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Star Trek: The Original Series

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Star Trek: The Original Series (referred to as Star Trek prior to any spin-offs) is the first Star Trek series. The first episode of the show aired on 6 September 1966 on CTV in Canada, followed by a 8 September 1966 airing on NBC in America. The show was created by Gene Roddenberry as a " Wagon Train to the Stars". Star Trek was set in the 23rd century and featured the voyages of the starship USS Enterprise under Captain James T. Kirk .

Star Trek was later informally dubbed The Original Series , or TOS, after several spin-offs aired. The show lasted three seasons until canceled in 1969 . When the show first aired on TV, and until lowering budget issues in its third season resulted in a noticable drop in quality episodes and placed in a 10 pm Friday night death slot by the network, Star Trek regularly performed respectably in its time slot. After it was canceled and went into syndication , however, its popularity exploded. It featured themes such as a Utopian society and racial equality, and the first African-American officer in a recurring role.

Ten years later, Star Trek: The Motion Picture reunited the cast on the big screen aboard a refurbished USS Enterprise . They appeared in five subsequent films, ending with Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country in 1991, during production of the spin-off series Star Trek: The Next Generation and shortly before Gene Roddenberry's death. Several original series characters also appeared in the seventh movie, Star Trek Generations , and in other Star Trek productions.

• 1 Opening credits
• 2.1 Starring
• 2.2 Also starring
• 3 Production crew
• 4.1 First pilot
• 4.2 Season 1
• 4.3 Season 2
• 4.4 Season 3
• 5.1 Concept
• 5.2 The first pilot
• 5.3 The second pilot
• 5.4 The series begins
• 5.5 The first season
• 5.6 Syndication
• 5.7 Reception
• 5.8 Remastered
• 6 Related topics
• 8 External links

Opening credits [ ]

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

Main cast [ ]

Starring [ ].

• William Shatner as Captain Kirk

Also starring [ ]

• Leonard Nimoy as Mr. Spock
• DeForest Kelley as Dr. McCoy ( 1967 - 1969 ; co-star 1966 - 1967 )

In addition, the following regulars were listed in the end credits as co-stars:

• James Doohan as Scotty
• Nichelle Nichols as Uhura
• George Takei as Sulu
• Walter Koenig as Chekov ( 1967 - 1969 )
• Majel Barrett-Roddenberry as Christine Chapel
• Grace Lee Whitney as Janice Rand

Production crew [ ]

• Gene Roddenberry – Creator, Writer, Producer, Executive Producer
• Gene L. Coon – Writer, Producer
• John Meredyth Lucas – Writer, Producer, Director
• Fred Freiberger – Producer (1968-69)
• Robert H. Justman – Associate Producer (Season 1-2), Co-Producer (Season 3), First Assistant Director (two pilots)
• D.C. Fontana – Writer, Script Consultant (1967-68)
• Steven W. Carabatsos – Writer, Story Consultant (1966)
• John D.F. Black – Associate Producer, Writer, Story Editor (1966)
• Arthur H. Singer – Story Consultant (1968-69)
• Byron Haskin – Associate Producer (first pilot)
• Walter "Matt" Jefferies – Production Designer, Art Director
• William E. Snyder – Director of Photography (first pilot)
• Ernest Haller – Director of Photography (second pilot)
• Jerry Finnerman – Director of Photography (61 episodes, 1966-1968)
• Keith Smith – Director of Photography (1 episode, 1967)
• Al Francis – Director of Photography (16 episodes, 1968-1969), Camera Operator (61 episodes, 1966-1968)
• Jim Rugg – Supervisor of Special Effects
• Rolland M. Brooks – Art Director (34 episodes, 1965-1967)
• Fred B. Phillips – Make-up Artist
• Robert Dawn – Make-up Artist (second pilot)
• William Ware Theiss – Costume Designer
• Gregg Peters – First Assistant Director (Season 1), Unit Production Manager (Season 2-3), Associate Producer (Season 3)
• Claude Binyon, Jr. – Assistant Director (third season)

Episode list [ ]

• List of TOS episodes by airdate
• List of TOS remastered episodes by airdate

First pilot [ ]

Season 1 [ ].

TOS Season 1 , 29 episodes:

Season 2 [ ]

TOS Season 2 , 26 episodes:

Season 3 [ ]

TOS Season 3 , 24 episodes:

Behind the scenes [ ]

Concept [ ].

Star Trek was created by Gene Roddenberry, whose interest in science fiction dated back to the 1940s when he came into contact with Astounding Stories . Roddenberry's first produced science fiction story was The Secret Weapon of 117 , which aired in 1956 on the Chevron Theatre anthology show. By 1963 Roddenberry was producing his first television series, The Lieutenant , at MGM .

In 1963, MGM was of the opinion that "true-to-life" television dramas were becoming less popular and an action-adventure show would be more profitable (this prediction turned out to be right, and led to series such as The Man from U.N.C.L.E ). Roddenberry had already been working on a science fiction concept called Star Trek since 1960 , and when he told MGM about his ideas, they were willing to take a look at them. As the production of The Lieutenant came to an end, Roddenberry delivered his first Star Trek draft to MGM. The studio was, however, not enthusiastic about the concept, and a series was never produced.

Roddenberry tried to sell his " wagon train to the stars " format to several production studios afterward, but to no avail. In 1964 , it was rumored that Desilu was interested in buying a new television series. Desilu was a much smaller company than MGM, but Roddenberry took his chances, greatly aided with the help of Desilu Executive Herb Solow . This led to a three-year deal with Desilu in April 1964 .

The first attempt to sell the Star Trek format to broadcasting network CBS (Desilu had a first proposal deal with the network) failed. CBS chose another science fiction project, Irwin Allen 's more family-oriented Lost in Space instead of Roddenberry's more cerebral approach. But in May 1964 , NBC 's Vice-President of Programming Mort Werner agreed to give Roddenberry the chance to write three story outlines, one of which NBC would select to turn into a pilot.

One of the submitted story lines, dated 29 June 1964 , was an outline for " The Cage ", and this was the story picked up by NBC. Now, the daunting task that Roddenberry and his crew faced was to develop the Star Trek universe from scratch. Roddenberry recruited many people around him to help think up his version of the future. The RAND Corporation's Harvey P. Lynn acted as a scientific consultant, Pato Guzman was hired as art director, with Matt Jefferies as an assisting production designer. This phase of creativity and brainstorming lasted throughout the summer, until in the last week of September 1964 the final draft of the "The Cage" script was delivered to NBC, after which shooting of the pilot was approved.

The first pilot [ ]

In early October, preparations for shooting "The Cage" began. A few changes in the production crew were made: Roddenberry hired Morris Chapnick , who had worked with him on The Lieutenant , as his assistant. Pato Guzman left to return to Chile and was replaced by Franz Bachelin . Matt Jefferies finalized the design for the Enterprise and various props and interiors. By November 1964 , the sets were ready to be constructed on stages Culver Studios Stage 14 , 15 , and 16 . Roddenberry was not happy with the stages, since they had uneven floors and were not soundproof, as Culver Studios had been established in the silent movie era when soundproofing had not been an issue to consider. Eventually, in 1966 , the rest of the series was shot on Paramount stages 9 and 10 , which were in better shape.

Casting of the characters was not a problem, apart from the lead role of Captain Pike (still known as "Captain April " at this point, later renamed "Captain Winter" before finally choosing "Pike") who Roddenberry convinced Jeffrey Hunter to play. Leonard Nimoy ( Spock ) had worked with Roddenberry on The Lieutenant . Majel Barrett , also a familiar face from The Lieutenant , got the part of the ship's female first officer, Number One . Veteran character actor John Hoyt , who had worked on many science fiction and fantasy projects before, was chosen to play the role of Doctor Phil Boyce . Young Peter Duryea and Laurel Goodwin were hired as José Tyler and Yeoman J.M. Colt , respectively. The extras were cast from a diversity of ethnic groups, which was significant because integration was not a usual occurrence in 1960s television, and segregation was still a reality in the United States.

To produce the pilot episode, Robert H. Justman was hired as assistant director; he had worked on The Outer Limits shortly before. Makeup artist Fred Phillips was brought in as well, whose first job it was to create Spock's ears. Another veteran from The Outer Limits was producer-director Byron Haskin , who joined as associate producer. On 27 November 1964 , the first scenes of "The Cage" (or "The Menagerie," as it was briefly known), were shot. Filming was scheduled to be eleven days, however the production went highly over budget and over schedule, resulting in sixteen shooting days and US$164,248 plus expenses.

But there were still a lot of visual effects to be made. An eleven-foot filming model of the USS Enterprise , designed by Matt Jefferies, was built by Richard Datin , Mel Keys , and Vern Sion in Volmer Jensen 's model shop , and was delivered to the Howard Anderson Company on 29 December 1964 .

In February 1965 , the final version of "The Cage" was delivered at NBC and screened in New York City. NBC officials liked the first pilot. Desilu's Herb Solow says that NBC was surprised by how realistic it looked, and that it was "the most fantastic thing we've ever seen." The reason the pilot was rejected was because it was believed that it would attract only a small audience, and they wanted more action and adventure. They also had problems with the "satanic" Spock and the female first officer (Number One). However, NBC was convinced that Star Trek could be made into a television series, and that NBC itself had been at fault for choosing the "The Cage" script from the original three stories pitched. Also, after spending US$630,000 on "The Cage" (the most expensive TV pilot at the time), they didn't want to have their money wasted. NBC then made the unprecedented move to order a second pilot.

The second pilot [ ]

For the second pilot, NBC requested three story outlines again. These were " Where No Man Has Gone Before " by Samuel A. Peeples , and " Mudd's Women " and " The Omega Glory " by Roddenberry. Although it was the most expensive of the three, NBC chose " Where No Man Has Gone Before ", as it had the most action and most outer space spectacle. However, the other two premises were also made into episodes of the series later.

Filming the second pilot began in July 1965 , and took nine days to complete. The entire cast of " The Cage " was replaced except Spock. Jeffrey Hunter chose not to reprise his role as Captain Pike, mostly by the advice of his wife, who felt that "science fiction ruins her husband's career". Roddenberry wanted both Lloyd Bridges and Jack Lord for the role of the new captain, however both declined. Finally William Shatner , who had previous science fiction experience acting in episodes of The Twilight Zone and The Outer Limits , was chosen. The new captain was named James R. Kirk (later renamed James T. Kirk).

For the role of the chief medical officer, Roddenberry chose veteran actor Paul Fix . Canadian actor James Doohan got the role of chief engineer Scott , and young Japanese-American George Takei was featured as ship's physicist Sulu . The latter two reprised their roles in the upcoming series, though Sulu was a helmsman in the series. Other actors considered for being regulars were Lloyd Haynes as communications officer Alden and Andrea Dromm as Yeoman Smith , but neither of them were re-hired after the pilot.

