Sometimes original ideas aren’t always that original. While Star Trek has always taken great strides to incorporate new concepts into every film and TV show, one of its most iconic creations is actually much older than many fans think. As Star Trek: The Next Generation took root in the homes and hearts of sci-fi fans, one of its signature elements many people thought was new, had actually been seen before -- the holodeck.

The Enterprise-D's most talked-about feature was the crew's recreational holodeck, a virtual environment capable of creating and mimicking almost any place and time in history. The holodeck encouraged limitless creations, considering people could transport themselves into an abyss of possibilities without ever leaving the room.

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Despite the holodeck's ability to operate near perfection, malfunctions were possible and provided good storylines for TNG's writers. As the computer seemingly goes rogue by creating perilous situations, getting trapped inside was the core of most holodeck crises. But this idea didn’t originate with the Star Trek series lead by Captain Jean-Luc Picard. It was actually under his famous predecessor, Captain James T. Kirk.

During the early 1970s, Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry spearheaded the short-lived Star Trek: The Animated Series. The more adult-leaning cartoon followed the continuing adventures of the original Enterprise crew. The two-season run represented a midway point between the original TV show and plans for a live-action sequel series, eyed for later that decade.

While not in name, the holodeck's concept was first introduced in The Animated Series' second season with the 1974 episode "The Practical Joker." The main Enterprise computer (malfunctioning after the ship was attacked by Romulans) plays a game of cat and mouse with the crew. The practical jokes become increasingly dangerous, with the computer even trying to gas everyone with nitrous oxide. At one point, Dr. McCoy, Lt. Uhura and Helmsman Sulu -- unaware there is a problem -- venture off to enjoy some downtime in the Rec Room, a place capable of synthesizing the natural world just like the holodeck.

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When the trio starts what they think will be a virtual forest, they quickly find themselves trapped inside amid a swirling mix of freezing wind and rain The main entrance, now frozen shut, needs to be pried open from the outside. But power tools won’t work because of the computer's interference. It forces the rescuers to use the low-tech, old-fashioned pry bar to work the doors.

When it seems hopeless for the trapped crew in the arctic environment, Bones urges the others to "…go on without me, my old legs have given out." Just as it seems the computer is about to cause the doctor's death from exposure, the surroundings suddenly melt away into a giant hedge maze. It’s then, the doors get open, and the crew manages to escape. The "Rec Room" malfunction was a great idea that would take more than a decade to rematerialize.

Star Trek: The Next Generation did an amazing job establishing the holodeck as an endless wonderland and potentially menacing place, where almost anything is possible. With episodes like “Elementary, Dear Data” or the gangster-themed “The Big Goodbye,” the Picard-led series kicked open the creative doors for the holodeck's many possibilities. However, it is worth noting that the technology appeared more than a decade earlier in Star Trek: The Animated Series.

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