While it is not necessarily logical to make a big deal of a 46th anniversary, today's Google Doodle is a testament to how popular "Star Trek" has become.
"Star Trek" actors William Shatner, left, and Leonard Nimoy in a scene from the 1967 episode "The Doomsday Machine.""Star Trek: The Original Series" must have one highly placed huge fan at Google. Today's Google Doodle mimics a scene from the iconic 1960s science fiction series on the 46th anniversary of the show's first airing.
Anniversaries are celebrated daily by people and, say, This Day in History authors everywhere. But is it logical for a mega business with the most popular search engine on the planet to note the odd 46th anniversary of anything?
Clearly, the Google Doodle is a testament to how popular "Star Trek" has become. The series first aired on Sept. 8, 1966.
The "Star Trek: The Original Series" Google Doodle begins with a scene from the bridge of the starship Enterprise. Characters from "Star Trek" spelling out "Google" left to right are:
G: a pointy eared letter "G" represents Mr. Spock (Leonard Nimoy), the Vulcan first officer;
O: communications officer Uhura (Nichelle Nichols) wearing a headset;
O: Capt. James T. Kirk (William Shatner);
G: Dr. Leonard "Bones" McCoy (DeForest Kelley), the chief medical officer
L: Lt. Hikaru Sulu, the helmsman (George Takei)
E: Chief Engineer Montgomery "Scotty" Scott (James Doohan)
The Google Doodle is hits all sorts of notes for Trek fan: Clicking on the doors to the turbolift at the back of the bridge leads to a new animation, with Scotty and Kirk on the pads of the transporter room. Clicking the transporter controls sends the intrepid officers to the set of "Arena," the episode in which Kirk battled the lizard-like Gorn. Just as in the episode, the elements needed to create a weapon are on the planet for Kirk to use. Clicking on the weapon materials allows Kirk to knock out the Gorn, allowing Kirk and Scotty to return to the bridge. (the effectiveness of the makeshift weapon was subsequently debunked in an episode of the Discovery Channel's "Mythbusters"). The final Google Doodle animation shows a star field as the Enterprise flies past and reveals "Google" in the series' original typeface while a snippet of the Alexander Courage theme music plays.
Canceled in 1969 after a lackluster three-season run on NBC, “Star Trek” found new life in syndication.
Since its inception, “Star Trek” has spawned five live action and animated TV spin-offs, 11 motion pictures and countless books. It has generated more than $1 billion in revenue for Paramount Pictures.
A successful big screen reboot of the original series with Chris Pine and Zachary Quinto taking over the roles of Capt. Kirk and Mr. Spock was released in 2009. A sequel is due in theaters next year.