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Star Trek: The Original Series

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Star Trek: The Original Series (referred to as Star Trek prior to any spin-offs) is the first Star Trek series. The first episode of the show aired on 6 September 1966 on CTV in Canada, followed by a 8 September 1966 airing on NBC in America. 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 USS Enterprise under Captain James T. Kirk .

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 first aired on TV, and until lowering budget issues in its third season resulted in a noticable drop in quality episodes and placed in a 10 pm Friday night death slot by the network, Star Trek regularly performed respectably in its time slot. After it was canceled and went into syndication , however, its popularity exploded. It featured themes such as a Utopian society and racial equality, and the first African-American officer in a recurring role.

Ten years later, Star Trek: The Motion Picture reunited the cast on the big screen aboard a refurbished USS Enterprise . 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. Several original series characters also appeared in the seventh movie, Star Trek Generations , and in other Star Trek productions.

1 Opening credits
2.1 Starring
2.2 Also starring
3 Production crew
4.1 First pilot
4.2 Season 1
4.3 Season 2
4.4 Season 3
5.1 Concept
5.2 The first pilot
5.3 The second pilot
5.4 The series begins
5.5 The first season
5.6 Syndication
5.7 Reception
5.8 Remastered
6 Related topics
8 External links

Opening credits [ ]

Main Title Theme (Season 1) file info (composed by Alexander Courage )
Main Title Theme (Season 2-3) file info (composed by Alexander Courage )

Main cast [ ]

Starring [ ].

William Shatner as Captain Kirk

Also starring [ ]

Leonard Nimoy as Mr. Spock
DeForest Kelley as Dr. McCoy ( 1967 - 1969 ; co-star 1966 - 1967 )

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

James Doohan as Scotty
Nichelle Nichols as Uhura
George Takei as Sulu
Walter Koenig as Chekov ( 1967 - 1969 )
Majel Barrett-Roddenberry as Christine Chapel
Grace Lee Whitney as Janice Rand

Production crew [ ]

Gene Roddenberry – Creator, Writer, Producer, Executive Producer
Gene L. Coon – Writer, Producer
John Meredyth Lucas – Writer, Producer, Director
Fred Freiberger – Producer (1968-69)
Robert H. Justman – Associate Producer (Season 1-2), Co-Producer (Season 3), First Assistant Director (two pilots)
D.C. Fontana – Writer, Script Consultant (1967-68)
Steven W. Carabatsos – Writer, Story Consultant (1966)
John D.F. Black – Associate Producer, Writer, Story Editor (1966)
Arthur H. Singer – Story Consultant (1968-69)
Byron Haskin – Associate Producer (first pilot)
Walter "Matt" Jefferies – Production Designer, Art Director
William E. Snyder – Director of Photography (first pilot)
Ernest Haller – Director of Photography (second pilot)
Jerry Finnerman – Director of Photography (61 episodes, 1966-1968)
Keith Smith – Director of Photography (1 episode, 1967)
Al Francis – Director of Photography (16 episodes, 1968-1969), Camera Operator (61 episodes, 1966-1968)
Jim Rugg – Supervisor of Special Effects
Rolland M. Brooks – Art Director (34 episodes, 1965-1967)
Fred B. Phillips – Make-up Artist
Robert Dawn – Make-up Artist (second pilot)
William Ware Theiss – Costume Designer
Gregg Peters – First Assistant Director (Season 1), Unit Production Manager (Season 2-3), Associate Producer (Season 3)
Claude Binyon, Jr. – Assistant Director (third season)

Episode list [ ]

List of TOS episodes by airdate
List of TOS remastered episodes by airdate

First pilot [ ]

Season 1 [ ].

TOS Season 1 , 29 episodes:

Season 2 [ ]

TOS Season 2 , 26 episodes:

Season 3 [ ]

TOS Season 3 , 24 episodes:

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, greatly aided with the help of Desilu Executive Herb Solow . This led 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, as Culver Studios had been established in the silent movie era when soundproofing had not been an issue to consider. 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") who 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 had worked on many science fiction and fantasy projects before, was chosen to play the role of Doctor Phil 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 H. 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 over budget and over schedule, resulting in sixteen shooting days and US$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 Vern 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). 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 US$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 , and " 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 , who had previous science fiction experience acting in episodes of The Twilight Zone and The Outer Limits , was chosen. 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, though Sulu was a helmsman in the 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 H. 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, most of which were reused in the series itself. The sets were also updated a bit, most notably the main bridge and the transporter room. Most of the uniforms, props, and sets were reused from " The Cage ", however some new props (including the never-seen-again phaser rifle ) and a brand new matte painting (the 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 onward) 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 as Yeoman Smith). Whitney had 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 8:30 pm (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, sharing 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.

Syndication [ ]

See : Syndication

Due to the overall length of the episodes of The Original Series , several minutes of each episode are frequently cut during the show's reruns, 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 .

Reception [ ]

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."

Aaron Harberts and James Frain cited TOS as their favorite Star Trek series. ( AT : " O Discovery, Where Art Thou? ")

Remastered [ ]

On 31 August 2006 , CBS Paramount Television announced that, in celebration of the 40th anniversary of Star Trek , the show would return to broadcast syndication for the first time in sixteen years. The series' 79 episodes were digitally remastered with all new visual effects and music. The refurbished episodes have been converted from the original film to high-definition video, making it on par with modern television formats.

External links [ ]

Star Trek: The Original Series at Wikipedia
Star Trek: The Original Series at Memory Beta , the wiki for licensed Star Trek works
Star Trek: The Original Series at StarTrek.com
Star Trek: The Original Series at the Internet Movie Database
Star Trek: The Original Series at the Movie and TV Wiki
Public Radio Special: The Peace Message in Star Trek
1 Abdullah bin al-Hussein

Star Trek and the 1960s

W hen John F. Kennedy delivered his inaugural address on January 20, 1961, Gene Roddenberry was 40 years old and already a reasonably successful television writer. He had worked on the kinds of dramatic shows that dominated 1950s television – police procedurals, westerns – and had done well in both with scripts that displayed youthful energy, boundless optimism, and, whenever allowed, social justice. He dreamed of writing science fiction that celebrated an American future based on these ideals. So Roddenberry must have been inspired on that cold January morning as he heard this new president, a man not much older than he, proclaim the passing of history’s torch to their generation. Kennedy’s speech soared with an almost utopian vision: a country enriched by volunteerism, bravery, science, and social progress boldly facing humanity, seeking to remake the world in its image. This spirit found its way into Roddenberry’s modernist television masterpiece, Star Trek . But by the time the show finally debuted on September 8, 1966, Kennedy-era optimism had buckled under protest, misstep, and hubris. Star Trek was left to defend those ideals to a country that no longer recognized them.

When Roddenberry first pitched Star Trek in 1964, it seemed like there was nothing the United States couldn’t achieve. Americans were surrounded by and obsessed with technological advancement: the modern world was awash in it. The Jetsons had flying cars that folded into briefcases; Disneyland’s Tomorrowland showcased both an interstate highway system and a moonbase as visions of the future. Star Trek grew out of this sense of a nation on the brink of a technological golden age, where scientific advances would unlock humanity’s potential. The show imagined a humanity so exceptional it had reached out to the stars: a great interplanetary alliance called the Federation, a union of planets that represented all Roddenberry believed human civilization could achieve.

Yet Roddenberry’s show also reflected dark fears of science. The nuclear age was one of wonder but also of terror. Star Trek’s early episodes were full of cautionary tales of science warped by hubris: Artificial intelligence run amok, weapons of mass destruction, computers that ruled entire civilizations. Only through a fierce commitment to human independence and ingenuity were the heroes of the Enterprise generally able to emerge victorious. This was Cold War allegory at its finest: technology could lead us down the path to destruction if in the wrong hands, but if combined with a belief in the individual human spirit it could take us to the stars.

