Topic: Gene Roddenberry

Star Trek: The Original Series: The 10 greatest episodes (+ video)

Star Trek: The Original Series first aired 46 years ago Friday, and Google is marking the occasion with an elaborate, interactive doodle that includes a number of Trek tropes, including a doomed redshirt, a chief communications officer in soft-focus, a bulkhead full of tribbles, a generic rocky planet, and a whole lot of blinking and beeping and flashing lights.

The doodle is based on a first-season episode titled 'The Arena,' in which Captian Kirk is transported to a planet that looks suspiciously like the outskirts of Los Angeles, where he must face off against a reptilian humanoid. By our calculations, 'The Arena' was the 17th greatest episode. Here are our top ten:

Horizons
Star Trek: The Original Series' surprising role in US civil rights

Google features a doodle for Star Trek: The Original Series – a nod to one of the most progressive television shows of its era. 

The Beloit College Mindset List for the class of 2016

Every year, Beloit College in Beloit, Wis., releases its Mindset List to give a snapshot of how the incoming freshmen class views the world.

SpaceX takes Star Trek's 'Scotty' to the Final Frontier

SpaceX: The ashes of the actor James Doohan, who played Scotty on 'Star Trek' were launched to space on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. The price?  $2,995 to launch 1 gram of ashes into Earth orbit.

TV Blog
William Shatner says "Star Trek" is better than "Star Wars" (video)

William Shatner made his name as leader of the "Star Trek" television series in the 1960s. The "Star Wars" movie series, begun in the 1970s, does not impress William Shatner.

The 9 weirdest things ever flown on the Space Shuttle

When NASA's space shuttles launch into orbit, they don't just carry astronauts and supplies into the final frontier. There's a lot of other weird stuff that makes the out-of-this-world journey, too. Here nine recent space oddities carried into orbit on NASA shuttles.

Obama space policy prizes international cooperation

President Obama's national space policy, released Monday, focuses more on international approaches to space issues than previous presidents' policies.

Own William Shatner's motorcycle - 'Star Trek' collectibles up for auction

Fans of Star Trek and William Shatner now have a chance to bid on artifacts from the original series to the recent film re-launch of the franchise.

Cameron's 'Titanic,' 'Avatar' poised to be Nos. 1 and 2 all-time

After a fourth straight week as the No. 1 box office hit in the US, 'Avatar' is already the No. 2 top-grossing movie ever worldwide. It's No. 7 and rising in the US, too.

Sci-fi fans go into warp drive over an independent Star Trek film

Web-only feature film made by fans and several Star Trek actors honors the TV series' enduring appeal.

Horizons
On the block: A vintage Mac, owned by Gene Roddenberry

Discoveries
NASA's Chandra X-Ray Observatory at 10: still going strong

Review: 'Star Trek'

For 'Star Trek' fans a new addition to the franchise that delivers some telling back stories about the young Enterprise crew.