Star Trek is turning 50 and BBC America will celebrate with a marathon of its original series, uncut in HD.
While we are undoubtedly on the cusp of an overwhelming array of Star Trek celebrations commemorating the geeky golden anniversary of the show, BBC America has some irresistible plans that will potentially numb the butts of multiple generations of Trekkies. The stateside cable arm of the BBC plans a marathon of Star Trek: The Original Series, broadcasting them in their digitally remastered HD, uncut form.
With the news coming by way of TV Line, BBC America’s Star Trek marathon rolls out on September 8 at 8:30/7:30c, specifically aligning with the show’s introduction to the pop-culture ether when its first (aired) episode “The Man Trap” premiered on NBC on September 8, 1966. For many fans, this marathon could actually represent a chance to catch the digitally-remastered versions of the classic episodes for the first time. The remasters were first released on Blu-ray back in 2009, sporting a restored, crisper picture, along with establishing exterior shots updated with CGI technology from the original dated-looking model kit shots and paintings.
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To fully illustrate the ways in which Star Trek has made an impact on the zeitgeist, serving as a fictional paradigm for the eventual technological development of civilization itself, would be redundant. The show has spent half a century with a level of ubiquity enviable to other properties and is a constant source of influence in just about every aspect of mass media. Notwithstanding its own massive breadth, the half-century-old multimedia empire is currently represented by the J.J. Abrams-launched film reboot series with the recent Justin-Lin-directed Star Trek Beyond. However, the franchise will also soon make a long-awaited return to television in January with Star Trek: Discovery, serving as the launch centerpiece to the network-armed premium streaming outlet CBS All Access.
For regular BBC America viewers who have had more than their fill of the cable channel’s constant Star Trek: The Next Generation showings and marathons, this throwback to the original iteration might be a welcome reprieve. Plus, television viewers generally unacquainted with the Star Trek franchise who are sick of not getting the constant barrage of references to doomed Red Shirts, Tranya, Vulcan Mind Melds and “I’m a doctor, not a ….” should probably tune in to the BBC America Star Trek marathon and get themselves a quick Trek-ucation.
