Star Trek: The Original Series facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Star Trek |
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| Genre | |
| Created by | Gene Roddenberry |
| Starring | |
| Theme music composer | Alexander Courage |
| Opening theme | "Theme from Star Trek" |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language(s) | English |
| No. of seasons | 3 |
| No. of episodes | 79 (list of episodes) |
| Production | |
| Executive producer(s) | Gene Roddenberry |
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| Running time | 50 min |
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| Budget | Season one $190,000 per episode (~$1.4 million in 2019) Season two $185,000 per episode Season three $175,000 per episode |
| Release | |
| Original network | NBC |
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| Audio format | Monaural, Dolby Digital 5.1 (remastered edition), DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1 (Blu-ray) |
| Original release | September 8, 1966 – June 3, 1969 |
| Chronology | |
| Followed by | Star Trek: The Animated Series |
| Related shows | Star Trek TV series |
Star Trek is a famous science fiction TV show created by Gene Roddenberry. It first aired from September 8, 1966, to September 2, 1969. Even though the first show was simply called Star Trek, it later got the name Star Trek: The Original Series (or TOS). This helped people tell it apart from all the other Star Trek shows and movies that came later.
The story takes place in the 23rd century. It follows the exciting adventures of a starship called the USS Enterprise (NCC-1701) and its brave crew. The main characters are Captain James T. Kirk (played by William Shatner), his First Officer Mr. Spock (played by Leonard Nimoy), and the Chief Medical Officer Leonard McCoy (played by DeForest Kelley).
At the start of each episode, William Shatner's voice would say the famous words that explained the ship's mission:
Space: the final frontier. These are the voyages of the starship Enterprise. Its five-year mission: to explore strange new worlds, to seek out new life and new civilizations; to boldly go where no man has gone before.
The Beginning of Star Trek
When Star Trek first appeared on NBC in 1966, it wasn't an instant hit. The show's ratings were low, and it didn't bring in much money from advertising. By the end of its first season, some people at the network wanted to cancel it. However, Lucille Ball, who ran the studio that made Star Trek, helped keep the show on the air.
Near the end of the second season, the show was still in danger of being canceled. But its dedicated fans worked hard to save it, and they succeeded! Star Trek got a third season. Sadly, NBC moved the show to a bad time slot on Friday nights at 10 PM. This often meant fewer people would watch.
Star Trek was finally canceled after its third season, with 79 episodes made in total. But this was enough for the show to be shown again in reruns. This is when old shows are sold to other TV stations to be aired. Through reruns, Star Trek became super popular and gained a huge following of fans in the 1970s.
Because of its success, many more Star Trek TV shows and movies were made. The original Star Trek holds a Guinness World Record for having more spin-off shows than any other TV series in history.
Meet the Crew
The main characters of Star Trek are the brave crew members of the USS Enterprise. They work together to explore new worlds and face challenges.
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Christine Chapel
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Janice Rand
| Actor | Character | Role | Seasons | Species | Rank |
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| William Shatner | James T. Kirk | Commanding Officer | 1–3 | Human | Captain |
| Captain Kirk leads the USS Enterprise. He was born in Riverside, Iowa. His two best friends, Spock and Dr. McCoy, help him make decisions. Spock uses logic, while McCoy uses his feelings. | |||||
| Leonard Nimoy | Spock | First Officer and Science Officer | 1–3 | Half-Human/Half-Vulcan | Lieutenant Commander (Season 1), Commander (Seasons 1–3) |
| Spock is half-human and half-Vulcan. He is the ship's second-in-command and science officer. He is one of Kirk's best friends and always uses logic to solve problems. | |||||
| DeForest Kelley | Dr. Leonard "Bones" McCoy | Chief Medical Officer | 1–3 | Human | Lieutenant Commander |
| Dr. McCoy is the ship's main doctor. He is Kirk's other best friend. He often gives advice based on human emotions, which balances Spock's logical approach. | |||||
| James Doohan | Montgomery "Scotty" Scott | Chief Engineer | 1–3 | Human | Lieutenant Commander |
| Scotty is the Scottish Chief Engineer of the Enterprise. He is very protective of the ship. His amazing technical skills often help the crew find quick solutions to big problems. | |||||
| Nichelle Nichols | Nyota Uhura | Communications Officer | 1–3 | Human | Lieutenant |
| Uhura is the ship's communication officer. She is very capable and can even take over other stations on the bridge if needed. She also enjoys singing for her shipmates. | |||||
| George Takei | Hikaru Sulu | Helmsman | 1–3 | Human | Lieutenant |
| Sulu is the ship's helmsman. He has many hobbies, like gymnastics, fencing, and collecting ancient weapons. | |||||
| Walter Koenig | Pavel Chekov | Navigator | 2–3 | Human | Ensign |
| Chekov is a Russian-born navigator. He joined the show in the second season. | |||||
| Majel Barrett | Christine Chapel | Head Nurse | 1–3 | Human | N/A |
| Christine Chapel is the ship's head nurse and works closely with Dr. McCoy. Majel Barrett also voiced the ship's computer. | |||||
| Grace Lee Whitney | Janice Rand | Yeoman | 1 | Human | N/A |
| Janice Rand was Captain Kirk's personal assistant. She appeared in the first season. | |||||
When the show was being cast, the creators didn't say that Dr. McCoy and Spock had to be male. Actress Nichelle Nichols, who played Uhura, even read for the role of Spock! She found the Spock character very interesting.
The role of Sulu was planned to be bigger in the second season. However, George Takei was busy filming another movie, so he only appeared in half of the episodes. His role was filled by Walter Koenig, who played the young Russian navigator Ensign Pavel Chekov. When Takei returned, he and Koenig shared the helm of the Enterprise for the rest of the series.
There's a fun story that the Soviet Union's newspaper Pravda complained that there were no Russians among the diverse crew members. This was seen as a slight, especially since Yuri Gagarin had been the first man in space. Gene Roddenberry, the show's creator, later said it was a mistake not to include a Russian from the start. However, some documents suggest that the show wanted to add a character that would appeal more to teenage girls. Walter Koenig himself doubted the Pravda rumor because Star Trek was never shown in the Soviet Union.
The series also often showed characters, usually security guards in red uniforms, who would get hurt or die soon after appearing. This happened so often that it led to the term "redshirt". A "redshirt" is a character whose main purpose is to die to show how dangerous a situation is for the main characters.
Nathan Jung was a stuntman who worked on this series.
Related Adventures
Star Trek has inspired many other TV shows and movies. Here are some of the other Star Trek TV series:
Images for kids
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The original starship Enterprise
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William Shatner as Captain James T. Kirk in action, from the episode "Where No Man Has Gone Before", 1966
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Title used for the first season
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Spock, Kirk and the Enterprise, 1968.
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"Spock's Brain" was the first episode of the third season.
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Promotional photo of the cast of Star Trek during the third season (1968–1969). From left to right: James Doohan, Walter Koenig, DeForest Kelley, Majel Barrett, William Shatner, Nichelle Nichols, Leonard Nimoy, and George Takei.
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The Captains, together in London at Destination Star Trek
See also
In Spanish: Star Trek: la serie original para niños
