Considering it was only on for three seasons and all of the spinoffs, sequels.movies, books etc…can we call Star Trek the most successful tv show ever? Today is the 50th anniversary of the premiere Gene Roddenbury's vison of humanity working together in a future that we could all embrace. That his scripts were less than veiled criticisms of the world we were living in at the time didn't detract from the entertainment value of the show or the ideals it espoused. The show was filled with happy surprises, none bigger than the popularity of the Mr. Spock character whose photo wasn't even allowed to be used in promotional material at the beginning because the suits at NBC thought people wouldn't watch a show that had a character looking like the devil. Or the idea that an African-American woman could have a place as a regular character on an American TV show. When Nichelle Nichols was frustrated and wanted to quit she got a call from Martin Luther King Jr who encouraged her to stay and continue to influence a generation of youngsters. Could the show be corny and the acting wooden…by today's standards sure…but many of the plots were so inventive and the characters so colorful that we looked past the low budget effects and bought in completely. Roddenbury originally sold the show as “Wagon Train to the Stars” but it became much more than that. His vision of a future world where humans of all races, cultures and creeds could come together in one quest to further our knowledge…to live in peace…to accept peoples differences…all appearing on our tv's in a time when none of that was happening in our world…that was groundbreaking…and if he tweaked the establishment while he was doing it, so much the better.
The World Hockey Championships begin Sept 17th and Plover native Joe Pavelski was named captain of the US squad. Patrick Kane and Ryan Suter were named alternate captains.
Barry Alvarez will continue his successful run as AD at Wisconsin. He signed a contract extension that will keep him in Madison through 2021. The Badgers have won 56 Big Ten titles and 14 national championships during his tenure.
The NFL season begins tonight…no pressure on Trevor Siemian…he only makes his first NFL start replacing Peyton Manning on a Super Bowl winning team as the Broncos host Carolina in a Super Bowl rematch.
Songs Of The Day (from my I-pod)
