Star Trek: The Animated Series

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Star Trek: The Animated Series
Star Trek TAS logo.svg
Created byGene Roddenberry
Based onStar Trek
by Gene Roddenberry
Directed by
Voices of
Country of originUnited States
Original language(s)English
No. of seasons2
No. of episodes22 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producer(s)
Producer(s)
Running time24 minutes
Production company(s)
DistributorParamount Television Distribution
(1977-1978)
CBS Television Distribution[1]
Release
Original networkNBC[2][3]
Picture format
Audio formatMonaural
Original releaseSeptember 8, 1973 (1973-09-08) –
October 12, 1974 (1974-10-12)
Chronology
Preceded byStar Trek: The Original Series
Followed byStar Trek: The Next Generation
Related showsStar Trek TV series
External links
The Animated Series at StarTrek.com

Star Trek: The Animated Series (TAS), originally aired as Star Trek and as The Animated Adventures of Gene Roddenberry's Star Trek, is an American animated science fiction television series created by Gene Roddenberry. It originally aired from September 8, 1973 to October 12, 1974 on NBC, spanning 22 episodes over two seasons. The second series in the Star Trek franchise, it is the first sequel to Star Trek: The Original Series. Set in the 23rd century, when Earth is part of a United Federation of Planets, it follows the adventures of the Starfleet vessel USS Enterprise as it explores the Milky Way galaxy.

After the cancellation of The Original Series in 1969, the live action show proved popular in syndication and generated significant fan enthusiasm. This resulted in Roddenberry's decision to continue the series in animated form. Much of the original cast returned to provide voice-overs for their characters. Show writers David Gerrold and D. C. Fontana characterized The Animated Series as effectively being a fourth season of The Original Series. The adventures of the characters were continued in cinematic form, the first being the 1979 film Star Trek: The Motion Picture.

The Animated Series was the original cast's last episodic portrayal of the characters until the "cartoon-like" graphics of the Star Trek: 25th Anniversary computer game in 1992[4] as well as its sequel Star Trek: Judgment Rites in 1993. Both appeared after the cast's final film together, Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country, released in December 1991. The Animated Series was critically acclaimed and was the first Star Trek series to win an Emmy Award when its second season won the 1975 Emmy for Outstanding Entertainment – Children's Series.[5]

Initial proposal[edit | edit source]

Lou Scheimer of Filmation was in talks with Star Trek producer Paramount Television, TV network NBC, and creator Gene Roddenberry to create an animated spin-off series while The Original Series was still on the air, during its third season (1968–69).[6] Paramount's director of special programming Philip Mayer and Filmation writer/animator Don R. Christensen worked together to create a proposal for a series which would target a young audience and have an educational spin. The main cast of Star Trek: The Original Series would train the teenage crew of a ship called Excalibur about space exploration; the new teenage crew included a Vulcan named Steve, an African-American boy named Bob, and a Chinese boy named Stick.[6]

However, due to the bitter relationship between Roddenberry and Paramount at the time, Scheimer was not able to get the two parties talking to each other in order to agree on a deal for several years. During this time, the project in its original form was phased out.[6]

Production[edit | edit source]

A deal was finally reached in early 1973, and publicly announced in early March 1973. Because of NBC's strong interest in the series, Roddenberry and Filmation were allotted very generous terms: a guaranteed minimum of two seasons with a combined 22 episodes, a budget of $75,000 per episode, and full creative control in Gene Roddenberry's hands.[6]

Roddenberry and Filmation agreed that the series should be for all ages, rather than the children-oriented approach of the original proposal, and at Roddenberry's suggestion The Original Series script editor D. C. Fontana was hired as the series' story editor and associate producer.[6] Despite the meager payment for writers ($1,300 per script, with no residuals), the opportunity to write a Star Trek episode without the special effects limitations of live action proved appealing, and many The Original Series writers joined the staff.[6] Fontana steered the series away from the romantic and sexual elements of The Original Series, as she felt children would not be interested in them and she wanted The Animated Series to appeal to children as well as adults.[6]

The Animated Series featured most of the original cast voicing their characters. The major exception was the character of Pavel Chekov (Walter Koenig), who did not appear in the series because the series' budget could not afford the complete cast.[6] He was replaced by Lieutenant Arex, whose Edosian species had three arms and three legs; Lieutenant M'Ress, a female Caitian, sometimes stood in for Uhura as communications officer. Besides performing their characters Montgomery Scott and Christine Chapel, James Doohan and Majel Barrett also performed the voices of Arex and M'Ress, respectively.