Many of the production staff were replaced. Robert Dawn served as head make-up artist, however Fred Phillips returned to the position in the series itself. Academy Award winner cinematographer Ernest Haller came out of semi-retirement to work as the director of photography. Associate producer Byron Haskin was replaced by Robert H. Justman , who now shared double duties as producer and assistant director.

The Enterprise model was updated for the second pilot, and many new outer space effects shots were made, most of which were reused in the series itself. The sets were also updated a bit, most notably the main bridge and the transporter room. Most of the uniforms, props, and sets were reused from " The Cage ", however some new props (including the never-seen-again phaser rifle ) and a brand new matte painting (the planet Delta Vega ) were made specially for this episode.

" Where No Man Has Gone Before " was accepted by NBC and the first season of a regular series was ordered for broadcasting in the 1966-67 television season. History was made.

The series begins [ ]

Preparation for the first regular season began in early 1966 . All the Enterprise interior sets were updated, as well as the introduction of brand new uniforms. The look of the show became more colorful and more vivid. The Enterprise model was also updated once more. Also, the entire production was moved from Desilu's Culver City studios to the main Gower Street studio's Stage 9 and 10 ( Paramount Stage 31 and 32 from 1967 onward) in Hollywood.

Kirk (Shatner) and Spock (Nimoy) were kept as the series stars, with Grace Lee Whitney joining the two as Yeoman Janice Rand (replacing Andrea Dromm as Yeoman Smith). Whitney had worked with Roddenberry a year before on an unsold pilot titled Police Story . Publicity photos promoting the new series were made at this time, with the three of them, mostly using props left from the two pilots (most notably the aforementioned phaser rifle). Shatner and Nimoy wore their new uniforms on these photographs, while Whitney had to wear an old, pilot version.

Scott (Doohan) and Sulu (Takei) were also kept, the latter becoming the ship's helmsman instead of physicist. Two additions made the Enterprise main crew complete: DeForest Kelley was hired to play the new chief medical officer, Leonard McCoy , as Roddenberry had known him from previous projects, including the aforementioned Police Story . Actress Nichelle Nichols got the role of communications officer Uhura , who became a symbol of the racial and gender diversity of the show. Nichols was a last minute addition, weeks before filming began on the first regular episode.

Jerry Finnerman became the new director of photography, while Fred Phillips, Matt Jefferies, and Rolland M. Brooks returned to their former positions. Writer John D.F. Black was brought in as the second associate producer (next to Justman). While Roddenberry and Black handled the script and story issues, Justman was in charge of the physical aspects of production.

Filming of the first regular episode, " The Corbomite Maneuver " began on 24 May 1966 . Finally Star Trek debuted on NBC with a "Sneak Preview" episode at 8:30 pm (EST) on 8 September 1966 . NBC chose " The Man Trap " (the fifth episode in production order) to air first, mainly because they felt it was more of a "traditional monster story" and featured more action.

The first season [ ]

In August 1966 , several changes were made in the Star Trek production staff. Roddenberry stepped down as line producer and became the executive producer. His replacement was Gene L. Coon , who also regularly contributed to the series as a writer. While Black had also left the series, story editor Steven W. Carabatsos came in, sharing story duties with Roddenberry and Coon. To handle post-production, Edward K. Milkis was brought in by Justman. Carabatsos had left Star Trek near the end of the season, and was replaced by D.C. Fontana , formerly Roddenberry's secretary and a writer for the series.

Syndication [ ]

• See : Syndication

Due to the overall length of the episodes of The Original Series , several minutes of each episode are frequently cut during the show's reruns, notably on the Sci-Fi Channel . Starting in April 2006 , the G4 network began airing the full length episodes in "Uncut Marathons" on Saturdays. G4 stopped airing these full-length versions in November 2006, and has discontinued its run of Star Trek 2.0 , which was a trivia-oriented and interactive version of the show for the viewers.

For current airings see Where to watch .

Reception [ ]

The Original Series has been nominated for and won a number of awards over the years. Some of the awards include:

• The series was nominated for thirteen Emmy Awards during its run, but did not win any.
• It was nominated eight times for the "Best Dramatic Presentation" Hugo Award , sweeping the nominees in 1968. It won twice, and Roddenberry won a special award in 1968.
• The 2003 "Pop Culture Award" in the TV Land Awards .
• The 2005 Saturn Award for "Best DVD Retro Television Release."

Aaron Harberts and James Frain cited TOS as their favorite Star Trek series. ( AT : " O Discovery, Where Art Thou? ")

Remastered [ ]

On 31 August 2006 , CBS Paramount Television announced that, in celebration of the 40th anniversary of Star Trek , the show would return to broadcast syndication for the first time in sixteen years. The series' 79 episodes were digitally remastered with all new visual effects and music. The refurbished episodes have been converted from the original film to high-definition video, making it on par with modern television formats.

Related topics [ ]

• TOS directors
• TOS performers
• TOS recurring characters
• TOS writers
• Character crossover appearances
• Undeveloped TOS episodes
• Desilu Stage 9
• Desilu Stage 10
• Star Trek Writers/Directors Guide
• Star Trek: The Original Series novels
• Star Trek: The Original Series comics (DC)
• Star Trek: The Original Series comics (IDW)
• Star Trek: The Original Series soundtracks
• Star Trek: The Original Series on VHS
• Star Trek: The Original Series on Betamax
• Star Trek: The Original Series on CED
• Star Trek: The Original Series on LaserDisc
• Star Trek: The Original Series on DVD
• Star Trek: The Original Series on Blu-ray

External links [ ]

• Star Trek: The Original Series at Wikipedia
• Star Trek: The Original Series at Memory Beta , the wiki for licensed Star Trek works
• Star Trek: The Original Series at StarTrek.com
• Star Trek: The Original Series at the Internet Movie Database
• Star Trek: The Original Series at the Movie and TV Wiki
• Public Radio Special: The Peace Message in Star Trek
• 1 Abdullah bin al-Hussein
• 3 John Paul Lona

The 10 Best Classic Star Trek Episodes

We boldly go... and pick our favorites from the original series..

It's never too late to watch episodes of the original Star Trek. Gene Roddenberry's iconic 1960s series gave us a number of incredibly memorable characters and performances, led by William Shatner as Kirk, Leonard Nimoy as Spock and DeForest Kelley as Bones, while also inadvertently launching what would become one of the biggest franchises in history.

Of course, Star Trek has been and ever shall be about much more than just its beloved characters. There's also its thematic exploration of topical issues and problems facing humankind in the here and now, its application of real scientific theories extrapolated into very cool (and possible) future tech like warp drive, transporters, and more, and of course its optimistic view of humanity's future that reassures us that, yes, it's all gonna work out.

The show first aired on September 8, 1966 with the episode "The Man Trap," and so we're celebrating that anniversary with this list. There was initially some debate among IGN's editors about which episode belonged where -- and it took a few Kirk-style double-fist punches to settle those differences -- but we can now present to you our picks for the top 10 Star Trek: The Original Series episodes ever.

10. Arena (Season 1)

It's 50 years later, and Kirk fighting a guy in a green rubber suit is still awesome. "Arena," while not exactly reinventing the wheel when it comes to one-hour drama, does create a Trek standard that would find itself adapted into every other Trek series: Human and alien get stranded on insert deadly environment here , enemies become friends, and the universe is better for it.

Previously, we had only seen Kirk save the day sitting comfortable in his chair, or with a photon torpedo or six handy. "Arena" puts Kirk in a spot where he has to earn his survival by putting his instincts to the test, using only his wits and what little his environment provides. Kirk, in combat with the Gorn, proves that he is immune to defeat, but not to compassion. He spares the Gorn's life, satisfying the plan of the cosmic entity that pit the two against each other in the first place. Again, it's not Shakespeare, but leave it to Trek to get significant mileage out of men, even those behind the wheel of a starship, being reminded that they don't have the right to play God.

9. Amok Time (Season 2)

Season 2 of Star Trek kicked off with our first look at Spock’s home planet, Vulcan. Leonard Nimoy’s character had been the breakout character of the show the previous year, and there was a real hunger among fans for more info on The Logical One and his mysterious people.

Not only does “Amok Time” bring us to Vulcan, but it also introduced the concept of pon farr -- the Vulcan mating ritual, which overwhelms Spock and drives him to madness. (Hey, we can relate.) Kirk has no choice but to disobey orders, divert course, and get his first officer back to his planet before the fever kills him. There, we meet Spock’s betrothed, the beautiful and exotic T’Pring (Arlene Martel). But T’Pring insists that Spock fight for her affections, and the unlucky combatant she chooses to face her would-be husband is Kirk! Oh, and to quote the ancient Vulcan priestess overseeing the whole affair, “This combat is to the death.”

The episode offers an exciting glimpse of Vulcan that also allows for Nimoy to take Spock to some strange new acting worlds (for a character so in control of his emotions, he sure did emote a lot on this show). Martel and the other Vulcan guest stars bring a believability to the race that would elude many later actors to play our pointy-eared cousins (see many a TNG episode), but best of all is the strengthening of the Kirk/Spock/McCoy dynamic that takes place in “Amok Time.” When Spock requests that his “closest friends” accompany him to the planet surface for the ritual, even Bones has to let down his guard for a minute. His reply is simple and yet says so much about this trio: “I shall be honored, sir.”

8. The Naked Time (Season 1)

As the fourth episode aired, "The Naked Time" served as a primer for audiences to what made the still-new characters onboard the Enterprise tick. That dramatic throughline, some great acting, and a dynamic and tense plot all made for a memorable episode that still packs a wallop today.

When the Enterprise finds a team of dead scientists on the planet Psi 2000, Kirk's crew soon becomes contaminated with the same infection that killed that unlucky group. Those affected act strangely -- almost as if they're drunk -- and many of them find their inner-selves revealed in acts of uninhibited emotion: Spock's half-breed identity crisis, Sulu's secret swashbuckler, Kirk's love of his ship over all else, and so on. Meanwhile, while McCoy toils to find a vaccine for the intoxication virus, the Enterprise becomes locked in a death-spiral heading for the planet's surface. Can the drunken crew of the Enterprise save themselves in time? Of course they can… and they invent time travel while doing it!

7. The Enemy Within (Season 1)

"The Enemy Within" features a lot of firsts for Star Trek. First transporter malfunction. First duplicate Kirk. First unbridled, sweaty, mascara-laden, over-acting Shatner moment. It's a classic!