Star Trek also reflected a Kennedy-era commitment to safe multi-culturalism. The crew was a rainbow of humanity and inhumanity: Iowa-born Captain James T. Kirk was supported by a half-human, half-Vulcan science officer named Spock (played by Jewish actor Leonard Nimoy); the southern doctor Leonard McCoy; Communications officer Lieutenant Uhura, a black woman; Chief Engineer Montgomery Scott, an aptly named Scotsman; Hikaru Sulu, the Japanese helmsman; and Ensign Pavel Chekhov, the Russian wunderkind navigator. Each character spoke to a barrier overcome: racial rifts, geographic rifts, political rifts. The cast was Roddenberry’s way of projecting Kennedy’s vision three hundred years into the future: technology, combined with the human spirit, would bring us all together toward a common human mission of exploration and understanding.

Roddenberry’s vision was not unnoticed by wider society. Nichelle Nichols, who played Uhura, is fond of telling the story of her meeting with the Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr., who urged her to stay on the show because of the positive power of the Uhura character. He saw the character as equal to all white men in this bold future, and a role model. Star Trek consistently spoke out against racism, and was as activist as a show could be in the difficult atmosphere of the mid-1960s; the show devoted several episodes to anti-racist messages, and included television’s first scripted interracial kiss. Yet despite these progressive moments, it is important to remember that the command of the ship remained with Kirk – the bold, daring, Midwestern white man, supremely confident and made for leadership. It is also necessary to be critical of the show’s sexual politics, already becoming outdated by the time the show went to air: Star Trek always portrayed women in a subservient role, dressed provocatively, and objects of male lust as a matter of plot and course.

Just as Star Trek’s gender roles often found themselves lapped by events, so too did its politics. Star Trek was Roddenberry’s vision in the early 1960s, when the country saw itself, almost uniformly, as a moral leader on the world stage and, increasingly, as the Civil Rights Movement achieved victories both symbolic and real, a champion of justice at home. But by 1966, when the show went to air, that consensus had begun to split apart. Over the course of Star Trek’s run, the country became further mired in the Vietnam conflict, leading to an unprecedented protest movement that swept the nation. Northern cities burned every summer with unrest brought on by de facto segregation and police violence. Kennedy’s vision itself seemed under attack by forces on every end of the spectrum.

Star Trek made several forays into centrist political advocacy during its run. The most famous and notable was in the episode “A Private Little War,” a direct analogy to the Vietnam conflict. The Enterprise visited the peaceful jungle planet Neural, only to discover that their Klingon enemies had begun to provide weapons to a political faction, essentially creating a client state on the planet. Kirk grappled with the problem, and eventually decided to arm the other side: better to create a war in a peaceful land than let it fall under the sway of your enemy. The episode is a defense of intervention, though a rueful one, as Kirk realized his actions would doom the planet to violence. The optimism of Kennedy-era interventionism had given way to pessimism, but not abandonment.

This was true even in the face of a growing peace movement that called for American withdrawal from Vietnam. By 1969, the youth movement at the center of anti-war and free love movements troubled many in Roddenberry’s generation, who saw in them an unwillingness to uphold the strong, patriotic stances of their parents. Roddenberry’s answer to the trouble was the episode “The Way to Eden,” which featured a wandering band of space hippies who followed an enigmatic doctor toward a mythical planet called “Eden.” The travelers denigrated authority, and spent their time on music and entertainment rather than on a serious examination of their circumstances. Only when the doctor was unmasked as a fraud do they realize the error of their ways, and are returned to “civilized” life. For Star Trek , hippies were no better than misguided and entitled brats who needed to be shown that authority brought order and safety.

Star Trek was canceled in 1969, after its third season. The show had never been a ratings hit, though it had enough of a cult following to revive it and propel it into the twenty-first century. In three short years, Star Trek had run the full spectrum of the American sixties: from the muscular, optimistic liberalism of the Kennedy years to the challenge and tumult of the Nixon era. In the end, the future it had sought was proven to be a myth: humanity had shown itself to be bolder, newer, and more complex than even Gene Roddenberry’s fantasies.

Not sure why it was necessary to point out that Spock was played by a Jewish actor, when none of the other actors’ ancestry was mentioned. But since it was mentioned, perhaps it should also be noted that William Shatner, who played Captain Kirk, is also Jewish, as is Walter Koenig, who played Ensign Chekhov.

I included this to underline the multiculturalism of both the fictional crew and the cast, but you’re right that I could have included the same for both Shatner and Koenig. Thanks for the correction.

Wonderful post! My husband and I just finished watching the original series’s first season, and its racial progressivism, for its era, was startling and disappointing at the same time. Non-white characters don’t have huge amounts of dialogue, to be sure. But they are scientists, eerily ineffective security personnel, communications officers, admirals, commanders, pilots, etc. And there is diversity in the show’s diversity. I see Southeast Asians, Japanese Americans, Latin Americans, African Americans, etc. There is not just one token POC character.

The show TRIES and fails with gender! In one first season episode, Kirk is put on trial. The male officers all wear fancy (and colorful) dress uniforms for the court martial. The female officer prosecuting Kirk wears the same salacious miniskirt all women in the Federation wear. Every alien society the crew encounters has leaders who are older (usually white) men. Women Star Fleet officers are foolish creatures who throw away all their professional responsibilities when an attractive man is around.

But what a show. There was an episode where a mining colony was losing miners due to a creature that is not a life form humans recognize as a life form…who we discover is a sentient creature, laying eggs to perpetuate her species. Inoffensive. Nonviolent. This episode showed how terribly, tragically wrong colonizers could be about indigenous life, by implication indigenous people. Any kid studying early encounters in North America, watching this episode, would have given her/his history textbook a more rigorous read.

Your reply really encapsulates what I find so fascinating about Trek from a sociopolitical angle. You’re right that the cast is really almost startlingly multicultural. One of my favorite episodes features Dr. Daystrom, the Federation’s foremost scientist, portrayed as a black man when that would have been shocking to more than a few viewers. I hope choices like that expanded a few minds. Yet it’s also surprisingly regressive – gender is a huge part of that.

This isn’t just true of the Original Series, but if The Next Generation as well. Part of what make Deep Space Nine in the end my favorite of the Trek series is its inherent progressivism – on race (Far Beyond The Stars should be required viewing) and gender (early same sex romance for syndicated TV, incredibly strong female characters in Kira and Dax) but also simply because it’s the only Trek show that truly examines the Federation as a force of good, challenges and interrogates that idea, and sometimes even find it wanting.

You make me want to do a full rewatch too – awesome idea, in anticipation of Discovery in the spring!

Star Trek: The Original Series - Full Cast & Crew

Action & Adventure, Science Fiction
Watchlist Where to Watch

Remastered editions of the classic "Star Trek" series of the 1960s. Kirk, Spock and McCoy project the best of humanity into the 23rd century with compassion, boldness and a curiosity to meet the unknown.

Star Trek: The Original Series; A Sociocultural Sling Shot Back into the 1960’s

“The Enterprise is home.” —Captain Kirk, Star Trek: The Original Series, “Tomorrow is Yesterday.”

Gene Rodenberry’s television series Star Trek (1966-1969) was humanity’s warp drive into the future as science fiction became science fact. The television series inspired technological innovations and pushed socially constructed boundaries, exploring new sociocultural and political worlds, and yes—”bolding going where no [hu]man has gone before.” Writers of the series brought important issues into American television sets during the 1960’s, crossing many boundary-lines which included, but not limited to, the Sexual Revolution, the Women’s Rights Movement (“second wave” of feminism), Civil Rights, the Black Power Movements, anti-war movements, the Cold War, nuclear weapons, decolonization, communism, terrorism, the Space Race, technological advances, computers and robots, individual and collective identities, and of course, the human condition. I argue that new viewers must sling shot themselves back into the 1960’s to imagine how The Original Series impacted our past and present, and how the new Star Trek series and films continues to evolve, pushing today’s sociocultural and political boundaries.

In the essay, “To Boldly Return Where Others Have Gone Before: Cultural Change and The Old and New Star Treks,” Clyde Wilcox writes, “…cultural change has altered the mission of the Enterprise and the interactions of its characters. The original Star Trek extrapolated a future where women played traditional roles [sling shot yourself back], where violence of the culture was evident in the universe at large, where the enemies of the Federation resembled the current enemies of the United States…the New series projects its cultural assumptions as well…” (99). Star Trek’s writers inject the scripts—past and present—with a vision for the future.