Initially, Filmation was only going to use the voices of William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, DeForest Kelley, Doohan and Barrett. Doohan and Barrett would also perform the voices of Sulu and Uhura. Nimoy refused to voice Spock in the series unless Nichelle Nichols and George Takei were added to the cast, claiming that Sulu and Uhura were proof of the ethnic diversity of the 23rd century and should not be recast. Nimoy also took this stand as a matter of principle, as he knew of the financial troubles many of his Star Trek co-stars were facing after cancellation of the series.[7] According to Scheimer, when Nimoy pointed out that the casting would cut the only two minority actors from the series, "We were horrified at our unintended slight, made all the worse because we were the one studio who had been championing diversity in its output."[6] Koenig was not forgotten, but Filmation were able to assuage Nimoy's complaints on his account by buying a script from Koenig for one episode ("The Infinite Vulcan").[6]

Voice recording began in June 1973, with the first three episodes recorded as an ensemble, i.e. all the voice actors for the episode in the room at the same time.[6] Later episodes used the more typical model of recording the voice actors separately to work around their other commitments. William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy, who were both touring in plays at the time, recorded their lines in whatever city they happened to be performing in and had the tapes shipped to the studio.[6] Doohan and Barrett, besides providing the voices of their Original Series characters and newcomers Arex and M'Ress, performed virtually all of the "guest star" characters in the series, with exceptions such as Sarek, Cyrano Jones and Harry Mudd, who were performed by the original actors from The Original Series. Other guest voice actors included Ed Bishop, who voiced the Megan Prosecutor in "The Magicks of Megas-tu", and Ted Knight, who voiced Carter Winston in "The Survivor". Nichelle Nichols performed character voices in addition to Uhura in several episodes, including "The Time Trap" and "The Lorelei Signal".

Don Christensen, creator of the original proposal, remained involved as art director. Other animation staff included Reuben Timmins (who oversaw all shots involving the Enterprise) and a young Bob Kline. The animators rotoscoped the animations for the Enterprise and the original cast from 35 mm film footage of The Original Series.[6] The chevrons were enlarged to make them easier to animate, but otherwise the crew's uniforms were unaltered from The Original Series.[6] Due to the hiring of nearly the entire regular cast of the original show, little money was left in the budget for the animation, so Filmation cut costs by using stock footage and shortcuts such as having a character put a hand to their mouth while speaking (thus eliminating the need to animate the lips) and silhouetting characters in action.[6]

The animated series dispensed with the original series' theme music, composed by Alexander Courage, in favor of a new theme credited to Yvette Blais and Jeff Michael, but actually written by Filmation composer Ray Ellis. Ellis used the pseudonym Yvette Blais (the maiden name of his wife) due to complications with royalties and publishing companies, while Jeff Michael is a pseudonym for producer Norm Prescott, who received a pseudonymous credit and a cut of the royalties on all of Filmation's music as part of a standard deal for the time.[6]

Episodes[edit | edit source]

SeasonEpisodesOriginally aired
First airedLast aired
116September 8, 1973 (1973-09-08)January 12, 1974 (1974-01-12)
26September 7, 1974 (1974-09-07)October 12, 1974 (1974-10-12)

Season 1 (1973–74)[edit | edit source]