During a geological expedition on Alpha 177, the Enterprise's transporter ceases to function correctly after a clumsy technician beams up with some weird magnetic dust on his uniform. Unfortunately -- or rather, fortunately for the viewer -- Kirk also beams up shortly thereafter… twice! He's been split in two by the accident: a "good" Kirk who's a pokey, indecisive mess, and an "evil" Kirk who acts like a raving lunatic, running around the ship drinking Saurian brandy and trying to force himself on Yeoman Rand. (We kid you not.) The situation is aggravated by the fact that Sulu and a bunch of red-shirts are stranded on the freezing planet with no way to get back (no shuttlecrafts yet, eh?). Also, a poorly made-up alien dog is split in two as well. And dies! A thousand Trekkies weep.

The episode is amazing for the scenery chewing that Shatner pulls off, as well as the basic concept it posits that everyone has a good and dark side. Many subsequent Trek episodes and sci-fi series would rip off "The Enemy Within," but rarely has it been topped.

2. Where No Man Has Gone Before (Season 1)

Trek's second pilot is the stuff of perfect sci-fi: Compelling action mixed with heady, effective, and at times emotional drama. It finds a perfect balance between delivering on Gene Roddenberry's "Wagon Train to the Stars" premise and the ethically challenging landscape of the morality play.

With the first (rejected) pilot's Captain Chris Pike and company replaced by Kirk and Spock, the Enterprise's new…ish mission gets off to a quick and violent start: The ship encounters an unknown energy barrier at the galaxy's rim that turns Gary Mitchell, Kirk's best friend and helmsman, into a mortal enemy. Mitchell, not a warm and friendly guy to begin with, develops ESP powers, to the point where he goes from levitating cups to reading the thoughts of the entire crew. As Mitchell becomes an increasing threat to Enterprise, Spock helps Kirk make the tough decision – exile his friend to a barren planet, and kill him, if necessary, to save the ship.

The episode introduces the Trek staple of Kirk and Spock's relationship; the emotionally restrained Vulcan playing conscience to Kirk's passionate cowboy diplomacy. It also introduces the rule of thumb that whenever Kirk gets into a fist fight, his tunic must be torn. For years, we thought all close quarters combat (CQC) wasn't CQC unless we showed off some Shatner chest, too, but we digress. The Captain's first duty is to his crew, and it often comes with the price being that of your dearest blood. "Gone Before" introduces that consequence of being the Enterprise captain, one which Kirk would suffer until the end of his career. This pilot gave birth to two icons in the making and a series that would become what it is today. Only the best science fiction can pull that off.

5. The Trouble With Tribbles (Season 2)

Attention must be paid to an episode DS9 sent its characters to revisit and pay homage to. "The Trouble with Tribbles" could have crashed and burn -- fuzzy, purring, Wookiee-pellet looking things on a space station full of Klingons sounds like a recipe for disaster. Instead, the episode earned a place as a permanent fan-favorite, and established Trek's unique brand of light comedy that would be later explored in the likes of Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home.

While a bogus distress call sends the Enterprise to protect a space station's hold of quadrotriticale , a special grain worth quite a lot to the Klingons, Kirk reluctantly keeps the peace as the "born pregnant" tribbles multiply and eat everything in their sights, including the grain. An ol' fashioned bar room brawl breaks out, a human saboteur is revealed to be a Klingon in disguise and the tribbles save the day. It's amazing how these events, under the microscope, might make a Trekkie scratch his head, wondering how the heck this ever worked out well. But watching the episode again, and again, indicates why this is Classic Trek.

4. Space Seed (Season 1)

If not for this gripping first season episode there would never have been Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, widely considered the best Trek film to date. The Enterprise comes across the derelict vessel Botany Bay adrift in space, and Kirk awakens its crew from suspended animation in order to prevent their deaths. Bad idea. It turns out they are genetically-enhanced supermen from the Eugenics Wars of the 1990s (remember them?) led by Khan Noonien Singh (the late, great Ricardo Montalban).

Boasting a bigger ego and appetite for women and military glory than his rescuer Captain Kirk, as well as a snazzier wardrobe, Khan has designs on capturing both the Enterprise and the heart of artsy redhead Lt. Marla McGivers (Madlyn Rhue). The episode features a great mano a mano brawl between Kirk and Khan, something the ship-bound Wrath of Khan didn't, as well as plenty of clever verbal exchanges between the two foes. Kirk's climactic decision to settle Khan, McGivers and his men on Ceti Alpha V would decades later cost his best friend Spock his life.

3. Mirror, Mirror (Season 2)

Spock in a goatee! The Mirror Universe, a place of alternate realities and a lot of guys wearing sashes, was a relatively new concept when TOS explored it during its second season. Now, the Mirror Universe is a sci-fi staple traded and used across many mediums, with Trek having gone to the well a few more times too.

Arguably one of the most memorable episodes of Trek that even non die-hards can single out, "Mirror" finds Kirk and company the victims of an ion storm and sent to an alternate reality where the Federation's tree-huggers have been replaced by the Imperial Empire's warmongers. Kirk, Uhura, Bones and Scotty assume the roles of their doppelgangers, while their evil counterparts occupy the brig back in the regular universe until Spock can figure out how to remedy the situation. The I.S.S. Enterprise is a warship, home to a very Ming-looking Spock who is quick to figure out that a few things don't quite gel on his ship. When Mirror Spock's Kirk disappeared, that captain was this close to being on the receiving end of a mutiny. In the end, Mirror Spock helps Kirk restore the balance, while Kirk shows Mirror Spock that just because he is a soldier doesn't mean he has lost his logical, ethical core.

What it would be like to find yourself in an alternate reality paved in blood and war is something Trek would revisit and expand upon on both DS9 and Enterprise. But "Mirror, Mirror" did it first, and maybe best.

2. Balance of Terror (Season 1)

This TOS episode established Trek's universal "Run Silent, Run Deep" approach to space combat. It's also our first encounter with the Romulans, and it provided Captain Kirk with one of his earliest opportunities to show his crew that he doesn't like to lose. The episode puts Kirk front and center in a game of cat and mouse on the border of the Romulan Neutral Zone, where the Enterprise -- originally sent to investigate why the outposts there have gone silent -- finds a Bird of Prey and a Romulan commander ready to remind the galaxy why it never should have turned its back on the Empire.

"Terror" builds up to a big reveal of the Romulan Commander, but it is somewhat anti-climactic with the Romulan looking like a more pissed-off Vulcan. (Mark Lenard, who appears as the Romulan here, would also play Spock's father throughout the series and movies.) But the reveal did mark the moment in Trek canon when we learned that Vulcans and Romulans are distant cousins. While the battle scenes are tense and aplenty, the episode stands out for how it begins and ends, with a wedding that eventually leaves the newlywed a widow during the attack. This loss hangs over Kirk's head and his bittersweet victory, and helps make this episode one of the best Trek has ever produced.

1. The City on the Edge of Forever (Season 1)

This beloved first season episode, originally written by Harlan Ellison, brought Captain Kirk and Mr. Spock to Depression-era New York where they must locate and prevent a drug-addled Dr. McCoy from changing the course of history. The focal point of this mission is Edith Keeler (Joan Collins), a social worker at an inner city mission whose pacifist ideals and moving speeches will one day have such an effect on the nation that America's entry into World War II will be delayed ... a fateful change that allows the Nazis to win the war and conquer the world. McCoy had somehow prevented Edith from dying in a traffic accident as she was meant to, so Kirk is posed with the horrible decision to allow her to perish when the opportunity presents itself.

Unfortunately, Kirk being Kirk, he falls in love with Edith. Can he still go through with it in order to ensure that, someday, the Nazis will be defeated? This beautiful story poignantly establishes the maxim later explored in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan : the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few, or the one. Kirk's reaction before beaming up at the end of the episode is one of William Shatner's most moving moments in all of Trek .

Looking for more classics? Take a look at our list of the best sci-fi movies of all time for a trip down memory lane.

Note: This article was originally published in 2016 and updated in 2022 to fix formatting.

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Star Trek: The Original Series episode guides - All TOS episodes rated, reviewed

In those days before the Federation had continuity, there was Star Trek: The Original Series. Watch the TOS stories in any other you wish; it rarely matters, as essentially every single episode in TOS is a bottle episode. Ultimately, however, many TOS episodes are retconned into prequel stories (e.g. “The Menagerie”, “Space Seed”, “City on the Edge of Forever”), sequels (e.g. “Mirror Mirror”) or even crossovers (“The Trouble with Tribbles”) for the other series and movies.

Star Trek: The Original Series – the seaons, the key episodes

Season 1 – In the 1960s, TV was a different beast. Serialization (and thus continuity) was essentially non-existent. Each story plays out over a single episode only (with one exception in three years of Star Trek), thereby not allowing for much character development each season of Star Trek’s original run is really barely indistinguishable from another – but at lest that means that season 1 isn’t filled with the “growing pains” every other ST series goes through. The biggest highlights in Star Trek’s first year has got to be “The Menagerie” (episode #s 11 and 12), an eerie story of Captain Kirk’s doomed mentor Captain Pike, and “City on the Edge of Forever” (#29), a neat twist on the traditional “preserve the past” time travel tale. Also of note: “Space Seed” (#22), the introduction of Star Trek II baddie Khan.

Season 2 – Ensign Chekov joins the bridge crew for season 2, which manages to have some fun in the explicitly comic “Trouble with Tribbles” (#15) and the absolutely bananas “Assignment: Earth” (#26). And Spock fans dig on “Amok Time” (#1) and Journey to Babel (#10) for the info doled on that wacky Vulcan culture.

Season 3 – As mentioned above, a fan campaign saved Star Trek for a third series, but NBC executives were not enthused about supporting the marginally successful series and cut the show’s operating budget in half. However, Star Trek Guide must say that tripling the budget could not save scripts like those for “Spock’s Brain” (Can all Vulcans live without a brain or just Spock?), “Specter of the Gun” (Scotty’s dead because he *thinks* he’s dead?) and “The Savage Curtain” (Kirk, Spock, Vulcan hero Surak and Abe Lincoln vs. Genghis Khan, Klingon Empire founder Kahless, 21st-century Earth dictator Mr. Green – who did it in the kitchen with a revolver – and fuzzy chick Zora?) Dude.

Star Trek: The Original Series; A Sociocultural Sling Shot Back into the 1960’s

“The Enterprise is home.” —Captain Kirk, Star Trek: The Original Series, “Tomorrow is Yesterday.”

Gene Rodenberry’s television series Star Trek (1966-1969) was humanity’s warp drive into the future as science fiction became science fact. The television series inspired technological innovations and pushed socially constructed boundaries, exploring new sociocultural and political worlds, and yes—”bolding going where no [hu]man has gone before.” Writers of the series brought important issues into American television sets during the 1960’s, crossing many boundary-lines which included, but not limited to, the Sexual Revolution, the Women’s Rights Movement (“second wave” of feminism), Civil Rights, the Black Power Movements, anti-war movements, the Cold War, nuclear weapons, decolonization, communism, terrorism, the Space Race, technological advances, computers and robots, individual and collective identities, and of course, the human condition.  I argue that new viewers must sling shot themselves back into the 1960’s to imagine how The Original Series impacted our past and present, and how the new Star Trek series and films continues to evolve, pushing today’s sociocultural and political boundaries.

