Star Trek: Enterprise'', where the computers normally did not speak at all), but also had the recurring role of
Lwaxana Troi
This is a list of characters from the science fiction television series '' Star Trek: The Next Generation''. Characters are ordered alphabetically by family name, and only characters who played a significant recurring role in the series are list ...
in ''The Next Generation'' and ''Deep Space Nine''.
Diana Muldaur
Diana Muldaur (born August 19, 1938) is an American film and television actress. Muldaur's television roles include Rosalind Shays on ''L.A. Law'' and Dr. Katherine Pulaski in the second season of '' Star Trek: The Next Generation''. She als ...
, a guest star in the episodes "
Return to Tomorrow
"Return to Tomorrow" is the twentieth episode of the second season of the American science fiction television series ''Star Trek''. Written by John T. Dugan (under the pen-name "John Kingsbridge") and directed by Ralph Senensky, it was first b ...
" and "
Is There in Truth No Beauty?
"Is There in Truth No Beauty?" is the fifth episode of the third season of the American science fiction television series ''Star Trek''. Written by Jean Lisette Aroeste and directed by Ralph Senensky, it was first broadcast on October 18, 1968. ...
" of the original ''Star Trek'' series, played series regular Dr.
Katherine Pulaski in the second season of ''Star Trek: The Next Generation''.
Notable guest appearances
Guest roles on the series have featured actors such as:
*
Gary Lockwood
Gary Lockwood (born John Gary Yurosek; February 21, 1937) is an American actor. Lockwood is best known for his roles as astronaut Frank Poole in the film '' 2001: A Space Odyssey'' (1968), and as Lieutenant Commander Gary Mitchell in the ''Star ...
and
Sally Kellerman in "
Where No Man Has Gone Before";
*
Diana Muldaur
Diana Muldaur (born August 19, 1938) is an American film and television actress. Muldaur's television roles include Rosalind Shays on ''L.A. Law'' and Dr. Katherine Pulaski in the second season of '' Star Trek: The Next Generation''. She als ...
in "
Return to Tomorrow
"Return to Tomorrow" is the twentieth episode of the second season of the American science fiction television series ''Star Trek''. Written by John T. Dugan (under the pen-name "John Kingsbridge") and directed by Ralph Senensky, it was first b ...
" and "
Is There in Truth No Beauty?
"Is There in Truth No Beauty?" is the fifth episode of the third season of the American science fiction television series ''Star Trek''. Written by Jean Lisette Aroeste and directed by Ralph Senensky, it was first broadcast on October 18, 1968. ...
" (Muldaur also appeared throughout the second season of ''
Star Trek: The Next Generation'' as the Enterprise-D's chief medical officer, Dr. Pulaski);
*
Ricardo Montalbán
Ricardo Gonzalo Pedro Montalbán y Merino, KSG (; ; November 25, 1920 – January 14, 2009) was a Mexican and American film and television actor. Montalbán's career spanned seven decades, during which he became known for performances in a var ...
as
Khan Noonien Singh
Khan Noonien Singh is a fictional character in the ''Star Trek'' science fiction franchise, who first appeared as the main antagonist in the ''Star Trek: The Original Series'' episode " Space Seed" (1967), and was portrayed by Ricardo Montalbá ...
in "
Space Seed
"Space Seed" is the twenty-second episode of the first season of the American science fiction television series ''Star Trek''. Written by Gene L. Coon and Carey Wilber and directed by Marc Daniels, it first aired on February 16, 1967.
In the ...
". He then reprised the role in the film ''
Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan'';
*
Madlyn Rhue as Lieutenant Marla McGivers in "
Space Seed
"Space Seed" is the twenty-second episode of the first season of the American science fiction television series ''Star Trek''. Written by Gene L. Coon and Carey Wilber and directed by Marc Daniels, it first aired on February 16, 1967.
In the ...
".
*
Michael Ansara
Michael George Ansara (April 15, 1922 – July 31, 2013) was an American actor. He portrayed Cochise in the television series '' Broken Arrow'', Kane in the 1979–1981 series '' Buck Rogers in the 25th Century'', Commander Kang in '' Star Tr ...
as Klingon commander Kang in "
Day of the Dove
"Day of the Dove" is the seventh episode of the third season of the American science fiction television series ''Star Trek''. Written by Jerome Bixby and directed by Marvin Chomsky, it was first broadcast November 1, 1968.
In the episode, an ...
", reprising the role in the ''Deep Space Nine'' episode "Blood Oath" and the ''Voyager'' episode "Flashback";
*
William Marshall in "
The Ultimate Computer";
*
Julie Newmar
Julie Newmar (born Julia Chalene Newmeyer, August 16, 1933) is an American actress, dancer, and singer, known for a variety of stage, screen, and television roles. She is also a writer, lingerie designer, and real-estate mogul. She won the Tony ...
in "
Friday's Child";
*
Kim Darby and
Michael J. Pollard
Michael J. Pollard (born Michael John Pollack Jr.; May 30, 1939 – November 20, 2019) was an American actor. He is best known for his role as C.W. Moss in the film ''Bonnie and Clyde'' (1967), which earned him critical acclaim along with nomi ...
in "
Miri
)
, subdivision_type = Country
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";
*
Robert Lansing
Robert Lansing (; October 17, 1864 – October 30, 1928) was an American lawyer and diplomat who served as Counselor to the State Department at the outbreak of World War I, and then as United States Secretary of State under President Woodrow Wi ...
and
Teri Garr
Teri Ann Garr (born December 11, 1944) is an American former actress, dancer, and comedian. She frequently appeared in comedic roles throughout her career, which spans four decades and includes over 140 credits in film and television. Her accola ...
in "
Assignment: Earth";
*
William Windom
William Windom (May 10, 1827January 29, 1891) was an American politician from Minnesota. He served as U.S. Representative from 1859 to 1869, and as U.S. Senator from 1870 to January 1871, from March 1871 to March 1881, and from November 188 ...
in "
The Doomsday Machine";
*
John Colicos as the Klingon Commander
Kor in "
Errand of Mercy," reprising the role in three episodes of ''Deep Space Nine'';
*
Robert Walker Jr. in "
Charlie X
"Charlie X" is the second episode of the first season of the American science fiction television series ''Star Trek''. Written by Dorothy C. Fontana from a story by Gene Roddenberry, and directed by Lawrence Dobkin, it first aired on September ...
";
*
Lee Meriwether
Lee Ann Meriwether (born May 27, 1935) is an American actress, former model, and the winner of the Miss America 1955 pageant. She has appeared in many films and television shows, notably as Betty Jones, the title character's secretary and daught ...
in "
That Which Survives";
*
Roger C. Carmel and
Karen Steele
Karen Steele (March 20, 1931 – March 12, 1988) was an American actress and model with more than 60 roles in film and television. Her most famous roles include starring as Virginia in '' Marty'', as Mrs. Lane in ''Ride Lonesome'', and as Ev ...
in "
Mudd's Women". Carmel returned in "
I, Mudd
"I, Mudd" is the eighth episode of the second season of the American science fiction television series ''Star Trek''. Written by Stephen Kandel (based on a story by Gene Roddenberry) and directed by Marc Daniels, it was first broadcast on Novem ...
";
*
France Nuyen
France Nuyen (born France Nguyễn Vân Nga on 31 July 1939) is a French actress, model, and psychological counsellor.
Early life
Nguyen was born in Marseille. Her mother was French, and her father was widely reported to be Vietnamese, althoug ...
in "
Elaan of Troyius
"Elaan of Troyius" is the thirteenth episode of the third season of the American science fiction television series '' Star Trek''. Written and directed by John Meredyth Lucas, it was first broadcast on December 20, 1968.
In the episode, the '' ...
," possibly the first Vietnamese actress to appear on American television;
*
Mark Lenard
Mark Lenard (born Leonard Rosenson, October 15, 1924 – November 22, 1996) was an American actor, primarily in television. His most famous role was as Sarek, father of Spock, in the science fiction ''Star Trek'' franchise, in both the origina ...
, the only actor to play members of three major non-human races in The Original Series, as the Romulan commander in "
Balance of Terror
The phrase "balance of terror" is usually, but not invariably,Rich Miller, Simon Kennedy'G-20 Plans to End 'Financial Balance of Terror' After Summit,' Bloomberg 27 February 2009. used in reference to the nuclear arms race between the United Stat ...
," the Klingon Commander in ''
Star Trek: The Motion Picture'', and most notably as Spock's father
Sarek
Sarek is a fictional character in the ''Star Trek'' media franchise. He is a Vulcan astrophysicist, the Vulcan ambassador to the United Federation of Planets, and father of Spock. The character was originally played by Mark Lenard in the epis ...
in "
Journey to Babel
"Journey to Babel" is the tenth episode of the second season of the American science fiction television series ''Star Trek''. Written by D. C. Fontana and directed by Joseph Pevney, it was first broadcast on November 17, 1967.
In the episode, ...
," reprising this role in the films ''
Star Trek III: The Search for Spock'', ''
Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home'', and ''
Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country'', as well as in the ''TNG'' episodes "Sarek" and "Unification, Part 1";
*
Jane Wyatt as Spock's mother Amanda Grayson in "
Journey to Babel
"Journey to Babel" is the tenth episode of the second season of the American science fiction television series ''Star Trek''. Written by D. C. Fontana and directed by Joseph Pevney, it was first broadcast on November 17, 1967.
In the episode, ...
," reprising the role in the film ''
Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home'';
*
Glenn Corbett
Glenn Corbett (born Glenn Edwin Rothenburg; August 17, 1933 – January 16, 1993)"CORBETT Obituary — Corbett, 59, starred in 'Route 66,' Wayne films." ''San Antonio Express-News'' January 18, 1993. Web. May 29, 2012. Document #0F22314D ...
and
Elinor Donahue in "
Metamorphosis";
*
Elisha Cook Jr.
