Star Trek Barbies Are Coming To Celebrate The Show’s 50th Anniversary
Star Trek Barbies are coming soon. Mattel is planning to issue the commemorative Barbie dolls to mark the 50th anniversary of Star Trek, Gene Roddenberry’s iconic science fiction series. Star Trek has been one of the most enduring and prolific franchises in television history. It’s spawned movies, spin-off series, and been a nerd culture staple since it’s first episode, “The Man Trap,” aired on NBC back on September 8, 1966.
As Nerdist reports, the new Star TrekBarbies will come in the form of Star Trek’s most iconic characters, and the dolls include details guaranteed to thrill any Trekkie.
Mattel has teamed up with CBS, which owns the rights to Star Trek, to create a line of Star Trek Barbie dolls featuring William Shatner as Captain James T. Kirk, Leonard Nimoy as Mr. Spock and Nichelle Nichols as Lt. Uhura. Each Star Trek Barbie (or Ken) doll will be dressed in classic a classic Starfleet uniform based on the ones worn in the original Star Trek series.
This isn’t the first time Barbie has gotten in on the Star Trek action. For the series’ 30th anniversary in 1996, Mattel created a commemorative Barbie and Ken set, and like this time around, the 1996 dolls were dressed in their Starfleet best. Last time around, though, the Star Trek Barbies had classic Ken and Barbie faces, not specialized faces intended to duplicate the mugs of the series’ famous cast.
.@k_bubbs @AnAnarchivist Spock doll!!! I only have the 1996 Star Trek Barbie & Ken, whom I've kept MIB for 20 years! pic.twitter.com/8ZCvvO7tIk
— Maarja K. (@ArchivesMaarja) March 24, 2016
In 2009, Barbie got the Star Trek treatment yet again when Barbies were produced to coincide with the JJ Abrams remake of the Star Trek movie.
So far, Mattel hasn’t announced whether the new line of Star Trek Barbies will be expanded to include more of the series’ most iconic characters, or how long the new Barbies will be sold. Presumably, the fate of the line of 50th anniversary Barbies will hinge largely on the popularity of the first three new Star Trek Barbies.
Spock, Kirk and Uhura get the @Barbie treatment for the 50th anniversary of #StarTrek https://t.co/lPYVVVPphM pic.twitter.com/dLxlIgwT6a
— MeTV (@MeTV) June 3, 2016
Each of the new Star Trekdolls will feature fan-friendly detailing intended to endear the 11 1/2 inch plastic collectibles to fans of the show, according to StarTrek.com. Kirk comes with a phaser and a communicator; Uhura will feature a communicator and a tricorder, and Mr. Spock will come with a communicator. Oh, and Spock’s hand will be molded into his iconic Vulcan salute for posterity.
StarTrek.com insists that the dolls are intended for adult collectors, and therefore, they are detailed with serious Trekkies in mind.
The dolls are expected to hit stores later this month, and die-hard fans can pre-order them here.
The Star Trek Barbies will set you back just under $35 dollars each.
Fans of Barbies and fans of Star Trek alike have taken to social media to share their thoughts on the soon-to-be-released dolls (or action figures, whichever you prefer).
Dammit Jim I'm a doctor not a doll maker! Where's the Bones McCoy doll?? ?
— Michael (@web_dragon) June 7, 2016
The new Star Trek Barbies are reportedly fully posable and feature Mattel’s new-style Barbie joints. Even though, as collector’s items, the chances are that very few of them will be removed from their boxes to be posed. They are intended for people ages six and up, according to the Barbie website. They do include small parts.
Not everyone is on board with the new Star Trek Barbies. Some people reacted to the announcement of the upcoming new 50th anniversary dolls with criticism of Barbies in general. The iconic dolls have come under a lot of scrutiny in recent years for their unrealistic depiction of women, and the brand has been accused of contributing to a whole host of psychological problems from low self-esteem to eating disorders in women and even young girls.
Others have been critical of Barbie dolls because the brand has had a historical issue of not producing enough or accurate enough African American dolls.
What do you think? Are you excited for the new Star Trek Barbies?
[photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images]
