Memory Alpha
Register
Advertisement
Memory Alpha

Template:Realworld

Star Trek: The Original Series (formally called just Star Trek) is the first Star Trek series. The first episode of the show aired on 8 September 1966 on NBC. The show was created by Gene Roddenberry as a "Wagon Train to the Stars". Star Trek was set in the 23rd century and featured the voyages of the starship Enterprise. Star Trek was later informally dubbed The Original Series, or TOS, after several spin-offs aired. The show lasted three seasons until canceled in 1969. When the show aired on TV, it was little-known and rarely watched, but after it was canceled and went into syndication, it exploded in popularity. It featured many themes such as a Utopian society and racial equality. Ten years later, Star Trek: The Motion Picture reunited the cast, aboard a refurbished USS Enterprise, on the big screen. They appeared in five subsequent films, ending with Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country in 1991, during production of the spin-off series Star Trek: The Next Generation and shortly before Gene Roddenberry's death. The series was also re-imagined with a new cast for a 2009 feature film of the same name.

Summary

"Space: the final frontier. These are the voyages of the starship Enterprise. Its five-year mission: to explore strange new worlds, to seek out new life and new civilizations, to boldly go where no one has gone before."

Main cast

Starring

Jeffrey Hunter, who portrayed Captain Pike, was the only star listed in the original pilot's opening credits.

Also starring

In addition, the following regulars were listed in the end credits as co-stars:

Production crew

Episode list

First pilot

Title Episode Production number Stardate Original airdate Remastered airdate
"The Cage" 0x01 6149-01 Not Given 1988-10-04 2009-05-02

Season 1

TOS Season 1, 29 episodes:

Title Episode Production number Stardate Original airdate Remastered airdate
"Where No Man Has Gone Before" 1x01 6149-02 1312.4–1313.8 1966-09-22 2007-01-20
"The Corbomite Maneuver" 1x02 6149-03 1512.2–1514.1 1966-11-10 2006-12-09
"Mudd's Women" 1x03 6149-04 1329.8–1330.1 1966-10-13 2008-04-26
"The Enemy Within" 1x04 6149-05 1672.1–1673.1 1966-10-06 2008-01-26
"The Man Trap" 1x05 6149-06 1513.1–1513.8 1966-09-08 2007-09-29
"The Naked Time" 1x06 6149-07 1702.0–1705.0 1966-09-29 2006-09-30
"Charlie X" 1x07 6149-08 1533.6–1535.8 1966-09-15 2007-07-14
"Balance of Terror" 1x08 6149-09 1709.2–1709.6 1966-12-15 2006-09-16
"What Are Little Girls Made Of?" 1x09 6149-10 2712.4 1966-10-20 2007-10-06
"Dagger of the Mind" 1x10 6149-11 2715.1–2715.2 1966-11-03 2007-10-13
"Miri" 1x11 6149-12 2713.5–2717.3 1966-10-27 2006-09-16
"The Conscience of the King" 1x12 6149-13 2817.6–2819.8 1966-12-08 2007-09-22
"The Galileo Seven" 1x13 6149-14 2821.5–2823.8 1967-01-05 2007-09-15
"Court Martial" 1x14 6149-15 2947.3–2950.1 1967-02-02 2008-05-10
"The Menagerie, Part I" 1x15 6149-16A 3012.4–3012.6 1966-11-17 2006-11-25
"The Menagerie, Part II" 1x16 6149-16B 3013.1–3013.2 1966-11-24 2006-12-02
"Shore Leave" 1x17 6149-17 3025.3–3025.8 1966-12-29 2007-05-26
"The Squire of Gothos" 1x18 6149-18 2124.5–2126.3 1967-01-12 2007-07-21
"Arena" 1x19 6149-19 3045.6–3046.2 1967-01-19 2006-10-21
"The Alternative Factor" 1x20 6149-20 3087.6–3088.7 1967-03-30 2007-12-01
"Tomorrow is Yesterday" 1x21 6149-21 3113.2–3114.1 1967-01-26 2007-05-05
"The Return of the Archons" 1x22 6149-22 3156.2–3158.7 1967-02-09 2007-12-08
"A Taste of Armageddon" 1x23 6149-23 3192.1–3193.0 1967-02-23 2007-12-15
"Space Seed" 1x24 6149-24 3141.9–3143.3 1967-02-16 2006-11-18
"This Side of Paradise" 1x25 6149-25 3417.3–3417.7 1967-03-02 2007-07-28
"The Devil in the Dark" 1x26 6149-26 3196.1 1967-03-09 2006-09-23
"Errand of Mercy" 1x27 6149-27 3198.4–3201.7 1967-03-23 2007-05-12
"The City on the Edge of Forever" 1x28 6149-28 Unknown 1967-04-06 2006-10-07
"Operation -- Annihilate!" 1x29 6149-29 3287.2–3289.8 1967-04-13 2008-02-23

