The year 1966 was a turbulent time in American history. The civil rights movement, which began in earnest in 1954, continued more than a decade later. U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War continued to escalate, as President Lyndon Johnson authorized additional troops, bringing the total from 180,000 to more than 250,000, as well as the bombing of Hanoi and Haiphong, prompting Martin Luther King, Jr., to begin speaking out against the war as well as racial injustice. In the midst of this, an ambitious science fiction television show premiered: Star Trek. (more…)
Tag: Television
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This Week in Geek (6/15-6/21)
On June 19, 1865, the Emancipation Proclamation, first issued in January 1863, was read in Texas, the most remote of the U.S. states that had rebelled in the American Civil War. The date, which has come to be known as Juneteenth, Freedom Day, and other names, is celebrated as the end of slavery in the United States, and a day to honor the contributions of African Americans to the nation’s history.
This week, Geek Unified Theory will be sharing several stories to do just that. On #TrekTuesday, we will post a story about Star Trek and the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s. For Comic Book Wednesday, we will discuss the history of black superheroes. Thursday Game Night will feature a story about African Americans in the game industry, and SFF Friday will showcase African American science fiction and fantasy writers. (more…)
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Diseases in Science Fiction
Humanity has been fighting against disease throughout history, from the common cold to the Bubonic Plague, and most recently, the coronavirus, aka COVID-19. Humanity continues this fight in fiction, to varying degrees of success.
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Starfleet Uniforms: 2140s to 2160s
Starfleet has fielded many uniforms over the course of its existence. In this series, we will take a look at each, from the beginning of the Earth Starfleet in the 2140s through those worn in 2399 and beyond.
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The Bloody Road to Star Trek’s Future
The future of the human race in Star Trek is a bright one. Humanity had struggled with war, disease, and hunger, but had “pretty much wiped ‘em out,” by the mid-twenty-second century, as Charles “Trip” Tucker bragged in the first episode of Star Trek: Enterprise. But, as the theme song to the series made clear, “it’s been a long road, getting from there to here.” The path to the bright future of Star Trek’s Earth was a dark and bloody one.
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This Week in Geek (6/1-6/7)
Birthdays
1: Morgan Freeman (1937); Rene Auberjonois (1940); Brian Cox (1946); Tom Holland (1996)
2: Lester Del Rey (1915); Sally Kellerman (1937); Anthony Montgomery (1971); Wentworth Miller (1972); Zachary Quinto (1977); Nikki Cox (1978); Dominic Cooper (1978); Morena Baccarin (1979); Jewel Staite (1982)
3: Maurice Evans (1901); Marion Zimmer Bradley (1930); Penelope Wilton (1946); John Dykstra (1947); Melissa Mathison (1950); Robert Z’Dar (1950); Suzie Plakson (1958); James Purefoy (1964)
4: Bruce Dern (1936); Keith David (1956); Sean Pertwee (1964); Noah Wyle (1971); James Callis (1971); Angelina Jolie (1975); Jordan Hinson (1991);
5: John Abbott (1905); Robert Lansing (1928); Kathleen Kennedy (1953); Karen Strassman (1966); Mark Wahlberg (1971)
6: Joan Marshall (1931); Robert Englund (1947); Gary Graham (1950); Amanda Pays (1959); Jason Isaacs (1963); Kyra Zagorsky (1976); Daniel Logan (1987)
7: Frank Bolle (1924); Liam Neeson (1952); Bobby Di Cicco (1954); Mark Ryan (1956); Dayton Ward (1967); Francis Magee (1969); Anthony Simcoe (1969); Karl Urban (1972); Dave Filoni (1974); Anna Torv (1979); Michael Cera (1988)Events
3: First appearance of Kryptonite: The Adventures of Superman (Radio): “The Meteor from Krypton” Part 1 (1943)
Anniversaries
1: Star Trek III: The Search for Spock (1984); Orphan Black season 1 finale: “Endless Forms Most Beautiful” (2013)
2: Space: Above and Beyond finale: “…Tell Our Moms We Done Our Best” (1996); Star Trek: Deep Space Nine finale: “What You Leave Behind” (1999); Stitchers premiere: “A Stitch in Time” (2015)
3: Star Trek finale: “Turnabout Intruder” (1969); Babylon 5: “Darkness Ascending” (1998); Star Wars: “Shatterpoint” by Matthew Stover (2003)
4: Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982)
5: Gog (1954); Doomwatch season 3 premiere: “Fire and Brimstone” (1972); The 4400 season 2 premiere: “Wake-Up Call” (2005); Stitchers season 3 premiere: “Out of the Shadows” (2017); A Stitch in Time (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine #27) by Andrew J. Robinson (2000)
6: SpaceCamp (1986); Edge of Tomorrow (2014); Impulse debuts on YouTube Originals (2018)
7: Perversions of Science premieres (1997); Farscape season 4 premieres (2002)
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This Week in Geek (5/25-5/31)
Birthdays
25: Ian McKellen (1939); Frank Oz (1944); Bob Gale (1951); Connie Sellecca (1955); Ray Stevenson (1964); Anne Heche (1969); Octavia Spencer (1970); Cillian Murphy (1976); Brec Bassinger (1999)
26: Peter Cushing (1913); Roy Dotrice (1923); Pam Grier (1949); Helena Bonham Carter (1966); Alex Garland (1970); Benji Gregory (1978)
27: Vincent Price (1911); Christopher Lee (1922); Harlan Ellison (1934); Lee Meriweather (1935); Louis Gossett Jr. (1936); Richard Schiff (1955); Eddie McClintock (1967); Joseph Fiennes (1970); Paul Bettany (1971)
28: Shane Rimmer (1932); Glenn Quinn (1970); Laura Bailey (1981); Megalyn Echikunwoke (1983); Jacob Kogan (1995); Cameron Boyce (1999)
29: Sebastian Shaw (1905); Kevin Conway (1942); Danny Elfman (1953); Adrian Paul (1959); Steve Cardenas (1974); Adam Brown (1980); Alessandra Torresani (1987); Pearl Mackie (1987); Erica Lindbeck (1992)
30: Keir Dullea (1936); Michael Piller (1948); Colm Meaney (1953); Cynthia Gouw (1963); Mark Sheppard (1964); Minae Noji (1973); Jared Gilmore (2000)
31: Lea Thompson (1961); Peter Clines (1969); Colin Farrell (1971); Robin Wasserman (1978); Sophia McDougall (1979)Anniversaries
25: It Came From Outer Space (1953); Star Wars (1977); Star Wars: Return of the Jedi (1983); Back to the Future Part III (1990); Solo: A Star Wars Story (2018)
26: Beneath the Planet of the Apes (1970); Super Force finale: “A Hundred Years a Second” (1992); Johnny Mnemonic (1995); Star Trek: Voyager season 5 finale: “Equinox” (1999)
27: Dominion Tank Police (1988); Doctor Who TV movie (1996)
28: Tremors: The Series premieres (2003); Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time (2010)
29: Seven Days finale: “Live From Death Row” (2001)
30: Star Trek: The Next Generation/Doctor Who: “Assimilation²” published (2012)
31: The Last Starfighter (1985); Total Recall (1990); The Arrival (1996); Dark Skies finale: “Bloodlines”Genre Holidays
25: Geek Pride Day
25: Towel Day
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When was the original Star Trek set?
Ask any knowledgeable Star Trek fan when Captain Kirk’s Five-Year Mission took place, and you’re likely to get the 2260s as the short answer. The longer answer is a bit more complicated.
