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Boldly go: Every 'Star Trek' series, ranked

The Final Frontier is full of some amazing television.

Star Trek Ranked Header GETTY PRESS

With over 800 episodes of space-based adventure logged, Star Trek is the sci-fi TV franchise to beat.

For more than 50 years, whether fans have followed the voyages of the Starship Enterprise or the animated antics of the Lower Decks  and Prodigy  crews, Star Trek has proven that it is endlessly imaginative and consistently inspiring. The franchise takes its Vulcan mantra of “Infinite Diversity, Infinite Combinations” to heart, offering series led by an ensemble of complex and supportive characters that act as guides and companions on trips to the strange new worlds that Star Trek helps audiences escape to on a weekly basis. From Captain Kirk’s original five-year mission (which unfortunately was curtailed after just three), to Patrick Stewart's return in  Picard , there’s something for everyone in the Final Frontier.

In honor of Star Trek: Discovery return to Paramount+ to finish off its fourth season this week, we have beamed down our definitive ranking of every Trek series. So replicate yourself a cup of tea, Earl Grey, hot, and see if your favorite made (ahem) Number One. 

11. Star Trek: The Animated Series (1973-1975)

Star Trek: The Animated Series Still

Credit: CBS via Getty Images

Unbound by live-action TV budget limitations, Star Trek: The Animated Series makes up for its low-fi animation and sometimes stiff pacing issues with an impressive execution of big sci-fi premises. From giant Spocks to flying plant dragons, TAS features truly out-there storylines that push the boundaries of what one would expect to find in Trek’s take on outer space. In the '60s. The Animated Series may not have the same respect or importance as other Trek shows, both animated and live-action, but TAS at least deserves some praise for its ambition and for trying to keep the franchise alive during its fallow period. 

Featuring most of the original cast returning to voice their iconic characters, along with several key writers from The Original Series , the Enterprise's brief run of animated adventures delivers a nostalgic, kid-friendly continuation of the voyages fans fell in love with in the '60s.

10. Star Trek: Short Treks (2018-2020)

STAR TREK: SHORT TREKS Still

Credit: Michael Gibson/CBS

An inventive and (mostly) satisfying mix of live-action and animated tales, Star Trek: Short Trek s acted as a bridge between releases of full seasons of Star Trek: Discovery and Star Trek: Picard, with side stories centered on key characters and aspects of the then-CBS All Access era of the franchise. The shorts, with run times between ten to 20 minutes, feature storylines that cater largely to Discovery fans, with appearances from fan-favorites Ensign Tilly (Mary Wiseman) and Captain Pike (Anson Mount) providing audiences with a peek at what happens in the periphery of the flagship series. These side missions allow the franchise to take one of its most unique and creative swings in its entire history; think Star Trek ’s version of Marvel’s “One-Shot” shorts. 

While not every installment feels necessary or particularly engaging — the Saru-centric “The Brightest Star” struggles to find a compelling pace that works well with its heartfelt glimpse into the alien’s homeworld — Short Treks does provide impressive visuals and interesting bits of connective tissue to make the experience of watching future Discovery episodes more whole. The highlights of this brief run of shorts include the distant future-set “Calypso,” with a teleplay by Picard Season 1 showrunner and author Michael Chabon, and the zany animated tale “Ephraim and Dot,” which director Michael Giacchino injects with a strong dose of Tom and Jerry -esque antics as his film pinballs between certain iconic events from Trek ’s extensive history on both the big and small screens. 

9. Star Trek: Picard (2020-Present)

STAR TREK: PICARD Still

Credit: Trae Patton/CBS

After a 26-year absence, Patrick Stewart and his iconic character of Jean-Luc Picard returned to the small screen in Star Trek: Picard . The highly anticipated, big-budget nostalgia play was a mixed bag of creative choices that fell somewhere between thrilling fan service and noble misfire. 

Picard finds the former Enterprise-E captain struggling to enjoy life on his family vineyard after a mission to save Romulan refugees forced him into early retirement. But, when an android-human hybrid shows up at his home, hunted by ninja-like Romulan assassins, Picard must boldly go once again into space to find out who this woman is, what she has to do with the late Lt. Commander Data (Brent Spiner), and how all of this ties together with the Federation’s work in helping former Borg drones re-enter civilian life. The elevator pitch for the first season is basically Star Trek: Blade Runner , starring one of the most beloved Trek characters in the Rick Deckard role. However,  Picard doesn’t bring much new to this premise, which sci-fi has more than adequately covered by now — and that’s unfortunate, because the last thing a Star Trek show should make one feel is a near-constant sense of “been there, done that.”

As fun as it is to see Picard, Data, and Jeri Ryan’s badass Seven of Nine back in action, it comes at the cost of some baffling and frustrating character choices, namely with Picard. For the first third of the series, we see a Picard who behaves in emotionally dishonest and unlikable ways. (For example, after the former Captain has a falling out with a dear friend and fellow officer, he never once checks in with her until years later — when he needs something.) To present a formerly selfless hero as someone who is now more selfish than ever before results in a profound narrative flaw at the core of this series, which progresses to a confounding finale where Star Trek cures death and no one bothers to even think about pointing that fact out. The limited success Picard does find, outside of impressive visual spectacles, are in the brief but rewarding scenes where our hero reunites with past Next Generation crew members or revisits certain dark areas of his traumatic past with the Borg. Here’s hoping Picard Season 2 packs more resonance with fans by affording the character more to do than just travel through other sci-fi’s great story ideas in search of his own. 

8. Star Trek: Enterprise (2001-2005)

Enterprise NX-01

Credit: CBS

UPN's attempts in 2001 to use Star Trek: Enterprise as a way to revitalize the franchise and make it more appealing to non- Trek audiences was, at the time, a risk that made creative sense. One that even occasionally paid off episodically. But the arrival of this prequel series arguably did more harm than good. (Remember those ads featuring The Calling's "Wherever You Will Go?" Woof.) 

By the time Enterprise premiered, executive producer Rick Berman had already created three other shows during his time as the franchise’s overseer, and his tenure with Star Trek at this point had a very “assembly line” feel to it. On paper, the idea of exploring the early days of Starfleet from the bridge of a pre-Kirk Enterprise seemed like the shot in the arm that Trek needed, one ripe with possibility. But in execution, the series struggled to find its identity or connect with audiences in the way previous shows or their significantly more compelling and likable ensemble casts did. Enterprise ’s first two seasons never quite lived up to the marketing’s promise of a more rough-around-the-edges, action-packed Trek . Most of their episodes could have existed on any other Trek series, which didn’t help Enterprise stand out among its trailblazing predecessors. 

The voyages of Captain Archer (Scott Bakula) and his intrepid crew really hit their stride in Seasons 3 and 4, however, especially in the latter. The show’s final season finally let Enterprise embrace its Trek- ness with callbacks to Original Series canon. (Mirror Universe FTW!) But, by then, it was too late. And that’s too bad, as Bakula brought a ‘90s-esque, Harrison Ford action hero vibe to the franchise as a Captain struggling to do what’s right and best for the galaxy’s future at a time when he is a vital figure in shaping it.

While we're here, let's give a special mention to the show's most underrated asset, Chief Engineer Trip Tucker (Conner Trinneer). He's basically McCoy and Scotty rolled into one.

7. Star Trek: Discovery (2017-Present)

Star Trek Discovery 402 PRESS

Literally going where no Trek TV series has gone before, in both scale and tone, Discovery is the most diverse and progressive Trek  so far, which is why it has, in part,  such a passionate fanbase. The series is a thematically-driven, character-first, action-packed depiction of a Starfleet charged with test driving their Utopian ideals in the middle of a war with the Klingons — all on the bleeding edge of the Final Frontier. 

While hardcore fans initially bumped against the show's darker elements, crying, "This isn't Star Trek, " after four seasons, those naysayers have seemingly come around to embracing Discovery ’s big-budget attempt to mix the current trend of “grounded and gritty” television with what makes Trek , well, Trek . After a bumpy first season launch, Discovery eventually found how to make that mixture work with its effortlessly entertaining Season 2, which brought the U.S.S. Enterprise from Captain Pike’s day into Discovery ’s prequel storyline. Combining the two crews and their histories allowed for a very entertaining season of fan-service highs, one that afforded Discovery to showcase one of Trek ’s strongest suits: Great characters. 

The dynamic established by Discovery’ s diverse and endearing ensemble allows the series to tell stories that do what all great sci-fi does — use a future setting to hold up a mirror to our very present reality. In doing so, Discovery delivered one of the franchise’s most fully-formed and likable heroes ever, starting with Sonequa Martin-Green's conflicted Michael Burnham. (We are also big fans of Season 1’s duplicitous, and fortune cookie-loving, Captain Lorca, played by Jason Issacs.) And while the first season’s Klingon War arc comes off half-baked and under-serviced, in favor of a season-arc involving the Mirror Universe, that detour is totally worth it for a late-Season 1 phaser battle that is among the best action scenes Trek has ever produced.

6. Star Trek: Lower Decks (2020-Present)

STAR TREK: LOWER DECKS Still

This first animated Trek show since the ’70s, Lower Decks is also the first outright sitcom in Trek history. 

Centered on the very junior, and very funny, crew of the U.S.S. Cerritos, Lower Decks premiered in 2020 on Paramount+ to quickly become one of the most talked-about and entertaining Trek series ever. From creator and showrunner Mike McMahan ( Rick and Morty ), Lower Decks is often a perfect mix of funny and Trek -level pathos. The show finds a unique and comical way to spin the mundane tasks of day-to-day life as a member of this plucky and endearing crew that embraces the best of Trek . This is a show featuring characters we laugh with but never at as they deal with the rewarding dirty work that Kirk and Picard’s crews never had time for. In doing so, Lower Decks manages to add a much-needed sense of levity by using memorable tropes and moments from Trek’s past to push the franchise and the overall story forward. 

5. Star Trek: Voyager (1995-2001)

Star Trek: Voyager Cast

Star Trek: Voyager made TV history by being the first Trek series with a female captain when it premiered 26 years ago. That long-overdue and inspired choice was one of the few things that held Voyager together as it, like most Trek series post- TNG , got off to a rocky start during its early seasons. Voyager arguably had one of the bumpiest of beginnings in Trek history, as the UPN series struggled from the jump to fully deliver on its great premise: Federation officers and their freedom fighter counterparts are lost in space, 70,000 light-years from Earth, struggling to get back home. What was intended to be a showcase for what happens when you have no starbases to repair battle damage or replenish supplies turned into Next Gen Lite ; only a handful of episodes in the back half of the series’ run truly achieved best-of status or came close to fulfilling the series’ core concept. Most of Voyager ’s run feels like each new ep is almost re-piloting the series, which makes Voyager feel like a show ironically searching for its own path just as its characters try to find theirs back to Earth. 

But what makes Voyager so consistently compelling to this day, aside from some of the series’ show-stopping space battles and a very likable cast, is Kate Mulgrew’s iconic Captain Janeway. Mulgrew invested Janeway with a fierce intelligence and endearing charm as she was both captain and “mother” to this crew, someone determined to get all of them home despite how many of the Delta Quadrant’s vast network of alien threats stood in her way. (Why she would sometimes prolong this mandate with exploratory detours that would risk depleting the ship’s already-low resources is debatable.) The introduction of former Borg Seven of Nine gave Voyager the shot in the arm it sorely needed. 

Seven’s addition to the cast inspired a Kirk-Spock dynamic between her and Janeway, giving the show a strong dose of conflict and humanity as the two characters butted heads just as often as they worked together to save this family from castaway status. It is too bad Voyager all but flatlined with a big, lackluster series finale that shows Voyager returning to Earth after seven seasons without giving its crew — or the fans — a dramatically satisfying homecoming. The series finale concludes with the baffling choice to relegate Voyager's arrival at Earth to the episode’s final scene, and stopping the show there. This momentous occasion plays like it were just another planet that the starship visited. Both the characters and the fans deserved a better final episode.

4. Star Trek: Prodigy (2021-Present)

Star Trek: Prodigy 106 PRESS

It’s fitting that Star Trek: Prodigy is a pseudo-sequel series to Star Trek: Voyager . Not just because the former features the latter’s iconic Captain Janeway in hologram form, but because Prodigy is another series about untested but likable heroes forging a found family in one of the most distant corners of the galaxy, the Delta Quadrant. And, in doing so, they give fans some of the most thematically well-told, character-driven stories in recent Trek history.

All the popular and expected Trek tropes are there — along with the appearance of legacy Trek characters. But Prodigy is the first show to tackle them through the welcomed POV of non-Starfleet characters. Our young heroes, led by the cocky-but-capable Dal, aren’t even trained or really know what a starship like theirs, the experimental Protostar, is. By having the characters serve as a surrogate for the audience, to put us at ground level with them as they have some very intense on-the-job training in the world of Star Trek , makes it so that every panicked breath they take or victory they earn feel like one of our own. That creative choice yields some truly resonate storylines (and feature film-worthy dramatic and comedic beats) that elevate Prodigy to being not just an excellent animated show for kids, but also just overall a great television series.

3. Star Trek: The Original Series (1966-1969)

Spock Star Trek: The Original Series 215 Still

Featuring the best first two seasons of any Star Trek series, the original adventures of Kirk, Spock, and McCoy are classic television for a reason. 

Aside from the uneven third season, plagued by budget cuts and behind-the-scenes creative issues, Star Trek ’s original voyages succeed largely by grounding their fantastic sci-fi concepts on the backs of characters you couldn’t help but root for. The show was one of the first series to have something to say, as creator Gene Roddenberry and producer/writer Gene Coon used the Enterprise and her crew to service themes and subject matter that were especially relevant to 1960s culture. In doing so, Star Trek created icons out of Kirk and the rest of his intrepid crew. It also set the standard for telling sci-fi stories on television in relatable and resonant ways that would inspire and fuel every subsequent Trek series. The first two seasons’ worth of storylines warp out of the gate with episodes centered on eugenics, the moral fog (and ethical cost) of war, what it means to be a captain when your best friend becomes your enemy, and, of course, the Mirror Universe. Never before or since has a Trek series premiered as close to fully-formed as this one does, with the Kirk-Spock-McCoy triumvirate headlining one of the most memorable and engaging casts in television history. Star Trek broke racial barriers with Nichelle Nichols as Lt. Uhura, and it used science fiction — and the way the Enterprise crew explored the vastness of space — as a way to give its very human audiences an opportunity to look inward and find what makes such exploration still worth taking. 

2. Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987-1994)

Star Trek: The Next Generation Cast

Credit: CBS Photo Archive/Getty Images

Pound for pound, you won't find a more consistent or entertaining run of Star Trek episodes than The Next Generation ’s third and fourth seasons. That's when this classic syndicated series found its narrative footing, after two very uneven seasons burdened with epic behind-the-scenes clashes among creatives. The show that emerged from all of that turmoil gave us Sir Patrick Stewart, the Borg, Star Trek ’s first cliffhanger ("The Best of Both Worlds, Part 1"), and several stone-cold sci-fi classics such as "Yesterday's Enterprise," "The Inner Light," "Cause and Effect," and the all-timer series finale "All Good Things". 

While TNG petered out creatively during its last two seasons, it managed to change the genre and the franchise in a way that still resonates today. The core characters (especially the meme-friendly likes of Jonathan Frakes’ Riker and LeVar Burton’s Geordi LaForge) are arguably more popular now than they were when the series premiered in 1987. We can credit that continuing popularity to the new (pun intended) generations of fans finding the show via streaming and helping ensure the legacy of this iconic Enterprise crew. 

Star Trek: The Next Generation is perfect TV comfort food at a time when we really could use it. Unlike The Original Series, TNG had the time and budget to flex its full potential and find unique opportunities for sci-fi drama that only the Final Frontier affords. In doing so, Next Gen made nothing short of TV history. 

01. Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (1993-1999)

STAR TREK: DEEP SPACE NINE

Credit: Paramount Television /Courtesy Everett Collection

One of the first pre-Peak TV series to embrace long-form, serialized storytelling, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine was and still is the bastard, rule-breaking stepchild of the Trek universe. And it is all the better for it. 

DS9 never found the ratings that its predecessor The Next Generation did, but it did find a deeper and more complex vein of sci-fi storytelling to tap into — one that has allowed the series to prove even more rewarding on subsequent rewatches. Released at a time when serialized television was often frowned upon, DS9 was more concerned with telling stories worth audiences’ time than complying with the times. The epic Seasons 3 through 7 embrace the diversity and heady themes that Trek is known for, by finding inventive — and, at times, harrowing — ways to bring intergalactic action and big emotional stakes to an anchored space station instead of to a flying starship. 

Prejudice, racism, PTSD, and humanity’s often tenuous grip on morality are the rich thematic tent poles that the series frequently thread its gripping characters and their addictive story arcs through — to much success. And while adding Michael Dorn’s Worf from TNG was an attempt to boost ratings in the space battle-heavy fourth season, it also brought a surprisingly effective jolt of tension and character growth to the core ensemble’s dynamic, as they faced a growing, casualty-heavy battle with The Dominion. The riveting dramatic possibilities provided by DS9 ’s unique mix of aliens and humans, friends and foes, helped elevate this underrated Trek installment to become the franchise's crowning achievement.

Watch Resident Alien Now!

  • Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
  • Star Trek: Discovery
  • Star Trek: Lower Decks
  • Star Trek: Picard
  • Star Trek: The Next Generation
  • Star Trek: The Original Series
  • Star Trek: Voyager

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Star Trek has truly reinvented itself

The sci-fi franchise is all TV these days, and there’s something for (almost) everyone

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Here’s a wild statistic: There are nearly as many currently running Star Trek television series as there are completed Star Trek television series. The first 40 years of the franchise’s history include five live-action series and one animated spinoff, totaling 725 episodes. In the past five years, five new series have launched (six if you count Short Treks as its own entity), airing a cumulative 130 episodes as of today. Star Trek as a brand is busier than it’s been since the mid-1990s, when Deep Space Nine , Voyager , and the Next Generation TV series were all running concurrently and shops around the world dedicated entire displays to Star Trek toys, novels, and video games.

Of course, television is an entirely different beast today than it was when Star Trek died its second death with the cancellation of the prequel series Enterprise in 2005. Like practically everything worth watching in the year 2022, Star Trek is now a product for paid subscribers, and it’s in the interests of intellectual property owner Paramount to have something new for Trekkies 12 months out of the year. Like the Star Wars and Marvel lines on Disney Plus, Paramount Plus maintains its grip on Star Trek fans via a constant flow of new seasons of different series. All five current Star Trek series have debuted episodes this year, their seasons usually overlapping for a week or two in order to discourage subscribers from lapsing. Since August 2021, there have been only nine weeks without any new Star Trek.

Most importantly, this prismatic approach to expanding the Star Trek universe has allowed franchise custodian Alex Kurtzman and his team of producers to experiment with a variety of formats and tones, enabling them to triangulate what it is that fans are looking for. This past year — its fifth since the relaunch began in September 2017 with Star Trek: Discovery — has seen that experimentation pay off in the form of the franchise’s best-received new series in decades, Star Trek: Strange New Worlds .

The modern Star Trek family now includes an ongoing series for every taste: Discovery for those who enjoy the high stakes and high drama of the modern feature films, Strange New Worlds for those who prefer the classic format and a lighter touch, Lower Decks for die-hard, trivia-loving Trekkies, Prodigy for young newcomers looking for an introduction to the universe, and Picard for… someone, theoretically. It’s been a long road getting from there to here, but the Star Trek franchise seems healthier than it’s been in ages, with each stumble along the way offering guidance so that the next season, the next series can better capture the feeling of hope, wonder, and family that has enraptured fans since 1966. The first five years of modern Trek have been a crucible, a shakedown cruise that has proven that Kurtzman’s blueprint is, on the whole, spaceworthy and poised to accelerate into further frontiers.

Boldly blazing the trail

Four members of the Discovery standing in a hallway holding up flashlights and gizmos, looking at bodies and sparks on the ground in front of them

It’s expected for any new Star Trek series to face heavy scrutiny from fans who are itching for a reason to disqualify it from the canon. Every single television installment has been initially rejected by the old guard of fans, even the now-sacrosanct Next Generation . (How can you have Star Trek without Kirk and Spock? Who’s this bald guy?) However, it’s fair to say that no new Trek series has endured as much loud and sustained vitriol as Discovery . One should immediately dismiss the outrage of anyone decrying that Star Trek has “gone woke,” as if progressive politics and racial and gender inclusion are not essential to the very essence of creator Gene Roddenberry’s stated objectives for the original series. ( Even original star William Shatner refuses to see this. ) These complaints about Discovery , which stars Black actress Sonequa Martin-Green in the lead role, became the bedrock for a loud and loathsome new subsection of Trekkies whose YouTube channels insist that no one watches “NuTrek” and that all these shows are going to be canceled any day now. (Of the five new series, only Picard has wrapped production, and that likely has something to do with its leading man turning 82 years old this summer.)

It can’t be ignored, however, that Discovery is a significant departure from previous Star Trek series in ways that could still put off a seasoned fan who engages with it in good faith. Discovery imported the visual language and aesthetic of the J.J. Abrams-produced reboot film trilogy (also hated by some Trekkies) into the “prime” Star Trek universe. With the glossier look also came a faster pace, heightened emotions, and a TV-MA rating as the producers attempted to bring the family-friendly franchise into the Game of Thrones era of prestige television. Discovery dove headlong into serialized storytelling, into which previous Treks had only dabbled. It was also the first Star Trek series that fans had to pay to watch, itself a source of frustration and controversy. Star Trek has always incrementally evolved, but Discovery was more different from its immediate predecessors than any of its older siblings were.

United Earth President and President Rillak standing and facing each other with a line of Starfleet officers standing behind Rillak. Behind them you can see the starry sky of space

It’s also the show that’s evolved the most since its launch, in many ways in a direction closer to its ancestors, becoming more optimistic and colorful and leaping ahead in time to avoid conflicts with established continuity. After years of dramatic retooling, Discovery has finally settled into a rhythm under co-showrunner Michelle Paradise, who took over managing the series in season 3. Where its first season was built around seeing how much shock and punishment its protagonist (and its audience) could endure, Discovery has since committed hard to the exploration of empathy and the celebration of love. It has become Trek’s most earnest incarnation, as occupied with big feelings as it is with big ideas. It may not be all the way great television, but it feels much more like the old familiar Star Trek than it did at the beginning without losing too much of its modern feel.

Arguably, Discovery has played defense for every Star Trek show that has followed. Without Discovery , not only would the acclaimed Strange New Worlds not exist as we know it, but it would likely have been subject to a slew of criticisms to which it now seems to be a response. Had Discovery not relaunched Star Trek as a modern serialized drama, would we be as happy to see Strange New Worlds return as an old-school procedural? If Discovery hadn’t thrown out the visual style guide and introduced new, “anachronistic” uniforms and technology, wouldn’t Strange New Worlds have taken more heat for its own design revisions? As lovable as we may find Anson Mount, could Trek’s legacy as a diversity-forward institution have survived if the face of its long-awaited return to television had been yet another straight, square-jawed white man? As the vanguard of modern Star Trek, Discovery has taken nearly all of the punishment, broken almost all of the new ground, and made it possible for the franchise to thrive in its wake.

Creating new legends

Picard flying a ship with a pop up interface in front o f him

Where Star Trek: Discovery was initially a prequel to The Original Series featuring a totally new set of characters and only a tenuous connection to the classic cast, Star Trek: Picard was the first modern Star Trek series to carry the continuity of the universe forward in the traditional way, with a mix of new and familiar faces. The first season of Picard , run behind the scenes by author Michael Chabon, catches up with a retired Admiral Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) after 20 years of failure in both his personal and professional lives, finding a new purpose amongst a young motley crew.

Picard follows the now-familiar path of the “legacy sequel,” in which the star of a long-dormant series returns to pass the torch to a new generation. With one important exception: It never actually passes the torch. Over the course of its first two seasons, Picard fails its own characters time and again, unable to commit to a steady characterization or cogent story arc for anyone except for Alison Pill’s Dr. Agnes Jurati — who, like most of the new breed, has now been written off the show so that the entire Next Generation cast can reunite in season 3. The tragedy of this isn’t just that a troupe of actors have just lost their jobs to an ensemble who’s been dragged out of retirement, but that these discarded characters will not be missed. No one will be too choked up that Elnor and Worf won’t be charging into a fight together, or that we’ll never see Cristóbal Rios at the poker table across from Will Riker, because the gang from La Sirena has never felt equal to Picard’s Enterprise family. The second season simply made it clear that passing the torch was not a priority, and that the show’s younger cast was merely the backup band for Patrick Stewart and perpetual Special Guest Star Brent Spiner.

star trek series reddit

Happily, other branches of the franchise have found a much healthier balance of nostalgia and newness. The decision to make Discovery ’s Michael Burnham the adopted sister of Spock seemed a bizarre one at first, but their relationship has turned into a boon for both characters, adding texture without becoming a distraction. The animated sitcom Star Trek: Lower Decks is absolutely littered with callbacks, cameos, and references to Treks past, but its lead characters, Beckett Mariner (Tawny Newsome) and Brad Boimler (Jack Quaid), have nevertheless emerged as true stars, and the series sports modern Trek’s most robust and memorable secondary cast. The kid-targeted animated adventure Star Trek: Prodigy features a returning Kate Mulgrew as a holographic Janeway, but her role as a mentor rather than a lead has allowed the show’s new characters to thrive in a way that Picard ’s never did. Even Strange New Worlds , which features multiple “legacy characters” (Pike, Spock, and Uhura) in its ensemble, shows the same amount of love and care to those that it’s broadly reinvented (Una, Chapel, and M’Benga) or created whole-cloth (La’an, Ortegas, and Hemmer).

Superficially, shows like Lower Decks and Strange New Worlds may appear to be more pandering and nostalgia-driven, but creatively, Picard is the far more cynical endeavor. Of the five modern series, it’s the only one that seems uninterested in being anyone’s first Star Trek, and is now doubling down on the novelty of the current “reunion series” trend. This isn’t to say that a final farewell to the Next Generation cast couldn’t be entertaining, only that it’s the least interesting idea that the Kurtzman era of Trek has yet offered. As the franchise branches out into multiple directions, exploring different eras, tones, and media, Picard is the only road that appears to be a dead end. However, with a new showrunner and a new (old) cast on board for its final season, there remains hope that the franchise’s weakest modern entry may come to a satisfying conclusion.

Approaching infinite velocity

Picard sitting in a chair in an empty, overgrown sunroom, with Q standing in front of him and holding his face in his hands

Picard may be coming to an end next year, but Alex Kurtzman and company have no intention of letting the franchise lose steam. Kurtzman has spoken publicly about two live-action series that are currently in development, and has hinted that there are more that have yet to be announced. A Discovery spinoff starring Michelle Yeoh as the reformed interstellar tyrant Philippa Georgiou was intended to start production in 2020, but has been delayed by the pandemic and by Yeoh’s film career renaissance. Yeoh recently described her series , tentatively titled Star Trek: Section 31 , as “Mission: Impossible meets Guardians of the Galaxy,” but there’s been no word on when she might have time to make it. There’s the long-gestating Starfleet Academy series , which is currently being developed by Absentia co-creator Gaia Violo after a version from Gossip Girl ’s Josh Schwartz and Stephanie Savage failed to ossify. A long-rumored narrative podcast miniseries about the legendary villain Khan from Star Trek II director Nicholas Meyer has just been officially announced . Kurtzman and company clearly intend to keep Trek running year-round on Paramount Plus until the wheels fall off, and if it continues with its current pace and variety, this may well be sustainable for another five years. (We’re looking forward to seeing Section 31 premiere on Paradiscovery Prime in 2026.)

The potential hyperspanner in the works is Paramount’s plans to supplement this with further Star Trek feature films. The conglomerate has promised stockholders a fourth film starring Chris Pine and the rest of the crew from the reboot trilogy, committed to a 2023 release date despite scheduling conflicts with the cast and a currently vacant director’s chair . New head of Paramount Pictures Brian Robbins has expressed interest in multiple new Star Trek films , both live-action and animated, on top of the nonstop rotation of new shows streaming on Paramount Plus. This suggests that Paramount intends to try yet again to build Star Trek into a franchise on the scale of Star Wars, something that no one but its stockholders is asking for. It’s miraculous that Star Trek has managed to expand in the directions that it has over the past five years, with five very distinct television shows appealing to different but overlapping audiences, but the thought of frequent theatrical films on top of this is, frankly, exhausting. There’s the ever-present danger of Trek’s value as a corporate property interfering with its capacity to tell interesting, even radical, stories. The more money there is in the Star Trek business, the closer scrutiny it’s sure to receive from on high and the less likely it is to challenge the status quo. Trek should always be about lessons first and lore second. Thankfully the current leadership seems to understand this, but leadership changes fast, particularly during the streaming era.

