William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy first appeared as “Star Trek’s” Capt. James T. Kirk and his first officer, Mr. Spock, on September 8, 1966 - 40 years ago Friday.

It’s a bit unfortunate that the anniversary comes with Star Trek out of production. But it was time to recharge the creative juices of the Star Trek franchise. Star Trek hit its peak during Deep Space Nine. Voyager never really caught my fancy. And prequels (Enterprise) are just a bad idea.

Hopefully, a little time off will bring new life to the franchise when it returns.