Elisha Vanslyck Cook Jr. (December 26, 1903 – May 18, 1995) was an American character actor famed for his work in films noir. According to Bill Georgaris of TSPDT: They Shoot Pictures, Don't They, Cook appeared in a total of 21 film n ...
and
Joan Marshall
Joan Marshall (born Joan Schrepfermann; June 6, 1931 – June 28, 1992) was an American film and television actress. She is best known for her appearances in ''The Twilight Zone's'' " Dead Man's Shoes", and ''Star Trek's'' "Court Martial".
...
in "
Court Martial
A court-martial or court martial (plural ''courts-martial'' or ''courts martial'', as "martial" is a postpositive adjective) is a military court or a trial conducted in such a court. A court-martial is empowered to determine the guilt of memb ...
";
*
Nancy Kovack
Nancy Kovack (born March 11, 1935) is a retired American film and television actress.
Early years
Kovack is the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Michael A. Kovack of Flint, Michigan. Her father was the manager of a General Motors plant. She enrolled a ...
in "
A Private Little War
"A Private Little War" is the nineteenth episode of the second season of the American science fiction television series ''Star Trek''. Written by Gene Roddenberry, based on a story by Don Ingalls (under the pseudonym Jud Crucis), and directed by ...
";
*
Vic Tayback
Victor E. Tayback (January 6, 1930 – May 25, 1990) was an American actor. He is known for his role as Mel Sharples in the film ''Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore'' (1974) and the television series ''Alice'' (1976–1985). The latter earned him t ...
and
Anthony Caruso in "
A Piece of the Action";
*
Jeff Corey and
Fred Williamson in "
The Cloud Minders
"The Cloud Minders" is the twenty-first episode of the third season of the American science fiction television series ''Star Trek''. Written by Margaret Armen (based on a story by David Gerrold and Oliver Crawford) and directed by Jud Taylor, it ...
";
*
Barbara Bouchet
Barbara Bouchet (born Bärbel Gutscher; 15 August 1943)
glamourgirlsofthesilverscreen.com; ...
and
Warren Stevens
Warren Albert Stevens (November 2, 1919 – March 27, 2012) was an American stage, screen, and television actor.
Early life and career
Born in Clarks Summit, Pennsylvania, Stevens entered the United States Naval Academy in 1937 but was medical ...
in "
By Any Other Name
"By Any Other Name" is the 22nd episode of the second season of the American science fiction television series ''Star Trek''. Written by D.C. Fontana and Jerome Bixby (based on Bixby's story) and directed by Marc Daniels, it was first broadcas ...
";
*
Michael Forest and
Leslie Parrish
Leslie Parrish (born Marjorie Hellen; March 13, 1935) is an American actress, activist, environmentalist, writer, and producer. She worked under her birth name for six years, changing it in 1959.
Early life
As a child, Parrish lived in Massachu ...
in "
Who Mourns for Adonais?
"Who Mourns for Adonais?" is the second episode of the second season of the American science fiction television series ''Star Trek''. Written by Gilbert Ralston and Gene L. Coon, and directed by Marc Daniels, it was first broadcast September 22, ...
";
*
Charles Napier in "
The Way to Eden
"The Way to Eden" is the twentieth episode of the third season of the American science fiction television series '' Star Trek''. The episode was written by Arthur Heinemann, based on a story by Heinemann and D. C. Fontana (using the pen name "M ...
";
*
Frank Gorshin
Frank John Gorshin Jr. (April 5, 1933 – May 17, 2005) was an American actor, comedian and impressionist. He made many guest appearances on ''The Ed Sullivan Show'' and ''Tonight Starring Steve Allen''.
As an actor, he played the Riddler on the ...
and
Lou Antonio
Louis Antonio (born January 23, 1934) is an American actor and TV director best known for performing in the films ''Cool Hand Luke'' and '' America America''. He also starred in two short-lived TV series, '' Dog and Cat'', and '' Makin' It''.
E ...
in "
Let That Be Your Last Battlefield
“Let That Be Your Last Battlefield” is the fifteenth episode of the third season of the original American science fiction television show ''Star Trek''. Written by Oliver Crawford (based on a story by Gene L. Coon, writing under his pen nam ...
";
*
Ted Cassidy
Theodore Crawford Cassidy (July 31, 1932 – January 16, 1979) was an American actor noted for his tall stature at and deep voice. He tended to play unusual characters in offbeat or science-fiction series such as ''Star Trek'' and ''I Dream of ...
and
Sherry Jackson
Sherry D. Jackson (born February 15, 1942) is an American retired actress and former child star.
Early life
Jackson was born in Wendell, Idaho, to Maurita (or Maurite) Kathleen Gilbert and Curtis Loys Jackson, Sr. on February 15, 1942, according ...
in "
What Are Little Girls Made Of?"; Cassidy also voiced the Balok mannequin in
The Corbomite Maneuver
"The Corbomite Maneuver" is the tenth episode of the first season of the American science fiction television series ''Star Trek''. Written by Jerry Sohl and directed by Joseph Sargent, it first aired on November 10, 1966. In the episode, the ' ...
, and the Gorn in
Arena
An arena is a large enclosed platform, often circular or oval-shaped, designed to showcase theatre, musical performances, or sporting events. It is composed of a large open space surrounded on most or all sides by tiered seating for spectators ...
;
*
Mariette Hartley
Mary Loretta Hartley (born June 21, 1940) is an American film and television actress. She is best known for work with Bill Bixby on '' The Incredible Hulk'' (1978) and ''Goodnight, Beantown'' (1983–1984), an original ''Star Trek'' episode (19 ...
in "
All Our Yesterdays";
*
Joan Collins
Dame Joan Henrietta Collins (born 23 May 1933) is an English actress, author and columnist. Collins is the recipient of several accolades, including a Golden Globe Award, a People's Choice Award, two Soap Opera Digest Awards and a Primetime E ...
in "
The City on the Edge of Forever";
*
Celia Lovsky
Celia Lovsky (born Cäcilia Josefina Lvovsky, February 21, 1897 – October 12, 1979) was an Austrian-American actress. She was born in Vienna,Arlene Martel
Arlene Martel (born Arline Greta Sax; April 14, 1936 – August 12, 2014) was an American actress. Before 1964, she was frequently billed as Arline Sax or Arlene Sax. Casting directors, among other Hollywood insiders, called Martel the Chamel ...
in "
Amok Time
"Amok Time" is the second season premiere episode of the American science fiction television series ''Star Trek''. Written by science fiction author Theodore Sturgeon, scored by Gerald Fried, and directed by Joseph Pevney, it first aired on Se ...
";
*
David Soul
David Soul (born David Richard Solberg; August 28, 1943) is an American-British actor and singer. He is known for his role as Detective Kenneth "Hutch" Hutchinson in the television series ''Starsky & Hutch'' from 1975 to 1979; Joshua Bolt on ' ...
in "
The Apple";
*
James Gregory in "
Dagger of the Mind
"Dagger of the Mind" is the ninth episode of the first season of the American science fiction television series ''Star Trek''. Written by Shimon Wincelberg (under the pen name "S. Bar-David") and directed by Vincent McEveety, it first aired on ...
";
*
Barbara Anderson in "
The Conscience of the King
"The Conscience of the King" is the 13th episode of the first season of the American science-fiction television series ''Star Trek''. Written by Barry Trivers and directed by Gerd Oswald, it was first aired on December 8, 1966.
The episode tak ...
";
*
James Daly in "
Requiem for Methuselah
"Requiem for Methuselah" is the nineteenth episode of the third season of the American science fiction television series ''Star Trek''. Written by Jerome Bixby and directed by Murray Golden, it was first broadcast on February 14, 1969.
In the ...
";
*
Jill Ireland in "
This Side of Paradise";
*
Melvin Belli and
Pamelyn Ferdin
Pamelyn Wanda Ferdin (born February 4, 1959) is an American animal rights activist and a former child actress. Ferdin's acting career was primarily during the 1960s and 1970s, though she appeared in projects sporadically in the 1980s and later ...
in "
And the Children Shall Lead
"And the Children Shall Lead" is the fourth episode of the third season of the American science fiction television series ''Star Trek''. Written by Edward J. Lakso and directed by Marvin Chomsky, it was first broadcast on October 11, 1968.
In ...
";
*
Keye Luke
Keye Luke (, Cantonese: Luk Shek Kee; June 18, 1904 – January 12, 1991) was a Chinese-born American film and television actor, technical advisor and artist and a founding member of the Screen Actors Guild.
He was known for playing Lee Chan, t ...
,
Yvonne Craig
Yvonne Joyce Craig (May 16, 1937 – August 17, 2015) was an American actress and ballerina, who was renowned for her role as Batgirl in the 1960s television series ''Batman''. Other notable roles in her career include Dorothy Johnson in the 1963 ...
and
Steve Ihnat
Stefan Ihnat (August 7, 1934 – May 12, 1972) was a Slovak-born American actor and director. He emigrated to Canada when he was five years old, and later became a United States citizen.
Early life
Ihnat was born to Andrew and Mary Ihnat i ...
in "
Whom Gods Destroy";
*
Michael Dunn and
Barbara Babcock
Barbara Babcock (born February 27, 1937) is an American actress who played Grace Gardner on ''Hill Street Blues'', for which she won an Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress—Drama Series in 1981, She played Dorothy Jennings on '' Dr. Quinn ...
in "
Plato's Stepchildren
"Plato's Stepchildren" is the tenth episode of the third season of the American science fiction television series ''Star Trek''. Written by Meyer Dolinsky and directed by David Alexander, it was first broadcast on November 22, 1968.
In the ep ...
