The Origins of the Star Trek Phenomenon: Gene Roddenberry, the Original Series, and Science Fiction Fandom in the 1960s

Abstract: Star Trek became one of the most popular television series, not only in the United States but the world, in the latter half of the twentieth century. The original series aired from 1966 to 1969, a momentous time of change in American history. During the middle to late sixties, American society was responding to recent civil rights legislation, underlying Cold War tensions (especially those associated with Vietnam), and evolving gender roles. Even though the accepted notion that th...