In the essay, “To Boldly Return Where Others Have Gone Before: Cultural Change and The Old and New Star Treks,” Clyde Wilcox writes, “…cultural change has altered the mission of the Enterprise and the interactions of its characters. The original Star Trek extrapolated a future where women played traditional roles [sling shot yourself back], where violence of the culture was evident in the universe at large, where the enemies of the Federation resembled the current enemies of the United States…the New series projects its cultural assumptions as well…” (99).  Star Trek’s writers inject the scripts—past and present—with a vision for the future.

Original cast member Nichelle Nichols, who played Lieutenant Uhura represented African Americans collectively and “…said Martin Luther King Jr., persuaded her not to leave the show…saying Star Trek was the only show he allowed his children to watch and that, according to her autobiography, she was the only African American on TV in a role worth having…” (Wachter 11).  Lieutenant Uhura and Captain Kirk had the first interracial taboo kiss on American television in the episode, “Plato’s Stepchildren.” Today, an interracial kiss is far from taboo, and certainly not controversial. Rodenberry crossed the color-line.

Additionally, the original series inspired LeVar Burton, who later played Geordi La Forge in Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987-1994). Burton states, “’Star Trek’ was one of the few representations of the future that included me…represented that hopeful aspect…I wanted to live in” (Kramer 1).  In the YouTube interview “Whoopi Goldberg Talks About Star Trek,” Goldberg states that she called Gene Rodenberry and pursued a cast role. Rodenberry initially did not think she was serious about joining the Star Trek crew.  Goldberg says it was a huge deal for her to see Lieutenant Uhura in The Original Series and that “If you watch Sci-Fi from the 40’s, 50’s and 60’s you don’t see anybody [black]” and that “there had never been any black people in the future, and I would like to do that for some other kids.” Rodenberry then wrote the Guinan character, based on Texas Guinan, into the series. Other cast members represented an even more culturally and racially diverse crew. Today, new viewers may find The Original Series “lacking or limited in scope and view” however traveling back in time is necessary for context. Indisputably, Rodenberry and his writers created change.

Writers are co-creators for our future and through science fiction a new future can be written. In Star Trek: The Original Series, “Tomorrow is Yesterday,” due to an anomaly, the starship Enterprise traveled back in time to the 1960’s and is mistaken as a UFO. A United Air Force pilot pursues the “UFO” and is accidently destroyed by the Enterprise’s tractor beam. The pilot is beamed up to safety via the transporter. Care is taken to return him back in time prior to contact to erase his memory of future technologies which may fall into the hands of “someone” that could alter history. Technology in the hands of the wrong individual may pose a threat. Spock, a “half breed” who is half human and half Vulcan, makes time warp calculations in his computer-like mind to solve their problem. To look ahead we must look behind. This episode crosses the science fiction technology-line.

In Building Star Trek , science fiction has become science fact, and the original series inspired and still inspires innovation for new technology: In Star Trek: The Original Series, the Romulans had a secret cloaking device, making them invisible; at the University of Rochester, a similar cloaking device can hide an object: NASA is working on a transporter device, making communication into deep space possible: Google is advancing a universal language translator: Tractor beam—no problem—was figured out by New York University’s Physics Professor David Grier, on a small scale.

Sling shot from Rodenberry’s Star Trek: The Original Series (1966-1969), and through history with The Next Generation (1987-1994) , Deep Space Nine (1993-1999) , Voyager (1995-2001) , Enterprise (2001-2005) , Discovery (2017-Present) and Picard (2020-Present) which were all imagined for a better future, pushing many visible and invisible boundaries. Seeing outside our own timeline and human condition is needed if more boundaries are to be crossed and problems to be solved, now and in the future.

Interesting facts: The U.S.S. Enterprise, original television series model starship, was respectfully retired in the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum on July 1, 2016.

“Live long and prosper ”—Spock. Leonard Nimoy explains the Vulcan hand gesture is from the Hebrew alphabet and represents a Jewish blessing ( https://youtu.be/DyiWkWcR86I ).

Works Cited

Building Star Trek . By Mick Grogan. Dir. Mick Grogan. Smithsonian Channel, 2016. Documentary. 27 March 2021. <www.imdb.com/title/tt6071476/>.

Kramer, Miriam. How ‘Star Trek’ Vision of Future Inspired Next Generation Actor LeVar Burton . Space.com, a TechMediaNetwork company, 28 September 2013. 27 March 2021.

MyHarto. Whoopi Goldberg Talks About Star Trek . Comp. Hannah #DARETODREAM. 5 May 2015. YouTube Interview. 27 March 2021. <www.youtube.com/watch?v=gUmMBF7uYLQ>.

Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum . n.d. Website. March 2021.

Star Trek: The Original Series, “Plato’s Stepchildren” . By Meyer Dolinsky. Dir. David Alexander. Prod. Gene Rodenberry. 1968. Television Series.

Star Trek: The Original Series, “Tomorrow is Yesterday” . By D.C. Fontana. Dir. Michael O’Herlihy. Prod. Gene Rodenberry. 1967. Television Series.

Wachter, Paul. Famous for its history of diversity, ‘Star Trek’ gets its first black female director . 22 January 2020. Articl. 27 March 2021. <www.undefeated.com/features/famous-for-its-history-of-diversity-star-trek-gets-its-first-black-femail-director/>.

Wilcox, Clyde. “to Boldly return Where Others Have Gone Before: Cultural Change and The Old and New Star Treks.” Extrapolation 33.1 (1992): 88-100. 2021.

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The Only Major Actors Still Alive From Star Trek: The Original Series

Gene Roddenberry's celebrated sci-fi TV series "Star Trek" debuted on September 8, 1966, and it recently celebrated its 57th anniversary. Initially, "Trek" wasn't terribly popular, and it only managed to make a third season thanks to a coordinated letter-writing campaign (a campaign that Roddenberry was accused of orchestrating and encouraging himself). It wouldn't be until after "Star Trek" was canceled in 1969 that its popularity would significantly begin to grow. 

Thanks to a sweet infinite syndication deal, "Star Trek" reruns were common, and a cult began to form. By the early 1970s, the first "Trek" conventions began to appear. Naturally, conventions were a great place for the show's stars and creators to congregate and share production stories with a rising tide of obsessives. Fans were able to talk to and get autographs from William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, DeForest Kelley, Nichelle Nichols, Majel Barrett, Walter Koenig, George Takei, James Doohan, and Grace Lee Whitney, as well as many of the show's more supporting players. 

Many decades have passed, but the surviving "Star Trek" cast members, now in their 80s and 90s, still appear at conventions to share details of their now-long and storied careers. Over 57 years ago, they were at the start of a phenomenon; none of them could have likely predicted just what a massive impact "Star Trek" would have on the pop culture landscape. Three members of the original "Star Trek" cast appeared at Creation Entertainment's 57-Year Mission convention in Las Vegas, and one of them is already confirmed for the 2024 con  next August. 

If you're eager to get an autograph or merely to hear an amusing anecdote from across many decades of interaction with the "Trek" franchise at large, the following surviving actors will still happily oblige.

William Shatner

In March of 2023, Shatner, who played the resolute Captain Kirk on "Star Trek," turned 92, yet he still makes convention appearances. Stories have been told throughout Trekkie-dom that Shatner can occasionally be spiky at cons, but has clearly embraced them, even going so far as to say that fans are the future  of anything so deeply beloved as "Star Trek." Indeed, in many cases, fans care more about carrying on the legacy of a show than the studios; in many ways, Trekkies take the show more seriously than the people who make it.

Shatner has, of course, had a textured career. Some of his earlier films include adaptations of "The Brothers Karamozov" (in which he played Alexey) and "Oedipus the King" (in which he played a masked member of the chorus), as well as genre films like "The Intruder" and "Incubus." Although Shatner is best known for "Trek" — a common side-effect for most any actor who appeared on any "Star Trek" show — he forged an interesting acting career beyond ii. He appeared in the hit cop show "T.J. Hooker," and appeared in spoof films like "Airplane II: The Sequel" and "National Lampoon's Loaded Weapon 1." He released several notorious albums of speak-singing, and directed several documentaries about "Star Trek," including "The Captains" and "Chaos on the Bridge." 

Shatner also authored several "Star Trek" novels and even launched his own modestly successful sci-fi book series with "TekWar" (ghost-written by Ron Goulart) in 1989. He won two Emmys in 2004 and 2005 for his role as Denny Crane in "The Practice" and "Boston Legal." He's also an equestrian enthusiast and has won a few horseback riding awards. Shatner is spry for 92.

George Takei

In 2019, George Takei , who played the practical and intelligent Hikaru Sulu on "Star Trek," authored a graphic novel all about his childhood experiences of being rounded up and imprisoned in a Japanese internment camp during World War II. Takei was born in Los Angeles in 1937 (he's the only main cast member from the original show who is an L.A. native), and recalls being held against his will by the U.S. government as a child. It may have been that experience that made Takei as political as he is. In the early 1970s, after "Star Trek," Takei ran for a set on the Los Angeles City Council, and served as an alternate delegate at the 1972 Democratic National Convention. At conventions, Takei has spoken at length about his beliefs in civic infrastructure, encouraging L.A. to improve its long-beleaguered public transportation.

Takei came out as gay in 2005, revealing that he had been with his long-term partner, Brad Altman, for the last 18 years. He and Altman married in 2008, one of the first same-sex couples to be granted a marriage license in West Hollywood, California. Takei has been an outspoken queer rights activist ever since, raising money for charities and speaking at charity events regularly. He makes appearances at fan conventions on the regular. 

As an actor, Takei began reading English-language dubs for imported Toho monster movies prior to "Star Trek." He also starred in movies like "The Green Berets" and "Mulan." On TV, Takei guest-starred on many, many programs, including a notable regular role on the hit show "Heroes." His deep voice also afforded him an opportunity to regularly contribute to dozens of animated programs, most recently in Max's "Gremlins: Secrets of the Mogwai."

Walter Koenig

There were rumors circulating through the Trekkie community for years that Walter Koenig was hired to appear on the second season of "Star Trek" because the then-30-year-old actor looked an awful lot like Davy Jones from "The Monkees." This wasn't the case, but Koenig provided a youthful, heartthrob quality with his character, Pavel Chekov. His character was Russian, a notable character decision to make in the mid-1960s as the U.S. was still embroiled deeply in the Cold War. Chekov was a symbol that peace would eventually come. Koenig was never anything less than 100% committed, and reacted to extreme sci-fi scenarios with fire and aplomb. 

