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Meet the STAR TREK: PRODIGY Cast and Characters — And See New Images From the Animated Series!

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After nearly a year since the show’s title was announced , and eight months since we learned of Kate Mulgrew’s participation, we’ve learned barely anything about the cast of characters set to lead the upcoming Nickelodeon/Paramount+ animated series Star Trek: Prodigy , a kid-targeted show set just a few years after the  USS Voyager  returned home.

That is… until today! Expanding upon the tantalizing character image released back in February, Paramount+ has just unveiled the names and backgrounds of Prodigy’s alien characters, along with the voice actors who will be bringing them to life when the show arrives “later this year.”

British actor Ella Purnell stars as Gwyn , a 17-year-old member of the Vau N’ Akat species, a new race to Star Trek , who was raised on her father’s bleak mining planet — and grew up dreaming of exploring the stars.

Purnell was most recently seen in Zack Snyder’s Army of the Dead  which landed on Netflix earlier this year, and starred in the two-season run of  Sweetbitter on Starz.

Brett Gray stars as 17-year-old Dal — a purple alien whose race is not yet known — who fancies himself a maverick and holds strong onto his unwavering hope even in the toughest of times.

Gray currently stars as one of the leads on the Netflix coming-of-age series  On My Block , and recently made guest appearances on  When They See Us and  Chicago P.D.

Always-energetic comedic actor Jason Mantzoukas stars as Tellarite teenager Jankom Pog , a species which has been part of Star Trek  lore since the Original Series, with members of the argumentative race later taking on a prominent role during the final season of Star Trek: Enterprise .

At age 16, Pog loves a good argument like many of the Tellarites we’ve seen before, and regardless of his own opinion, he’ll always play ‘devil’s advocate’ for the sake of hearing all sides. (Many fans speculated this character would be a Talaxian — like  Voyager’s Neelix.)

Mantzoukas has been seen in many high-profile television comedies including Brooklyn 99, The Good Place , and The League,  and has performed many voice acting roles for shows like  Big Mouth ,  Invincible , and  American Dad! .

Angus Imrie stars as a member of another classic  Star Trek race: Zero the Medusan , an energy-based life form whose species was introduced in 1968’s “Is There in Truth No Beauty?”

Medusans are non-corporeal and genderless, and are known to cause madness to any humanoid who would lay eyes on their natural form — so Zero wears a containment suit to protect those around them.

The British actor has perhaps most prominently appeared as Prince Edward in Netflix’s  The Crown , with other recent guest appearances in  Fleabag and the Batman prequel series  Pennyworth .

Perhaps best known as the voice of Captain Rex (and all of the Empire’s other clone troopers) in the multitude of Star Wars animated television shows, the prolific actor also voices German man-turned-fish Klaus on American Dad!,  Animal on the current run of  Muppet Babies , as well as hundreds of other characters over his long career.

At just 10 years old, Alazraqui has only been in the business for a short time, and to date has most notably contributed voices to Cartoon Network’s Summer Camp Island. As for her character, Rok-Tahk may be the most interesting member of this alien crew, as her race actually began life among the pages of 1990s-era  Star Trek print storytelling.

The Brikar (or Brikarian) species was originally created by author Peter David in his 1993 young-adult  Star Trek: Starfleet Academy tale  Worf’s First Adventure , and later incorporated the race into his the original novel series Star Trek: New Frontier .

Zak Kebron , the Brikar who originated in Worf’s First Adventure and later served as New Frontier security chief aboard the USS  Excalibur , was an extremely strong rock-like creature who was raised in a high-gravity environment (like the other members of his species). Eventually, Kebron lost his rocky appearance as he matured, a natural change part of Brikar development.

While it’s hard to tell from this early description how much of that novel-based Brikar alien depiction will carry over to television, as the character was depicted in different designs as Kebron appeared on different book covers and in  New Frontier comics, but the young Rok-Tahk certainly appears “rocky” enough to bring the species into the television world.

Of course, rounding out the cast is returning  Star Trek: Voyager  series lead Kate Mulgrew as Kathryn Janeway, who in this show will be voicing a hologram of the USS Voyager captain — an “emergency training hologram” who will be the sole Starfleet representation on the unfamiliar ship that the young aliens find while escaping prison in the Delta Quadrant.

*   *   *   *

This breakdown of the cast and animated crew isn’t the only thing that Paramount+ is showing off today, as they’ve also released a few stills from  Star Trek: Prodigy  today — giving us a feel for the animation style and cinematography of the upcoming show.

JUNE 17 UPDATE : Four more images, showing some of the beautiful digital landscapes from  Prodigy , were released today.

This animated art design — with lush coloring and a dazzling depth of field — clearly puts Star Trek: Prodigy light-years away from the animated styles of not only the classic 1970’s  Animated Series , but this decade’s  Star Trek: Lower Decks as well.

While there’s still no air date past “later this year” for  Prodigy , this infusion of new information must mean we’re going to see some footage from the upcoming series sometime soon — and with San Diego Comic Con just over a month way, that’s when we’re thinking the next big news day will come for this animated show.

Star Trek: Prodigy  will debut on Paramount+ in the United States sometime in late 2021 before later airing on Nickelodeon; the show will also be available on the CTV Sci-Fi Channel in Canada.

Additional international availability has not yet been announced.

• Angus Imrie
• Behind The Scenes
• Dee Bradley Baker
• Ella Purnell
• Jason Mantzoukas
• PRO Season 1
• Rylee Alazraqui
• Star Trek: Prodigy

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50 Years Of 'Star Trek' Animation: Looking Back At The Animated Series

Image Source: Netflix

Star Trek Day every year on September 8 celebrates the shows, movies, and other memorabilia of the Star Trek universe . Star Trek , now called Star Trek: The Original Series to differentiate from later iterations , aired in the United States 57 years ago, on September 8, 1966. The Original Series ran for three years after almost being canceled just two seasons in. The fanbase supported the series so strongly that over 110,000 letters were sent from fans to NBC to continue the series after season two. The Enterprise’s five-year mission can be split between the three years of The Original Series and the two years of Star Trek: The Animated Series , finishing out the ship’s voyage under Captain Kirk’s leadership. 