No.
overall
No. in
season
TitleStardateDirected byWritten byOriginal air date
11"Beyond the Farthest Star"5221.3Hal SutherlandSamuel A. PeeplesSeptember 8, 1973 (1973-09-08)
While exploring on the outermost rim of the galaxy the USS Enterprise is pulled into the orbit of a dead star. Trapped there, the crew discovers that there is an ancient derelict pod ship trapped with them as well.
22"Yesteryear"5373.4Hal SutherlandD. C. FontanaSeptember 15, 1973 (1973-09-15)
Spock must travel to the past to rescue his younger self from danger.
33"One of Our Planets Is Missing"5371.3Hal SutherlandMarc DanielsSeptember 22, 1973 (1973-09-22)
The Enterprise encounters a giant cloud creature that feeds on the energy of the planets that lie in its path. They determine it is heading for Mantilles, home to a Federation colony governed by former Starfleet officer Bob Wesley (featured in the TOS episode "The Ultimate Computer)".
44"The Lorelei Signal"5483.7Hal SutherlandMargaret ArmenSeptember 29, 1973 (1973-09-29)
Investigating a sector of space where starships have disappeared every 27 years, the Enterprise finds a race of beautiful women living on the planet Taurus II.
55"More Tribbles, More Troubles"5392.4Hal SutherlandDavid GerroldOctober 6, 1973 (1973-10-06)
While the USS Enterprise escorts two robot cargo ships carrying quintotriticale, a new seed grain, to famine stricken Sherman's Planet, it encounters a Klingon battlecruiser pursuing a Federation scout ship. When the Enterprise rescues the pilot, the Klingons attack with a new energy weapon and demand that the pilot be handed over to them.
66"The Survivor"5143.3Hal SutherlandJames SchmererOctober 13, 1973 (1973-10-13)
Patrolling near the Romulan Neutral Zone, the USS Enterprise finds a ship manned by Carter Winston, a Federation citizen and philanthropist who has been missing for five years.
77"The Infinite Vulcan"5554.4Hal SutherlandWalter KoenigOctober 20, 1973 (1973-10-20)
While visiting the newly discovered planet Phylos, Lieutenant Sulu picks up a walking plant, called a Retlaw, and is poisoned. The alien species that inhabit the planet, who are plantlike beings, approach and save Sulu's life.
88"The Magicks of Megas-tu"1254.4Hal SutherlandLarry BrodyOctober 27, 1973 (1973-10-27)
While exploring near the center of the galaxy, the USS Enterprise is caught inside an energy/matter vortex and all her computer systems fail. A being named Lucien appears on the bridge, repairs the ship's systems and takes the crew to explore his planet, Megas-Tu.
99"Once Upon a Planet"5591.2Hal SutherlandChuck Menville and Len JansonNovember 3, 1973 (1973-11-03)
The Enterprise crew revisits the "amusement park" planet first seen in the Classic Trek episode "Shore Leave" hoping for some rest and relaxation.
1010"Mudd's Passion"4978.5Hal SutherlandStephen KandelNovember 10, 1973 (1973-11-10)
The USS Enterprise receives orders to arrest Federation outlaw Harry Mudd, who is accused of selling fake love crystals. Intercepting Harry on the mining colony of Motherlode, they bring him aboard the Enterprise.
1111"The Terratin Incident"5577.3Hal SutherlandPaul SchneiderNovember 17, 1973 (1973-11-17)
While observing a burnt-out supernova, the USS Enterprise picks up a strange message transmitted in a two-hundred-year-old code.
1212"The Time Trap"5267.2Hal SutherlandJoyce PerryNovember 24, 1973 (1973-11-24)
While exploring the Delta Triangle, where many starships have disappeared, the USS Enterprise is attacked by several Klingon vessels. During the battle, they are caught in an ion storm. The Enterprise and one Klingon battlecruiser are drawn into a spacetime vortex and end up in a timeless dimension.
1313"The Ambergris Element"5499.9Hal SutherlandMargaret ArmenDecember 1, 1973 (1973-12-01)
While exploring the water planet Argo, Captain Kirk and Mr. Spock are transformed into water breathers by the planet's undersea inhabitants, the Aquans. In order to return to their normal selves, they must enlist the help of the Aquans to capture a giant sur-snake, whose venom holds the antidote.
1414"The Slaver Weapon"4187.3Hal SutherlandAdapted from the short story "The Soft Weapon" by : Larry Niven
Written by : Larry Niven
December 15, 1973 (1973-12-15)
In the shuttlecraft Copernicus, Mr. Spock, Uhura and Sulu are en route to Starbase 25 to deliver a stasis box—a rare artifact of the Slaver culture when the Kzinti intervene.
1515"The Eye of the Beholder"5501.2Hal SutherlandDavid P. HarmonJanuary 5, 1974 (1974-01-05)
The disappearance of a scientific team lures the USS Enterprise to investigate near Lactra VII. The starship Ariel is located there, abandoned, with its captain having transported to the planet's surface.
1616"The Jihad"5683.1Hal SutherlandStephen KandelJanuary 12, 1974 (1974-01-12)
The USS Enterprise arrives at the Vedala asteroid, where Captain Kirk and Mr. Spock have been summoned to learn about a stolen religious artifact, the "Soul of the Skorr", whose theft could ignite a galactic holy war.

