Star Trek is a world-famous, timeless franchise, and I absolutely love it. What many people do not realize, however, is that Star Trek, in its many forms, is wholly deserving of the popularity it has experienced over the years. Often when people think of Star Trek, they think about corny 1960s television, Spock (the serious guy with pointy ears), the phrase ”beam me up, Scotty!”, and that all true fans supposedly have to know Klingon (an alien language within the fictional Star Trek universe). They then think nothing more of it, incorrectly supposing that it is all just for super-nerds and wimpy geeks and cannot possibly be at all entertaining for the average earth-dweller. Rest assured, I am now here to tell you to prepare to be corrected… “resistance is futile.”
The Star Trek franchise – at the time of this writing – is composed of 11 completed movies, 6 television series (dozens of seasons consisting of 45-minute episodes), hundreds of books, countless fan websites, multiple fan-run webisode series, yearly conventions, and millions of fans worldwide… that’s a pretty decent résumé right there. All of the series’ stories are set within Earth’s galaxy under the United Federation of Planets (Starfleet), and are about the adventures and experiences of various ships and their respective captains and crew. Many of these series feature wonderful stories, excellent cinematography, and awesome action, all within a connecting storyline spanning hundreds of years.
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TELEVISION SERIES (listed in order of production):
In order to familiarize you with the basic Trek story and timeline, I’ll briefly categorize and describe each television series in order of their original television appearance (much of the following information is taken from Wikipedia):
Star Trek: The Original Series (TOS) - (1966-1969):
Produced under the direction of its creator Gene Roddenberry (1921 – 1991). Consists of three TV seasons with 80 episodes, starring William Shatner as the character ‘Captain James T. Kirk,’ commanding the USS Enterprise-A. The show tells the tale of the crew of the Enterprise and their five-year mission “to boldly go where no man has gone before,” where they encounter a number of alien cultures and planets. Being as it was the original version of Star Trek, most people associate the name with this particular television series. In its first two seasons it was nominated for awards as Best Dramatic Series. The original series is the setting for the first six Star Trek movies, as well as the newest film (a prequel with the original characters played by new actors). An animated series was also run from 1973-1974 with two seasons and 22 episodes, with the characters voiced by the original cast. The original live-action episodes have recently been remastered in high definition with enhanced special effects.
Star Trek: The Next Generation (TNG) - (1987-1994):
Ran for 7 seasons with 178 episodes. Starring Patrick Stewart as ‘Captain Jean-Luc Picard’ commanding the starship USS Enterprise-D (and later the Enterprise-E within three of the four TNG movies). The setting of the show is approximately a century after the events of TOS, and also serves as the setting for the two following series. The crew of the Enterprise continue a mission of exploration and wonder, full of action, great stories and excellent character development. It had the highest ratings of any of the Star Trek series and was the #1 syndicated show during the last few years of its original run. It was nominated for an Emmy for Best Dramatic Series during its final season. It also received a Peabody Award for Outstanding Television Programming.
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (DS9) – (1993-1999):
Starring Avery F. Brooks as ‘Commander Benjamin Sisko’ commanding the alien space-station Deep Space Nine. Ran for 7 seasons with 176 episodes. Set near the same time frame of TNG. Deep Space Nine stands apart from earlier Trek series for its lengthy serialized storytelling, conflict within the crew, and religious themes. Starfleet, invited by the planet Bajor (recently freed from Cardassian rule), helps to run the space station, encountering many adventures, conflicts and even a war along the way.
Star Trek: Voyager (VOY) – (1995-2001):
Starring Kate Mulgrew as ‘Captain Kathryn Janeway’ commanding the USS Voyager. Ran for seven seasons with 172 episodes. Set a year or so after the end of the TNG series, 75,000 lightyears from Earth in the galaxy’s ‘Delta Quadrant’ (due to an occurence shown in the first two-part episode). Also set near the same time frame as TNG. Faced with a 75-year voyage to Earth, the crew must avoid conflict and defeat challenges on its long and perilous journey home. The distant setting provided an opportunity to introduce many new aliens, though later episodes show more of traditional ones featured in TNG and DS9.
Star Trek: Enterprise (ENT) – (2001-2005):
Starring Scott Bakula as ‘Captain Jonathan Archer.’ Ran for 4 seasons with 98 episodes. This series is a prequel (by approximately 100 years) to the original Star Trek. The primary setting is aboard Earth’s first warp-five capable starship, the Enterprise NX-01. Although the series is set prior to the events of TOS, it is an alternate timeline begun by the TNG movie, First Contact. Educated speculation suggests it may also be the same timeline as depicted in Star Trek XI (2009).
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MOVIES (listed in order of production):
The Original Series (TOS):
Star Trek: The Motion Picture
Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan
Star Trek III: The Search for Spock
Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home
Star Trek V: The Final Frontier
Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country
The Next Generation (TNG):
Star Trek: Generations
Star Trek: First Contact
Star Trek: Insurrection
Star Trek: Nemesis
(Prequel):
Star Trek XI
Read my post about this movie here.
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In conclusion I would like to restate my feelings that Star Trek is a wonderful story with something for everyone. Give it a chance and don’t let a stereotype prevent you from experiencing this. If you are new to Trek or are fairly clueless about it, I suggest watching a few episodes of each series. I also highly suggest the Next Generation movies, which are good stories in themselves that really don’t require much foreknowledge of the their storylines, even though they are especially great if you are familiar with the television series!
I grew up watching the next generation series. I was persuaded to watch a few of the Voyager episodes and eventually became hooked. Unfortunately, I started watching voyager towards the end, so now the next several discs on my netflix list are the earlier seasons of voyager that I missed. I agree that these shows are very interesting and entertaining and can be enjoyed by the whole family, which is something not often applicable to many of the programs on today!
Went from TOS to Ent. Pretty much enjoyed all of it. Some more than others but all in all a great ride.
I’ve like Star Trek since I started watching in the TNG days. Loved Voyager and re-watching the entire series through Netflix when I first subscribed was a big perk. Missed most of Enterprise due to it being on UPN which I didn’t get at the time and am interested in seeing how the new movie comes along.
Thanks for your comments. TNG and VOY are probably my favorite series, although DS9 is in the works. Hoping to the new movie doesn’t ruin it all! =)
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I think they should make another Star Trek movie with all of the Captains from James Kirk to Katherine Janeway but that’s just me.