As we celebrate 57 years of Star Trek this year, we also celebrate 50 years of Star Trek animation, from The Animated Series to the more recent Star Trek: Lower Decks and Star Trek: Prodigy . The animation company Filmation produced Star Trek: The Animated Series from September 8, 1973 to October 1974. About three years after The Original Series went off the air, there was a reprise of interest as reruns gained popularity with the growing fanbase. NBC had updated the factors that comprised the Nielsen ratings and they found out that they had made a grave error. The Original Series had achieved stellar ratings with its target demographic, men aged 18-45. The revised Nielsen rating system also revealed that The Original Series was one of the most successful TV shows ever aired on the network. Paramount Pictures and NBC immediately wanted to put it back on the air, but realized that the production would cost way too much and many props and sets had been scrapped or even stolen. It would have cost around $750,000 to recreate all of the lost production assets; it was out of the question.

Image Source: The Movie Database

As an alternative, the idea for The Animated Series was born. The original cast came back together for the first time since January 1969 to reprise their roles from The Original Series . By June 4, 1973, they had recorded the first three episodes of The Animated Series . The only actor who did not return was Walter Koenig, who played Ensign Chekov in The Original Series . He did come back to write an episode of The Animated Series , “The Infinite Vulcan.” Other guest actors to return and reprise their roles included Sarek, played by Mark Lenard; Harry Mudd, played by Roger C. Carmel; and Cyrano Jones, played by Stanley Adams. Almost all other side characters and aliens were voiced by members of the main crew, typically Majel Barrett, James Doohan, and Nichelle Nichols .

Not only would the cost of filming be much less than that of its live-action predecessor, but there was also an ability to portray otherworldly characters and settings. A prime first example is shown in the first episode of The Animated Series , “Beyond the Farthest Star,” which features an alien vessel much larger than the Enterprise. Later, in the episode “The Infinite Vulcan,” there are two characters sized as giants. Either episode would have been almost impossible to produce in live-action, but The Animated Series took them, and other episodes like them, in stride. Another key difference was the ability to have recurring complex alien species, including Lieutenant M’Ress and Lieutenant Arex. Both bridge officers on the Enterprise, M’Ress is a member of the humanoid feline species, Caitians, and Arex is an Edosian, a species with three arms and three legs.

The canonicity of The Animated Series has frequently been debated. Even Gene Roddenberry, the creator of Star Trek , declared that all episodes of The Animated Series were not canon as early as 1988. Over time, however, Roddenberry mentioned that some episodes, notably the Spock-centric episode “Yesteryear,” would be integral to the Star Trek universe for decades to come and could be used as canon reference material. Roddenberry was disappointed that The Animated Series did not gain enough of a following to get The Original Series back on the air, as he intended from the beginning. He also mentioned that if they knew that the story arcs of Star Trek would be able to continue in later live-action series, the production would have focused on substantial storylines and stayed more practical. Paramount has since deemed the series canon again, with the release of The Animated Series on DVD in 2006.

Captain Kirk and Ensign Walking Bear in “How Sharper Than a Serpent’s Tooth.” Image Source: YouTube

The Animated Series was also the first Star Trek series to win an Emmy with the second season episode, “How Sharper Than a Serpent’s Tooth.” Filmation submitted this episode for consideration in the Best Children’s Series category, much to the surprise of co-producer Lou Scheimer due to The Animated Series , and Star Trek as a whole, not being a kids’ show. Roddenberry, the producers of the show, and the writers of the episode, Russell Bates and David Wise, were thrilled that Star Trek won the Emmy, even though it was unexpected. 

Writers of later Star Trek series have pulled references from The Animated Series . The 1974 episode “The Practical Joker” was the first appearance of a recreation room, which would become the holodeck later on in Star Trek: The Next Generation . However, the writers on The Next Generation didn’t remember these recreation room scenes when they introduced the holodecks into the new show, according to D.C. Fontana, who was a writer and associate producer on both The Animated Series and The Next Generation . Additionally, Commodore Robert April appeared in The Animated Series finale, “The Counter-Clock Incident,” and was described as the first captain of the Enterprise. It would be years before then-Admiral April would reappear in a Star Trek series in Star Trek: Strange New Worlds . 

Image Source: IGN

The Animated Series episode “Yesteryear” in particular is critical to the understanding of the Star Trek universe in the ways it displays Spock’s childhood and how it shows his home planet, Vulcan. It also serves as further background for The Original Series episode “Journey to Babel,” the first time that the audience meets Spock’s parents, Sarek and Amanda Grayson. “Yesteryear” was only the second episode of The Animated Series and, yet, was essential for displaying many details that set up years of Star Trek canon yet to come. D.C. Fontana wrote both “Journey to Babel” and “Yesteryear,” which allowed for some information about Spock’s life and about Vulcan that got ultimately cut from The Original Series episode to still come alive in “Yesteryear.” 

To celebrate Star Trek Day and 50 years of Star Trek animation, back in July 2023 it was announced that The Animated Series would be revived in comic form. The comic, from IDW Publishing, will come out digitally this month and in physical print next month at the New York Comic Con. Later this year, CBS Studios will premiere a series of animated promo sequences to continue the 50th anniversary celebration. Actors from multiple Star Trek series will appear as their animated counterparts in these episodes: Will Riker will be played by Jonathan Frakes , Quark will be played by Armin Shimerman, and Saru will be played by Doug Jones. Casper Kelly serves as the creative consultant for both the comic and the new animated episodes.

Sources: Animation Magazine , Curt Danhauser’s Guide to The Animated Star Trek [1] , [2] , Memory Alpha [1] , [2] , Trek Core

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Hello, World!

Star Trek: The Animated Series

• View history
• Main Title Theme  file info (composed by " Yvette Blais " (Ray Ellis) and " Jeff Michael " ( Norman "Norm" Prescott , main partner of Lou Scheimer in the animation studio Filmation Associates )
• 2.1 Starring the voices of
• 2.2 Also starring the voices of
• 3.1 Season 1
• 3.2 Season 2
• 4.1 Origins
• 4.2 The first recordings
• 4.3 Emmy win
• 4.4 Questionable canon and reintegration
• 4.5 Production inconsistencies
• 5 Proposed CGI reworking
• 6 Related topics
• 7.2 Documentary
• 7.3 Home video formats
• 8 External links

Summary [ ]

On the television network NBC , 22 episodes of The Animated Series were aired between September 1973 and October 1974 . Reruns continued on NBC through 1975 . The series was produced by the experienced animation house Filmation and the episodes were scripted by professional science fiction and Star Trek writers, including Larry Niven , D.C. Fontana , David Gerrold , and Samuel A. Peeples .

Some of the stories were sequels to episodes from the original series, such as " More Tribbles, More Troubles " (the follow-up to " The Trouble with Tribbles "), " Once Upon a Planet " (a sequel to " Shore Leave "), and " Mudd's Passion " (the follow-up to " Mudd's Women " and " I, Mudd ").

