Star Trek: The Original Series Boldly Goes High Definition

Gene Roddenberry's Star Trek: The Original Series is arguably the television show that has had the greatest impact on our culture. The show was not only filled with futuristic gadgets that have been credited with inspiring the creation of modern day inventions like cell phones and automatic doors, but its ideas of racial diversity and different nationalities working together, unusual for television in 1966, presented a future of optimism and hope that many people still embrace.

Though they only aired for three seasons, the adventures of Kirk and Spock are known throughout the world thanks to syndication. Trek reruns allowed the show to accumulate what is most likely the largest and most fanatical base of a television show, known as Trekkies.

In 2006, ST:TOS was remastered. The original negatives were used to create a high-definition version of the series, new special effects were inserted, and the theme was re-recorded. That same year, this new version of the series began airing in syndication and now the first season is available in a HD/SD combo format.

Presented in the order they aired, the first season holds up much better than most series from their era through the strength of the writing. Roddenberry and writing staff were assisted by contemporary writers of the time, such as Richard Matheson, George Clayton Johnson, Robert Bloch, Theodore Sturgeon, and Harlan Ellison, who penned "The City on the Edge of Forever," usually considered the best episode of the series by fans.

Some episodes present familiar story ideas in fresh ways. "The Enemy Within" is a Jekyll-and-Hyde tale as Kirk is split into two people through a transporter malfunction. "Conscience of the King" has obvious Hamlet allusions. "Balance of Terror," the first introduction of the Romulans, is a classic battle between a ship and a submarine. "Charlie X" and "The Squire of Gothos" both present a sci-fi staple, very powerful children with immense powers. How the Enterprise crew reacted in these and also original stories informed the audience about who the characters were.