Nevertheless, it is an incredibly exciting time to be a Star Trek fan. There’s a new episode on TV every week, a movie in the works, and a genuinely exciting new comics series on the way, as well as the first new console video game in half a decade . 2023 will see the first legitimate crossover of the modern Trek era, between Strange New Worlds and Lower Decks , a pairing that makes a surprising amount of sense as both series have warmly embraced the campy and absurd facets of their universe. We have reached Peak Star Trek, and like Peak Anything, it cannot be sustained indefinitely. Like the golden era of the mid-1990s, this is a time that Trekkies should cherish. Either the quality or the quantity of new Star Trek is bound to decline soon, and the former is certain to precede the latter.

The 10 horniest episodes of Star Trek, ranked by cultural impact

The picard legacy collection puts one of the greatest remasters of all time in sprawling context, patrick stewart told paramount he wants a picard movie.

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Star Trek TV

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Star Trek TV Shows Ranked by Tomatometer

Updated: September 8, 2023

The Star Trek universe kicked off in 1966 with the original series , created by science fiction visionary Gene Roddenberry , and later exploded into a massive film and TV juggernaut.

While the original series, which starred William Shatner as Captain James T. Kirk and Leonard Nimoy as Mr. Spock, saw only three seasons, it made an indelible impression on the sci-fi genre. Live-action TV follow-up Star Trek: The Next Generation , with  Patrick Stewart as Captain Jean-Luc Picard leading an ensemble cast, captivated viewers from 1987–1994 and inspired three more series that would air within the next decade:  Star Trek: Deep Space Nine ,  Star Trek: Voyager , and  Star Trek: Enterprise .

Starting with 1979’s  Star Trek: The Motion Picture , Paramount Pictures has been regularly cranking out Trek films with the original series and Next Generation casts, as well as a rebooted version in 2009 with Chris Pine as Starfleet Academy cadet James Kirk and Zachary Quinto as young Spock. ( See the Star Trek films ranked here. )

In 2017,  Trek  returned to small screens with season 1 of CBS All Access streaming title  Star Trek: Discovery , set during a tumultuous wartime era about a decade before the original and starring Sonequa Martin-Green . The new series marked a TV franchise reboot by Alex Kurtzman , writer on the 2009 Star Trek film and its sequel  Star Trek Into Darkness .

RELATED: All Star Trek Movies Ranked by Tomatometer

The year 2020 gave fans a celebration of one of its most iconic characters with the premiere of Star Trek: Picard and Stewart reprising his role in the new streaming series that launched its second season in 2022. New live-action series Star Trek: Strange New Worlds was also released in 2022, and its first season was quickly Certified Fresh with a 100% Tomatometer score (it has since dropped to 99% on one review). The show’s second season, released in 2023, was nearly as well received and is Certified Fresh at 97% on the Tomatometer.

The TV franchise has since introduced two animated series Star Trek: Lower Decks , about the misfit support crew on one of Starfleet’s least-important ships, and kid-friendly Star Trek: Prodigy , which tells the story of a diverse group of teens who inadvertently become the crew of a prize starship and learn important lessons in their subsequent adventures. The latter series — No. 3 on our list below — has since been canceled by Paramount+, but a petition to save the show has gathered over 33,000 signatures.

Have a look below to find out which series score highest with critics in our Trek TV by Tomatometer list.

Disagree with the results? Tell us in the comments which series you think should have been ranked higher (or lower).

' sborder=

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds (2022) 98%

' sborder=

Star Trek: The Animated Series (1973) 94%

' sborder=

Star Trek: Prodigy (2021) 94%

' sborder=

Star Trek: Lower Decks (2020) 92%

' sborder=

Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987) 92%

' sborder=

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (1993) 91%

' sborder=

Star Trek: Picard (2020) 89%

' sborder=

Star Trek: Discovery (2017) 85%

' sborder=

Star Trek (1966) 80%

' sborder=

Star Trek: Voyager (1995) 76%

' sborder=

Star Trek: Enterprise (2001) 56%

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The beginner's guide to Star Trek: What to watch first

david-gewirtz

The Star Trek television world consists of eleven full and distinct television series released across the decades, going all the way back to the mid-1960s. While some of the older sets and effects are certainly dated, some of the issues the shows grappled with back in the day are as relevant now as they were almost 60 years ago.

When Star Trek debuted on September 6, 1966, it was a relatively low-budget TV series with only lukewarm network support. It took two pilot episodes before the series was picked up by NBC, only to be unceremoniously cancelled three years later. Nobody back then knew that Star Trek would create cultural touchstones and iconic characters, or that it would go on to spawn ten more TV series (so far) and thirteen movies (also, so far).

Today, Star Trek is deeply entrenched in modern mythology, with characters like James T. Kirk and Jean-Luc Picard as familiar to us as Clark Kent, Bruce Wayne, Tony Stark, Luke Skywalker, and Han Solo.

But not everyone is fully up to speed on all things Trek . Perhaps you're seeing promotions for the new shows coming out this year and wonder what all the fuss is about. Perhaps you want to introduce Star Trek to a younger generation or catch up after a long hiatus.

No matter what, we're here to help. In this guide, I'm going to take you through the TV series and help you understand what each is about, give you some hints about watching order, and share with you my subjective perspective on the shows.

Also:  14 unofficial Star Trek series and films

Star Trek has inspired a tremendous amount of media. Beyond the TV shows, there are movies, video games, books, comics, fan fiction and productions, collectables, and more. Because the commercial world of Star Trek fandom is so huge, I'm going to limit our discussion to just the TV shows -- although there will be a few mentions of one or two movies that are requisite viewing for later series' continuity.

How to get started

There are four Star Trek series currently in production right now. More are rumored to be on the way. And there's even a Seth McFarland-helmed homage to Star Trek called The Orville that carries on the Trek spirit (new episodes will be broadcast on Hulu in June).

So, you could get started watching a current show, especially since the visuals and production quality are top-notch. If you feel strongly about starting with new material, I'd recommend kicking off your watching with Star Trek: Strange New Worlds on the Paramount+ streaming service. I'll talk more about SNW (most Trek series get abbreviations) in a bit. Another choice would be the gorgeous animated series Star Trek: Prodigy . It's intended to bring kids into the Star Trek universe, but it fires on all cylinders for adults just as well.

But I recommend you start where it all started: Star Trek , the original series ( TOS ) produced in the 1960s. It's here you'll meet Captain Kirk, Mr. Spock, Dr. McCoy, and Scotty the engineer. This is where it all began, and everything builds upon this fundamental mythology.

And with that, let's get started!

1. Star Trek: The Original Series (TOS)

The series that began it all.

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  • Production Years:  1966-1969
  • Trek Timeline Years:  2266-2269
  • Seasons:  3
  • Episodes:  79
  • Stream on:   Paramount+
  • Buy:   Amazon

This is it. The series that began it all. I recently rewatched the entire run of  TOS  after not having seen it in years, and the thing that made the biggest impression on me was how much they got right in those early years. Roddenberry was building a mythos out of thin air, and yet many of the foundational elements that  Star Trek  folks know and love today were written into those early shows.

Of course, Roddenberry didn't get it perfect right out of the gate. He did two pilots which introduced Captain Christopher Pike instead of Captain Kirk and a female "Number One" as second in command. This pilot, called " The Cage " never made it on the air but was repurposed into a two-parter late in the first season. You'll want to remember Pike and Number One because they're prominent in the new modern-day  Trek  series currently being released.

Some episodes of this very early series age well, while others are deeply cringeworthy. Because it's 1960s entertainment (and relatively low-budget entertainment at that), it can be a bit tedious at times. And yet, it touched on some really important themes.  Martin Luther King Jr. actually reached out to Nichelle Nichols , who  played Lt. Uhura , when she was considering leaving the show. He urged her to stay on because he saw her role as a very important inspiration.

If you want to understand all the  Trek  lore that comes after, this is the place to start.

Must watch episodes:   The City on the Edge of Forever, Space Seed, The Trouble with Tribbles

Movies:  There were six movies made with the  TOS  cast. Of them, the best two are  The Wrath of Khan  (which sets up a lot of subsequent mythos) and  The Voyage Home , which is probably the most fun of them all.

2. Star Trek: The Next Generation (TNG)

The story forward 100 years.

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  • Production Years:  1987-1994
  • Trek Timeline Years:  2364-2370
  • Seasons:  7
  • Episodes:  178

Star Trek's  continuing popularity during the eighteen years after NBC cancelled the original series was unexpected.  Star Trek , that weird space show with the pointy-eared alien, turned out to have legs. It took ten years of fan pressure and conventions, but in 1979  Star Trek: The Motion Picture  was released. It was... not so good. But three more movies came out over the next eight years, and they were great. So the momentum was in place for a  Star Trek  reboot.

Rather than recasting the original characters, Roddenberry decided to move the story forward almost 100 years, create a version of the  Enterprise  starship whose interior decor most resembled a Marriott hotel in outer space, and give it warp nacelles and photon torpedos. This was  The Next Generation , with Captain Picard, first officer William Riker, the android Data, the boy wonder Wesley Crusher, his mom, the Klingon Worf, and unlucky-in-love engineer Geordi La Forge. Roddenberry even created the role of a mental health counsellor (Deanna Troy) as a key member of its bridge crew.

While Patrick Stewart's Picard was much more  Captain Stubing  than Shatner's Captain Kirk, there's no doubting this Shakespearean actor's talents. Brent Spiner, as the android-who-wants-to-be-human, was another standout performer. The first two seasons were a little rocky. Remember: back then, nobody knew whether this show would last, and the actors and showrunners were still trying to come to terms with how to move beyond  TOS . But subsequent years are among the best science (and societal) fiction you'll ever see on TV.

Must watch episodes:   The Measure of a Man, Yesterday's Enterprise, The Best Of Both Worlds I  and  II

Movies:  There were four movies made with the  TNG  cast. The first one,  Generations , also included key members of the  TOS  cast. I recommend you watch  First Contact  because it's a really good movie. And you might want to watch  Nemesis  because it sets up some details you'll need in later series (but it's definitely  not  the best movie made).

Also: Best video streaming service  

To boldly go...

Once you've watched  TOS  and  TNG , you're pretty much ready to travel wherever you want throughout the  Star Trek  franchise. You'll have a good foundational understanding of the Federation, the various alien species, the rules and regulations of Starfleet, and most of the iconic characters.

My recommendation is to wrap up the early  Trek  productions by taking in the two seasons of the first animated series. Then, move on to the middle period of  Star Trek  production, with  Voyager, Deep Space 9 , and  Enterprise , and then jump forward to the current productions. That's how I'm going to present the remaining series to you, but you can pretty much choose any order you want once you've made it this far.

3. Star Trek: The Animated Series (TAS)

Worthwhile animation with tos voices.

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  • Production Years:  1973-1975
  • Trek Timeline Years:  2269-2270
  • Seasons:  2
  • Episodes:  22
  • Buy:  Amazon

A few years after NBC canceled TOS , Roddenberry managed to convince studio heads to let him produce an animated version of the show. While it was considerably less expensive to produce than the live-action  Star Trek , the animated series was the most expensive animated show airing at the time, but that was mostly because nearly all the original series actors (Walter Koenig as Chekov was missing) lent their voices to the show.

While the series was intended as a kid's show, it hews pretty closely to classic  Star Trek  themes and can be considered a proper sequel to  TOS . Watching it in 2022 is a bit weird because cartoons from the 1970s definitely seem a bit weird to our 2022 mindset, but  TAS  is a worthwhile romp, especially since it features the voice work from the core actors who first made  Star Trek .

Must watch episodes:   Yesteryear, The Slaver Weapon, More Tribbles, More Troubles  (because...Tribbles)

4. Star Trek: Deep Space 9 (DS9)

Thought-provoking, must-watch tv.

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  • Production Years:  1993-1999
  • Trek Timeline Years:  2369-2275
  • Seasons:  7
  • Episodes:  176
  • Stream on:   Paramount+ , Netflix
  • Buy: Amazon

By many measures,  Star Trek: Deep Space 9  is as good as  Star Trek  (or science fiction overall, for that matter) gets. Rather than exploring strange new worlds and seeking out new life and new civilizations,  Deep Space 9  takes place mostly on the eponymous space station, Deep Space 9.

The station sits at the junction of a wormhole to the Gamma Quadrant (a far off part of space) and the planet Bajor, a planet previously occupied by Cardassians' warlike race (not to be confused with the Kardashians). DS9's leader is played by actor Avery Brooks, who starts off with the Starfleet rank of Commander and later gets promoted to Captain.  DS9  starts off slow but ends with a massive war and some of the best space battles ever put on film.

While there are a few silly episodes, most plotlines are tight, deep, and thought-provoking. Characters develop complex and compelling personalities. And the show takes some powerful swings at issues of the day, with  Far Beyond the Stars  an absolute standout showing issues of racism in 1950s America and yet fitting totally in with the rest of  DS9 . If anything can be considered must-watch TV, chock full of religious and political intrigue, it's  Star Trek: Deep Space 9 .

Must watch episodes:   Far Beyond the Stars, The Visitor, Trials And Tribble-Ations  (because...Tribbles)

5. Star Trek: Voyager (VOY)

A female badass captain who guides her crew on the uss voyager.

 width=

  • Production Years:  1995-2001
  • Trek Timeline Years:  2371-2378
  • Episodes:  172

The series starts with the crew of the  Voyager  chasing after a Maquis raider ship in a rough part of space. Suddenly, both ships get pulled into a spatial distortion, only to wind up far, far away from home. A super-powerful being called the Caretaker brought both ships to the Delta quadrant as part of its quest to help a species it cared for.