With the exception of Ensign Chekov , all of the regular characters from the original series continued to appear, voiced by the original actors from that series (Chekov was absent to cut down on costs of hiring the voice actors, although Walter Koenig penned an episode of the series, " The Infinite Vulcan "). Dr. McCoy was a full commander, and Nurse Chapel was a full lieutenant . New characters, such as Arex and M'Ress , were also featured. The show was the most expensive animated show on the air at the time, primarily because six "name" actors from Star Trek: The Original Series provided the voices for their characters. Nearly all the aliens and guest characters were voiced by James Doohan , Nichelle Nichols , and Majel Barrett , although some actors reprised their roles from the original series. Leonard Nimoy ( Spock ) is the only actor to voice his character in every episode of TAS. James Doohan, however, voiced different characters in every episode of the series, but missed only one episode as Montgomery Scott , the episode being " The Slaver Weapon ".

Among the returning guest actors (and characters) were Mark Lenard (as Sarek ), Roger C. Carmel (as Harry Mudd ), and Stanley Adams (as Cyrano Jones ). Although the characters Amanda Grayson , Bob Wesley , Kyle , Kor , Koloth , and Korax returned in The Animated Series , their voices were provided by the aforementioned voice talents of Majel Barrett and James Doohan.

The show featured a handful of new technologies like the recreation room (later the idea was reused in TNG , where it was known as a holodeck ) and the aqua-shuttle . It also featured many non- humanoid alien species (and even some alien officers aboard the Enterprise ) who could not have been featured within the original series' budget.

Roddenberry was adamant that this show was Star Trek (i.e. the continuation of the original series) leading to it having the same title. The addition of The Animated Series to the title was not until years later.

The series, which lasted two years, could be viewed as the completion of the Enterprise 's five-year mission. D.C. Fontana personally viewed all 22 episodes as year four. StarTrek.com considers the seasons collectively to represent the fifth and final year of the mission. [1] (X)

Although at one point Paramount Pictures did not regard the animated series as canonical, with the release of The Animated Series DVD, the studio appears to have changed its stance, and is leaning towards the animated series being part of established Star Trek canon. [2] (X) [3] (X) [4] (X) References from the series have gradually become more accepted in other Star Trek series, most notably on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine , Star Trek: Enterprise and Star Trek: Lower Decks (see the " questionable canon " section below for the complete list of references). Gene Roddenberry said that if he had known there would be more live-action Star Trek in the future, the animated series would have been far more logical and "canonable," or he might not have produced the animated series at all.

A DVD collection of the complete series was released on 21 November 2006 for Region 1.

Starring the voices of [ ]

• William Shatner as Captain Kirk
• Leonard Nimoy as Mr. Spock
• DeForest Kelley as Dr. McCoy

Also starring the voices of [ ]

• George Takei as Sulu
• Nichelle Nichols as Uhura
• Majel Barrett as Chapel and M'Ress
• James Doohan as Scott and Arex

Episode list [ ]

Season 1 [ ].

TAS Season 1 , 16 episodes:

Season 2 [ ]

TAS Season 2 , 6 episodes:

Background information [ ]

Origins [ ].

Former Original Series writer D.C. Fontana reported in the fanzine Star-Borne of 22 June 1972 that, " Paramount... [is] enormously impressed by the quantity (and quality) of fan mail they continue to receive. The possibility seems to be slowly developing of a Star Trek feature movie for theatrical release, aimed at becoming the new Star Trek television pilot… on the network front, NBC still expresses great interest in doing Star Trek in some form. Both NBC and Paramount continue to receive a great deal of mail and have had to assign secretaries for the sole job of answering it. " [5]

NBC's surprising complete turnaround (as it were they who had canceled the live-action precursor in 1969, purportedly for poor ratings performance) not only stemmed from the spectacular resurgence of the Original Series in syndication , but also from its own accounting department. Shortly before Fontana's report, NBC had replaced its old Nielsen rating system with a new and updated one. Mystified by the success of a show in syndication they were convinced was a flop, they decided to run the original Original Series figures through their new system they and found out much to their surprise that it had not only reached full penetration into their most coveted target audience, the male population between 18 and 45, but also that the series had been one of the most successful series the network had ever aired. The sickening realization hit upon the dismayed network executives that they had slaughtered the proverbial goose that laid the golden eggs, something that every Star Trek fan at the time could have told them. Hurriedly approaching Roddenberry to see if the series could be revitalized, it turned out to be unfeasible, as Paramount had only a few months earlier cleared out their warehouses from the vast majority of the remaining Star Trek production assets, they either being scrapped, given away or simply stolen. Recreating them, calculated at US$750,000, was deemed far too cost-prohibitive. It did however lead NBC to commission the creation of The Animated Series . ( Star Trek - Where No One Has Gone Before , pp. 51-52)

Roddenberry was not really interested in doing a Star Trek animated show, but had his mind set on an actual live-action resurrection of the the show. However, as Marc Cushman explained, " His ultimate goal was to get Star Trek back into [live-action] production. And he felt that the animated series, if it did really well, could bring that about. " ( The Center Seat: 55 Years of Star Trek : "Saturday Morning Pinks")

Even though they did not produce the new series themselves, Paramount Pictures, possessing all rights and title to the Star Trek brand, was legally the owner of the new property.

The first recordings [ ]

The first recording session for the animated Star Trek series was in June 1973 (on or prior to the fourth of that month ). ( The Star Trek Compendium , 4th ed., p. 143; Star Trek: Communicator  issue 119 , p. 32) This was with the entirety of the series' regular cast and was the first time they had reunited since production of the original series ended in January 1969 . The recording session was held at Filmation's studios in Reseda, California , where the performers recorded the first three scripts for the series (" Beyond the Farthest Star ", " Yesteryear ", and " More Tribbles, More Troubles "). ( Star Trek: Communicator  issue 119 , p. 32)

Lou Scheimer reminisces about the cast, " The glorious thing was getting them all together for the first recording session […] It was a joyous occasion. " ("Drawn to the Final Frontier – The Making of Star Trek: The Animated Series ", TAS DVD ) William Shatner recalls how he got into character; " [Kirk had] been locked away inside me for almost four years, but as soon as I opened my mouth to read his first line he was back. Slipping back into that character was like putting on a comfortable old sweatshirt; it fit. " ( Up Till Now: The Autobiography , p. 171)

On 4 June 1973, NBC publicly announced that the initial recording session had gone ahead. ( Star Trek: Communicator  issue 119 , p. 32)

Emmy win [ ]

In 1975, the animated series of Star Trek won a Daytime Emmy Award in the area of "Best Children's Series" for the 1974-1975 television season. Although Star Trek 's original series had repeatedly been nominated for Emmys, this was the first such award that the franchise actually won. It became also the only best-series Emmy ever won by Star Trek as of 2020. It beat out Captain Kangaroo and The Pink Panther . ( Star Trek: The Animated Series - special feature : "Drawn to the Final Frontier – The Making of Star Trek: The Animated Series "; Star Trek - Where No One Has Gone Before , p. 57, et al. ) Incidentally, the series had already been nominated for the same award in its inaugural debut the year previously, [6] but lost out on that occasion to PBS 's Zoom .

