Star Trek 101

ONESTAR TREK79 hour-long episodes, 1966-1969 "Wagon Train to the Stars" SERIES PREMISEA few hundred years in the future, a heroic captain and his crew explore the galaxy in a really fast spacecraft known as theStarship Enterprise. The crew's standing orders from Starfleet are recited by the captain at the beginning of each episode: Space, the final frontier. These are the voyages of theStarship Enterprise. Its five-year mission: to explore strange new worlds, to seek out new life and new civilizations, to boldly go where no man has gone before. THE SHIPTheU.S.S. EnterpriseNCC-1701 is an interstellar spacecraft with a crew complement of 430 men and women. The ship is powered by warp-drive engines that allow it to travel many times faster than the speed of light, covering great distances within a practical time frame. (You don't really need to know this to enjoy the show; just assume you'll be visiting an average of one planet per week.)Because the ship is large and a bit ungainly, theEnterprisenever lands. It wasn't designed for it. Whenever the ship arrives at a strange new world, it stays in orbit while a "landing party" either pilots a small craft down to the surface or uses the transporter to "beam" there (this will be explained later). The transporter, like warp drive, is a great time-saving device; Starfleet clearly employs a lot of efficiency experts.THE MAIN CHARACTERSJAMES T. KIRK (William Shatner), captain Risk is our business. That's what this starship is all about. That's why we're aboard her. -- "RETURN TO TOMORROW"Kirk is the quintessential Starfleet officer, a man among men and a hero for the ages. His adventures are legendary. He has earned the admiration of his peers, the grudging respect of his opponents, and a chest full of commendations for valor. Cunning, courageous, and confident, Kirk is renowned for his ability to think outside the box, manipulating seemingly impossible situations like a master chess player. If he has one flaw, it is his tendency to ignore Starfleet regulations when he feels the end justifies the means. Kirk's unique style of "cowboy diplomacy" has served him well in countless close encounters.Kirk was born on Earth in Iowa. He proved a very serious student at Starfleet Academy, remembered by a classmate as a "stack of books with legs." As a Starfleet officer, he is a study in contrasts. He depends on the state-ofthe-art twenty-third-century technology that surrounds him but prefers resolving difficult situations with a hands-on approach -- bareknuckle brawling or bamboozling sophisticated alien computers with his glib tongue. Kirk openly deplores humankind's ancient instinct for war and killing but has a deep-seated distrust of apparent peace and tranquillity. He dreams of "a beach to walk on" with a beautiful woman but firmly believes that man wasn't meant to live in paradise. Although Kirk has quite a reputation as a ladies' man, no woman has ever come between him and his career; his passion for theEnterprisealways comes first. His most serious relationship was with Edith Keeler, a forward-thinking but ill-fated social worker whom Kirk met when he traveled into Earth's past.Key Kirk Episodes "The Enemy Within" "Court Martial" "Shore Leave" "The City on the Edge of Forever" "You keep wondering if man was meant to be out here -- you keep wondering and you keep signing on." -- Kirk, "The Naked Time"SPOCK (Leonard Nimoy), first officer I have a human half...as well as an alien half, submerged, constantly at war with each other...I survive it because my intelligence wins out over both, makes them live together. -- "THE ENEMY WITHINThe first Vulcan to enErdmann, Terry J. is the author of 'Star Trek 101', published 2008 under ISBN 9780743497237 and ISBN 0743497236.