What Makes TOS So Iconic ????

[Maurice]

I'm going to risk being tarred and feathered here, but when I look at people who have a passion for things like Transformers, I see the same thing I see with Star Trek fans. The show was aired during afternoons and early evening when kids could easily watch. Just as people tend to have musical tastes that are fixated on what they grew up with, I think Star Trek became as popular as it did in part because it was really good at attracting young people who just held onto that love, which created an audience that was exploitable to new shows and new younger audiences. It's iconic in part for the same reason some people consider Scooby Doo iconic: it's what you grew up with.

 

[LMFAOschwarz]

I'm going to risk being tarred and feathered here, but when I look at people who have a passion for things like Transformers, I see the same thing I see with Star Trek fans. The show was aired during afternoons and early evening when kids could easily watch. Just as people tend to have musical tastes that are fixated on what they grew up with, I think Star Trek became as popular as it did in part because it was really good at attracting young people who just held onto that love, which created an audience that was exploitable to new shows and new younger audiences. It's iconic in part for the same reason some people consider Scooby Doo iconic: it's what you grew up with.

That may not be completely without merit, Maurice...but I must say that as a kid (even to this day, actually), I couldn't stand Scooby Doo. Or the Brady Bunch...or a lot of those so-called 'iconic' shows. Maybe we're both due tarring and feathering!

 

[MakeshiftPython]

I'm going to risk being tarred and feathered here, but when I look at people who have a passion for things like Transformers, I see the same thing I see with Star Trek fans. The show was aired during afternoons and early evening when kids could easily watch. Just as people tend to have musical tastes that are fixated on what they grew up with, I think Star Trek became as popular as it did in part because it was really good at attracting young people who just held onto that love, which created an audience that was exploitable to new shows and new younger audiences. It's iconic in part for the same reason some people consider Scooby Doo iconic: it's what you grew up with.

Perhaps it's definitely a big part of how it thrived, but I'd say the writing really helped it stand out nicely as well, which is more than you can say for TRANSFORMERS.

 

[BillJ]

I'm going to risk being tarred and feathered here, but when I look at people who have a passion for things like Transformers, I see the same thing I see with Star Trek fans. The show was aired during afternoons and early evening when kids could easily watch. Just as people tend to have musical tastes that are fixated on what they grew up with, I think Star Trek became as popular as it did in part because it was really good at attracting young people who just held onto that love, which created an audience that was exploitable to new shows and new younger audiences. It's iconic in part for the same reason some people consider Scooby Doo iconic: it's what you grew up with.

This is pretty much spot on how I feel.

Perhaps it's definitely a big part of how it thrived, but I'd say the writing really helped it stand out nicely as well, which is more than you can say for TRANSFORMERS.

The writing on TOS was about as hit and miss as you could get and I say that as someone who loves the series.

 

[The Old Mixer]

I myself, while the show was always on while I was a kid and I was aware of its existence, didn't really start watching it until my teens. It was then that I really began to appreciate what it had to offer...so while I know people my age who did grow up with it, I grew into it.

 

[T'Bonz]

That may not be completely without merit, Maurice...but I must say that as a kid (even to this day, actually), I couldn't stand Scooby Doo. Or the Brady Bunch...or a lot of those so-called 'iconic' shows. Maybe we're both due tarring and feathering!

This. I can't watch some of those shows now.

Trek's attraction to me was:
- The future. Thinking about THE FUTURE is kinda sexy.
- Hope. Living in the Cold War era, the thought that we would not nuke ourselves into the Stone Age was heartening.
- Spock. The outsider alien to whom a lonely teenager (aren't we all) could relate. I was a stranger in a strange world as a teen and Spock was a stranger on a human ship and as a teen, it was neat to see how he dealt with being an outsider.

 

[Gojira]

What Makes TOS iconic is good stories with good messages and interesting and relatable characters that have stood the test of time.

 

[Lance]

Oh I don't know. I wasn't there, but the perception I've gotten is that, while not commercially successful by the definitions of 1960s television ratings, it did have a fanbase, and that the people who were watching it were loyal viewers. And yes, it would also seem that despite the rep that it got as being a "failure", it did in fact actually have a cache with a mainstream audience at the time. Sure, they weren't watching it en masse..... but it isn't like nobody knew about it until syndication saved the day.