";
*
Clint Howard
Clinton Engle Howard (born April 20, 1959) is an American actor. He is the second son born to American actors Rance and Jean Howard, and younger brother of actor and director Ron Howard. His 200-plus acting credits include feature films such as ...
in "
The Corbomite Maneuver
"The Corbomite Maneuver" is the tenth episode of the first season of the American science fiction television series ''Star Trek''. Written by Jerry Sohl and directed by Joseph Sargent, it first aired on November 10, 1966. In the episode, the ' ...
";
*
Barbara Luna in "
Mirror, Mirror";
*
David Opatoshu
David Opatoshu (born David Opatovsky; January 30, 1918 – April 30, 1996) was an American actor. He is best known for his role in the film ''Exodus'' (1960).
Opatoshu began his acting career in the Yiddish theater. Following his tenure in t ...
in "
A Taste of Armageddon
"A Taste of Armageddon" is the twenty-third episode of the first season of the American science fiction television series ''Star Trek''. Written by Robert Hamner and Gene L. Coon and directed by Joseph Pevney, it was first broadcast on February ...
";
*
Barbara Babcock
Barbara Babcock (born February 27, 1937) is an American actress who played Grace Gardner on ''Hill Street Blues'', for which she won an Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress—Drama Series in 1981, She played Dorothy Jennings on '' Dr. Quinn ...
in "
A Taste of Armageddon
"A Taste of Armageddon" is the twenty-third episode of the first season of the American science fiction television series ''Star Trek''. Written by Robert Hamner and Gene L. Coon and directed by Joseph Pevney, it was first broadcast on February ...
" and "
Plato's Stepchildren
"Plato's Stepchildren" is the tenth episode of the third season of the American science fiction television series ''Star Trek''. Written by Meyer Dolinsky and directed by David Alexander, it was first broadcast on November 22, 1968.
In the ep ...
". Her voice was also heard in "The Squire of Gothos", "Assignment: Earth", "The Tholian Web" and "The Lights of Zetar".
*
Morgan Woodward
Thomas Morgan Woodward (September 16, 1925 – February 22, 2019) was an American actor who is best known for his recurring role as Marvin "Punk" Anderson on the television soap opera ''Dallas'' and for his portrayal of Boss Godfrey, the sungla ...
in "
Dagger of the Mind
"Dagger of the Mind" is the ninth episode of the first season of the American science fiction television series ''Star Trek''. Written by Shimon Wincelberg (under the pen name "S. Bar-David") and directed by Vincent McEveety, it first aired on ...
" and "
The Omega Glory
"The Omega Glory" is the twenty-third episode of the second season of the American science fiction television series ''Star Trek''. Written by Gene Roddenberry and directed by Vincent McEveety, it was first broadcast March 1, 1968. In the episod ...
";
*
Arnold Moss
Arnold Moss (January 28, 1910 – December 15, 1989) was an American character actor. His son was songwriter Jeff Moss.
Early years
Born in Flatbush, Moss was a third-generation Brooklyn native. He attended Brooklyn's Boys High School. ...
as mysterious actor Anton Karidian, who proves to have originally been the tyrannical Governor Kodos of Tarsus IV in "
The Conscience of the King
"The Conscience of the King" is the 13th episode of the first season of the American science-fiction television series ''Star Trek''. Written by Barry Trivers and directed by Gerd Oswald, it was first aired on December 8, 1966.
The episode tak ...
";
*
Marianna Hill in "
Dagger of the Mind
"Dagger of the Mind" is the ninth episode of the first season of the American science fiction television series ''Star Trek''. Written by Shimon Wincelberg (under the pen name "S. Bar-David") and directed by Vincent McEveety, it first aired on ...
";
*
Joanne Linville
Beverly Joanne Linville (January 15, 1928 – June 20, 2021) was an American actress. She later taught at the Stella Adler Academy, Los Angeles. She is best known as a Romulan Commander on ''Star Trek: The Original Series''.
Biography
Early li ...
in "
The Enterprise Incident
"The ''Enterprise'' Incident" is the second episode of the third season of the American science fiction television series '' Star Trek''. Written by D. C. Fontana and directed by John Meredyth Lucas, it was first broadcast September 27, 1968.
...
";
*
Louise Sorel in "
Requiem for Methuselah
"Requiem for Methuselah" is the nineteenth episode of the third season of the American science fiction television series ''Star Trek''. Written by Jerome Bixby and directed by Murray Golden, it was first broadcast on February 14, 1969.
In the ...
";
*
John Fiedler
John is a common English name and surname:
* John (given name)
* John (surname)
John may also refer to:
New Testament
Works
* Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John
* First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John
* Seco ...
in "
Wolf in the Fold
"Wolf in the Fold" is the fourteenth episode of the second season of the American science fiction television series ''Star Trek''. Written by Robert Bloch and directed by Joseph Pevney, it was first broadcast on December 22, 1967.
In the episod ...
;"
*
Vic Perrin in "Mirror, Mirror." His voice was also heard in "The Menagerie", "Arena" and "The Changeling".
*
Susan Oliver,
Jeffrey Hunter
Jeffrey Hunter (born Henry Herman McKinnies Jr.; November 25, 1926 – May 27, 1969) was an American film and television actor and producer known for his roles in films such as '' The Searchers'' and ''King of Kings''. On television, Hunte ...
and
Malachi Throne
Malachi Throne (December 1, 1928 – March 13, 2013) was an American actor, noted for his guest-starring roles on ''Star Trek'', '' Star Trek: The Next Generation'', ''Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea'', ''Lost in Space'', ''Batman'', ''Land ...
in "
The Menagerie". Malachi Throne also voiced the main Talosian Keeper, with the voice modified so as not to be heard to be the same as the other character he played, Commodore Mendez.
*
Antoinette Bower
Antoinette Bower is a British-American retired film, television and stage actress, whose career lasted nearly four decades.
Early years
Bower was born in Baden-Baden to a German mother and an English father. She lived in England, Vienna and M ...
in "
Catspaw".
*
Angelique Pettyjohn
Angelique Pettyjohn (born Dorothy Lee Perrins; March 11, 1943 – February 14, 1992) was an American actress and burlesque queen. She appeared as the drill thrall Shahna in the ''Star Trek: The Original Series'' episode " The Gamesters of Triskel ...
and
Joseph Ruskin
Joseph Ruskin (born Joseph Richard Schlafman; April 14, 1924 – December 28, 2013) was an American character actor.
Also appeared in several underworld character roles on the tv series The Untouchables (1959-1963)
Early life
Ruskin was born ...
in "
Gamesters of Triskelion".
Seasons and episodes
Seasons
Broadcast history
Episode analysis
In its writing, ''Star Trek'' is notable as one of the earliest science-fiction TV series to use the services of leading contemporary science fiction writers, such as
Robert Bloch
Robert Albert Bloch (; April 5, 1917September 23, 1994) was an American fiction writer, primarily of crime, psychological horror and fantasy, much of which has been dramatized for radio, cinema and television. He also wrote a relatively small ...
,
Norman Spinrad,
Harlan Ellison
Harlan Jay Ellison (May 27, 1934 – June 28, 2018) was an American writer, known for his prolific and influential work in New Wave speculative fiction and for his outspoken, combative personality. Robert Bloch, the author of '' Psycho'', ...
, and
Theodore Sturgeon, as well as established television writers.
Roddenberry often used the setting of a space vessel set many years in the future to comment on social issues of 1960s America, including sexism, racism, nationalism, and global war. In November 1968, just a few months after the
first televised interracial touch, the episode "
Plato's Stepchildren
"Plato's Stepchildren" is the tenth episode of the third season of the American science fiction television series ''Star Trek''. Written by Meyer Dolinsky and directed by David Alexander, it was first broadcast on November 22, 1968.
In the ep ...
" went
incorrectly down in history as the first American television show to feature a scripted interracial kiss between characters (Capt. Kirk and Lt. Uhura), although the kiss was only mimed (obscured by the back of a character's head) and depicted as involuntary. There is however some dispute to this being the first interracial kiss of the series because the 1967 episode, "
Space Seed
"Space Seed" is the twenty-second episode of the first season of the American science fiction television series ''Star Trek''. Written by Gene L. Coon and Carey Wilber and directed by Marc Daniels, it first aired on February 16, 1967.
In the ...
" – introducing reoccurring villain
Khan
Khan may refer to:
*Khan (inn), from Persian, a caravanserai or resting-place for a travelling caravan
*Khan (surname), including a list of people with the name
*Khan (title), a royal title for a ruler in Mongol and Turkic languages and used by ...
(
Ricardo Montalbán
Ricardo Gonzalo Pedro Montalbán y Merino, KSG (; ; November 25, 1920 – January 14, 2009) was a Mexican and American film and television actor. Montalbán's career spanned seven decades, during which he became known for performances in a var ...
) – has him seducing and kissing Lt. Marla McGivers (
Madlyn Rhue) as part of his malicious machinations. "
Let That Be Your Last Battlefield
“Let That Be Your Last Battlefield” is the fifteenth episode of the third season of the original American science fiction television show ''Star Trek''. Written by Oliver Crawford (based on a story by Gene L. Coon, writing under his pen nam ...
" presented a direct allegory about the irrationality and futility of racism. Anti-war themes appear in episodes such as "
The Doomsday Machine", depicting a planet-destroying weapon as an analogy to nuclear weapons deployed under the principle of
mutually assured destruction, and "
A Taste of Armageddon
"A Taste of Armageddon" is the twenty-third episode of the first season of the American science fiction television series ''Star Trek''. Written by Robert Hamner and Gene L. Coon and directed by Joseph Pevney, it was first broadcast on February ...
" about a society which has "civilized" war to the point that they no longer see it as something to avoid.
Episodes such as "
The Apple", "
Who Mourns for Adonais?
"Who Mourns for Adonais?" is the second episode of the second season of the American science fiction television series ''Star Trek''. Written by Gilbert Ralston and Gene L. Coon, and directed by Marc Daniels, it was first broadcast September 22, ...
