Star Trek, the science-fiction show about the crew of the starship Enterprise, premiered 50 years ago today on NBC, spawning a cult following and decades of spin-offs. Here are some milestones from the franchise’s 50-year history:
1966
Star Trek premieres on NBC, a low-stakes gamble that executives hope will pay off by bolstering the show with its juggernaut, ace-in-the-hole lead-in, Tarzan
1967
Nickname “Starries” briefly taken for a spin
1969
Massive letter-writing campaign by thousands of fans imploring NBC to cancel the show so it can achieve cult status before being brought back as a movie franchise
1970-75
Syndicated daytime reruns help Star Trek grow in popularity among the kind of people who are inside watching TV at two in the afternoon
1977
Star Wars premieres
1986
Television producers watching a West End performance of Henry V conclude Patrick Stewart just might be a worthy heir to William Shatner’s legacy
1993
Debut of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine provides viewers the first hint that this could actually go on forever
2015
Comic-Con attendees patiently sit through George Takei’s gut-wrenching account of his years in a WWII internment camp before asking him whether he’d been formally trained in fencing prior to filming the 1966 episode “The Naked Time”
September 8, 2016
Fans nationwide celebrate 50th anniversary of the Tarzan premiere
