As the most prolific sci-fi show, the Star Trek series and movies had a great influence on sci-fi lovers in the past and definitely will impress more generations to come.

It began in 1964 when Gene Roddenberry wrote the pilot episode of this show, "The Cage", and proposed it to NBC. Though impressed by the concept in it, NBC turned this newly-born TV show down because they thought the new ideas were too unimaginable for the audience. The second pilot, "The Man Trap", came in 1966 after Roddenberry changed the whole story to a less aggressive one. Actually, from a modern point of view, the rewritten story is kind of boring compared to the first pilot, but for the people in that time it was great and received a high rating.

Star Trek in the early days, called "The Original Series" to set apart from the spin-offs followed, depict the voyages of Captain Kirk and his crew of Enterprise, a starship in 23rd century, named after American's first nuclear-powered carrier, aiming "to explore strange new world, to seek out new life and new civilizations, to boldly go where no man has gone before".

A black woman played a protagonist, the role of communication officer of Starship Enterprise, making her the first black woman appeared on TV screens not as a servant. The idea that all human races as well as alien races are created equal is stressed over and over again during the whole show. The Prime Directive of Star Fleet says that every culture has its own way of evolution and, even he/she is in danger of death, no Star Fleet personnel can contaminate their sacred culture with superior knowledge and technology when they're not prepared to handle it nicely. Many other concepts such as authoritarianism, imperialism, religion, sexism, feminism, and the role of technology are also debated repeatedly in Star Trek.

The reason for saying that the Star Trek is the sci-fi show having the most profound influence is that not only the idea but also the novel technology is in advance of its time. Many technologies imagined in Star Trek have already become realities now. For example, the prototype of clamshell phone is shown in the show when Captain Kirk communicates with Enterprise through a box-shaped device. The idea of touchscreen is also a reality in your pocket now. As the time passes by, more technology will become true.

People like Star Trek for different reasons. For me, the spirit of exploration and the philosophy of justice are the most inspiring.