Season 2 (1974)[edit | edit source]

No.
overall
No. in
season
TitleStardateDirected byWritten byOriginal air date
171"The Pirates of Orion"6334.1Bill ReedHoward WeinsteinSeptember 7, 1974 (1974-09-07)
Spock contracts a fatal illness, and the cure can only be found with dangerous Orion pirates.
182"Bem"7403.6Bill ReedDavid GerroldSeptember 14, 1974 (1974-09-14)
The Enterprise crew is taken captive by a race of primitives on a newly discovered planet.
193"The Practical Joker"3183.3Bill ReedChuck MenvilleSeptember 21, 1974 (1974-09-21)
A strange energy field causes the Enterprise computer to play practical jokes on the crew, but the humor soon turns to danger.
204"Albatross"5275.6Bill ReedDario FinelliSeptember 28, 1974 (1974-09-28)
Doctor McCoy is arrested for allegedly causing a deadly plague which once ravaged the planet Dramia.
215"How Sharper Than a Serpent's Tooth"6063.4Bill ReedRussell Bates and David WiseOctober 5, 1974 (1974-10-05)
A mysterious being threatens to destroy the Enterprise if the crew is unable to solve an ancient puzzle.
226"The Counter-Clock Incident"6770.3Bill ReedJohn CulverOctober 12, 1974 (1974-10-12)
An unusual spaceship pulls the Enterprise into a "negative universe" where time seems to flow backwards.
File:ST-The AS.jpg
The characters of TAS.

Similar to most animated series of the era, the 22 episodes of TAS were spread out over two brief seasons, with copious reruns of each episode. The director of the first season (16 episodes) was Hal Sutherland and Bill Reed directed the six episodes of season two, though the first four episodes of season two erroneously credit Sutherland.[6]

All of this series' episodes were novelized by Alan Dean Foster and released in ten volumes under the Star Trek Logs banner. Initially, Foster adapted three episodes per book, but later editions saw the half-hour scripts expanded into full, novel-length stories.

Star Trek: The Animated Series was the only Star Trek series not to be produced with a cold open ("teaser"), instead starting directly with the title credits sequence. However, some overseas versions of the original live action series, such as those aired by the BBC in the United Kingdom in the 1960s and 1970s, were edited to run the teaser after the credits.

The series' writing benefited from a Writers Guild of America, East strike in 1973, which did not apply to animation.[8] A few episodes were written by well-known science fiction authors:

