Art vs Commerce- The Role TV had on Star Trek
Stardate: 96868.81
In this unit I've been learning about the history of television and its impact on the development of programming. Our Starlog post for this unit is to examine how the business model of network television both helped and constrain the development of Star Trek. Network executives during the sixties had to find programing that was both appealing to children but also deep enough for parents to enjoy. I am still old enough to remember pre-cable where there were only three major networks and night time became family viewing around the television. Television programs had to appeal to a wide diversity of viewers demographics.
The appeal of the child helped the early development of Star Trek. The space adventure feel of the program with the distant planets and alien creatures were very appealing to the youthful imaginations of children captivated with current events of the space race of the sixties. The gadgets like the tricorders, phasers, and beaming technology helped keep the engagement of the children in the viewing audience. It would be difficult to imagine a Star Trek without these elements.
via GIPHY
But a show only for children would have soon have not been appropriate for the evening time slot. Star Trek: The Original Series is still very much remembered today for some of the many difficult issues the show was able to confront facing America in the heart of the Cold War and Civil Rights movement. Tackling issues of racism and moral issues of America's enhanced role in a post World War II Cold War were able to be incorporated into the episodes in a safe way through the science fiction story telling script. I think of the importance of the first interracial kiss on network television being done during the tensions of the Civil Rights Movement. Star Trek was a utopian world with real world problems that could be solved in a single episode and had an appeal to adults grappling with these issues in their daily lives.
via GIPHY
But the appeal to the child and the appeal to the adult is trying to serve two very different masters and it is difficult to make happy both audiences. Because of the split loyalty I feel that the more adult topics might not have been as well developed as well as it could have been due to not driving away the viewing interests of the children. The "campy" nature of shows like Star Trek: The Original Series and Batman does come at the expense of a more mature adult audience wanting more complex form of media entertainment. Once Star Trek entered its third season and moved to a Friday time slot not conducive to keep the child audience the ratings dropped causing the show to come to an end. In the end the series could not maintain the viewership to maintain, but created a generation of youth that will bring the show back and maintain its importance to the development of media into the rest of the 20th Century.
In this unit I've been learning about the history of television and its impact on the development of programming. Our Starlog post for this unit is to examine how the business model of network television both helped and constrain the development of Star Trek. Network executives during the sixties had to find programing that was both appealing to children but also deep enough for parents to enjoy. I am still old enough to remember pre-cable where there were only three major networks and night time became family viewing around the television. Television programs had to appeal to a wide diversity of viewers demographics.
The appeal of the child helped the early development of Star Trek. The space adventure feel of the program with the distant planets and alien creatures were very appealing to the youthful imaginations of children captivated with current events of the space race of the sixties. The gadgets like the tricorders, phasers, and beaming technology helped keep the engagement of the children in the viewing audience. It would be difficult to imagine a Star Trek without these elements.
via GIPHY
But a show only for children would have soon have not been appropriate for the evening time slot. Star Trek: The Original Series is still very much remembered today for some of the many difficult issues the show was able to confront facing America in the heart of the Cold War and Civil Rights movement. Tackling issues of racism and moral issues of America's enhanced role in a post World War II Cold War were able to be incorporated into the episodes in a safe way through the science fiction story telling script. I think of the importance of the first interracial kiss on network television being done during the tensions of the Civil Rights Movement. Star Trek was a utopian world with real world problems that could be solved in a single episode and had an appeal to adults grappling with these issues in their daily lives.
via GIPHY
But the appeal to the child and the appeal to the adult is trying to serve two very different masters and it is difficult to make happy both audiences. Because of the split loyalty I feel that the more adult topics might not have been as well developed as well as it could have been due to not driving away the viewing interests of the children. The "campy" nature of shows like Star Trek: The Original Series and Batman does come at the expense of a more mature adult audience wanting more complex form of media entertainment. Once Star Trek entered its third season and moved to a Friday time slot not conducive to keep the child audience the ratings dropped causing the show to come to an end. In the end the series could not maintain the viewership to maintain, but created a generation of youth that will bring the show back and maintain its importance to the development of media into the rest of the 20th Century.
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