The series essentially won the award on the basis of a certain episode. " When Filmation submitted Star Trek for the Best Children's Series Emmy, [' How Sharper Than a Serpent's Tooth '] is the episode they submitted, " explains David Wise , a co-writer of that installment. ("How Sharper Than a Serpent's Tooth" audio commentary ) The episode's other co-writer, Russell Bates , comments, " [The episode] became the only credential submitted when Filmation received an Emmy nomination for the series, and thus was instrumental in the winning of a 1975 Emmy Award. " Bates also notes that the Emmy was not the only accolade that the episode attained. [7]

Shortly after Hal Sutherland and his family moved out of Los Angeles to Washington state , he received a call that informed him of the Emmy nomination. He remembers, " This was exciting news and I spread the word to all of our friends and neighbors in case Filmation picked up the Emmy. " As he learned prior to the event, it was to be presented in New York and Lou Scheimer decided to bring his own family to the festivities. [8] The ceremony was actually on a boat in the New York harbor. Lou Scheimer's son, Lane, heard a practice session, below-decks, of the announcements being rehearsed. The elder Scheimer reflects, " He said, 'Dad, don't worry, I just saw them down there and they said it was Captain Kangaroo ' [....] So I was sitting there, drinking wine, not worried, and [getting] half-plastered. " ( Star Trek Magazine Souvenir Special , p. 58) Scheimer also personally doubted that the animated Star Trek series was about to receive the award. He states, " I was absolutely certain we weren't going to win; there was no way that show could win because it really was not a kids' show. " ( Star Trek: The Magazine  Volume 1, Issue 16 , p. 68)

Hal Sutherland recalls tuning into the televised coverage of the event; " I remember gathering the family to watch the award ceremonies with me. I hoped to make them proud of what we had accomplished in some way. Sitting in front of the TV, I watched with anxiety as the nominations for best animated series came up […] The award envelope was opened and Star Trek was announced the winner for its category. " [9] Lou Scheimer (who says he was "a nervous wreck" at the time), also recollects the announcement; " Cyril Richard gets up there and says, 'And the best children's programming for Saturday morning is Star Trek and Lou Shimmer [ sic ]. I didn't know what to do. You cannot tell, but I was floating. " ( Star Trek Magazine Souvenir Special , p. 58) Hal Sutherland continues, " Lou stepped to the podium to make his acceptance speech. " [10] A transcript of that speech follows:

Lou Scheimer accepts the series' only Emmy

Lou Scheimer recalls the shock of having to collect the award; " I was totally flabbergasted when we did [win]. I didn't know what to say; I was not prepared. I was just aghast at the idea of being in front of all those people, waiting to hear me say something meaningful. " ( Star Trek: The Magazine  Volume 1, Issue 16 , p. 68)

Watching Lou Scheimer's acceptance speech was a very emotional experience for Hal Sutherland and he was enormously disgruntled that Scheimer thanked Norm Prescott rather than him. Although Sutherland never expressed his extreme disappointment to the award recipient, Scheimer finally apologized to Sutherland in 2004 . " He […] sorrowfully related to me an apology for his 'drunken' statement at the Emmy affair regarding his confusion between Norm and I and the production credits, " explained Sutherland. " We'd both carried that haunting memory all those many years, neither wanting to bring up the tender subject. We later kissed [and made up, putting the issue behind them]. " [11]

Lou Scheimer criticized the winning of the award, saying that – even though it was "the only Emmy I've ever gotten for a show" – it was inappropriate for the animated Star Trek to receive an award for a children's show, since the series was actually meant to be " a show for the entire family and anybody who was really a fan of the original live-action show. " ("Drawn to the Final Frontier – The Making of Star Trek: The Animated Series ", TAS DVD ) Norm Prescott, on the other hand, considered the award to be a high point in Filmation's history. ( Star Trek: Communicator  issue 119 , p. 79) Both Filmation, in general, and the writers of "How Sharper Than a Serpent's Tooth", were happy that the episode gained the series the award. David Wise reminisces, " We, Russell [Bates] and I, considered that an achievement. Filmation was thrilled and invited us to an Emmy party and all sorts of fun things like that. " ("How Sharper Than a Serpent's Tooth" audio commentary) Gene Roddenberry regarded the award win as "the best proof" that the animated series had been "a fairly good job." ( The Making of Star Trek: The Motion Picture , p. 20) D.C. Fontana was also "pleased" that the franchise had finally won an Emmy, later stating, " I was thrilled to death. " ("Drawn to the Final Frontier – The Making of Star Trek: The Animated Series ", TAS DVD ) In their text commentary for series finale " The Counter-Clock Incident ", Michael and Denise Okuda describe the Emmy win as the series having been "honored." The book Star Trek - Where No One Has Gone Before (p. 57) refers to the win as "a fitting send-off" for the series.

Considering the efforts the writers, including Bates, put in to tell more mature stories akin to the main series, the win of a "children's" award turned out to be somewhat of a mixed blessing as it cemented the impression of Star Trek being an immature, superficial show for adolescents only at best in the minds of the non-fan society at large, which started to become wary of the emerging " Trekkie " phenomenon. It became a large part of the reasons why to date a substantial part of "Trekdom", Creator Gene Roddenberry included, continued to refuse to consider The Animated Series part of canon, as related hereafter. ( Star Trek: The Official Guide to the Animated Series , pp. 8 & 153) Most ironically, the six-episode second season of Star Trek: Short Treks , which only became nominated in 2020 for Star Trek 's fifth "major" Emmy Award, did include two animated episodes, " Ephraim and Dot " and " The Girl Who Made the Stars ", specifically intended for children.