The plot of the pilot is a bit convoluted, but the Captain Kathryn Janeway makes a decision that strands  Voyager  and the crew of the Maquis ship in the Delta quadrant. The voyage home will take 75 years. Kate Mulgrew was not the franchise's first choice for a Janeway captain. Instead, Geneviève Bujold was originally cast in the role, but she apparently  crashed and burned in a day and a half . That's fortunate because Mulgrew absolutely owns the part, turning the Janeway character into a tough, sensitive, compassionate, and absolutely kick-ass leader.

The  Voyager  crew becomes a blended crew with both Starfleet and Maquis. Early episodes playoff that dynamic, but the early crew conflicts tend to slip away as the series progresses and the crew coalesces. Throughout it all, the series is about how this crew survives all on its own, trying to find a way home and the adventures along the way.

Must watch episodes:  Tinker, Tailor, Doctor, Spy, Year of Hell  (two-parter),  Timeless Worst episode in any science fiction, ever:  Threshold

6. Star Trek: Enterprise (ENT)

The start of the prime universe.

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  • Production Years:  2001-2005
  • Trek Timeline Years:  2151-2161
  • Seasons:  4
  • Episodes:  98
  • Stream on:  Paramount+

With  Enterprise  (the series debuted without the " Star Trek: " prefix), we're starting to move around the "Prime Universe" timeline. So, okay, some definitions are in order. In 2009, J. J. Abrams did a reboot of the original  Star Trek  crew in a three-movie set. That reboot changed some of the  Star Trek  canon (its established mythology) and became known as the "Kelvin Universe". All the  Star Trek  that exists in the unaltered (or mostly unaltered) mythology is called the "Prime Universe." All of the TV shows so far (but not all the movies) are considered Prime Universe.

In the Prime Universe,  series timelines span centuries . The majority of established canon takes place in the  TNG  era, which is 2364-2379.  TOS ,  Discovery , and  Strange New Worlds  take place 100 or so years earlier than  TNG , while  Discovery  eventually jumps to about a thousand years later. But  Enterprise  is a prequel to all of that, showcasing a ship just beginning to travel between the stars. It takes place starting in 2151, a century before the days of Kirk and Spock.

There are some nods to the idea that technology wasn't as advanced in 2151 as it was in later centuries, but since  Enterprise  itself was made 35 years after  TOS , the production value and effects made it seem somewhat more advanced. That will prove to be an ongoing problem with Trek prequels: what do you do when the real tech to produce the prequel is half a century more advanced? What do you do when the actual tech we have in our pockets seems far more advanced than the "future" tech shown in the early shows? Artistic license is used.

The  NX-01 Enterprise  is led by Captain Jonathan Archer (played by  Quantum Leap's  Scott Bakula) and his Number One is a Vulcan named T'Pol (played by Jolene Blalock). In  Enterprise's  time frame, trust between Earth and the Vulcans is tenuous, and that tension plays out over the series. Unfortunately,  Enterprise  only lasted four seasons. It, like most other  Trek , was a bit rocky in the first seasons, but by Season 4, it was producing excellent television.

My biggest question about Enterprise is about Porthos, Archer's adorable beagle. Porthos spent most of his time in Archer's cabin, but I've always been curious about how Porthos took care of business. Did they just walk him around the decks and some crewmember cleaned it up? Was there a spot of grass somewhere in an unused cabin? It keeps me up at night.

In any case, I consider  Enterprise  criminally underrated. It was a great show.

Must watch episodes:   In a Mirror, Darkly  (two-parter),  Carbon Creek, Similitude, Twilight, The Breach  (because...Tribbles)

7. Star Trek: Discovery (DIS)

Discover the fun in star trek.

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  • Production Years:  2017-current
  • Trek Timeline Years:  2255-2259, 3188-3190 (so far)
  • Seasons:  4 (so far)
  • Episodes:  55 (so far)

Star Trek  production effectively went into shutdown for about a decade after  Enterprise . After the success of the reboot movies in the late 2000s,  Star Trek  TV experienced a resurgence in  Discovery .  Discovery  is a hard beast to pin down, and this had the effect of turning off some of the entrenched  Star Trek  fanbase. That said, it's still great TV.  Discovery  was the first of the modern-day  Star Trek  series to be available solely on streaming, via what was then CBS All Access and is now Paramount+.

Somehow (spoiler alert), Micheal Burham goes from the Federation's first mutineer with a life sentence to a beloved starship captain. Burnham is Spock's human sister (yeah, that was a surprise to everyone). Played by Sonequa Martin-Green, the standout feature of  Discovery  is some of its great performances and characterizations.

My favorites are the gangly alien Saru (played with absolute perfection by Doug Jones), the mirror universe emperor Georgiou (played with scenery-eating intensity by Michelle Yeoh), cranky under-utilized engineer Jett Reno (played by the wonderful-in-anything Tigg Notaro), and Captain Christopher Pike, reimagined from the pilot for  TOS  (who was played to such perfection by Anson Mount that the minute he hit the screen, everyone knew a series had to be made around him -- which became  Strange New Worlds ).

The first season takes place ten years before the original series. Klingons don't really look like Klingons, Burnham starts a war,  Discovery  travels to the mirror universe where everything is  Bizarro World , and chaos ensues. The second season is back in the home universe where the crew tries to stop an AI bent on destroying all life in the universe. To avoid that fate, the crew travels 930 years into the future and...okay, let's take a breather for a second.

Do. Not. Try. To. Make. Sense. Of. All. This.  Discovery  is weird enough to be pretty much the  Twin Peaks  of  Star Trek . Just enjoy the fact that the visuals are impressive, the characters (at least most of them) are great, and the stories hold together long enough to make it through each episode as long as you don't think about it too much.  Discovery  can be annoying and sappy, to be sure. But it's also a heck of a lot of fun.

Must watch episodes (so far):  An Obol for Charon, The Sound of Thunder, Short Trek: The Trouble with Edward  (because...Tribbles)

8. Star Trek: Lower Decks (LD)

Focus on life onboard for low-ranking members of starfleet.

 width=

  • Production Years:  2020-current
  • Trek Timeline Years:  2380- (so far)
  • Seasons:  2 (so far)
  • Episodes:  20 (so far)

Back in 1994, there was an episode of  TNG  called  Lower Decks . It focused on lower-ranking crew members and looked at what life onboard a starship was like for the non-hero characters of Starfleet. In 2020, Mike McMahan, previously known for his work on the animated comedy  Rick and Morty , took the lower decks concept into an entire animated  Star Trek  series.

And it works. McMahan also addressed a lot of fan complaints about  Discovery  by including an almost overwhelming array of  Star Trek   Easter eggs  as fan service in the series. If you've ever wondered about  Cetacean Ops , for example, McMahan has an entire episode devoted to Starfleet's underwater crew.

Overall,  Lower Decks  delivers fully  Star Trek  plots, along with a lot of genuinely funny moments. But it doesn't sacrifice good storytelling either for laughs or nostalgia.

Must watch episodes (so far):   No Small Parts, First First Contact, An Embarrassment of Dooplers

9. Star Trek: Prodigy (PRO)

Animated and visually stunning.

 width=

  • Production Years:  2021-current
  • Trek Timeline Years:  2383- (so far)
  • Seasons:  1 (so far)
  • Episodes:  9 (so far)

Prodigy  is the second animated series currently in production. It has a completely different theme and art style from  Lower Decks  and is most definitely its own thing.

The premise is that a bunch of enslaved tweenagers of varying non-human species in the Delta Quadrant find a dormant Federation starship. While exploring, they activate the "emergency training hologram," which turns out to be an animated Captain Janeway (voiced by Kate Mulgrew herself). Hologram Janeway thinks the interlopers are cadets and helps them start the ship up so they can make their escape.

The series is Nickelodeon-branded and is supposed to be for kids, but the episodes are well-written and even suspenseful. The first season ended on a cliffhanger that both newbies to  Star Trek  and long-time fans will find compelling. And can we talk about the visuals? This series is just absolutely gorgeous. Watch it on the largest, brightest TV you can. It's that good.

Must watch episodes (so far):   Time Amok, First Con-tact, Kobayashi

10. Star Trek: Picard (PIC)

New adventures of an older captain picard.

 width=

  • Trek Timeline Years:  2399- (so far)
  • Seasons:  2 (so far)
  • Episodes:  20 (so far)

The premise behind  Star Trek: Picard  is simple. Thirty years after  TNG , Admiral Picard goes back out into space for new adventures. Picard (and Patrick Stewart) are much older, and the series addresses the challenges of ageing and how someone who was once the galaxy's hero deals with becoming irrelevant -- just as events reach out to bring the retired admiral back onto center stage once again.

Have you noticed how most of the  Star Trek  series have three-letter abbreviations?  Star Trek: Picard's  should be WTF. There are moments in  Picard  that are wonderful. But a lot of  Picard  is just plain terrible. If you even try to think about all the plot holes and paradoxes in just the final episode of Season 2, you'll find your brain sucked into a wormhole. As much as it's an absolute pleasure to see Patrick Stewart in anything,  Star Trek: Picard  is undeniably the worst television  Star Trek  has yet produced.

Like all of the current-era  Star Trek , it's gorgeous. There's fan service everywhere, and we do get to meet some of the  TNG  characters again. More are promised for Season 3. But something went horribly wrong in the writers' room for the storylines in most of the episodes to be this convoluted, self-referential, internally inconsistent, and rather unbelievable (trust me, suspending disbelief often just doesn't work here). If anything, Season 2 is even more disastrous than Season 1, and that's saying something.

All that said, should you watch  Star Trek: Picard ? Of course. It's a hoot. Plus, the episode  Nepenthe  (where we get to meet a gray-haired Captain Riker and his wife, Deanna Troy, along with their daughter Kestra) makes the whole series worthwhile.

Must watch episodes:   Nepenthe, Stardust City Rag

11. Star Trek: Strange New Worlds (SNW)

Referential to established canon for entrenched trek fans.

 width=

  • Production Years:  2022-current
  • Trek Timeline Years:  2259- (so far)
  • Seasons:  1 (so far)
  • Episodes:  4 (so far)

Strange New Worlds  has been jokingly called the longest order from the pilot to series in television history, but there's some truth to that. The very first  TOS  pilot back in the 1960s spotlighted the main characters of  Strange New Worlds . As the legend goes, NBC didn't like those characters, so Roddenberry retooled and the result was Kirk, Spock, and McCoy.

Today, however, Anson Mount is center stage, along with Ethan Peck as the third actor to play Spock, and Rebecca Romijn playing Number One. We haven't seen too many episodes yet, but so far it's good. Really, really good. Sure, this  U.S.S. Enterprise  is supposed to be from a time ten years before Kirk's in  TOS , and it's far fancier. But that's what you get with 2022 budgets and CGI compared to the hand-me-downs that went into the original  Star Trek .

You can follow the story well enough without having seen any other  Star Trek , so it makes for a good first series. But it also is so reverently referential to established canon (while blazing its own way as well) that deeply entrenched Trek fans will undoubtedly enjoy it as well.

Must watch episodes (so far):  Strange New Worlds, Children of the Comet, Ghosts of Illyria, Memento Mori

Also: The 7 best free video streaming services: Watch movies for free

What are the worst to best Star Trek series?

This is a highly subjective list, but I know you're going to want to know. So here it is. My call for worst series to best. You'll be surprised.

10. Picard :  I had high hopes, I love the reunions, but the plots don't hold together if you think about it for just one minute.

9. The Original Series :  Yes, it started everything. And yes, they got a lot right. But some of it is just downright hard to watch.

8. The Animated Series :  Like  TOS , it's a rough ride to watch. Pacing is very late sixties.

7. Lower Decks :  I'm not a huge animation fan, and the silliness is a bit annoying.

6. Prodigy :   Prodigy  is gorgeous, and the plots hold together well. But I'm not as into it as I could be. Perhaps with more seasons.

5. The Next Generation :   TNG  defines  Star Trek , and while there are some great shows there, it's getting old. I'm just not that invested anymore.

4. Discovery :  I really like some of the characters and the modern visuals are spectacular. The focus on one character as a  Mary Sue  gets tiresome, as do the somewhat lazy resolutions for season-long mysteries.

3. Voyager :  Some of the premise broke down in early years, but the overall crew survival dynamic makes for worthwhile TV. I've become attached to some of the characters after watching them grow into their responsibilities.

2. Enterprise :  Yes, I consider  Enterprise  among the best  Star Trek  ever, even though it died an early death. From Archer's relationship with the Andorian commander Shran (played by the wonderful Jeffrey Combs) to some really excellent standalone episodes, I miss  Enterprise  more than any other series.

1. Deep Space 9 :  Yeah, this is just about the best science fiction you're going to find anywhere.

* Strange New Worlds :  I'm not rating  Strange New Worlds  yet. I've only seen a few episodes. But from what I've seen, it has the potential to be among the favorites.

What about you? What's your favorite Star Trek series? Are you Trek-curious and just getting started? Are you coming back after a long hiatus? Share with us in the comments below. Live long and prosper.

You can follow my day-to-day project updates on social media. Be sure to follow me on Twitter at @DavidGewirtz , on Facebook at Facebook.com/DavidGewirtz , on Instagram at Instagram.com/DavidGewirtz , and on YouTube at YouTube.com/DavidGewirtzTV .

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The best Star Trek series, ranked

Ready to settle in and watch some Star Trek episodes? Since there are so many, we’ve ranked all of the different series to help you get started on your quest.

Star Trek is one of the greatest franchises ever created. If you're new to the world of transporters and holodecks, you have so much wonderful content to catch up on — of course, some would say too much content.

Since there are over 850 episodes and counting (all of which you can stream on Paramount+ ), watching all of Star Trek can be more difficult than fighting a Gorn in the desert. To make things easier for you to get started, we've ranked every series (besides the short-form series Short Treks ) of this long-running franchise. Some of these choices were a bit daunting to play favorites with, but, like Jim Kirk, there's no belief in the no-win scenario.

Without further ado, here's our list of every Star Trek series ranked from worst to best.

11. Star Trek: Picard (2020–2023)

Star Trek: Picard was meant to be like comfort food to fans of Star Trek: The Next Generation . And whether fans were turned off by the changes in franchise direction with shows like Discovery or just wanted to see Patrick Stewart back in action, Paramount clearly thought this show would be almost universally beloved.