  • "More Tribbles, More Troubles" was written by David Gerrold as a sequel to his episode "The Trouble with Tribbles" from the original series. Here Cyrano Jones is rescued from the Klingons, bringing with him a genetically altered breed of tribbles which do not reproduce but do grow extremely large. (It is later discovered that these are really clusters of tribbles who function as a single tribble, and it is decided that the large numbers of smaller tribbles are preferable to the larger ones.) The Klingons, because of their hatred of tribbles, are eager to get Jones back because he stole a creature they created: a predator called a "glommer" that feeds on tribbles.
  • "Yesteryear" is a time-travel episode in which Mr. Spock uses "The Guardian of Forever", a time gateway from the original series episode "The City on the Edge of Forever", to travel back to his own childhood. This is the only animated Trek episode written by original series and later Next Generation writer D. C. Fontana. This was the first actual appearance of Spock's pet sehlat, first mentioned in "Journey to Babel" and finally named I-Chaya in this episode. One element from Yesteryear that has become canon by depiction within Star Trek: The Original Series is the Vulcan city of ShiKahr, depicted in a background scene wherein Kirk, Spock and McCoy walk across a natural stone bridge (first depicted in Star Trek III: The Search for Spock) in the remastered "Amok Time". Elements of Spock's childhood from "Yesteryear" are also referenced in the Star Trek: The Next Generation episode "Unification" as well as the 2009 Star Trek feature film.
  • Larry Niven's "The Slaver Weapon", adapted from his own short story "The Soft Weapon". It includes some elements from his Known Space mythos such as the Kzinti and the Slavers. This is the only Kirk-era television or movie story in which Kirk did not appear. This episode is also the only animated one in which characters are shown dying or being killed.
Actor George Takei autographing an original animation cel from the series at Midtown Comics in Manhattan.

Novelties in the series[edit | edit source]

In the original Star Trek series, the title character was given the name James T. Kirk. It was not until the animated series that writer David Gerrold expanded on the "T", giving us Captain James Tiberius Kirk. It was purely coincidental that he chose "Tiberius" (on Gene Roddenberry's first series The Lieutenant, the principal character was William Tiberius Rice). According to Gerrold, he had been influenced by I, Claudius, and had approached Roddenberry with his choice of middle name, but it was not until 2014 that he learned of its earlier use.[9]

The animated series introduced a three-armed, three-legged alien member of the bridge crew with a long neck named Arex and a cat-like alien crew member named M'Ress. According to Roddenberry, budget limitations would have made it impossible for either alien species to appear in a live action series of the time.[6]

The USS Enterprise in this series, while supposedly the same ship as from the original series, had a holodeck similar to the one later seen in Star Trek: The Next Generation, which was set about eighty years later. It only appeared once, in Chuck Menville's "The Practical Joker", and was known as the "Rec Room". This feature was originally proposed for the original series[10] but was never used.

A personal force field technology known as the life support belt was seen only in Star Trek: The Animated Series. In addition to supplying the wearer with the appropriate atmosphere and environmental protection, it permitted the animators to simply draw the belt and yellow glow around the existing characters, instead of having to redraw them with an environmental suit. A version of the life support belt later appeared in an early Star Trek: The Next Generation novel, The Peacekeepers, where they were referred to as "field-effect suits".

The episode "The Lorelei Signal" provides a rare instance in early Star Trek in which a female took temporary command of a starship. Due to the male crew members being incapacitated, Uhura assumes command of the Enterprise from Scotty. Other instances occurred on the first and last adventures filmed in the original series:

"The Lorelei Signal" and "The Infinite Vulcan", the latter written by Walter Koenig, are rare occurrences where Captain Kirk comes close to actually saying, "Beam me up, Scotty" (long erroneously believed to be a Star Trek catchphrase), when he commands "Beam us up, Scotty". Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home arguably comes closer to it by having Kirk say "Scotty, beam me up".

An anti-pollution public service announcement was created for non-profit Keep America Beautiful featuring the ST: TAS characters and original cast voices. In the ad, the Enterprise encounters the "Rhombian Pollution Belt".[11] The ad ran during Saturday morning network programming during the series' run.

Canon issues[edit | edit source]

At the end of the first season of Star Trek: The Next Generation, all licenses for Star Trek spin-off fiction were renegotiated, and the animated series was essentially "decanonized" by Gene Roddenberry's office. Writers of the novels, comics and role-playing games were prohibited from using concepts from the animated series in their works.[12] Among the facts established within the animated series that were called into question by the "official canon" issue was its identification of Robert April as the first captain of the USS Enterprise in the episode "The Counter-Clock Incident".