", "
The Mark of Gideon" and "
The Return of the Archons" display subtle anti-religious (owing mainly to Roddenberry's own
secular humanism) and anti-establishment themes. "
Bread and Circuses
"Bread and circuses" (or bread and games; from Latin: ''panem et circenses'') is a metonymic phrase referring to superficial appeasement. It is attributed to Juvenal, a Roman poet active in the late first and early second century CE, and is used ...
" and "
The Omega Glory
"The Omega Glory" is the twenty-third episode of the second season of the American science fiction television series ''Star Trek''. Written by Gene Roddenberry and directed by Vincent McEveety, it was first broadcast March 1, 1968. In the episod ...
" have themes that are more pro-Christian or patriotic.
The show experienced network and/or sponsor interference, up to and including wholesale censorship of scripts and film footage. This was a regular occurrence in the 1960s and ''Star Trek'' suffered from its fair share of tampering. Scripts were routinely vetted and censored by the staff of NBC's Broadcast Standards Department, which copiously annotated every script with demands for cuts or changes (e.g. "Page 4: Please delete McCoy's expletive, 'Good Lord or "Page 43: Caution on the embrace; avoid open-mouthed kiss").
The series was noted for its sense of humor, such as Spock and McCoy's pointed, yet friendly, bickering. Certain episodes, such as "
The Trouble with Tribbles
"The Trouble with Tribbles" is the fifteenth episode of the second season of the American science fiction television series ''Star Trek''. Written by David Gerrold and directed by Joseph Pevney, it was first broadcast on December 29, 1967. In ...
", "
I, Mudd
"I, Mudd" is the eighth episode of the second season of the American science fiction television series ''Star Trek''. Written by Stephen Kandel (based on a story by Gene Roddenberry) and directed by Marc Daniels, it was first broadcast on Novem ...
" and
"A Piece of the Action", were written and staged as comedies with dramatic elements. Most episodes were presented as action/adventure dramas, frequently including space battles or fist fights between the ship's crew and guest antagonists.
Several episodes used the concept of planets developing parallel to Earth, allowing reuse of stock props, costumes and sets. "Bread and Circuses", "
Miri
)
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name =
, subdivision_type1 = State
, subdivision_name1 =
, subdivision_type2 = Division
, subdivision_name2 ...
" and "The Omega Glory" depict such worlds; "A Piece of the Action",
"Patterns of Force" and "Plato's Stepchildren" are based on alien planets that have adopted period Earth cultures (Prohibition-era Chicago, Nazi Germany and ancient Greece, respectively). Two episodes depicting time travel ("
Tomorrow Is Yesterday
"Tomorrow Is Yesterday" is the nineteenth episode of the first season of the American science fiction television series ''Star Trek''. Written by D. C. Fontana and directed by Michael O'Herlihy, it first aired on January 26, 1967. It was the f ...
" and "
Assignment: Earth") conveniently place ''Enterprise'' in orbit above 1960s Earth; a third ("
The City on the Edge of Forever") places members of the crew on 1930s Earth.
Top ranked episodes
Several publications have ranked the ten best episodes of ''Star Trek'':
Of the twenty-one different episodes listed above, thirteen – "Where No Man Has Gone Before", "The Enemy Within", "The Naked Time", "Balance of Terror", "The Galileo Seven", "Arena", "Space Seed", "This Side of Paradise", "The Devil in the Dark", "A Taste of Armageddon", "The Corbomite Maneuver", "The Man Trap", and "The City on the Edge of Forever" – are from the first season and six – "Amok Time", "The Doomsday Machine", "Mirror, Mirror", "The Trouble with Tribbles", "A Piece of the Action", and "Journey to Babel" – are from the second season. Only two – "The Enterprise Incident" and "Let That Be Your Last Battlefield" – derive from the third season.
Only two episodes, "The City on the Edge of Forever" and "Space Seed", appear on all five lists.
''Leonard Nimoy: Star Trek Memories''
In 1983, Leonard Nimoy hosted a one-hour special as a promotional tie-in with the film ''
Star Trek III: The Search for Spock'', in which he recounted his memories of working on the original series and explained the origins of things such as the
Vulcan nerve pinch and the
Vulcan salute
The Vulcan salute ("🖖") is a hand gesture popularized by the 1960s television series ''Star Trek''. It consists of a raised hand with the palm forward and the thumb extended, while the fingers are parted between the middle and ring fin ...
, as well as a re-airing of the TOS episode "
Space Seed
"Space Seed" is the twenty-second episode of the first season of the American science fiction television series ''Star Trek''. Written by Gene L. Coon and Carey Wilber and directed by Marc Daniels, it first aired on February 16, 1967.
In the ...
".
Music
Theme tune
The show's theme tune was written by
Alexander Courage
Alexander Mair Courage Jr. (December 10, 1919May 15, 2008) familiarly known as "Sandy" Courage, was an American orchestrator, arranger, and composer of music, primarily for television and film. He is best known as the composer of the theme musi ...
and has been featured in several ''Star Trek'' spin-off episodes and motion pictures. Gene Roddenberry subsequently wrote a set of accompanying lyrics, even though the lyrics were never used in the series, nor did Roddenberry ever intend them to be; this allowed him to claim co-composer credit and hence 50% of the theme's performance royalties. Courage considered Roddenberry's actions, while entirely legal, to be unethical. Series producer
Robert Justman
Robert Harris "Bob" Justman (July 13, 1926 – May 28, 2008) was an American television producer, director, and production manager. He worked on many American TV series including '' Lassie'', ''The Life of Riley'', '' Adventures of Superman' ...
noted in the book ''Inside Star Trek: The Real Story'', that work on the film ''
Doctor Dolittle
Doctor John Dolittle is the central character of a series of children's books by Hugh Lofting starting with the 1920 '' The Story of Doctor Dolittle''. He is a physician who shuns human patients in favour of animals, with whom he can speak in t ...
'' kept Courage from working on more than two episodes of the first season. However, Justman also believed that Courage lost enthusiasm for the series because of the "royalty" issue.
Courage did not score any episodes of the second season; however, he did conduct a recording session for about 30 minutes of "library cues" for the second season, on June 16, 1967.
[Bond, Jeff. Liner notes for the Original Series Soundtrack Collection box set. La-La Land Records, 2012, season 2, pp. 29, 31.] Courage returned to score two episodes of the third season.
Later episodes used stock recordings from Courage's earlier work. Jazz trumpeter
Maynard Ferguson
Walter Maynard Ferguson CM (May 4, 1928 – August 23, 2006) was a Canadian jazz trumpeter and bandleader. He came to prominence in Stan Kenton's orchestra before forming his own big band in 1957. He was noted for his bands, which often serv ...
recorded a
jazz fusion version of the tune with his band during the late 1970s, and Nichelle Nichols performed the song live complete with lyrics.
The lyrics for the song are:
Dramatic underscore
For budgetary reasons, this series made significant use of "tracked" music, or music written for other episodes that was reused in later episodes. Of the 79 episodes that were broadcast, only 31 had complete or partial original dramatic underscores created specifically for them. The remainder of the music in any episode was tracked from other episodes and from cues recorded for the music library. Which episodes would have new music was mostly the decision of Robert H. Justman, the Associate Producer during the first two seasons.
Screen credits for the composers were given based on the amount of music composed for, or composed and reused in, the episode. Some of these final music credits were occasionally incorrect.
Beyond the short works of
"source" music (music whose source is seen or acknowledged onscreen) created for specific episodes, eight composers were contracted to create original dramatic underscore during the series run:
Alexander Courage
Alexander Mair Courage Jr. (December 10, 1919May 15, 2008) familiarly known as "Sandy" Courage, was an American orchestrator, arranger, and composer of music, primarily for television and film. He is best known as the composer of the theme musi ...
,
George Duning
George Duning (February 25, 1908 – February 27, 2000) was an American musician and film composer. He was born in Richmond, Indiana, and educated in Cincinnati, Ohio, at the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music, where his mentor was Mario Casteln ...
,
Jerry Fielding,
Gerald Fried
Gerald Fried (born February 13, 1928) is an American composer, conductor, and oboist known for his film and television scores. He composed music for well-known television series of the 1960s and 70s, including ''Mission: Impossible'', '' Gill ...
,
Sol Kaplan
Sol Kaplan (April 19, 1919 – November 14, 1990) was an American film and television music composer.
Life and career
Kaplan was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He worked as a successful concert pianist, including performing at Carnegie Hall ...
, Samuel Matlovsky, Joseph Mullendore, and
Fred Steiner. The composers conducted their own music. Of these composers, Steiner composed the original music for thirteen episodes and it is his instrumental arrangement of Alexander Courage's main theme that is heard over many of the end title credits of the series.
The tracked musical underscores were chosen and edited to the episode by the music editors, principal of whom were Robert Raff (most of Season One), Jim Henrikson (Season One and Two), and Richard Lapham (Season Three).
Some of the original recordings of the music were released in the United States commercially on the
GNP Crescendo Record Co. label. Music for a number of the episodes was re-recorded by
Fred Steiner and the
Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra (RPO) is a British symphony orchestra based in London, that performs and produces primarily classic works.
The RPO was established by Thomas Beecham in 1946. In its early days, the orchestra secured profitable ...
for the ''
Varèse Sarabande
Varèse Sarabande is an American record label, owned by Concord Music Group and distributed by Universal Music Group, which specializes in film scores and original cast recordings. It aims to reissue rare or unavailable albums, as well as newer ...
'' label; and by Tony Bremner with the Royal Philharmonic for the ''Label X'' label. Finally in December 2012, the complete original recordings were released by La-La Land Records as a 15-CD
box set
A box set or (its original name) boxed set is a set of items (for example, a compilation of books, musical recordings, films or television programs) traditionally packaged in a box and offered for sale as a single unit.
