star trek original opening monologue

Star Trek opening title sequences

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Primary title screen for seasons 1 and 2

The opening title sequences for Star Trek: The Original Series featured the USS Enterprise flying through space and past planets , narrated by William Shatner : " Space: the final frontier. These are the voyages of the starship Enterprise . Its five-year mission: to explore strange new worlds, to seek out new life and new civilizations, to boldly go where no man has gone before. "

As ITV is a commercial channel, the advert break for Star Trek: The Original Series featured a still screenshot of James T. Kirk, Spock, Montgomery "Scotty" Scott, Pavel Chekov, Christine Chapel, Uhura, Dr. Leonard "Bones" McCoy and Hikaru Sulu are all sitting inside USS Enterprise . Also, there's no music.

As Robert H. Justman explained to Star Trek: The Magazine , footage of the Enterprise for the opening titles was expected to be produced by the Howard Anderson Company in Summer 1966 . By August 1966 , Gene Roddenberry and Justman were running out of time to get the footage, and insisted on a viewing, where most shots "jiggled and joggled" to the point of being nearly unusable. Roddenberry and Justman took what they had, along with footage from the two pilots (" The Cage " and " Where No Man Has Gone Before ") and cobbled together the sequence. Justman considered his major contribution to be the suggestion that the Enterprise "deliver" the cast credits as the ship zoomed by, rather than the names just pop on the screen as suggested by Roddenberry. ( Star Trek: The Magazine  Volume 1, Issue 1 , pp. 10-11)

• Main Title Theme (Season 1)  file info (composed by Alexander Courage )
• Main Title Theme (Season 2-3)  file info (composed by Alexander Courage )

Gene Roddenberry wrote lyrics for the " Theme from Star Trek " in order to secure a partial writer's credit for the song. These lyrics were never recorded as part of the original theme song, and thus were never aired. ( citation needed • edit )

The opening tagline of Star Trek includes a split infinitive : " To boldly go where no man has gone before. " This fact was memorably highlighted by Cambridge-educated sci-fi writer and satirist Douglas Adams who wrote in his Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy that, " all dared to brave unknown terrors, to do mighty deeds, to boldly split infinitives that no man had split before, and thus was the Empire forged. " The pilot episode of Star Trek: Enterprise , " Broken Bow ", has Zefram Cochrane delivering that phrase without the split infinitive as "to go boldly." The English rule forbidding split infinitives appeared in the mid-19th century; however, modern reference books do not include this rule, and the "to boldly go" from Star Trek is a prime example of where a split infinitive is perfectly acceptable. ( citation needed • edit )

• 1 Rachel Garrett
• 3 USS Enterprise (NCC-1701-G)

Where Did Star Trek's 'Where No Man Has Gone Before' Line Originate? It's Complicated

W hether or not you know your Romulans from your Remans or how to throw a Vulcan salute, everyone knows an iconic quote from "Star Trek," with "where no man has gone before" up there with the best of them. The final line of the original series' opening monologue, as narrated by William Shatner as Captain James T. Kirk, was changed to the gender-neutral "no one" for "Star Trek: The Next Generation," with  Captain Pike (Anson Mount) the latest to say it on "Star Trek: Strange New Worlds,"  but variations of it have appeared in multiple spots throughout history, stretching back not just decades but centuries.

Presumably with no input from a time-traveling Enterprise crew, the 1572 epic poem  "The Lusiads"  by Portuguese poet Luís de Camões, which details Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama's discovery of a route to India by sea, includes the line "by oceans where none had ventured." British explorer James Cook had a similar aim, writing in a 1774 diary entry following an expedition to Newfoundland, "Ambition leads me not only farther than any other man has been before me, but as far as I think it possible for man to go." It might be a slightly wordier captain's log than Kirk's, but it's clear what he was going for.

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H.P. Lovecraft And The White House Both Went Where No Man Had Gone Before

While fitting that two explorers so far apart in time endeavored to go "where no man had gone before," the quote reappeared on at least two more occasions before "Star Trek" debuted. First,  "The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath,"  a 1943 novella written by H.P. Lovecraft in 1927, sees the character Randolph Carter "[resolve] to go with bold entreaty whither no man had gone before."

