The Television Critics Association has announced the winners of its annual TCA Awards and Star Trek has been honored with the very special Heritage Award. The Original Series has been gifted the gong due to its iconic nature in the history of television and its impressively (for the time) diverse cast and progressive messages that still resonate today.
The news comes via StarTrek.com, with the following statement released by the TCA:
“The Television Critics Association (TCA) was proud to bestow the Heritage Award upon Gene Roddenberry’s landmark 1966 sci-fi epic Star Trek, in recognition of the groundbreaking series which brought the future to life — illustrating a unique vision that is equal parts hopeful and cautious as it explored issues such as bigotry, religion, politics, sexism, and human rights through timeless stories of love, war, intrigue, and adventure in outer space — with the help of a strong cast that was among the first to feature an African-American actress in a significant leading role,”
Our Heritage Award winner honestly needs no introduction, but let's try anyway. It's perhaps the most significant sci-fi series in American TV history, and it spawned a massive, sprawling franchise that continues to this day. But everything goes back to the original @StarTrek! pic.twitter.com/nsXxoAkhCo
— The TCA (@OfficialTCA) September 14, 2020
While fans may continually debate which Star Trek show is the best, there’s no denying that TOS is the most groundbreaking and, as the TCA said in a tweet (seen above), it’s the “most significant sci-fi series in American TV history.” Despite the massive, sprawling franchise it spawned, “everything goes back to the original.”
Yes, the Trek universe has moved on and is being continually updated, but the spirit of The Original Series still endures. The reboot movies featured brand new versions of the original Enterprise crew, with Leonard Nimoy even reprising his role as Spock for the first two.
Spock then returned for Star Trek: Discovery, now played by Ethan Peck, who will reprise the character for Star Trek: Strange New Worlds as well, a direct prequel to TOS. It’s believed that other future members of Kirk’s crew will appear on the upcoming series, too. Maybe even James T. himself.
Of course, this TCA Award is extremely timely, given that last week marked Star Trek Day. It’s a good time to be a Star Trek fan all-round, then, seeing as Star Trek: Lower Decks airs weekly on CBS All Access and Discovery season 3 debuts immediately after it, starting October 15th.