star trek animated series enterprise

Star Trek: The Animated Series

• 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
• 1 Daniels (Crewman)
• 2 USS Voyager (NCC-74656-A)
• 3 PRO Season 2

• More to Explore
• Series & Movies

Star Trek: The Animated Series

Cast of characters.

Latest Articles

• Latest Articles See More

Latest Videos

• Latest Videos See More

Latest Galleries

• Latest Galleries See More

Boldly Go: Subscribe Now

• Cast & crew
• User reviews

Episode list

Star trek: the animated series.

S1.E1 ∙ Beyond the Farthest Star

S1.E2 ∙ Yesteryear

S1.E3 ∙ One of Our Planets Is Missing

S1.E4 ∙ The Lorelei Signal

S1.E5 ∙ More Tribbles, More Troubles

S1.E6 ∙ The Survivor

S1.E7 ∙ The Infinite Vulcan

S1.E8 ∙ The Magicks of Megas-Tu

S1.E9 ∙ Once Upon a Planet

S1.E10 ∙ Mudd's Passion

S1.E11 ∙ The Terratin Incident

S1.E12 ∙ The Time Trap

S1.E13 ∙ The Ambergris Element

S1.E14 ∙ The Slaver Weapon

S1.E15 ∙ The Eye of the Beholder

S1.E16 ∙ The Jihad

Contribute to this page.

• See more gaps
• Learn more about contributing

More from this title

More to explore, recently viewed.

• Rent or buy
• Categories Categories
• Getting Started

Star Trek: Animated

• Store Filled Season 1
• Store Filled Season 2
• Episode number
• Newest episodes
• Available to watch

Customers also watched

Cast and Crew

72 global ratings

How are ratings calculated? Toggle Expand Toggle Expand

• Amazon Newsletter
• About Amazon
• Accessibility
• Sustainability
• Press Center
• Investor Relations
• Amazon Devices
• Amazon Science
• Sell on Amazon
• Sell apps on Amazon
• Supply to Amazon
• Protect & Build Your Brand
• Become an Affiliate
• Become a Delivery Driver
• Start a Package Delivery Business
• Advertise Your Products
• Self-Publish with Us
• Become an Amazon Hub Partner
• › See More Ways to Make Money
• Amazon Visa
• Amazon Store Card
• Amazon Secured Card
• Amazon Business Card
• Shop with Points
• Credit Card Marketplace
• Reload Your Balance
• Amazon Currency Converter
• Your Account
• Your Orders
• Shipping Rates & Policies
• Amazon Prime
• Returns & Replacements
• Manage Your Content and Devices
• Recalls and Product Safety Alerts
• Conditions of Use
• Privacy Notice
• Consumer Health Data Privacy Disclosure
• Your Ads Privacy Choices

Log in or sign up for Rotten Tomatoes

Trouble logging in?

By continuing, you agree to the Privacy Policy and the Terms and Policies , and to receive email from the Fandango Media Brands .

By creating an account, you agree to the Privacy Policy and the Terms and Policies , and to receive email from Rotten Tomatoes and to receive email from the Fandango Media Brands .

By creating an account, you agree to the Privacy Policy and the Terms and Policies , and to receive email from Rotten Tomatoes.

Email not verified

Let's keep in touch.

Sign up for the Rotten Tomatoes newsletter to get weekly updates on:

• Upcoming Movies and TV shows
• Rotten Tomatoes Podcast
• Media News + More

By clicking "Sign Me Up," you are agreeing to receive occasional emails and communications from Fandango Media (Fandango, Vudu, and Rotten Tomatoes) and consenting to Fandango's Privacy Policy and Terms and Policies . Please allow 10 business days for your account to reflect your preferences.

OK, got it!

