The Star Trek: The Original Series Quiz
3 min
Image: CBS via Getty
About This Quiz
The original "Star Trek" series went where no show had ever gone before. How much do you know about "Star Trek?"
How many episodes were there in the first season?
That's right, it ran for well over half of the year.
How did James Doohan lose one middle finger?
And it was friendly fire that got him.
Why did Paramount try to offload "Star Trek?"
It was too controversial.
Gene Roddenberry was impossible to work with.
It saw the show as a financial quagmire.
Who was the first character to be on the receiving end of the famous Spock nerve pinch?
Spock was originally supposed to knock him out but went with the pinch instead.
Dr. Sally Ride (the first female astronaut) was recruited to NASA by which actor?
Her celebrity attracted many women to the idea that they could be involved in the space program.
Why did Gene Roddenberry get half of the royalty's for the show's theme song?
He was the one who hired the song's creator.
The lyrics are silly and never appear anywhere ... but he still grabbed the cash.
Before his shirtless scenes, what did William Shatner have to do?
Get permission from his girlfriend
By the end of the series he was no stranger to the blade.
Which animals kept interrupting the filming of the first pilot?
The staff had to lure the birds out to prevent further interruptions.
Why did the creators come up with the teleporter technology?
It was an established sci-fi concept.
to wow audiences with special effects
to reduce special effects costs
Making the ship land on various planets would've been far pricier in terms of production.
How many total episodes were there?
The show lasted for three seasons.
In which century does the show take place?
But the star dates in the first series are totally arbitrary and made up.
Which singer inspired Pavel Chekov's character?
He even had to wear a wig to get the right look until his own hair was long enough.
Who convinced Nichelle Nicols to remain on the show in spite of on-the-job racism?
His support convinced her that she was serving a greater cultural cause for black Americans.
How did Roddenberry want to change the original U.S.S. Enterprise?
He wanted it to fly upside down.
He wanted the engines to shoot huge flames.
He wanted it to have at least six engines.
Fortunately the ship was generally in the orientation we're used to seeing.
About how many times was the phrase, "Beam me up, Scotty" used in the series?
It's a famous phrase but it never appeared in the show.
What job did Gene Roddenberry have before he created "Star Trek?"
He also wrote speeches for the Los Angeles Police Department.
How did Leonard Nimoy's father capitalize on his son's new fame?
He offered Spock haircuts.
He sold pointy ear prosthetics.
He made handcrafted "Star Trek" lapel pins.
His barbershop churned out a lot of Spock wannabes.
Why does Shatner reportedly never watch footage of himself acting in "Star Trek" or any other show?
He thinks his acting is terrible.
He thinks cameras steal peoples' souls.
His exact words were, "I suck."
Spock's "live long and prosper" hand gesture was borrowed from which religion?
Leonard Nimoy learned the gesture going to synagogue when he was a boy.
What does the "live long and prosper" gesture mean in Hebrew?
It's often used during prayer services.
For two episodes, "Star Trek' producers used sets from which hit TV show?
In one episode you may recognize the barbershop.
In what year was the original pilot for the show finally aired in its entirety?
And the captain of the ship was Christopher Pike, not Kirk.
From what country did Walter Koenig's character hail?
His young age was meant to appeal to a more youthful segment of the show's audience.
What rules did Kirk and Uhura break by kissing on one episode?
No white man had kissed a black woman on TV before.
Sex between crew members was prohibited by protocol.
Supervisors were not supposed to mingle with members on their team.
It smashed a racial boundary in a very visible way.
Instead of Kirk, which character was originally supposed to kiss Uhura?
Shatner refused to let Nimoy get credit for the first interracial kiss.
Which celebrity helped prevent the show from being canceled after the first season?
She was the head of the production company and had the power to do so.
In the show, blue shirts indicated that crew members were a part of which team?
Kirk's yellow shirt meant he was a part of the command team.
Who invented the Klingon language?
His made-up language has become a point of obsession for "Star Trek" fans everywhere.
What skin color did Gene Roddenberry initially imagine for Spock?
He was also supposed to have a power-absorbing plate in his torso.
The blueprint for the U.S.S. Enterprise included what feature?
They had to get their bowling fix, even at warp speed.
You Got:
/30
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