Space Nine debuts. Alien soap opera.
November 1994 Star Trek Generations. Kirk dies. Really.
January 1995 Star Trek: Voyager premieres. Lost in space.
November 1996 Star Trek: First Contact premieres, directed by Jonathan Frakes. The Borg make their big-screen debut opposite Capt. Picard and crew.
December 1998 The film Star Trek: Insurrection features Picard rebelling against the Federation—and receives mixed reviews from critics.
September 2001 Star Trek: Enterprise premieres; the television prequel series takes place 100 years before the original series.
December 2002 The box-office flop Star Trek: Nemesis is released in theaters. Picard and his crew make their final film appearance as they travel to Romulus, the Romulan home world.
May 2005 After 98 episodes, Star Trek: Enterprise is canceled because of poor ratings.
May 2009 Director J.J. Abrams premieres Star Trek. The film, which grosses more than any other Star Trek movie, stars Chris Pine and Zachary Quinto as Kirk and Spock from the original series.
May 2013 A sequel to J.J. Abrams’s reimagined Star Trek is released, bringing aboard Benedict Cumberbatch as Khan.
February 2015 Leonard Nimoy, who portrayed Spock for 47 years, dies at age 83.
July 22, 2016 Premiere date of Star Trek Beyond. Directed by Justin Lin, it’s the third installment of the reboot film series. Idris Elba joins the cast.
August 2016 The Rio Suites Hotel in Las Vegas is to host the five-day Official Star Trek 50th Anniversary Convention.
January 2017 CBS is to release a new Star Trek television series that will be aired on its streaming service.