• What's the Tomatometer®?
• Login/signup

Movies in theaters

• Opening this week
• Top box office
• Coming soon to theaters
• Certified fresh movies

Movies at home

• Fandango at Home
• Prime Video
• Most popular streaming movies
• What to Watch New

Certified fresh picks

• A Quiet Place: Day One Link to A Quiet Place: Day One
• Inside Out 2 Link to Inside Out 2
• The Imaginary Link to The Imaginary

New TV Tonight

• Star Trek: Prodigy: Season 2
• Grace: Season 4
• Down in the Valley: Season 1
• The Great Food Truck Race: Season 17
• SPRINT: Season 1

Most Popular TV on RT

• Star Wars: The Acolyte: Season 1
• Supacell: Season 1
• The Bear: Season 3
• The Boys: Season 4
• My Lady Jane: Season 1
• Presumed Innocent: Season 1
• House of the Dragon: Season 2
• Dark Matter: Season 1
• Eric: Season 1
• Best TV Shows
• Most Popular TV
• TV & Streaming News

Certified fresh pick

• My Lady Jane: Season 1 Link to My Lady Jane: Season 1
• All-Time Lists
• Binge Guide
• Comics on TV
• Five Favorite Films
• Video Interviews
• Weekend Box Office
• Weekly Ketchup
• What to Watch

All A24 Movies Ranked by Tomatometer

300 Best Movies of All Time

What to Watch: In Theaters and On Streaming

New Movies & TV Shows Streaming in July 2024: What to Watch on Netflix, Prime Video, Disney+, Max and more

The 5 Most Anticipated Movies of July

• Trending on RT
• 2024's Best Movies
• New On Streaming
• July's Anticipated Movies
• Free Movies

Season 1 – Star Trek: The Animated Series

Where to watch, star trek: the animated series — season 1.

Watch Star Trek: The Animated Series — Season 1 with a subscription on Paramount+, or buy it on Fandango at Home, Prime Video, Apple TV.

What to Know

Charming, goofy, and chalk full of Spock, The Animated Series is as thoughtful as it is silly, channeling the best of what Star Trek has to offer into its condensed runtime.

Critics Reviews

Audience reviews, cast & crew.

William Shatner

Capt. James T. Kirk

Leonard Nimoy

Science Officer Spock

James Doohan

Engineer Montogmery Scott

DeForest Kelley

Doctor Leonard McCoy

George Takei

Nichelle Nichols

More Like This

Season info.

This is the further adventures of the Star Trek series now in a half-hour animated form.

1st Season 1973

Upon returning from the Guardian of Forever, Spock discovers that there is no records of him serving in Starfleet.

The crew of the Enterprise races to find a way to stop a cloud from destroying inhabited planets.

The male crew of the Enterprise reacts strangely to a distress call on a solely female planet.

Cyrano Jones returns with his Tribbles, taking them to a Klingon planet, where they populate so fast that the Klingons create a special predator, but....

A shape-shifting alien assumes the form of Kirk, and orders the Enterprise into Romulan space.

Kirk & Spock beam to a planet populated by intelligent plants, ruled by a giant humanoid, who forces Spock into a cloning experiment, which may result in the real Spock's death.

While exploring the center of the galaxy, the Enterprise is swept into an alternate universe where magic, not science is the ruling force.

Kirk returns to the "shore leave" planet, but it's not as peaceful as it was when they last saw it.

Mudd returns selling a fake love potion . . . or is it fake?

After being bathed in a strange light, the Enterprise begins to shrink.

The Enterprise and a Klingon vessel enter a time warp, finding an entire world of trapped space travelers.

While exploring the planet Argo, Kirk and Spock are turned into water breathers.

While carrying a stasis box to a star base, they get an indication that there is another nearby, and upon investigating, Spock, Uhura, & Sulu are taken prisoner by the Kizin a cat-like race who hates humans.

In orbit around a dead star, the Enterprise comes across a huge starship inhabited by a parasitic life form that threatens the entire ship.

Kirk, Spock & McCoy are captured and placed in a zoo by a race so intelligent, communication is impossible.

Kirk leads a party to retrieve a religious relic that was stolen; however, he is faced with sabotage from within the group by someone who doesn't want the relic to be found, and a subsequent war to start.

2nd Season 1974

The Enterprise is to meet a freighter with a load of drugs that is the only cure for a fatal disease that Spock has contracted, but Orion pirates attack the ship and now Kirk must track down the Orions and the drug before it is too late.