Original cast member Nichelle Nichols, who played Lieutenant Uhura represented African Americans collectively and “…said Martin Luther King Jr., persuaded her not to leave the show…saying Star Trek was the only show he allowed his children to watch and that, according to her autobiography, she was the only African American on TV in a role worth having…” (Wachter 11). Lieutenant Uhura and Captain Kirk had the first interracial taboo kiss on American television in the episode, “Plato’s Stepchildren.” Today, an interracial kiss is far from taboo, and certainly not controversial. Rodenberry crossed the color-line.

Additionally, the original series inspired LeVar Burton, who later played Geordi La Forge in Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987-1994). Burton states, “’Star Trek’ was one of the few representations of the future that included me…represented that hopeful aspect…I wanted to live in” (Kramer 1). In the YouTube interview “Whoopi Goldberg Talks About Star Trek,” Goldberg states that she called Gene Rodenberry and pursued a cast role. Rodenberry initially did not think she was serious about joining the Star Trek crew. Goldberg says it was a huge deal for her to see Lieutenant Uhura in The Original Series and that “If you watch Sci-Fi from the 40’s, 50’s and 60’s you don’t see anybody [black]” and that “there had never been any black people in the future, and I would like to do that for some other kids.” Rodenberry then wrote the Guinan character, based on Texas Guinan, into the series. Other cast members represented an even more culturally and racially diverse crew. Today, new viewers may find The Original Series “lacking or limited in scope and view” however traveling back in time is necessary for context. Indisputably, Rodenberry and his writers created change.

Writers are co-creators for our future and through science fiction a new future can be written. In Star Trek: The Original Series, “Tomorrow is Yesterday,” due to an anomaly, the starship Enterprise traveled back in time to the 1960’s and is mistaken as a UFO. A United Air Force pilot pursues the “UFO” and is accidently destroyed by the Enterprise’s tractor beam. The pilot is beamed up to safety via the transporter. Care is taken to return him back in time prior to contact to erase his memory of future technologies which may fall into the hands of “someone” that could alter history. Technology in the hands of the wrong individual may pose a threat. Spock, a “half breed” who is half human and half Vulcan, makes time warp calculations in his computer-like mind to solve their problem. To look ahead we must look behind. This episode crosses the science fiction technology-line.

In Building Star Trek , science fiction has become science fact, and the original series inspired and still inspires innovation for new technology: In Star Trek: The Original Series, the Romulans had a secret cloaking device, making them invisible; at the University of Rochester, a similar cloaking device can hide an object: NASA is working on a transporter device, making communication into deep space possible: Google is advancing a universal language translator: Tractor beam—no problem—was figured out by New York University’s Physics Professor David Grier, on a small scale.

Sling shot from Rodenberry’s Star Trek: The Original Series (1966-1969), and through history with The Next Generation (1987-1994) , Deep Space Nine (1993-1999) , Voyager (1995-2001) , Enterprise (2001-2005) , Discovery (2017-Present) and Picard (2020-Present) which were all imagined for a better future, pushing many visible and invisible boundaries. Seeing outside our own timeline and human condition is needed if more boundaries are to be crossed and problems to be solved, now and in the future.

Interesting facts: The U.S.S. Enterprise, original television series model starship, was respectfully retired in the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum on July 1, 2016.

“Live long and prosper ”—Spock. Leonard Nimoy explains the Vulcan hand gesture is from the Hebrew alphabet and represents a Jewish blessing ( https://youtu.be/DyiWkWcR86I ).

Works Cited

Building Star Trek . By Mick Grogan. Dir. Mick Grogan. Smithsonian Channel, 2016. Documentary. 27 March 2021. <www.imdb.com/title/tt6071476/>.

Kramer, Miriam. How ‘Star Trek’ Vision of Future Inspired Next Generation Actor LeVar Burton . Space.com, a TechMediaNetwork company, 28 September 2013. 27 March 2021.

MyHarto. Whoopi Goldberg Talks About Star Trek . Comp. Hannah #DARETODREAM. 5 May 2015. YouTube Interview. 27 March 2021. <www.youtube.com/watch?v=gUmMBF7uYLQ>.

Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum . n.d. Website. March 2021.

Star Trek: The Original Series, “Plato’s Stepchildren” . By Meyer Dolinsky. Dir. David Alexander. Prod. Gene Rodenberry. 1968. Television Series.

Star Trek: The Original Series, “Tomorrow is Yesterday” . By D.C. Fontana. Dir. Michael O’Herlihy. Prod. Gene Rodenberry. 1967. Television Series.

Wachter, Paul. Famous for its history of diversity, ‘Star Trek’ gets its first black female director . 22 January 2020. Articl. 27 March 2021. <www.undefeated.com/features/famous-for-its-history-of-diversity-star-trek-gets-its-first-black-femail-director/>.

Wilcox, Clyde. “to Boldly return Where Others Have Gone Before: Cultural Change and The Old and New Star Treks.” Extrapolation 33.1 (1992): 88-100. 2021.

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How the Original ‘Star Trek’ Addressed the War in Vietnam

By: Roy Wenzl

Updated: November 3, 2021 | Original: September 7, 2018

Leonard Nimoy as Mr. Spock and William Shatner as Captain James T. Kirk.

When the TV show “ Star Trek ” first aired in the late 1960s, the program was nowhere near the blockbuster money machine of syndication and sequels it later became. Ratings were low. Only the sci-fi geeks cared.

But in the 1970s, fans watching reruns helped helped breathe new life into the franchise—in part, because they appreciated how the show took risks, sometimes wading into the most divisive issues of the day.

Like the war in Vietnam .

The show's creator, Gene Roddenberry , says that setting the drama in space gave him the distance to address hot-button cultural topics. “It seemed to me that perhaps if I wanted to talk about sex, religion, politics, make some comments against Vietnam, and so on..." he said, "that if I had similar situations involving these subjects happening on other planets to little green people—indeed it might get by. And it did.”

Killing Off the Pacifist

William Shatner as Captain Kirk with Joan Collins as doomed peace activist Edith Keeler in the ‘Star Trek’ episode, ‘The City on the Edge of Forever,’ first broadcast in 1967.

In early episodes, Roddenberry and the show’s other creators appeared to be more or less supporting America's interventionist role in the world, says cultural historian and author H. Bruce Franklin, history professor emeritus at Rutgers University and author of four books on the Vietnam war. Franklin also guest curated the '90s exhibit “Star Trek in the Sixties" at the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum.

On April 6, 1967, for example, producers aired “City on the Edge of Forever,” in which Enterprise captain James T. Kirk stops his medical officer Dr. Leonard “Bones” McCoy from saving the life of Edith, a prominent peace activist. His reason? Because if she lives, she will prevent the U.S. from getting into World War II in time to stop the Nazis . It’s an episode where Kirk goes back in time to try and correct the timeline—while also falling in love with the woman who needs to die to correct it.

The episode’s Vietnam War subtext came to the fore in the script-revision process, says Franklin. While the original script focused on the tragedy of doomed love, with no reference to Edith's peace activism, the revised script shifts the story focus. In it, first officer Spock speculates that if Edith were to live, she might spread her pacifist ideas, slowing America’s entry into World War II and thus altering its outcome.

In the episode as it aired in 1967, Spock’s speculation became a major plot point whose subtext was the growing anti-war movement of the time. Asked 25 years later whether show runners intended the episode to contain contemporaneous anti-Vietnam-war references, producer Robert Justman replied, "Of course we did."

The Center Seat: 55 Years of Star Trek premieres Friday, November 5 at 10/9c on The HISTORY ® Channel

Support for Containing Communism

Officers on the deck of the USS Starship Enterprise on the 1960s sci-fi show 'Star Trek'

In “A Private Little War” (aired Feb. 2, 1968), the Enterprise crew discovers that their Klingon enemies have been arming one tribe on a primitive planet with flintlock muskets. After Kirk gives muskets to the other tribe, claiming it will create a balance of power, doctor McCoy strenuously objects. This excerpt from an episode transcript echoes the Cold War superpower tensions that led to America’s containment policy—and ultimate involvement—in Southeast Asia. Kirk even makes a direct reference to the Vietnam War:

MCCOY: I don't have a solution! But furnishing them firearms is certainly not the answer!

KIRK: Bones, do you remember the 20th-century brush wars on the Asian continent? Two giant powers involved, much like the Klingons and ourselves. Neither side felt they could pull out.