Then, in 1958, less than a decade before Gene Rodenberry's beloved universe first graced our screens, the line "to go where no one has gone before" appeared in "Introduction to Outer Space," a booklet promoting the national space program. This goal was eventually achieved, of course, but the fact that it now stands as an iconic staple in science fiction makes it that much greater.

In the years that followed, those six words (which were eventually altered under Patrick Stewart's Captain Jean-Luc Picard's watch) have been said by a variety of important characters in "Star Trek" history, but it was on "Star Trek: Enterprise" that it actually became part of the universe -- which is quite an impressive feat given how late in the process the line was added at all.

Star Trek: Enterprise Created An Origin For The Iconic Quote As No One Had Done Before

According to production manager Herbert F. Solow in the 1998 documentary  "Inside Star Trek: The Real Story,"  the line was added to the opening monologue by associate producer John D.F. Black, who took it from the title of Season 1, Episode 3 of the original "Star Trek" series, "Where No Man Has Gone Before," penned by Samuel A. Peeples. From there, it became a staple of the franchise, so much so that it actually made its way into "Star Trek" lore.

In "Star Trek: Enterprise" Season 1, Episode 1, "Broken Bow, Part 1," a recording plays of the inventor of the warp drive, Dr. Zefram Cochrane (James Cromwell), detailing his hopes for what it will provide. "Imagine it – thousands of inhabited planets at our fingertips, and we'll be able to explore those strange new worlds and seek out new life and new civilizations," he says. "This engine will let us go boldly where no man has gone before." The rest, as they say, is history.

Read the original article on Looper .

The evolution of William Shatner’s opening dialogue on Star Trek

By rachel carrington | jan 25, 2022.

Star Trek debuted in 1966 with a voice over by William Shatner for the opening theme

Every Star Trek fan is familiar with William Shatner’s voice over during the theme of The Original Series . Space. The final frontier. Most of us can quote it. But this simple opening didn’t come so easily. It was created over the course of a little over a week the summer before the series was set to premiere in September 1966, and it was rough going with several cooks in the kitchen, so to speak.

On August 1, 1966, Robert Justman, who was one of the producers of Star Trek, urged Gene Roddenberry to compose the standard opening narration for Shatner, and that it should run about fifteen seconds in length. Then came a flurry of rough drafts, that you can read here at  library.ucla.edu , none of which met with Roddenberry’s approval.

Certain words were deemed important for the Star Trek narration

Drafts bounced back and forth with words like adventures, galaxy patrol, and United Space Ship  taking center stage until producer John Black stepped in and came up with the first four words that became the opening. Space. The final frontier. He also provided the ending “where no man has gone before,” inserting the title of the second pilot.

Then Justman sent another note, mostly eradicting what Black had written, to Roddenberry telling him “these are the words you should use.”

"“This is the story of the starship Enterprise. It’s mission: to advance knowledge, contact alien life, and enforce intergalatic law…to explore the strange new worlds where no man has gone before.”"

Well, that certainly wasn’t to Roddenberry’s liking. A long week went by before, on August 10, 1966, Justman sent another reminder note to Roddenberry, telling him it was “absolutely imperative” that a narration be recorded as soon as possible.

That same date, the final dialgue for the narration was approved. Gone were words referencing aliens, replaced by new life, and there was, of course, no mention of advancing knowledge or enforcing intergalatic law. So Justman’s “should words” were jettisoned, replaced with the best opening narration in the history of television.

dark. Next. Why Gene Roddenberry wrote lyrics to Star Trek: The Original Series theme song

Star Trek Opening Credits Ranked

Every "Star Trek" series has a different theme and open credits sequence, all influenced by those that have come before. The original series featured a voice-over from William Shatner as Captain Kirk, explaining the mission of the Enterprise before the stirring music crescendos and the ship zooms off into space. Kirk's monologue has become a part of pop culture, and each series has tried to find a way to both pay homage to the original and tell their own story. As such, there are a wide variety of opening sequences, each trying to capture the themes and visuals of their specific show in a matter of minutes. Some are successful, with memorable, hummable themes that invoke a sense of nostalgia. Others are simply forgettable, while there are others still that I wish I could forget. With 11 different "Star Trek" TV shows in existence, there's quite a range of quality in their title sequences, so I've put together a handy ranking of them all, from the great to the truly terrible. 

