A Bold 45 Years

Exactly 45 years ago to the day, a new television series graced the television sets of America, a television series like no other seen before it. Star Trek - originally titled Wagon Train to the Stars - sent viewers to places they had never seen before, witnessed alien species unimaginable at the time, using technology they could only dream of. Star Trek was different. It was radical. It was Gene Roddenberry's vision of the future.

But on September 6th, 1966, Star Trek was just another new show. It didn't have a massive fanbase, the ratings weren't that great and none of the cast were well known actors. In fact, things were very different to how they are now and the show was cancelled after three seasons.

However, upon the announcement of its cancellation, the few fans of the show there were bound together and showed their loyalty to Star Trek by writing letters upon letters to NBC, something unheard of at the time. That small but dedicated group of fans did the impossible. They brought a television show back from cancellation for another season.

Though Star Trek got its fourth season, it was again cancelled due to low ratings. But the story doesn't end there. The series was put into syndication through the 1970s giving millions more people the opportunity to see this wonderful new show. And from there, the Star Trek franchise kicked off with a bang.

Today, the Star Trek franchise consists of a magnificent six television series, eleven feature films, dozens of games, hundreds of novels, as well as a themed attraction in Las Vegas (opened in 1998 and closed in September 2008), and at least two traveling museum exhibits of props.

Join us now as we celebrate together what Star Trek is and what it means to us as a fleet by reading here.