MCCOY: Yes, I remember. It went on bloody year after bloody year.

KIRK: What would you have suggested—that one side arm its friends with an overpowering weapon? Mankind would never have lived to travel space if they had. No. The only solution is what happened back then: balance of power.

“It’s what the U.S. was trying to do in Vietnam,” says Franklin, referring to the American efforts to limit Soviet expansion and deter a nuclear showdown between Cold War superpowers.

READ MORE: 8 Ways the Original 'Star Trek' Made History

As the Nation Soured, So Did the Show’s Creators

By early 1968, American public opinion about the war underwent a significant shift.

In February of that year, North Vietnam shocked the U.S. with the Tet Offensive , a massive surprise attack on American and South Vietnamese strongholds. A month later, American soldiers committed atrocities against Vietnamese civilians in the My Lai massacre . The takeaways were tough: The war was increasingly unwinnable. The U.S. government had been lying about that fact as it sent more young men to fight. And Yankees weren't always the good guys.

Around the same time, the show creators seemed to undergo their own radical shift. Case in point: “The Omega Glory,” episode 23 in the series’ second season, which is blatantly anti-war. To make his point, Roddenberry puts the Enterprise crew on a planet with two bitterly warring tribes, the Yangs and Kohms, with subtexts about biological warfare and the immorality of outside interference. If those names weren't obvious enough, the Yangs (Yanks) have somehow in their history obtained an exact copy of the original U.S. Constitution , and revere it as a sacred text—though they don’t understand it.

In the climactic scene, Kirk holds up the Constitution before the chief of the victorious warring faction, declaring that the document and its principles of basic human rights were written for all people, even one's enemies.

But while Kirk was touting America's ideological superiority, Franklin says, declaring that Communists (or Kohms) deserved the Constitution’s protections was a dangerous risk to take on television at that moment in history.

More than a decade after U.S. Senator Joseph McCarthy convened 1954 Senate hearings to identify and condemn anyone believed to have Communist sympathies, tens of millions of patriotic Americans still regarded Communists not only as enemies, but as toxic carriers of an ideological disease: "red fever." And even though mass anti-war protests had broken out around the country by 1968—questioning why young U.S. men were being sent across the world to fight and die to stave off Communism—there were still plenty who thought those protesters disgraced the most heroic, generous and decent nation on the planet.

The episode aired just days after the Tet Offensive ended, leaving nearly 4,000 American soldiers dead in only a month of fighting. Roddenberry’s message was timely.

“The Omega Glory” could have ruined Roddenberry, who was already pushing the show upstream against terrible ratings and pressure from NBC executives. By 1968, “Star Trek” was losing $15,000 an episode, the equivalent of $500,000 per episode today, says Marc Cushman, author of These Are the Voyages , a history of the show.

“Later on, when it became hugely successful, ‘Star Trek’ became an enormous industry, with a whole different set of values than what they had in the beginning,” says Franklin. “But in the beginning, they tried to say something.”

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Long-lost first model of the USS Enterprise from ‘Star Trek’ boldly goes home after twisting voyage

The first model of the USS Enterprise is displayed at Heritage Auctions in Los Angeles, April 13, 2024. The model — used in the original “Star Trek” television series — has been returned to Eugene “Rod” Roddenberry, the son of “Star Trek” creator Gene Roddenberry, decades after it went missing in the 1970s. (Josh David Jordan/Heritage Auctions via AP)

Joe Maddalena, executive vice president of Heritage Auctions, left, and Eugene “Rod” Roddenberry, the son of “Star Trek” creator Gene Roddenberry, shake hands over the recently recovered first model of the USS Enterprise at the Heritage Auctions in Los Angeles, April 13, 2024. The model — used in the original “Star Trek” television series — has been returned to Eugene, decades after it went missing in the 1970s. (Josh David Jordan/Heritage Auctions via AP)

Joe Maddalena, executive vice president of Heritage Auctions, left, and Eugene “Rod” Roddenberry, the son of “Star Trek” creator Gene Roddenberry, view the recently recovered first model of the USS Enterprise at Heritage Auctions in Los Angeles, April 13, 2024. The model — used in the original “Star Trek” television series — has been returned to Eugene, decades after it went missing in the 1970s. (Josh David Jordan/Heritage Auctions via AP)

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DALLAS (AP) — The first model of the USS Enterprise — used in the opening credits of the original “Star Trek” television series — has boldly gone back home, returning to creator Gene Roddenberry’s son decades after it went missing.

The model’s disappearance sometime in the 1970s had become the subject of lore, so it caused a stir when it popped up on eBay last fall. The sellers quickly took it down, and then contacted Dallas-based Heritage Auctions to authenticate it. Last weekend, the auction house facilitated the model’s return.

Eugene “Rod” Roddenberry, CEO of Roddenberry Entertainment, said he’s thrilled to have the model that had graced the desk of his father, who died in 1991 at age 70.

“This is not going home to adorn my shelves,” Roddenberry said. “This is going to get restored and we’re working on ways to get it out so the public can see it and my hope is that it will land in a museum somewhere.”

AP AUDIO: Long-lost first model of the USS Enterprise from ‘Star Trek’ boldly goes home after twisting voyage.

AP correspondent Margie Szaroleta reports on the return of the original model of the USS Enterprise from the TV show “Star Trek.”

Heritage’s executive vice president, Joe Maddalena, said the auction house was contacted by people who said they’d discovered it a storage unit, and when it was brought into their Beverly Hills office, he and a colleague “instantly knew that it was the real thing.”

Colored pencils sit around a drawing of "Bluey" the Australian kids' television program character on a sketch pad Friday, April 19, 2024, in Phoenix, Ariz. (AP Photo/Cheyanne Mumphrey)

They reached out to Roddenberry, who said he appreciates that everyone involved agreed returning the model was the right thing to do. He wouldn’t go into details on the agreement reached but said “I felt it important to reward that and show appreciation for that.”

Maddalena said the model vanished in the 1970s after Gene Roddenberry loaned it to makers of “Star Trek: The Motion Picture,” which was released in 1979.

“No one knew what happened to it,” Rod Roddenberry said.

The 3-foot (0.91-meter) model of the USS Enterprise was used in the show’s original pilot episode as well as the opening credits of the resulting TV series, and was the prototype for the 11-foot (3-meter) version featured in the series’ episodes. The larger model is on display at the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum.

The original “Star Trek” television series, which aired in the late 1960s, kicked off an ever-expanding multiverse of cultural phenomena, with TV and movie spinoffs and conventions where a fanbase of zealous and devoted Trekkies can’t get enough of memorabilia.

This USS Enterprise model would easily sell for more than $1 million at auction, but really “it’s priceless,” Maddalena said.

“It could sell for any amount and I wouldn’t be surprised because of what it is,” he said. “It is truly a cultural icon.”

Roddenberry, who was just a young boy when the model went missing, said he has spotty memories of it, “almost a deja vu.” He said it wasn’t something he’d thought much about until people began contacting him after it appeared on eBay.

“I don’t think I really, fully comprehended at first that this was the first Enterprise ever created,” he said.

He said he has no idea if there was something nefarious behind the disappearance all those decades ago or if it was just mistakenly lost, but it would be interesting to find out more about what happened.

“This piece is incredibly important and it has its own story and this would be a great piece of the story,” Roddenberry said.

Thankfully, he said, the discovery has cleared up one rumor: That it was destroyed because as a young boy, he’d thrown it into a pool.

“Finally I’m vindicated after all these years,” he said with a laugh.

Supported by

Original ‘Star Trek’ Enterprise Model Is Found After Being Missing for Decades

The 33-inch model surfaced on eBay after disappearing around 1979. An auction house is giving it to the son of Gene Roddenberry, the creator of “Star Trek.”

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A model of the U.S.S. Enterprise stands on a wooden base against a black backdrop.

By Emily Schmall

The first model of the U.S.S. Enterprise, the starship that appeared in the opening credits of the original “Star Trek” television series , has been returned to Eugene Roddenberry Jr., the son of the creator of the series, decades after it went missing.

“After a long journey, she’s home,” Mr. Roddenberry wrote on social media on Thursday.