Questionable canon and reintegration [ ]

According to Voyages of Imagination [ page number? • edit ] , the Animated Series was officially removed from canon at Gene Roddenberry's request in 1988, with the exception of some parts involving Spock's youth, from Fontana's episode " Yesteryear ". Roddenberry was partly motivated to do so because of his disappointment that the animated series did not bring about his ultimate goal of getting back Star Trek as a live-action production, as mentioned above . The removal from canon had already been confirmed previously by reference book author Mike Okuda in the introductions of his works. ( Star Trek Chronology  (2nd ed., p. vii); Star Trek Encyclopedia  (4th ed., vol. 1, p. introduction); [12] (X) ) Paramount Pictures has followed suit by elevating the request to policy, having officially declared the series non-canon. ( Star Trek Encyclopedia  (1st ed., p. iii))

Despite this request, Memory Alpha recognizes The Animated Series as a valid resource. There were also strong indications from the StarTrek.com (former) official website that TAS was unilaterally, yet formally, re-added to the official canon in 2006 by the franchise for the sole purpose of commercially promoting the occasion of the series' release on DVD that year. ( [13] (X) [14] (X) [15] (X) ; See also the content policy ).

Writers from later Star Trek series have integrated various references from the series into their works. Star Trek: Enterprise writer/producer Manny Coto once remarked, " They did some great stuff in the animated series and why not use some of that? " ( Cinefantastique , Vol. 37, No. 2, p. 37) Star Trek: The Next Generation and Star Trek: Deep Space Nine writing staffer Ronald D. Moore likewise commented, " It's kinda cool to throw in the odd reference [to TAS] here and there. " ( AOL chat , 1998 ) The following references were used in subsequent series:

• The city of Shi'Kahr resurfaced on an okudagram in " The Emissary " called the "Shi-Kar Desert Survival, Vulcan", which was also a reference to Spock's kahs-wan . The city was again indirectly mentioned in " Fusion " in reference to the Shi'Kahr Academy , and later served as the namesake for the USS ShirKahr , seen but not mentioned in " Tears of the Prophets ". A Vulcan city which looks very similar to Shi'Kahr was shown in the new establishing shots used in the remastered version of " Amok Time ".
• An okudagram featured in " Eye of the Beholder " referenced the Sepek Academic Scholarship , which coincides with the name of a Vulcan child in " Yesteryear ".
• Vulcan's Forge was later referenced in " Change of Heart " and was the focus of a three-episode ENT arc: " The Forge ", " Awakening ", and " Kir'Shara ".
• Both Lunaport and the kahs-wan were mentioned in " The Catwalk ".
• The sehlat , which first appeared in "Yesteryear" in animated form, was recreated in CGI in ENT : " The Forge ".
• The nearby planet seen briefly behind Shi'Kahr made it into the original version of Star Trek: The Motion Picture . For the director's cut it was decided to remove the planet (named Charis or T'Khut in the novel Spock's World ).
• The title of " healer " for a Vulcan physician was referred to for Healer Senva in " Prophet Motive ".
• Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country confirmed Kirk's middle name as "Tiberius", a name first revealed in " Bem ". The name had been used in novels , including in the preface to the novelization of Star Trek: The Motion Picture .
• A chart of Federation space, seen in " Conspiracy ", contained references to solar objects first mentioned in TAS, including the planets Canopus III , Lactra VII , Omega Cygni , Phylos , and Kzin , and the stars Beta Lyrae and Pallas 14 .
• In the episode " Once More Unto the Breach ", Kor recalled his former vessel, the IKS Klothos , which was the ship he commanded in the " The Time Trap ". It was a D5 Klingon ship (where D5s were later shown in Enterprise ), rendered as a questionably-drawn D7, but in both cases it was commanded by Kor.
• The episode " Broken Link " referred to Edosian orchids , the episode " These Are the Voyages... " mentioned Edosian suckerfish , and there were several other Enterprise references to the Edosian slug – all homages to the Edosian Lt. Arex .
• Coincidental references which may or may not be attributed to terms first used in The Animated Series include Klingon Imperial Fleet (" The Time Trap ") and Starbase 23 (" The Terratin Incident ").
• Amanda 's maiden name, Grayson, was given in the series, and later established in Star Trek V: The Final Frontier .
• The holodeck concept first appeared in " The Practical Joker ", and was later adopted into Star Trek: The Next Generation . The use of holograms was used in " Lethe ", showing that USS Discovery was equipped with similar technology during 2250s .
• The idea of an additional turbolift on the bridge first appeared in TAS, and ultimately adopted in the live-action franchise from Star Trek: Phase II onward.
• The act of entering the warp nacelles first appeared in TAS, and later appeared in the TNG episode " Eye of the Beholder " and in the ENT episode " The Catwalk ".
• In " The Counter-Clock Incident ", a race is shown that has a life span where individuals start out old and grow younger until death. Star Trek: Voyager later reused this idea in one of its episodes for a race of aliens .
• In Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home , two members of the Caitian species are seen, which FASA 's RPG sourcebook , Star Trek IV Sourcebook Update , identified as the same species as M'Ress .
• The robot grain ships from " More Tribbles, More Troubles " have later been established in the 2008 remastered TOS episodes " Charlie X " (manned version) and " The Ultimate Computer " (robot version) as belonging to the Antares -type of starships. Later to also appear as wreckage in the Lower Decks episode " Terminal Provocations ".
• Star Trek: Discovery confirmed Robert April from " The Counter-Clock Incident " to be an important Starfleet captain in the episode " Choose Your Pain " when Saru asks the ship's computer to list Starfleet's most decorated captains. He was later confirmed as the first captain of the USS Enterprise , preceding Christopher Pike , in " Brother ".
• Lower Decks also made a mention of Spock Two from " The Infinite Vulcan " in " Veritas " before featuring his skeleton in " Kayshon, His Eyes Open ".
• " Second Contact " introduced another Caitian, T'Ana , as a series' regular.
• " Envoys " included the Aurelian from " Yesteryear "and the Vendorian from " The Survivor ".
• " Much Ado About Boimler " introduced an Edosian character whose species was first featured through the series' regular Arex .
• " Mugato, Gumato " included the appearance of a Kzinti from " The Slaver Weapon ".
• " An Embarrassment Of Dooplers " depicted a total of five TAS species appearances, the aforementioned Caitian, Kzinti, Edosian, Aurelians, and a prominent return of several members of Em/3/Green's species , who first appeared in " The Jihad ".
• " Mining The Mind's Mines " included the appearance of Kukulkan from "How Sharper Than a Serpent's Tooth".

