70s Trek: Star Trek In The 1970s

If you grew up in the 70s, and were a Trek fan, you probably came across the Star Trek series of books by James Blish.  Co-hosts Bob Turner and Kelly Casto take a look at these books in this episode of 70s Trek. James Blish started writing the episode adaptations for Bantam Books in 1967. He is credited for writing 11 books through 1975. That's when he died from cancer. His wife Judith Lawrence finished Star Trek 12 in 1977. Blish also wrote the first Star Trek novel for adults in 1970, Spock Must Die.  It was a sequel to the episode Errand of Mercy. But more importantly, it marked the beginning of publishing original Star Trek novels that continues today. The Blish books proved that there was an audience for written Star Trek material, and it was large! From 1967 through 1975, the Blish adaptations sold over 4 million copies, which was unheard of for the science fiction genre.

Do you remember seeing The Doomsday Machine for the first time? Remember that feeling of awe you had when Mirror, Mirror first blew your mind?  Which episode do you remember the most from when you were a kid? This week, co-hosts Bob Turner and Kelly Casto each discuss their top 5 Star Trek episodes.  But there's a twist.  It's how Bob and Kelly remember the shows from when they were 10-years-old back in the 1970s.  They both had to go back into their pre-pubescent mindsets to remember how Star Trek impacted them at the time.  Here is their results: Kelly: 5 - Wink of an Eye 4- Errand of Mercy 3- Tomorrow is Yesterday and Assignment Earth - They tie! 2 - Balance of Terror 1 - The Trouble with Tribbles Honorable Mention - Wolf in the Fold   Bob: 5- Bread and Circuses 4 - Journey to Babel 3 - The Doomsday Machine 2 - Mirror, Mirror 1 - Arena Honorable Mention - The Menagerie, Parts 1 and 2   What are your top 5 shows?

When Star Trek was cancelled in 1969, there was no reason to think that this little science fiction show would ever come back.  But the show's failures actually helped drive its new success in the 1970s. Co-hosts Bob Turner and Kelly Casto look at the syndication juggernaut that was Star Trek in the 1970s. Failure Led to Success Star Trek had not been profitable during its NBC run.  In fact, when it was cancelled, its production costs had pushed it to be over $4 million in the red.  That's over $30 million in today's dollars! The show was considered a dead property and Paramount desperately wanted to find a way to recoup some of those costs.  So the studio decided to move the show into syndication.  This was an interesting decision at the time because conventional wisdom stated that a show needed to have at least 100 episodes to be successful. But Paramount's need to make some kind of profit from Star Trek was great so they decided to move forward with just the 79 episodes.  The studio did not expect that the

Star Trek has these little, unique stories that surround its production.  Little things that happened that didn’t happen on other shows. This week, we’ve got another one of those stories.  But it's a bigger deal. Co-hosts Bob Turner and Kelly Casto discuss the studio that produced Star Trek, Desilu.  When the show first went into production, the studio was owned by Hollywood and TV great, Lucille Ball.   Lucy liked Star Trek and saved the show on several occasions.  A great example of her loyalty came on the last day of production on the second pilot, Where No Man Has Gone Before.  Sand was accumulating on the camera dolly tracks.  Lucy grabbed a broom and began sweeping the sand away to keep the production on track. In 1967 Lucy decided to sell Desilu to Paramount which was owned by Gulf+ Western.  While it was the end of Desilu, this sale was necessary for the rebirth of Star Trek in the 1970s.  Only a studio the size of Paramount had the capital, the vision and the ability to invest in multiple development

Gene Coon was a writer and producer on Star Trek.  Over the years he has become known as "The Forgotten Gene" or "The Other Gene" often getting confused with series creator Gene Roddenberry.   But Coon's impact is immeasurable on the original series.  He is credited as developing some of the cornerstones on which the Star Trek Universe is built.  The Federation, the Prime Directive and the Klingons are just a few of his creations while he worked on the show.  He also wrote or produced some of the most memorable episodes of the show's three-year run. Ultimately Coon's lighter feel didn't line up with the direction Roddenberry wanted to take the show and the two parted ways mid-way through the second season.  Coon touched or wrote some of the best of shows Star Trek had to offer.  His writing is marked by the heart and feeling that his characters showed on screen, along with a sense of  humor. Co-hosts bob Turner and Kelly Casto discuss Gene Coon and his Star Trek legacy.

It was just 47 days after Star Trek was cancelled when Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin walked on the moon.  The timing also seems intentional today. Co-hosts Bob Turner and Kelly Casto talk about the first moon landing and its impact on the original series on this episode of 70s Trek. As American astronauts walked on the moon in the years between 1969 and 1972, Star Trek entered syndication.  Suddenly, what seemed far-fetched in the 1960s, was becoming real in the 1970s. Apollo 11 helped people realize that space exploration was real.  Star Trek seemed much more possible to people than it did when the series first aired.

The third installment of the J.J. Abrams-produced movies is out!  The release Star Trek Beyond is part of the 50th Anniversary celebration of the franchise and there are plenty of classic Trek reference peppered throughout the film. Co-hosts Bob Turner and Kelly Casto discuss the movie on this episode.

The literary character Captain Horatio Hornblower appeared in 17 novels by author C.S. Forester. The books were published over 30 years, from 1937 to 1967. Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry loved these stories, and patterned much of Trek, and particularly the character James T. Kirk, after them. Co-hosts Bob Turner and Kelly Casto take a look at the similarities in this episode of 70s Trek.

After five spin-offs, and twelve movies, it's hard to remember what being a fan of Star Trek was like in 1970.  Then, there was only the original series. Co-hosts Bob Turner and Kelly Casto take you back to a time just after the original series went off the air and discuss the universe of Star Trek at the time. It wasn't as big as it is today, but it wasn't as small as you'd think, either.  All the elements that make up the later versions of Trek were seeded in the original 79 episodes.

The creator of Star Trek, Gene Roddenberry, led an extraordinary life...before he ever created the show! Gene was a B-17 pilot in World War II and survived not one but two crashes!  After the War, he signed on with Pan Am as a commercial pilot.  Engine problems resulted in a third crash on the Syrian desert.  Twenty-six-year-old Roddenberry saved his passengers by walking across the desert to get help. After leaving Pan Am, Gene worked as a LAPD police officer.  He was a traffic cop riding a motorcycle, and later became the Chief's speech writer.  It was that experience that led him to TV in the mid-1950s.

In January 1969, NBC decided to not to renew Star Trek.  The show was in the middle of its third season.  Richard Nixon had just been sworn in as President, the nation had not heard the name "Watergate" yet, and over 500,000 troops were fighting a war in Vietnam. When Star Trek was cancelled it was nearly $30 million in debt in today's dollars.  It had no future, it was a dead hulk that no one thought anything of.   Yet somehow, this quirky little show made it into syndication where it resonated with another generation viewers. In just nine years, the show would be resurrected as a major motion picture and soon become a multi-billion dollar franchise. It all starts at the end.