Today is the 60th Anniversary of a television show that changed the world. And in turn, it created a group of fans that helped with that change, but changed the show itself. In this blog post I’m going to explore some of those intertwined histories that are out there. Some of them you may know, and some of them may be new to you.
Just recently I was asked, “Are you a trekkie or a trekker?” I responded with “treknologist” which made her blink a few times. There are many names that Star Trek fans have called themselves. While I was thinking about the question asked, I remembered that I was introduced to Star Trek by my father in the 70s. He would come home and watch the syndicated re-runs. My young mind kept asking questions like “If they are in space, how come they are not floating around with no gravity?” or “Where does the power come from to fly that ship?” It then made me wonder if I was a Syndi, a person who was introduced to the show during the syndication years of the 70’s. Then my mind clicked and said, “It doesn’t matter. Only one term should come to mind to describe us. And that is ‘fan’.”
Star Trek is a buffet of choices. Some dishes are directly prepared for us, other dishes are prepared for different tastes. But it’s all Star Trek. As consumers not only do we choose what we want, but we’ve made our own dishes in the form of filk, fan-fiction, fan-films, head-canon theories, human created art, role-playing games, cosplays, community service and more. Some of these have echoed back into the licensed media, the shows themselves and even the world around us.
In the 1960’s while the show was airing, fans consumed the first Gold Key Star Trek comics. Fans talked about this exciting new show with other people that made them fans as well. And fans wrote in support of the show to help secure a third-season at NBC. This was done by a pair of fans named John and Bjo Trimble. I was invited to attend a backyard party where they were the guests of honor. We sat and talked for hours. Bjo wanted to make sure that John got just as much credit as she did for the letter writing campaign. She had tried to point this out to a reporter in the 60’s, but he wanted to focus on her as “local housewife saves Star Trek” sounded like a catchier article than “guy saves Star Trek”. Because of these efforts, Ms. Trimble and other fans got invited to be in the crew briefing scene in Star Trek: The Motion Picture.
Fans of the show helped write the FASA Star Trek Roleplaying Game. Not only did this open the door for fans to “make” their own Star Trek episodes, but the information provided by this game was used in other Star Trek media. The information about characters, planets, ships and more appeared in the DC Comics run of Star Trek, but also in the IDW Star Trek comics as well. FASA STRPG background information and art appeared in episodes from The Next Generation to Discovery and Prodigy.
The Vulcan name of Ni’Var that was used in Enterprise and Discovery came from a Star Trek fanzine in the 1960’s. In the mid-1970’s many fans wrote into NASA campaigning to name the first Space Shuttle “Enterprise”. Footage of this real-life vessel was later used in the title scenes for Star Trek: Enterprise.
Star Trek fandom has also opened professional doors for some talented individuals. My good friend Larry Nemecek started by running Star Trek conventions in Oklahoma. This led to him writing his own brand of TNG fan encyclopedias. From there he became a historian for the show as Dr. Trek. Writing for various Star Trek magazines, releasing the Star Trek Next Generation Companion, Star Trek Stellar Cartography and even writing a Star Trek Voyager episode. And Larry isn’t the only one. Michael Dismuke started Continuing Missions website dedicated to Star Trek Adventures. This gave him an opportunity to write for the game, a short story, and eventually his brand new book on Star Trek Timelines: A Visual Voyage Through Generations of History. I don’t know about you, but seeing that Larry, Michael and others can expand their fandom into a career, gives me hope that I’ll see my name in credits some day.
I’ve talked a lot about some of the influences this 60-year old show has provided. And I can tell you that this doesn’t even scratch the surface of what it has influenced. Look around you. You’ll see NASA employees in the 70’s wearing Spock ears while conducting a mission. People will drop Star Trek quotes all the time like “He’s dead, Jim” or “It is possible to commit no mistakes and still lose” or even a simple greeting like “Live Long and Prosper”. Fans will look for hope, entertainment, inspiration and self-reflection. We will realize that we are all together on this blue marble so we better take care of it and each other. Sure, we may wonder if a certain flavor on the buffet is for us, but in the end, we just need to keep enjoying this meal that a lot of people helped put together.
Thank you Star Trek for the last 60 years, I can’t wait to see what comes around for the next 60. Live Long and Prosper.
What are your greatest Star Trek fandom memories? Tell me about it. This article is open for discussion on the TardisCaptain dot Com Discord server. You can also email me at Carl (at) TardisCaptain.com with any comments.