Star Trek 50th Anniversary Trailer Released

Star Trek is the immensely-popular science fiction franchise that has greatly influenced our entertainment landscape and our modern technological advancements, and to celebrate its 50th anniversay, Paramount Pictures has released a new Celebrating 50 years of Star Trek... and Beyond trailer. This tribute video features footage from Star Trek features films, showcasing the original cast, The Next Generation cast, and the cast of the Kelvin Timeline.

The very first episode of Star Trek, titled "The Man Trap," made its debut on September 8, 1966 and aired on NBC. It was written by George Clayton Johnson and directed by Marc Daniels. Funny enough, it was actually the sixth episode filmed, but the network and Desilu Productions believed the horror-elements, having an alien creature that feeds on the salt in a human body and can take on any form, made it more appealing to a wider audience. It won its timeslot with a Nielsen rating of 25.2 percent.

Born from the mind of Gene Roddenberry, the original "Star Trek" series aired for three seasons — a short run that belied the influence it would have for generations. The series also broke new ground in storytelling and cultural mores providing a progressive look at topics including race relations, global politics, the environment and more. It spawned five more television series and 13 feature films spanning the course of half a century.

Star Trek: Discovery premieres on CBS in January 2017, before moving to the CBS All Access streaming service for the remainder of its 13-episode first season.