For die-hard Trekkies, the model’s disappearance had become the subject of folklore, so an eBay listing last fall, with a starting bid of $1,000, didn’t go unnoticed.

“Red alert,” someone in an online costume and prop-making forum wrote, linking to the listing.

Mr. Roddenberry’s father, Gene Roddenberry, created the television series, which first aired in 1966 and ran for three seasons. It spawned numerous spinoffs, several films and a franchise that has included conventions and legions of devoted fans with an avid interest in memorabilia.

The seller of the model was bombarded with inquiries and quickly took the listing down.

The seller contacted Heritage Auctions to authenticate it, the auction house’s executive vice president, Joe Maddalena, said on Saturday. As soon as the seller, who said he had found it in a storage unit, brought it to the auction house’s office in Beverly Hills, Calif., Mr. Maddalena said he knew it was real.

“That’s when I reached out to Rod to say, ‘We’ve got this. This is it,’” he said, adding that the model was being transferred to Mr. Roddenberry.

Mr. Roddenberry, who is known as Rod, said on Saturday that he would restore the model and seek to have it displayed in a museum or other institution. He said reclaiming the item had only piqued his interest in the circumstances about its disappearance.

“Whoever borrowed it or misplaced it or lost it, something happened somewhere,” he said. “Where’s it been?”

It was unclear how the model ended up in the storage unit and who had it before its discovery.

The original U.S.S. Enterprise, a 33-inch model, was mostly made of solid wood by Richard C. Datin, a model maker for the Howard Anderson Company, a special-effects company that created the opening credits for some of the 20th century’s biggest TV shows .

An enlarged 11-foot model was used in subsequent “Star Trek” television episodes, and is now part of the permanent collection of the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum , where it was donated by Paramount Studios in 1974.

Mr. Roddenberry, who said he gave the seller a “reward” for its recovery but did not disclose the terms, assembled a group of “Star Trek” production veterans, model makers and restoration specialists in Beverly Hills to authenticate the find.

The group included a “Star Trek” art supervisor, Michael Okuda, and his wife, Denise, an artist on “Star Trek” television series and films, and Gary Kerr, a “Trek x-pert” who served as technical consultant for the Smithsonian during a 2016 restoration of the 11-foot model.

“We spent at least an hour photographing it, inspecting the paint, inspecting the dirt, looking under the base, the patina on the stem, the grain in the wood,” Mr. Roddenberry said.

“It was a unanimous ‘This is 100 percent the one,’” he said.

Gene Roddenberry, who died in 1991 , kept the original model, which appeared in the show’s opening credits and pilot episode, on his desk.

Mr. Kerr compared the model to 1960s photos he had of the model on Mr. Roddenberry’s desk.

“The wood grain matched exactly, so that was it,” he said on Saturday.

The model went missing after Mr. Roddenberry lent it to the makers of “Star Trek: The Motion Picture,” which was released in 1979, Mr. Maddalena said.

“This is a major discovery,” he said, likening the model to the ruby slippers from “The Wizard of Oz,” a prop that was stolen in 2005 and recovered by the F.B.I. in 2018, and that Heritage Auctions is selling.

While the slippers represent hope, he said, the starship Enterprise model “represents dreams.”

“It’s a portal to what could be,” he said.

Emily Schmall covers breaking news and feature stories and is based in Chicago. More about Emily Schmall

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Lost for a generation, original ‘Star Trek’ Enterprise model finally completes its voyage home

The first model of the USS Enterprise went missing in the 1970s.

The model's disappearance sometime in the 1970s had become the subject of lore, so it caused a stir when it popped up on eBay last fall. The sellers quickly took it down, and then contacted Dallas-based Heritage Auctions to authenticate it. Last weekend, the auction house facilitated the model's return.

Eugene “Rod” Roddenberry, CEO of Roddenberry Entertainment, said he's thrilled to have the model that had graced the desk of his father, who died in 1991 at age 70.

“This is not going home to adorn my shelves," Roddenberry said. “This is going to get restored and we’re working on ways to get it out so the public can see it and my hope is that it will land in a museum somewhere.”

Heritage's executive vice president, Joe Maddalena, said the auction house was contacted by people who said they'd discovered it a storage unit, and when it was brought into their Beverly Hills office, he and a colleague “instantly knew that it was the real thing.”

They reached out to Roddenberry, who said he appreciates that everyone involved agreed returning the model was the right thing to do. He wouldn't go into details on the agreement reached but said “I felt it important to reward that and show appreciation for that.”

Maddalena said the model vanished in the 1970s after Gene Roddenberry loaned it to makers of "Star Trek: The Motion Picture," which was released in 1979.

“No one knew what happened to it," Rod Roddenberry said.

The 3-foot (0.91-meter) model of the USS Enterprise was used in the show's original pilot episode as well as the opening credits of the resulting TV series, and was the prototype for the 11-foot (3-meter) version featured in the series' episodes. The larger model is on display at the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum.

The model was used in the opening credits of the "Star Trek" television series in the 1960s.

This USS Enterprise model would easily sell for more than $1 million at auction, but really “it’s priceless," Maddalena said.

“It could sell for any amount and I wouldn’t be surprised because of what it is," he said. “It is truly a cultural icon.”

Roddenberry, who was just a young boy when the model went missing, said he has spotty memories of it, “almost a deja vu.” He said it wasn't something he'd thought much about until people began contacting him after it appeared on eBay.

“I don't think I really, fully comprehended at first that this was the first Enterprise ever created,” he said.

“This piece is incredibly important and it has its own story and this would be a great piece of the story,” Roddenberry said.

Thankfully, he said, the discovery has cleared up one rumor: That it was destroyed because as a young boy, he'd thrown it into a pool.

“Finally I’m vindicated after all these years,” he said with a laugh.

Fans on mission. To seek out autographs from Star Trek icon William Shatner

Several hundred fans came to Hartville Marketplace Saturday to get autographs from Star Trek star William Shatner.

LAKE TWP. − For many, it was a final frontier.

To boldly go where they had never gone before — into the presence of Star Trek actor William Shatner .

Several hundred people flocked Saturday to Hartville MarketPlace & Flea Market to get autographs and pictures with the 93-year-old man known for his role as Captain James T. Kirk in the original 1960s television series Star Trek. Those 79 episodes spawned a decades-long influential cultural franchise and phenomenon.

The crowd loudly cheered when Shatner appeared at 10:50 a.m. in an area by the food court cordoned off for his appearance that was arranged by Prime Time Sports and Framing of Kent. Fans, several arriving in wheelchairs, brought Star Trek uniforms, promotional pictures from the TV series and Star Trek films, a model of the U.S.S. Enterprise and sketches to be marked with his coveted signature.

Related: 'Star Trek' legend William Shatner to appear at Hartville MarketPlace

The cost of each autograph or picture with him was $149. If you wanted both, the cost was $275. For him to write three words or less with the autograph cost $79 more. Several also paid $100 for a VIP pass to skip the line.

Shatner could be seen for the next 74 minutes signing autographs, smiling and engaging in light banter with fans. After everyone who had paid for an autograph had been served, he got onto a scooter with balloons tied to it and going nowhere close to as fast as warp speed went to All Star Sports Gallery.

Someone wearing an elaborate costume as Bumblebee the Transformer led the procession. Then, Shatner switched from the scooter to sitting on a stool to take pictures with people, with the line of those waiting for pictures stretching back to the food court area.

Dave Bell, 74, of Lake Township, who watches the classic Star Trek episodes every night, said he wasn't willing to pay $149 for an autograph. But he came to Hartville Marketplace to get a glimpse and picture of Shatner.

"I'm a Trekkie. But this is ridiculous," Bell said about the crowd. "I'm not surprised. He's a very popular guy."

Jann Henthorn drove an hour from Orrville to see the man who played the beloved Star Trek captain.

"Is William Shatner here?" she said as she tried to spot him through the autograph seekers blocking her view. "I see him! ... All of us baby boomers are all excited!"

Henthorn recalled watching Star Trek when it first aired in the 1960s long before it achieved massive cult status in syndication.

"He looks good," she said about Shatner.

Cassedy Brennan, 28, of Wadsworth stood by one of the barricades snapping pictures of Shatner. Her father, a big Star Trek fan, was in line waiting for an autograph on a poster.

