David Bianculli

In the streaming series The Lowdown, he's a small-time investigative journalist constantly getting into trouble.

He'll talk about his movies and his life, from his years as a teenage film star to today.

Hope you can join us.

To keep up with what's on the show and get highlights of our interviews, follow us on Instagram at NPR Fresh Air.

Fresh Air's executive producers are Danny Miller and Sam Brigger.

Our senior producer today is Roberta Chirock.

Our technical director and engineer is Audrey Bentham, with additional engineering support by Joyce Lieberman, Julian Hertzfeld, and Deanna Martinez.

Our interviews and reviews are produced and edited by Phyllis Myers, Anne-Marie Baldonado, Lauren Krenzel, Teresa Madden, Monique Nazareth, Thea Chaloner, Susan Yakundi, and Anna Bauman.

Our digital media producer is Molly Seavey-Nesper.

For Terry Gross and Tanya Mosley, I'm David Bianculli.

The newest entry in the Star Trek franchise opens with a graphic logo that says it all.

Star Trek 60, it says.

An instant reminder that the original NBC show, the one that inspired this new Paramount Plus sequel, premiered 60 years ago in 1966.

Think of how long ago that was, in TV time and in real time.

and how much original producer Gene Roddenberry and his successors have given us since.

Sure, there's the string of Star Trek sequels, prequels, and spinoffs in the movies as well as on TV.

But there's also the now-familiar science stuff, shown in the original series and later brought to life by fans turned engineers.

Giant flat TV screens, flip phone communicators, sophisticated computers you address directly to get information.

But back in September 1966, when Star Trek launched, its impact was less impressive.

It lasted only three seasons and never ended a season ranked higher than 52nd place.