That didn't happen . The warm and fuzzy feeling of seeing a few familiar faces in the first season evaporated because of an often-confusing plot about androids. The second season continued this confusion with a time-travel story that often bordered on incoherence. While many Star Trek shows take a few seasons to hit their stride, it was shocking that so much of this relatively short series was seemingly created with "make it so-so" in mind.

10. Star Trek: The Animated Series (1973–1974)

If you're in the right mood (or you've been sipping on some Saurian brandy), Star Trek: The Animated Series has some wacky entertainment value. Any given episode had the writers throwing in stories like a giant version of a beloved character. And the animators threw some fun curveballs, including making the embodiment of evil into a shirtless hottie that would make even shirtless Kirk jealous.

However, this animated show was often caught between two very different worlds. It wasn't fully a return to the (relatively) grounded exploration of space, science, and morality of The Original Series . And it didn't fully lean into the chaotic possibilities of a cartoon world (something Lower Decks would later handle much better). So, while more and more elements of The Animated Series have become canonical thanks to shows like Discovery , and it's fun to hear the voice acting of the Original Series cast, this cartoon is one that all but the most hardcore fans can skip.

9. Star Trek: Enterprise (2001–2005)

Despite what you might have heard, Star Trek: Enterprise is not a bad show. It just didn't start as a very good show. The series was tragically canceled after the fourth season, which was arguably when it had just begun to hit its stride (thanks in part to longer story arcs and a really fun glimpse into Trek 's popular Mirror Universe).

At the end of the day, Enterprise is a show best enjoyed by Star Trek fans that like to pore over the Memory Alpha wiki and familiarize themselves with Trek minutiae. As a prequel show, it laid the groundwork for everything from Starfleet policy to alien interactions that other shows explore in more detail. If you don't have a shot at winning any Star Trek trivia contests at your local bar, it's still worth watching how captivating Scott Bakula can be in the captain's seat.

8. Star Trek: Prodigy (2021–present)

Star Trek: Prodigy was very difficult to rank. Unlike the other two Trek cartoons, this series was explicitly designed for younger audiences. Paramount clearly wants to use this show as a gateway for these younger fans to explore the wider world of Star Trek , but there are enough elements (most notably the return of Kate Mulgrew , reprising her role as Captain Janeway via a holographic form) to keep veteran franchise fans invested.

Ultimately, your enjoyment of this series will be largely dependent on how much you enjoy animated/YA entertainment. If nothing else, you should check out the first two episodes of this show to see just how beautiful the CGI animation can get.

7. Star Trek: Discovery (2017–present)

If Enterprise is the Star Trek show cut off too soon, Discovery may very well be the first Star Trek show to outlive its welcome, though it will end after its fifth season . There are many things the show gets right, from nifty effects to quirky characters to amazing casting (seriously, Sonequa Martin-Green is electrifying whenever she is on screen).

The show veers from a disjointed-but-interesting first season to a mesmerizing second season, which gets a real shot in the arm by introducing Captain Pike (played by the inimitably charming Anson Mount ) and Spock (played as a perfect homage to Leonard Nimoy by Ethan Peck). Later seasons, however, prove that the series can't get away from galactic-level threats, and character drama begins overriding plot development enough that we want to slingshot around the sun and return this series to its earlier roots.

6. Star Trek: Voyager (1995–2001)

Like many Trek series, Star Trek: Voyager had a rocky beginning, and it was often overshadowed by the excellent Deep Space Nine . Ironically, Voyager dramatically improved with what could be a cynical casting stunt: adding the alluring Jeri Ryan (constantly wearing a catsuit, no less).

Though it really looked like a desperate ratings stunt, Ryan turned the reformed Borg Seven of Nine into the most interesting character on the show. And, despite their alleged clashes behind the scenes, the actress helped to elevate every scene she shared with Kate Mulgrew. Between the new cast member, improved writing, and Mulgrew being nothing short of a damned icon, Voyager soon became appointment television, and it's definitely worth binge-watching for modern audiences.

5. Star Trek: Lower Decks (2020–present)

Lower Decks is an impressive show for many reasons, including the fact that its execution elevates its initial premise, which focuses on the lives of the lower-level staffers aboard the starship. Because showrunner Mike McMahan previously wrote for Rick and Morty and the animation takes its cues from the cartoon adventures of Rick Sanchez, many fans may have assumed Lower Decks would simply be " Star Trek meets Rick and Morty ."

Thankfully, that's not the case. Aside from animation similarities, the main element these two cartoons have in common is a breakneck, borderline chaotic pace. But as entertaining as it can be, Rick and Morty is an often nihilistic show with gags revolving around how nothing really matters. Lower Decks , however, is a lighthearted series that serves as the cure to modern Trek . If you've dismissed other contemporary series such as Discovery and Picard because they are grim, violent, and serious, Lower Decks is a wonderfully lighthearted alternative that is never afraid to poke fun at its own franchise.

4. Star Trek: Strange New Worlds (2022–present)

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds is a truly pleasant surprise to fans of the franchise. Set years before Captain Kirk sat in that famous chair, we see Capt. Christopher Pike (Anson Mount reprising the role) lead the U.S.S. Enterprise into bizarre adventures alongside some familiar characters (Ethan Peck returning as Spock, for example) and a few new ones.

Part of what helps this show shine is that it marks a return to episodic Trek in that every installment is a self-contained adventure as opposed to other newer series like Discovery and Picard , which build entire seasons around a single plot. The characters all ooze with the same swashbuckling charm of The Original Series characters, and we can't wait to see more of their adventures. We also can't wait to see more of Anson Mount's amazing hair (arguably the most awesome practical effect in the franchise).

3. Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987–1994)

Star Trek: The Next Generation has the dubious honor of being the first Trek show where veteran fans warn against new fans starting at the very beginning. Early episodes ranged from stupidly horny (planetary inhabitants in the episode "Justice" were barely wearing scraps of clothing) to ridiculously racist ("Code of Honor" may very well be the worst Star Trek episode ever made). Many of these problems stemmed from the fact that despite being called "The Next Generation," the show was trying to recreate The Original Series (right down to using some of the same writers and shamelessly reusing scripts from the scrapped Star Trek: Phase II series).

As fans like to joke, the show got better as Commander Riker's beard got longer. Season 2 was a major improvement, which was then usurped by season 3, which brought in new uniforms, new sets, and Michael Piller to head up the writing team. Just like that, TNG embraced its differences from its famous forerunner (Picard was cerebral whereas Kirk was impulsive, Data yearned for emotion whereas Spock detested it, and so on). At last, the gamble paid off, and the next generation of this franchise ushered in the next generation of Star Trek fans.

2. Star Trek: The Original Series (1966–1969)

What can we say about The Original Series that hasn't been said already? Gene Roddenberry successfully fused science fiction with American pioneer spirit to create his vision of this " Wagon Train to the stars." The episodes were both fun and thought-provoking in equal measure, and William Shatner as Kirk and Leonard Nimoy as Spock, among many others, turned in performances that seared themselves into our collective pop culture consciousness.

The Original Series offered social commentary about racism, imperialism, and (often to Spock's annoyance) the human condition. And the blend of big acting, ambitious sets, and poignant plots helped this show become something truly transcendent. The OG Star Trek shaped not only the future of the franchise but television itself, and it's not hard to see why it continues to win over new generations of fans year after year.

1. Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (1993–1999)

Placing Star Trek: Deep Space Nine in the top spot is perhaps a contentious decision. However, this series did more than measure up to the quality of The Next Generation (a lofty feat in and of itself). The show also made a number of storytelling and production choices that have helped DS9 seem more relevant in recent years than ever before, including tackling issues about race, religious fundamentalism, and war on a regular basis.

Perhaps the main way DS9 feels so pertinent is that the show broke the longstanding Trek rule of making only standalone episodes. As the powers that be focused more on creating their next show, Voyager , DS9 showrunner Ira Steven Behr was able to get away with creating long story arcs and frequent episode callbacks. The end result of this is that Deep Space Nine is the first of the pre-streaming era Trek shows that is perfect for binge-watching.

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How to Watch Star Trek in Order: The Complete Series Timeline

The full star trek timeline, explained..

How to Watch Star Trek in Order: The Complete Series Timeline - IGN Image

Ever since 1966’s premiere of the first episode of Star Trek: The Original Series, the entertainment world has never been the same. This franchise that has boldly gone where no property has gone before has captured the hearts and minds of millions around the world and has grown into a space-faring empire of sorts filled with multiple shows, feature length films, comics, merchandise, and so much more. That being said, the amount of Star Trek out in the world can make it tough to know exactly how to watch everything it offers in either chronological or release order so you don’t miss a thing. To help make things easier for you, we’ve created this guide to break down everything you need to know about engaging with this Star Trek journey.

It used to be a bit trickier to track down all the Star Trek shows and movies you’d need to watch to catch up, but Paramount+ has made it a whole lot easier as it has become the home of nearly all the past, present and future Star Trek entries.

So, without further ado, come with us into the final frontier and learn how you can become all caught up with the adventures of Kirk, Picard, Janeway, Sisko, Spock, Pike, Archer, Burnham, and all the others that have made Star Trek so special over the past 56 years.

And, in case you're worried, everything below is a mostly spoiler-free chronological timeline that will not ruin any of any major plot points of anything further on in the timeline. So, you can use this guide as a handy way to catch up without ruining much of the surprise of what’s to come on your adventure! If you’d prefer to watch everything Star Trek as it was released, you’ll find that list below as well!

How to Watch Star Trek in Chronological Order

  • How to Watch Star Trek by Release Order

1. Star Trek: Enterprise (2151-2155)

Star Trek: Enterprise is the earliest entry on our list as it takes place a hundred years before the adventures of Kirk, Spock, and the rest of the crew of Star Trek: The Original Series. The show aired from 2001 to 2005 and starred Scott Bakula as Jonathan Archer, the captain of the Enterprise NX-01. This version of the Enterprise was actually Earth’s first starship that was able to reach warp five.

While the show had its ups and downs, it included a fascinating look at a crew without some of the advanced tech we see in other Star Trek shows, the first contact with various alien species we know and love from the Star Trek universe, and more.

2. Star Trek: Discovery: Seasons 1 and 2 (2256-2258)

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This is where things get a little bit tricky, as the first two seasons of Star Trek: Discovery take place before Star Trek: The Original Series but Seasons 3 and 4 take us boldly to a place we’ve not gone before. We won’t spoil why that’s the case here, but it’s important to note if you want to watch Star Trek in order, you’ll have to do a bit of jumping around from series to movie to series.

As for what Star Trek: Discovery is, it's set the decade before the original and stars Sonequa Martin-Green’s Michael Burnham, a Starfleet Commander who accidentally helps start a war between the United Federation of Planets and the Klingon Empire. She gets court-martialed and stripped of her rank following these events and is reassigned to the U.S.S Discovery.

3. Star Trek: Strange New Worlds (2259-TBD)

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds also begins before the events of Star Trek: The Original Series and is set up by Star Trek: Discovery as its captain, Anson Mount’s Christopher Pike, makes an appearance in its second season. If that name sounds familiar, it’s because Pike first appeared in the original failed pilot episode “The Cage” of Star Trek: The Original Series and would later become James T. Kirk’s predecessor after the original actor, Jefferey Hunter, backed out of the show.

Fast forward all these years later and now we get to learn more about the story of Christopher Pike and many other familiar faces from The Original Series alongside new characters. It’s made even more special as the ship the crew uses is the U.S.S. Enterprise NCC-1701, the very same that would soon call Kirk its captain.

4. Star Trek: The Original Series (2265-2269)

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The fourth Star Trek series or movie you should watch in the order is the one that started it all - Star Trek: The Original Series . Created by Gene Roddenberry, this first Star Trek entry would kick off a chain reaction that would end up creating one of the most beloved IPs of all time. However, it almost never made it to that legendary status as its low ratings led to a cancellation order after just three seasons that aired from 1966 to 1969. Luckily, it found great popularity after that and built the foundation for all the Star Trek stories we have today.

Star Trek: The Original Series starred William Shatner as James T. Kirk and Leonard Nimoy as Spock, but the rest of the crew would go on to become nearly as iconic as they were. As for what the show was about? Well, we think Kirk said it best during each episode’s opening credits;

“Space: the final frontier. These are the voyages of the starship Enterprise . Its five-year mission: to explore strange new worlds, to seek out new life and new civilizations, to boldly go where no man has gone before.”

5. Star Trek: The Animated Series (2269-2270)

While Star Trek: The Original Series may have been canceled after just three seasons, its popularity only grew, especially with the help of syndication. Following this welcome development, Gene Roddenberry decided he wanted to continue the adventures of the crew of the Enterprise NCC-1701 in animated form, and he brought back many of the original characters and the actors behind them for another go.

Star Trek: The Animated Series lasted for two seasons from 1973 to 1974 and told even more stories of the Enterprise and its adventures throughout the Milky Way galaxy.

6. Star Trek: The Motion Picture (2270s)

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The first Star Trek film was a very big deal as it brought back the crew of Star Trek: The Original Series after the show was canceled in 1969 after just three seasons. However, even it had a rough road to theaters as Roddenberry initially failed to convince Paramount Pictures it was worth it in 1975. Luckily, the success of Close Encounters of the Third Kind and other factors helped finally convince those in power to make the movie and abandon the plans for a new television series called Star Trek: Phase II, which also would have continued the original story.

In Star Trek: The Motion Picture, James T. Kirk was now an Admiral in Starfleet, and certain events involving a mysterious alien cloud of energy called V’Ger cause him to retake control of a refitted version of the U.S.S. Enterprise with many familiar faces in tow.

7. Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (2285)

Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry had a sequel to Star Trek: The Motion Picture written, but Paramount turned it down after the reception to that first film was not what the studio had hoped for. In turn, Paramount removed him from the production and brought in Harve Bennett and Jack B. Sowards to write the script and Nicholas Meyer to direct the film.

The studio’s decision proved to be a successful one as Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan is considered by many, including IGN, to be the best Star Trek film. As for the story, it followed the battle between Admiral James T. Kirk and the crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise vs. Ricardo Montalban’ Khan Noonien Singh. Khan is a genetically engineered superhuman and he and his people were exiled by Kirk on a remote planet in the episode ‘Space Seed’ from the original series. In this second film, after being stranded for 15 years, Khan wants revenge.