Music
Artists and bands ...
, with liner notes by Jeff Bond.
Episodes with original music
Listed in production order. Episodes that were only partially scored are in italics.
''Season 1'':
# "The Cage"/"The Menagerie" (
Alexander Courage
Alexander Mair Courage Jr. (December 10, 1919May 15, 2008) familiarly known as "Sandy" Courage, was an American orchestrator, arranger, and composer of music, primarily for television and film. He is best known as the composer of the theme musi ...
)
# "Where No Man Has Gone Before" (Alexander Courage)
# ''"The Corbomite Maneuver" (
Fred Steiner)''
# "Mudd's Women" (Fred Steiner)
# "The Enemy Within" (
Sol Kaplan
Sol Kaplan (April 19, 1919 – November 14, 1990) was an American film and television music composer.
Life and career
Kaplan was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He worked as a successful concert pianist, including performing at Carnegie Hall ...
)
# "The Man Trap" (Alexander Courage)
# "The Naked Time" (Alexander Courage)
# "Charlie X" (Fred Steiner)
# ''"Balance of Terror" (Fred Steiner)''
# ''"What Are Little Girls Made Of?" (Fred Steiner)''
# "The Conscience of the King" (Joseph Mullendore)
# "Shore Leave" (
Gerald Fried
Gerald Fried (born February 13, 1928) is an American composer, conductor, and oboist known for his film and television scores. He composed music for well-known television series of the 1960s and 70s, including ''Mission: Impossible'', '' Gill ...
)
# ''"The City on the Edge of Forever" (Fred Steiner)''
''Season 2'':
# "Catspaw" (Gerald Fried)
# "Metamorphosis" (
George Duning
George Duning (February 25, 1908 – February 27, 2000) was an American musician and film composer. He was born in Richmond, Indiana, and educated in Cincinnati, Ohio, at the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music, where his mentor was Mario Casteln ...
)
# "Friday's Child" (Gerald Fried)
# "Who Mourns for Adonais?" (Fred Steiner)
# "Amok Time" (Gerald Fried)
# "The Doomsday Machine" (Sol Kaplan)
# ''"Mirror, Mirror" (Fred Steiner)''
# ''"I, Mudd" (Samuel Matlovsky)''
# "The Trouble with Tribbles" (
Jerry Fielding)
# ''"By Any Other Name" (Fred Steiner)''
# ''"Patterns of Force" (George Duning)''
# ''"The Omega Glory" (Fred Steiner)''
# ''"Return to Tomorrow" (George Duning)''
''Season 3'':
# "Spectre of the Gun" (Jerry Fielding)
# "Elaan of Troyius" (Fred Steiner)
# "The Paradise Syndrome" (Gerald Fried)
# "The Enterprise Incident" (Alexander Courage)
# "And the Children Shall Lead" (George Duning)
# "Spock's Brain" (Fred Steiner)
# "Is There in Truth No Beauty?" (George Duning)
# "The Empath" (George Duning)
# "Plato's Stepchildren" (Alexander Courage)
''Note'': Although "The Way to Eden" had no original score, the episode had special musical material by Arthur Heinemann (the episode's writer), guest star
Charles Napier and Craig Robertson. "Requiem for Methuselah" contains a
Johannes Brahms interpretation by Ivan Ditmars.
Awards
Although this series never won any Emmys, ''Star Trek'' was nominated for the following
Emmy Awards:
* Outstanding Dramatic Series (Gene Roddenberry and
Gene L. Coon
Eugene Lee Coon (January 7, 1924 – July 8, 1973) was an American screenwriter, television producer and novelist. He is best remembered for his work on the original ''Star Trek'' as a screenwriter, story editor, and showrunner from the mid ...
), 1967
* Outstanding Dramatic Series (Gene Roddenberry), 1968
* Outstanding Supporting Actor (
Leonard Nimoy
Leonard Simon Nimoy (; March 26, 1931 – February 27, 2015) was an American actor, famed for playing Spock in the '' Star Trek'' franchise for almost 50 years. This includes originating Spock in the original ''Star Trek'' series in 1966, th ...
as Mr. Spock), 1967, 1968, 1969
* Individual Achievement in Art Direction and Allied Crafts (Jim Rugg), 1967
* Individual Achievement in Cinematography (Darrell Anderson, Linwood G. Dunn, and Joseph Westheimer), 1967
* Individual Achievement in Film and Sound Editing (
Doug Grindstaff), 1967
* Outstanding Achievement in Film Editing (Donald R. Rode), 1968
* Special Classification of Individual Achievement for Photographic Effects (The Westheimer Company), 1968
* Outstanding Achievement in Art Direction and Scenic Design (John Dwyer and Walter M. Jefferies), 1969
* Outstanding Achievement in Film Editing (Donald R. Rode), 1969
* Special Classification Achievements for Photographic Effects (The Howard A. Anderson Company, The Westheimer Company,
Van der Veer Photo Effects, Cinema Research), 1969.
Eight of its episodes were nominated for one of science-fiction's top awards, the
Hugo Award
The Hugo Award is an annual literary award for the best science fiction or fantasy works and achievements of the previous year, given at the World Science Fiction Convention and chosen by its members. The Hugo is widely considered the premier ...
, in the category "Best Dramatic Presentation". In 1967, the nominated episodes were "
The Naked Time
"The Naked Time" is the fourth episode of the first season of the American science fiction television series ''Star Trek''. Written by John D. F. Black and directed by Marc Daniels, it first aired on September 29, 1966.
In the episode, a stran ...
", "
The Corbomite Maneuver
"The Corbomite Maneuver" is the tenth episode of the first season of the American science fiction television series ''Star Trek''. Written by Jerry Sohl and directed by Joseph Sargent, it first aired on November 10, 1966. In the episode, the ' ...
", and "
The Menagerie". In 1968, all nominees were ''Star Trek'' episodes: "
Amok Time
"Amok Time" is the second season premiere episode of the American science fiction television series ''Star Trek''. Written by science fiction author Theodore Sturgeon, scored by Gerald Fried, and directed by Joseph Pevney, it first aired on Se ...
", "
Mirror, Mirror", "
The Doomsday Machine", "
The Trouble with Tribbles
"The Trouble with Tribbles" is the fifteenth episode of the second season of the American science fiction television series ''Star Trek''. Written by David Gerrold and directed by Joseph Pevney, it was first broadcast on December 29, 1967. In ...
", and "
The City on the Edge of Forever". ''Star Trek'' won both years for the episodes "The Menagerie" and "The City on the Edge of Forever", respectively. In 1968, ''Star Trek'' won a special
Hugo Award
The Hugo Award is an annual literary award for the best science fiction or fantasy works and achievements of the previous year, given at the World Science Fiction Convention and chosen by its members. The Hugo is widely considered the premier ...
for Dramatic Presentation. No episode was named. This was the show's 3rd
Hugo Award
The Hugo Award is an annual literary award for the best science fiction or fantasy works and achievements of the previous year, given at the World Science Fiction Convention and chosen by its members. The Hugo is widely considered the premier ...
, and 9th Hugo nomination.
In 1967, ''Star Trek'' was also one of the first television programs to receive an
NAACP Image Award.
In 1968, ''Star Trek''s most critically acclaimed episode, "The City on the Edge of Forever," written by
Harlan Ellison
Harlan Jay Ellison (May 27, 1934 – June 28, 2018) was an American writer, known for his prolific and influential work in New Wave speculative fiction and for his outspoken, combative personality. Robert Bloch, the author of '' Psycho'', ...
, won the prestigious
Writers Guild of America Award for Best Original Teleplay, although this was for Ellison's original draft script, and not for the screenplay of the episode as it aired.
In 1997, "The City on the Edge of Forever" was ranked #92 on
''TV Guide''s 100 Greatest Episodes of All Time.
In 2004 and 2007, ''
TV Guide'' ranked ''Star Trek'' as the greatest cult show ever.
In 2013, ''TV Guide'' ranked ''Star Trek'' as the greatest sci-fi show (along with ''Star Trek: The Next Generation'') and the #12 greatest show of all time.
Distribution
Home media
Episodes of the ''Original Series'' were among the first television series to be released on the VHS and
laserdisc
The LaserDisc (LD) is a home video format and the first commercial optical disc storage medium, initially licensed, sold and marketed as DiscoVision, MCA DiscoVision (also known simply as "DiscoVision") in the United States in 1978. Its diam ...
formats in North America. The first episode on VHS for sale to the public was ''
Space Seed
"Space Seed" is the twenty-second episode of the first season of the American science fiction television series ''Star Trek''. Written by Gene L. Coon and Carey Wilber and directed by Marc Daniels, it first aired on February 16, 1967.
In the ...
'' released in June 1982 (to celebrate the release of the second Star Trek film, The Wrath of Khan) at a price of $29.95, as prior to this titles were rental only. In 1985, the first 10 episodes went on sale on video at a price of $14.95 with further batches of 10 during 1985 and 1986, making it the first long-running TV series to be released on
home video
Home video is prerecorded media sold or rented for home viewing. The term originates from the VHS and Betamax era, when the predominant medium was videotapes, but has carried over to optical disc formats such as DVD, Blu-ray and streaming m ...
in its entirety, with all episodes eventually being released on both formats. By 1986, sales had reached 1 million units. With the advent of DVD in the mid-1990s, single DVDs featuring two episodes each in production order were released. In the early 2000s, Paramount Home Video reissued the series to DVD in a series of three deluxe season boxes with added featurettes and documentaries. In February 2009 CBS and Paramount announced that they would release the Original Series on Blu-ray. Season one, two, and three were released on April 28, September 22, and December 15, respectively. The Blu-ray releases let the user choose between "Enhanced Effects" or "Original Effects" via a technique called
multi-angle
DVD-Video is a consumer video format used to store digital video on DVD discs. DVD-Video was the dominant consumer home video format in Asia, North America, Europe, and Australia in the 2000s until it was supplanted by the high-definition Bl ...
