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Originally Posted by MikeNoun
I'm not sure how I missed those Star Trek photos, but those are VERY cool!!!
One of the greatest, most influential TV shows in history. Not only was it entertaining, but broke so many barriers and created such controversy back then. Unfortunately, many typical TV viewers back then were tuned into variety shows and sitcoms, and ratings for Star Trek were poor.
The audacity of having a bridge crew consisting of mixed races was groundbreaking. An Asian helmsman, an African-American female, a Russian helmsman (when the Cold War was at its peak), a Scottsman, and of course an alien (Vulcan). Gene Roddenberry assumed that in the future, space exploration wouldn't just consist of a bunch of white American males with perfect haircuts, and his casting made the network a bit uncomfortable. Roddenberry was a visionary, and his contribution to American culture cannot be underestimated.
Mike
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If you can get your hands on the May issue of Smithsonian magazine, the one with Mars as the cover story I think you'll enjoy it. There is a very interesting article described as 'The Oral History of Star Trek' which is a collection of interspersed interviews with the cast, script writers and especially with Gene Roddenberry. I found it interesting and surprising that he was a WWII USAAF B-17 pilot and later a Los Angeles Police officer before creating the show...which by the way, was a flop at the time.