2016 marks the 50th anniversary of one of the most beloved science fiction franchises of all time. No, not Doctor Who; that was three years ago. The first season of Gene Roddenberry’s Star Trek premiered on September 8, 1966, on NBC primetime television. An immediate hit (for awhile), the series depicted a far future where humanity had conquered the stars, sought out and allied with/fought against new alien life forms and civilizations, and did that whole boldly going thing we’ve heard so much about. There’s likely going to be a lot of commemoration going on for the franchise’s golden anniversary, but the first of which is a series of forever stamps from the United States Postal Service.
Four special stamps have been commissioned, each depicting a iconic thing from the series, all with an indelible and cool retro ’60s vibe. One, in Captain’s yellow, shows the NCC-1701 Enterprise soaring through the emblem; the second, in dead-crewman red, shows the miracle of transporter technology; the third, in the green of…something, we see the silhouette of the Enterprise around a strange new world; and the final one, in Dammit, Jim blue, the Vulcan “Live Long and Prosper” hand gesture surrounding the Enterprise flying past a red planet.
No word yet on when these will hit post offices, or when you can order them, but the stamp is the universal symbol of something pop cultural being far from niche. And, because they’re forever stamps, you can use them any old time you like, or never do that. The neutral zone is your oyster, man.
If you remember, CBS announced the first original programming to its dedicated subscription service would be a new Star Trek series to premiere later this year. Looks like it’ll be a good time to be a Starfleet person.
Which Star Trek stamp is your favorite? Let us know in the comments below!
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HT: Deadline
Images: Paramount/USPS
Kyle Anderson is the Weekend Editor and a film and TV critic for Nerdist.com. Follow him on Twitter!
