Television Review: Star Trek: The Original Series
What Parents Should Know
Parents need to know that, compared to today's visually
stunning special effects, this show was very low-budget in both
props and special effects and may consequently seem silly to
modern kids. But beyond that, the series was a metaphor for the
upheaval of the 1960s. Behind the storylines of space travel
and aliens are important social commentaries on racism, sexism,
politics, and the fear that machines might one day rule the
world. Taken at face value, though, most of the adventures are
pretty innocent and are fine for young tweens and up.
Families can talk about the importance of respecting
differences and not asking others to conform. Parents can also
stress the value of teamwork, even when not all participants
agree. The show also prompts a lot of fun/imaginative
questions. What would our world be like if money was no longer
used? If sickness and injuries were easily healed with
high-tech medicine? If we could travel the universe and visit
other planets? Would you be afraid, or would you embrace new
ideas and new concepts? Would you be open to learning about
other races, or is the idea scary?
Iconic series STAR TREK -- a show that's launched a thousand spin-offs, movies, books, games, action figures, and conventions -- chronicles the adventures of the U.S.S. Enterprise, a spaceship representing the United Federation of Planets in the 23rd century. The ship is on a mission to explore the space frontier, but the show itself isn't as much about space as it is about the people on the Enterprise. Among them are brash, emotional Capt. Kirk (William Shatner); logical Vulcan Spock (Leonard Nimoy); and hot-headed Dr. Leonard "Bones" McCoy (DeForest Kelley). Creator Gene Roddenberry also made a point of including crew members of various ethnic backgrounds, including Japanese Lt. Hikaru Sulu (George Takei), Russian Ensign Pavel Chekov (Walter Koenig), and Scottish Lt. Cmdr. Montgomery "Scotty" Scott (James Doohan), and African-American Lt. Nyota Uhura (Nichelle Nichols).
In their 80 episodes, the original Star Trek crew encountered deadly diseases, alien races, time warps, beautiful women in skin-tight outfits, and furry creatures called Tribbles. Kirk was put on trial for crimes against humanity, split into two alter-egos (good and evil), and cloned into an android. Forty years later, the series still succeeds in syndication because its messages about racism, sexism, politics, and respecting differences really are timeless (even if the special effects aren't ... though the early episodes are being remastered and enhanced with more up-to-date effects and imagery). At the core of the show is the idea that humans are complex creatures, and dilemmas often have no right or wrong answer.
Star Trek: The Next GenerationStar Trek: Deep Space Nine
Star Trek: Voyager
Star Trek: Enterprise
Babylon 5
Battlestar Galactica
Stargate SG-1
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