It had a fanbase, but it didn't become an iconic part of general popular culture until more people were exposed to it in syndication. Had it not reached the magic number for syndication, it would be a little-remembered show that might have enjoyed a cult resurgence two or three decades later via home video release. For that much, the original fanbase deserves some credit, as they helped to push the original run of the series to the point where it had enough episodes for syndication.

Very true. You do hear from time to time about correspondence that happened during the original broadcasts, where it was clear that the series was watched, but yeah, not nearly to the 'iconic' status that it received after syndication. Heck, the case could be made that even then, it was the movies that solidified it as a cultural icon. It kinda justified the faith that the original audiences had for Star Trek back in the sixties.

 

[Commishsleer]

I think it was said in like "The Making of Star Trek" book that Nimoy particularly and the other cast members were getting sacks of fanmail during the initial run.
I don't know if that was typical for other shows at the time though.

 

[Warped9]

Star Trek certainly didn't start out as iconic, but then nothing ever does. It became iconic over time because it was able to stay on the radar so to speak. It developed a fanbase right off and one that grew over time and exploded when it went into broader syndication and reached greater numbers. It's longevity and ability to stay in the public conciousness created the sense the show was always there. And individual elements (as well as the show as a whole) became enduring and familiar and easily recognizable symbols even to non-fans.

Captain Kirk is the classic flawed hero. Kirk had predecessors of his kind in literature and film, but the way Kirk was written and was portrayed so distinctively by William Shatner and the fact that TOS managed to stay popular for decades in reaching successive newer audiences made the character iconic. And partly because it seems he has always been with us. One proof of his status in the public consciousness is how he's been caricatured and spoofed---and most of that is out of genuine affection and admiration for the character rather than derision. And even more basic is that Kirk represents the kind of man many of us would like to be more like.

Spock from the beginning represented the outsider, the person who feels apart and yet still trying to find his place with others. He often doesn't feel accepted despite his many positive and interesting qualities. So many people can identify with Spock even though he's supposed to be an alien. Who at one time or another has not felt ostracized or alienated even from those they know partly because they feel themselves lacking in some way or other. Spock doesn't really feel accepted until he learns to accept himself and his uniqueness.

The Enterprise broke the mold of SF hardware and yet since it set a tone for said hardware that would follow afterward. Every Trek version since has offered up a variation of Matt Jefferies' inspired design. It has become iconic because it's now so familiar and so recognizable even if you know next to nothing about Star Trek. And this wasn't just because it was a cool design, but also because they took such pains to present the Enterprise in a dynamic and largely (seemingly) credible way. The Enterprise mightn't be true to what a real starship would be like, but it feels like thats what it should be like.

Those are but three (of many) elements of TOS that have become iconic and also helped make the show itself iconic. Many try to dismiss the show with references that certain things in TOS were also being done elsewhere---and that can be true---but few if any became as visible and as recognizable as Star Trek. It's a show that, even while flawed, still manages to reach new audiences fifty years (and counting) after it went out of production. New audiences keep discovering it and seeing different things in it they can relate to. It was more than just colourful escapist adventure---it had to be for us to be still talking about it after all this time. It really is something whose whole is greater than the sum of its parts even given how fascinating and engaging many of those individual parts are.

At the core human nature has changed next to zilch since the 1960s, and a good chunk of TOS speaks to the core of human nature. Social standards may change, but the core of human nature remains. Star Trek manages to speak to a diversity of people on different levels, partly by design and partly by accident, but it speaks nonetheless. This is what has made it enduring and thus iconic.

 

[sonak]

it was serious science fiction with quality stories at a time when a lot of science fiction still wasn't taken seriously.
Like "Doctor Who," the show had a very open format that allowed it to tell stories of almost any sort.

Also they hit the jackpot with Spock, one of the most interesting and well thought-out characters in TV history.