In the early '60s, the actor worked his way through smaller roles in multiple well-known TV series like "Mr. Novak," "Gidget," and "I Spy" before joining "Star Trek" in its second season. After, he continued apace, working on TV regularly, eventually landing a recurring role on a second beloved sci-fi series  "Babylon 5." He has also stayed a part of "Star Trek" up until the present, having provided a voice cameo in the most recent season of "Star Trek: Picard," as well as reprising his role as Chekov in the semi-professional and well-respected fan series "Star Trek: New Voyages." He's also dabbled in many amusing B-movies like "Mad Cowgirl" and "Scream of the Bikini," as well as animated shows like "Stretch Armstrong and the Flex Fighters."

Additionally, Koenig has served as an advocate for civil rights in Burma, having visited refugee camps there. Koenig still appears at conventions, happy to talk about his various projects and acting endeavors. Just please, whatever you do, don't ask him to say "nuclear wessels." The man just turned 87. He deserves a break from that. 

What Fans Don't Understand About Star Trek: The Original Series

Star Trek debut in 1966 with William Shatner leading the Enterprise as Captain Kirk. Yet, there's a lot fans get wrong about Gene Roddenberry's show.

• Star Trek: The Original Series was a modestly produced TV show in the 1960s that grew into a massive pop culture franchise.
• The show reflected the era in both positive and negative ways, capturing the optimistic energy of the 1960s but also displaying dated aspects in terms of diversity and gender representation.
• The Original Series faced limitations in pushing its desired characters and stories, resulting in issues with representation and objectification of women, which have become more evident over time.

Few, if any, shows in television history have had the influence of the original Star Trek , which aired from 1966 to 1969 on NBC. Creator Gene Roddenberry sold it as " Wagon Train to the stars," evoking a popular TV western at the time that has since been eclipsed by the space opera that it inspired. What started as an interesting new wrinkle on the Buck Rogers formula eventually became a phenomenon, inspiring multiple spin-offs and movies as well as a bonanza of ancillary products. Today, Star Trek is one of the biggest franchises in pop culture, with multiple shows currently in production and more on the way. All of it stemmed from the comparatively modest efforts of Star Trek: The Original Series .

Perhaps because of that, it's easy for modern audiences to scoff at the show's more dated material. It was very much a product of its time, and not all of it has aged well, especially in light of diversity and gender representation. Many of its stories and ideas reflect ideas that are no longer pertinent, and its trappings are often cheesy artifacts of the decade that produced it. None of that diminished its importance or influence, though it can sometimes surprise contemporary audiences approaching the show for the first time. Many of its eccentricities and problematic components can be explained (if not excused) by looking at the series in terms of the pop culture environment that created it. That allows the brilliant, groundbreaking aspects of it to stand out while providing proper context to the parts of Star Trek: The Original Series that aren't as timeless as its creators might like.

Star Trek Really Was Just a TV Show in the 1960s

How gene roddenberry lost control over the star trek movies.

Gene Roddenberry wanted to elevate science fiction when he proposed The Original Series to network executives. Before then, the genre had largely been relegated to children's programming featuring simplistic storylines and elementary visual effects. Roddenberry intended for Star Trek to speak to bigger ideas, and show the genre's real potential as serious storytelling on a weekly basis. It ultimately succeeded far beyond even his expectations, resulting in one of the most enduring franchises in pop culture. At the time, however, it wasn't a cultural phenomenon, and no one working on the show had any inkling of how successful it would be.

Roddenberry and his creative team were trying to make one show on a network filled with them, dedicated to occupying one hour in a weekly prime-time schedule, and nothing more. While they endeavored to tell smart stories with strong scripts, they were still adhering to established formulas. Every episode was a stand-alone drama with little follow-through, and they could often be silly or nonsensical. Perhaps most noticeably, the universe wasn't nearly as fleshed out as it became. Enemies like the Klingons and Romulans served the expedience of the story at hand, with little attention paid to how they might fit into a more expansive IP. The Federation itself was often depicted in such terms as well. Notions like canon and continuity were only loosely considered, simply because no one imagined that the show would still be watched and enjoyed decades after the fact.

That makes The Original Series look comparatively modest to modern eyes, especially in light of the more ambitious series that followed it. That included its share of bad episodes, wonky special effects, and ideas that didn't quite work as well as they should. Writers and key production people moved on, and the show's third season is generally considered a big step down from the quality of Seasons 1 and 2. All of which are aspects that any series on television might have shared. It wasn't until The Original Series had ceased production and the fan culture began to take hold in the 1970s that it grew beyond being "just a TV show" into the start of something special. The compromises, dated ideas and filler episodes came along with it, standing out all the more because of the property to which it was attached.

Star Trek Reflected The Era in Good and Bad Ways

Everything we know about star trek discovery, season 5.

The Original Series was very much a product of its time, just as Star Trek: The Next Generation was a product of the 1980s and Star Trek: Discovery reflects the late 2010s . The first show arrived amid the turbulence of the 1960s, with the Civil Rights movement encountering stiff resistance and the war in Vietnam tearing the country in two. In the midst of it all, the Apollo mission was literally shooting for the moon. The Original Series' greatest strength was tapping into the optimistic energy that NASA's efforts embodied, while revealing a brighter tomorrow that lay beyond the strife and turmoil of the era.

That naturally came with other aspects of the 1960s that haven't aged nearly as well. It embraced pop art in its imagery and visual look, resulting in outlandish and sometimes cheesy moments that look quite creaky to modern eyes. The bright colors were very much by design: color television was a recent development, and the network wanted to play up the benefits with a flashy aesthetic. That also extended to cultural mores and expectations that haven't aged as well. Cishet white men still tended to save the day, with everyone else relegated to supporting duties.

Fight scenes could be stiff, and often ridiculous, while many of the effects were beyond shoddy. For example, an environmental suit in an early episode was clearly assembled from a plastic shower curtain. Such qualities didn't raise many eyebrows when they originally aired, but have since become far more prominent simply because people still watch The Original Series far more than many of its contemporary shows that were guilty of the same problems.

Star Trek Wasn't Allowed to Go as Far as It Wanted

What made worf a better klingon warrior on star trek: the next generation.

Many of The Original Series' shortcomings came about simply because the series couldn't push the kinds of characters and stories that it really wanted to. Instead, it was forced to curtail issues such as representation and diversity in favor of prevailing norms at the time. The most egregious example is the way it handles women, which is both very progressive for the era and hopelessly misogynistic to modern eyes.

The show arrived during the rise of second-wave feminism, which The Original Series reflected by depicting more women in authority positions, often working alongside men on the USS Enterprise. Despite those advances, female characters were often objectified and portrayed as prizes to be won. They were also relegated to passive victim roles more often than not. The biggest example is Nichelle Nichols, who famously played Lt. Uhura on the series and was intended for a much larger role. Roddenberry intended to make the character third in command, and seen on the captain's chair whenever Kirk and Spock were on an away mission.

Star Trek Got This Character Wrong - And It Doomed the Kelvin Timeline

Uhura's role was scaled back, because the network had an issue with depicting a Black woman in a position of authority. Instead, Montgomery Scott became the commander when the captain and first officer were away, which made no sense since his normal station in Engineering was on the other side of the ship. Because of this, Nichols was close to quitting the series after the first season before a famous conversation with Civil Rights leader Martin Luther King, Jr. convinced her to remain. That arrived after the series' original pilot, "The Cage," was rejected in part because it depicted a woman (Majel Barrett's Una Chin-Riley) as the ship's second in command.

The problem has loomed larger with age, as a series ostensibly depicting women in positions of responsibility and authority often reduced them to eye candy. The franchises has improved in leaps and bounds in the ensuing years, with subsequent series delivering far more prominent parts for women, and the likes of Kathryn Janeway and Michael Burnham serving as the captains of their respective crews. It makes the dated mores of earlier series stand out all the more, particularly The Original Series where timely progress looks a good deal less impressive as the years go by.

It's indicative of the way the first series was put together: Star Trek wasn't built with a decades-long IP in mind, and much of the franchise's development has come on the fly as creators feel their way forward into the next chapter. It doesn't excuse The Original Series' shortcomings or prevent the occasional giggle at a dated costume or plot device, but it does explain how it was put together in the manner that it was. Very few shows can stand up to five decades of constant viewing, and even the very best -- like The Original Series -- can't help but show their age along the way.

Star Trek: The Original Series

In the 23rd Century, Captain James T. Kirk and the crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise explore the galaxy and defend the United Federation of Planets.

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How the Original &#8216;Star Trek’ Addressed the War in Vietnam

By: Roy Wenzl

Updated: November 3, 2021 | Original: September 7, 2018

When the TV show “ Star Trek ” first aired in the late 1960s, the program was nowhere near the blockbuster money machine of syndication and sequels it later became. Ratings were low. Only the sci-fi geeks cared. 

But in the 1970s, fans watching reruns helped helped breathe new life into the franchise—in part, because they appreciated how the show took risks, sometimes wading into the most divisive issues of the day.

Like the war in Vietnam .

The show's creator, Gene Roddenberry , says that setting the drama in space gave him the distance to address hot-button cultural topics. “It seemed to me that perhaps if I wanted to talk about sex, religion, politics, make some comments against Vietnam, and so on..." he said, "that if I had similar situations involving these subjects happening on other planets to little green people—indeed it might get by. And it did.” 

Killing Off the Pacifist

In early episodes, Roddenberry and the show’s other creators appeared to be more or less supporting America's interventionist role in the world, says cultural historian and author H. Bruce Franklin, history professor emeritus at Rutgers University and author of four books on the Vietnam war. Franklin also guest curated the '90s exhibit “Star Trek in the Sixties" at the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum. 

On April 6, 1967, for example, producers aired “City on the Edge of Forever,” in which Enterprise captain James T. Kirk stops his medical officer Dr. Leonard “Bones” McCoy from saving the life of Edith, a prominent peace activist. His reason? Because if she lives, she will prevent the U.S. from getting into World War II in time to stop the Nazis . It’s an episode where Kirk goes back in time to try and correct the timeline—while also falling in love with the woman who needs to die to correct it.

The episode’s Vietnam War subtext came to the fore in the script-revision process, says Franklin. While the original script focused on the tragedy of doomed love, with no reference to Edith's peace activism, the revised script shifts the story focus. In it, first officer Spock speculates that if Edith were to live, she might spread her pacifist ideas, slowing America’s entry into World War II and thus altering its outcome.

In the episode as it aired in 1967, Spock’s speculation became a major plot point whose subtext was the growing anti-war movement of the time. Asked 25 years later whether show runners intended the episode to contain contemporaneous anti-Vietnam-war references, producer Robert Justman replied, "Of course we did."

