1966: Star Trek goes on TV

NBC aired "The Man Trap" as a sneak preview on Thursday, September 8th, 1966, at 8:30PM EST, and thus started an era. The initial press reactions were not positive. The science fiction community reacted more positively to the new show, but sci-fi fans are not counted by the Nielsen ratings, and NBC did not see its success. Star Trek is in danger of early death from the start.

On December 10, 1966, a letter was sent to every registered attendee of the 1966 World Sci-Fi Con. The letter bears a message from the leading Sci-Fi writers of the time, including Poul Anderson, Harlan Ellison, Theodore Sturgeon... Their message: Star Trek is in danger of being cancelled or lobotomized. Thus is born the first Save-Star-Trek campaign.

NBC announced on March 14, 1967 that Star Trek will be on its fall schedule, and acknowledged the fan mail (mostly from teenagers) received in support of the show. There were many questions raised about why Star Trek was given the Friday 8:30PM timeslot. Given a choice of watch TV on Friday nights or going out, most teenagers will choose the latter.

The good news did not last for long. By December 1967, John and Bjo Trimble warned that Star Trek is again in danger of cancellation, since the Star Trek fan segment is not reflected in its Nielsen ratings. The second Save-Star-Trek campaign was started, and tens of thousands of letters poured into NBC offices, and Star Trek is saved again.

In 1968, NBC acknowledged that they have received over 115,000 pieces of mail. NBC first announced that Star Trek will receive the Monday 7:30PM timeslot. So when Star Trek was given the Friday 1000PM timeslot, many people believed that NBC wanted Star Trek to fail, as teenagers go to sleep at that time. Star Trek also lost its producer and cinematographer at the end of its second season. The third season was almost universally regarded by fans as the worst.

Star Trek's five-year mission has came to a premature end in 1969, as NBC chose not to renew the series. To the various fans who wrote in hoping for renewal of the show, they were greeted by a form letter.

Dear Viewer:
We appreciate your loyalty to STAR TREK, and want you to know that we too are disappointed. that the program failed to develop the broad appeal necessary for maintaining it on our schedule.
...
Although we realize that a letter probably will not ease your displeasure, we do want to thank you for writing and giving us this chance to explain our point of view.

Note: The letter was reprinted in _The Making of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine_.

Thus ended Star Trek.

A few months later, Niel Armstrong landed on the moon, and the space age officially began, and the campaign to revive Star Trek was just beginning.

 

To learn more

See Classic Trek section, such as Judy Fabian's TOS.

For those of you who prefer paper books, try _The Making of Star Trek_ by Stephen E. Whitfield and Gene Roddenberry, _The Trouble With Tribbles_ by David Gerrold, and _The World of Star Trek_ by David Gerrold, all published by Ballantine Books.

 

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