Kirk takes on a troublesome alien, who is kidnapped by an aboriginal race, who is protected by a god-like force.

While being pursued by the Romulans, the Enterprise enters a cloud of unknown origins, which turns the computer into a practical joker.

Dr. McCoy is arrested and held responsible for causing a plague that ravaged the planet Dramia Two, where he did a mass-inoculation 19 years before.

Can Kirk solve a puzzle left by a Mayan god, who has waited for centuries to be summoned back to Earth?

With Commodore Robert April (the first commander of the Enterprise) on board, Kirk pursues a ship plunging into a supernova, and enters a universe where time runs backwards.

Latest Tweets

• December 2023
• August 2022
• February 2021
• January 2021

Star Trek: The Animated Series - Episode Guide - Season 1

Essentially a continuation of the original series, the Animated Series was a direct result of the ever-increasing rabid fandom of essentially the first-ever cult TV show. The animation studio Filmation, who’d later become known for its Super Friends and He-Man series, brought back the original cast (well, most of them, anyway; more on this momentarily) together with Gene Roddenberry to produce a run of 12 shows for Saturday morning broadcast in 1973-74.

Every episode of Star Trek: The Animated Series’ first season was directed by Hal Sutherland, and this work represented some of the animation legend’s last work before his semi-retirement in 1974. Sutherland directed one crazy mix of scripts which includes three sequels, Larry Niven’s adaptation of his own short story, and the nutty one turned in by Walter Koenig, a.k.a. Chekhov.

1. Beyond the Farthest Star – Not much of a premiere episode, the first TAS story to air is a fairly straightforward tale continuing on from The Original Series. The Enterprise finds itself trapped in orbit around a dying sun along with a 300 million-year-old (!) ship with includes a message warning of an Insane God! (Or at least an Insane Entity!) Kirk thinks forward to Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home and connives an escape. ***

2. Yesteryear – With a script from the Star Trek’s franchise’s most prolific writer through 1990, D.C. Fontana, this episode explores familiar territory, i.e. Spock’s back story. “Yesteryear” has Kirk and Spock revisit the Guardian of Forever, only to find that Spock’s past has changed, resulting in his death as a young man. He time-travels though the Guardian’s portal back to the Vulcan of his youth. Sarek appears in this episode, making him the only non-regular to appear in TSO, TAS and TNG. (Not to mention a couple of the movies…) ***

3. One of Our Planets Is Missing – How come the original series never had titles like this? Particularly because this is yet another in the long series of Cloud Beings exterminating lifeforms willy-nilly … **

4. The Lorelei Signal – Right, now here’s a grab bag of Star Trek tropes: A planet of hot (albeit animated) babes are space vampires, stealing the “life essence” of the available males. And in the meantime, said essence-losing males … age really quickly! Minus points for clichés, but we’ll tack ‘em right back on for that day-saving away team led by (who else?) Uhura and Nurse Chapel. ***

5. More Tribbles, More Troubles – The weakest of three Tribble-centric ST episodes, but hey, tribbles! In part two of what is essentially a trilogy, Cyrano Jones is back as the Tribble merchant (apparently, he’s cleaned up the proto-Deep Space Nine station); he’s on the run from Klingons and also hawking a new form of Tribble which is essentially neutered. ****

6. The Survivor – Noted Federation philanthropist Carter Winston (voiced by Ted Knight. yippee!) is found after having disappeared five years previously. Naturally, ol’ Carter is … not as he seems! Gene Roddenberry gets co-scriptwriter credit, so “The Survivor” is pure classic Trek. ***

7. The Infinite Vulcan – Walter Koenig’s script (!) has … well, what doesn’t it have? Check out a combination of sentient vegetable life forms (!), references to the Eurgenics wars (!), clones (!!), giant clones (!!!!), giant clones of Spock (!!!!!!!!!1!!1!11), a plan to destroy the Federation (!) and a take on the Japanese Relic Soldier mythos (!). Amidst the fun (and, let’s face it, silliness), minus points for massive leaps in logic and naming the damn aliens the Retlaw. Worst. Name. Ever. ***