Several non-canon productions have also made reference to TAS:

• A second exit for the bridge, referenced in Franz Joseph 's Star Fleet Technical Manual .
• DC Comics' writer Len Wein reintroduced M'Ress and Arex into the post- Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home comics , and they were further developed by Michael Carlin and Peter David until that series went into hiatus.
• Some of the worlds and aliens in the series were included in the 1989 book called The Worlds of the Federation .
• Author Peter David later integrated M'Ress and Arex into his 24th century book series Star Trek: New Frontier , beginning with the novel Gateways #6: Cold Wars . They also appear in IDW's "New Frontier" comic miniseries, Turnaround , by David.
• The trilogy Crucible by David R. George III includes the plot from "Yesteryear" in its history.
• The IDW comic miniseries Star Trek: Year Four takes place during the TAS timeframe and features appearances by Arex and M'Ress.

Production inconsistencies [ ]

One unfortunate reality of an animated television series was the occasional color discrepancy.

The most notable color discrepancy was shown with several appearances of the color pink. Unknown to the rest of the production staff, director Sutherland was color-blind, so to him, pink was light gray. (" Drawn to the Final Frontier – The Making of Star Trek: The Animated Series ", TAS DVD ) While true, Kaplan was not color-blind and was often conscientious of the color decisions being made.

The following images are examples of Irv Kaplan's personal color choices:

Reversed color variant

According to Bob Kline, " Pink equals Irv Kaplan. Irv was in charge of ink and paint, coloring the various characters and props (and he would do it himself in his office, he would sit down with a cel and paint it). He was also referred to by many people there as the purple and green guy. You'll see in a lot of scenes, purple and green used together – that was one of his preferences. He made dragons red, the Kzintis' costumes pink. It was all Irv Kaplan's call. He wasn't listening to anyone else when he picked colors, or anything. " ( Star Trek: The Official Guide to the Animated Series , p. 26)

Several other unintentional coloring issues also cropped up. Kirk's type 1 phaser had its color scheme reversed (black on silver/grey, instead of silver on black), and some shots featured characters wearing Starfleet uniforms of the wrong division or colors.

As a result of the use of recycled footage, there were also many instances of randomly misplaced characters and equipment. Recurring inconsistencies in this vein include the random appearance of Lt. Kyle in several transporter room scenes, close-up shots of Scott operating the transporter controls, the interchanged appearances with Uhura and M'Ress at the communications station, and the appearance of characters on the bridge while simultaneously appearing in another section of the ship or on the surface of a planet.

Another inconsistency that appears sometimes is Scott shown with the rank of captain, and Kirk with a unknown rank insignia.

The Animated Series also made substantial changes to set locations used in the original series:

• A second turbolift is installed on the bridge, next to the main viewscreen.
• The bridge stations are rounded, and form a perfect circle, instead of the hexagonal TOS bridge set.
• The access stairs to the upper level engineering deck (seen in TOS seasons 2 and 3) are gone.

One production glitch that was avoided from being televised was Uhura having white skin. " Someone in the paint department used Nurse Chapel's colors on Uhura, who turned Caucasian with the flip of a brush! " exclaims Malcolm C. Klein, a management and marketing consultant to Filmation. " Fortunately, that one was caught before the film reached the lab. " ( Starlog , Vol. 2, No. 6, p. 47)

On many other occasions, body parts on various characters would go missing. According to animator Bob Kline , " it was usually something the cameraman did on purpose or accident to keep the cel levels at six. You couldn't use more than six cel levels under the camera. " This was often completed to allow more animation to appear on screen, as any more than six cells would make the animation appear "muddier". ( Star Trek: The Official Guide to the Animated Series , p. 27)

Proposed CGI reworking [ ]

In 1998 , there were talks of TAS being re-worked with CGI animation. According to Mainframe Entertainment ( Reboot ):

“Mainframe proposes to produce a television series continuing the original adventures of Captain James T. Kirk and the crew of the Starship Enterprise (NCC-1701). The new series will reunite the original ‘young’ crew by the use of modern technology and production methods developed by Mainframe over the last 5 years.

The new series will incorporate a ‘virtual’ cast performing in 3D computer generated sets, bringing together the advantages of new technology with the sensibilities of traditional film making.

In the early Seventies, ‘Filmation’ produced 22 one-half hour traditionally animated episodes based on the original ‘STAR TREK’ franchise.

It is our intention to take these ‘Filmation’ episodes and use them as a starting point to craft the new series. By using the original recordings of the core cast, carefully re-working the scripts, and rerecording all incidental characters, we believe that it is possible to bring the storylines up to the high standards expected of a ‘STAR TREK’ series today.”

The project was never realized. [16]

Related topics [ ]

• TAS directors
• TAS performers
• TAS recurring character appearances
• TAS writers
• Star Trek Logs by Alan Dean Foster
• Undeveloped TAS episodes
• Star Trek: Final Frontier , a proposed but undeveloped animated series
• Star Trek: Lower Decks
• Star Trek: Prodigy
• These Are the Voyages: Gene Roddenberry and Star Trek in the 1970s, Volume 1 (1970-75) , February 2019
• Star Trek: The Official Guide to the Animated Series , September/October 2019

Documentary [ ]

• The Center Seat: 55 Years of Star Trek : "Saturday Morning Pinks" ( The History Channel , 5 November 2021)

Home video formats [ ]

• Star Trek: The Animated Series on VHS
• Star Trek: The Animated Series on Betamax
• Star Trek: The Animated Series on LaserDisc
• Star Trek: The Animated Series  on DVD
• Star Trek: The Animated Series  on Blu-ray

External links [ ]

• Star Trek: The Animated Series at Memory Beta , the wiki for licensed Star Trek works
• Star Trek: The Animated Series at Wikipedia
• Star Trek: The Animated Series at StarTrek.com
• The Making of Star Trek: The Animated Series (X) at StarTrek.com
• The Animated Series Gets Real (X) at StarTrek.com
• DanHauserTrek.com – Guide to Animated Star Trek
• Star Trek: The Animated Series  at Ex Astris Scientia
• Star Trek: The Animated Series at the Internet Movie Database
• StarTrekAnimated.com – fan site
• 2 USS Enterprise (NCC-1701-G)
• 3 Star Trek: The Next Generation

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Prodigy revealed as next series in Star Trek franchise for Paramount+

Editor at Large for Entertainment Weekly, host of Outlander Live! on EW Radio, and Mark Harmon enthusiast. Yes, I know the guacamole is extra.

This one is for the kids: Paramount+ revealed Wednesday that Prodigy will be the next installment in the Star Trek franchise . Developed by Kevin and Dan Hageman ( Trollhunters ), the CG-animated series focuses on a group of "lawless teens who discover a derelict Starfleet ship and use it to search for adventure, meaning and salvation," according to the streaming service.