The Center Seat: 55 Years of Star Trek premieres Friday, November 5 at 10/9c on The HISTORY ® Channel

Support for Containing Communism

In “A Private Little War” (aired Feb. 2, 1968), the Enterprise crew discovers that their Klingon enemies have been arming one tribe on a primitive planet with flintlock muskets. After Kirk gives muskets to the other tribe, claiming it will create a balance of power, doctor McCoy strenuously objects. This excerpt from an episode transcript echoes the Cold War superpower tensions that led to America’s containment policy—and ultimate involvement—in Southeast Asia. Kirk even makes a direct reference to the Vietnam War:

MCCOY: I don't have a solution! But furnishing them firearms is certainly not the answer!

KIRK: Bones, do you remember the 20th-century brush wars on the Asian continent? Two giant powers involved, much like the Klingons and ourselves. Neither side felt they could pull out.

MCCOY: Yes, I remember. It went on bloody year after bloody year.

KIRK: What would you have suggested—that one side arm its friends with an overpowering weapon? Mankind would never have lived to travel space if they had. No. The only solution is what happened back then: balance of power.

“It’s what the U.S. was trying to do in Vietnam,” says Franklin, referring to the American efforts to limit Soviet expansion and deter a nuclear showdown between Cold War superpowers.

READ MORE: 8 Ways the Original 'Star Trek' Made History

As the Nation Soured, So Did the Show’s Creators

By early 1968, American public opinion about the war underwent a significant shift.

In February of that year, North Vietnam shocked the U.S. with the Tet Offensive , a massive surprise attack on American and South Vietnamese strongholds. A month later, American soldiers committed atrocities against Vietnamese civilians in the My Lai massacre . The takeaways were tough: The war was increasingly unwinnable. The U.S. government had been lying about that fact as it sent more young men to fight. And Yankees weren't always the good guys.

Around the same time, the show creators seemed to undergo their own radical shift. Case in point: “The Omega Glory,” episode 23 in the series’ second season, which is blatantly anti-war. To make his point, Roddenberry puts the Enterprise crew on a planet with two bitterly warring tribes, the Yangs and Kohms, with subtexts about biological warfare and the immorality of outside interference. If those names weren't obvious enough, the Yangs (Yanks) have somehow in their history obtained an exact copy of the original U.S. Constitution , and revere it as a sacred text—though they don’t understand it.

In the climactic scene, Kirk holds up the Constitution before the chief of the victorious warring faction, declaring that the document and its principles of basic human rights were written for all people, even one's enemies.

But while Kirk was touting America's ideological superiority, Franklin says, declaring that Communists (or Kohms) deserved the Constitution’s protections was a dangerous risk to take on television at that moment in history.

More than a decade after U.S. Senator Joseph McCarthy convened 1954 Senate hearings to identify and condemn anyone believed to have Communist sympathies, tens of millions of patriotic Americans still regarded Communists not only as enemies, but as toxic carriers of an ideological disease: "red fever." And even though mass anti-war protests had broken out around the country by 1968—questioning why young U.S. men were being sent across the world to fight and die to stave off Communism—there were still plenty who thought those protesters disgraced the most heroic, generous and decent nation on the planet.

The episode aired just days after the Tet Offensive ended, leaving nearly 4,000 American soldiers dead in only a month of fighting. Roddenberry’s message was timely.

“The Omega Glory” could have ruined Roddenberry, who was already pushing the show upstream against terrible ratings and pressure from NBC executives. By 1968, “Star Trek” was losing $15,000 an episode, the equivalent of $500,000 per episode today, says Marc Cushman, author of These Are the Voyages , a history of the show.

“Later on, when it became hugely successful, ‘Star Trek’ became an enormous industry, with a whole different set of values than what they had in the beginning,” says Franklin. “But in the beginning, they tried to say something.”

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A Complete Timeline of Star Trek

Star Trek stands as one of the most enduring and influential pop-culture franchises on the planet. From a comparatively humble cult TV series, it has expanded into an entire universe of speculative future history encompassing dozens of movies and TV shows. With more projects on the way, it doesn't look to slow down anytime soon. That can lead to a convoluted timeline, particularly in the early days when no one expected it to last as long as it has.

Star Trek: The Original Series producers didn't worry about what came before or after their show, and series creator Gene Roddenberry had a way of simply ignoring episodes he considered sub-par. Writers Michael and Denise Okuda are largely credited with firmly establishing a canonical Star Trek timeline during the expansion of the franchise following Star Trek: The Next Generation . That's resulted in a definable, if complicated, fictional history to chart the rise of the United Federation of Planets and its development through centuries of galactic history. Here's a breakdown of the Star Trek in-universe timeline, divided roughly by era.

The Early Years of Star Trek's Timeline Are Vague

Wrath of khan creates star trek's biggest plot hole, and the real-life explanation is hilarious.

The early years of Star Trek 's timeline run into a number of real-world continuity issues. This was most notable with the Eugenics Wars , which originally took place in the 1990s, but has since been retconned to an indeterminate point in the future. They're linked to the rise of genetically augmented humans who conquer and rule much of the planet, led by the notorious Khan Noonien Singh. The Eugenics Wars culminate in a Third World War, and the ensuing nuclear apocalypse all but destroys civilization. Khan and his followers escape the planet in a stasis ship, and await their rendezvous with Captain Kirk in The Original Series episode, "Space Seed."

The most important event after that arrives on April 5, 2063, subsequently known as First Contact Day. As depicted in Star Trek: First Contact , scientist Zefram Cochrane develops a faster-than-light engine and tests it in his vessel, the Phoenix . A Vulcan survey vessel notices the feat and makes first contact with Cochrane in Bozeman, Montana that evening. With the Vulcans' help, humanity quickly gets back on its feet. Hunger and poverty are eliminated by the early 22nd century, and even war itself has ended on the planet by 2113. A world government is established in 2150, uniting the globe under a single unifying body for the first time in human history.

Enterprise Reveals The Founding of the Federation

Why star trek: enterprise used shuttles instead of transporters.

The events of Star Trek: Enterprise begin just one year later, in 2151, as humanity launches its first earnest efforts to explore the galaxy. Captain Archer and the crew of the Enterprise spearhead the effort, resulting in key first contact with such important species as the Andorians and the Tellarites. It also comes with new conflicts, notably the Xindi crisis of 2153 which lasts for nearly a year. That is followed in 2156 by the Earth-Romulan War , which stretches out over four years. Humanity, Andorians, Vulcans, and Tellarites all join forces against the common threat, resulting in the defeat of the Romulans and the establishment of the Neutral Zone.

The victory leads immediately to the founding of the United Federation of Planets in San Francisco in the year 2161, organized by the four victorious species. Several decades of peaceful exploration and expansion follow, led by Starfleet vessels who set out to explore in the name of peace, coexistence, and scientific understanding. That marks the end of the events of Star Trek: Enterprise and a relative blank spot in the timeline for a little less than a century.

The 23rd Century Brings War, Peace, and The Original Series

The complete history of vulcans in the federation era of star trek.

With the exception of a few peripheral events, the next few decades are quiet as far as canon events go. The timeline picks up again properly with the beginning of Star Trek: Discovery as open war breaks out between the Federation and the Klingon Empire in the year 2256 . The war lasts for a year and proves costly to both sides, ending thanks to efforts of the USS Discovery to stabilize the political situation in the Empire. The Discovery vanishes approximately one year later during the battle with the rogue AI Control , jumping ahead in time to the 32nd century in the process.

With the end of the war comes another era of peaceful expansion and exploration. That encompasses the events of both Star Trek: Strange New Worlds and Star Trek: The Original Series , as Starfleet "boldly goes where no one has gone before." As the 23rd century continues, the franchise shifts to the first six big-screen Star Trek movies. That culminates in the events of Star Trek VI in 2293, resulting in the Khitomer Accords and long-term peace with the Klingon Empire . Captain Kirk is presumed dead a short time later as depicted in the movie Star Trek: Insurrection , officially bringing The Original Series era to a close.

The Next Generation Kicks off The 24th Century

10 best star trek: the next generation characters.

The early decades of the 24th century are another blank spot in the Star Trek calendar, marked by a few notable events but otherwise leaving a good deal open for speculation. The most important development during that time is the Battle of Narendra III in 2344 , where the Federation vessel USS Enterprise-C sacrifices itself to defend a Klingon colony from Romulan attackers. This results in a formal alliance between the Federation and the Klingons.

Star Trek: The Next Generation officially begins in the year 2364, with the Federation enjoying a golden age of peace and prosperity. The Enterprise-D under Captain Picard serves as Starfleet's flagship, conducting missions of diplomacy and peaceful exploration. The Enterprise first encounters the Borg in 2366 , during The Next Generation's Season 2 episode "Q Who." The Borg invade the Federation a year later, and come within a hair's breadth of destroying the Earth before the Enterprise crew saves the day during the Season 4 premiere, "The Best of Both Worlds Part II."

The Dominion War and the Delta Quadrant Mark DS9 and Voyager

How star trek: the next generation disserviced this fan-favorite character.

In 2369, a stable wormhole to the unexplored Gamma Quadrant opens near the planet of Bajor, kicking off the events of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine . What at first seems a conduit to a whole new sector of space soon becomes an existential threat. The Dominion is a powerful totalitarian government in the Gamma Quadrant ruled by a species of shape-shifting Changelings. The Dominion sets its sites on the Alpha Quadrant , and launches an invasion in 2373. The Federation is forced to rally its long-time foes in the Romulan Empire to its side, who join with Starfleet and the Klingons to finally defeat the Dominion in 2375.

If that wasn't bad enough, the Borg launch another attack on Earth in 2373, and again come perilously close to assimilating the entire Federation before Jean-Luc Picard and his crew put a stop to them during the events of Star Trek: First Contact. Amid it all, the USS Voyager vanishes in the year 2371, having been flung into the far reaches of the Delta Quadrant and launching a seven-year journey to return to Federation space.

The 24th Century Ends with Peace and Old Enemies

Star trek: lower decks paid off a deep space nine character arc.

The end of the Dominion War marks the beginning of another extended period of Federation-led peace. Voyager returns from its long journey in 2378 , and the Enterprise averts a surprise attack from the Romulan Empire in 2379 during the events of Star Trek: Insurrection . Beyond that, peace prevails, which leads the way to lighter Star Trek series such as Star Trek: Lower Decks (which begins in 2381) and Star Trek: Prodigy (which begins in 2383).

That comes to an end with the implosion of the Romulan Empire, whose sun is doomed and whose most militant factions sabotage any chance at Federation aid by orchestrating the destruction of the Utopia Planitia Fleet Yards on April 5, 2385. Two years later, the Romulan sun goes nova, seemingly killing Mr. Spock, who was attempting to halt the explosion and creating the Kelvinverse timeline of the 2010s big-screen Star Trek movies. It renders the Romluans a scattered and defeated people. Jean-Luc Picard is able to repair some of the damage done to the two powers in Star Trek: Picard, Season 1, then rejoin with his crewmates in Season 3 to defeat a unified Dominion/Borg attack on the Federation in the year 2402.