 

[Harvey]

I think it was said in like "The Making of Star Trek" book that Nimoy particularly and the other cast members were getting sacks of fanmail during the initial run.
I don't know if that was typical for other shows at the time though.

According to Inside Star Trek: The Real Story, the amount of fan mail the series received was second only to The Monkees at NBC. It didn't have a large audience, but it certainly had a dedicated and passionate one.

 

[spockboy]

I like Stephen Fry's take on why it is so iconic.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mlpklo4VLak
And here is mine...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2FAynFz5SYw

 

[jpv2000]

Star Trek certainly didn't start out as iconic, but then nothing ever does. It became iconic over time because it was able to stay on the radar so to speak. It developed a fanbase right off and one that grew over time and exploded when it went into broader syndication and reached greater numbers. It's longevity and ability to stay in the public conciousness created the sense the show was always there. And individual elements (as well as the show as a whole) became enduring and familiar and easily recognizable symbols even to non-fans.

Captain Kirk is the classic flawed hero. Kirk had predecessors of his kind in literature and film, but the way Kirk was written and was portrayed so distinctively by William Shatner and the fact that TOS managed to stay popular for decades in reaching successive newer audiences made the character iconic. And partly because it seems he has always been with us. One proof of his status in the public consciousness is how he's been caricatured and spoofed---and most of that is out of genuine affection and admiration for the character rather than derision. And even more basic is that Kirk represents the kind of man many of us would like to be more like.

Spock from the beginning represented the outsider, the person who feels apart and yet still trying to find his place with others. He often doesn't feel accepted despite his many positive and interesting qualities. So many people can identify with Spock even though he's supposed to be an alien. Who at one time or another has not felt ostracized or alienated even from those they know partly because they feel themselves lacking in some way or other. Spock doesn't really feel accepted until he learns to accept himself and his uniqueness.

The Enterprise broke the mold of SF hardware and yet since it set a tone for said hardware that would follow afterward. Every Trek version since has offered up a variation of Matt Jefferies' inspired design. It has become iconic because it's now so familiar and so recognizable even if you know next to nothing about Star Trek. And this wasn't just because it was a cool design, but also because they took such pains to present the Enterprise in a dynamic and largely (seemingly) credible way. The Enterprise mightn't be true to what a real starship would be like, but it feels like thats what it should be like.

Those are but three (of many) elements of TOS that have become iconic and also helped make the show itself iconic. Many try to dismiss the show with references that certain things in TOS were also being done elsewhere---and that can be true---but few if any became as visible and as recognizable as Star Trek. It's a show that, even while flawed, still manages to reach new audiences fifty years (and counting) after it went out of production. New audiences keep discovering it and seeing different things in it they can relate to. It was more than just colourful escapist adventure---it had to be for us to be still talking about it after all this time. It really is something whose whole is greater than the sum of its parts even given how fascinating and engaging many of those individual parts are.

At the core human nature has changed next to zilch since the 1960s, and a good chunk of TOS speaks to the core of human nature. Social standards may change, but the core of human nature remains. Star Trek manages to speak to a diversity of people on different levels, partly by design and partly by accident, but it speaks nonetheless. This is what has made it enduring and thus iconic.

Kudos.

Very well stated and insightful. I agree totally with point.

 

[Ryan Thomas Riddle]

I'm going to risk being tarred and feathered here, but when I look at people who have a passion for things like Transformers, I see the same thing I see with Star Trek fans. The show was aired during afternoons and early evening when kids could easily watch. Just as people tend to have musical tastes that are fixated on what they grew up with, I think Star Trek became as popular as it did in part because it was really good at attracting young people who just held onto that love, which created an audience that was exploitable to new shows and new younger audiences. It's iconic in part for the same reason some people consider Scooby Doo iconic: it's what you grew up with.

No surprise, but I agree with you on this. It's iconic because it has the familiarity, the comfort of that childhood. Much like how my father clings to John Wayne and westerns of that era. It is what he grew up with. Same with how I cling to TREK.

I will add, however, what also makes the original TREK iconic is its iconography and its style — as kitsch as it might sometimes be. Like Superman, the original STAR TREK was quite unlike anything else of its time (or even now) and stands out. When you see the original STAR TREK, you know that it's STAR TREK without even having seen an entire episode (thank you, Dan Harmon, for pointing this out).

