Star Trek documentary series The Center Seat: 55 Years of Star Trek is in development at The History Channel. Sprung from the mind of Gene Roddenberry, the original series set in the futuristic world of Star Trek debuted on CBS television in 1966 and ran for three legendary seasons.
Those three seasons indeed could have easily been it for Roddenberry’s vision of a utopian future filled with space exploration, moral messages and the occasional Gorn fight. But thanks to a rabid fandom, Trek would forever after always have a place on screens either big or small. The leap to movies began in earnest with 1979’s Star Trek: The Motion Picture, featuring the return of the original Enterprise crew along with way better special effects. TV beckoned anew with the debut in 1987 of Star Trek: The Next Generation, featuring a new crew that would become just as iconic as the first. In recent years, Star Trek has been revived via a reboot movie series from J.J. Abrams as well as multiple streaming shows beginning with Star Trek: Discovery.
Star Trek has indeed gone through a lot of interesting iterations over the years, some more pleasing to hardcore fans than others, and now all 55 of those years are set to be revisited with a new documentary show. Appropriately, the network known for Ancient Aliens is presenting the new series, The Center Seat: 55 Years of Star Trek (via Trekmovie.com). The 8-part History Channel show will be “the ultimate Star Trek documentary that everyone has always wanted, and now they’re getting.” The series promises to “reveal never-before-seen backstage stories and offer fresh insights” while delving into some of the more obscure areas of Trek history, including the ‘70s animated series and the abandoned Star Trek: Phase II show.
Produced by The Nacelle Company (that name should give a hint about their devotion to Star Trek), the show will feature interviews with cast and crew members from all the Star Trek iterations as well as Trek experts. There will also be a Trek cast member working behind the scenes on the show, as Beverly Crusher actress Gates McFadden is one of the executive producers.
Given that it’s now been around for 55 years and gone through so many evolutionary changes over the decades, Star Trek is certainly a rich enough subject to warrant a thorough exploration. There have also been some very compelling and at times complicated personalities involved with Trek over the years, from Roddenberry to William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy, to Patrick Stewart and Abrams, which just adds to the drama factor. No premiere date has yet been revealed for the show, but it’s fair to assume given its title that The Center Seat: 55 Years of Star Trek should be around in time for Star Trek’s 55th anniversary, which officially happens in September 2021.
Source: Trekmovie.com