11. Enterprise

Music:  "Star Trek: Enterprise" automatically loses points for being the only "Star Trek" opening with lyrics in its title music. While the other series feature an assortment of orchestral arrangements, for some mind-boggling reason the folks behind "Enterprise" decided to base the theme on a Rod Stewart song. "Where My Heart Will Take Me" by Russell Watson was adapted from "Faith of the Heart" by Rod Stewart, and it is  corny . And if the song's weird sentimentality sounds familiar, that's because Stewart also wrote a version of "Faith of the Heart" for the Robin Williams movie "Patch Adams," which was notoriously sappy itself.  

Visuals:  Unfortunately, the visuals are just as dated and sentimental as the song choice, showing the history of exploration on Earth before we took to the stars. The idea is kind of cool, but it ends up looking like a NASA recruitment video more than the opening of a "Star Trek" series.

Trek Factor:  While seeing the origins of exploration are neat, there's something about the misspelled "Enterprize" and the other various "old timey" elements that make the show feel weirdly dated, and not in an intentionally historical way. I imply cannot get over how hilariously late-'90s to early-'00s the intro feels, from the bizarre crossfades to the song that sounds a lot like the theme from "Firefly," which came out just a year after "Enterprise." Everything about it is trying to embody Americana, which feels oddly against the themes of intergalactic sharing of knowledge from the rest of "Star Trek." The whole thing feels corporate and sterile, and misses the point of "Star Trek" entirely. 

Music:  The instrumental theme by Jeff Russo is pretty excellent, though it doesn't have the same rousing spirit as many of its forebears. Then again, " Picard " focuses on a man in his twilight years, and isn't about exploring the cosmos or defending a pivotal gateway between universes. It's a little more contemplative, a little more somber, and the theme reflects that with its gentle string arrangements and hints of the theme from "Star Trek: The Next Generation." 

Visuals:  "Picard" unfortunately falls into the recent trend of overlaying a bunch of images in a semi-psychedelic looking way to create a title sequence. The trend started with shows like "Hannibal" and "Nip/Tuck," though those had a unique conceit tied to their show, before eventually blowing up with the incredible title sequence on the first season of "True Detective." After that, everyone tried to mimic the style in their own way, and the opening titles to "Picard" feel more like an attempt at being relevant than staying true to "Trek." 

Trek Factor: With no voiceover, a much more serene theme, and no footage of starships, planets, or really any of the things we have come to associate with "Star Trek," it's clear that "Picard" is just about Picard. That's fine and dandy, but it doesn't make for a good "Star Trek" opening. 

9. Discovery

Music:  "Star Trek: Discovery" features another theme by Russo, and it's significantly more "Trek" than the theme to "Picard." It's rousing and exciting with big orchestral swells — exactly the things that belong in a "Star Trek" theme. While it's not as instantly recognizable as some of the classic "Trek" themes, it still fits right in among them. 

Visuals:  " Discovery " has an interesting opening sequence, with blueprints and design schematics animated around the U.S.S. Discovery. It all looks very cool, but a "Star Trek" opening without stars just doesn't have the same feeling. The series was trying to set itself apart and become a bold new kind of "Trek," so the move away from the standard "ship flying through space" visuals is understandable. 

Trek Factor:  The title sequence to "Star Trek: Discovery" feels tangential to "Trek" without being directly a part of it. The visuals and music both hew closer to the sharp designs of the Kelvin timeline films, but at least it still feels "Trek"-adjacent. 

Music:  The opening sequence for "Star Trek: Prodigy" is scored by Michael Giacchino, who also composed the scores for the three Kelvin-timeline films starting with "Star Trek" in 2009. It's a rousing theme that sounds a little more "Star Wars" than "Star Trek," but since "Prodigy" is for kids , that whimsical, fantastical sound kind of fits. It's not the best "Star Trek" theme, but it's still pretty cool, and definitely feels age-appropriate. 