The Star Trek Chronology by production staffers Michael Okuda and Denise Okuda does not include the animated series, but does include certain events from "Yesteryear" and acknowledges Robert April as first captain of the Enterprise.[13] The timeline in Voyages of the Imagination dates the events of the series to 2269–2270, assuming the events of the show represented the final part of Kirk's five-year mission, and using revised Alan Dean Foster stardates. In the updated October 1999 edition of their book: The Star Trek Encyclopedia: A Reference Guide to the Future, Michael and Denise Okuda state that:

In a related vein, this work (i.e. book) adheres to Paramount studio policy that regards the animated Star Trek series as not being part of the "official" Star Trek universe, even though we count ourselves among that series' fans. Of course, the final decision as to the "authenticity" of the animated episodes, as with all elements of the show, must clearly be the choice of each individual reader.'[14]

David Gerrold, who contributed two stories to TAS, stated in an interview his views on the canon issue:

Arguments about "canon" are silly. I always felt that Star Trek Animated was part of Star Trek because Gene Roddenberry accepted the paycheck for it and put his name on the credits. And D. C. Fontana—and all the other writers involved—busted their butts to make it the best Star Trek they could. But this whole business of "canon" really originated with Gene's errand boy. Gene liked giving people titles instead of raises, so the errand boy got named "archivist" and apparently it went to his head. Gene handed him the responsibility of answering all fan questions, silly or otherwise, and he apparently let that go to his head.[15]

Writer-producer D. C. Fontana discussed the TAS Canon issue in 2007:

I suppose "canon" means what Gene Roddenberry decided it was. Remember, we were making it up as we went along on the original series (and on the animated one, too). We had a research company to keep us on the straight and narrow as to science, projected science based on known science, science fiction references (we didn’t want to step on anyone's exclusive ideas in movies, other TV shows, or printed work). They also helped prevent contradictions and common reference errors. So the so-called canon evolved in its own way and its own time. For whatever reason, Gene Roddenberry apparently didn’t take the animated series seriously (no pun intended), although we worked very hard to do original STAR TREK stories and concepts at all times in the animated series.[16]

Since Roddenberry's death in 1991, and the subsequent exit of Richard H. Arnold (who vetted the licensed tie-ins for Roddenberry's Star Trek office at Paramount during its later years), there have been several references to the animated series in the various live-action series. In the Star Trek: Deep Space Nine episode "Once More Unto the Breach", Kor referred to his ship, the Klothos, which was first named in the TAS episode "The Time Trap". Other DS9 episodes to make reference to the animated series include "Broken Link", where Elim Garak mentions Edosian orchids (Arex is an Edosian) and "Tears of the Prophets" where a Miranda-class starship is called the USS ShirKahr (sic) after ShiKahr, the city from "Yesteryear". In the episode "Prophet Motive" the title of healer is resurrected from "Yesteryear" as well. Vulcan's Forge is also mentioned in "Change of Heart", in which Worf wants to honeymoon there with Jadzia Dax, as well as in episodes "The Forge", "Awakening" and "Kir'Shara" from Star Trek: Enterprise.

The Star Trek: Enterprise episodes "The Catwalk" and "The Forge" included references to "Yesteryear", the latter featuring a CGI rendition of a wild sehlat. The remastered Original Series episode "Amok Time" featured ShiKahr in the background as Spock beams up at the episode's ending,[17] and the remastered version of "The Ultimate Computer" replaced the Botany Bay-style Woden with an automated grain carrier from "More Tribbles, More Troubles".

The 2009 film Star Trek also references "Yesteryear", featuring a nearly identical scene in which a young Spock is confronted by several other Vulcan children, who bully and provoke him for being part human.

The 2017 series Star Trek: Discovery episode "Context is for Kings" has Spock's foster sister Michael Burnham state that their mother Amanda read Alice in Wonderland to them as children, as in the episode "Once Upon a Planet."[18] The second season episode "Light and Shadows" expands on Amanda's reasons for doing so.

