The myth Star Trek is simplified and tidied up, in a way that does the series a disservice. The memory of Star Trek is quite distinct from the reality of Star Trek, as becomes clear to any viewer watching the show. However, this popularity distorts the narrative. There are episodes of Star Trek that deserve to be offered up as the very best that the medium can offer. The climax of Amok Time has wormed its way into the cultural memory, to the point that many casual television viewers will recognise the distinctive music. Stories like The Devil in the Dark, Errand of Mercy and The City on the Edge of Forever are beautiful pieces of television drama. While the show is not consistent on episode-to-episode basis, it features any number of iconic episodes that still hold up well fifty years later. Even people who have never watched an episode (or seen a scene) of Star Trek can appreciate its impact. Words like “Klingon” and “phaser” conjure up images of the show, while the series has inspired everything from voice interface software to mobile telephones. William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy are icons, much like James Kirk and Mister Spock. Characters and moments from the show are iconic, having permeated the culture. The show gave birth to a franchise that has become a defining aspect of American popular consciousness. It was created by Gene Roddenberry, and attracted a diverse range of writers from horror veteran Robert Bloch to sci-fi legend Richard Matheson. The show ran for seventy-nine episodes, which could be expanded to eighty if the count includes the unaired original pilot. It captured the spirit of the decade, bowing out gracefully only a few weeks before the moon landing and a few months before the seventies. Star Trek was a science-fiction television series that ran on NBC between 19. Through repetition, they have been incorporated into the popular memory of the show. Many of the fundamental truths of Star Trek are accepted at face value, unquestioned and uninterrogated. There are times at which Gene Roddenberry seems less like a television producer and more like a modern day prophet, points at which Star Trek seems less like a television show and more like a religion. The two aspects of the franchise are interlocked and intertwined, the facts buried beneath decades of spin careful cultivated by key figures. It can be difficult to separate the history and mythology of Star Trek.
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