Visuals:  The visuals are where "Star Trek: Prodigy" really shines. The animation is gorgeous as the ship flies around the galaxy, zipping around planets and asteroid belts before more abstract but beautiful things start flying around the ship itself. The whole thing is designed to be awe-inspiring and get kids excited, and I can only imagine how thrilled I would have been watching these credits as a child. We even get a version of Captain Janeway (Kate Mulgrew), made from stardust. How cool is that? 

Trek Factor:  This opening has all of the basic requirements for a quality "Star Trek" opening: a ship flying through space, a good theme, and some fun little visual treats, but it's still very clearly intended for kids and it's a little more fantastical than your average "Trek" opening. It's perfect for introducing young viewers to "Star Trek," but doesn't have the same nostalgic oomph as some of the other openings. 

7. The Animated Series

Music:  Composers Ray Ellis and Norm Prescott took the theme from "Star Trek: The Original Series" and turned it into something more befitting an animated series. The theremin and orchestral arrangements are replaced by something significantly more poppy and upbeat, and when the titles actually show up and the big swell into the theme happens, it sounds more like "The Love Boat" than "Star Trek." It's a product of its time, though it's honestly incredibly charming. 

Visuals:  There's a little animated Enterprise zooming around the galaxy, mimicking the credits from "The Original Series" in animated format. It's old, cel-shaded, hand-drawn animation, and by golly, it's fun.

Trek Factor:  William Shatner reads the original series voice-over, the theme is based on the original theme to some degree, and the animation is a near carbon-copy of the original series credits. You really can't get much more "Trek" than this, but it's just too much a product of its era to inspire more than amusement. If you want to feel like you've been teleported back in time to the 1970s, just watch this intro. 

6. Deep Space Nine

Music:  The theme by Dennis McCarthy is great. It starts soft and builds into a big swell, as "Star Trek" themes are wont to do, but it stands just apart enough from the themes of the original series and "Next Generation" to clearly be its own thing. This is the first "Star Trek" opening without a voice-over, setting a precedent that would remain until "Star Trek: Strange New Worlds." Since "Deep Space Nine" was trying to take "Trek" in new directions, a different kind of opening makes a lot of sense. 

Visuals:  We see the space station Deep Space Nine, located near both the planet Bajor and the wormhole that leads to the Gamma Quadrant. One of the coolest things about the "Deep Space Nine" opening credits is the way they change as the seasons progress, adding the docked Defiant and occasionally other docked ships, representing various plot points in the series. 

Trek Factor:  The lack of a voice-over (and Avery Brooks as Captain Sisko could have probably done a pretty cool one) and sheer length of this intro (it's nearly two minutes) unfortunately hold it back from being one of the best. "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine" may be my favorite "Trek" of them all, but its opening sequence just isn't quite as great as some of the rest.

5. Lower Decks

Music:  The theme by Chris Westlake is pretty much perfect, mixing the sounds of many of the older series together to create something entirely new. From the opening chords, it's impossible to think of anything but "Star Trek." "Star Trek: Lower Decks" is a comedy show, but there's nothing comedic about the score. It just rules.

Visuals:  "Lower Decks" uses the intro to show off the U.S.S. Cerritos, which doesn't get much screen time in the short episodes. We see it going on a bunch of missions and getting pelted by all kinds of space debris, which highlights the comedic aspect of the show. When we get a view looking down from above the ship, however, and we can read the ship's name and designation, it's fabulously nostalgic. 

Trek Factor:  Despite being a cartoon comedy series , the opening to "The Lower Decks" still  feels like "Star Trek." It's both a throwback and something new, which is what all the best "Star Trek" tends to be. 

4. The Original Series

Music:  The original theme by Alexander Courage is what started it all, inspiring the rest of the themes on this list in some way or another. (Except maybe "Enterprise," but that's on them.) The theme has the kind of a military march to it until Shatner finishes his voice-over and the title appears, then it softens and becomes a more melodic, joyful tune. The second half of the theme is exceptionally dated, but it evokes late 1960s television from the first note.

