Hey Scott, we’ve both been Star Trek fans since it first came on television in 1966. What do you say we travel back in time and revisit each of the Star Trek television series and how they portrayed heroism?

Let’s look first at Star Trek: The Original Series (ST:TOS). It lasted from 1967 through 1969. Set in the 23rd century, it featured a multinational crew – quite revolutionary for the time. At the helm of the Starship Enterprise was Captain James T. Kirk (William Shatner). His second in command was Mr. Spock (Leonard Nimoy) – a pointy-eared alien, void of emotion and dedicated to logic, from the planet Vulcan. Kirk’s chief medical officer and advisor was Dr. “Bones” McCoy (Deforest Kelly).

The original concept for the show was a “wagon train to the stars.” Kirk was supposed to be a futuristic cowboy – bringing justice to the “final frontier” and romancing green alien women. As the show developed, however, the secondary characters of Spock and McCoy became advisors to Kirk. Spock was always reminding Kirk of the logical consequences of his actions, and McCoy emphasized their emotional effects.

True enough, Scott. One of the things I most appreciated about the show was that it was an anthology series – but with a constant crew. With this platform, ST:TOS was able to tackle current-day problems – but safely “transported” to the future. Episodes dealt with racism (Let That Be Your Final Battlefield), beauty (Is There In Truth No Beauty), the Vietnam conflict (A Private Little War), overpopulation (The Mark of Gideon), existentialism (The Enemy Within), and many more.

While creator Gene Roddenberry had a prescient sense of social justice, he also had a 1960s mentality about men and women. Kirk, in particular, portrays a nearly toxic masculinity that verges on misogyny. His alpha-male quality reflects the age in which the show was produced. The women were expected to wear skimpy outfits and succumb to Kirk’s charms.

Well, while we don’t have warp drive or flying cars (wait – that was The Jetsons), a lot of what we saw on Star Trek not only came true, but has influenced modern technology. In the days of the 1960s a computer was a mammoth machine that only major corporations, universities, or the Department of Defense could afford. And a computer that would respond to voice commands was still a dream. Today, computers are everywhere in our culture and we routinely talk to computers not only in our homes, but online and over the phone.

The “communicator” was the inspiration for the “flip phone.” It’s been reported that the designers of the first flip phones “didn’t have to design it that way.” They were inspired by Captain Kirk’s casual way of flipping his wrist to open the speaker and talk into the device. The “replicator” would spit out hot food at a moment’s request. It inspired food vending machines and the microwave oven.

The first space shuttle, although not air- or space-worthy, was named “Enterprise” after Kirk’s ship. The ability for the landing party to have access to the ship’s computer foreshadowed both the internet and wireless data communications. The “PADD” was a device Enterprise crew members carried around as input / output devices that pre-imagined the iPad (the later Star Trek: The Next Generation PADD would be even more prophetic). There are even advances being made in quantum mechanics in which information is being “transported” in the same way that the Enterprise’s “Transporter” would send people to the planet surface.

As much as technology was influenced by Star Trek, moreso were personal lives and careers. For myself, Mr. Spock represented the ideal computer scientist. In other areas of my life I looked at Kirk or Scotty as a role-model for leadership or engineering excellence. There are many, many stories of young people who pursued a career in science, technology, engineering, or mathematics because they were inspired by Star Trek. Indeed, when Nichele Nichols admitted to Martin Luther King, Jr, that she wanted to leave the show because she was tired of Uhura just saying “hailing frequencies open, captain.” King implored her to stay saying: “For the first time on television, we will be seen as we should be seen every day, as intelligent, quality, beautiful people who can sing and dance, yes, but who can go into space, who can be lawyers and teachers, who can be professors — who are in this day — yet you don’t see it on television until now.” She stayed.

You’ve identified the great heroic traits of the Original Series leads. And I wonder if heroism is subject to the eddies and flows of time? The type of role model that Kirk portrays, with his machismo and devil-may-care attitude, seems antiquated in the new millennium. Still, people close to me see that type of heroism in Donald Trump. The President exudes that same sort of “lead by the gut” and swagger of a man “dares takes what he wants” in Captain Kirk. Times change, and so do our perceptions of what makes a great leader – or a great hero.

Regardless, Gene Roddenberry’s optimistic view of the future included men and women of all races and creeds. He was well ahead of his time. We’re still looking for that future – where a person is judged by the content of their character and not the color of their skin.

And still, it would be another two decades before people of alternative sexuality and gender identity would get even a mention in the Star Trek universe. I hope readers will tune in for our next blog post when we review Star Trek: The Next Generation and consider the next iteration of Roddenberry’s vision of the future.

For an optimistic future and engaging stories, that have almost stood the test of time, ST:TOS gets 4 out of 5 Reels. And for heroes who have become both mythic and iconic in scale, I award 4 out of 5 Heroes.