The Far Future Beckons

'we broke barriers': star trek: discovery star celebrates show's diversity.

Star Trek canon comes to a halt at the beginning of the 25th century after the events of Picard Season 3. That leaves a vast stretch of centuries that have not yet been defined in Star Trek canon, and will presumably be filled in by series to come. In that time, the Federation continues to expand until it is more than double the size it was in the 24th century. Then disaster strikes in the form of an event called The Burn, which instantly renders all dilithium in the galaxy inert in the year 3069. Every active warp engine detonates, causing widespread disaster and rendering interstellar travel exponentially more difficult.

The arrival of the Discovery in the year 3188 -- beginning with the premiere in Season 3 -- changes all of that. After destroying the tyrannical Emerald Chain, Captain Michael Burnham and her crew set about restoring the shattered Federation, which leads to the events of Discovery's final three seasons. With the series bowing out at the end of Season 5, subsequent Star Trek projects will have a new final frontier in the 32nd century -- uncluttered by earlier shows -- thanks to the leap forward in time.

Star Trek is currently streaming on Paramount+.

The Star Trek universe encompasses multiple series, each offering a unique lens through which to experience the wonders and perils of space travel. Join Captain Kirk and his crew on the Original Series' voyages of discovery, encounter the utopian vision of the Federation in The Next Generation, or delve into the darker corners of galactic politics in Deep Space Nine. No matter your preference, there's a Star Trek adventure waiting to ignite your imagination.

Created by Gene Roddenberry

First Film Star Trek: The Motion Picture

Latest Film Star Trek: Nemesis

First TV Show Star Trek: The Original Series

Latest TV Show Star Trek: Strange New Worlds

Cast Nichelle Nichols, Scott Bakula, Kate Mulgrew, Jonathan Frakes, Patrick Stewart, William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, Avery Brooks, Deforest Kelley, James Doohan

TV Show(s) Star Trek: Animated, Star trek, Star Trek Voyager, Star Trek: Enterprise, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Star Trek Lower Decks, Star Trek: Discovery, Star Trek: Picard, Star Trek: Prodigy, Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, Star Trek: Lower Decks

• Cast & crew
• User reviews

• In the 23rd Century, Captain James T. Kirk and the crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise explore the galaxy and defend the United Federation of Planets.
• A 1960's science fiction action adventure series set in the 23rd century based around the crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise, representing the United Federation of Planets (including Earth) on a five-year mission in outer space to explore new worlds, seek new life and new civilizations, and to boldly go where no one has gone before. The Enterprise is commanded by handsome and brash American Captain James Tiberius "Jim" Kirk ( William Shatner ). Kirk is advised by his two best friends Commander Spock ( Leonard Nimoy ) (last name unpronounceable to humans) the ship's half-human/half-Vulcan Science Officer and First/Executive Officer (i.e. second-in-command) from the planet Vulcan, and American Chief Medical Officer Dr. Leonard H. "Bones" McCoy ( DeForest Kelley ). Spock uses logic to solve problems but because he is half-Vulcan he has no emotions whilst McCoy gives Kirk advice with his human emotional feelings. Kirk takes the logic of Spock and the emotions of McCoy uses them both in his decision making. The trio are joined by a crew of approximately 430, including the Asian-American helmsman Lieutenant Hikaru Kato Sulu ( George Takei ), Russian navigator Ensign Pavel Andreievich Chekov ( Walter Koenig ), Swahili communications officer Lieutenant Nyota Uhura ( Nichelle Nichols ), Scotish chief engineer Lieutenant Commander Montgomery "Scotty" Scott ( James Doohan ), Nurse Christine Chapel ( Majel Barrett ) and Yeoman Janice Rand ( Grace Lee Whitney ). The series follows them as they confront strange alien races, friendly and hostile alike, as they explore unknown worlds. We see the Enterprise and her crew battle aliens, megalomaniac computers, time paradoxes, psychotic murderers, and even Khan Noonien Singh ( Ricardo Montalban ). The series is known for looking at then (1960's) hot topics such as sex, war, God, religion, politics, and racism and other things that make up the human condition (and what it means to be Human) through a lens of the future. The 79 (eighty if including The Cage (1966) ) episode television series, which was produced from 1966 to 1969, has now cult characters and has fans all over the world. — Marty McKee <[email protected]>
• It is the twenty-third century and together with the crew of the Federation starship Enterprise we travel across the galaxy to meet new and exciting life forms on distant planets. The eighty episode television series, which was produced from 1966 to 1969, has now cult character and has fans all over the world. — Harald Mayr <[email protected]>
• This is a very exciting show. It has action, pretty women and handsome men, science fiction, and very good stories which also relate to our lives here on earth. Captain Kirk is a famous Captain. He is the youngest Captain in the United Federation of Planets, or Federation for short. The enemies of the Federation are many, but two races which stand out are the Romulans and the Klingons. Both of these races are warlike, but they have different appearances. The first officer on Captain Kirk's ship, the Enterprise, is a Vulcan named Mr. Spock. Vulcans are known for their logic and lack of emotion. Sometimes logic works and sometimes human emotion is needed. Mr. Spock's mother was Human, so Spock does have some emotion. Also in the ship's crew are Dr. McCoy, an American Surgeon; Mr. Scott, or "Scotty", a Scottish Engineer; Mr. Sulu, an Asian Helmsman; Mr. Chekov, a Russian Navigator; Lt. Uhura, a female African Communications Officer; and Nurse Christine Chapel, a blonde female Nurse. There are, of course, many other crew members, and because the missions are dangerous, some of the men and women die in the course of investigations. You will learn about all of these men and women when you watch the show. It is very exciting, and it is also enjoyable to see the costumes that they wear, the Enterprise uniforms, and the crazy costumes that the alien men and women wear. There are many TV series and movies about the Enterprise and other Federation ships, but this original series is by far the best one. The special effects are not as complex as modern movies, but the stories are much more interesting. If you cannot obtain these shows on DVD or on your TV I will write synopses of each episode and try to entertain you so that you will want to see them someday. I recommend that you try to see them. You will enjoy them very much.

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The Star Trek “Origin” Movie Is Finally Going Into Production

The new Star Trek prequel movie is set to be revealed on the big screen. Probably.

For 30 years — from 1979 to 2009 — the longest wait between new Star Trek feature films was seven years. And, for most of that period, from the release of Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979) to Star Trek: Nemesis (2002), there was almost always a new Star Trek movie in theaters every two to four years. But after the wildly successful J.J. Abrams-directed reboot film in 2009, the release clip for Trek movies went from maximum warp to impulse power, to glacially slow. And now, by the time the next Star Trek movie hits theaters, it will have been about 10 years since the previous one — Star Trek Beyond — beamed into cinemas in 2016.

Since that time, for Trekkies, updates of a new Star Trek film have been very similar to the game football Lucy plays with Charlie Brown; just when a hypothetical movie sounds real, it gets snatched away. But now, there’s a glimmer of hope. Thanks to reports out of CinemaCon 2024, it looks like, the next Trek film is scheduled for release in either 2025 or 2026. But what’s it about? And will it really happen?

Star Trek 14 is “an untitled origin story”

The new “origin story” will be set before the 2009 reboot. But how many decades before?

During CinemaCon 2024, Paramount confirmed several in-development projects including a live-action GI Joe / Transformers crossover (teased in 2023’s Rise of the Beasts ), a hardcore Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles live-action movie, a remake of the sci-fi thriller The Running Man (from Edgar Wright), the confirmation of an Avatar trilogy, and the assertion that a new Star Trek feature film will go into production this year, with a release date soon to follow.

Since 2016 to now, there have been at least five different attempts to make a new Star Trek film, either as timey wimey direct sequel to Beyond (“Star Trek 4”) a one-off space mobster movie (Quentin Tarantino’s script) or something else entirely (Noah Hawley and Matt Shakman’s attempts that remain undisclosed). But now, although Paramount is reportedly developing a sequel to Beyond — which would feature the reboot cast from the 2009 film one last time — the next Star Trek movie is not that sequel, but instead, as previously reported , an “origin story” that “takes place decades before the 2009 Star Trek film that rebooted the franchise.” This movie has been confirmed to be directed by Toby Haynes ( Andor, Doctor Who ) with a script from Seth Grahame-Smith ( The Lego Batman Movie , Abraham Lincoln, Vampire Hunter) .

Wait? Wasn’t the 2009 film an “origin story?” While the answer to this question is technically a “yes,” the 2009 film (just titled Star Trek ) was also partially a time-travel sequel to the canon established in The Next Generation , and literally everything else in the Trek franchise up until that point. By saying the new prequel film takes place “decades before” the first reboot, this could hypothetically mean that the movie takes place in both the Prime and Kelvin timelines simultaneously.

TLDR: The Trek timeline diverged in the first reboot movie, beginning in the year 2233, so, a story set even a few decades before that divergence, in the 2210s or 2220s or earlier, would be consistent with all versions of Trek's future history. Presumably, the “origin story” won’t take place in the two decades between the prologue of the 2009 film (2233) and the main story (2258), because honestly, even for hardcore Trekkies that’s a big canon headache. So, sometime in the early 2200s, but before the 2230s is probably the best bet. And, even if the movie was set a bit earlier than that — say in the late 2180s or 2190s — we’d still be dealing with a very early point of Starfleet history that has never been depicted and that we know almost nothing about. Hence, if you squint — and don’t think about the prequel series Enterprise (2151-2161) too much — then yes, we’re looking at an origin story in which pretty much anything could happen.

Star Trek “origin” movie release date

One of the earliest shots of the USS Enterprise — from the 1964 Star Trek pilot episode “The Cage.” The new prequel film will likely be set half a century before this moment.

While some tweets out of CinemaCon seemed to indicate that the new Star Trek movie could hit next year in 2025 , TrekMovie confirmed that the “Untitled Star Trek Origin Story,” is on the Paramount slate for 2025 or 2026. TrekMovie also predicted that 2026 is more likely, writing, “If Paramount can move fast enough they could get the origin movie into theaters by 2026 — in time for Star Trek’s 60th anniversary.” Then again, 2025 is not impossible, it’s just cutting it a little close.

It should also be noted that the entire corporate entity of Paramount is reportedly close to a merger that would see it purchased by Skydance Media, the same production company behind the three existing J.J. Abrams-produced Star Trek reboots. If that deal is finalized soon, then, yes, this Star Trek feature film might actually happen very quickly. And if it doesn’t, there will still be plenty of new Star Trek shows streaming , not to mention the first direct-to-streaming standalone Star Trek movie, Section 31 , starring Michelle Yeoh, which will hit Paramount+ sometime later this year.

