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The Original Series reflected the massive social upheaval that the United States was undergoing in the 1960s. As well as racial issues, Star Trek tackled the drug culture, imperialism, causes of war, the dangers of technical progress and human emotions, particularly love, hate and jealousy. When problems arise, the Federation's solution lies in a rational approach, not in violence. Aggression must be defeated, both in the enemy and within oneself. During the series, Star Trek established the "Prime Directive" - the regulation prohibiting Starfleet Personnel from interfering in the normal development of any society, even at the risk of their own lives. The natural desire of crew members to correct what they see to be cruel or immoral, and thereby risk altering the course of events for that world, has been the main subject of many Star Trek plots.
Misplaced racial sensitivity prevented almost one of the most famous episodes: "Plato's Children", in which Kirk and Uhura kiss. It was 1969 and the first time that Americans had seen an inter-racial kiss on television. Despite executive's fears the anticipated flood of protest failed to materialise. Indeed, the famous inter - racial kiss between the black communications officer, Uhura, and the white Captain Kirk, expected by the television executives to cause an uproar, received almost no complaints but was recognised as a milestone for American broadcasting
In "Let That Be Your Last Battlefield", the racial issue was tackled again, with less subtlety perhaps, but still effectively. This episode portrays two warring peoples, one black on the right side and white on the left, the other black on the left side and white on the right.
Captain Kirk's crew dealt with the hippie culture of the sixties in "The Way to Eden" and "This Side of Paradise", which argued against mind-numbing, energy-sapping drugs. Star trek also came out strongly in favour of non-interference in other countries' conflicts in The Omega Glory And A Private Little War, at a time the Vietnam War reached its climax.
As with so much of Star Trek, parallels between contemporary political conflicts and intergalactic power struggles can easily be drawn, although the temptation to accept the often conflict as a simple allegory of the Cold War should be resisted.
The classic scene in Star Trek is the beaming down of an expedition crew, consisting of Kirk, Spock, McCoy and some minor characters. The crew encounters an alien lifeform, usually either physically or psychologically superior to the humans. The alien kills the minor characters in order to give McCoy the chance to recite his classic line "He's dead Jim" while examining one of the dead corpses. Spock remarks "Fascinating" or "Most Illogical", quarrels with the doctor but finally manages to employ his nerve pinch to stun the alien which threatened the rest of the crew.
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