Society and Star Trek
Star Trek: The Next Generation added a lot more background information about the Federation, a diverse union of starfaring cultures centered on Earth. The Federation does not use money; it is dominated by the economic condition known as abundance, enabled by advanced replicator technology.
Abundance, or lack of scarcity, means that everyone can satisfy all of his material needs and wants. Working, buying and selling is not necessary; therefore money is (arguably) obsolete.
In the Federation, unpleasant emotions such as greed or jealousy are greatly reduced, since possessions no longer have any value beyond that of sentiment. Characters, especially Captain Jean-Luc Picard, often expound upon how people of the Federation now strive only to better themselves and their fellow man, often in response to a question like "But what do you do all day?".
Many episodes and films revolve around a threat to the status quo that is resolved by the crew, and usually everything is back to normal by the closing credits. This plot device is popularly known as the "reset button." The device is a common bane of serialised programs, and by the time of the end of Voyager and Deep Space Nine the writers had mostly switched to the "story arc" model.
Roddenberry was an ardent proponent of egalitarian politics, and frequently used the shows to showcase his vision of a future society based on those principles. The original series had a prominent African-American female crew member, Nyota Uhura (Nichelle Nichols). Nichols was one of the first African-American women to hold any major acting role on American television. Only 21 years after the bombs fell on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Star Trek had a Japanese officer, Hikaru Sulu (George Takei). In the second season, perhaps in response to Soviet complaints that the "international" crew contained no Soviets, a Russian character, Pavel Chekov (Walter Koenig) was added.
The Vulcan first officer Mr. Spock (Leonard Nimoy), was at first rejected by network officials who feared that his vaguely satanic appearance might prove too disquieting. However, Mr. Spock went on to become one of the most popular characters on the show, arguably due to his role as the peaceful, logical, calm foil to Doctor McCoy's impassioned, old-fashioned, fiery personality.
Modern viewers might find the old series' portrayals of minorities and women backward, but the program was progressive and daring for its time. One of Star Trek's claims to fame is that it featured the first televised kiss between a European-American and an African-American in the United States. In an episode that used mind control as a ruse to break this taboo, Captain Kirk and Uhura were forced to share the first interracial kiss on American TV (episode #67 "Plato's Stepchildren"). The series also showed a very powerful alien species, the Klingons, as resembling Earth Asians rather than powerful white Europeans. Opinions are divided on whether this was a reference to Red China, or an attempt to maintain a balanced view of ethnicity.
Star Trek: The Animated Series
(1972-1973)
Star Trek: The Animated Series is an animated TV show set in the fictional Star Trek universe. The official name of the series was simply Star Trek, but the designator "The Animated Series" is added by fans to differentiate it from the original Star Trek (or Star Trek: The Original Series).
It was produced by Filmation and ran for two seasons 1972-1973, airing a total of twenty-two thirty-minute episodes. This show featured most of the original cast performing the voices for their characters, except for Pavel Chekov (Walter Koenig), who was replaced by Lieutenant Arex. Arex was a member of a tripodal species which had three arms and three legs.
While it was hoped Star Trek could take full use of the freedom that animation provided, budget restraints were still a concern, and the animation quality was poor. However, it did afford the crew a set of much more encompassing alien landscapes than could be provided by a small studio.
Noted science fiction authors such as David Gerrold and Larry Niven contributed scripts for the animated series. In addition to a sequel to the famous episode The Trouble with Tribbles, two notable episodes of the cartoon include Yesteryear (a time-travel episode in which Mr. Spock uses the time gateway from the live-action episode City on the Edge of Forever to travel to his own childhood past) and Niven's The Slaver Weapon (adapted from his own short story "The Soft Weapon"). Larry Niven in particular included some elements from his Known Space mythos, such as the Kzinti and the Slavers.
It is of note that the Enterprise ship in this series, while theoretically the same ship on the live action program, had a holodeck just like was introduced on Star Trek The Next Generation.