Season 2

TOS Season 2, 26 episodes:

Title Episode Production number Stardate Original airdate Remastered airdate
"Catspaw" 2x01 60330 3018.2 1967-10-27 2006-10-28
"Metamorphosis" 2x02 60331 3219.8–3220.3 1967-11-10 2007-11-03
"Friday's Child" 2x03 60332 3497.2–3499.1 1967-12-01 2007-01-06
"Who Mourns for Adonais?" 2x04 60333 3468.1 1967-09-22 2008-01-12
"Amok Time" 2x05 60334 3372.7 1967-09-15 2007-02-17
"The Doomsday Machine" 2x06 60335 4202.9 1967-10-20 2007-02-10
"Wolf in the Fold" 2x07 60336 3614.9–3615.4 1967-12-22 2007-03-10
"The Changeling" 2x08 60337 3541.9 1967-09-29 2008-02-02
"The Apple" 2x09 60338 3715.0–3715.6 1967-10-13 2008-03-01
"Mirror, Mirror" 2x10 60339 Unknown 1967-10-06 2006-11-11
"The Deadly Years" 2x11 60340 3478.2–3479.4 1967-12-08 2007-11-10
"I, Mudd" 2x12 60341 4513.3 1967-11-03 2006-10-14
"The Trouble with Tribbles" 2x13 60342 4523.3–4525.6 1967-12-29 2006-11-04
"Bread and Circuses" 2x14 60343 4040.7–4041.7 1968-03-15 2007-06-02
"Journey to Babel" 2x15 60344 3842.3–3843.4 1967-11-17 2007-02-03
"A Private Little War" 2x16 60345 4211.4–4211.8 1968-02-02 2008-05-17
"The Gamesters of Triskelion" 2x17 60346 3211.7–3259.2 1968-01-05 2007-10-20
"Obsession" 2x18 60347 3619.2–3620.7 1967-12-15 2008-04-12
"The Immunity Syndrome" 2x19 60348 4307.1–4309.4 1968-01-19 2007-04-07
"A Piece of the Action" 2x20 60349 Unknown 1968-01-12 2007-04-28
"By Any Other Name" 2x21 60350 4657.5–4658.9 1968-02-23 2008-03-08
"Return to Tomorrow" 2x22 60351 4768.3–4770.3 1968-02-09 2007-07-07
"Patterns of Force" 2x23 60352 Unknown 1968-02-16 2007-05-19
"The Ultimate Computer" 2x24 60353 4729.4–4731.3 1968-03-08 2008-02-09
"The Omega Glory" 2x25 60354 Unknown 1968-03-01 2007-06-30
"Assignment: Earth" 2x26 60355 Unknown 1968-03-29 2008-05-03

Season 3

TOS Season 3, 24 episodes:

Title Episode Production number Stardate Original airdate Remastered airdate
"Spectre of the Gun" 3x01 60043-56 4385.3 1968-10-25 2008-07-19
"Elaan of Troyius" 3x02 60043-57 4372.5 1968-12-20 2008-03-29
"The Paradise Syndrome" 3x03 60043-58 4842.6–4843.6 1968-10-04 2007-02-24
"The Enterprise Incident" 3x04 60043-59 5027.3–5027.4 1968-09-27 2008-04-05
"And the Children Shall Lead" 3x05 60043-60 5029.5 1968-10-11 2007-04-14
"Spock's Brain" 3x06 60043-61 5431.4–5432.3 1968-09-20 2007-06-09
"Is There in Truth No Beauty?" 3x07 60043-62 5630.7–5630.8 1968-10-18 2008-03-22
"The Empath" 3x08 60043-63 5121.5 1968-12-06 2008-07-26
"The Tholian Web" 3x09 60043-64 5693.2 1968-11-15 2007-03-31
"For the World is Hollow and I Have Touched the Sky" 3x10 60043-65 5476.3–5476.4 1968-11-08 2007-01-27
"Day of the Dove" 3x11 60043-66 Unknown 1968-11-01 2008-01-05
"Plato's Stepchildren" 3x12 60043-67 5784.2–5784.3 1968-11-22 2007-06-16
"Wink of an Eye" 3x13 60043-68 5710.5–5710.9 1968-11-29 2007-01-13
"That Which Survives" 3x14 60043-69 Unknown 1969-01-24 2008-03-15
"Let That Be Your Last Battlefield" 3x15 60043-70 5730.2–5730.7 1969-01-10 2008-01-19
"Whom Gods Destroy" 3x16 60043-71 5718.3 1969-01-03 2008-05-24
"The Mark of Gideon" 3x17 60043-72 5423.4–5423.8 1969-01-17 2008-05-31
"The Lights of Zetar" 3x18 60043-73 5725.3–5725.6 1969-01-31 2008-06-07
"The Cloud Minders" 3x19 60043-74 5818.4–5819.3 1969-02-28 2008-07-12
"The Way to Eden" 3x20 60043-75 5832.3–5832.6 1969-02-21 2008-06-14
"Requiem for Methuselah" 3x21 60043-76 5843.7–5843.8 1969-02-14 2008-06-21
"The Savage Curtain" 3x22 60043-77 5906.4–5906.5 1969-03-07 2008-06-28
"All Our Yesterdays" 3x23 60043-78 5943.7–5943.9 1969-03-14 2007-04-21
"Turnabout Intruder" 3x24 60043-79 5928.5–5930.3 1969-06-03 2008-08-02

Behind the scenes

Concept

Star Trek was created by Gene Roddenberry, whose interest in science fiction dated back to the 1940s when he came into contact with Astounding Stories. Roddenberry's first produced science fiction story was The Secret Weapon of 117, which aired in 1956 on the Chevron Theatre anthology show. By 1963 Roddenberry was producing his first television series, The Lieutenant, at MGM.

In 1963, MGM was of the opinion that "true-to-life" television dramas were becoming less popular and an action-adventure show would be more profitable (this prediction turned out to be right, and led to series such as The Man from U.N.C.L.E). Roddenberry had already been working on a science fiction concept called Star Trek since 1960, and when he told MGM about his ideas, they were willing to take a look at them. As the production of The Lieutenant came to an end, Roddenberry delivered his first Star Trek draft to MGM. The studio was, however, not enthusiastic about the concept, and a series was never produced.

Roddenberry tried to sell his "wagon train to the stars" format to several production studios afterward, but to no avail. In 1964, it was rumored that Desilu was interested in buying a new television series. Desilu was a much smaller company than MGM, but Roddenberry took his chances. This lead to a three-year deal with Desilu in April 1964.

The first attempt to sell the Star Trek format to broadcasting network CBS (Desilu had a first proposal deal with the network) failed. CBS chose another science fiction project, Irwin Allen's more family-oriented Lost in Space instead of Roddenberry's more cerebral approach. But in May 1964, NBC's Vice-President of Programming Mort Werner agreed to give Roddenberry the chance to write three story outlines, one of which NBC would select to turn into a pilot.

One of the submitted story lines, dated 29 June 1964, was an outline for "The Cage", and this was the story picked up by NBC. Now, the daunting task that Roddenberry and his crew faced was to develop the Star Trek universe from scratch. Roddenberry recruited many people around him to help think up his version of the future. The RAND Corporation's Harvey P. Lynn acted as a scientific consultant, Pato Guzman was hired as art director, with Matt Jefferies as an assisting production designer. This phase of creativity and brainstorming lasted throughout the summer, until in the last week of September 1964 the final draft of the "The Cage" script was delivered to NBC, after which shooting of the pilot was approved.