.
All 79 episodes of the series have been digitally remastered by
CBS Home Entertainment
CBS Home Entertainment (formerly CBS Video Enterprises, Inc., MGM/CBS Home Video, CBS/Fox Video and CBS Video, currently branded as CBS DVD for DVD releases and CBS Blu-ray for Blu-ray releases) is a home entertainment company owned by Paramoun ...
(distributed by
Paramount) and have since been released on DVD.
CBS Home Entertainment released season one of ''The Original Series'' on Blu-ray on April 28, 2009. The Blu-ray release contains both Original and Remastered episodes by
seamless branching
Seamless branching is a mechanism used on DVDs and Blu-ray Discs to allow the player to jump to a different scene after finishing one. The most common purpose is to have several versions of a scene within one film, without having to store the enti ...
.
Online distribution
CBS Interactive
Paramount Streaming (formerly CBS Digital Media Group, CBS Interactive, ViacomCBS Streaming), a division of Paramount Global, oversees the company’s streaming technology and offers direct-to-consumer services, free, premium and pay. These incl ...
is presenting all 3 seasons of the series via the
tv.com iPhone app. The full-length episodes, without the new CGI but digitally processed to remove the original celluloid artifacts, are available to users in the US at no charge but with embedded ads. Short clips from the shows are also viewable at their web site.
The company has recently presented all 3 seasons of the series via its
Paramount+ premium streaming service. It has all full-length episodes, without the new CGI, like the tv.com app, and is available to users in the US with subscription without ad interruptions.
In January 2007, the first season of ''Star Trek: The Original Series'' became available for download from
Apple's
iTunes Store. Although consumer reviews indicate that some of the episodes on iTunes are the newly "remastered" editions, iTunes editors had not indicated such, and if so, which are which. All first-season episodes that had been remastered and aired were available from iTunes, except "
Where No Man Has Gone Before", which remains in its original form. On March 20, 2007, the first season was again added to the iTunes Store, with separate downloads for the original and remastered versions of the show, though according to the customer reviews, the original version contains minor revisions such as special effect enhancements.
Netflix began online streaming of five of the six ''Star Trek'' television series on July 1, 2011; ''
Deep Space Nine'' followed on October 1, 2011.
Films
''The Original Series'' films
''Star Trek'' creator Gene Roddenberry first suggested the idea of a ''Star Trek'' feature in 1969.
[Reeves-Stevens, 155–158.] When the original television series was canceled, he lobbied to continue the franchise through a film. The success of the series in
syndication
Syndication may refer to:
* Broadcast syndication, where individual stations buy programs outside the network system
* Print syndication, where individual newspapers or magazines license news articles, columns, or comic strips
* Web syndication, ...
convinced the studio to begin work on a feature film in 1975.
A series of writers attempted to craft a suitably epic screenplay, but the attempts did not satisfy Paramount, so the studio scrapped the project in 1977. Paramount instead planned on returning the franchise to its roots with a new television series (''Phase II''). The massive worldwide box office success of ''
Star Wars'' in mid-1977 sent Hollywood studios to their vaults in search of similar sci-fi properties that could be adapted or re-launched to the big screen. Following the huge opening of
Columbia
Columbia may refer to:
* Columbia (personification), the historical female national personification of the United States, and a poetic name for America
Places North America Natural features
* Columbia Plateau, a geologic and geographic region i ...
's ''
Close Encounters of the Third Kind
''Close Encounters of the Third Kind'' is a 1977 American science fiction film written and directed by Steven Spielberg, starring Richard Dreyfuss, Melinda Dillon, Teri Garr, Bob Balaban, Cary Guffey, and François Truffaut. It tells the story ...
'' in late December 1977, production of ''Phase II'' was cancelled in favor of making a ''Star Trek'' film.
Beginning with ''
Star Trek: The Motion Picture'' in 1979, it was followed by five sequels, ''
Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan'' (1982), ''
Star Trek III: The Search for Spock'' (1984), ''
Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home'' (1986), ''
Star Trek V: The Final Frontier'' (1989) and ''
Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country'' (1991). Leonard Nimoy directed ''Star Trek''s III and IV, while William Shatner directed ''Star Trek'' V.
Reboot films (The Kelvin Timeline)
After the poor reception of the final ''Next Generation'' film ''Nemesis'' and the cancellation of the television series ''Enterprise'', the franchise's executive producer
Rick Berman
Richard Keith Berman (born December 25, 1945) is an American television producer and screenwriter. He is best known for his work as the executive producer of several of the ''Star Trek'' television series: '' Star Trek: The Next Generation'', '' ...
and screenwriter
Erik Jendresen
Erik Jendresen is an American author, playwright, screenwriter and producer of plays, television, and film. Previous projects include '' Killing Lincoln'', co-produced with Tony and Ridley Scott for the National Geographic Channel; a series bas ...
began developing a new film, titled ''Star Trek: The Beginning'', which would take place after ''Enterprise'' but before ''The Original Series''. In February 2007,
J. J. Abrams accepted Paramount's offer to direct the new film, having been previously attached as producer.
Roberto Orci and
Alex Kurtzman
Alexander Hilary Kurtzman (born September 7, 1973) is an American filmmaker. He is best known for his work on the ''Star Trek'' franchise since 2009, co-writing the scripts to ''Transformers'' (2007), '' Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen'' and ...
wrote a screenplay that impressed Abrams, featuring new actors portraying younger versions of the original series' cast. The ''Enterprise'', its interior, and the original uniforms were redesigned.
This revival of the franchise is often considered to be a
reboot, but is also a continuation of the franchise, with Nimoy reprising his role of the elderly Spock. This route was taken to free the new films from the restrictions of established continuity without completely discarding it, which the writers felt would have been "disrespectful". This new reality was informally referred to by several names, including the "Abramsverse", "JJ Trek" and "NuTrek", before it was named the "Kelvin Timeline" (versus the "Prime Timeline" of the original series and films) by
Michael
Michael may refer to:
People
* Michael (given name), a given name
* Michael (surname), including a list of people with the surname Michael
Given name "Michael"
* Michael (archangel), ''first'' of God's archangels in the Jewish, Christian and ...
and
Denise Okuda
Denise Lynn Okuda is a computer, scenic and video supervisor, and a writer known for her work on several ''Star Trek'' film and television productions, as well as other science fiction television. She also co-authored the ''Star Trek Encycloped ...
for use in official ''Star Trek'' reference guides and encyclopedias. The name Kelvin comes from the USS ''Kelvin'', a starship involved in the event that creates the new reality in ''
Star Trek'' (2009).
Abrams named the starship after his grandfather Henry Kelvin, whom he also pays tribute to in ''Into Darkness'' with the Kelvin Memorial Archive.
The three films in the Kelvin Timeline include ''
Star Trek'' (2009), ''
Star Trek Into Darkness'' (2013) and ''
Star Trek Beyond'' (2016). The last was dedicated to Nimoy, who died in 2015 and
Anton Yelchin
Anton Viktorovich Yelchin ( rus, Антон Викторович Ельчин, p=ɐnˈton ˈvʲiktərəvʲɪtɕ ˈjelʲtɕɪn; March 11, 1989 – June 19, 2016) was an American actor. Born in the Soviet Union to a Russian Jewish family, he emigr ...
, who died in a
car crash in the summer it was released.
Merchandising
''Star Trek: The Original Series'' has inspired many commercial products, including toys, comic books, and many other materials. The comics are generally considered
non-canon
In fiction, canon is the material accepted as officially part of the story in an individual universe of that story by its fan base. It is often contrasted with, or used as the basis for, works of fan fiction. The alternative terms mythology, tim ...
.
Action figures
In the early 1970s the
Mego Corporation
The Mego Corporation was an American toy company that in its original iteration was first founded in 1954. Originally known as a purveyor of dime store toys, in 1971 the company shifted direction and became famous for producing licensed dolls ( ...
acquired the license to produce ''Star Trek''
action figure
An action figure is a poseable character model figure made most commonly of plastic, and often based upon characters from a film, comic book, military, video game or television program; fictional or historical. These figures are usually marketed ...
s, which the company successfully marketed from 1974 to 1976. During this period, the company produced a line of 8" figures featuring
Captain Kirk
James Tiberius Kirk is a fictional character in the ''Star Trek'' media franchise. Originally played by Canadian actor William Shatner, Kirk first appeared in ''Star Trek'' serving aboard the starship USS ''Enterprise'' as captain. Kirk leads ...
,
Mr. Spock,
Leonard McCoy,
Mr. Scott,
Lt. Uhura, "Aliens" (a
Klingon, a
Neptunian,
the Keeper, a
Gorn
The Gorn are a fictional extraterrestrial humanoid reptilian species in the American science fiction franchise ''Star Trek''. They first appeared in a 1967 episode of the original series, "Arena", in which Captain Kirk fights an unnamed Gorn o ...
, a
Cheron, a
Romulan
The Romulans () are an extraterrestrial race in the American science fiction franchise '' Star Trek''. They first appeared in the series '' Star Trek'' (1966–1969). They have appeared in most subsequent ''Star Trek'' releases, including '' The ...
, a
Talosian, an
Andorian
Andorians are a fictional race of humanoid extraterrestrials in the American science fiction franchise ''Star Trek''. They were created by writer D. C. Fontana. Within the ''Star Trek'' narrative, they are native to the blue icy Class M moon, ...
, and a
Mugato), and numerous playsets. (Mego also produced a "life-size" toy
tricorder
A tricorder is a fictional handheld sensor that exists in the ''Star Trek'' universe. The tricorder is a multifunctional hand-held device that can perform environmental scans, data recording, and data analysis; hence the word "tricorder" to refer ...
