50 Years of Star Trek Page #4

If the circumstances hadn't

fallen the way they did,

if things hadn't

happened the way they did,

then I probably

never been in for the role

of Chekov on "Star Trek."

I read one line. He

says, "You got the part."

And that was the part of a Russian.

Who had a Russian on the show?

We were still just reaching

out trying to make contact

with Russia in a friendly sense.

To bring these people together

created the magic that is "Star Trek."

From day one, we got along... [snaps]

Just like that.

Narrator:
With the

cast and crew assembled,

the Enterprise is nearly

ready to begin its mission.

But Roddenberry

knows something is missing.

G.R. said, "I gotta do

an opening for the show."

So he said, "You take a shot at it,

I'll take a shot at it,

we'll see what happens."

It was, "Space... the final frontier,"

was yours, wasn't it?

- Yeah.

"The final frontier."

"Space...

"the final frontier.

["Star Trek" theme]

So it was some Roddenberry,

it was some Black.

We came out with...

"Boldly go where no

man has gone before."

To boldly go where

no man has gone before.

Narrator:
NBC premieres "Star Trek"

on a Thursday night in the fall of 1966.

Well, the first episode of

"Star Trek," "The Man Trap,"

had 47% audience share.

Lucy wrote a memo to

Gene Roddenberry saying,

"Congratulations, boys, you're a hit."

Back in the late '60s,

what "Star Trek" was doing on

television was cutting edge.

It was ahead of its time.

This was the first time we

saw a miniskirt on television.

"Star Trek"

premiered in September of '66,

the mini made its debut in London

in the summer of '66 and

had not made it to America.

He was way ahead of his time.

It was also a science fiction series

that took the subject

matter very seriously.

Narrator:
"Star Trek" is

unlike anything on television

at the time, but what makes it unique

also threatens to destroy it.

Coming up, the end of "Star Trek"

is just the beginning.

Narrator:
"Star Trek" premieres in 1966,

and instantly becomes one of the

most ground-breaking series

in the history of television.

Gene Roddenberry's vision

is a sign of changing times in America.

A story about a hopeful

future made in a difficult time.

The times were tough.

The war in Vietnam, the

racial issues that were happening,

riots in the streets, riots

at political conventions.

People were angry and

upset and nervous and concerned.

And it was this thing that said, "Hey,

"in the future we have a way

of dealing with these issues.

"It's gonna be okay.

"Here's a group of people who

are solving problems together.

And they're all

different, diverse people."

Narrator:
"Star Trek" tackles

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