The first pilot

In early October, preparations for shooting "The Cage" began. A few changes in the production crew were made: Roddenberry hired Morris Chapnick, who had worked with him on The Lieutenant, as his assistant. Pato Guzman left to return to Chile and was replaced by Franz Bachelin. Matt Jefferies finalized the design for the Enterprise and various props and interiors. By November 1964, the sets were ready to be constructed on stages Culver Studios Stage 14, 15, and 16. Roddenberry was not happy with the stages, since they had uneven floors and were not soundproof. Eventually, in 1966, the rest of the series was shot on Paramount stages 9 and 10, which were in better shape.

Casting of the characters was not a problem, apart from the lead role of Captain Pike (still known as "Captain April" at this point, later renamed "Captain Winter" before finally choosing "Pike") which Roddenberry convinced Jeffrey Hunter to play. Leonard Nimoy (Spock) had worked with Roddenberry on The Lieutenant. Majel Barrett, also a familiar face from The Lieutenant got the part of the ship's female first officer, Number One. Veteran character actor John Hoyt, who worked on many science fiction and fantasy projects before, was chosen to play the role of Doctor Phillip Boyce. Young Peter Duryea and Laurel Goodwin were hired as José Tyler and Yeoman J.M. Colt respectively. The extras were cast from a diversity of ethnic groups, which was significant because integration was not a usual occurrence in 1960s television, and segregation was still a reality in the United States.

To produce the pilot episode, Robert Justman was hired as assistant director; he had worked on The Outer Limits shortly before. Makeup artist Fred Phillips was brought in as well, whose first job it was to create Spock's ears. Another veteran from The Outer Limits was producer-director Byron Haskin, who joined as associate producer. On 27 November 1964, the first scenes of "The Cage" (or "The Menagerie," as it was briefly known), were shot. Filming was scheduled to be eleven days, however the production went highly overbudget and overschedule, resulting in sixteen shooting days and $164,248 plus expenses.

But there were still a lot of visual effects to be made. An eleven-foot filming model of the USS Enterprise, designed by Matt Jefferies, was built by Richard Datin, Mel Keys and Vernon Sion in Volmer Jensen's model shop, and was delivered to the Howard Anderson Company on 29 December 1964.

In February 1965, the final version of "The Cage" was delivered at NBC and screened in New York City. NBC officials liked the first pilot. Desilu's Herb Solow says that NBC was surprised by how realistic it looked, and that it was "the most fantastic thing we've ever seen." The reason the pilot was rejected was because it was believed that it would attract only a small audience, and they wanted more action and adventure. They also had problems with the "satanic" Spock and the female first officer (Number One) played by Majel Barrett. However, NBC was convinced that Star Trek could be made into a television series, and that NBC itself had been at fault for choosing the "The Cage" script from the original three stories pitched. Also, after spending $630,000 on "The Cage" (the most expensive TV pilot at the time) they didn't want to have their money wasted. NBC then made the unprecedented move to order a second pilot.

The second pilot

For the second pilot, NBC requested three story outlines again. These were "Where No Man Has Gone Before" by Samuel A. Peeples, "Mudd's Women" and "The Omega Glory" by Roddenberry. Although it was the most expensive of the three, NBC chose "Where No Man Has Gone Before", as it had the most action and most outer space spectacle. However, the other two premises were also made into episodes of the series later.

Filming the second pilot began in July 1965, and took nine days to complete. The entire cast of "The Cage" was replaced except Spock. Jeffrey Hunter chose not to reprise his role as Captain Pike, mostly by the advice of his wife, who felt that "science fiction ruins her husband's career". Roddenberry wanted both Lloyd Bridges and Jack Lord for the role of the new captain, however both declined. Finally William Shatner was chosen, who had science fiction experience before, acting in episodes of The Twilight Zone and The Outer Limits. The new captain was named James R. Kirk (later renamed James T. Kirk).

For the role of the chief medical officer, Roddenberry chose veteran actor Paul Fix. Canadian actor James Doohan got the role of chief engineer Scott, and young Japanese-American George Takei was featured as ship's physicist Sulu. The latter two reprised their roles in the upcoming series. Other actors considered for being regulars were Lloyd Haynes as communications officer Alden and Andrea Dromm as Yeoman Smith, but neither of them were re-hired after the pilot.

