Star Trek

The Enterprise boldly went where no man had gone before. Star Trek collectively refers to six science fiction television series, ten motion pictures, and hundreds of novels, video games, and other works of fiction all set within the same fictional universe created by Gene Roddenberry in the early- to mid-1960s. It depicts an optimistic future in which humankind has overcome sickness and poverty and warfare on Earth; the central characters explore the galaxy, finding new worlds and meeting new civilizations, while helping to spread peace and understanding. Star Trek is one of the most popular names in twentieth century science fiction entertainment.

The Original Series (1966-1969)

:''Main article: Star Trek: The Original Series.'' Star Trek debuted on NBC on September 8, 1966. It told the tale of the crew of the starship - Enterprise from the United Federation of Planets and their adventures "to boldly go where no man has gone before". Initially, it was not successful; ratings were low and advertising revenue was lackluster. However, when threats of cancellation loomed in the show's second season, the show's devoted fanbase conducted an unprecedented campaign, convincing NBC to produce a third season. The last episode aired on June 3, 1969. The series became phenomenally popular in syndication. To distinguish this first series from the sequels which followed, it has become known as Star Trek: The Original Series, abbreviated as ST:TOS or TOS.

The Animated Series (1973-1974)

: Main article: Star Trek: The Animated Series. The series was aired under the name Star Trek, but it has become widely known as Star Trek: The Animated Series (or abbreviated as ST:TAS or TAS). It was produced by Filmation and ran for two seasons with a total of twenty-two half-hour episodes. It featured most of the original cast performing the voices for their characters. While the freedom of animation afforded large alien landscapes and exotic lifeforms, budget constraints were a major concern and animation quality was poor. A few episodes are especially notable due to contributions from well-known science fiction authors. The series is not considered to be canon, with the episode, "Yesteryear" being largely an exception, which has caused controversy among some fans.

Star Trek: Phase II

Main article: Star Trek: Phase II. Planned but never produced, Star Trek: Phase II was set to air in 1978. It would have put most of the original crew back onto the Enterprise for a second five-year mission. Leonard Nimoy did not agree to return as Spock, and a full-blooded Vulcan named Xon was planned in his stead. Twelve episodes were scripted. However, partly due to the popularity of the recently-released Star Wars, Paramount decided to make a Star Trek movie. The series was scrapped; however the first script became Star Trek: The Motion Picture, while two others were eventually adapted as episodes of Star Trek: The Next Generation.

Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987-1994)

The USS Enterprise (NCC-1701-D) Main article: Star Trek: The Next Generation. Star Trek: The Next Generation (also known as ST:TNG or TNG) is set nearly a century later and features a new starship (also named Enterprise) and a new crew. It premiered on September 28, 1987 with the two-hour pilot episode "Encounter at Farpoint" and ran for seven seasons, ending with the final two-part episode "All Good Things . . ." on May 29, 1994. The show gained a considerable following during its initial run. Even during it's initial run, the show has been produced solely for syndication.

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (1993-1999)

Space station Deep Space Nine Main article: Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (''ST:DS9'' or DS9 for short) ran for seven seasons. It introduced Avery Brooks as Captain Benjamin Sisko, the first African-American in the commanding role of a Star Trek series. It chronicles the events surrounding the space station Deep Space Nine. In the first episode, the crew discovers the presence of a nearby stable wormhole which provides immediate travel to and from the distant Gamma Quadrant. This immediately makes the station an important tactical asset, as well as a vital center of commerce with the largely-unexplored area of space. Deep Space Nine sheds some of the utopian themes that embodied the previous versions of Star Trek, and focuses more on war, religion, political compromise, and other modern issues. Because of its generally darker theme, many fans of the generally light Next Generation failed to return as an audience.

Star Trek: Voyager (1995-2001)

USS Voyager (NCC-74656) Main article: Star Trek: Voyager. Star Trek: Voyager (also known as ST:VOY or VOY) was produced for seven seasons, and is the only Star Trek series to have had a female captain as a lead character. The series follows the adventures of the USS Voyager and her crew who have become stranded in the Delta Quadrant, seventy-five thousand light-years from Earth. Unless they can find some kind of shortcut, it will take them seventy-five years to return to known space. Although Voyager's ratings were initially solid, they fell dramatically as the show progressed. Some fans feel that Voyager is the weakest of the Star Trek series.

Star Trek: Enterprise (2001-2005)

