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:
- Seven television series (first shown from 1966 to today) and
- Thirteen movies (shown in theaters from 1980 to 2016).
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.

### _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-)

_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:
- 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. There will be another season premiering in late 2018.

### _Other Star Trek Series_

Since Discovery was added here, other series have been produced and released.  In no particular order, they are:
- Strange New Worlds
- Lower Decks
- Short Treks
- Very Short Treks (described as "anything but canon" in its own trailers)
- Prodigy
- Picard

## 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