8. The Magicks of Megas-tu – A dude named Lucien hijacks the Enterprise and brings the crew to Megas-tu, a planet where magic supersedes technology. The folks there seek to put the crew (including Spock, for some reason) on trial for incidents in 1691 Salem. An interesting mix of fantasy or science-fiction that quite frankly no other Star Trek could have pulled off; probably the peak of The Animated Series. ****

9. Once Upon a Planet – The Enterprise revisits the planet of “Shore Leave”, where they find an Insane Computer! in charge. Incredibly slow-moving stuff for The Animated Series. **

10. Mudd’s Passion – Harry Mudd, having escaped his planet of androids, is now wanted by the Federation. His “love potion” is soon wreaking havoc on the Enterprise, causing, ahem, tension between, for example, M’Ress and Scotty, Spock and Nurse Chapel and … Spock and kirk. (Yes, they did.) ***

11. The Terratin Incident – The Enterprise answers a mysterious signal. When near the planet, the ship’s crewmembers immediately experience full-body shrinkage because of (sigh) radiation from a supernova. And somehow the magic transporter fixes everything. *

12. The Time Trap – The Enterprise is attacked by a handful of Klingon ships. Soon, the Enterprise finds itself sucked into a pocket dimension containing innumerable starships. An entire multispecies culture has evolved within the dimension, but Kirk et al have no time to explore that strange new world. Captain Kor of the Klingon ship, incidentally, would become the first non-series regular to appear on TOS, TAS and Deep Space Nine. ****

13. The Ambergris Element – Water-dwelling beings genetically manipulate Kirk and Spock so as to make them water-breathers. This condition can apparently only be reversed with a batch of fresh venom from the bigass “sur-snake.” So, yeah. **

14. The Slaver Weapon – Science-fiction great Larry Niven’s contribution to the Star Trek machine has Spock, Uhura and Sulu discovering powerful technology of an ancient race known as “The Slavers.” Naturally, a more malevolent force discovers the technology … To date, this remains the sole episode of any Star Trek series which does not include its lead character. ****

15. The Eye of the Beholder – A scientific team and a Federation starship crew go missing in orbit around Lactra VII. The Enterprise crew follows, only to be imprisoned in an alien zoo by massive, telepathic slug-like creatures. And poor Scotty winds up as a plaything for a Lactra child. ***

16. The Jihad – Here’s to thinking that “Star Trek: Discovery” wont’ have a like-titled episode at any point in its run. The particular holt war referred to in the title is all about the theft of a religious artifact, a crime which could trigger an interplanetary war. Kirk and Spock join a quartet of investigations, each conveniently of a different phylum: We’ve got the avian, insectoid and reptilian aliens along with a good old humanoid. ***

Smithsonian Voices

From the Smithsonian Museums

NATIONAL AIR AND SPACE MUSEUM

Get a Closer Look at the Star Trek Enterprise Model

The starship model used in filming underwent an extensive conservation

On  Star Trek,  a TV series that aired in the late 1960s, more than 400 crew members explored the galaxy aboard the USS  Enterprise,  which had a length of 947 feet and weighed 190,000 tons. In actuality, the starship was an 11-foot-long model made of poplar wood and vacu-formed plastic.

Film of the model appeared in all 79 episode of the original series (broadcast from 1966–69), and the model was donated to the National Air and Space Museum by Paramount Studios in 1974.  Forty years later, the Museum undertook a two-year project to restore the  Enterprise  to how it looked during the filming of the 1967 episode "The Trouble with Tribbles"—the last known modification of the ship during the show's production. Today the Enterprise is displayed in the Museum's location in DC.

Let's take a closer look at the model.

During filming, the model balanced on a single-point stand attached to a geared head made to hold heavy cameras—insufficient support for such a large model. Today, the model rests upon two stanchions built by Museum staff. 

Learn more about this artifact on the  Star Trek  starship  Enterprise  Studio Model Conservation page . 