Visuals:  Speaking of exceptionally dated, the images of the Enterprise flying around in outer space aren't exactly modern marvels of special effects. When you remember that they were creating these effects with models, careful camera placement, and matte paintings, they feel a little less silly and more impressive, but they just can't hold a candle to the CGI-created starships in today's "Trek."

Trek Factor:  It's the original , there's no way to be any more "Trek."

Music:  Composer Jerry Goldsmith  really  knows how to write a great "Star Trek" theme. The theme for "Star Trek: Voyager" is one of the best, relishing in a big orchestral sound reminiscent of the themes from the original run of "Star Trek" films (probably because he helped with those, too). The theme to "Voyager" is spectacular, though not quite as catchy or memorable as the top two on the list. 

Visuals:  Yes, some of the CGI on the intro to "Voyager" looks a little dated, but it's not so outlandishly cartoonish that it detracts from the overall impression, which is that "Voyager" voyages. We see the ship zip around space, exploring planets, asteroid fields, and more, and it's really the first "Star Trek" opening that gave a real idea of the scope of Starfleet's exploration. We had seen the Enterprise zooming through space and around a few planets, and we had seen Deep Space Nine chilling next to Bajor, but this was the first time we got to see the full capabilities and range of a Federation starship in the opening credits. 

Trek Factor:  Pretty much the only thing holding " Voyager " back is the lack of a voice-over, because I need my captain to tell me the mission every episode, darn it! 

2. Strange New Worlds

Music:  Composer Jeff Russo got a  lot of practice writing "Star Trek" themes with his work on "Discovery" and "Picard," and it seems like he finally found the perfect vessel for his ideas in "Star Trek: Strange New Worlds." The theme to the new series has everything you could ask for from a "Star Trek" theme: orchestral swells and booms, hints of the original series theme, and even a theremin to give the end of the theme an otherworldly sound. 

Visuals:  The Enterprise gets to go on the kind of intro ride that Voyager did, exploring space and all of the various hazards it has to offer. The special effects are incredible, and the opening sequence is just gorgeous to watch. 

Trek Factor:  Starship bopping about the galaxy? Check. A smooth-voiced captain (Anson Mount as Christopher Pike) doing a voice-over monologue that starts with "Space... the final frontier"? Check. A theme that gets the blood pumping before delivering chills in its final moments? Check. "Star Trek: Strange New Worlds" is a throwback in many ways, but its opening proves that it's also updating and upgrading the old into something even more grand. 

1. The Next Generation

Music:  The theme for "Star Trek: The Next Generation" is actually the theme  from "Star Trek: The Motion Picture," composed by Jerry Goldsmith and based on the original score by Alexander Courage. When you ask the vast majority of "Star Trek" fans to think of a theme song, this is probably the one that's going to pop into their heads. It marries the original series, the movies, and "The Next Generation," making it  the "Trek" theme for more than one generation. 

Visuals:  I'm not going to lie: the visuals for " The Next Generation " are pretty lackluster. The Enterprise zips around the stars a bit, but we don't see anything else out there in space, and the zipping gets a little repetitive. Thankfully, this is also one of the shorter intros, so it's easy to just focus on the killer theme music and Patrick Stewart's phenomenal opening voice-over.

Trek Factor:  If Stewart doing the whole "these are the voyages of the starship Enterprise" thing followed by Goldsmith's theme doesn't get your heart pumping and the hair on your arms standing on end, you might be a Borg. This is "Star Trek" at its most "Star Trek," which is why it's the best opening of all of the series. 

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WATCH: The Surprising Musical Origins of Star Trek’s Theme Song

Beginning with the now-famous monologue by William Shatner, “Space: the final frontier”, the opening notes of Star Trek’s theme song have become ingrained in the minds of fans around the world.

The iconic song, written by Alexander Courage in 1964, is played at the opening and closing credits of every episode of the original series and has been reinterpreted in some form for each Star Trek feature film.

In a new video released by Canada’s CBC Music, host Tom Allen explores the connection between the song and some of history’s greatest classical music composers, including Beethoven, Brahms, and Mahler.

