Briefing room

Star Trek, Gene Roddenberry's iconic science fiction series, aired from 1966 to 1969. It was conceived as a sort of 'wagon train to the stars' and followed the adventures of the crew of the starship Enterprise, commanded by James T. Kirk, in their five year patrol mission. (NASA went on to name its first space shuttle after the starship.)

Star Trek has had an enormous cultural impact. Its characters and stories argued for diplomacy, peace, and cultural understanding over distrust, xenophobia, and war. It presented a view of a future where humanity had conquered the problems plaguing it in the twentieth century, giving hope that we could indeed rise above our petty differences and problems to become part of something greater.

It argued for civil rights with its multi-ethnic crew. Nichelle Nichols, frustrated the lack of substance to her role, was convinced to stay on the show by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., who told her that her simple presence as a black women professional working along side whites as equals furthered the goals of racial equality. What is often considered the first kiss between black and white actors on television occurred between Nichols and actor William Shatner in the episode "Plato's Stepchildren."

The rhetoric of Star Trek argued for equality across the board, even when such things as women's rights were not specifically addressed on the show (or even undermined by episodes such as "Turnabout Intruder").

A landmark in television programming, it has spawned five spinoff shows, eleven feature films, toys, collectables, comic books, forty video games, 120 compact discs. There are somewhere around 70 million Star Trek books in print. The Klingon language has its own MLA recognized academic journal. "Trekkie" is the only fan label listed in The Oxford English Dictionary. A manga has even been made of the adventures of Captain Kirk and his crew.

Then there are countless pieces of fan culture - art, fiction, song, websites, whole fan produced episodes - all created by those who do it for nothing more than the love of the show and its characters. No other series has had as significant an impact as a science fiction and pop cultural phenomenon, nor as long lasting.

about fanlistings

A fanlisting is a place for people to come together and declare their love for something, thereby building the biggest list of fans of that thing from around the globe. This hobby began with fans of Buffy the Vampire Slayer and mushroomed from there. The headquarters for the effort is at TFL and TAFL.