 

[LMFAOschwarz]

I think the title of the show doesn't hurt, either.

Think about it: Star Trek. I think it's reasonably safe to say that the word 'trek' has been re-defined. What other flash card-type meanings spring to mind when you think of the word? All I can think of is Star Trek...all else I see is some sort of vague, tame-the-west type fuzzy image.

Of course, as icon-creation goes, that's probably more of a result than a cause...

 

[Nero's Shadow]

Star Trek certainly didn't start out as iconic, but then nothing ever does. It became iconic over time because it was able to stay on the radar so to speak. It developed a fanbase right off and one that grew over time and exploded when it went into broader syndication and reached greater numbers. It's longevity and ability to stay in the public conciousness created the sense the show was always there. And individual elements (as well as the show as a whole) became enduring and familiar and easily recognizable symbols even to non-fans.

Captain Kirk is the classic flawed hero. Kirk had predecessors of his kind in literature and film, but the way Kirk was written and was portrayed so distinctively by William Shatner and the fact that TOS managed to stay popular for decades in reaching successive newer audiences made the character iconic. And partly because it seems he has always been with us. One proof of his status in the public consciousness is how he's been caricatured and spoofed---and most of that is out of genuine affection and admiration for the character rather than derision. And even more basic is that Kirk represents the kind of man many of us would like to be more like.

Spock from the beginning represented the outsider, the person who feels apart and yet still trying to find his place with others. He often doesn't feel accepted despite his many positive and interesting qualities. So many people can identify with Spock even though he's supposed to be an alien. Who at one time or another has not felt ostracized or alienated even from those they know partly because they feel themselves lacking in some way or other. Spock doesn't really feel accepted until he learns to accept himself and his uniqueness.

The Enterprise broke the mold of SF hardware and yet since it set a tone for said hardware that would follow afterward. Every Trek version since has offered up a variation of Matt Jefferies' inspired design. It has become iconic because it's now so familiar and so recognizable even if you know next to nothing about Star Trek. And this wasn't just because it was a cool design, but also because they took such pains to present the Enterprise in a dynamic and largely (seemingly) credible way. The Enterprise mightn't be true to what a real starship would be like, but it feels like thats what it should be like.

Those are but three (of many) elements of TOS that have become iconic and also helped make the show itself iconic. Many try to dismiss the show with references that certain things in TOS were also being done elsewhere---and that can be true---but few if any became as visible and as recognizable as Star Trek. It's a show that, even while flawed, still manages to reach new audiences fifty years (and counting) after it went out of production. New audiences keep discovering it and seeing different things in it they can relate to. It was more than just colourful escapist adventure---it had to be for us to be still talking about it after all this time. It really is something whose whole is greater than the sum of its parts even given how fascinating and engaging many of those individual parts are.

At the core human nature has changed next to zilch since the 1960s, and a good chunk of TOS speaks to the core of human nature. Social standards may change, but the core of human nature remains. Star Trek manages to speak to a diversity of people on different levels, partly by design and partly by accident, but it speaks nonetheless. This is what has made it enduring and thus iconic.

Kudos.

Very well stated and insightful. I agree totally with point.

Well I could not agree more warped9 I've always thought Star Trek was a positive look at the future and without the human condition this would not be possible.!!!

I've always like how the Characters had there flaws but once they all got together and worked with each other them flaws were thrown out the window !!!!

 

[RandyS]

I like it.

Yep, this says it all, doesn't it?

 

[BillJ]

I like it.

Yep, this says it all, doesn't it?

Sometimes it's just impossible to quantify why something simply "works". Plus, what "works" for one person may not "work" for another.

 

[The Old Mixer]

I think it's reasonably safe to say that the word 'trek' has been re-defined. What other flash card-type meanings spring to mind when you think of the word? All I can think of is Star Trek...all else I see is some sort of vague, tame-the-west type fuzzy image.

Well, I bought a "trekking pole" recently...and no, it doesn't look anything like a lirpa....