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Published Jul 10, 2016

TOS Original Scripts

Authentic scripts from Star Trek: The Original Series are great collectibles. In addition to them being historic pieces, they make fascinating and educational reading. With regards to this latter aspect, since different drafts exist of the scripts for the produced and unproduced episodes, you can learn about the Trek s that almost happened but didn’t. Furthermore, since genuine scripts are sometimes peppered with handwritten notes from the cast or crew, it’s possible to find nuggets of undocumented, inside information in them.

So, with that TEASER, let’s FADE IN on this article about the original scripts of TOS . Our ACTS here will present an overview of the types of scripts that were written and, consequently, the types that are available today. Our discussion in this STORY will also include the context in which the scripts were produced to help illustrate the relationship between the various drafts as well as some other characteristics of the scripts. However, before DOLLYING IN, we want to point out that our exposition will focus on scripts that were written in TOS’ s era. The process today, and the physical appearance of the resulting scripts, are a bit different. CUT TO:

Scripts, by the Numbers

As you know, TOS had 79 episodes and two pilots, which meant that it had to have at least 80 scripts (the two-part “ The Menagerie ” only had one script). We use the words “at least” on purpose because, if you count the first story outlines (which are technically not scripts, but for the purposes of this article we'll include them), the first drafts, the second drafts, the final drafts, the revised final drafts and so on, you’ll quickly discover that there were hundreds of different scripts prepared for the series. At this late date, it’s difficult to know exactly how many, but there were a lot. And when you realize that Gene Roddenberry, Fred Freiberger, Bob Justman, Gene Coon, Dorothy Fontana and the rest of the production company were cranking out episodes on a weekly basis, it’s no surprise that TOS had both good and bad episodes… like most television shows and movies.

The Outline

A potential episode of TOS started with an idea, of course, which was then committed to paper as a story outline. These outlines were typically short, from 2-25 pages, and were generally structured using TEASERS (the part before the opening narration designed to hook you) and ACTS (the four long parts in the middle of the episode separated by commercials). At this early stage, there were usually no scenes or dialogue in the outlines, but the stories were complete from beginning to end, and set and location changes were often indicated.

The physical form of the story outlines for TOS was pretty simple. They were typed on plain white paper or onion skin, had no formal covers and were usually stapled in the upper left-hand corner.

(Here are two pages from “The Aurorals,” an unproduced TOS story outline written by Frank Paris. Please note that we’ve joined the pages together vertically for ease of reading.)

Early Drafts

After an outline was approved, which meant that the production company, studio and network were okay with it (more on that in a moment), a writer – usually the writer of the outline, but not always – was tasked to write the first draft of the script using the outline as a guide. This first draft was usually 50-80 pages long, had cast and set lists, and scenes that were consecutively numbered, fully described and contained dialogue. The script was bound in a yellow cardstock cover using two brads. (A picture of the cover of a first draft script is presented towards the end of this article.)

Following the completion of the first draft, it was read by the principal cast members, department heads, studio and network, so that a decision could be made as to whether the basic story would work for TOS – e.g., that it would fit the format and could be done on budget – and the writer could do a good job. Everyone realized that this initial attempt was just a first shot and revisions would be necessary – no one expected it to be immediately shootable.

At this point in the process, the writer was frequently given extensive notes on the script and asked to make revisions. S/he went back to the typewriter (yep, no computers in the late 1960’s) and, if all went well, produced a final draft. It was not unheard of, however, for the writer to be asked to write a second draft, and then maybe a third draft, before proceeding to a final draft. Those second and third draft scripts, incidentally, also had yellow covers.

(The below excerpt is from the first draft script of “The Cage” written by Gene Roddenberry.)

Final Drafts

Final draft scripts weighed in at around 65 pages and were close to what the production team hoped to put before the cameras. Their format was similar to the first draft scripts, except their cover colors were gray; a few had blue covers, however, but these were the exceptions. The change of color on the cover signified that the script was locked for production, which meant that the various departments could start their serious planning and budgeting discussions. This did not mean, however, that changes weren’t made to the scripts. In fact, many were altered after they went to gray cover due to a variety of reasons, and any changes were handled through the use of colored pages to make sure that everyone could easily identify them. These colored “change pages” had dates at the top – called revision slugs – and each successive change was denoted by a different color. Their colors followed the standard scheme which started with white pages in the initial draft followed by blue, pink, yellow, green, etc. However, this scheme was not set in stone in TOS and we’ve seen exceptions to it.

