Happy 41st Birthday, Star Trek!

Space: The final frontier. These are the voyages of the Starship Enterprise...

On September 8, 1966, the first episode of Star Trek: The Original Series aired on NBC. The Enterprise's five year mission lasted, in actuality, only three years (the series ran from 1966-1969), but it was a journey that would live on in syndication for decades to come. In the simplest terms:

The reach of Star Trek is, by now, immeasurable. Fans are international (and perhaps, intergalactic), drawn in by the Trek's heady mix of technology, philosophy and anthropology and its potential for real-world applications. In recent years, trekkies have themselves become a cultural fixture, and have even been immortalized in two documentaries, entitled...what else? Trekkies and Trekkies 2.

Star Trek's creator, Gene Roddenberry, was a tireless defender of his creation, and its quest for a better, kinder humanity: one that explored and appreciated its diverse cultures and perspectives, and respected them without interference.  This notion was most beautifully and succinctly stated in the highest order from Starfleet, the Prime Directive:

From the original series came and animated series, The Next Generation, Deep Space 9, Voyager and Enterprise, as well as several feature films, mainly based on Original and TNG. And so it went, for 726 combined episodes and 11 films. Recently, there were talks of a new Star Trek film, a prequel to the original series taking place in Starfleet Academy with a young Kirk and Spock. It comes full circle. The cosmic ballet goes on.

My trekkie status has long been solidified (in case you hadn't guessed). Perhaps surprisingly, then, my personal favourite Star Trek reference comes from an unlikely source--Eddie Murphy's 1983 standup special, Delirious. Watch the clip about Star Trek here (not really safe for work--listen without headphones at your discretion).