Space...

It was on this day, 40 years ago, that man first boldly went where many more would eventually go.

On September 8th 1966 Captain Kirk recorded his first ever Captain’s Log, and did battle with his first alien – the salt vampire on planet M-113. Star Trek means a lot to me, the show has been diluted over the years thanks to it’s many sequel series, some great – some weak; but the original is still as glorious today as it was in 1966.

It was the first time SF had really been treated intelligently by television. It embraced topical stories and commented on society of the time by transposing the issues to the future. The Klingons were the Russians, constantly breathing down the Federations throat in an inter-stellar cold war.

Star Trek also embraced multi-culture by showing humans not only getting along with alien races – but more importantly, getting along with each other. It’s a shame that the message Star Trek carries hasn’t been embraced in real life. 40 years later we’re still fighting, still squabbling, if anything worse so than in 1966.

The show was also one of the first television shows to really enter the public consciousness. Transporters, phasers, warp drives, Vulcans, Romulans and communicators have all become part of pop culture lingo in a way that only Doctor Who’s TARDIS and Star Wars’ light sabres can rival.

In 2008 Star Trek will return to cinemas in a brand new adventure featuring a brand new Captain Kirk. I for one can’t wait to return to that original crew and original Enterprise – no A’s, no B’s and definitely no bloody D’s.

So to the Shat, Nimoy, Nichols, Koenig, Takei, Barret, the late and much loved Kelley & Doohan not to mention the great bird himself Gene – happy birthday. Thanks for the adventure let’s hope it’s really just beginning.