Space: the final frontier…
Those four words helped define Star Trek: The Original Series more than five decades ago, when Captain James T. Kirk and first officer Spock – William Shatner and the late, great Leonard Nimoy, respectively – piloted the starship Enterprise into the dark corners of space.
Their adventures helped turn Star Trek into a true cultural phenomenon and ever since its humble debut back in ’66, it’s managed to stay relevant and just as beloved as it’s always been. That’s something which was recognized by the Television Academy last weekend, when they presented their Governor’s Award to CBS for all of Star Trek‘s achievements over the last 52 years, commending it as a “visionary science-fiction television franchise and its legacy of boldly propelling science, society, and culture where no one has gone before.”
It’s a well deserved award, too, as the franchise has repeatedly broken new ground in what can be done on television. Not to mention it’s also touched the lives of millions of people worldwide and continues to paint a positive utopia to which we can aspire.
Accepting the award were William Shatner and Star Trek: Discovery lead Sonequa Martin-Green, though there were many representatives from across the various Star Trek series in attendance as well. And now, you can watch as they all speak about the property’s long lasting legacy and why it still continues to resonate with viewers even to this day.
It’s heartening to see all these people talk so highly of Trek, especially William Shatner, who unfortunately hasn’t been too involved in the franchise during recent years. That may change quite soon, though, as the actor has said he’d be up for reprising his role should it be for something meaningful.
Perhaps he’ll appear in Patrick Stewart’s upcoming series then? Or maybe in Star Trek 4? But even if none of that works out, and Shatner decides to stay away from the USS Enterprise, you can be sure that the future of the franchise is brighter than ever and it’ll continue to boldly go where no man’s gone before for many more years.
