Star Trek: The Original Series continues to inspire fans even half a century after its launch, and all the rovers on Mars aren't helping matters either.

Star Trek has fueled our creative imaginations for the past 60 years in an endless litany of exploratory stories that stretch into strange new worlds across the intergalactic universe. And while that in itself is an entertaining perspective, the reality of the world outside often clashes with the illusions of these imagined narratives.

But what began in 1966 with the premiere of Star Trek: The Original Series is a story neither impossibly surreal nor fantastical. With its roots embedded in physics and scientific curiosity, certain aspects of the franchise often come across as strange forebodings of a more scientifically advanced Earth.

Star Trek: The Original Series Season 1 episode Arena stands out as one of the best episodes in the entire Star Trek franchise, including film and television, due to its unique premise between the ever-familiar Captain Kirk of the USS Enterprise and an unknown alien, known as Gorn.