"He is like a kid in a candy store today. He is so excited. It's like Star Wars, Star Trek paraphernalia in the basement. ... Unopen toys. This is his jam," she said. "I think it's cool. Not exactly my thing. But here to support my dad. It's cool to see, too."

Brennan was one of the few people in their 20s in the crowd.

"I probably wouldn't know William Shatner out of context if it weren't for my dad," she said, adding that she saw classic Star Trek episodes with her father. "There's probably some millennials that are fans. But I'm not a sci-fi kind of girl."

Michael Rothman, 38, of Lake Township said Shatner autographed his set of Star Trek DVDs.

He said the actor said to him, "'Thank you very much.' That's all he said."

His wife Shandi Rothman clarified that, "He (also) said, 'Pleasure to see you.'"

Stacy Klotz of Massillon got Shatner to autograph her Captain James T. Kirk poster. She considered the $149 cost a "once in a lifetime type of thing." A sci-fi fan, she first started seeing Star Trek in syndication in the late 1970s.

Matt Merew, 56, of Zanesville got Shatner to sign his model of the Enterprise and his picture depicting the scene where Captain Kirk fights an alien captain known as a Gorn. The picture already had the autograph of the actor who played the Gorn that Merew got at a past Star Trek convention.

Cameron Blakey, 46, of Mogadore, who watched Star Trek in the 1980s with his uncle and mother, got Shatner to autograph his sketch of Captain Kirk that Blakey drew.

"He asked me how I was. And he asked me if I drew this. I told him I did. And I told him that we basically thank you for everything and he made my day," he said. "He made my life. Awesome, awesome experience!"

Karen Isaiah of Mogadore said she watched the original Star Trek in 1967.

"I'm ecstatic. I didn't want to miss him for anything," she said. "I met (singer) Johnny Mathis. I talked to William Shatner. My life is complete."

Reach Robert at [email protected]. X formerly Twitter: @rwangREP.

‘Star Trek’ Origin Story Movie Will Be Set Decades Before 2009 Film

CinemaCon 2024: The new project will be produced by longtime “Star Trek” steward J.J. Abrams

star-trek-2009-chris-pine-zachary-quinto

Paramount Pictures is ready to boldly go (again).

After rumors circulated earlier this year, Paramount officially announced a new “Star Trek” prequel film on Thursday, this time taking place decades before the original 2009 “Star Trek” feature.

“Andor” director Toby Haynes will direct from a script by Seth Grahame-Smith (who is also writing another hotly touted CinemaCon title, the third “Now You See Me” film). J.J. Abrams is returning to produce.

But then again, we’ve heard about a new “Star Trek” movie before.

During the run-up to “Star Trek Beyond” in 2016, it was revealed that a fourth film would reunite Chris Pine’s Captain Kirk with his deceased father (played, once again, by Chris Hemsworth). A year later, Quentin Tarantino approached Paramount about doing a “Star Trek” movie – this time as an R-rated gangster movie (based, in part, on the 1968 episode of the original series “A Piece of the Action”). In 2018 S.J. Clarkson, a TV vet who would eventually direct “Madame Web,” was hired to direct the fourth film in the Abrams-verse, but salary disputes led to Pine and Hemsworth leaving the project. That version was canceled in 2019 and Tarantino stated in 2020 that he wouldn’t be making his “Star Trek” either.

In November 2019 “Fargo” creator Noah Hawley was hired to write and direct a new “Star Trek” film based on his version of the series. A year later, this movie was canceled by new Paramount Pictures president Emma Watts. In 2021 “Star Trek: Discovery” writer Kalinda Vazquez was hired to write a version based on her original pitch, but a separate script was being developed by Lindsey Beer and Geneva Robertson-Dworet. The studio even set a summer 2023 release date for a new “Trek” (which “Trek” was the question).

In 2021 that release date was pushed to Christmas 2023, under the direction of “WandaVision” director Matt Shakman. Josh Friedman and Cameron Squires were brought on to retool the script. In early 2022 it was announced that the stars of the three previous “Star Trek” installments in the Abrams-verse would all be returning, although it was later reported that the actors had not entered negotiations to return.

In 2022 Shakman left “Star Trek” to join Marvel Studios’ “The Fantastic Four.” But just last month Steve Yockey was hired to write a fourth “Star Trek” movie.

Now, we are finally getting word of another film in development, with another writer/director team. But it’s not the first time that a “Star Trek” prequel script has been floated, as Erik Jendresen, cowriter of “Mission: Impossible: Dead Reckoning,” had submitted a script for “Star Trek: The Beginning” before J.J. had taken over and pitched his 2009 version. It depicted the Earth-Romulan War.

Tomorrow Is Yesterday

Episode aired Jan 26, 1967

The Enterprise is thrown back in time to 1960s Earth. The Enterprise is thrown back in time to 1960s Earth. The Enterprise is thrown back in time to 1960s Earth.

Michael O'Herlihy
D.C. Fontana
Gene Roddenberry
William Shatner
Leonard Nimoy
Roger Perry
33 User reviews
11 Critic reviews

William Shatner and Roger Perry in Star Trek (1966)

Captain James Tiberius 'Jim' Kirk

Mister Spock

Major Christopher

Air Police Sergeant

Transporter Chief

Col. Fellini

Air Force Captain
Air Policeman

Enterprise Computer
(uncredited)

Lieutenant Leslie
All cast & crew
Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

Did you know

Trivia Later in 1967, physicist John Archibald Wheeler would popularize the term "black hole" to refer to the phenomenon Kirk describes as a black star, at the suggestion of a student. While several sources credit Wheeler for coining the phrase, it was used in science journals as early as 1963. The term is now credited to physicist Robert H. Dicke, comparing the phenomenon to a life prison dungeon in Calcutta known as the "Black Hole of Calcutta".
Goofs In Requiem for Methuselah (1969) , Spock, during a mind meld, can order someone to "forget". It is unclear why he didn't meld with Captain Christopher for this purpose.

Capt. Kirk : All right, Colonel. The truth is, I'm a little green man from Alpha Centauri, a beautiful place. You ought to see it.

Lieutenant Colonel Fellini : I am going to lock you up for 200 years.

Capt. Kirk : That ought to be just about right.

Alternate versions Special Enhanced version Digitally Remastered with new exterior shots and remade opening theme song
Connections Featured in The Outside Man (1972)
Soundtracks Theme From Star Trek Written by and credited to Alexander Courage

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Apr 27, 2014
January 26, 1967 (United States)
United States
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Desilu Studios - 9336 W. Washington Blvd., Culver City, California, USA
Desilu Productions
Norway Corporation
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Runtime 50 minutes

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Screen Rant

Casting christopher nolan's next movie: 10 actors perfect for his reported new remake.

Christopher Nolan may consider actors he has worked with before or new talent to star in his reported remake of the 1960s sci-fi TV show The Prisoner.

Christopher Nolan is reportedly considering remaking the 1960s sci-fi TV show The Prisoner as a movie, conforming to his typical genres.
Nolan might consider actors he has worked with before, such as Robert Pattison or John David Washington, for the James Bond-like main character.
Nolan might cast new or returning actors, such as Michael Caine, Vanessa Kirby, or Aaron Taylor-Johnson, in supporting and/or antagonistic roles.

Casting Christopher Nolan's possible movie remake of the 1960s TV show The Prisoner is key to its success. Yet Nolan has previously worked with several actors who would be perfect for major roles. Additionally, Nolan's status as a director will always attract Hollywood's biggest stars, despite some never having worked with Nolan before. The British TV show The Prisoner follows a James Bond-like character trapped in a strange, psychedelic Village, leading to a battle of wits as he tries to escape, and his captors try to extract information from him.

A history of action and espionage movies has led to broad speculation that Nolan might direct Bond 26 , but The Prisoner is his more likely project at this point. Some of Nolan's past stars have the potential to lead his movie remake of The Prisoner as the secret agent protagonist, known as "Number Six." Additionally, Nolan's remake may involve expanding the roles of some characters or creating new ones within the sci-fi world of the original show. Nonetheless, many actors at his disposal are suited to different character archetypes common in the sci-fi, mystery, and action genres.

All 12 Christopher Nolan Movies Ranked Worst To Best

10 robert pattinson, known for tenet (2020) and the batman (2022)..