Carter Winston, from "The Survivor", has a small but important role late in the 1984 tie-in novel The Final Reflection by John M. Ford. In recent years, references to The Animated Series have also cropped up again in the licensed books and comics. M'Ress and Arex, characters from the animated series, appear in the Star Trek: New Frontier novels by Peter David, in which M'Ress and Arex are transported through time to the 24th Century, and are made officers on board the USS Trident. (David's previous use of these characters, in TOS movie-era comics published by DC Comics, had been ended by Gene Roddenberry's office.)[19]

A race introduced in the episode "The Jihad", represented by a character named M3 Green, is named the Nasat in the Starfleet Corps of Engineers e-book novellas. These stories feature a regular Nasat character, P8 Blue. The Vulcan city of ShiKahr also appears in many books. Paula Block, then of CBS Consumer Products, was responsible for approving proposals and all completed manuscripts for the licensed media tie-ins and granted many such uses of TAS material since Roddenberry's death.

Amarillo Design Bureau has—as part of its license for the Star Fleet Universe series of games—incorporated many aspects of The Animated Series into its works, not least being the inclusion of the Kzinti, although in a modified form. In addition FASA used elements from The Animated Series in its sourcebooks and modules for its Star Trek role-playing game.

Star Trek: Enterprise producer Manny Coto has commented that had the show been renewed for a fifth season, the Kzinti would have been introduced.[20] Starship designs were produced which closely resemble the Kzinti/Mirak ships from the Star Fleet Universe, a gaming universe that includes the boardgame Star Fleet Battles and its PC analogue Star Fleet Command.

On June 27, 2007, Star Trek's official site incorporated information from The Animated Series into its library section,[21] clarifying, finally, that the animated series is part of the Star Trek canon. Both David Gerrold and D. C. Fontana have stated that the animated series is essentially the fourth season that fans wanted originally.[22]

Reception[edit | edit source]

In 1975, Star Trek: The Animated Series won an Emmy.[23] The series is noted for the voice acting of actress Majel Barrett, who voiced various characters and the main computer.[23] Majel also had roles in the live-action series for voice acting, but also as Number One, Nurse Christine Chapel, and Lwaxana Troi.

Through both seasons, Star Trek: The Animated Series faced the reverse situation of The Original Series with regard to its popularity: ratings were high, but skewed away from the young children which Saturday morning advertisers were trying to reach, being more popular with adults and older children.[6]

Star Trek: The Animated Series was named the 96th best animated series by IGN. They declared that although the series suffered from technical limitations, its format allowed the writers far greater freedom and creativity than was possible in the original live-action series.[24] In 2019, CBR ranked all 31 seasons of Star Trek television shows, placing season 1 of TAS at 23rd, and season 2 at 24th. Similarly to IGN, they commented that "The animation is definitely limited by today's standards, but the idea of an animated Star Trek makes perfect sense, since concerns over budget and scope would be very different. Although only two seasons long, we were given some memorable moments."[25]

The comic Star Trek vs Transformers was inspired by The Animated Series, and takes place in a similar universe.[26]

In 2016, in a listing that included each Star Trek films and TV series separately, The Animated Series was ranked 11th by the L.A. Times.[27]

In 2019, Moviefone ranked The Animated Series the seventh best out of seven Star Trek TV series.[28]

Home media[edit | edit source]

  • The complete series was first released in the United States on eleven volumes of VHS tapes in 1989. In the United Kingdom, CIC Video released the complete series on seven volumes (1x4 episodes and 6x3 episodes) on PAL VHS in 1992. Although CIC-Taft Australia negotiated an Australasian release, they did not proceed with their plans.
  • A boxed set of the complete series on LaserDisc was released for the US market in 1990, then re-released in 1997.
  • A Region 1 DVD box set of the series was released on November 21, 2006, and has since been released internationally for other Regions. Each episode on CBS DVD/Paramount Home Entertainment’s Complete Series DVD release of Star Trek: The Animated Series (aka The Animated Adventures of Gene Roddenberry’s Star Trek) was presented in its original network television format and original airdate order - uncut and unedited - and also remastered and restored in 1080p HD and full-color with remastered and remixed 5.1 surround sound and restored original mono audio. It was also the last series of Paramount's Star Trek television franchise to be released to DVD.
  • A Blu-ray release in HD was released as part of the STAR TREK 50th Anniversary TV and Movie Collection in the United States on September 6, 2016.
  • A stand-alone Blu-ray release was released on November 15, 2016.

