By Anayenci Tena
Guest Columnist
I am of the strong belief that “Star Trek” (1966) is one of, if not, the best TV shows of all time.
Of course, there was good television before it came out such as “The Twilight Zone,” “Batman” (1966), and “The Addams Family.”
“Star Trek” just had more reach than the rest.
It didn’t just impact science fiction, but real science.
Nichelle Nichols, who played Lt. Nyota Uhura, helped to recruit women and people of color to join NASA.
Famous activist of the civil rights movement, Martin Luther King Jr., was also a trekkie, according to Nichelle Nichols.
The show also shined a light on TV legends Leonard Nimoy, William Shatner and eventually, Sir Patrick Stewart.
It was a show of a lot of firsts.
It was one of the first shows to feature a black woman in a high job position. Lt. Nyota Uhura was fifth in command of the entire USS Enterprise.
The show also had the first interracial kiss on television (Nichelle Nichols and William Shatner).
The show also featured a Russian character as an ally and prominent character in 1967.
Tensions were high with Russian people and American people because of the Cold War at the time.
Some of the actors also lead interesting lives before being on the show.
Canadian actor, James Doohan, who plays Scotty, the chief engineer, was a WWII veteran. In some scenes, he is clearly missing a finger. This is because Doohan’s finger was shot off.
“Star Trek” also had a prominent Asian character on the show.Lt. Hikaru Sulu, played by George Takei, was third in command of the USS Enterprise.
Takei said he was sent to an American Japanese internment camp when he was a kid. It’s absolutely inspirational to see him captaining the starship from time to time.
“Star Trek” made leaps in representation in television media.
Of course it had some problems like misogyny and conflicting ideas from episode to episode.
The series has made efforts since then to make the show more progressive in that aspect, but it still makes it one of the best and unique shows of all the history in television.