8. Star Trek III: The Search for Spock (2285)

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Star Trek III: The Search for Spock continues the story that began in Wrath of Khan and deals with the aftermath of Spock’s death. While many on the U.S.S. Enterprise thought that was the end for their science officer, Kirk learns that Spock’s spirit/katra is actually living inside the mind of DeForest Kelley’s Dr. McCoy, who has been acting strange ever since the death of his friend. What follows is an adventure that includes a stolen U.S.S. Enterprise, a visit from Spock’s father Sarek, a run-in with Klingons, and so much more.

9. Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (2286 and 1986)

While it is undoubtedly great that Kirk and his crew saved Spock, it apparently wasn’t great enough to avoid the consequences that follow stealing and then losing the Enterprise. On their way to answer for their charges, the former crew of the Enterprise discover a threat to Earth that, without spoiling anything, causes them to go back in time to save everything they love. The Voyage Home is a big departure from the previous films as, instead of space, we spend most of our time in 1986’s San Francisco.

10. Star Trek V: The Final Frontier (2287)

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Star Trek V: The Final Frontier once again brings back our favorite heroes from Star Trek: The Original Series, but it’s often regarded as one of the weakest films starring Kirk, Spock, McCoy, etc. In this adventure, our crew’s shore leave gets interrupted as they are tasked with going up against the Vulcan Sybok, who himself is on the hunt for God in the middle of the galaxy.

11. Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country (2293)

Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country is the final movie starring the entire cast of Star Trek: The Original Series, and it puts the Klingons front and center. After a mining catastrophe destroys the Klingon moon of Praxis and threatens the Klingon’s homeworld, Klingon Chancellor Gorkon is forced to abandon his species' love of war in an effort to seek peace with the Federation. What follows is an adventure that calls back to the fall of the Soviet Union and the Berlin Wall and serves as a wonderful send-off to characters we’ve come to know and love since 1966, even though some will thankfully appear in future installments.

12. Star Trek: The Next Generation (2364-2370)

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After you make it through all six of the Star Trek: The Original Series movies, it’s time to start what many consider the best Star Trek series of all time - Star Trek: The Next Generation . The series, which starred Patrick Stewart as Captain Jean-Luc Picard, ran from 1987 through 1994 with 178 episodes over seven seasons.

There are so many iconic characters and moments in The Next Generation, including William Riker, Data, Worf, Geordi La Forge, Deanna Troi, and Dr. Beverly Crusher, and many of these beloved faces would return for Star Trek: Picard, which served as a continuation of this story.

While we are once again on the U.S.S. Enterprise in Star Trek: The Next Generation, this story takes place a century after the events of Star Trek: The Original Series. However, there may just be a few familiar faces that pop up from time to time.

13. Star Trek Generations (2293)

While Star Trek Generations is the first film featuring the Star Trek: The Next Generation crew, it also features a team-up that many had dreamed of for years and years between Captain Jean-Luc Picard and Captain James T. Kirk.

Our heroes are facing off against an El-Aurian named Dr. Tolian Soran, who will do whatever is necessary to return to an extra-dimensional realm known as the Nexus. Without spoiling anything, these events lead to a meeting with these two legendary captains and a heartfelt-at-times send-off to The Original Series, even though not every character returned that we wished could have.

14. Star Trek: First Contact (2373)

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Star Trek: First Contact was not only the second film featuring the crew from Star Trek: The Next Generation, but it also served as the motion picture directorial debut for William Riker actor Jonathan Frakes. In this film, the terrifying Borg take center stage and force our heroes to travel back in time to stop them from conquering Earth and assimilating the entire human race.

This movie picks up on the continuing trauma caused by Jean-Luc Picard getting assimilated in the series and becoming Locutus of Borg, and we are also treated to the first warp flight in Star Trek’s history, a shout-out to Deep Space Nine, and more.

15. Star Trek: Insurrection (2375)

Star Trek: Insurrection, which unfortunately ranked last on our list of the best Star Trek movies, is the third film starring the Star Trek: The Next Generation crew and followed a story involving an alien race that lives on a planet with more-or-less makes them invincible due to its rejuvenating properties. This alien race, known as the Ba’Ku, are being threatened by not only another alien race called the Son’a, but also the Federation. Captain Jean-Luc Picard and his crew disobey Federation orders in hopes to save the peaceful Ba’Ku, and while it sounds like an interesting premise, many said it felt too much like an extended episode of the series instead of a big blockbuster film.

16. Star Trek: Nemesis (2379)

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The final Star Trek: The Next Generation movie is Star Trek: Nemesis , and it also isn’t looked at as one of the best. There are bright parts in the film, including Tom Hardy’s Shinzon who is first thought to be a Romulan praetor before it’s revealed he is a clone of Captain Jean-Luc Picard, but it also features a lot of retreaded ground. There are some great moments between our favorite TNG characters, but it’s not quite the goodbye many had hoped for. Luckily, this won’t be the last we’ll see of them.

17. Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (2369-2375)

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine is the fourth Star Trek series and it ran from 1993 to 1999 with 176 episodes over seven seasons. Deep Space Nine was also the first Star Trek series to be created without the direct involvement of Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry, but instead with Rick Berman and Michael Piller. Furthermore, it was the first series to begin when another Star Trek Series - The Next Generation - was still on the air.

The connections between The Next Generation and Deep Space Nine don’t end there, as there were a ton of callbacks to TNG in Deep Space Nine, and characters like Worf and Miles O’Brien played a big part in the series. Other TNG characters popped up from time to time, including Captain Jean-Luc Picard, and certain Deep Space Nine characters also showed their faces in TNG.

Deep Space Nine was a big departure from the Star Trek series that came before, as it not only took place mostly on a space station - the titular Deep Space Nine - but it was the first to star an African American as its central character in Avery Brooks’ Captain Benjamin Sisko.

Deep Space Nine was located in a very interesting part of the Milky Way Galaxy as it was right next to a wormhole, and the series was also filled with conflict between the Cardassians and Bajorans, the war between the Federation and the Dominion, and much more.

18. Star Trek: Voyager (2371-2378)

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Star Trek: Voyager is the fifth Star Trek series and it ran from 1995 to 2001 with 172 episodes over seven seasons. Star Trek: Voyager begins its journey at Deep Space Nine, and then it follows the tale of Kate Mulgrew’s Captain Kathryn Janeway (the first female leading character in Star Trek history!) and her crew getting lost and stranded in the faraway Delta Quadrant.

The episodes and adventures that follow all see the team fighting for one goal: getting home. Being so far away from the Alpha Quadrant we were so used to letting Star Trek be very creative in its storytelling and give us situations and alien races we’d never encountered before.

That doesn’t mean it was all unfamiliar, however, as the Borg became a huge threat in the later seasons. It’s a good thing too, as that led to the introduction of Jeri Ryan’s Seven of Nine, a character who would continue on to appear in Star Trek: Picard and become a fan favorite.

19. Star Trek: Lower Decks (2380-TBD)

Star Trek: Lower Decks debuted in 2020 and was the first animated series to make it to air since 1973’s Star Trek: The Animated Series. Alongside having that feather in its cap, it also sets itself apart by choosing to focus more on the lower lever crew instead of the captain and senior staff.

This leads to many fun adventures that may not be as high stakes as the other stories, but are no less entertaining. There have already been three seasons of Star Trek: Lower Decks, and the fourth season is set to arrive later this summer.

The series is also worth a watch as it is having a crossover with Star Trek: Strange New Worlds that will mix the worlds of live-action and animation.

20. Star Trek: Prodigy (2383-TBD)

Star Trek: Prodigy was the first fully 3D animated Star Trek series ever and told a story that began five years after the U.S.S. Voyager found its way back home to Earth. In this series, which was aimed for kids, a group of young aliens find an abandoned Starfleet ship called the U.S.S. Protostar and attempt to make it to Starfleet and the Alpha Quadrant from the Delta Quadrant.

Voyager fans will be delighted to know that Kate Mulgrew returns as Kathryn Janeway in this animated series, but not only as herself. She is also an Emergency Training Holographic Advisor that was based on the likeness of the former captain of the U.S.S. Voyager.

The second season of Star Trek: Prodigy was set to arrive later this year, but it was not only canceled in June, but also removed from Paramount+. There is still hope this show may find a second life on another streaming service or network.

21. Star Trek: Picard (2399-2402)

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Star Trek: Picard is the… well… next generation of Star Trek: The Next Generation as it brings back not only Partick Stewart’s Jean-Luc Picard, but also many of his former crew members from the beloved series. The story is set 20 years after the events of Star Trek Nemesis and we find Picard retired from Starfleet and living at his family’s vineyard in France.

Without spoiling anything, certain events get one of our favorite captains back to work and take him on an adventure through space and time over three seasons and 30 episodes.

The show had its ups and downs, but the third season, in our opinion, stuck the landing and gave us an “emotional, exciting, and ultimately fun journey for Jean-Luc and his family - both old and new - that gives the character the send-off that he has long deserved.”

22. Star Trek: Discovery: Seasons 3 and 4 (3188-TBD)

While Star Trek: Discovery begins around 10 years before Star Trek: The Original Series, the show jumps more than 900 years into the future into the 32nd Century following the events of the second season. The Federation is not in great shape and Captain Michael Burnham and her crew work to bring it back to what it once was.

Star Trek: Discovery is set to end after the upcoming fifth season, which will debut on Paramount+ in 2024.

How to Watch Star Trek by Order of Release

  • Star Trek: The Original Series (1966 - 1969)
  • Star Trek: The Animated Series (1973 - 1974)
  • Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979)
  • Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982)
  • Star Trek III: The Search for Spock (1984)
  • Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (1984)
  • Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987 - 1994)
  • Star Trek V: The Final Frontier (1989)
  • Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country (1991)
  • Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (1993 - 1999)
  • Star Trek: Generations (1994)
  • Star Trek: Voyager (1995 - 2001)
  • Star Trek: First Contact (1996)
  • Star Trek: Insurrection (1998)
  • Star Trek: Enterprise (2001 - 2005)
  • Star Trek: Nemesis (2002)
  • Star Trek (2009)
  • Star Trek Into Darkness (2013)
  • Star Trek Beyond (2016)
  • Star Trek: Discovery (2017 - Present)
  • Star Trek: Picard (2020 - 2023)
  • Star Trek: Lower Decks (2020 - Present)
  • Star Trek: Prodigy (2021 - TBA)
  • Star Trek: Strange New Worlds (2022 - Present)

For more, check out our look at the hidden meaning behind Star Trek’s great captains, why Star Trek doesn’t get credit as the first shared universe, if this may be the end of Star Trek’s golden age of streaming, and our favorite classic Star Trek episodes and movies.

In This Article

Star Trek

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Star trek: 10 unpopular opinions about the original series, according to reddit.

Star Trek: The Original Series is one of the most beloved series in history, yet some users on Reddit have unpopular opinions about the show.

Star Trek: The Original Series   sparked a sci-fi revolution in 1960s television and offered fans a hopeful glimpse into the future of mankind. Though very much a product of its time,  TOS  established a lasting legacy that would influence the  Star Trek  franchise for decades to come.

RELATED: The 20 Best Star Trek: The Original Series Episode To Rewatch

Despite its sainted reputation, there are aspects of the show that fans have taken umbrage with, and they aren't afraid to voice their opinions. Users on Reddit have taken to the site to speak out and make known many of their more unpopular opinions about the classic show.

William Shatner Is Not Up To Snuff

Kirk looks on with terror on his face from Star Trek

One of the defining aspects of  TOS  was its dynamic cast, including its charismatic leader in Captain James T. Kirk as portrayed by William Shatner. Though Kirk produced some of the most difficult moments of the series , some believe that Shatner's performance is suspect. User RP_Fan said of the actor, "William Shatner is a terrible actor and an embarrassment to the brand".

Though large aspects of  TOS  are cheesy by today's standards, they were revolutionary for their time. As for Shatner, his history as a television actor made him a perfect choice for the verbose character. Over time, Shatner settled into the role and showed growth in the character in the films, especially  The Wrath of Khan. 

Star Trek: The Original Series Hasn't Aged Well

The crew gathers around Spock from Star Trek

The television of the 1960s was more focused on the story and less focused on dazzling sets and exciting special effects. Because of this,  TOS  is very much a product of the time it was made in, and it is best to look past its technical flaws. User N0-1_H3r3 couldn't see past the flaws when they wrote "The Original Series is good for its time, but it has not aged well".

In many ways, if something is good for its time it is also good for all time as well. As media ages it will inevitably fall behind modern advancements in technology and what remains is the positive aspects.  TOS  was anchored by an important idea and clever concepts which still stand out today, even if the technical aspects haven't aged well.

Star Trek Is A Ripoff Of The Twilight Zone

William Shatner in Both Star Trek and The Twilight Zone

Comparison can be a sincere form of flattery but it can also be used as a point of derision when something is meant to be inferior to the thing it is being compared to. The 1960s was a progressive and influential time in television and there were certain similarities between successful shows. A deleted user saw a comparison to be made between two '60s staples when they wrote " TOS  was just  Twilight Zone   in space".

Though  The Twilight Zone  also produced many classic episodes , the two shows were also very different. Both shows were helmed by TV visionaries but they departed most on their outlook on the world and the future of humanity.  Star Trek  was a utopian vision for the future while  The Twilight Zone  was a less than positive view of human nature through short morality tales.

Star Trek: The Original Series' Lows Aren't That Low

Kirk and McCoy stand chained next to a skeleton

The Original Series  had soaring moments and classic episodes , but it is also widely agreed that there were a fair number of duds as well. No show, no matter how beloved, is entirely perfect and many fans have chosen to ignore the less than stellar aspects of  TOS.  However, user SingerOfSongs_ had a more rosy view of the show when they wrote "The bad episodes of  TOS  aren't even that bad, and are still very entertaining".

RELATED: 5 Ways Wrath Of Khan Is The Best Star Trek Movie (And 5 Ways It's The Undiscovered Country)

Star Trek  purists typically are averse to some of the stranger episodes of  TOS  and prefer to focus on the many highlights. However, there are also a fair number of great moments to be enjoyed within the cheesier episodes of the show as well. The episode "Catspaw" for instance, is an entertaining and spooky space adventure that essentially serves as a Halloween episode.

