# Star Trek

Star Trek is an American media franchise owned by Paramount and CBS, as well as various spin-offs.

The main parts of the *Star Trek* franchise are:

* Fourteen television series (first shown from 1966 to today) and
* Fourteen movies (The first thirteen were shown in theaters from 1980 to 2016, but the last one, *Star Trek: Section 31*, was a made-for-TV movie which premiered in 2025).

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.

## Creation

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*. He also based it on *Gulliver's Travels*. After two pilots (test episodes), *Star Trek* was first shown on television in 1966.

## History of *Star Trek*

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.

## Television series

### *The Original Series* (1966–1969)

*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:

* Captain James Tiberius Kirk, played by William Shatner
* Spock, played by Leonard Nimoy
* Dr. Leonard McCoy, played by DeForest Kelley
* Montgomery "Scotty" Scott, played by James Doohan
* Uhura, played by Nichelle Nichols
* Hikaru Sulu, played by George Takei
* Pavel Chekov, played by Walter Koenig

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

### *The Animated Series* (1973–1974)

*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.

### *The Next Generation* (1987–1994)

*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:

* Captain Jean-Luc Picard, played by Patrick Stewart
* Commander William Riker, played by Jonathon Frakes
* Data (an android), played by Brent Spiner
* Dr. Beverly Crusher, played by Gates McFadden
* Worf (a Klingon), played by Michael Dorn
* Geordi La Forge, played by LeVar Burton
* Counselor Deanna Troi, played by Marina Sirtis
* Wesley Crusher, played by Wil Wheaton

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

### *Deep Space Nine* (1993–1999)

*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:

* Captain Benjamin Sisko (Commander for seasons 1 to 3), played by Avery Brooks
* Major Kira Nerys, played by Nana Visitor
* Odo, played by Rene Auberjonois
* Jadzia Dax, played by Terry Farrell
* Ezri Dax, played by Nicole de Boer
* Worf, played by Michael Dorn
* Miles O'Brien, played by Colm Meaney
* Quark, played by Armin Shimerman

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

### *Voyager* (1995–2001)

*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:

* Captain Kathryn Janeway, played by Kate Mulgrew
* Chakotay, played by Robert Beltran
* Tuvok, played by Tim Russ
* B'Elanna Torres, played by Roxann Dawson
* Tom Paris, played by Robert Duncan McNeill
* Harry Kim, played by Garrett Wang
* The Doctor, played by Robert Picardo
* Seven of Nine, played by Jeri Ryan

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

### *Enterprise* (2001–2005)

*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).

The main characters are:

* Captain Jonathan Archer, played by Scott Bakula
* T'Pol, played by Jolene Blalock
* Charles "Trip" Tucker, played by Connor Trinneer
* Malcolm Reed, played by Dominic Keating
* Hoshi Sato, played by Linda Park
* Travis Mayweather, played by Anthony Montgomery
* Dr. Phlox, played by John Billingsley

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

### *Discovery* (2017-2024)

*Star Trek: Discovery* was the first new show made since 2005. 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:

* Michael Burnham, played by Sonequa Martin-Green
* Captain Gabriel Lorca, played by Jason Isaacs
* Commander Saru, played by Doug Jones
* Paul Stamets, played by Anthony Rapp
* Sylvia Tilly, played by Mary Wiseman
* Ash Tyler, played by Shazad Latif

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. The series ran for five seasons.

### *Strange New Worlds* (2022-present)

*Star Trek: Strange New Worlds* was set in the 23rd century, in the decade before *The Original Series*. It featured a mostly new cast of characters on the original *Starship Enterprise*.

The series has run for three seasons, with a fourth season releasing in 2026 and a fifth and final season in 2027.

### Other Star Trek Series

Since Discovery was added here, other series have been produced and released. In no particular order, they are:

* Lower Decks
* Short Treks
* Very Short Treks (described as "anything but canon" in its own trailers)
* Prodigy
* Picard
* Starfleet Academy

## Movies

| No. | Title | Year | Crew | Director | Writer | Producer |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| I | *Star Trek: The Motion Picture* | 1979 | The Original Series | Robert Wise | Harold Livingston | Gene Roddenberry |
| II | *Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan* | 1982 | Nicholas Meyer | Jack B. Sowards | Robert Sallin |
| III | *Star Trek III: The Search for Spock* | 1984 | Leonard Nimoy | Harve Bennett |
| IV | *Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home* | 1986 | Steve Meerson, Peter Krikes, Nicholas Meyer and Harve Bennett | Harve Bennett |
| V | *Star Trek V: The Final Frontier* | 1989 | William Shatner | David Loughery |
| VI | *Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country* | 1991 | Nicholas Meyer | Nicholas Meyer and Denny Martin Flyn | Ralph Winter and Steven-Charles Jaffe |
| VII | *Star Trek: Generations* | 1994 | The Next Generation | David Carson | Ronald D. Moore and Brannon Braga | Rick Berman |
| VIII | *Star Trek: First Contact* | 1996 | Jonathan Frakes |
| IX | *Star Trek: Insurrection* | 1998 | Michael Piller |
| X | *Star Trek: Nemesis* | 2002 | Stuart Baird | John Logan |
| XI | *Star Trek* | 2009 | The Original Series | J.J. Abrams | Roberto Orci & Alex Kurtzman | J. J. Abrams and Damon Lindelof |
| XII | *Star Trek Into Darkness* | 2013 | Roberto Orci, Alex Kurtzman & Damon Lindelof | J. J. Abrams, Bryan Burk, Damon Lindelof, Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci |
| XIII | *Star Trek Beyond* | 2016 | Justin Lin | Simon Pegg & Doug Jung | J. J. Abrams, Roberto Orci, Lindsey Weber and Justin Lin |
| XIV | *Star Trek: Section 31* | 2025 |  | Olatunde Osunsanmi | Craig Sweeny | Ted Miller |

## Culture

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

### Trekkies

*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. Some fans like to be known as **Trekkers** instead.

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

### Enterprise

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.

### Parodies and tributes

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.

## Themes

*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. 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.

## Other websites

* StarTrek.com—The Official Star Trek website
* Memory Alpha—A Star Trek encyclopedia that uses information *only* from canon (official history)
* Memory Beta—A Star Trek encyclopedia that uses information from *both* canon and non-canon sources