Robert Pattinson is a strong contender to play Number Six, given the nature of his only role in a Nolan movie to date. While Nolan's new movie has people worried Tenet 2 won't happen , fans of the underrated time-travel adventure would be thrilled to see Pattinson work with the great director again. In Tenet , Pattinson plays Neil, a friendly and mysterious agent who is one of the Protagonist's main allies.

Neil's persona is perhaps more charming and optimistic than Nolan wants Number Six to be if he is recreating the character closer to what he is in the original show. However, Pattinson is certainly capable of playing a more serious action hero. Finding time to star in Nolan's new remake might be a challenge for Pattinson, as he is currently making a name for himself as the newest iteration of Batman. Nonetheless, Pattinson's experiences playing Neil and Bruce Wayne make him more than qualified to star in Nolan's The Prisoner .

9 Emily Blunt

Known for edge of tomorrow (2014) and oppenheimer (2023)..

As a TV show that was made in the 1960s, the female characters in The Prisoner are scattered and their roles are brief. Some one-off but memorable characters include several different women who try to help Number Six escape and a female scientist (Number Fourteen) who helps the people running the Village try to manipulate information out of Number Six. Many of these characters have a femme fatale-type characterization, but Nolan might choose to take their arcs in a different direction.

Emily Blunt's recent foray into Nolan filmmaking won her an Oscar nomination for playing the shrewd Kitty Oppenheimer. Blunt is not known for villainous roles, but doubtlessly has the talent to play a more malevolent character, such as Number Fourteen. However, she could also play a mysterious woman who knows much more than she lets on when she comes across Number Six.

8 Michael Caine

Known for the dark knight (2008) and inception (2010)..

Casting Caine in a different role could be an effective way to make Nolan's next movie different from his others.

Michael Caine has regularly collaborated with Nolan since he became a fan-favorite version of Alfred in the Dark Knight trilogy. Caine plays similar characters throughout his Nolan movies: a kindly advising figure to the main character who provides some kind of logistical support. In Inception , Caine plays Cobb's father-in-law, who cares for Cobb's children while their father is on the run. Caine's Tenet character Sir Michael Crosby's role is so brief that it was apparently easier to call him by his real name and title.

Casting Caine in a different role could be an effective way to make Nolan's next movie different from his others. A possible role for Caine is Number Two, the antagonistic secondary leader of the Village, who puts on an amicable and wise facade for Number Six. There are also multiple Number Twos; the idea of Caine and other returning Nolan actors all playing the character is a given.

7 Aaron Taylor-Johnson

Known for kick-ass (2010) and tenet (2020)..

Aaron Taylor-Johnson plays the significant role of Ives in Tenet , although his character is overshadowed by those of Robert Pattinson and John David Washington. However, Taylor-Johnson's potential to work with Nolan again in the future is obvious. From his tragically brief role in the MCU to his recurring lead role in the Kick-Ass movies, Taylor-Johnson is an underappreciated but talented action star. He still has significant versatility as an actor, starring in dramas such as Anna Karenina . This experience is vital, as Nolan's movies are never just meaningless action.

Additionally, rumors of Taylor-Johnson's casting as James Bond combined with speculation about Nolan directing a Bond movie make the casting even more obvious. Still, Nolan's movies and The Prisoner both feature some of the hallmarks of a Bond movie. Taylor-Johnson returning to work with Nolan in the lead role would be beneficial to both the actor's career and the movie.

Casting A Christopher Nolan James Bond Movie: 8 Actors Who'd Be Perfect

6 ana de armas, known for knives out (2019) and no time to die (2021)..

A massive up-and-coming star of the past few years, Ana de Armas has proven that she is perfect for mysteries, sci-fi, espionage, and general action. After achieving her breakthrough with Blade Runner 2049 , de Armas gained even more attention with the razor-sharp whodunit of Knives Out , which in turn led to her being invited to appear in No Time to Die , due to her working relationship with Daniel Craig. In the middle of all this, she also scored an Oscar nomination for the Marilyn Monroe biopic Blonde .

De Armas' casting in the John Wick spinoff Ballerina illustrates that she is in demand. Working around her schedule might be difficult, but Nolan would be mistaken not to consider her for any role in a sci-fi or espionage movie. De Armas also has a great on-screen dynamic with Daniel Craig and has presumably filmed some scenes with Keanu Reeves; it would be interesting to see what she could do when paired with one of Nolan's favorite stars.

5 Morgan Freeman

Known for the shawshank redemption (1994) and the dark knight (2008)..

Morgan Freeman is another possible choice for one of the Number Twos, and like with Michael Caine, would represent a break in the pattern of how Nolan usually casts him. Freeman only plays Lucius Fox in the Dark Knight trilogy, with no other collaborations with Nolan. Like Alfred, Lucius is a generally amicable ally to Bruce; however, he opposes Bruce's plans at some key moments.

Freeman could also play a very interesting version of Number Two, or another important figure in the Village's administration. Additionally, audiences have only really seen a significant number of interactions between Freeman and either Caine or Christian Bale in a Nolan movie. Writing scenes between Freeman and a new or returning actor is rife with the possibility of engaging and intelligent dialogue that elevates the movie's philosophical discourse.

4 Vanessa Kirby

Known for pieces of a woman (2020) and the crown (2016-2023)..

Vanessa Kirby also has the potential to play a reinvented version of one of Number Six's allies, who has more agency and is not just a damsel in distress. Kirby was launched to fame by playing the chaotic and lonely Princess Margaret in The Crown and soon after won her first Oscar nomination for the heartbreaking drama Pieces of a Woman . However, she is also a favorite for action movies, evidenced by her role in Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw and her being cast as Sue Storm in the MCU's upcoming Fantastic Four movie.

Kirby can play a nuanced action heroine who is intense, enigmatic, and combat-savvy. While the original show does not place the female characters in the middle of action-heavy scenes, Nolan can always change this. The Prisoner suggests that everyone in the Village is there because they have valuable information; one of the female characters could be rewritten as another former secret agent like Number Six who is always prepared for a fight.

3 Carrie-Anne Moss

Known for the matrix (1999) and memento (2000)..

Carrie-Anne Moss is among the actors Nolan has only directed once , starring alongside Guy Pearce in Memento . As a long-time veteran of the sci-fi genre, it might be more impactful to cast her as one of the characters who has more control in the world of the village. Moss could play Number Fourteen, or another version of Number Two.

Additionally, there is one strange scene where Number Six wakes up in a hospital and finds an old woman sitting near him knitting. While the character concept does not need to be exactly the same, Moss could still play a character who just happens to be present in one scene and says something seemingly inconsequential to Number Six. It has been so long since Moss worked with Nolan that it would generally be interesting to see how he would use her now, with 20 more years of filmmaking experience under his belt.

10 Actors We Want To See Working With Christopher Nolan In His Next Movie

2 john david washington, known for blackkklansman (2018) and tenet (2020)..

Washington has a strangely varied filmography that should make him interesting to any director.

John David Washington is also a real possibility for a Bond-style character, as "the Protagonist" of Tenet gives the impression of being an early career James Bond who is still establishing himself in the intelligence community. Washington has a strangely varied filmography that should make him interesting to any director. He has starred in satires, actions, mysteries, and comedies, and worked with acclaimed directors, including David O. Russell and Spike Lee.

Nolan's version of The Prisoner — which, like Tenet , never names its main character — could realistically expand the character of Number Six, elaborating upon his past and motivations in a way the original doesn't. Washington can play a variety of different complex characters and has the presence of a leading actor. As he has also not worked with Nolan since Tenet , it would be great to see what could come of another collaboration.

1 Cillian Murphy

Known for inception (2010) and oppenheimer (2023)..

Of course, Nolan will most likely at least consider recent Oscar winner Cillian Murphy for a role in his next movie. Another repeat collaborator, Murphy has played a variety of heroes and villains in Nolan's movies. He doesn't seem like a Number Six type actor, having previously been passed over for the role of Batman. Of being invited to screen test for Batman, Murphy said (via PEOPLE ): "[...] I think I knew — and he [Nolan] knew — I was wrong for [the role]. But I did the test, and then he saw something in that and cast me as Scarecrow and we continued on making movies."