This article is from the Spring 2024 issue of  Air & Space Quarterly , the National Air and Space Museum's signature magazine that explores topics in aviation and space, from the earliest moments of flight to today.  Explore the full issue.

Want to receive ad-free hard-copies of  Air & Space Quarterly ?  Join the Museum's National Air and Space Society to subscribe.

Another ‘Star Trek’ Season Briefly Disappears From Paramount+ [Updated]

Your changes have been saved

Email Is sent

Please verify your email address.

You’ve reached your account maximum for followed topics.

Every Starfleet Uniform From 'Star Trek,' Ranked

The ‘sherlock’ revival just got a disappointing update, yes, those are daenerys' eggs in the latest episode of 'house of the dragon' season 2.

Despite previously claiming to be the home of every Star Trek series, a few notable franchise entries have started being removed from Paramount+ . Following the abrupt and sudden cancellation and removal of Star Trek: Prodigy from the streamer, the folks at Trek Core noticed that the fourth and final season of the early 2000s prequel series Star Trek: Enterprise , was temporarily removed from the platform. The streamer has since fixed the issue but hasn't commented on Season 4's brief disappearance.

In a highly controversial decision, Paramount recently removed Prodigy from its streaming service along with Grease: Rise of the Pink Ladies , drag singing competition Queen of the Universe , and comedy series The Game . The removal comes after a concerning trend of various studios removing content from their streaming platforms to take a tax write-off on supposedly un-profitable shows and movies.

Star Trek fans aren't to be taken lightly though as audiences have already rallied around Prodigy with a rousing campaign to save the series — either at Paramount or on a new streaming platform. Executive producer Aaron J. Waltke recently shared a series of ways that audiences can help revive the series including participating in the fan campaign on social media, purchasing physical or digital copies of the series, and buying officially licensed merchandise. A Change.org petition to save the series has passed 26,000 signatures and the creatives behind the animated show have not given up hope.

RELATED: 'Star Trek: Strange New Worlds' Season 2 Review: The Enterprise Crew Is Back and Bolder Than Ever

Paramount's Future Plans for Star Trek

While the removal of Prodigy and Enterprise' s brief disappearance from the streamer is certainly cause for concern, Paramount+ still has big plans for the franchise. Prequel series Strange New Worlds and adult animated series Lower Decks were both given the green light on a third and fifth season respectively ahead of their new seasons airing this summer. Earlier this spring Paramount also announced that the long-awaited Section 31 series starring Michelle Yeoh as Phillipa Georgiou will now come to the streaming platform as a movie with the now Oscar-winning actress. A Star Trek: Starfleet Academy series, which is expected to follow a group of young students studying to become Starfleet officers, has also been greenlit at the streamer.

Star Trek: Enterprise is still currently available to stream on Paramount+. Stay tuned at Collider for further updates on the franchise.

• The Original Series
• The Animated Series
• The Next Generation
• Deep Space Nine
• Strange New Worlds
• Lower Decks
• Star Trek Movies
• TrekCore on Twitter
• TrekCore on Facebook

KEVIN HAGEMAN: When we got to the end of Season 1, we realized that there was so much more story here that we hadn’t even delved into. When we were doing Season 1, Dan, did we know how Season 2 would end?

DAN HAGEMAN: Well, really, Season 2 really has two endings, including the coda connecting to Star Trek: Picard . Because of the time period, we knew we were going to run up against some touchy subjects within the Star Trek lore. But then there is the full-circle aspect of finding the time-travel fix.

KEVIN: We knew that the end of Season 1 had this sort of Wrath of Khan ending, in the farewell to the Protostar and to Hologram Janeway. We knew that wasn’t going to be the end – but we wanted to have them earn back both the ship and Hologram Janeway.

TREKCORE: And the whole time-loop thing of sending the Protostar back to Tars Lamora?

DAN: No, we didn’t know about that when we wrote the series pilot. After we had finished Season 1, we knew a few things — Chakotay is stuck in the future as a POW, we know Gwyn has to go to current-day Solum — so that meant there would need to be time-travel elements to the next part of the story. Then the questions become, “What could happen? What’s the nexus point that makes everything go wonky?”