All the reboot Star Trek films (2009-2016) are currently streaming on Paramount+. The previous ten films (1979-2002) are all on Max.

• Science Fiction

A Star Trek Origin Movie Is Coming in 2025 From 'Andor' and 'Doctor Who' Director Toby Haynes

'Star Trek' (2009) director J.J. Abrams is attached to produce.

The Big Picture

• A new Star Trek prequel film, an "origin story", is in development, at Paramount.
• The Star Trek history before Kirk's missions on the Enterprise is largely unwritten, leaving room for creativity with the new film.
• Director Toby Haynes, known for Andor , is working on the film alongside writer Seth Grahame-Smith; a 2025 release window was announced at CinemaCon.

Star Trek may finally be coming back to the big screen. A prequel to the 2009 J.J. Abrams reboot of the franchise is in the works from director Toby Haynes . The news comes from Paramount's presentation at CinemaCon today, as reported by Collider's Steve Weintraub and Britta DeVore . With Haynes, who recently helmed six episodes of the acclaimed Star Wars series Andor , at the rudder, the film will be written by Seth Grahame-Smith .

So far, other details on the new film are scarce, but it will reportedly be an "origin story", taking place decades before the 2009 Star Trek film, which took place in 2255. That likely means that it will not feature the cast from the 2009 reboot, which has so far been difficult for Paramount to wrangle together for a fourth film, despite numerous attempts to do so . That doesn't necessarily mean that a fourth movie isn't happening: back in March, Paramount hired The Flight Attendant scribe Steve Yockey to pen a new script for the film. For their part, the cast is game as well, with Zoe Saldaña recently stating her willingness to return for a fourth mission on the USS Enterprise .

What Happened Decades Before Kirk's First Missions on the Enterprise?

The history of the Star Trek universe prior to the celebrated voyages of the Enterprise is largely unwritten. The first starship Enterprise 's adventures in the 22nd century were chronicled on the UPN prequel series Star Trek: Enterprise . That series ended with the founding of the United Federation of Planets in 2161, which leaves almost a century of mostly unexplored history between that and the history now being charted on Star Trek: Strange New Worlds (and the first two seasons of mothership show Star Trek: Discovery ).

At some point, the nascent Federation faces a devastating war against the Romulan Star Empire , while also engaged in a Cold War with the Klingons. The USS Enterprise will eventually be launched in the 23rd century, under the captaincy of Robert April, who has been briefly glimpsed on Star Trek: The Animated Series and Strange New Worlds , before being handed off to Christopher Pike . Apart from that, however, Haynes and Graeme-Smith have a near-blank canvas upon which to make their mark.

In addition to Andor , Haynes has also helmed episodes of Doctor Who , Sherlock , and Black Mirror ; his work on the latter series includes the episode " USS Callister ," a loving pastiche of Star Trek . Graeme-Smith wrote the novels Pride & Prejudice & Zombies and Abraham Lincoln, Vampire Hunter ; he worked on the story for the upcoming horror comedy sequel Beetlejuice Beetlejuice .

A new Star Trek prequel film is in development; no date has yet been set beyond a 2025 release window . Stay tuned to Collider for future updates.

Screen Rant

Star trek 4 has to happen in 2026.

Star Trek 4 is still in development, but J.J. Abrams' sequel needs to make a 2026 release date to celebrate a huge Star Trek milestone.

• Star Trek 4 is crucial for the 60th anniversary celebration in 2026 to honor the franchise's legacy with a big-screen mainstream blockbuster.
• Star Trek 4 is in development with new screenwriter Steve Yockey.
• Star Trek: Strange New Worlds offers an opportunity to honor the 60-year milestone with Kirk and Spock on the USS Enterprise.

Star Trek 4 needs to be released in 2026 to properly celebrate Star Trek 's momentous 60th anniversary. Star Trek: The Original Series premiered on September 8, 1966, and the franchise is going stong going into its sixth decade. The J.J. Abrams-produced Star Trek 4 is currently in active development with new writer Steve Yockey tackling script duties. Star Trek 4 has the opportunity to honor Star Trek 's 60th-anniversary milestone and continue the adventures of Captain James T. Kirk (Chris Pine), Spock (Zachary Quinto), and the beloved USS Enterprise crew in Star Trek 's alternate Kelvin Timeline.

In 1996, Star Trek celebrated its 30th anniversary with crossover episodes in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine and Star Trek: Voyager . DS9 's “Trials and Tribble-ations” sent Captain Benjamin Sisko (Avery Brooks) and his crew back to the 23rd century to save Captain James T. Kirk (William Shatner) and the USS Enterprise. Voyager 's "Flashback" featured Captain Kathryn Janeway (Kate Mulgrew) interacting with Captain Sulu (George Takei) and Commander Janice Rand (Grace Lee Whitney). However, Star Trek ’s 40th anniversary passed without much fanfare, although Star Trek Beyond was released in 2016 to mark Star Trek' s 50th anniversary. Star Trek 4 must now seize the opportunity to release in 2026 to honor Star Trek 's 60th anniversary .

Every Star Trek Movie Ranked (From Worst To Best)

Star trek 4 has to release in 2026 for star trek’s 60th anniversary, star trek beyond, the franchise's latest movie, was released in 2016.

The 60th anniversary of Star Trek in 2026 presents a perfect opportunity for the release of Star Trek 4 in tandem with wider franchise celebrations. Despite persistent interest from fans and cast members, a movie continuation of the alternate Kelvin Timeline has been in development hell for almost a decade. Star Trek 4 offers a return of the Chris Pine-led USS Enterprise cast for what has been dubbed its “ final chapter .” While details remain unknown, the timing for Star Trek 4 is crucial. Ten years after the release of Star Trek Beyond , Star Trek 4 must embrace the 60th anniversary deadline to avoid missing a huge opportunity.

Star Trek evolved from a groundbreaking science fiction show into a cult phenomenon.

A 2026 movie release would make Star Trek 4 the centerpiece of Star Trek' s 60th anniversary celebrations . Aligning with other franchise festivities to blend innovation, continuity, and tradition would appeal to longtime fans and modern audiences and offer a unique chance to celebrate everything and everyone great about Star Trek . Celebrating 60 years since Star Trek began and evolved from a groundbreaking science fiction show into a pop culture phenomenon and multi-decade global movement, Star Trek 4 could unify the franchise's legacy with a modern generation and pave the way for a new era of Star Trek .

Star Trek On Paramount Plus Can Also Mark Star Trek’s 60th Anniversary

But a new star trek movie in theaters is a bigger draw for star trek's 60th anniversary.

Paramount+ positions itself as " the home of Star Trek ," but uncertainties loom over the future of Star Trek content on the platform, with shows like Star Trek: Discovery and Star Trek: Lower Decks coming to an end. Multiple Star Trek series cancelations diminish Paramount+’s potential to celebrate Star Trek's 60th anniversary with a wide range of legacy characters through animation, archive footage, or live-action. In 2026, only two Star Trek shows are expected to be streaming on Paramount+: Star Trek: Strange New Worlds and Star Trek: Starfleet Academy.

Director Toby Haynes's Untitled Star Trek Origin Movie has been announced for a 2025 release.

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds is Paramount+'s best bet to honor Star Trek's 60th anniversary. Strange New Worlds is renewed for season 4 , which could potentially be released in 2026 following season 3's expected 2025 premiere. Since it also has Lt. Spock (Ethan Peck) and Lt. James T. Kirk (Paul Wesley) aboard the Starship Enterprise, Strange New Worlds is Paramount+'s best opportunity to honor Star Trek's 60 years . However, the return of Captain Kirk, Spock, and the USS Enterprise to movie screens in a multiplex blockbuster like Star Trek 4 would be an even bigger event to capture mainstream audiences in 2026 and give Star Trek 's 60th anniversary the prestige it deserves.

All Star Trek series (except Prodigy), and J.J. Abrams' Star Trek movies are available to stream on Paramount+.

Star Trek: Prodigy is available to stream on Netflix.

Star Trek movies I-X are available to stream on Max.

Star Trek 4

‘Star Trek’ Origin Story Movie Will Be Set Decades Before 2009 Film

CinemaCon 2024: The new project will be produced by longtime “Star Trek” steward J.J. Abrams

Paramount Pictures is ready to boldly go (again).

After rumors circulated earlier this year, Paramount officially announced a new “Star Trek” prequel film on Thursday, this time taking place decades before the original 2009 “Star Trek” feature.

“Andor” director Toby Haynes will direct from a script by Seth Grahame-Smith (who is also writing another hotly touted CinemaCon title, the third “Now You See Me” film). J.J. Abrams is returning to produce.

But then again, we’ve heard about a new “Star Trek” movie before.

During the run-up to “Star Trek Beyond” in 2016, it was revealed that a fourth film would reunite Chris Pine’s Captain Kirk with his deceased father (played, once again, by Chris Hemsworth). A year later, Quentin Tarantino approached Paramount about doing a “Star Trek” movie – this time as an R-rated gangster movie (based, in part, on the 1968 episode of the original series “A Piece of the Action”). In 2018 S.J. Clarkson, a TV vet who would eventually direct “Madame Web,” was hired to direct the fourth film in the Abrams-verse, but salary disputes led to Pine and Hemsworth leaving the project. That version was canceled in 2019 and Tarantino stated in 2020 that he wouldn’t be making his “Star Trek” either.

In November 2019 “Fargo” creator Noah Hawley was hired to write and direct a new “Star Trek” film based on his version of the series. A year later, this movie was canceled by new Paramount Pictures president Emma Watts. In 2021 “Star Trek: Discovery” writer Kalinda Vazquez was hired to write a version based on her original pitch, but a separate script was being developed by Lindsey Beer and Geneva Robertson-Dworet. The studio even set a summer 2023 release date for a new “Trek” (which “Trek” was the question).

In 2021 that release date was pushed to Christmas 2023, under the direction of “WandaVision” director Matt Shakman. Josh Friedman and Cameron Squires were brought on to retool the script. In early 2022 it was announced that the stars of the three previous “Star Trek” installments in the Abrams-verse would all be returning, although it was later reported that the actors had not entered negotiations to return.

In 2022 Shakman left “Star Trek” to join Marvel Studios’ “The Fantastic Four.” But just last month Steve Yockey was hired to write a fourth “Star Trek” movie.

Now, we are finally getting word of another film in development, with another writer/director team. But it’s not the first time that a “Star Trek” prequel script has been floated, as Erik Jendresen, cowriter of “Mission: Impossible: Dead Reckoning,” had submitted a script for “Star Trek: The Beginning” before J.J. had taken over and pitched his 2009 version. It depicted the Earth-Romulan War.

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