70s Trek: Star Trek In The 1970s

1976 was the year America celebrated its Bicentennial.  It was also the year that a small movie called Rocky captured our hearts, and a computer company, Apple, was born in a California garage. This was also the year that Star Trek reached it apex in terms of popularity.  Its audience had grown considerably since entering syndication and now it was a firm part of American culture. This fact was further illustrated when President Ford renamed the first NASA space shuttle Enterprise after the iconic starship from Trek. But Star Trek got a further nod that it was reaching new heights when the late night comedy show, Saturday Night Live, did a sketch that parodied the show. It featured John Belushi as Captain Kirk, Chevy Chase as Spock and Dan Aykroyd as Dr. McCoy and details The Last Voyage of the Starship Enterprise." Guest host Elliot Gould plays a NBC executive boards the Enterprise and tells the crew that the show has been cancelled.  It's all done for laughs, with a little message thrown in, as well.  SNL w