Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
THE TV COLUMN previews Building Star Trek.
One of my favorite places high up there on the digital roster is Smithsonian Channel. Lots of creative stuff is found there for the inner history nerd in all of us.
Smithsonian has put together a two-hour special that combines the past, present and future in an intriguing, fast-paced dip into nostalgia.
Celebrating the 50th anniversary of the original Star
Trek series, Building Star Trek airs at 7 p.m. today and takes an in-depth look at the surprising influence the series has had on science, technology and even society.
Fifty years! Phasers on stun! It’s hard to believe, but I was 17 and had just begun my freshman year in college when Star Trek debuted Sept. 8, 1966. I confess I was busy with other stuff that night and missed the premiere. Of course, as with millions of other fans, I caught up during the series’ wildly successful syndication.
Using original footage, contemporary interviews and the rush to open two 50th anniversary exhibits, the special shows how Star
Trek introduced the world to such wildly improbable science-fiction concepts as hand-held communication devices, desktop computers, space shuttles, touch screens, and other stuff that has since become reality.
Thank you, Gene Roddenberry.
All of this inspiration came
from an NBC series that only aired for three seasons, 19661969, when it was canceled for poor ratings. However, instead of fading away into video obscurity, Star Trek enjoyed huge syndication success and came back (briefly) as an animated series and four spinoffs: Star Trek: The Next Generation; Star Trek: Deep Space Nine; Star Trek: Voyager; Star Trek: Enterprise. Wait! There’s more. Star
Trek: Discovery is set for January on CBS All Access.
And all that doesn’t include the Star Trek film franchise of 13 movies that began with Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979) and extends to the current prequel, Star Trek Beyond, which hit theaters in
July.
Not bad for a little sci-fi series that was dumped for low ratings.
Serving as the recurring theme of Building Star Trek is the herculean effort of a conservation team from the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum. Their assignment was to restore and conserve the 50-year-old, 11-foot, 250-pound model of the U.S.S. Enterprise from the original series.
In an era before computer-generated imagery, it was this model that was seen whenever an exterior shot of the Enterprise was needed.
Also featured is the effort to re-create a replica of the Enterprise bridge using original set pieces and props. The fan-pleasing results recently went on display at Seattle’s EMP Museum.
Trivia: There would have been many more props, but after the original series was canceled, most of them went to the dumpster.
Interspersed with all that are features profiling a number of Star Trek-inspired scientists and engineers who are “pushing the boundaries of physics with inventions first conceived on the iconic series, including medical tricorders, cloaking devices, phasers, universal translators and tractor beams.”
And, as bizarre as it may sound, scientists are closing in on unlocking the secrets of warp drive and teleportation. Maybe.
Don’t laugh. It wasn’t that long ago that hand-held communicators seemed bizarre. How long can you go without your cellphone now?
The special also features fun interviews, including anecdotes from writers from the original series, 83-yearold Nichelle Nichols, who played the ground-breaking Lt. Uhura, and stars of Star Trek Beyond, Simon Pegg and Mark Urban.
HEADS UP
The new TV season begins Sept. 18, but several series will sneak in early this week as some wrap things up. Here’s a brief overview.
Tuesday: Atlanta, a new comedy/drama from Donald Glover, debuts at 9 p.m. on FX. Queen Sugar, a drama co-created by Ava DuVernay and Oprah Winfrey, premieres at 9 p.m. on OWN. Bachelor in Paradise wraps up the season at 7 p.m. on ABC. Zoo ends Season 2 at 8 p.m. on CBS
Wednesday: NBC’s The Night Shift Season 3 finale is at 9 p.m. Tyrant ends its third season at 9 p.m. on FX. American Gothic ends with a double episode at 8 p.m. on CBS.
Thursday: Sunday Night Football (Thursday night edition) kicks off at 7:30 p.m. on NBC with the Panthers at the Broncos. The promising new comedy Better Things debuts at 9 p.m. on FX.
Friday: Quarry, a new drama set in 1972 Memphis, debuts at 9 p.m. on Cinemax and deals with a Vietnam veteran who finds life tough when he returns home.