My recent blog post “What would MacGyver do?” about relying on STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) skills to recover from Hurricane Irene got some interesting comments that I was not expecting. I had thought, given the headline, that there would be comments on MacGyver. That seemed like a reasonable assumption. While there are comments on the 1980’s TV show and its lead character, the comment string starts out with points on characters from Star Trek . In the string, Shadow Doug commented:

I love all the references to science fiction shows. I tell people I’ve been Trekking since 1957 (ST started in 1967). We’re engineers; we understand zero-origin addressing–the movie is Forbidden Planet (some of us call it Star Trek #0) in 1957, very much like a Star Trek movie.

Thanks for the comment, Shadow Doug, but one correction. Star Trek TOS (the original series) premiered in 1966, not 1967. In fact it was 45 years ago this week that TV boldly went where no man had gone before when on Sept 8, 1966, Star Trek took to the NBC airwaves.

In honor of the sci-fi series created by Gene Roddenberry, here are a few fun facts related to Star Trek and its 45 year history.

While Shatner’s voice-over introduction during each TOS episode’s opening credits states that the Enterprise’s five-year mission is ‘to explore strange new worlds, to seek out new life and new civilizations, to boldly go where no man has gone before,” Star Trek TOS was killed by NBC on June 3, 1969, less than three years after its premier and not even close to its five-year mission.

Klingons consider Tribbles to be “mortal enemies” of the Klingon Empire.

Klingons consider Tribbles to be “mortal enemies” of the Klingon Empire. After bringing Spock to human-Vulcan life in 1966 and post TOS’ cancellation in 1969, Leonard Simon Nimoy recorded a handful of albums, which included Trek-related songs such as “Highly Illogical.”

Roddenberry first presented Star Trek to CBS. CBS turned it down and went with Lost in Space instead.

Brent Jay Spiner, the actor who played android Lieutenant Commander Data, appeared in seven seasons of Star Trek: The Next Generation and four movies. He voluntarily retired the character when he decided he was “too old” to continue playing the part of a never-aging android with child-like innocence.

A tombstone in the second pilot intended for James T. Kirk reads “James R. Kirk.”

Star Trek TOS was rated as the greatest cult show ever by TV Guide in 2004. TOS maintained its top placement when the magazine redid the ranking in 2007.

Star Trek: The Next Generation premiered in 1987 and was set approximately 100 years after the events of TOS.

The catchphrase “Beam me up, Scotty” was never actually uttered on TOS, although, Kirk did say “Scotty, beam us up” in two TOS episodes.

According to blueprints released by Paramount in 1973, the Enterprise had a six lane bowling alley located on deck 21.

Share your comments on the series below. Live long and prosper.