See also[edit | edit source]

References[edit | edit source]

  1. ^ "Star Trek: The Animated Series". CBS.com. http://www.cbs.com/shows/star_trek_animated/
  2. ^ "Animated Star Trek: Series Background". Danhausertrek.com. http://www.danhausertrek.com/AnimatedSeries/Bgd.html
  3. ^ Idiotbox Watcher. "'Star Trek'...True Space Oddity". Movie Pilot. September 7, 2016. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on November 29, 2016. Retrieved June 21, 2017. 
  4. ^ "Star Trek: 25th Anniversary – Review – Adventure Classic Gaming – ACG – Adventure Games, Interactive Fiction Games – Reviews, Interviews, Features, Previews, Cheats, Galleries, Forums". Adventure Classic Gaming. Retrieved May 5, 2013. 
  5. ^ "Star Trek" – via www.imdb.com. 
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s Mangels, Andy (Summer 2018). "Star Trek: The Animated Series". RetroFan. TwoMorrows Publishing (1): 25–37. 
  7. ^ Takei, George. To the Stars: The Autobiography of George Takei. Pocket Books. 
  8. ^ D. C. Fontana (1991). Introduction to Star Trek: The Classic Episodes, Volume 1. 
  9. ^ Silverman, D. S. (2015). Always bring phasers to an “animated” canon fight: Star Trek’s animated adventures on Saturday mornings. In D. Brode & S. Brode (Eds.) Gene Roddenberry’s Star Trek: The original cast adventures. Lanham, MD: Scarecrow. ISBN 978-1-4422-4987-5
  10. ^ see, e.g., Gerrold, The World of Star Trek
  11. ^ Lost PSA: Star Trek TAS for Keep America Beautiful!. YouTube. June 14, 2010. 
  12. ^ Ayers 2006, p. 232.
  13. ^ Okuda & Okuda 1996, pp. 41–42.
  14. ^ Michael & Denise Okuda, The Star Trek Encyclopedia: A Reference Guide to the Future, Updated and expanded edition, October 1999, Pocket Book (a division of Simon and Schuster), p. iii
  15. ^ "Star Trek: The Animated Series". startrekanimated.com. 
  16. ^ "D.C. Fontana On TAS Canon (and Sybok)". TrekMovie.com. 
  17. ^ "ShiKahr (background image)". TrekMovie.com. Retrieved May 5, 2013. 
  18. ^ "'Star Trek: Discovery' References Spock And 'The Animated Series'". comicbook.com. Retrieved March 8, 2019. 
  19. ^ Star Trek, Series II issue #1 lettercol, DC Comics, September 1989
  20. ^ "Star Trek: Enterprise". Memory Alpha. 
  21. ^ "Star Trek". startrek.com. 
  22. ^ Silverman, D. S. (2015). "Always Bring Phasers to an 'Animated' Canon Fight: Star Trek's Animated Adventures on Saturday Mornings". In D. Brode & S. Brode (Eds.) Gene Roddenberry's Star Trek: The Original Cast Adventures. Lanham, MD: Scarecrow. ISBN 978-1-4422-4987-5
  23. ^ a b Burton, Bonnie. "Star Trek: Lower Decks have you excited? Give the '70s cartoon a try". CNET. Retrieved June 26, 2019. 
  24. ^ "96, Star Trek: The Animated Series". IGN. January 23, 2009. Archived from the original on January 19, 2009. Retrieved January 23, 2009. 
  25. ^ "Every Star Trek Season of TV Ever, Ranked from Worst to Best". CBR. January 4, 2019. Retrieved March 26, 2019. 
  26. ^ https://io9.gizmodo.com/a-new-idw-comic-is-mashing-up-star-trek-and-transformer-1826960426
  27. ^ Bernardin, Marc. "Ranking every 'Star Trek' movie and TV series from first to worst". latimes.com. Retrieved July 12, 2019. 
  28. ^ Pirrello, Phil. "Every Star Trek Series, Ranked From Kirk to Picard". www.moviefone.com. Retrieved July 12, 2019. 

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