Then you just kind of follow the breadcrumbs, and as writers, you follow your instincts about the characters: where they need to go, what needs to happen, and what are the big challenges ahead of them?

DAN: But it all needs to add up, too, right? I hate it when I watch a show and it’s clear that the creators didn’t know where the story was going — and I’m really happy that you said that things wrap up nicely.

KEVIN: Yeah, thanks for saying that — it’s not like a time travel story in a Marvel movie or something, where you can do whatever… it’s time travel in Star Trek , people are going to hold you to the fire!

TREKCORE: Speaking of all the time travel, there are a lot more complicated story elements in Season 2 – not just the time loop, but alternate universes, temporal paradoxes, and more.

When you’re targeting the story towards younger viewers, how do you approach presenting these heady concepts in a way that won’t leave them confused about what’s happening?

KEVIN: Well let me ask you: if you were a kid, would you want us to dumb it down for you?

TREKCORE: Oh, definitely not! But there were moments where one of the kids would say, “Well, I don’t know what you’re talking about, but it sure sounds exciting!” — and you can’t do that every time, right?

KEVIN: No, but that’s why we have Dal — who’s new to a lot of this stuff –and he can say “I don’t understand all this timey-wimey stuff.” That let’s everybody else go, “Well, that’s because you didn’t read Temporal Mechanics 101!”

DAN: And there has to be a simpler version that works for kids, so they don’t need to know the details — but they can still understand what’s happening, and it can work on both levels.

TREKCORE: One if the big sources of that ‘timey-wimey’ business is the inclusion of Wesley Crusher from Star Trek: The Next Generation . How did you go about deciding to bring that character into the show, and making Wil Wheaton a big part of Season 2?

KEVIN: That started in the writer’s room, discussing would could happen. Jen Muro in our writer’s room, she had a Wesley Crusher poster on her wall as a teenager! (Laughs)

When we started to realize this was going to be a time-travel season, we were like, “Who better than the Timelord himself?” We looked back at his last Next Generation episode, and felt like it was a bit of a disservice to the character, because we wanted to know a lot more — he was the original ‘kid on a starship,’ the original prodigy!

Once his name was brought up in the writer’s room, it was just, like, “Yes, yes, yes!” And then when we worked with him, it was even greater. Wil is such an amazing guy, and how much he cares about children and about Star Trek? These two things are his greatest loves, and to see those come together in the show — and having him be on it — was a real treat.

DAN: He was in the recording booth and just loved doing it. He and the other legacy characters, like Chakotay, it was interesting to explore how they have changed since we last saw them? They all had so much fun in their roles.

TREKCORE: Were you planning to utilize Wesley before Wil’s cameo at the end of Picard Season 2?

KEVIN: Oh, yes! We were already writing Season 2 when Akiva Goldsman and Terry Matalas — Picard’s showrunners — reached out to us and say “Hey, we heard you’re using Wesley, and we were hoping to do a little thing with the character…”

It was great, you know — and that let us learn about what’s going on with Jack Crusher, Wesley’s brother, and to find a way to see how we could touch that in our show and acknowledge what Picard was doing.

TREKCORE: Bringing in Beverly (and that little Jack cameo) was really an interesting thing to see happen, especially after those trade reports about Trek showrunner coordination efforts — it makes everything feel so much more cohesive when you can see the shows directly influence each other so directly.

DAN: And we wanted to be at the same table as the other shows, right? We could have ignored the Picard moments — the Mars attack and its ramifications — but we thought it would be more powerful to acknowledge it. Then, we have to find a way to separate Prodigy from the dark cloud now hanging over the Federation, and keep our kids and our show in the light.

TREKCORE: Touching on some of the character moments, tell me a little about Zero’s arc — giving them a physical body, and then putting an expiration date on it?

KEVIN: When we talked about the character arcs, we were always imagining them as Starfleet Academy hopefuls, and it was clear to see what each character would act like. When it came to Zero, we loved exploring those themes — as a complex non-corporeal entity, what would it feel like to, well, feel? To touch?

