Live long and prosper. Those words uttered by Leonard Nimoy's Spock have come to define the legend of Star Trek: The Original Series, if not the entire franchise. In the years since the humble sci-fi favorite's first broadcast, Gene Roddenberry's utopian fantasy has captured the imagination of billions (maybe), and shows no signs of slowing down. It's been quite some time since Kirk, Spock, Bones and the rest set sail to the stars on the Starship Enterprise in 1966, but we as an audience soon get to witness these original adventures uncut and as Roddenberry intended us to see them.
We've learned that the Heroes & Icons Television Network will soon embark on a grand undertaking that will surely drive any self-respecting Trekkie wild. Beginning on July 24, H&I will air uncut episodes of Star Trek: The Original Series with limited commercial interruptions, followed by each and every subsequent Star Trek series to date for six days a week. While the original series' episodes have aired in syndication numerous times over the past 50 years, this event will set itself apart from previous re-runs because it will feature an insane amount of deleted scenes that have remained dormant in the world of TV purgatory.
Talk about recreating a moment in history; this event represents one of the first times that the original Star Trek series have aired in this particular fashion in years. The now iconic sci-fi series originally aired five decades ago in September 1966. Although it has become a pop culture phenomenon -- inspiring several spin-off sequels as well as beloved movie franchises -- repeat viewings of the original adventures of the Starship Enterprise have often found themselves abridged for modern broadcast. In this regard, the upcoming event will resemble the original run of the series that sci-fi fans watched when TV was still finding it own.
Check out a trailer for the H&I All Star Trek event below:
There's really no better network for an event of this nature to take place. With the airing of these beloved uncut episodes of Star Trek: The Original Series, Heroes and Icons will have every Star Trek series airing on its schedule. From Star Trek: The Next Generation, to Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, there's something for everybody who wants to go where few have gone before. In addition to these iconic sci-fi adventures, the H&I network has also become home to numerous other legendary cult television shows, ranging from Xena: Warrior Princess, to Kung Fu. It's pretty much nerd heaven.
Star Trek: The Original Series will commence its uncut, limited-commercial broadcast on Sunday, July 24, 2016, at 8:00 p.m. EST. For more information related to all of the most highly anticipated summer televisions debuts, make sure to check out our comprehensive summer premiere schedule to mark these dates on your calendar.
