In its broadest sense, Star Trek is a collection of science fiction video entertainments, owned by Paramount and CBS, as well as various spin-offs. Many of these types of collections are often known as franchises.

The main parts of the Star Trek franchise are:

Other parts of the franchise are: books (both fiction and non-fiction), magazines, comics, action figures, model toys and computer video games.

Star Trek was created as a TV series in 1966 by Gene Roddenberry. He and the other authors of Star Trek have, over time, developed a whole fictional universe set in the future. Following this fictional universe is the way they have chosen to maintain continuity between the various TV series and the movies.

Trekkies or Trekkers may refer to the many fans who love the series and support this Star Trek Universe. Many conventions and newsletters exist to serve these fans. There are even amateur movies made by the fans.[1][2][3]

In the 1960s, Gene Roddenberry created Star Trek. He sold it as a western (a television genre about cowboys), but in space, and compared it to the television show Wagon Train.[4] He also based it on Gulliver's Travels. After two pilots (test episodes), Star Trek was first shown on television in 1966.

In 2053, World War III ended on Earth. In 2063 Zefram Cochrane, invented the warp drive, a way to travel faster than the speed of light. Because of this invention, Vulcans came to Earth to meet the humans. This is shown in Star Trek: First Contact. The Vulcans helped humans fight disease and hunger. In 2150 humans created a United Earth Government that combined all the old governments into one.

A war between Earth and the Romulans made species from different planets work together, and the Coalition of Planets was started in 2156. In 2161, the planets Vulcan, Earth, Andoria and Tellar started the United Federation of Planets.

Star Trek: The Original Series is sometimes abbreviated to TOS. In it, the starship Enterprise travels through space to discover new places - "to boldly go where no man has gone before". The show was set in the 23rd century.

The main characters are:

It was shown on television for three years, and was cancelled in 1969.

Star Trek: The Animated Series is also called TAS. It is an animated version of The Original Series. The crew are the same, and most are voice-acted by the same actors. Because it was animated, the planets and species could look more interesting.

Gene Roddenberry asked for the stories in TAS to be removed from Star Trek's canon (the official history of Star Trek that is the same in all series). It is still argued about if they are part of canon or not, but usually agreed that they are not. The official Star Trek website has added some things from TAS to their library.[5]

Star Trek: The Next Generation is also called TNG. It is set 70 years after The Original Series, in the 24th century. The crew travel on a new starship called the "Enterprise-D". The stories are also about exploring, and often about fighting hostile (violent or angry) ships. The crew has many different races.

The main characters are:

It was shown on television for seven seasons, from 1987 to 1994.

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine is also sometimes called DS9. It is set in the late 24th century, at the end of The Next Generation's time line and the start of Voyager's. It is not like TOS and TNG because it is set on a space station and is not about exploring. This means it has more soap opera elements (lots of stories about the characters). Most of the stories are about the Cardassian race and the war with the Dominion.

The main characters are:

It was shown on television for seven seasons, from 1993 to 1999.

Star Trek: Voyager is set in the late 24th century. It is different from the other series because it takes place in the Delta Quadrant. The ship Voyager was trapped there after a chase by the Maquis (Starfleet rebels). The stories are about them trying to find their way home. This is a long journey, and will take them 75 years.

The main characters are:

It was shown on television for seven seasons, from 1995 to 2001. It was made to help start a new television channel, UPN.

Star Trek: Enterprise is set in the 22nd century, which means it is before all the other series on the Star Trek timeline. It is about the humans and the Vulcans working together after first contact. The ship, Enterprise, was the first Warp 5 ship made by the humans (with some Vulcan assistance). The first season famously had many continuity errors (events and technology that did not match what happens in the other series).[6]

The main characters are:

It was shown on television for four seasons, from 2001 to 2005.

Star Trek: Discovery is the newest Star Trek series. It is set in the 23rd century, ten years before the original Star Trek series. The first season is about a war between the Federation and the Klingons.

The main characters of the first season are:

The first season was streamed online starting in 2017 on CBS' online streaming service in the United States, and on Netflix outside of the United States. There will be another season premiering in late 2018.

The Star Trek franchise is a multibillion-dollar industry (a very large business). It has influenced (affected) many things in real life.

Star Trek has a large following of fans who are very enthusiastic (care a great deal) about the show. They are usually called Trekkies. The word was first used by Arthur W. Saha when he saw people wearing fake Vulcan ears at a convention (an event where lots of people interested in the same thing organise to meet) in 1967.[7] Some fans like to be known as Trekkers instead.

Two documentaries (factual television shows) have been made about them, called Trekkies and Trekkies 2.

In 1976, NASA made a prototype (test) space shuttle. It was first going to be called Constitution, but Star Trek fans wrote letters to NASA asking for it to be called Enterprise instead. Enterprise was used for flight tests, although it was never sent into space. It is now displayed (put on show) at the Smithsonian Institution.[8]

The movie Galaxy Quest is a Star Trek parody, which means it was made to be like Star Trek in a funny way.

There have been parodies on television in the cartoons Futurama, The Simpsons and Family Guy.

The video games company Blizzard Entertainment puts references to Star Trek in many of its games, like Starcraft and World of Warcraft.

Fans of the show made a new episode, Pilgrim of Eternity, in 2013. The crew were also professional film and TV people.

Star Trek episodes often tell a moral story. philosophical and moral questions are common. In the Star Trek: Voyager episode "Tuvix", a transporter accident puts two characters, Tuvok and Neelix, into one body. This makes a new person, Tuvix, who has his own personality. The crew of the Voyager must decide what to do: they can kill Tuvix by separating him back into Tuvok and Neelix, or they can kill Tuvok and Neelix by letting Tuvix live. In the end, Captain Janeway decides to save Tuvok and Neelix, although the Doctor thinks this is wrong.

Star Trek episodes also often reflect (copy) what is happening in the real world. One example is the episode "A Private Little War" in Star Trek: The Original Series. This is said to be like the Vietnam War.[9] In the episode, the Klingons threaten innocent people. Captain Kirk has to decide whether to give the people guns so that they can defend themselves. The episode asks whether you can fight evil without doing evil yourself.

One focus of all the Star Trek franchises is a Federation law called "The Prime Directive." The Prime Directive states that advanced civilizations should not change more primitive ones; societies should be allowed to develop on their own. The Prime Directive often makes for a moral conflict—for example, the Prime Directive might forbid using advanced technology to save an intelligent race.