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Product Description Ever since Star Trek first aired on television in 1966, the series has had a strong influence on pop culture. In 1976, due to the show’s rising popularity in syndication, Topps released a series of collectible trading cards featuring full-color images from the classic television series created by Gene Roddenberry, as well as synopses and information on the cast and crew of the Starship Enterprise. This first-ever compilation includes the fronts and backs of all 88 cards and 22 rare and hard-to-find stickers (which were originally sold one per pack), as well as text and commentary by Star Trek insiders Paula M. Block and Terry J. Erdmann―guaranteed to please the die-hard Trekkie as well as a whole new generation of fans. Praise for Star Trek: The Original Topps Trading Card Series “If you're like me, most of those cards are long gone by now, so I’ve loved the hardcover books devoted to the company's various product lines.” ― USA Today’s Pop Candy blog About the Author Paula M. Block worked on the Star Trek franchise at Paramount Pictures and CBS for 19 years and, with motion picture publicist Terry J. Erdmann, has written numerous books including Star Trek: The Original Series 365, Star Trek: The Next Generation 365, and Star Trek 101. They live in Oregon. The Topps Company, Inc., founded in 1938, is the preeminent creator and brand marketer of sports cards, entertainment products, and distinctive confectionary. Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved. Star Trek: The Original Topps Trading Card Series By Paula M. Block, Terry J. Erdmann, Clarissa Wong Abrams Books Copyright © 2013 Paula M. Block and Terry J. Erdmann All rights reserved. ISBN: 978-1-4197-0950-0 Contents EXPLORING THE WAXY FRONTIER, 7, THE CARDS, 15, STICKER SHOCK, 192, THE STICKERS, 193, CHAPTER 1 EXPLORING THE WAXY FRONTIER Star Trek — the original TV series — died young. After three short years, from 1966–69, creator-producer Gene Roddenberry's "Wagon Train to the stars" (as he referred to it in his original pitch) succumbed to the burning arrows shot by traditionalist network executives. NBC buried the corpse on Boot Hill and moved on to what it felt were more viable shows. But a funny thing happened at the burial grounds. Somebody dug up the corpse. Imaginative programmers at Kaiser Broadcasting, owner and operator of a string of UHF television stations across the United States, resurrected Star Trek. Kaiser was intrigued by the passion of the show's audience during its network run, particularly the massive letter-writing campaign that had prompted a reluctant NBC to green-light the series for a third season. Sensing an opportunity, Kaiser nurtured its viewers' enthusiasm by running uncut episodes — just before the dinner hour — in major markets like Chicago, Philadelphia, Boston, Detroit, and Cleveland. The effort paid off. Young viewers in those cities rushed home from school, dropped their books, and tuned in, day after day after day. Soon other independent stations, noting Kaiser's success, were lining up to broadcast Star Trek. Within a few short years, Star Trek was recognized as the first television series to become more popular in syndication than it had been in its initial run. But the success didn't stop there. Devoted fans began creating their own versions of their favorite characters and scenes. They wrote and self-published mimeographed and offset-printed fanzines with titles like Spockanalia, Menagerie, and Warped Space, each filled with brand-new stories about the crew of the Starship Enterprise. Like members of any good cult, they also felt the need to gather together and meet other die-hard fans. For the first time ever, on January 21, 1972, at New York's Statler Hilton hotel, a small group of fans put together a Star Trek convention — drawing a crowd of more than three thousand people. Before long, legions of Trekkies across the country started their own fan clubs an