Nolan has used Murphy's ability to play psychologically complex characters caught in the middle of one moral or personal dilemma or another in several movies. Muprhy is a compelling villain in the Dark Knight trilogy and a minor but vital part of the story of Inception . Murphy's potential to play almost any character in The Prisoner other than Number Six should not be ignored. Regardless, Christopher Nolan has made it as a director because he knows how to find the perfect cast, and will consider all the possibilities as he begins a new project.

Source: PEOPLE

IMAGES

Publicity photo, from the 1960's television series STAR TREK (original
Publicity photo depicting the starship, USS Enterprise. From the 1960's
Publicity photo depicting the starship, USS Enterprise. From the 1960's
Publicity photo, from the 1960's television series STAR TREK (original
Behind the scenes, on the 1960's television series, STAR TREK (original
Publicity photo, from the 1960's television series STAR TREK (original

COMMENTS

Star Trek (TV Series 1966-1969)
Star Trek: Created by Gene Roddenberry. With Leonard Nimoy, William Shatner, DeForest Kelley, Nichelle Nichols. In the 23rd Century, Captain James T. Kirk and the crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise explore the galaxy and defend the United Federation of Planets.
Star Trek: The Original Series
Star Trek is an American science fiction television series created by Gene Roddenberry that follows the adventures of the starship USS Enterprise (NCC-1701) and its crew. It acquired the retronym of Star Trek: The Original Series ( TOS) to distinguish the show within the media franchise that it began. [2] The show is set in the Milky Way galaxy ...
Star Trek (TV Series 1966-1969)
S1.E5 ∙ The Enemy Within. Thu, Oct 6, 1966. A transporter malfunction splits Captain Kirk into two halves: one meek and indecisive, the other violent and ill tempered. The remaining crew members stranded on the planet cannot be beamed up to the ship until a problem is fixed. 7.6/10 (4.9K)
Star Trek (TV Series 1966-1969)
Star Trek (TV Series 1966-1969) cast and crew credits, including actors, actresses, directors, writers and more. Menu. Movies. Release Calendar Top 250 Movies Most Popular Movies Browse Movies by Genre Top Box Office Showtimes & Tickets Movie News India Movie Spotlight. TV Shows.
Star Trek
Star Trek was created by American writer and producer Gene Roddenberry and chronicles the exploits of the crew of the starship USS Enterprise, whose five-year mission is to explore space and, as stated in the title sequence, "to seek out new life and new civilizations, to boldly go where no man has gone before." The series takes place in the 23rd century, after a benign and advanced alien ...
Star Trek: The Original Series
Star Trek: The Original Series (referred to as Star Trek prior to any spin-offs) is the first Star Trek series. The first episode of the show aired on 6 September 1966 on CTV in Canada, followed by a 8 September 1966 airing on NBC in America. 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 ...
List of Star Trek: The Original Series episodes
This is the first television series in the Star Trek franchise, and comprises 79 regular episodes over the series' three seasons, along with the series' original pilot episode, "The Cage". The episodes are listed in order by original air date, [2] which match the episode order in each season's original, [3] [4] [5] remastered, [6] [7] [8] and ...
Star Trek (TV Series 1966-1969)
Star Trek (AKA Star Trek The Original Series, AKA STTOS) is a series that has had a dramatic influence across much of the science fiction genre, and as some have suggested, influenced culture around the world. The writing, directing, and cinematography of Star Trek are top-notch, even by today's standards. On par with more recent series like ...
Star Trek (TV Series 1966-1969)
Space. The Final Frontier. The U.S.S. Enterprise embarks on a five year mission to explore the galaxy. The Enterprise is under the command of Captain James T. Kirk with First Officer Mr. Spock, from the planet Vulcan. With a determined crew, the Enterprise encounters Klingons, Romulans, time paradoxes, tribbles and genetic supermen led by Khan Noonian Singh. Their mission is to explore strange ...
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Just as Star Trek's gender roles often found themselves lapped by events, so too did its politics. Star Trek was Roddenberry's vision in the early 1960s, when the country saw itself, almost uniformly, as a moral leader on the world stage and, increasingly, as the Civil Rights Movement achieved victories both symbolic and real, a champion of ...
List of Star Trek: The Original Series cast members
Grace Lee Whitney as Janice Rand, Captain's yeoman. John Winston as Kyle, operations officer. Michael Barrier as Vincent DeSalle, navigator and assistant chief engineer. Roger Holloway as Roger Lemli, security officer. Eddie Paskey as Leslie, various positions. David L. Ross as Galloway, various positions. Jim Goodwin as John Farrell, navigator.
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It's never too late to watch episodes of the original Star Trek. Gene Roddenberry's iconic 1960s series gave us a number of incredibly memorable characters and performances, led by William Shatner ...
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Remastered editions of the classic "Star Trek" series of the 1960s. Kirk, Spock and McCoy project the best of humanity into the 23rd century with compassion, boldness and a curiosity to meet the ...
Star Trek, the Original Series: About the classic TV show, the stars
Star Trek, a new space series, debuts (1966) By Charles Whitbeck - The Shreveport Journal (Shreveport, Louisiana) September 2, 1966. A 400-man space ship, the U.S.S. Enterprise, cruises the TV universe on Thursday nights beginning next week in Star Trek, NBC's expensive full-hour science fiction adventures series about puny man exploring the wild blue yonder.
Star Trek (TV Series 1966-1969)
Star Trek. Jump to. Edit. Summaries. In the 23rd Century, Captain James T. Kirk and the crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise explore the galaxy and defend the United Federation of Planets. A 1960's science fiction action adventure series set in the 23rd century based around the crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise, representing the United Federation of ...
Star Trek: The Original Series; A Sociocultural Sling Shot Back into
"The Enterprise is home."—Captain Kirk, Star Trek: The Original Series, "Tomorrow is Yesterday." Gene Rodenberry's television series Star Trek (1966-1969) was humanity's warp drive into the future as science fiction became science fact. The television series inspired technological innovations and pushed socially constructed boundaries, exploring new sociocultural and political ...
How the Original 'Star Trek' Addressed the War in Vietnam
When the TV show "Star Trek" first aired in the late 1960s, the program was nowhere near the blockbuster money machine of syndication and sequels it later became. Ratings were low. Only the ...
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Racism and Improving Race Relations. One area where Star Trek made considerable progress and incorporation into its substance was its regard towards minorities. Of course, by the late 1960's. the Civil Rights Movement in the United States was in full swing, and much progress had been made in that area.
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Star Trek is an American science fiction media franchise created by Gene Roddenberry, which began with the eponymous 1960s television series and became a worldwide pop-culture phenomenon.Since its creation, the franchise has expanded into various films, television series, video games, novels, and comic books, and it has become one of the most recognizable and highest-grossing media franchises ...
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Original 'Star Trek' Enterprise Model From Opening Credits Is Found
An enlarged 11-foot model was used in subsequent "Star Trek" television episodes, ... Mr. Kerr compared the model to 1960s photos he had of the model on Mr. Roddenberry's desk.
Long-lost first USS Enterprise model is returned to 'Star Trek' creator
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S2.E15 ∙ The Trouble with Tribbles. Fri, Dec 29, 1967. To protect a space station with a vital grain shipment, Kirk must deal with Federation bureaucrats, a Klingon battle cruiser and a peddler who sells furry, purring, hungry little creatures as pets. 8.8/10 (4.9K) Rate.
Star Trek's William Shatner appears at Hartville MarketPlace
Henthorn recalled watching Star Trek when it first aired in the 1960s long before it achieved massive cult status in syndication. "He looks good," she said about Shatner.
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April 11, 2024 @ 11:21 AM. Paramount Pictures is ready to boldly go (again). After rumors circulated earlier this year, Paramount officially announced a new "Star Trek" prequel film on ...
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Casting Christopher Nolan's Next Movie: 10 Actors Perfect For His
Casting Christopher Nolan's possible movie remake of the 1960s TV show The Prisoner is key to its success. Yet Nolan has previously worked with several actors who would be perfect for major roles. Additionally, Nolan's status as a director will always attract Hollywood's biggest stars, despite some never having worked with Nolan before. The British TV show The Prisoner follows a James Bond ...