DAN: Zero is a teenager, you know? I mean, even though they may be however many years older than the other characters, they’re still a teenager in Medusan terms — and these are coming of age stories.

KEVIN: So it started with wanting to get Zero a body — and then once we know they were going to get that body, and what kind of body it would be… we knew it wasn’t going to last. They would have to choose between that new body and their friends — which is a difficult choice — but again, it goes back to the whole found family aspect of the show.

Where do they belong? How do they feel about things? That was always the basis for a lot of different conversations: what kind of body would they choose? What kind of body would they want? What’s the best kind of body they could explore in? So there was a lot of talk about Zero and their different potential, uh, exteriors.

TREKCORE: And speaking of that ‘found family,’ this season you added Ma’jel to the gang. After spending Season 1 building the relationships between the original six kids, was it a challenge to integrate another new character in a balanced way?

DAN: With Ma’jel, she joins them — but she’s not just another friend who comes along, right? She’s a bit of an antagonist. She’s that mirror that’s held up to our gang, and the example of a true ‘top gun’ sort of a young officer.

KEVIN: She’s not into shenanigans. (Laughs)

DAN: Yeah, she’s like the adult in the room. Plus, we never explored Vulcans in Season 1 — remember, our show is meant to be an on-ramp for kids and new viewers, introducing everyone to the main elements that make up Star Trek’s DNA. So we’ve gotta have a Vulcan now — and a teenage one at that.

TREKCORE: Then with Chakotay… you left him on a planet for 10 years, and you didn’t undo it! I was waiting for some kind of reset on that, and I have to say I was impressed that never came. Was there much of a debate on that?

KEVIN: No. (Laughs)

DAN: Nope. He’s a hero!

TREKCORE: Well all right then!

KEVIN: We wanted him grizzled!

TREKCORE: I know you finished Season 2 quite a while ago, and there’s plenty of talk about what could happen next, like a third season — if Netflix, or whoever is making those decisions now, has the inclination to move forward — and I’m sure you have ideas for more adventures.

But if this is the end of Prodigy’s story — how do you feel about that?

KEVIN: Well, I’m happy with our ending for Season 2. Like, it’s an ending that does wrap things up without leaving a bunch of hanging questions. It really does feel satisfying. But of course, yes, we want to do more! I mean, we always envisioned more for Prodigy when we first created the show — we wanted toys, and all that.

But it’s got to perform really, really well on Netflix, I think. That’s going to be the challenge, because today’s market there are so many shows…

DAN: And that’s nothing to do with the quality of Prodigy . There’s just so much content out there – and most shows don’t get more than two seasons. You have to be on the level of like Wednesday or Strange New Worlds , something that really hits the button.

KEVIN: But you know, there is also the chance that we do well — but not necessarily well enough to warrant a third season. But could it be ‘good enough’ to warrant a 90-minute animated feature? That’s certainly cheaper than doing 20 more episodes, right? There are different ways that Prodigy could keep going.

DAN: With this show, though, you could take a ten-year hiatus and come back to the story. Like, now Rok-Tahk has an eyepatch, what’s that about? (Laughs)

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

Star Trek: Prodigy Season 2 is available to stream now on Netflix globally (excluding-Canada, Nordics, CEE, Netherlands, Spain, Portugal, Poland, Russia, Belarus, and Mainland China). The show can also be viewed on SkyShowtime in the Nordics, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain and Central and Eastern Europe.

• Behind The Scenes
• Dan Hageman
• Kevin Hageman
• PRO Season 2
• Star Trek: Prodigy

Related Stories

Spoiler-free review — star trek: prodigy season 2 has been worth the wait, see new images from star trek: prodigy season 2, watch star trek: prodigy’s season 2 trailer now, search news archives, new & upcoming releases, featured stories, lost-for-decades original star trek uss enterprise model returned to roddenberry family, star trek: lower decks cancelled; strange new worlds renewed for season 4, our star trek: discovery season 5 spoiler-free review.

