Q 01/05

On which US network did Star Trek originally air from 1966 to 1969?

A) ABC

B) Syndication only

C) NBC

D) CBS

Answer · why

C) NBC

The network cancelled it after three seasons and 79 episodes; TV Guide Network later ranked the decision the fourth-biggest TV blunder ever.

Q 02/05

How many episodes of the original Star Trek were made?

A) 72

B) 78

C) 79

D) 66

Answer · why

C) 79

That total, including the three-season run, was barely enough for daily syndication, where the show finally found its audience.

Q 03/05

Gene Roddenberry pitched Star Trek to the networks as what?

A) Bonanza among the planets

B) Gunsmoke in space

C) The Lone Ranger of the galaxy

D) Wagon Train to the stars

Answer · why

D) Wagon Train to the stars

He also called Kirk "Horatio Hornblower in space", after C.S. Forester's sea captain.

Q 04/05

Which company, headed by Lucille Ball, produced Star Trek's pilots and first season?

A) Quinn Martin Productions

B) Desilu

C) Screen Gems

D) MGM Television

Answer · why

B) Desilu

Ball was instrumental in getting the pilot made and, in early 1966, was persuaded not to drop the show along with Mission: Impossible.

Q 05/05

What was the title of the first Star Trek pilot, rejected by NBC as "too cerebral"?

A) The Cage

B) The Menagerie

C) Where No Man Has Gone Before

D) The Man Trap

Answer · why

A) The Cage

NBC took the unusual step of paying for a second pilot; the first one's footage was later recycled into a two-part episode.