Though it was actually The Next Generation that served as the bulk of the series, it’s the original that gets Trekkies everywhere the most nostalgic. It’s where everything we love about Star Trek all started, and it was one of the main sci-fi programs to introduce the mainstream to the appeal of science fiction. Featuring bizarre alien races, imaginative and complex technology, and plot lines dealing with relevant, hard-hitting moral and sociological issues, Star Trek proved that sci-fi can be more than pew-pew laser blasting and UFOs, it can teach us something about the human race itself and it’s coming future. A classic episode like “City on The Edge of Forever” deals with the consequences of rewriting history, forcing the crew to deliberately let someone die in order to save the future. In an episode like “Friday’s Child”, the crew is forced into a planet’s tribal power struggle, forcing them to integrate into new social strata and accept strange new laws or lose their lives in the process. Far above any of it’s rivals, Star Trek had serious points to make, and was therefore nominated for a dozen Emmy awards, an amazing feat indeed for a show ironically facing cancellation.
That’s right. Amazingly enough, given it’s modern fan base of millions, dedicated like no others, the first Star Trek series only lasted three seasons and ended in cancellation. It only made it that far through the volume of fan demand, only making it to it’s last season through an extensive and unprecedented letter-writing campaign. Only after it’s cancellation did NBC realize the property they were dealing with, and the smash success of The Next Generation would solidify just how strong the impact of Star Trek on sci-fi culture was. By then, it was too late to fix their mistake and give Kirk a few more years on the Enterprise, with the smash success of The Next Generation the only consolation.
The old crew retired their uniforms years too soon, leaving Trekkies dying for a few new adventures with Kirk, Spock, Scotty, Sulu, and the rest of the first generation crew to this day. If they won’t fill their old uniforms again, why not fill it for them? You may not have a constitution class warp-drive spaceship at your disposal, but you no doubt have a burning desire to boldly go where no man has before, and that’s what counts. Whether it be Star Trek uniform t-shirts or baby onesies, running the spectrum from Captain Kirk, the scientific and mysterious Spock, and the engineering expertise of Scotty. These feature the classic colors and designs down to the Starfleet badge. The only question is which role you want to play.