.)
In the mid-2000s, Paul "Dr. Mego" Clarke and Joe Sena founded EMCE Toys (pronounced "MC") to bring Mego toys back to the marketplace. (Mego went out of business in 1983.)
[Caringer, Kevin]
"The Rise and Fall of a Toy Giant,"
''White's Guide to Collecting Figures'' vol. 2, #1 (Jan. 1996). Archived at the New Force Comics website. Working with
Diamond Select Toys
Diamond Select Toys was founded in 1999 by sister company Diamond Comics Distributors to create collectibles for adult collectors, and has since licensed a variety of pop culture properties, including Marvel Comics, '' Star Wars'', ''Star Trek'', ...
, current holders of the ''Star Trek'' license, these figures have been selling in comics shops. New characters are currently being produced that Mego did not originally make, such as
Lt. Sulu,
Ensign Chekov, and "
Space Seed
"Space Seed" is the twenty-second episode of the first season of the American science fiction television series ''Star Trek''. Written by Gene L. Coon and Carey Wilber and directed by Marc Daniels, it first aired on February 16, 1967.
In the ...
" villain
Khan Noonien Singh
Khan Noonien Singh is a fictional character in the ''Star Trek'' science fiction franchise, who first appeared as the main antagonist in the ''Star Trek: The Original Series'' episode " Space Seed" (1967), and was portrayed by Ricardo Montalbá ...
. The
Gorn
The Gorn are a fictional extraterrestrial humanoid reptilian species in the American science fiction franchise ''Star Trek''. They first appeared in a 1967 episode of the original series, "Arena", in which Captain Kirk fights an unnamed Gorn o ...
that Mego produced had a brown
Lizard
Lizards are a widespread group of squamate reptiles, with over 7,000 species, ranging across all continents except Antarctica, as well as most oceanic island chains. The group is paraphyletic since it excludes the snakes and Amphisbaenia althou ...
head (identical to the Marvel Comics villain) on a brown body wearing a
Klingon outfit. ''Star Trek'' fans had frequently wished that Mego had made a "TV-accurate" Gorn; EMCE Toys and DST produced a new green Gorn based on the TV episode "
Arena
An arena is a large enclosed platform, often circular or oval-shaped, designed to showcase theatre, musical performances, or sporting events. It is composed of a large open space surrounded on most or all sides by tiered seating for spectators ...
". EMCE Toys hired original Mego packaging artist Harold Schull to illustrate new artwork for Sulu, Chekov, Khan, and the Gorn. EMCE Toys is continuing the Mego revival with the production of more ''Star Trek'' figures, including
Captain Pike and the
Salt Vampire.
Comic books
The first ''Star Trek'' comics were published by
Gold Key Comics between 1967 and 1978. These comics were highly stylized and diverged wildly from the TV series continuity. Most storylines used in the Gold Key series featured original characters and concepts, although later issues did include sequels to the original series episodes "
The City on the Edge of Forever", "
Metamorphosis" and "
I, Mudd
"I, Mudd" is the eighth episode of the second season of the American science fiction television series ''Star Trek''. Written by Stephen Kandel (based on a story by Gene Roddenberry) and directed by Marc Daniels, it was first broadcast on Novem ...
". Writers included George Kashdan,
Arnold Drake
Arnold Drake (March 1, 1924 – March 12, 2007) was an American comic book writer and screenwriter best known for co-creating the DC Comics characters Deadman and the Doom Patrol, and the Marvel Comics characters the Guardians of the Galaxy, am ...
and
Len Wein. Originally they were illustrated by
Alberto Giolitti
Alberto Giolitti (November 14, 1923 – April 15, 1993) was an Italian-American comic book artist.
He was born in Rome, where his family held (and still hold) one of the most famous cafés, Giolitti, where he also worked for a while. He debuted a ...
, an Italian artist who had never seen the series and only had publicity photos to use as references. Since Giolitti didn't have a publicity photo of
James Doohan
James Montgomery Doohan (; March 3, 1920 – July 20, 2005) was a Canadian actor, author and soldier, best known for his role as Montgomery "Scotty" Scott in the television and film series ''Star Trek''. Doohan's characterization of the Scottish ...
, early issues of the series had Mr. Scott drawn differently. The original issues, most of which featured photographic covers showing images from the series, are highly collectable. They are fondly remembered by fans, and a series of reprints ("The Key Collection") of these original titles began to appear in 2004, published by
Checker. The Gold Key series had a run of 61 issues. Gold Key lost the ''Star Trek'' license to
Marvel Comics in 1979 (although Marvel's license from Paramount prohibited them from utilizing concepts introduced in the original series).
From 1969 to 1973, a series of weekly ''Star Trek''
comic strip
A comic strip is a sequence of drawings, often cartoons, arranged in interrelated panels to display brief humor or form a narrative, often serialized, with text in balloons and captions. Traditionally, throughout the 20th and into the 21st ...
s ran in the British comics magazine eventually known as ''
TV Century 21
''TV Century 21'', later renamed ''TV21'', ''TV21 and Tornado'', ''TV21 and Joe 90'', and ''TV21'' again, was a weekly British children's comic published by City Magazines during the latter half of the 1960s. Originally produced in partnership ...
''. A total of 258 issues were produced, as well as various annuals and specials. All were original stories. Two more annuals, under the ''Mighty TV Comic'' banner, also produced original ''Star Trek'' materials. In addition, the weekly ''
TV Comic
''TV Comic'' was a British comic book magazine published weekly from 9 November 1951 until 29 June 1984. Featuring stories based on television series running at the time of publication, it was the first British comic to be based around TV pro ...
'' reprinted serialized versions of the U.S. Gold Key comics.
In 1977–1978, before
home video
Home video is prerecorded media sold or rented for home viewing. The term originates from the VHS and Betamax era, when the predominant medium was videotapes, but has carried over to optical disc formats such as DVD, Blu-ray and streaming m ...
was widely available, Mandala Productions and
Bantam Books
Bantam Books is an American publishing house owned entirely by parent company Random House, a subsidiary of Penguin Random House; it is an imprint of the Random House Publishing Group. It was formed in 1945 by Walter B. Pitkin, Jr., Sidney B. ...
published
FotoNovels of ''TOS'' that included direct adaptations of actual color television episode frames (with
word balloons
Speech balloons (also speech bubbles, dialogue balloons, or word balloons) are a graphic convention used most commonly in comic books, comics, and cartoons to allow words (and much less often, pictures) to be understood as representing a charac ...
) in comics format.
From February 1984 through February 1996,
DC Comics held the license to publish comic books based upon the ''
Star Trek'' franchise, including ''Star Trek: The Original Series''. The main DC Comics ''Star Trek'' title was published in two series, comprising 136 issues, 9 annuals, and a number of special issues, plus several mini-series that linked ''TOS'' and the subsequent series ''
Star Trek: The Next Generation'' (''TNG'').
Marvel Comics again obtained the ''Star Trek'' license in 1996. Marvel (under the "Marvel/Paramount comics" imprint) published various one-shots and the quarterly ''Star Trek Unlimited'' series, which covered ''TOS'' as well as ''TNG''. They also introduced the new series ''
Star Trek: Early Voyages'', which dealt with
Christopher Pike's adventures as captain of the ''Enterprise'' (as depicted in the rejected ''TOS'' pilot "
The Cage"). Fan acceptance of these comics got off to a shaky start when Marvel's inaugural publication of its new ''Star Trek'' line turned out to be a crossover between ''TOS'' and Marvel's popular superhero team, the
X-Men. However, the series turned out to be relatively popular, registering strong sales.
Beginning in 2006,
Tokyopop published two projects based upon the original series. The new comic anthologies, produced by
Joshua Ortega
Joshua Ortega (born 1974) is an American author and journalist best known for his novel ''Frequencies'', as well as his comic book and graphic novel work on entertainment properties such as '' Star Wars'', ''Spider-Man'', ''Batman'', ''Star Trek ...
, were released annually in September 2006 (''Shinsei Shinsei'') and 2007 (''Kakan ni Shinkou''). Five artists and writer teams presented five new stories, per volume, based on the original series.
Legacy and cultural influence
Parodies
''The Original Series'' has been parodied many times in other television series. ''
Saturday Night Live'' produced two famous sketches parodying ''The Original Series'',
"The Last Voyage of the Starship ''Enterprise''" in 1976
and William Shatner's own "
Get a life" sketch in 1986 (which parodied the show's "trekkie" followers). "The Last Voyage of the Starship ''Enterprise''" is a twelve-minute sketch, written by
Michael O'Donoghue
Michael O'Donoghue (January 5, 1940 – November 8, 1994) was an American writer and performer. He was known for his dark and destructive style of comedy and humor, was a major contributor to ''National Lampoon'' magazine, and was the ...
. It was described by
TrekMovie.com as "one of the best ''Star Trek'' parody sketches of all time".
TVSquad
Weblogs, Inc. was a blog network that published content on a variety of subjects, including tech news, video games, automobiles and pop culture. At one point, the network had as many as 90 blogs, although the vast majority of its traffic could be ...
ranked Shatner's "Get a life" sketch alongside "The Last Voyage..." as one of the most famous parodies of the show.
The Canadian comedy duo
Wayne and Shuster
Wayne and Shuster were a Canadian comedy duo formed by Johnny Wayne and Frank Shuster. They were active professionally from the early 1940s until the late 1980s, first as a live act, then on radio, then as part of ''The Army Show'' that enter ...
parodied ''Star Trek'' as ''Star Schtick'' in the late 1970s. An entire Finnish parody series ''
Star Wreck'' was produced starting in 1992, culminating with ''
Star Wreck: In the Pirkinning'' in 2005, all available as legal downloads on the web.
The series has also been parodied on ''
The Simpsons
''The Simpsons'' is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical depiction of American life, epitomized by the Simpson family, which consists of Homer Simpson, Homer, Marge ...
