Today we honor an exalted predecessor to X-MEN:TAS. Fifty years ago yesterday, on September 8th, 1966, the first episode of Star Trek: TOS (“The Original Series”) premiered. I know because I saw it. I still remember my 11-year-old reaction to the “salt monster” episode: “What the hell is this?!” I’d never seen a TV show like it. I was hooked. The next day our family moved 1,000 miles to a new home in Tennessee, where we didn’t get good reception (!) on the network that aired Trek, so I had to catch up on the show when it aired in syndication, Monday-through-Friday at super time. I memorized the 79 episodes. Primary X-MEN:TAS writers Mark and Michael Edens and my wife Julia were only a few of the Trek fans that gratefully acknowledge the impact that a trail-blazing TV series had on their lives. If someone were to look closely, the influences on our storytelling would be easy to find. TOS didn’t have the time or money or technology to look as slick and convincing as later, follow-up series or movies, but that didn’t restrain their ambition. They made up for their production limitations with memorable characters and emotionally compelling stories. We tried to get close to that on the similarly modestly-budgeted X-MEN:TAS. Our 25th anniversary is coming up in a little over a year (October 31, 2017). Here’s hoping that viewers are still in enjoying our show when it turns fifty.