The starship Enterprise (NX-01) Main article: Star Trek: Enterprise Star Trek: Enterprise (named simply Enterprise during its first two seasons, and abbreviated as ST:ENT or ENT) is a prequel to the other Star Trek series. The pilot episode, "Broken Bow", takes place ten years before the founding of the Federation, about halfway between the events shown in the movie Star Trek: First Contact and the original Star Trek series. This series depicts the exploration of space by a crew that is able to go farther and faster than any humans had previously gone. It presents situations not entirely unfamiliar to Star Trek fans, but which allow its characters to face them unencumbered by the experience and rules which have built up over the following years of Trek history. Enterprise has been unpopular with many diehard fans, due to their perception of a disregard for continuity and the technical and physical limitations put into place by previous Star Trek series and movies, a point of view disputed by supporters of the series. This has been aggravated by the unpopularity of the current producing team (which has carried over from the previous series, Voyager), although the addition of Manny Coto as the show's co-executive producer in the fourth season has helped alleviate this somewhat. However, a perceived lack of support from UPN and that network's chronic low ratings and pre-emptions, coupled by a refusal by some Trekkers to accept the new series despite apparent improvements, has prevented Enterprise from growing its audience. Although still one of UPN's highest-rated dramatic series, Enterprise was cancelled on February 2, 2005; the series finale is set to air May 13. In January 2005, it was announced on Marina Sirtis' official web site that she and Jonathan Frakes would reprise their roles as Troi and Riker in the finale of season four. However, this has not yet been confirmed by Paramount Pictures or UPN, and is further thrown into doubt by the cancellation of the series.

Motion Pictures

A total of ten Star Trek movies have been produced by Paramount. USS Enterprise (NCC-1701-E) as it appeared in the last three movies.]]

Movies based on Star Trek: The Original Series:
* Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979)
* Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982)
* Star Trek III: The Search for Spock (1984)
* Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (1986)
* Star Trek V: The Final Frontier (1989)
* Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country (1991)

Crossovers between multiple series:
* Star Trek: Generations (1994) (crossover between ST:TOS and ST:TNG)

Movies based on Star Trek: The Next Generation:
* Star Trek: First Contact (1996)
* Star Trek: Insurrection (1998)
* Star Trek: Nemesis (2002)

A common opinion among fans is that the even-numbered Star Trek films are superior to the odd-numbered Star Trek films. This rule-of-thumb is most easily applicable to the first few films: Star Trek II and IV are usually at or near the top of the fan favorites, while I and V are usually at the bottom (though I has since received quite a bit of positive reevaluation in the wake of an acclaimed "Director's Edition" revision released on DVD). A possible exception to the "even number" rule is Nemesis which, although not very popular among long time Star Trek fans, has gained the interest of a number of new fans. Rick Berman revealed in 2003 that preliminary work had begun on an eleventh Star Trek feature film. It is rumored that this film will be a prequel involving Spock, Captain Kirk, and Dr. McCoy played by new actors, perhaps entitled Starfleet Academy or Starfleet Command. However, rumors of such a prequel have circulated several times during the 1990s without result. In the past, there has been considerable demand among the fanbase for a film based on Deep Space Nine, but interest in the series has waned since it ended. Little interest has been shown in producing a film based upon Voyager. There have also been many reports that the eleventh film might take place between the events of Enterprise and that of the original series, perhaps during the Romulan War. Several well-known movie review sites have speculated that the next movie will feature Enterprise cast members as major roles.

Society and Star Trek

Gene Roddenberry was an ardent proponent of egalitarian politics, and frequently used the shows to showcase his vision of a future society based on those principles. A prominent female crew member, Uhura, was played by Nichelle Nichols, one of the first African American women to hold a major acting role on American television. Only two decades after the second World War, Star Trek featured an officer of Asian ancestry, Hikaru Sulu (George Takei). In the second season, a Russian character, Pavel Chekov (Walter Koenig) was added. Modern viewers might find the old series' portrayals of minorities and women to be prejudiced by today's standards, but the program was progressive and daring for its time. One of Star Treks claims to fame in the United States is that it featured the first televised kiss between a white character and a black character. The episode "Platos Stepchildren" showed Captain Kirk and Uhura being mind-controlled and unwilling, but they pressed their lips together, though there was no passion in it. Later series also went against stereotypes. Star Trek: The Next Generation put a bald man in the lead role, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine starred a black man, and Star Trek: Voyager starred a woman as captain. Additionally, as Klingons had been used in the original series to represent the real-world Soviet Union and the Cold War going on, TNG's use of a Klingon ally in the main cast foreshadowed the end of the Cold War two years before the Berlin Wall fell. The canonical Star Trek series have never portrayed any openly gay or lesbian human characters, despite pleas from many gay and gay-friendly fans over the years to include such characters. Although Roddenberry had promised to introduce gay characters, the promise was not fulfilled before his death in 1991. In fairness, it should be noted that this issue has also been avoided in many other science fiction/fantasy franchises (''e.g.,'' Star Wars). Star Trek: The Next Generation added much more information on the Star Trek universe. The Federation has an economy of abundance without money, enabled by advanced replicator technology. Labor, purchase, and sale are not necessary, as there is no scarcity to limit the satisfaction of one's material needs and wants. However, certain resources are still limited, such as those necessary to power warp and replicator technology, and interplanetary commerce is not uncommon. Greed and jealousy are thus greatly reduced. Characters often explain that the purpose of the people of the Federation is personal and universal beneficence. Many of the alien species encountered in the series are strikingly similar to humans, both in physical form and in relationships. Mixed race offspring are also possible. In the TNG episode "The Chase", it is explained that many primordial worlds of the galaxy were "seeded" by an ancient race of spacefarers, so that their dying race would live on in various forms around the galaxy. Fans of the original Star Trek series came to be known as Trekkies. By the time Star Trek: The Next Generation was produced, the term "Trekkies" had come to imply a certain nerdy fanaticism among fans and was considered pejorative by some. In response, some fans of the new series decided to call themselves "Trekkers". The terms have become interchangeable. After Roddenberry's death in 1991 (and indeed for some time before) there were growing signs that some Trekkies/Trekkers have gone beyond looking at the franchise as simply entertainment, and are now considering Roddenberry's concepts to be almost a religion unto itself. This first manifested itself in the negative response of some fans to Star Trek: Deep Space Nine and its grittier, less-positive look at the future, which led to some fans accusing the show's producers (particularly Roddenberry's successor Rick Berman) of virtual blasphemy. The later series Voyager and particularly Enterprise, as well as most of the movies, have also come under fire for allegedly violating Roddenberry's principles, although supporters of post-Roddenberry producers of the franchise credit Berman, Brannon Braga, Ronald D. Moore and others for allowing Star Trek to expand far beyond its creator's original dream.

