We’re approaching the end of the Star Trek: TOS era with Leonard Nimoy’s retirement, but he is still making personal appearances. In this case, he boldly went to Vulcan, Canada – a town which has cleverly capitalized on its name to bring in plenty of tourism and celebrate the Star Trek universe.
Aside from my personal affection for the show and most of its characters (I especially love Worf), I’m intrigued by what a great example it is of the entertainment industry’s influence. Gene Roddenberry captured a spirit of adventure when – bad grammar aside – he convinced the network to boldly go to areas television had not gone before, including television’s first interracial kiss. He made morality plays fun. Certainly Star Trek has had a big impact on real-life technology. The influence of one television show is still rippling out, forty years later. Remarkable.
