A Tribute to Lake Avenue

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The Summer Replacement: Star Trek

It was a different age for television. Network was a second-class medium, nielsens ruled the day, and shows with long narratives with definite endings were an experiment that The Prisoner was only just testing.

Gene Roddenberry's Star Trek got a hell of a lot done with a low budget and managed to become the most famous show of its time, yet it was cancelled due to low ratings and ended unceremoniously, far short of the famous "Five-Year Mission."

The only reason the original series stayed on as long as it did was because Lucille Ball, as the main underwriter, worked so hard to keep it running. But eventually it worked. And after nearly 20 years working its way into America's hearts, they made the gamble of making a whole new show, The Next Generation, which to an 80s-born person like myself, was Star Trek. Even so, the original series is so ubiquitous that I came into this experience knowing perfectly well what I was in for: classic characters, goofy William Shatner posturing, the odd heavyhanded morality play...

I'd go further into the details, but what is left to write about this show? I simply find it amazing that something so culturally monumental toiled in obscurity for all but its earliest days.
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The Great American Psych-Out Continues...

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Oh, The Butts.

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Monty Park Live

Traiteurism/Alison Brie

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Cat Pandering

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