Most of Star Trek: The Original Series' Canon Should Be Tossed Out

Sarek and Amanda speak with Kirk and crew from Journey To Babel

In a long running franchise like  Star Trek,  it is important to establish the rules of the universe so that the stories can remain consistent. When it comes to  TOS,  the classic series helped to establish what the future of the franchise would look like. User im_at_worq wasn't happy with  TOS 's canon when writing "At least 60% of  TOS  should be de-canonized. Some of the concepts don't make sense at all".

While many of the sequel series have had to grapple with updating the antiquated look of  TOS , the bones of the canon are still strong. While sets, special affects, and makeup technology improve with each passing year, what is most important about  Star Trek  is its story canon. Eliminating large swaths of  TOS  would fundamentally destabilize what  Star Trek  was intended to be.

Star Trek: The Original Series' Season 3 Is Good

Two Cheron stand side by side while looking on from The Original Series

Though it broke new ground,  TOS  didn't have the best run when it initially aired. Though fans rarely agree on most things, it is almost universally accepted that the third season of the show was inferior to its predecessors. However, user MiddleAgedGeek had different ideas when they wrote " TOS  season 3 is underrated".

Though there were bright spots to be gleaned from the third season such as "Let That Be Your Last Battlefield", the season also had many lows. Many of the episodes in the final season tended towards cheesier aspects or were downright laughable such as the infamous episode "Spock's Brain".

Star Trek: The Original Series Has The Most Problematic Canon

Khan looks on from Star Trek

Some fans lament the handling of canon in regards to newer series that attempt to co-opt the  Trek  universe. User spillwaybrain offered a different view on the sanctity of the canon when they wrote " TOS  breaks canon more than any other series, movie, time travel episode, or alternate timeline since".

The establishment of canon in the 1960s wasn't necessarily the most important goal of  TOS . However, as the universe got more fleshed out, a more careful eye was taken to preserving the canon. Subsequently, many of the novels, movies, and extraneous media have attempted to establish a more consistent narrative.

Mudd Is A Bad Star Trek Character

Harry Mudd talks to Captain Kirk from Star Trek

In its relatively short run on TV,  Star Trek  established many memorable characters in the main cast as well as in supporting roles. Harry Mudd was one of the few side characters to appear more than once, and he left an impression on fans. However, a deleted user had a less positive view of the character when writing "Harry Mudd is a tiresome bore of a character".

RELATED: The 20 Best Star Trek: The Next Generation Episodes Of All Time

The character is not supposed to be likable which makes him the perfect foil for the stand-up characters of the Federation. However, it is possible that an unlikable character can become so unlikable that fans don't want to see them. Though he may rub some viewers the wrong way, there is no doubting Harry Mudd's importance in the  TOS  legacy.

"Tomorrow Is Yesterday" Is Clumsy

Kirk is held by two military men from Star Trek

The episode "Tomorrow Is Yesterday" finds the Enterprise above modern day Earth and a fighter pilot is taken aboard the ship. User Muteatrocity wrote this of the episode "My main reason for disliking  TOS  is boiled down to the episode 'Tomorrow Is Yesterday'...that really obvious sci-fi concepts such as timeline pollution is treated so clumsy".

The fact that Kirk fails to realize he is polluting the timeline is obvious to modern viewers, but in the 1960s it was complicated stuff. Though time travel would become an important part of  Trek , it was necessary to explain the idea of timeline pollution to the viewer so that they could more easily understand it.

There's Too Much Love For Gene Roddenberry

Gene Roddenberry poses on the set of Star Trek

Gene Roddenberry's vision for a utopian future was the impetus for  Star Trek  and he is the entire reason the franchise exists. However, user FKRMunkiBoi would rather he be forgotten when writing "I think Gene Roddenberry gets way more credit than he deserves compared to others who worked on  Trek".

Though many creators have taken his ideas and ran with them, there is no denying Roddenberry's importance to the  Star Trek  universe. What makes him so important is his insistence on the original concepts of  TOS.  As the franchise spun off into movies and subsequent shows, Roddenberry insisted on consistency within the themes.

NEXT: The Doctors Of Star Trek, Ranked By Likability

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Resistance is futile: every ‘star trek’ series ranked from worst to best, temba, his arms wide.

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine cast

That’s right folks, it’s time to get down and dirty. Again. There are ten different, separate, and distinctive Star Trek shows that now exist in the universe. Five of them are airing (or are in production) at this very moment. That is a lot of Star Trek ! How is a person supposed to make sense of it all? That’s why I am here. To guide you through the chaos. And to brutally and bluntly rank every single series of my very favorite franchise. 

Yes, it will get ugly, but harsh truths must be shared. This isn’t to be confused with the best Star Trek episodes or the best Star Trek movies . I already upset everyone with that list! We all have our favorite captains and crews, but it’s time to get down and dirty like the Maquis or the Tal Shiar and pit each series against each other. So what is the best Star Trek series? Here’s every Star Trek series ranked worst to best.

10. Star Trek: Picard

Listen, this hurts me, it really does. As a child of the nineties, Jean Luc Picard was my captain. TNG was my introduction to the wonders of the Star Trek universe. But, his triumphant return in Star Trek: Picard , has been well, anything but. Season one was rocky and uneven, with a pretty unsatisfying end, and season two was a straight up disaster almost from the jump. It starts with interesting premises, but they always wind up spinning their wheels and making the least exciting choices instead. Their most egregious sin, however, was bringing back Q and then barely using him except as a de-powered and impotent red herring, and then killing him off! I have some hope for season 3 and the return of the TNG core cast, but honestly not much.

9. Star Trek: Prodigy

I want to give this show a little bit of slack because it’s a kid show and it brought back my gal Janeway, but from the jump, it felt like a show that hated that it was Star Trek . The premise of alien kids escaping an evil hooded lord who wields psychic powers, an evil droid, and a red laser sword blade…. baby that’s Star Wars ! And I love Star Wars , but what I don’t love is a show that desperately wants to be Star Wars and isn’t! The actors even went so far as to say that they didn’t think children would get Star Trek , so they took it upon themselves to try and make it accessible and exciting, which, aside from being deeply insulting to my former childhood self who loved Star Trek , seems to misunderstand the source material! Star Trek is so great because it is able to balance exciting action and more philosophical ethical dilemmas. So it gets second to last place for taking the Trek out of Star Trek .

8. Star Trek: Discovery

I have to be honest, the only reason DISCO isn’t in last place is because it had the decency to take itself 900 years into the future and out of everyone’s way. And also, because the first season was actually fairly enjoyable. Sure, it did away with the episodic nature of Star Trek and focused on one main A plot, but at the time that felt refreshing! It had a big budget and a great cast and it was fun to watch unfold, even if the Klingons got yet another makeover. But every season since has dipped further and further into melodrama (and at times, soap opera.) An episode of DISCO isn’t over until Burnham cries at least three times. It’s exhausting. The crew of Discovery all need serious co-dependency therapy. And some Lexapro. It makes me long for the hey-days of Star Trek as a polite, collegial workplace drama. 

7. Star Trek: Enterprise

The worst of “old” Trek! I mean, just listen to the opening theme. In 2001, the heyday of Trek shows was ending; Deep Space Nine had been over for two years, and Voyager was coming to an end. But CBS was determined to find a way to make it popular in the mainstream again. Unfortunately, their choices were disastrous. They did away with the traditional Trek orchestral opening score, and instead, slapped on a song that sounded like Toby Keith meets Nickelback. And then there was the infamous lotioning scene. In an attempt to make Trek sexy again (which to be fair, is very in the spirit of infamous horn dog Gene Roddenberry), Enterprise sealed its fate with a gratuitous “decontamination” sequence that consisted of T’Pol and Trip Tucker rubbing lube all over each other’s nearly naked bodies. Folks were not having it, and while it did get much better as the series went on, it only lasted four seasons.

6. Star Trek: Voyager

I will admit, Star Trek: Voyager is an acquired taste. My first watch-through, as a teenager, I was not enamored with Captain Janeway or her lost crew. However, when I revisited it as a wisened and mature twenty-something, I found myself quite delighted. And my love for it has only grown. I love that Voyager asks the very important question: “what if Katherine Hepburn was the captain of a starship?” Janeway is a queen, and Tuvok is one of my very favorite Vulcans. It also has the honor of having the darkest episode in Star Trek history, with “Tuvix’—in which Neelix and Tuvix are fused into one new being after a transporter accident. Janeway must then decide whether to keep this new life form or kill it in order to bring back her two crewmen. It is heavy and heartbreaking. 

5. Star Trek: Strange New Worlds

Strange New Worlds is only halfway through its first season but it has already earned its spot among the best Star Trek shows. Certainly among the best of new Trek. The cast is charismatic and has terrific chemistry and the writing is excellent. It feels like the best of old Trek. The crew have personal dramas and backstories, but each episode is focused on them solving a different moral, philosophical, or life-threatening mystery! There are some canon issues (as with almost all new Trek) that can be frustrating for a true nerd, but overall, it is refreshing to see a crew having fun and being professional! Good lord, I know I’m old because I am very excited to see a professional workplace environment. Plus, the cast is smoking hot. Very good eye candy all around.

4. Star Trek: Lower Decks

Hands down the best of the new Treks . Each episode is packed full of jokes and references and very deep cuts of old Star Trek canon—while still telling a good story—and a good Star Trek story! The characters and premises might sometimes run a bit sillier than a live-action Trek show, but at its heart, it is still telling stories that center around puzzles or dilemmas that the crew needs to solve as diplomatically as possible. The characters are lovable and quirky, the voice acting is terrific, and they get some incredible cameo performances from some iconic Trek actors. Plus, no Star Trek villain will ever be as devious as Badgey. 

3. Star Trek: The Next Generation

The formative Trek show of my youth. Star Trek: The Next Generation is perhaps the show that my generation thinks of first when hearing the words “ Star Trek .” It not only brought Star Trek back into people’s homes, it gave us one of the most iconic core casts. Patrick Stewart’s Picard is many people’s favorite captain. It also gave us Data, Riker, Worf, and my second and third favorite antagonists in Star Trek history, Q and The Borg. (First place goes to Ricardo Montalban as Khan, obviously.) Now, not every episode is a banger, but it gave us so many legendary Trek moments that I can overlook a few stinkers. 

2. Star Trek: The Original Series

The one that started it all! We would not be here today without Gene Roddenberry’s seminal work, the 1966 original series! It might be easy to dismiss it by today’s standards, after all, most of the sets are clearly plywood, styrofoam, and neon lighting, and it carries with it some of the problematic tropes and morals of its time. But it has so much more going for it: it is filmed in beautiful, bright technicolor. The costumes are both gorgeous and hilarious. The sets are flimsy and the action sequences are perhaps not always the most well executed, but it’s campy as hell and so fun to watch. Plus, it set the framework for the Trek that we know and love today. It originated the “trolley problems” and ethical dilemmas Starfleet captains are still facing today. A lot of the writing in it is terrific and it created iconic character archetypes in Kirk and Spock. Look, it spawned an almost 60-year legacy and nine spin-off shows for a reason.

1. Star Trek: Deep Space Nine

If the original series and The Next Generation established the tone and the archetypes, Deep Space Nine perfected them. It is the pinnacle of Star Trek shows. Not only does it have a terrific ensemble and great writing, it manages to blend the episodic nature of the Trek procedural with an overarching A-line plot (of the Dominion War) as the seasons unfolded. Avery Brooks’ Captain Sisko is definitely the best Star Trek captain. It has to be said and I stand by it! It also has some of the best episodes in all of Trek, including “It’s Only a Paper Moon,” a heartbreaking episode about Nog’s PTSD. That episode not only took the ramifications of war seriously, but it also flipped the notion of what a comedic sidekick was. Nog was no longer just the silly friend of the captain’s son, he became the heart of the show. And that is why Deep Space Nine remains the best of the best.

(featured image: Paramount)

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Walter Koenig, Leonard Nimoy, William Shatner, James Doohan, DeForest Kelley, George Takei, and Nichelle Nichols in Star Trek (1966)

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. 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. 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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  • Trivia In the hallways of the Enterprise there are tubes marked "GNDN." These initials stand for "goes nowhere does nothing."
  • Goofs The deck locations for Kirk's Quarters, Sickbay and Transporter Room vary (usually between decks 4-7) throughout the series.

Dr. McCoy : "He's dead, Jim."

  • Crazy credits On some episodes, the closing credits show a still that is actually from the Star Trek blooper reel. It is a close-up of stunt man Bill Blackburn who played an android in Return to Tomorrow (1968) , removing his latex make up. In the reel, He is shown taking it off, while an off-screen voice says "You wanted show business, you got it!"
  • Alternate versions In 2006, CBS went back to the archives and created HD prints of every episode of the show. In addition to the new video transfer, they re-did all of the model shots and some matte paintings using CGI effects, and re-recorded the original theme song to clean it up. These "Enhanced" versions of the episodes aired on syndication and have been released on DVD and Blu-Ray.
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Kenneth Mitchell, 'Star Trek: Discovery' actor, dies after battle with ALS

star trek series reddit

Kenneth Mitchell, an actor who appeared in shows like " Star Trek: Discovery " and "Jericho," has died following a battle with ALS . He was 49.

Mitchell's death was confirmed on Sunday in a statement shared to his verified Instagram page . "With heavy hearts we announce the passing of Kenneth Alexander Mitchell, beloved father, husband, brother, uncle, son and dear friend," the post said.

Mitchell portrayed multiple characters in various episodes of " Star Trek: Discovery ," including a Klingon named Kol, and voiced characters on the animated series "Star Trek: Lower Decks." He also starred as Eric Green on CBS' " Jericho ," and in the 2019 Marvel film " Captain Marvel ," he played Joseph Danvers, father of Carol Danvers ( Brie Larson ), in a flashback scene.

In 2020, Mitchell revealed he had been diagnosed with ALS two years earlier. In an interview with People at the time, he said he had been using a wheelchair since 2019 and was diagnosed in 2018 after he began experiencing twitching in his muscles.

"The moment that they told us it was (ALS), it was like I was in my own movie," Mitchell said. "That's what it felt like, like I was watching that scene where someone is being told that they have a terminal illness. It was just a complete disbelief, a shock."

What is ALS the rare disease making it 'impossible' for Roberta Flack to sing?

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, also known as ALS, is a nervous system disease that "affects nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord" and causes loss of muscle control, according to the Mayo Clinic .

