Star Trek

Star Trek collectively refers to six science fiction television series spanning 726 episodes, ten motion pictures, and hundreds of novels, video games, and other works of fiction, all set within the same fictional universe created by Gene Roddenberry in the early- to mid-1960s.

Television series

Star Trek originated as a television series in 1966. There have been five live action Star Trek series and an animated series, altogether comprising (as of May 2005) a total of 726 individual aired episodes (not including the original unaired pilot) and thirty seasons worth of television.

Related Topics:
1966 - Live action - Animated series - May 2005 - Episode - Pilot - Season

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Star Trek (1966-1969)

Star Trek debuted on NBC on September 8, 1966. Created by Gene Roddenberry, starring William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy and DeForest Kelley, and co-starring James Doohan, George Takei, Nichelle Nichols and Walter Koenig it told the tale of the crew of the starship Enterprise from the United Federation of Planets and their adventures "to boldly go where no man has gone before".

Related Topics:
NBC - September 8 - 1966 - Gene Roddenberry - William Shatner - Leonard Nimoy - DeForest Kelley - James Doohan - George Takei - Nichelle Nichols - Walter Koenig - Starship - Enterprise - United Federation of Planets - Where no man has gone before

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The first episode aired, "The Man Trap," was actually the fifth produced. Originally, Roddenberry created a pilot entitled "The Cage" with a very different cast, led by veteran actor Jeffrey Hunter, which was rejected by the three major television networks of the time. However, the NBC network liked the pilot enough to commission an unprecedented second pilot, "Where No Man Has Gone Before," which featured an almost entirely new cast led by Shatner. Only the character of Spock remained, at Roddenberry's insistence. "Where No Man Has Gone Before" was the third episode aired, while "The Cage" was reworked into a two-part episode, "The Menagerie."

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The last original episode aired on June 3, 1969. The series subsequently became phenomenally popular in syndication, ultimately spawning the film and television sequels which followed. It has in recent years become known as Star Trek: The Original Series, abbreviated as ST:TOS or TOS, to distinguish it from its sequels.

Related Topics:
June 3 - 1969 - Syndication

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Star Trek (Animated) (1973-1974)

The series was aired under the name Star Trek, but it has become widely known as Star Trek: The Animated Series (or abbreviated as ST:TAS or TAS).

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It was produced by Filmation and ran for two seasons with a total of twenty-two half-hour episodes.

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It featured most of the original cast performing the voices for their characters.

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While the freedom of animation afforded large alien landscapes and exotic lifeforms, budget constraints were a major concern and animation quality was poor.

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A few episodes are especially notable due to contributions from well-known science fiction authors.

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The series is not considered to be canon, which has caused controversy among some fans. However, the episode "Yesteryear" is considered a partial exception concerning the events depicted in Spock's youth. In addition, elements of the animated series have worked their way into canon, such as Kirk's middle name, "Tiberius," first revealed in TAS and made official in '. ' has also incorporated several TAS concepts into canon.

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Star Trek: Phase II (1978; unproduced)

Star Trek: Phase II was set to air in 1978 as the flagship series of a proposed Paramount television network, and 12 episode scripts were written before production was due to begin. This series would have put most of the original crew back aboard the Enterprise for a second five-year mission, save for Spock as Leonard Nimoy did not agree to return; a full-blooded Vulcan named Xon was planned as a replacement, although it was still hoped that Nimoy would make guest appearances. Sets were constructed and several minutes of test footage were filmed. However, partly due to the popularity of the recently-released ', Paramount decided to make a Star Trek film instead of a weekly television series. The first script formed the basis of ', while two others were eventually adapted as episodes of Star Trek: The Next Generation.

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Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987-1994)

Star Trek: The Next Generation (also known, colloquially, as The Next Generation, ST:TNG or TNG) is set nearly a century later and features a new starship (also named Enterprise) and a new crew.

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It premiered on September 28, 1987 with the two-hour pilot episode "Encounter at Farpoint" and ran for seven seasons, ending with the final two-part episode "All Good Things..." on May 29, 1994.

Related Topics:
September 28 - 1987 - Encounter at Farpoint - All Good Things... - May 29 - 1994

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The show gained a considerable following during its initial run.

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Even during its initial run, the show was produced solely for syndication.

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Star Trek: The Next Generation was the highest rated of all the Star Trek series, and was the number one syndicated show during the last few years of its original run. Many fans, both casual and "hard-core" often treat The Next Generation as a kind of Golden Age of Star Trek, primarily because of its broad acceptance, viewer base, and active influence of Roddenberry (who was alive during the first part of its run).

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Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (1993-1999)

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (ST:DS9 or DS9) ran for seven seasons and was the first Trek series to be established without any direct input from Gene Roddenberry.

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It introduced Avery Brooks as Commander (and later in the series, Captain) Benjamin Sisko, the first African-American in the commanding role of a Star Trek series.

Related Topics:
Avery Brooks - Benjamin Sisko

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It chronicles the events surrounding the space station Deep Space Nine.

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In the first episode, the crew discovers the presence of a nearby stable wormhole which provides near-immediate travel to and from the distant Gamma Quadrant.

Related Topics:
Wormhole - Gamma Quadrant

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This immediately makes the station an important tactical asset, as well as a vital center of commerce with the largely-unexplored area of space.

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Deep Space Nine sheds some of the utopian themes that embodied the previous versions of Star Trek, and focuses more on war, religion, political compromise, and other modern issues.

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Although its ratings were never as high as The Next Generation, DS9 remains the most critically acclaimed of the "Trek" spin-offs.

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Star Trek: Voyager (1995-2001)

Star Trek: Voyager (also known as ST:VOY, ST:VGR or VOY) was produced for seven seasons, and is the only Star Trek series to have had a female, Captain Kathryn Janeway, as a lead character.

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Essentially, the USS Voyager and crew were 'lost in space': the series follows the adventures of the starship Voyager and her crew, joined by Maquis resistance fighters, who have all become stranded in the Delta Quadrant, seventy-five thousand light-years from Earth. Unless they can find a shortcut, it will take them seventy-five years to return to known space.

Related Topics:
USS ''Voyager'' - Maquis - Delta Quadrant - Light-year - Earth

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Although Voyagers ratings were initially solid, they fell dramatically as the show progressed. It was during this show's run that criticism towards producer Rick Berman began to gain steam, coinciding with the growth in popularity of online discussion forums that amplified the message of a vocal group of fans who felt Berman was no longer welcome as the franchise leader. Under threat of cancellation the character Seven of Nine was added and the series continued for four more seasons.

Related Topics:
Rick Berman - Seven of Nine

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Star Trek: Enterprise (2001-2005)

Star Trek: Enterprise (named simply Enterprise during its first two seasons, the first few episodes of its third, and abbreviated as ST:ENT or ENT) is a prequel to the other Star Trek series.

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The pilot episode, "Broken Bow", takes place ten years before the founding of the Federation, about halfway between the events shown in the movie ' and the original Star Trek series.

Related Topics:
Pilot episode - Broken Bow - Federation

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This series depicts the exploration of space by the crew of the Earthship Enterprise, a new NX class starship that is able to go farther and faster than any humans had previously gone.

Related Topics:
Enterprise - NX class starship

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Star Trek: Enterprise is not entirely unfamiliar to Star Trek fans, as it allows its characters to face events during the formative years of the Federation and unencumbered by the experience and rules which have built up over the following years of "Trek" history. Ratings for Enterprise were never particularly strong, and – like the original series – fan support during its second and third seasons helped keep it on the air, but Paramount announced its cancellation during its fourth season.

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