Many of the production staff were replaced. Robert Dawn served as head make-up artist, however Fred Phillips returned to the position in the series itself. Academy Award winner cinematographer Ernest Haller came out of semi-retirement to work as the director of photography. Associate producer Byron Haskin was replaced by Robert Justman who now shared double duties as producer and assistant director.

The Enterprise model was updated for the second pilot, and many new outer space effects shots were made, which were mostly reused in the series itself. The sets were also updated a bit, most notably the main bridge and the transporter room. Uniforms, props and sets were mostly reused from "The Cage", however some new props (including the never-seen-again phaser rifle) and a brand new matte painting (planet Delta Vega) were made specially for this episode.

"Where No Man Has Gone Before" was accepted by NBC and the first season of a regular series was ordered for broadcasting in the 1966-67 television season. History was made.

The series begins

Preparation for the first regular season began in early 1966. All the Enterprise interior sets were updated, as well as the introduction of brand new uniforms. The look of the show became more colorful and more vivid. The Enterprise model was also updated once more. Also, the entire production was moved from Desilu's Culver City studios to the main Gower Street studio's Stage 9 and 10 (Paramount Stage 31 and 32 from 1967 onwards) in Hollywood.

Kirk (Shatner) and Spock (Nimoy) were kept as the series stars, with Grace Lee Whitney joining the two as Yeoman Janice Rand (replacing Andrea Dromm (Yeoman Smith)). Whitney worked with Roddenberry a year before on an unsold pilot titled Police Story. Publicity photos, promoting the new series were made at this time, with the three of them, mostly using props left from the two pilots (most notably the aforementioned phaser rifle). Shatner and Nimoy wore their new uniforms on these photographs, while Whitney had to wear an old, pilot version.

Scott (Doohan) and Sulu (Takei) were also kept, the latter becoming the ship's helmsman instead of physicist. Two additions made the Enterprise main crew complete: DeForest Kelley was hired to play the new chief medical officer, Leonard McCoy, as Roddenberry had known him from previous projects, including the aforementioned Police Story. Actress Nichelle Nichols got the role of communications officer Uhura, who became a symbol of the racial and gender diversity of the show. Nichols was a last minute addition, weeks before filming began on the first regular episode.

Jerry Finnerman became the new director of photography, while Fred Phillips, Matt Jefferies and Rolland M. Brooks returned to their former positions. Writer John D.F. Black was brought in as the second associate producer (next to Justman). While Roddenberry and Black handled the script and story issues, Justman was in charge of the physical aspects of production.

Filming of the first regular episode, "The Corbomite Maneuver" began on 24 May 1966. Finally Star Trek debuted on NBC with a "Sneak Preview" episode at 8:30PM (EST) on 8 September 1966. NBC chose "The Man Trap" (the fifth episode in production order) to air first, mainly because they felt it was more of a "traditional monster story" and featured more action.

The first season

In August 1966 several changes were made in the Star Trek production staff. Roddenberry stepped down as line producer and became the executive producer. His replacement was Gene L. Coon, who also regularly contributed to the series as a writer. While Black had also left the series, story editor Steven W. Carabatsos came in, who now shared story duties with Roddenberry and Coon. To handle post-production, Edward K. Milkis was brought in by Justman. Carabatsos had left Star Trek near the end of the season, and was replaced by D.C. Fontana, formerly Roddenberry's secretary and a writer for the series.

Background

  • Gene Roddenberry wrote lyrics for the "Theme from Star Trek" in order to secure a partial writer's credit for the song. These lyrics were never recorded as part of the original theme song, and thus were never aired.
  • Due to the overall length of the episodes of the original series, several minutes of each episode are usually cut during the show's re-runs, notably on the Sci-Fi Channel. Starting in April 2006, the G4 network began airing the full length episodes in "Uncut Marathons" on Saturdays. G4 stopped airing these full-length versions in November 2006, and has discontinued its run of Star Trek 2.0, which was a trivia-oriented and interactive version of the show for the viewers. For current airings see Where to watch.
  • Star Trek inadvertently created a split infinitive in its opening tagline: "To boldly go where no man/one has gone before." This fact was memorably highlighted by Cambridge-educated sci-fi writer and satirist Douglas Adams who wrote in his Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy that, "all dared to brave unknown terrors, to do mighty deeds, to boldly split infinitives that no man had split before, and thus was the Empire forged." The pilot episode of Star Trek: Enterprise, "Broken Bow", has Zefram Cochrane delivering that phrase without the split infinitive as "to go boldly." The English rule forbidding split infinitives appeared in the mid-19th century; however, modern reference books do not include this rule, and the "to boldly go" from Star Trek is a prime example of where a split infinitive is perfectly acceptable.
  • The Original Series has been nominated for and won a number of awards over the years. Some of the awards include:
    • The series was nominated for thirteen Emmy Awards during its run, but did not win any.
    • It was nominated eight times for the "Best Dramatic Presentation" Hugo Award, sweeping the nominees in 1968. It won twice, and Roddenberry won a special award in 1968.
    • The 2003 "Pop Culture Award" in the TV Land Awards.
    • The 2005 Saturn Award for "Best DVD Retro Television Release."

