Fifty years ago Thursday, the first episode ofStar Trek: The Original Serieshit the small screen.
Dive deep into the colors, special effects, costumes, and plot lines of the very first episode.
(AllTrekshows are currently on Netflix.)
Credit: Everett Collection; Zade Rosenthal; Paramount
Its a scene youve seen a hundred times, if youre any kind ofStar Trekperson.
HowStar Trek IIIexplains Leonard Nimoy and William Shatner
Kirk and Spock.
Was anyone ever more important toStar Trekthen those two?
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WouldTrekhave ever beenTrekwithout them?
says Spock at the start of The Cage, the original pilot forStar Trekand the first timeStar Trekwas boring.
Great space hero Kirk relaxes with funny man McCoy and funny man Spock.
CBS
Spock has funny flying boots.
Hero Kirk needs no such boots.
Hero Kirk climbs great mountain, hands so strong, no equipment required, such skills has Kirk.
Opening credits always do that in Star Trek.
But somethings gone wrong this time.
Cliff Eidelmans score is minor-key, insinuating,infesting.
KHAAAAAANNNN! Nicholas Meyer’s hotblooded debut as a Star Trek filmmaker ignores The Motion Picture and reconceives the utopian series with a naval inflection. It also gives Kirk an identity crisis: Middle-aged and shipless, the Admiral looks a little lost. The film reactivates Kirk by bringing back an old nemesis: Khan, Moby Dick-quoting barbarian maniac genius played with muscular relish by Ricardo Montalban. Montalban gives an ecstatic performance, and his spirit pervades the filmmaking: Meyer stages the ship-to-ship combats with shadowy space-submarine tension, and clever shoots his tiny sets with a depth of field that makes Khan feel like an epic in miniature. “I feel old,” Kirk says at the beginning. “I feel young,” he says at the end. You know how he feels.Read the full deep dive into The Wrath of Khan here.Paramount Pictures
It puts you on edge.
The final credit flashes onscreen: Directed By Nicholas Meyer.
The stars shine dark.
And then the universe explodes.
Instead, here two creatures who are not quite creatures in any biological sense.
Data is an android, a soy-plastic fauxganism built for maximum strength and cosmic intelligence but zero EQ.
Its also the onlyNext Generationmovie we ever want to watch again.
Searching for J.J. Abrams in his firstStar Trekmovie
Who is the J.J. Abrams character inTrek 09?
Maybe thats a dumb question.
After all, no important contemporary director has done more to torpedo basic ideas about authorship than J.J. Abrams.
His filmography thus far comprises a threequel, an elevenquel, a twelvequel, and a sevenquel.
In 1979, the firstStar Trekmovie cost $46 million.
There was nothing runaway aboutInto Darkness.
Paramount got what they paid for; they wanted something that looked like it cost something.
CanStar Trekget beyondStar Trek Beyond?
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The bestStar Trekmovie in 25 years came out this summer.
It stars one woman, was directed by another woman, and lasts less than four minutes.
EveryStar TrekMovie, Ranked
EveryStar Trekmovie has problems.
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Entertainment Weeklys Ultimate Guide to Star Trekis available now.
STILLwant even moreStar Trek?
Check out additional coverage on Chris Pine, Simon Pegg, and more, ahead.
Simon Pegg looks back on the originalStar Trekmovies
Simon Pegg knowsStar Trek.
Paramount Pictures
The fan outrage over JJ Abrams’ reboot-sequel has overshadowed what is, ultimately, a very expensive-looking not-terrible action movie, with a borderline-surreal plot full of unshocking “twists” and bizarre exposition. (If you can follow the thread about the Klingon Empire, you’ve probably given this film more attention then it deserves.) The reduction of Zoe Saldana’s Uhura to frustrated-girlfriend status is actually more disturbing than the film’s shameless trailer-baiting “Carol Marcus Strips For No Reason” moment, and the whole Starfleet-Conspiracy angle was much better covered in The Undiscovered Country. But at least this most expensive Star Trek movie is pretty to look at.Read the full deep dive into Star Trek Into Darkness here.Paramount Pictures
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Kimberley French
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