Star Trek: The Original Series” (ST: TOS) was the first American television series to cast an African American female in a leading and non-menial role. It also showcased a multicultural crew. The casting of Nichelle Nichols, as Lieutenant Uhura the communications officer, was a breakthrough for U.S. society at the time. Martin Luther King Jr., the civil rights leader, personally celebrated her work even asking her to continue in her position when she was considering leaving. Soon after her character
become legendary on September 8, 1966 at 8:30 PM on NBC. America was never the same after Star Trek made its debut that night. The series did not receive the recognition it deserved until it was canceled after only three years and later returning in syndication. However, Star Trek was never an ordinary science fiction program to begin with. Comparison to other programs in this genre is difficult because Star Trek is certainly not an unconventional science fiction program- it is a science fiction program
Undercurrents of Imperialism and Colonialism in Star Trek
Star Trek mirrored the Cold War/Vietnam paranoia of the late sixties—in command of the Enterprise, the Federation had an uneasy peace with its adversaries, the Klingons and Romulans (there were many episodes that came down to Kirk vs. the Klingons). In one episode Kirk and his Klingon counterpart each tried to influence an emerging culture to see things their way—remember Vietnam, Chile, and El Salvador? In another, Kirk and Spock were
Star Trek
When most people hear William Shatner split the infamous infinitive: “to boldly go…,” they conjure a mental image of middle-aged men, donning tight Starfleet uniforms, perusing immense Trekkie conventions; they picture these fans buying things like hand-phaser television remotes and costumes for their pets and discussing the recent Klingon translation of Hamlet. Few people, however, take the time to investigate the phenomenon that could spawn such fandom. The truth: for 30 years Star