Remastered

Notice
It has been suggested that a section of this article be split off to a different page.
You can discuss this suggestion on the talk page.
MarsTOSremastered-Intro

A shot from the revamped intro

Comparison TOS original remastered

Comparison of effect shots. Top: original, bottom: remastered

On 31 August 2006, CBS Paramount Television announced that, in celebration of the 40th anniversary of Star Trek, the show would be returning to broadcast syndication for the first time in sixteen years. Beginning with "Balance of Terror", each of the series' 79 episodes will be digitally remastered with all new visual effects and music. The refurbished episodes have been converted from the original film to a high-definition format similar to that used on Star Trek: Enterprise. The opening theme has been re-recorded in digital stereo with new vocals by Elin Carlson, and William Shatner's opening monologue has been remastered from the original elements. Most notably, though, many of the special effects have been recreated using computer-generated imagery by CBS Digital. The opening credits sequence has been revamped, several matte paintings have received a CGI face-lift, and spaceship exteriors including the Romulan Bird-of-Prey and the Klingon battle cruiser have been recreated using state-of-the-art digital effects. However, for some reason, the credits at the end of the episode have not been remastered and digitally enhanced. The new computer-generated Enterprise is based on the exact measurements of the original model, which is now on display in the gift shop of the Smithsonian Institution's National Air and Space Museum in Washington, DC.

In interview with TVGuide.com, project supervisor Michael Okuda said, "We're taking great pains to respect the integrity and style of the original... Our goal is to always ask ourselves: What would Roddenberry have done with today's technology?" Denise Okuda and Dave Rossi have also been involved with this relaunch of the original series; Niel Wray is the visual effects supervisor. A Q & A with the production staff was posted by the official Star Trek website on 6 September 2006. A video preview and interviews with people involved in the project can be viewed by clicking the link to the left of the page.

The "new" Star Trek debuted 16 September 2006. See side-by-side comparisons of the new visual effects from the first episode broadcast, "Balance of Terror".

The first few episodes were rushed, as CBS only gave its team "one month to deliver the first two episodes with over 120 new effects shots." Starting with "The Trouble with Tribbles", a new, improved Enterprise model was used. Members of the effects team have commented that they may go back to the earlier episodes and re-render the ship scenes with the new model. [1] [2]

When TOS cast member Leonard Nimoy heard about these changes in special effects, Nimoy simply responded "Shame on them" for changing the effects, saying that it was "out-of-bounds" for them to do that. However, after viewing a remastered episode, reportedly he was quoted saying, "I'm amazed." [3]

The seasons were to be released in an HD DVD/DVD combination set, with season one released in November 2007. The release of seasons two and three were canceled in February 2008 due to the decline of HD DVDs in comparison to rival format Blu-ray. However, the second season was released on regular DVD on 5 August 2008. [4] all three seasons are available on Blu-ray Disc, as well as through Apple's iTunes Store (along with a best of collection for budget minded fans), with select episodes available on Microsoft's Xbox 360 Video Marketplace. Unlike the HD DVD releases, the Blu-ray editions also include the original versions of each episode, allowing the original special effects and images to be seen in high-definition for the first time.

CBS Digital wrapped up their visual effects work on TOS Remastered just before midnight on 21 April 2008. The last episode they worked on was the show's first pilot, "The Cage". The last shot rendered was of the Enterprise "sailing off into the unknown at the end of the episode." [5]

Related topics

Media

External links

Advertisement