One of the "Star Trek" characters Mitchell played was Aurellio, who used a hovercraft chair. In an Instagram post in 2021, the actor said he was "incredibly grateful for the inclusion." He described this role as "a reminder that despite one's disabilities there is always room for possibility & ability."

In 2022, he also appeared in the FX series "The Old Man" as a character created for him.

Mitchell is survived by his wife, Susan, and their two children. He previously told People that after his diagnosis, his focus became spending as much time with his family as possible, including giving up a television lead role that would require him to move.

"For five and a half years Ken faced a series of awful challenges from ALS," the statement shared on his social media said. "And in truest Ken fashion, he managed to rise above each one with grace and commitment to living a full and joyous life in each moment. He lived by the principles that each day is a gift and that we never walk alone."

The statement concluded: "His life is a shining example of how full one can be when you live with love, compassion, humour, inclusion, and community."

A new ALS drug extends patients' lives by months, giving hope for those facing such a 'brutal illness'

Kenneth Mitchell, 'Star Trek: Discovery' and 'Captain Marvel' actor, dies at 49 after ALS diagnosis

2018 Star Trek Convention Las Vegas

Kenneth Mitchell, the actor who starred in "Star Trek: Discovery" and "Captain Marvel," died Saturday. He was 49 years old. 

“With heavy hearts we announce the passing of Kenneth Alexander Mitchell, beloved father, husband, brother, uncle, son, and dear friend to many,” his family said in a statement shared on Instagram. 

Mitchell died after a 5 ½-year struggle with Lou Gehrig’s disease, a neurodegenerative disease that affects nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord. 

Despite the “series of awful challenges” Mitchell faced as a result of the disease, his family said, he “managed to rise above each one with grace and commitment to living a full and joyous life in each moment.” 

Mitchell, born Nov. 24, 1974, in Toronto, rose to fame for his portrayal of the Klingons Kol, Kol-Sha and Tenavik, as well as Aurellio, on "Star Trek: Discovery," and for playing Joseph Danvers in "Captain Marvel." 

He also acted in the hockey drama "Miracle" and appeared on "Grey’s Anatomy," "NCIS" and "Criminal Minds," among others. 

The “Star Trek” universe paid tribute to Mitchell on its website Sunday, saying it was “deeply saddened” by his passing. 

Kenneth Mitchell

“The entire Star Trek family sends their condolences to Mitchell’s family, friends, loved ones, and fans around the world,” it said. 

His family remembered him, among other things, as a “hope seeker,” “dream believer,” “beach walker” and “garden grower,” but most of all as a “proud father.” 

He is survived by his wife, Susan, and their children, Lilah and Kallum. His family said he requested that any gifts be directed toward research for the disease, also called amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or ALS. 

According to a passage Mitchell wrote and shared in the tribute, he wished to be buried under the roots of a tree, "so I can be soaked up, all my matter, my energy, my love, my laughter, my tears and I want to reach up through the branches and touch the night sky.”

Mike Gagliardi is a researcher with the NBC News Network Desk.

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Star Trek Should Remove Section 31 From The Timeline, Says Fan

  • The upcoming Star Trek: Section 31 movie has sparked fan discussion and high expectations due to the enigmatic nature of the organization.
  • Some fans are unhappy with the addition of Section 31 to Star Trek canon and propose that the movie should dismantle and remove the organization from the timeline.
  • The success of the project lies in delivering a compelling end to Section 31, as trying to redeem the concept within one film would be a monumental task. Fan concern over franchise fatigue is also a factor to consider.

The Star Trek: Section 31 movie has a lot of fan expectations attached to it, and one critical social media user has an ironic request for the writers of the upcoming project that could have far-reaching consequences on the Star Trek canon.

Many in the Star Trek universe and even longtime fans don’t know what the enigmatic Section 31 is , and that’s just how the organization likes it. Featured across several episodes of Star Trek TV and in novels and comics, Section 31 is the shadowy arm of the utopian Federation that delves into dark and questionable activity to safeguard the Federation and its reputation. CBS announced a series based around the organization in 2019, which has since been reworked into a feature film made for Paramount Plus and fueled quite a lot of fan discussion.

Star Trek Fans Explain Why They Hate Patrick Stewart's Picard Series

While Section 31 has retroactively become integral to some of the most important moments in Starfleet history , some fans aren’t happy about the addition anymore, and at least one fan on social media has a radical idea about how the upcoming Star Trek: Section 31 film can rectify the situation. Reddit user silly-er took to r/startrek to express their radical proposition for the film, boldly stating it with the post title “The Section 31 movie should take down the org and remove it from the timeline” and giving a breakdown of the issue. “Section 31 was an interesting and provocative idea when they introduced it in DS9. Since then, in Discovery and Picard, Section 31 has worn out it's welcome (for me). They very nearly eliminated it at the end of Discovery S2, but left us with "reform" that obviously didn't work.” The user then bluntly proffered a solution that the project's writers could use.

The new Section 31 movie will ideally involve the disassembly of the Section 31 organization from the inside, by our favorite agent. Maybe in the early 25th century? And then when the deed is done, we can never speak of it again

There are several ways that Star Trek has Influenced the real world , and vice versa, and the idea of Section 31 was an ambitious attempt at integrating a vaguely real-world concept into the demonstrably utopian world of Star Trek 's Federation. While the idea of deconstructing the Federation’s idyllic exterior face has been done from time to time with some success and weight behind it, the existence of Section 31 might have taken it too far. Fans will be glad the feature-length project can deliver a compelling end to the organization. Moreso, it seems to be the path of least resistance, as trying to redeem the idea within the runtime of one film is bound to be a herculean task beyond the scope of a straight-to-streaming project.

Standing over the concerns with the Section 31 project is the fan concern that Star Trek might make the same mistakes as Star Wars with its massive slate of Spin-offs and projects that may not reflect fans' interests. Fatigue is a real issue with any large franchise in the streaming era, and this upcoming project might be another step toward the edge of the abyss for Star Trek if the writers don’t pull off an impressive feat .

Star Trek: Section 31 will be released on Paramount Plus.

Star Trek is a space exploration franchise created by Gene Roddenberry. The series has spanned shows like The Original Series, The Next Generation, and Voyager. More recently, developer Scopely came out with Star Trek Fleet Command, a mobile title where you can be captain of your ship.

Created by Gene Roddenberry

First Film Star Trek: The Motion Picture

Latest Film Star Trek Beyond

First TV Show Star Trek: The Original Series

Latest TV Show Star Trek: Strange New Worlds

Creation Year 1966

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Tales From the Void Brings Reddit's Scariest Stories to TV Life

If you need a new anthology horror show to sink your teeth into, this may suit your needs..

Promo image from Tales From the Void.

Like Twitter or Tiktok, Reddit is a platform built on (often fake ) stories—some funny, some sad, and some scary as hell. And with anything up for grabs to turn into a TV show or movie, the scariest (and most viral) of Reddit’s horror tales are being adapted for the small screen with the upcoming series Tales From the Void .

Per Variety , streaming service Screambox will air the six-episode show later this year. Premise-wise, it’s an anthology series in the vein of the old Goosebumps TV show or more recently AMC’s Creepshow . Each episode will pull from a popular story on the r/NoSleep subreddit, such as “The Black Square” from Matt Dymerski, Rebecca Klingel’s “Betsy the Doll,” and “I used to hack baby monitors” by Manen Lyset. Series directors include filmmakers such as Joe Lynch ( Mayhem ), Maritte Lee Go ( A Rose for Her Grave ), and co-showrunner Francesco Loschavio ( Refugee ).

“From creepy dolls to unborn children, unexplained invasions to paranormal hauntings, unsolved mysteries to serial murders, Tales From The Void draws from a wide spectrum of horror sub-genres with each episode paying homage to a classic and cult films from the eighties and nineties,” reads the website . “Each tale blends genre thrills with social commentary to explore the darker side of the human psyche.

In a press release, executive producer Brad Miska wrote that Tales “delves through the best of horror, all from the unique perspective of some of the prominent modern voices in horror. As someone who grew up on Tales from the Crypt and Creepshow, I have an obsession with anthologies and can’t wait for horror fans to see these classic ‘No Sleep’ stories come to life.”

“This series is a love letter to the r/NoSleep community,” continued Lovaschio, saying it’ll “celebrate the breadth and depth of the horror genre. We put a lot of time and care into curating and adapting these stories for television, and we look forward to seeing how audiences react.”

Tales From the Void will hit Screambox in the fall.

Want more io9 news? Check out when to expect the latest Marvel , Star Wars , and Star Trek releases, what’s next for the DC Universe on film and TV , and everything you need to know about the future of Doctor Who .

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COMMENTS

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    Back when Paramount was trying to churning out Star Trek Series without concern of burnout, I was wondering with the cameo of Wheaton in the season 2 finale, I was hoping they would consider taking another stab as Assigned Earth. I feel like the roles Isa Briones were short and choppy and not developed.

  2. What's the best Star Trek Series? : r/startrek

    TacticAngel. • 5 yr. ago. If you're getting into Star Trek from the Orville, then Star Trek: The Next Generation (Season 2) is probably the best place to start, though the original series probably has a better sense of humor. TNG is definitely the series that seems to have inspired Seth the most, and it is probably the purest distillation of ...

  3. What's your personal ranking of the Star Trek shows from most ...

    Tied for 1: TNG, DS9, VOY (The epitome of Star Trek, and my two personal favorites.) Tied for 1.5: SNW, The Orville (They will probably both end up tied for 1 as well. I think I'm just draggingy feet because the three above are my childhood Star Trek series, and it seems almost wrong to admit other thing are as good as they are.

  4. Rank all Star Trek Series (and Explain Why) : r/startrek

    3.) TNG. Behind DS9, this is probably the show with the most consistent quality. Even its often cited shaky first couple of seasons had some strong, smart, and subtle stories that really nailed what Star trek is about. Some of the episodes stand out as the most emotionally charged that Trek has ever had.

  5. Is Star Trek worth watching? (TV shows specifically) : r/startrek

    The Original Series is quite campy and dated, so I don't suggest to start there. The four series from the late 80s to the early 00s are often considered the best of Star Trek, so here are a couple episode suggestions for each of the series. The Next Generation is completely episodic, and is often considered the epitome of Star Trek.

  6. Original series episodes recommendations : r/startrek

    Star Trek 2: The Wrath of Khan Not necessarily a list of the best episodes (though there are some top quality ones in there), but rather episodes where something significant happens that comes up again in later series, so you can both get to know the characters and not miss out on the references.

  7. Star trek the animated series. : r/startrek

    I filly admit as a very small child I never liked Star trek then I watched the animated series with my father and I loved it and been a trek fan since. While DS9 is my favourite animated will always hold a place in my heart. Like the transformers comic using g1 and animated hit hard for me and I loved it for that. There is so great episodes too.

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    Star Trek Beyond-- The only one of the Kelvin timeline films that feels even remotely like Star Trek, and the only one that doesn't feel like a relentless assault on the senses. A fun, well-made popcorn flick. ... In lieu of Reddit gold and awards, ... Stewart is the best actor Trek ever had leading a series. When I remember stand out ...

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    Chemistry Between The Characters. Despite all of the philosophy, and exploration, every Star Trek series hinges on the characters to carry the show. User MAJORMETAL84 thought TOS did characters best when they said "The Triune Godhead of Trek, JTK, Spock, Bones, has yet to be matched in terms of the chemistry and depth of their relationship in ...

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    The recent release of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds will undoubtedly reignite the age-old debate over which Star Trek series is truly the best. While every show has its defenders, fans of Deep Space Nine are one of the most vocal groups, and they have a plethora of reasons to love their favorite Trek. From the gripping ongoing storylines to the memorable villains, DS9 stood out from its ...

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    (Photo by Paramount+/CBS) Star Trek TV Shows Ranked by Tomatometer. Updated: September 8, 2023. The Star Trek universe kicked off in 1966 with the original series, created by science fiction visionary Gene Roddenberry, and later exploded into a massive film and TV juggernaut.. While the original series, which starred William Shatner as Captain James T. Kirk and Leonard Nimoy as Mr. Spock, saw ...

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    1. Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (1993-1999) Everett Collection. Placing Star Trek: Deep Space Nine in the top spot is perhaps a contentious decision. However, this series did more than measure up ...

  17. Star Trek: 10 Unpopular Opinions About Enterprise (According To Reddit)

    Poorly Acted And Flat Storylines. As the first Star Trek series to appear in the 21st century, Enterprise took on a more new-modern tone than its predecessors. One reason, according to Reddit user JobSnoWight, why the show may have been poorly received during its original run was because of the poor acting and flat-as-a-pancake storylines.

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    Where to Watch: Paramount+ 20. Star Trek: Prodigy (2383-TBD) Star Trek: Prodigy was the first fully 3D animated Star Trek series ever and told a story that began five years after the U.S.S ...

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    A truly stellar year overall. 9. Star Trek: Enterprise, Season 4 (2004-2005) Paramount Television. Enterprise is often seen as the most unloved series of the entire Star Trek franchise. It came ...

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    Published Feb 19, 2022. Star Trek: The Original Series is one of the most beloved series in history, yet some users on Reddit have unpopular opinions about the show. Star Trek: The Original Series sparked a sci-fi revolution in 1960s television and offered fans a hopeful glimpse into the future of mankind.

  21. Every 'Star Trek' Series Ranked Worst to Best

    Here's every Star Trek series ranked worst to best. 10. Star Trek: Picard. Listen, this hurts me, it really does. As a child of the nineties, Jean Luc Picard was my captain. TNG was my ...

  22. Star Trek (TV Series 1966-1969)

    Star Trek: Created by Gene Roddenberry. With Leonard Nimoy, William Shatner, DeForest Kelley, Nichelle Nichols. 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.

  23. List of Star Trek television series

    The Original Series logo. Star Trek is an American media franchise based on the science fiction television series created by Gene Roddenberry.The first television series, simply called Star Trek and now referred to as The Original Series, debuted in 1966 and aired for three seasons on NBC.The Star Trek canon includes eight live-action television series, three animated series and one short-form ...

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    Mitchell portrayed multiple characters in various episodes of "Star Trek: Discovery," including a Klingon named Kol, and voiced characters on the animated series "Star Trek: Lower Decks."He also ...

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  27. Tales From the Void Brings Reddit's Scariest Stories to TV Life

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