Star Trek
Star Trek is an iconic sci-fi television series. Debuted in 1966 the series follows the adventures of the USS Starship enterprise under the leadership of their Captain, James T. Kirk and features many now famous characters, including Spock and Jean-Luc Picard.
The Star Trek franchise includes several television series, film adaptations, animations, and multiple forms of cultural merchandise. Star Trek has become a cult phenomenon. Fans of Star Trek are called Trekkies. They dress up and go to Star Trek conventions and in one of the languages referenced within the Star Trek universe, Klingon.
Star Trek first came out on September 8, 1966, and aired on NBC in the United States. Star Trek aired on Canada’s CTV network on September 6, 1966. At the time of its release, its ratings were low which led to it being canceled after 79 episodes. The series lasted until June 3, 1969.
The Star Trek franchise is currently owned by ViacomCBS who merged on December of 2019 after splitting as CBS Studios and VIACOM in the early 2000s. The split prevented Paramount Studios from being part of the franchise ownership and was forced to pay to make new Star Trek movies.
Star Trek is popular because the stories it portrays are humanistic and create an optimistic view on the future of humanity. The characters in the series are also relatable to their audience. The world depicted in Star Trek creates a contrast to the dark future that is typically seen in science fiction stories.