Happy Star Trek Day, folks!
On 8th September 1966, Star Trek debuted for the first time on US television with “The Man Trap,” the first screened episode of Star Trek: The Original Series.
On that day, Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry introduced audiences to a world that championed diversity, inclusion, acceptance, and hope.
Fifty-seven years later, Star Trek fans celebrate the day and the franchise’s enduring legacy with the fourth annual “Star Trek Day” celebration.
Join them over at the official Star Trek website for a global celebration of all things Star Trek today, 8th September 2023, with special screenings, giveaways, and so much more.
But… did you know Star Trek made its debut in the UK in comics, not on TV?
In 1969, six months before the original Star Trek TV series premiered in the UK on BBC1 (the BBC had originally intended to launch the series in late 1968), British comics readers were introduced to the characters in, initially, Joe 90: Top Secret.
Star Trek itself eventually aired on the BBC in the run up to the first moon landing.
The strip survived that title’s merger with TV21 in Autumn 1969 and became the most popular title in TV21 & Joe 90, even though the TV series itself was cancelled.
Those strips were collected by US publisher IDW back in 2015 thanks to Rich Handley, who now provides a regular comics column to Star Trek Explorer, published by Titan Comics and currently edited by me, John Freeman.
Star Trek on TV in the UK
The Star Trek TV series was first used to fill the six month gap between series six and seven of Doctor Who, after The War Games reached its conclusion on 21st June 1969 and saw the end of Patrick Troughton’s era as the errant time traveller, making way for the arrival of Jon Pertwee in Spearhead from Space.
Star Trek made its UK debut on 12th July 1969 with a screening of the episode Where No Man Has Gone Before, a few days before the first Apollo moon landing, and started an unbroken 25 week run which ended on 27th December 1969.
For me personally, bolstered by excitement at the Apollo 11 moon mission, those screenings of Star Trek marked my first true investment in a live action SF TV series.
Although as a family we did watch some early Doctor Who – certain scenes from The Power of the Daleks and The Moonbase still vivid in my mind to this day – I suspect my mother restricted our watching of the show as youngsters. By 1969, in contrast, I was almost ten, and watching Star Trek became a feature of the the TV week, unless, in a time long before video recorders, DVDs and digital downloads, family events scuppered my viewing.
As with Gerry and Sylvia Anderson’s Supermarionation shows, particularly Thunderbirds, Star Trek captured my imagination, and I’m grateful to whoever at the BBC decided to buy it in for UK viewing.
As most downthetubes readers know, the success of Star Trek in reruns in the 1970s in the United States, despite the original series cancellation, helped ensure its continued success and revival, as an animated show and, later, the movie franchise and commissioning of Star Trek: The Next Generation. But you have to wonder if the success of Star Trek beyond the US, including the UK, and subsequent licensing success and early fan interest here helped convince the money men and women there was mileage in the show.
Anyway… enjoy Star Trek Day, folks! Live long and prosper.
• Star Trek: The Classic UK Comics Volume 1 (AmazonUK Affiliate Link)
Edited by Rich Handley, art by Harry Lindfield, Jim Baikie, Mike Noble
In 1969, six months before the Star Trek TV series premiered in England, British comics readers were introduced to the characters in an original comic book series. The stories were serialised, generally two to three pages at a time, in 257 weekly magazines spanning five years and 37 storylines. These extremely rare comics have never been published in the United States.
Star Trek fans will quickly note that the comics were not written with strict adherence to Star Trek‘s core concepts. The U.S.S. Enterprise frequently traveled outside our galaxy, and the crew committed many violations of the never-mentioned Prime Directive along the way. Spock shouted most of his lines and often urged Kirk (or “Kurt,” as his name was misspelled in early issues) to shoot first and ask questions later. But it’s precisely that “offness” that makes them so eminently readable and deserving of a proper reprinting. They’re unique in the annals of Star Trek and fans have gone without them for far too long.
