Cultural Influence of Star Trek - Waxing and Waning

Waxing and Waning

In the mid-1970s, encouraged by the burgeoning fan base for the show, Roddenberry sought to start a second television series (Star Trek: Phase II); this abortive attempt morphed into Star Trek: The Motion Picture in 1979. The movie did sufficiently well at the box office, grossing more than $80 million in the US and $139 million worldwide, to spawn several more movies during the 1980s. In 1987, Roddenberry created a second TV show, Star Trek: The Next Generation (TNG), which was set aboard the fifth Federation starship Enterprise (NCC-1701-D) more than seventy years after events in the earlier series and related movies. Unlike TOS – which often reflected a bold, interventionist American philosophy — TNG had a less aggressive and more socially liberal message. This show, unlike its progenitor, entered syndicated, rather than a nationwide network, from the beginning, and was sold to individual local TV stations. It became the number one syndicated TV show, lasting seven seasons, spawned two sequels, a prequel, four movies, and a vast marketing franchise.

Star Trek and its spinoffs have proved highly popular in television repeats, shown repeatedly on TV stations in the US and throughout the world. The Star Trek franchise is similarly prolific. Only Star Wars has had as significant an influence as a science fiction and popular culture phenomenon. According to Forbes magazine:

• the five live-action Star Trek series have garnered 31 Emmy Awards and 140 nominations. At least nine specials have been produced
• the eleven movies have cumulatively grossed US$2.145 billion at the box office: the most successful movie was Star Trek (2009) grossing $385 million worldwide and after a combined nine nominations for four films, it was the first Star Trek film to win an Oscar. Having been nominated in four categories, it received the award for Best Make-up
• at least 120 compact discs and 40 video games contain "Star Trek" in their titles; the CDs are mostly soundtracks and audio books but also Klingon language instruction
• about 70 million books are in print
• the franchise entails a merchandising business with a total lifetime gross of about $4 billion from companies including Playmates Toys, Hallmark Cards, and Hasbro
• resorts include rides and attractions at Paramount-owned amusement parks as well as Star Trek: The Experience formerly at the Las Vegas Hilton

Star Trek conventions have been popular, but are waning and are now often meshed with conventions of other genres. Fans coined the terms "Trekkies" and "Trekkers" to describe themselves, and produce an abundance of material like fanzines with fiction, art and songs.

The show’s cultural influence goes far beyond its longevity and profitability. An entire subculture grew up around the show and, anecdotally, there are indications that Star Trek has influenced many people's lives. Many scientists and engineers claim that their professional and life choices were influenced by Star Trek. The inventor of the first non-vehicular cell phone, Martin Cooper, states he was motivated to develop it from watching Star Trek. In addition, phrases like "Beam me up, Scotty", "Resistance is futile" (from the Borg), and Treknobabble have entered the vernacular. Words from the show including Klingon have been added to the Oxford English Dictionary, and "Trekkie" is the only fan label listed in that dictionary. Fictional devices in the show have also been claimed as inspirations for actual devices like mobile phones (communicator).

A broad consensus amongst fans is that the Star Trek franchise became formulaic and mediocre in the 1990s due to over-exploitation of the franchise by Paramount and production of multiple spin-offs and movies, though fans do not necessarily agree as to when this began (some adult viewers of TOS felt it also could be formulaic and repetitive). The release in May 2009 of Star Trek, a reboot involving characters from the original series and set in an alternate timeline, was developed with the partial hope to resurrect the franchise.

Jeff Jensen of Entertainment Weekly, in reviewing the new film states that the Star Trek franchise had "devolved into a near-irrelevant cultural joke, likely to inspire giggles and unprintable curses from even its most ardent supporters." Leonard Nimoy wondered in 2003 whether or not the franchise "had run its course". Director J. J. Abrams argued "people even understand what Star Trek means anymore", and joked that a parody like Galaxy Quest which "mocks the paradigm" made the task of producing a credible Star Trek film that much more challenging. Even on set, Abrams felt nervous "with all these tattooed faces and pointy ears, bizarre weaponry and Romulan linguists, with dialogue about 'Neutral Zones' and 'Starfleet'". In covering the relaunch film, Jensen remarked the series' optimistic nature ran counter to an increasingly cynical culture, and that the film had been delayed from December 2008 to May 2009 to "rehab" the series' image.

Upon release, the film was a major critical and box office success, sparking comments by fans and critics that the franchise has a bright renewed future.