'',
''
Family Guy'' and notably in the ''
Futurama'' episode "
Where No Fan Has Gone Before
"Where No Fan Has Gone Before" is the eleventh episode in the fourth season of the American animated television series ''Futurama''. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on April 21, 2002. Set in a retro-futuristic 31st ce ...
", which was described by
''Wired'' magazine as a "touchstone" for fans.
The 1999 film ''
Galaxy Quest
''Galaxy Quest'' is a 1999 American science fiction comedy film directed by Dean Parisot and written by David Howard and Robert Gordon. A parody of and homage to science-fiction films and series, especially ''Star Trek'' and its fandom, the f ...
'' portrays the lives of a once-popular television space-drama crew who are kidnapped by real aliens who have mistaken the fictional series for reality. The main characters are parodies of ''Star Trek'' characters, and many of the plot elements refer to or parody popular 1960s TV-series customs. On
Adult Swim
Adult Swim (AS; stylized as dult swim'' and often abbreviated as s'') is an American adult-oriented night-time cable television channel that shares channel space with the basic cable network Cartoon Network and is programmed by its in-house ...
s ''
FishCenter Live
''FishCenter Live'' (also shortened to ''FishCenter'' or ''FC Live'' or just ''FCL'') was an American talk show hosted by Dave Bonawits, Andrew Choe, Matt Harrigan, Christina Loranger, and Max Simonet. It premiered on the official website of ...
'', a parody of the
USS ''Enterprise'' was featured called the "USS ''FishCenterprise'' NCC-1065."
The series was also parodied in print as "Star Blecch" in the December, 1967 issue of Mad Magazine (Issue #115)
John Scalzi's novel ''Redshirts'', winner of the 2013
Hugo Award
The Hugo Award is an annual literary award for the best science fiction or fantasy works and achievements of the previous year, given at the World Science Fiction Convention and chosen by its members. The Hugo is widely considered the premier ...
for Best Novel, uses the theme of red-shirted Star Fleet officers as
cannon fodder
Cannon fodder is an informal, derogatory term for combatants who are regarded or treated by government or military command as expendable in the face of enemy fire. The term is generally used in situations where combatants are forced to deliberately ...
.
''(T)raumschiff Surprise – Periode 1'' (2004) is a movie directed by
Michael Herbig
Michael may refer to:
People
* Michael (given name), a given name
* Michael (surname), including a list of people with the surname Michael
Given name "Michael"
* Michael (archangel), ''first'' of God's archangels in the Jewish, Christian and ...
which parodies ''Star Trek'' and ''
Star Wars''.
Fan productions
''Star Trek'' has inspired many fans to produce stories for free Internet distribution. Many of these are set in the time of ''The Original Series'', including ''
Star Trek: Phase II'' which was nominated for a Hugo Award and received support from actors and writers who were involved with ''The Original Series''.
"
Star Trek: Continues" chronicles the last year of the 5-year voyage of The Enterprise. Gene Roddenberry's son, "Rod", announced after a showing in 2014 that this series would have been considered canon by his father. Comprising 11 full episodes and numerous additional materials, ''Star Trek: Continues'' was produced from 2013 to 2017 and funded by a kickstarter.
Series sequels
The original ''Star Trek'' was followed in 1973 and beyond with more shows filling in its legacy, including the equally successful, yet ever-popular ''
The Next Generation'', starring
Patrick Stewart
Sir Patrick Stewart (born 13 July 1940) is an English actor who has a career spanning seven decades in various stage productions, television, film and video games. He has been nominated for Olivier, Tony, Golden Globe, Emmy, and Screen Actor ...
as
Captain Jean-Luc Picard
Jean-Luc Picard is a fictional character in the ''Star Trek'' franchise, most often seen as the captain of the Federation starship . Played by Patrick Stewart, Picard has appeared in the television series '' Star Trek: The Next Generation'' (''T ...
. The following series include:
* ''
The Animated Series'' (1973–1974)
* ''
The Next Generation'' (1987–1994,
films)
* ''
Deep Space Nine'' (1993–1999)
* ''
Voyager
Voyager may refer to:
Computing and communications
* LG Voyager, a mobile phone model manufactured by LG Electronics
* NCR Voyager, a computer platform produced by NCR Corporation
* Voyager (computer worm), a computer worm affecting Oracle ...
'' (1995–2001)
* ''
Enterprise
Enterprise (or the archaic spelling Enterprize) may refer to:
Business and economics
Brands and enterprises
* Enterprise GP Holdings, an energy holding company
* Enterprise plc, a UK civil engineering and maintenance company
* Enterprise ...
'' (2001–2005)
* ''
Discovery
Discovery may refer to:
* Discovery (observation), observing or finding something unknown
* Discovery (fiction), a character's learning something unknown
* Discovery (law), a process in courts of law relating to evidence
Discovery, The Discove ...
'' (2017–present)
* ''
Star Trek: Short Treks'' (2018–2020)
* ''
Picard'' (2020–present)
* ''
Lower Decks'' (2020–present)
* ''
Prodigy
Prodigy, Prodigies or The Prodigy may refer to:
* Child prodigy, a child who produces meaningful output to the level of an adult expert performer
** Chess prodigy, a child who can beat experienced adult players at chess
Arts, entertainment, and ...
'' (2021–present)
* ''
Strange New Worlds'' (2022–present)
Reception
Rod Serling said of the series that "''Star Trek'' was again a very inconsistent show which at times sparkled with true ingenuity and pure science fiction approaches. At other times it was more carnival-like, and very much more the creature of television than the creature of a legitimate literary form."
Isaac Asimov and ''Star Trek'' creator Gene Roddenberry developed a unique relationship during ''Star Trek''s initial run in the late 1960s. Asimov wrote a critical essay on ''Star Trek''s scientific accuracy for ''TV Guide'' magazine. Roddenberry retorted respectfully with a personal letter explaining the limitations of accuracy when writing a weekly series. Asimov corrected himself with a follow-up essay to ''TV Guide'' claiming despite its inaccuracies, that ''Star Trek'' was a fresh and intellectually challenging science fiction television show. The two remained friends to the point where Asimov even served as an adviser on a number of ''Star Trek'' projects.
On
review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, Season 1 received an approval rating of 92% based on 24 reviews, with an average rating of 9/10. The critical consensus reads, "An optimistic ode to humanity, ''Star Trek'' may look dated, but its gadgetry and solid storytelling solidify its place as one of pop culture's most enduring franchises." Season 2 received an approval rating of 100% based on 6 reviews, with an average rating of 7.33/10. Season 3 received an approval rating of 50% based on 10 reviews, with an average rating of 5.5/10. The critical consensus reads, "Budget cuts leave the stars of ''Star Trek'' stranded among shoddy set pieces and clunky writing – though even at its worst fans may still enjoy its campy delights."
In 2016, in a listing that included each ''Star Trek'' film and TV series together, this series was ranked first by the
''L.A. Times'', ahead of the 1982 film ''
Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan'' and ''
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
''Star Trek: Deep Space Nine'' (abbreviated as ''DS9'') is an American science fiction television series created by Rick Berman and Michael Piller. The fourth series in the ''Star Trek'' media franchise, it originally aired in syndication from ...
'', in third place.
In 2017,
Vulture
A vulture is a bird of prey that scavenges on carrion. There are 23 extant species of vulture (including Condors). Old World vultures include 16 living species native to Europe, Africa, and Asia; New World vultures are restricted to North and ...
ranked the original ''Star Trek'' the third best live-action ''Star Trek'' television show, while at the same time praising it for "laying down the foundation".
In 2018, ''
IndieWire'' ranked ''Star Trek'' the original series as the 8th best space science fiction show set in outer space, including 18 overall shows from this genre.
In 2018,
Io9
''io9'' is part of Gizmodo media since 2015, and it began as blog launched in 2008 by Gawker Media. The site initially focused on the subjects of science fiction, fantasy, futurism, science, technology and related areas but over the years has ...
/
Gizmodo ranked the fictional spacecraft design shown in this television series, the Enterprise, as the number one best version of starship ''Enterprise'' of the ''Star Trek'' franchise.
They felt that the original design was still superior to almost a dozen different later versions.
In 2019,
''Nerdist'' ranked the original series number one best out of seven ''Star Trek'' franchise television series, including up to the second season of ''
Star Trek: Discovery''.
In 2019,
Popular Mechanics ranked ''Star Trek'' the 6th best science fiction television show ever.
In 2021,
''Empire'' magazine ranked it the 36th greatest television show ever.
See also
* "
Beam me up, Scotty
"Beam me up, Scotty" is a catchphrase and misquotation that made its way into popular culture from the science fiction television series ''Star Trek: The Original Series''. It comes from the command Captain Kirk gives his chief engineer, Mont ...
"
*
Outline of ''Star Trek''
*
Timeline of ''Star Trek''
References
External links
*
''Star Trek: The Original Series''at
Paramount Plus
*
''Star Trek: The Original Series''at Memory Beta
''Star Trek: The Original Series''collected news and commentary at ''
The New York Times''
{{Authority control
1960s American drama television series
1960s American science fiction television series
1966 American television series debuts
1969 American television series endings
American adventure television series
American television series revived after cancellation
English-language television shows
Hugo Award-winning television series
NBC original programming
Saturn Award-winning television series
Soft science fiction
Space adventure television series
Space Western television series
Original Series
Original programming (also called originals or original programs, and subcategorized as "original series", "original movies", "original documentaries" and "original specials") is a term used for in-house television, film or web series productions ...
Television series by CBS Studios
Television series by Desilu Productions
Television series created by Gene Roddenberry
Television series set in the 23rd century
Television shows adapted into comics
Television shows adapted into films
Television shows adapted into novels
Television shows adapted into video games
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