• Star Trek: The Classic UK Comics Volume 2 (AmazonUK Affiliate Link)
Edited by Rich Handley, art by Carlos Piño, Vicente Alcazar, John Stokes and Harold Johns
This second volume fills in another major gap in Star Trek lore, courtesy of these never-before reprinted comics that originally appeared in weekly British magazines in the early 1970s.
There’s much to love about these wonky, way-out writings and their atypical artwork. These oft-forgotten Star Trek tales represent a different era, lost gems with many facets and a unique perspective, an eccentric corner of Star Trek history unlike any other.
These are the British voyages of the Starship Enterprise – and, now, at last, fans everywhere can experience them.
As a special bonus, Rich Handley provides the first half of a detailed encyclopedia of all things Star Trek from these British comics. Exploring the minutiae is half the fun of enjoying a franchise, and when it comes to Trek, there’s no end of trivia to devour!
• Star Trek: The Classic UK Comics Volume 3 (AmazonUK Affiliate Link)
Edited by Rich Handley, art by John Stokes, Jim Baikie, John Canning, Ron Turner, Frank Bellamy
The final giant volume presenting the never-before-reprinted comics that originally appeared in weekly British comics beginning in 1969.
This third volume reprints all comics from 1972 to 1979 and concludes the three-volume series that presents the complete Star Trek UK comics. Bonus material includes various one-shots and annuals, as well as strips created for various merchandise and toys.
Star Trek expert Rich Handley provides the second half of a detailed encyclopaedia of all things Star Trek from these British comics.
• You can read more about the IDW Star Trek UK comic collections here on downthetubes
• BBC Genome: Where No Man Has Gone Before Radio Times listing
• Space Doubt – Star Trek on the BBC – 1969
The first of several updates about Star Trek episodes and their repeats on the BBC, this item including an audio recording of a trailer of “Where No Man Has Gone Before” aired after the screening of the final episode of Doctor Who – The War Games.
• Space Doubt – Star Trek on the BBC – 1970
Charting the series continued airing in the UK, noting how several episodes were not shown – and would not air on the BBC until the early 1990s due to content concerns. The BBC described Miri, The Empath, Plato’s Stepchildren and Whom Gods Destroy as dealing “most unpleasantly with the already unpleasant subjects of madness,torture, sadism and disease.”
• StarTrek.com: How Dorothy Owens Brought Star Trek to the UK
Memories of the Empathy Star Trek Club and TerraCon give us insight into this amazing superfan’s life. In almost all the ways, Dorothy “Dot” Owens broke the traditions for what society stereotyped as a “nerd.” She was a mother to five daughters and a grandmother, who lived in a small house in Yorkshire, England, with her husband Joe, and her German Shepherd, Sheba. She wore her hair short and in curls, picked out pastel patterns to wear, and worked in retail — sometimes surviving paycheck to paycheck.
This otherwise typical woman just also happened to be the chairperson for a number of UK-based Star Trek fanzines as well as an organizer of several Star Trek conventions across England in the 1970s and ‘80s. Her events drew in international Star Trek stars such as George Takei and DC Fontana, as well as other familiar names in the Science Fiction circles, such as Hugo-award winner Anne McCaffrey, and The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy writer Douglas Adams.
The founder of downthetubes, which he established in 1998. John works as a comics and magazine editor, writer, and on promotional work for the Lakes International Comic Art Festival. He is currently editor of Star Trek Explorer, published by Titan – his third tour of duty on the title originally titled Star Trek Magazine.
Working in British comics publishing since the 1980s, his credits include editor of titles such as Doctor Who Magazine, Babylon 5 Magazine, and more. He also edited the comics anthology STRIP Magazine and edited several audio comics for ROK Comics. He has also edited several comic collections, including volumes of “Charley’s War” and “Dan Dare”.
He’s the writer of “Pilgrim: Secrets and Lies” for B7 Comics; “Crucible”, a creator-owned project with 2000AD artist Smuzz; and “Death Duty” and “Skow Dogs” with Dave Hailwood.
Categories: British Comics, Classic British Comics, Comics, downthetubes News, Events, Magazines, Other Worlds, Science Fiction, Star Trek, Television