(Shown below are examples of colored change pages from “ The Man Trap ” and “ Miri .”)

We should note that when significant changes were made to the script that required a lot of change pages, the script version was incremented to the next one, e.g., a final draft became a revised final draft, a revised final draft became a 2nd revised final draft and so on. Additionally, the cover color was often changed to red.

Finally, when the last revision of the script was as “done” at it could be, the episode was ready to be shot. If all went well, this final version was completed before the first day of filming. However, there are a few instances where the script was revised while the episode was filmed. Two examples of this situation include “ Mudd’s Women ” and “ The Enemy Within .”

We mentioned earlier that the scripts were written fast. To give you an idea of the speed at which they were, an average first draft script typically was turned into a final draft in 2-3 weeks and a final draft script (or higher revision) typically went before the cameras in 5-18 days following its completion.

(The below shows examples of authentic, production-used scripts – a yellow first draft, two gray finals, and one red revised final. Note the information on the covers, including the large “STAR TREK” written in shadow block font and the blue machine-stamped script number in the upper right-hand corner.)

Lincoln Scripts

Before concluding this article, we want to comment on the scripts sold by the mail-order company Lincoln Enterprises. We’ve examined many that were purchased from them and can attest that quite a few were production-used; they contained colored change pages and had crew names written on their covers. Others, the majority, were reproductions, some of which were high quality and similar to the studio scripts, while others were not. The higher quality reproductions were printed on mimeograph machines and collated with two brads to mimic what was done by the studios. These copies were also done in red cover cardstock with nearly identical printing as the originals. At some point though – we believe in the mid-to-late 70’s – Lincoln discontinued the red cardstock covers and used other colored, non-cardstock paper. However, all of these Lincoln copies contained all white pages with differing revision dates at the top, a clear indicator, one of several, that the scripts were reproductions. Additionally, the scripts that Lincoln sold were not always the “shooting drafts” as they advertised – they were whatever versions they got access to.

(An assortment of Lincoln Enterprises reproduction scripts, sold through the years, is shown below. Their covers are generally plain relative to the original scripts, and the words “STAR TREK” are written in a variety of different font styles. Also, the script numbers were most often written by hand, but some early ones were machine stamped in black ink.)

And with that, we’ll FADE OUT and say THE END. Until next time.

Biographical Information

David Tilotta is a professor at North Carolina State University in Raleigh, NC and works in the areas of chemistry and sustainable materials technology. You can email David at [email protected]. Curt McAloney is an accomplished graphic artist with extensive experience in multimedia, Internet and print design. He resides in a suburb of the Twin Cities in Minnesota, and can be contacted at [email protected]. Together, Curt and David work on startrekhistory.com. Their Star Trek work has appeared in the Star Trek Magazine and Star Trek: The Original Series 365 by Paula M. Block with Terry J. Erdmann.

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Original "Star Trek" Opening Monologue

Needs more drama, indeed. What would "Star Trek" be without boldly poor grammar?

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Which star trek tv shows leave out the opening speech (& why).

Star Trek's famous opening "to boldly go" speech is an instantly recognizable part of the franchise, but many of the shows leave it out completely.

The famous "to boldly go" speech is an instantly recognizable part of Star Trek 's intro, but many shows in the franchise leave it out? Starting with Star Trek : The Original Series in 1966, Captain Kirk's (William Shatner) memorable speech during the show's introduction invoked images of exploration and set the mood for the exciting hour of sci-fi television ahead. However, as the franchise went on, other shows in the series either used the intro or completely ignored the famous words for one reason or another. Though most Trek shows have eschewed the monologue, it is still inseparable from the legacy.

Though 12 people have said the Star Trek line , Shatner's performance as Captain Kirk started the franchise on the right foot and set the standard for all future captains to follow. The brief speech not only introduced the concepts of the show in general, but it also used verbose and exciting language to elicit an emotional response from the viewer and lend a certain grandiosity to the Enterprise's epic adventures. Captain Picard would later utter a slightly modified version of the monologue in Star Trek: The Next Generation , but it would be mysteriously retired until the premiere of Strange New Worlds in 2022.