Prodigy marks the first time a Star Trek series has been developed specifically for a younger audience. The first 10 episodes of the series will premiere on Paramount+ this year before moving to its sister cable channel Nickelodeon .

With the addition of Prodigy , there will be five series from the Star Trek universe on the newly revamped Paramount+ (formerly known as CBS All Access), which launches March 4. The others are Star Trek: Discovery , Star Trek: Picard , the animated comedy series Star Trek: Lower Decks , and the upcoming Star Trek: Strange New Worlds. The digital platform will also offer all 726 episodes from the six classic Star Trek series, as well as several of the Star Trek films.

"The way we design our universe is that each show has to have its own very unique identity, so you don't feel what you're getting from one show is what you can get from another show," Alex Kurtzman , executive producer of the Star Trek universe, tells EW. "It really grabs hold of the things that Trek stands for that have kept it so alive for 55 years. It's about a space family. It's about optimism. It's about science. It's about reaching for the best in ourselves. It's about the belief that the best of ourselves will emerge in the future and become this amazing federation of planets. It's incredibly aspirational. And I've been saying for a while now how important I think it is that we get to younger audiences so we can grow with the franchise."

And Kurtzman and his team have no plans to stop making more series for every member of the family. "I think the beauty of the Star Trek universe is there's so much story," he adds. "There are so many amazing characters. There's so much world-building to be done. The key is to make sure there's no redundancy. We're going to be exploring new areas of the universe that haven't been explored yet. We may explore different timelines. We will certainly be thinking about targeting shows to different demographics. I think there's such a limitless appetite for Star Trek ."

Paramount+ is expected to include live news, original series, and sports content, as well as on-demand content from other Viacom channels like MTV, BET, Comedy Central, and CBS. There will also be movies from Paramount Pictures.

Related content:

• Star Trek: Discovery stars on heading into the future in season 3 and welcoming new cast members
• Star Trek: Discovery season 3 trailer: Welcome to the 32nd century
• Watch the opening scene of animated comedy Star Trek: Lower Decks

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Warp into Star Trek Day 2023 today with new animated 'very Short Treks'

The five retro-styled 'Star Trek' advertising shorts arrive starting Sept. 8, 2023

This year marks the 50th anniversary of the underrated "Star Trek: The Animated Series," which launched back in 1973 on NBC for just two seasons as a sophisticated Saturday morning cartoon with serious storytelling onboard courtesy of executive producers Gene Roddenberry and "The Original Series" writer D.C. Fontana.

To fortify CBS Studios and Paramount's official "Star Trek" Day 2023 celebrations on Friday, Sept. 8, "Trek" fans will have one more reason to cheer as the studio honors "50 Years of Star Trek Animation" with newly-minted "Star Trek: very Short Treks."

The first of these five retro-styled animated promotional spots blasts off this week for the global salute to the premiere of " Star Trek " on Sept. 8, 1966, alongside previously announced special events, as well as the first chapter of a new digital comic book series titled, "Star Trek: The Animated Celebration Presents The Scheimer Barrier."

Watch Star Trek: very Short Treks on Paramount Plus: <a href="https://paramountplus.qflm.net/c/221109/175360/3065?subId1=hawk-custom-tracking&sharedId=hawk&u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.paramountplus.com%2F" data-link-merchant="paramountplus.com"" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">Get a one month free trial 

Get all the Star Trek content you can possibly handle with this free trial of Paramount Plus. Watch new shows like Star Trek: Strange New Worlds and all the classic Trek movies and TV shows too. Plans start from $4.99/month after the trial ends.

Here's the detailed description:

"The 'very Short Treks' will feature previously announced fan-favorite characters voiced by cast members from across the 'Star Trek' universe, including icons Jonathan Frakes as Will Riker, Doug Jones as Saru and Armin Shimerman as Quark, and a new line-up of exciting voices, including Ethan Peck as Spock, Gates McFadden as Dr. Beverly Crusher, Celia Rose Gooding as Uhura, Connor Trinneer as Trip Tucker, Bruce Horak as Hemmer, Noël Wells as Tendi and George Takei as Sulu."

Creative consultant Casper Kelly came up with the marketing idea for "Star Trek: very Short Treks." Kelly is mostly recognized for the viral online hit "Too Many Cooks," his involvement for the "Discovery"-era shorts, "Star Trek: Short Treks," and his work with Cartoon Network's Adult Swim. 

Check out the titles and schedule of when these bite-sized "Trek" nuggets roll out:

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The first "very Short Treks" animated spot and the initial installment to the "Star Trek" digital comic will appear on "Star Trek" Day, Sept. 8 at 10:00 a.m. PT / 1:00 p.m. ET exclusively on StarTrek.com and the official "Star Trek" YouTube channel.

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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.

• Gene Roddenberry
• William Shatner
• Leonard Nimoy
• DeForest Kelley
• 276 User reviews
• 99 Critic reviews
• 16 wins & 31 nominations total

Episodes 80

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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.
• Connections Edited into Ben 10: Secrets (2006)
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How to Watch Star Trek: Prodigy Now That It's Been Removed From Paramount+

The swift erasure of the star trek animated series by paramount now means your options are very limited..

Paramount apparently couldn’t wait more than a weekend after its shocking decision to both renege on the season two greenlight for Star Trek: Prodigy and remove its entire first season from its Paramount+ streaming service : the animated Trek series, barely a year old, has now been removed from “the home of Star Trek .” But if you still want to watch it, there’s still options.

Is Star Trek: Prodigy Streaming on Paramount+ Anymore?

As of today, June 26—just three days after Paramount’s announcement that it would remove Prodigy from its streaming platform, alongside several other titles— Star Trek: Prodigy is no longer streaming on the service in the U.S. It is currently as of this writing still streaming in international markets where Paramount+ is available, but presumably not for much longer.

Can I Buy Star Trek: Prodigy Physically?

Yes and no: or at least, you can buy some of it. Paramount released DVD and Blu-ray copies of the first 10 episodes of Prodigy ’s first season earlier this year, but in the wake of the news of its cancellation and removal, those physical releases are now suddenly harder to come by—they’re both currently out of stock on Amazon, for example.

Episodes 11-20 were never announced as getting a physical release, and that now remains unlikely.

Can I Buy Star Trek: Prodigy Digitally?