TrekCore.com is not endorsed, sponsored or affiliated with Paramount, CBS Studios, or the Star Trek franchise. All Star Trek images, trademarks and logos are owned by CBS Studios Inc. and/or Paramount. All original TrekCore.com content and the WeeklyTrek podcast (c) 2024 Trapezoid Media, LLC. · Terms & Conditions

Star Trek Legend Jonathan Frakes to Direct New Sci-Fi Series

Star Trek: The Next Generation legend, Jonathan Frakes, is set to bring a new sci-fi universe to television, as it was recently announced he would direct a new show based on the works of Arthur C. Clarke.

Per Variety, Frakes will produce and direct all six episodes of the new sci-fi series, Arthur C. Clarke’s Venus Prime . The new show is based on the series of novels written by Paul Preuss, a collaborator of Clarke's, which takes inspiration from characters and places from Clarke's short stories. Preuss will also be involved as a consultant for the show. David Cormican and Dwayne Hill are set to executive produce and will serve as showrunners for the series. Production on the show is expected to begin near the end of the year.

The Star Trek Universe Is in Very Good Hands Jonathan Frakes Bids Farewell to Star Trek: Discovery

In an interview with CBR, Star Trek legend Jonathan Frakes talks about taking the director's chair one last time for Star Trek: Discovery Season 5.

Frakes, who is no stranger to directing science fiction, expressed his excitement for the project and his love for the series of novels. " When the materials for Arthur C. Clarke’s Venus Prime were presented to me, I couldn’t help but devour them ," Frakes said. "When asked if I wanted to direct what I read —my answer was a resounding and immediate ‘Hell, yes!’ Working on such a tremendous piece of IP from the mind of another sci-fi legend (who is also a contemporary of the true #1 Gene Roddenberry), will be both an honor and a dream for me ."

Jonathan Frakes Has Been Directing Sci-Fi For Decades

In addition to playing William T. Riker on Star Trek: The Next Generation , Frakes has proven himself a talent behind the camera as well. He directed two of the Next Generation movies, First Contact and Insurrection, as well as directing many episodes for current Star Trek . He directed episodes for Star Trek: Picard , Strange New Worlds , and Discovery . He recently reprised his role as Riker in the third season of Picard , which saw the emotional farewell to the Next Generation crew. He has also appeared as Riker in the animated comedy, Star Trek: Lower Decks .

Jonathan Frakes Teases Upcoming Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Murder Mystery Episode

Star Trek veteran Jonathan Frakes will direct a new Star Trek: Strange New Worlds episode, calling it "the best episode of television I've ever done."

Frakes directed two of the best episodes of Picard season 3, "Seventeen Seconds" and "No Win Scenario", the latter being some of his finest work in the director's chair. Frakes brought out the best from the cast, particularly from Todd Stashwick who has an incredible scene revealing why he is so antagonistic towards Picard, and captures a true sense of dread that overtook all the crew onboard the ship. Executive producer for Arthur C. Clarke’s Venus Prime, Lucas Vivo Garcia Lagos, expressed his excitement for bringing Frakes on board to direct alongside other notable collaborators. "These books, along with the incredible characters and storylines, have been with me since my adolescence; I have always believed this IP has all the necessary elements to become a major blockbuster. By uniting the collective talents of Preuss, Cormican and Hill with Jonathan Frakes at the helm, we are confident we have assembled the perfect team to realize the cinematic vision we all share for this iconic property."

There is no official release date for Arthur C. Clarke's Venus Prime yet.

Source: Variety

Star Trek: Picard

Retired Admiral Jean-Luc Picard is drawn back into action when a mysterious young woman seeks his help, triggering a journey that leads him to confront the ghosts of his past. As he assembles a new crew to uncover the truth behind a dangerous conspiracy, Picard navigates a galaxy that has changed significantly since his days aboard the Enterprise.

Release Date January 23, 2020

Cast Patrick Stewart, Alison Pill, Santiago Cabrera, Michelle Hurd

Main Genre Sci-Fi

Genres Drama, Sci-Fi, Action, Adventure

Rating TV-MA

Franchise(s) Star Trek