Star Trek in pop culture

Due to its popularity, some of the concepts and the language of Star Trek have found their way into the culture of the population at large and can be considered to be pop culture. Phrases such as "Beam me up, Scotty!", "He's dead, Jim", and "Resistance is futile" are widely recognized and understood, as are warp drive and transporters. Star Trek has been referenced, parodied and spoofed in a wide range of television series, movies and other contexts. See References to Star Trek for a listing of such references. In 1977, due to lobbying from fans of the series, NASA named its prototype space shuttle Enterprise. In 2004, billionaire Richard Branson announced plans to develop the first commercial passenger carrier into space, Virgin Galactic. The first aircraft of the line will be called the V.S.S. Enterprise.

An uncertain future for the franchise

Next Generation stars Marina Sirtis, Patrick Stewart, and Jonathan Frakes have suggested that no more TNG films will be produced; Brent Spiner and Leonard Nimoy are also no longer interested in reprising their respective characters. (However, Spiner portrayed Arik Soong, an ancestor of his Data character's creator, in Enterprise's fourth season.) The low ratings of Enterprise, as well as the poor showing of the 2002 film Nemesis, have brought the future of the franchise into question. Some fans suggest that Paramount should retire the franchise temporarily or permanently, and in an ironic twist to the fan-based efforts to bring back Trek in the 1960s and 1970s, there are actually factions actively seeking the end of Star Trek, feeling that the concept has run its course. Many Trek fans want the replacement of the heads of the franchise, Rick Berman and Brannon Braga; Majel Barrett Roddenberry, the widow of Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry, is occasionally proposed as a replacement. There is also a sizable movement to bring back Captain Kirk, as played by William Shatner, suggesting that the character be given a more dignified end than that in Star Trek: Generations. Despite what is considered to be poor ratings (see the show's entry for possible reasons for this), Star Trek: Enterprise was renewed for a fourth season. Like its predecessors Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, and Voyager, Enterprise has taken the first few seasons to find a consistent footing, and has changed significantly from its original premise. Although there are doubts that it will be able to run the traditional seven seasons on UPN, the show's producers have suggested the series may continue to be produced in first-run syndication if it is cancelled. As of December 2004, the series, although still generating relatively low ratings, was nonetheless UPN's top-rated drama and is considered to be performing well in its new Friday night timeslot, regularly scoring higher ratings than programming scheduled opposite it on The WB. This, along with a statement attributed in the media to a Paramount source that Shatner may appear in a season (not series) finale cliffhanger, has supporters optimistic that the series will be renewed for a fifth year. In 1998, Viacom entered an agreement with Activision to produce Star Trek video games. Many games were released under this agreement, but in 2003, Activision filed a lawsuit against Viacom stating that they weren't holding up to their end of the bargain. In 1998 there were two Star Trek Series running concurrently. This continued during the entire run of Deep Space 9. There was always another movie on the horizon. Activision claimed that the Star Trek franchise was not as valuable as it once was. Activision cancelled the contract and sought after compensation for losses. In 2004, Perpetual Entertainment announced plans for a huge multiplayer online Star Trek game of the same type as Everquest, indicating that gaming interest in Trek is alive and well. It is worth noting that predictions of Star Trek's demise are nothing new. As early as 1993-94, when Star Trek: Deep Space Nine failed to generate the high ratings of its predecessor, magazines such as Entertainment Weekly predicted the demise of the franchise. The near-cancellation of Star Trek: Voyager in the mid-1990s led to more such predictions. But Star Trek continued to survive, and even Star Trek: Enterprise has continued to defy expectations despite media predictions of cancellation after its first, second, and third seasons. Many Trekkies feel that reports of the imminent death of Star Trek are premature. In November 2004, Paramount announced that it would be offering the first four seasons of Enterprise in television syndication as well as on DVD in 2005. Some have seen this as a vote of confidence suggesting the series will continue into a fifth season, while others suggest this is the death knell of the Star Trek franchise.

Other storylines

Main Article: Star Trek Other Storylines Although books, comic books, video games, and other material based on Star Trek are generally considered "non-canon", there are several which deserve mentioning, including fan-produced Star Trek films.