RELATED: How Many Strange New Worlds Did Season 1 Really Explore?

Other Star Trek Shows Didn't Use The Speech Because It Didn't Fit

Starting with Star Trek: Deep Space Nine , the speech was taken out of the intro of the show and replaced with a simple instrumental. This can be attributed to the fact that DS9 was more about relationships and character development and less about exploration as the speech suggests. Star Trek: Voyager followed close behind, but its theme of a ship lost on the other side of the galaxy made the show more about survival than any of the intro's ideals. Enterprise was unique from the original Trek shows in that it took place before the foundation of the Federation, and the ideas expressed in the speech weren't common practice yet.

Discovery reignited the Star Trek television franchise, but its focus on an ongoing narrative would have been incongruous with the utopian message of the original Trek speech. Picard focused on the titular character and Jean-Luc wasn't given a lot of time to explore the galaxy while he was tangled in the complicated plot of the show. On the other side of the coin, Star Trek: Lower Decks was from the perspective of average crew members, and the uplifting message of the speech wouldn't gel with the show's humor. Similarly, Star Trek: Prodigy was outside the Federation entirely and had little to do with the utopian sci-fi ideals in the speech.

Strange New Worlds Brought The Speech Back Because Of Its Time Period

After decades without it, Strange New Worlds finally resurrected the speech with the updated wording that was used in The Next Generation . Other than the easy nostalgic effect the speech had for the show, the intro actually makes sense in the context of Strange New Worlds ' time period . Taking place a few short years before Kirk and company set out on their five-year mission, the adventures of Captain Pike and his Enterprise crew fit right in with the ideals expressed in the introduction. Pike's personal morals gel better with the words than Kirk's "cowboy diplomacy" and it makes sense that Pike originated the Star Trek monologue in the first place.

MORE: Star Trek Retcon Means Picard Is Part Of Enterprise's Opening Credits

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This is Probably the Opening Monologue of 'Star Trek: Discovery'

When Captain James T. Kirk talked about “space…the final frontier,” in the opening monologue of the original Star Trek , future history was made. And although those sentences have been updated a few times, Star Trek hasn’t had a new opening monologue since The Next Generation. But, now that might change. The opening-monologue to looks Discovery to be a new spin on figuring out how exactly to boldly go.

On Monday, TrekCore reported on the various new offical Discovery images released by CBS on Twitter. Most of these images spotlight specific characters, but the most recent tweet seems to tease out what very well could be the words that open each episode of Discovery , spoken by lead character Commander Michael Burnham( Sonequa Martin-Green).

Here’s what she says:

As we stand at the edge of an unknown universe, we know our greatest challenges lie before us – that our future is not bound by fear, and that our mission is not to conquer, but to discover. That is our destiny: a destiny written in the stars… and so we boldly go where we have never gone before.

Of course, it’s possible that this isn’t the opening monologue for Discovery , and instead, just something CBS is using in the marketing of the show. But if it does turn out to be how each episode of the show will open, it’s significant. Though there have been five live-action Star Trek TV shows prior to Discovery , only two of them — the original series and The Next Generation — have opening monologues. Both Deep Space Nine and Voyager opened with their own respective orchestral themes, sans voiceover. Meanwhile the opening of Enterprise was set to the sounds of the pop song “Faith of the Heart,” which earned mostly scorn from fans and critics alike.

According to Slashfilm , the opening theme music for Discovery will be more traditional, and features a 60 piece orchestra. The theme song is reportedly a minute and half in length, though it’s not clear if it will be accompanied by an opening monologue or not. Either way, Star Trek has a long history with iconic music, so much in fact, that Trekkies probably all couldn’t agree on which theme best represents the franchise.

Star Trek: Discovery will debut on CBS All-Access on September 24.

See also: Daft Punk Mashed-Up With ‘Star Trek: The Motion Picture.’

Written by Ryan Britt

More articles by Ryan  •  Follow Ryan on Twitter

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