The first 10 episodes of Prodigy can be purchased digitally through Amazon Prime Video (where all 20 could be previously accessed through Amazon’s storefront if you subscribed to Paramount+). I n the U.S., the first half of the season is also a vailable to purchase on Apple TV , Vudu , Youtube TV , and Google Play . If you’re based in the UK, the full season one is currently available to purchase through the Sky Store , as well as through Apple TV, Youtube TV, and Google Play.

What Will Happen to Star Trek: Prodigy Season 2?

Star Trek: Prodigy ’s second season, originally planned to hit Paramount+ this winter , had largely finished post-production on 20 more episodes. While those episodes will not air on Paramount+ any more, the team behind Prodigy has expressed the intent to finish the episodes, with the hopes of CBS Studios being able to sell both season one and season two to a new buyer. It’s currently unknown how long that process will take, if a buyer is found.

Could Star Trek: Prodigy Return to Paramount+?

The short answer is that we don’t know, especially if streaming rights are ultimately sold to another service for now. While Paramount is the latest in a host of major streamers, including Warner Bros.’ Max and Disney’s Disney+ , to remove streaming originals from their platforms as financial impairment charges— tax write-offs that cover the no-longer-needed charges to host these assets as-is—we don’t know the details of how long the impairment period will last, meaning that while Prodigy could eventually return to the service, it’s definitely not going to be any time soon.

Update 6/27/2023: This post has been updated to reflect that now only the first 10 episodes of Star Trek: Prodigy are available for purchase on Amazon Prime Video in the U.S..

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 .

Star Trek: The Animated Series Is Celebrating Its 50th Anniversary With New Shorts And Comics

"Star Trek: The Animated Series," originally just called "Star Trek," debuted on September 8, 1973. It will soon be commemorating its 50th anniversary. To celebrate, as announced at this year's San Diego Comic Con, Paramount will be newly animating several "Star Trek" characters and tapping extant "Star Trek" actors to produce several promotional bumpers in the old "TAS" style. Jonathan Frakes will play Commander William Riker in one such bumper, Armin Shimerman will return to play Quark in another, while Doug Jones will appear as Saru from "Star Trek: Discovery."

The announcement was given by "Star Trek" creative consultant Casper Kelly, who previously worked on "Star Trek: Short Treks."

"Star Trek: The Animated Series" famously reunited most of the original series cast (Walter Koenig does not appear) and merrily continued the five-year mission of the U.S.S. Enterprise. James Doohan reprised his role as Scotty, but also took on a lot of the show's supporting characters, including Mr. Arex, a three-armed helm officer. Majel Barrett also played multiple new roles, including the feline communications officer Lieutenant M'Ress. The series lasted 22 episodes and, because of its medium, was more fully able to realize epic sci-fi stories. Aliens could be less human, live underwater, separate into multiple pieces, or even be 50 feet tall. Spacecraft could be more wildly designed. And, because the show was only 30 minutes per episode, a lot of the meat could be excised, leading to trimmer, more focused stories. In many ways, "Star Trek: The Animated Series" was better than the show it was spun off from.

The animation, provided by Filmation, was cheap and stiff most of the time, but fans of the show find the repetitive visuals to be a large part of its clunky charm.

Kelly also announced that he and IDW Comics are in collaboration on a new "Star Trek" comic book series that will be drawn and written in the style of the 1973 TV series. The comic will debut this September in digital form on the "Star Trek" website  and then will be available in print via the New York Comic Con, held the following October. The title of the comic will be "The Scheimer Barrier." This is likely in reference to the late Lou Scheimer, one of the three co-founders of Filmation. His first co-founder, Hal Sutherland, directed every episode of "Star Trek: The Animated Series," while Norm Prescott produced.

Attentive Gen-Xers likely know the names of Sheimer, Sutherland, and Prescott as their credits appeared on many notable animated shows of the 1970s and 1980s. Filmation worked on multiple superhero shows in their early days and had several successful animated Archie shows (they were also the studio behind "Fat Albert"). Following the success of "Star Trek," Filmation branched off into other spinoffs like "My Favorite Martians," as well as "The New Adventures of Gilligan" and "Gilligan's Planet." They also produced the live-action sitcom "The Ghost Busters" with Larry Storch. In 1983, they cemented their reputation with the massively popular "He-Man and the Masters of the Universe." Their final series before shuttering altogether was "BraveStarr."

The story of "The Scheimer Barrier" was not announced.

"Star Trek: The Animated Series" has been referenced many times on "Star Trek: Lower Decks," and deep-cut Trekkies tend to be very fond of the old show, its weirdness, and its storytelling audacity. It is currently available on multiple streaming services and was presented on Blu-ray as part of a 50th anniversary "Star Trek" box set seven years ago.

Celebrating the best of tv, movies, and comics

Star Trek: The Animated Series is returning with new shorts featuring Riker, Quark, and Saru

At San Diego Comic Con 2023, the network announced all-new animated TV spots and an upcoming IDW comic.

It's been 50 years since one Star Trek series took us into a bold, entirely strange new world: animation. And at San Diego Comic Con 2023, Star Trek's owner CBS Studios announced a tribute to the classic Star Trek: The Animated Series in honor of its very special golden anniversary.

CBS's salute to the series comes in two parts. The first will be five all-new animated TV spots in the style of the show's 1973 animation, but featuring Star Trek characters that came after the cartoon went off the air. So far, CBS has confirmed that three Trek staples are returning to voice their characters for the TV spots; those being Jonathan Frakes as Will Riker, Doug Jones as Saru, and Armin Shimerman as Quark. Check out their character designs below.

Interestingly, the animated TV spots will be spearheaded by Casper Kelly, known for the Adult Swim viral piece Too Many Cooks.

The second part of the animated series celebration will come in the form of comics, published by Star Trek's comic homebase IDW, and also written by Casper Kelly. The issues will be available digitally on StarTrek.com at first, then show up in print later. CBS has released a first look at the comic, which you can see here:

Judging just by the art, we can see that the comic, entitled The Scheimer Barrier, will have some sort of multiverse hopping going on, as the Lower Decks animation will be used in tandem with the 1973 style.

Star Trek: The Animated Celebration Presents The Scheimer Barrier will be available in physical form at this year's New York Comic Con, which is October 12 - 15.

Star Trek: The Animated Series is currently streaming on Paramount+ .

Popverse saw it and did most of it, and you can find all about our guide to All the big news, magic, and moments from San Diego Comic-Con . And if you want to go to SDCC next year, we have the San Diego Comic-Con 2024 dates as well.

Emerald City Comic Con

MCM Comic Con

Comic-Con International: San Diego

New York Comic Con