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The event will stream live and feature cast and crew from all five Paramount+ Star Trek series, including Discovery, Strange New Worlds, Picard, Lower Decks and Prodigy.

Star Trek Day 2021, streaming September 8th

To celebrate the 55th anniversary of Star Trek premiering on television, Paramount+ is hosting a live stream that promises in-person conversations with cast and crew from throughout the Star Trek franchise, surprise announcements, and “legacy moments” with well-known cast members.

The celebration consists of 13 panels emanating live from the Skirball Cultural Center in Los Angeles, California, hosted by Wil Wheaton and Mica Burton on  Paramount+  and  Paramount+’s Twitch page and will be available on-demand through  Paramount+’s YouTube Channel after its initial airing. All panels focus on various Star Trek TV shows and cast interviews.

The celebration runs on September 8th starting at 8:30 p.m. ET. / 5:30 p.m. PT and is expected to run for about two and a half hours.

Announcement video

Current and future Star Trek shows will have a major presence at the event. Some of the cast and crew of the upcoming animated show Star Trek: Prodigy will “give fans an update” on what to expect from the show. The Star Trek: Strange New Worlds panel will feature Anson Mount (Captain Pike), Rebecca Romijn (Number One), and Ethan Peck (Spock), along with some creative minds from that show. Star Trek: Picard will be well-represented, with Patrick Stewart (Captain Picard), Jeri Ryan (Seven of Nine), and Isa Briones (Soji Asha) joining the panel. Star Trek: Discovery ‘s Wilson Cruz (Doctor Hugh Culber), Blu del Barrio (Adira Tal), and Ian Alexander (Gray Tal) will talk about the upcoming season of their show, and Noel Wells (Tendi) and Eugene Cordero (Rutherford) will represent Star Trek: Lower Decks with creator Mike McMahan .

Star Trek Day 2021 Lineup

• STAR TREK: PRODIGY,  with series voice cast including Brett Gray and Dee Bradley Baker, along with executive producers Kevin and Dan Hageman and co-executive producer/director, Ben Hibon.
• STAR TREK: DISCOVERY , with series stars Wilson Cruz, Blu del Barrio and Ian Alexander and co-showrunner and executive producer Michelle Paradise.
• STAR TREK: STRANGE NEW WORLDS , with series stars Anson Mount, Rebecca Romijn and Ethan Peck, who will be joined by co-showrunners and executive producers Akiva Goldsman and Henry Alonso Myers. 
• STAR TREK: LOWER DECKS , with voice cast members Noël Wells and Eugene Cordero alongside series creator, showrunner and executive producer Mike McMahan.
• STAR TREK: PICARD , with series stars Patrick Stewart and Jeri Ryan, co-showrunner and executive producer Akiva Goldsman and a special live performance from Isa Briones, singing “Blue Skies,” which was featured in the Picard season one finale. 
• RODDENBERRY LEGACY PANEL , featuring a conversation with Gene Roddenberry’s son and the CEO of Roddenberry Entertainment, Rod Roddenberry, alongside Gates McFadden (“Star Trek: The Next Generation”), LeVar Burton (“Star Trek: The Next Generation”) and George Takei (“Star Trek: The Original Series”), as they discuss the “Star Trek” creator’s indelible impact on science fiction and culture.

The “legacy moments” portion of the event will feature the following iconic Star Trek cast members:

• Cirroc Lofton from Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
• Anthony Montgomery from Star Trek: Enterprise
• Garrett Wang from Star Trek: Voyager
• George Takei from Star Trek: The Original Series
• LeVar Burton from Star Trek: The Next Generation

Strange New Worlds logo revealed

The announcement video also gave us our first look at what appears to be the logo for the upcoming Star Trek: Strange New Worlds series, starring Anson Mount, Rebecca Romijn and Ethan Peck.

The aforementioned “legacy moments” involve intimate conversations with certain actors, such as Cirroc Lofton (Jake Sisko from Deep Space Nine ), Anthony Montgomery (Travis Mayweather from Enterprise) , Garrett Wang (Harry Kim from Voyager ), George Takei (Sulu from The Original Series ), and LeVar Burton (Geordi La Forge from The Next Generation ).

Stay tuned to TrekNews.net for all the latest news on Star Trek: Discovery , Star Trek: Strange New Worlds , Star Trek: Picard , Star Trek: Lower Decks , Star Trek: Prodigy , and more.

You can follow us on Twitter , Facebook , and Instagram .

Kyle Hadyniak has been a lifelong Star Trek fan, and isn't ashamed to admit that Star Trek V: The Final Frontier and Star Trek: Nemesis are his favorite Star Trek movies. You can follow Kyle on Twitter @khady93 .

Fred Ellis jr

September 9, 2021 at 10:19 am

I have been a star trek fan since day 1 I’m now 67 years old and have lots of things from that time even things to never to be seen again even the pilot of capt pike

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Smithsonian explores 50 years of "star trek".

The 50th anniversary of Star Trek is Sept. 8, and the National Air and Space Museum is inviting fans to celebrate with “Boldly Go 50”—three nights of special programs sponsored by the Roddenberry Foundation. The events will explore the history of the science-fiction franchise and its role in inspiring generations of real scientists, innovators and explorers. “Boldly Go 50” will spotlight the show’s message of going where no one has gone before in a space featuring artifacts of exploration achievements from the “Spirit of St. Louis” to SpaceShipOne, and now including the 11-foot studio model of the starship Enterprise used in all 79 episodes of the original series.

Thursday, Sept. 8

Museum visitors can celebrate the moment of Star Trek ’s 50th anniversary Sept. 8 with special screenings of the first episode aired, “The Man Trap,” timed to the show’s 1966 timeslot. The program will begin at 8 p.m., with screenings held concurrently at both of the museum’s locations: on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., and at the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Va. The screenings will be introduced live in Washington and by simulcast to Chantilly by Margaret Weitekamp, the museum’s curator of social and cultural dimensions of spaceflight, Rod Roddenberry, son of Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry, and Bjo and John Trimble, two of Star Trek ’s founding fans. The screenings will be followed by a Q&A. Free tickets are required at both locations.

Friday, Sept. 9

The museum’s location on the National Mall in Washington will host an evening of anniversary activities, including films, tours, special guests, presentations, photo-ops with the original Enterprise studio model and more. The Smithsonian Channel’s new documentary Building Star Trek will begin at 8 p.m. in the Lockheed Martin IMAX Theater, followed by the new film from Adam Nimoy, For the Love of Spock . Free tickets are required for both films; no tickets are required for museum entry or other activities. The event will run from 7 p.m. to 11 p.m.

Saturday, Sept. 10

The popular Museum Moonshine series continues Sept. 10 at the museum’s Washington location with a Star Trek -centric 21-and-over program from the museum and Smithsonian Gardens, exploring the recent conservation of the Enterprise model and the work of the North American Orchid Conservation Center. Activities include selfie stations with a botanic oasis inspired by Star Trek’s set designs, sky gazing with staff from the Phoebe Waterman Haas Public Observatory, displays from Smithsonian Garden’s orchid collection (including a take-home mini-test-tube orchid), Star Trek -inspired treats and talks with special guests and museum experts. A selection of light refreshments and alcoholic beverage samples are included with each ticket. Tickets must be purchased in advance and cost $35. Tickets for National Air and Space Society members cost $30.

The public can watch for program updates and more Star Trek -related content on the museum’s social media channels and join the conversation by using #BoldlyGo50. The three-day Star Trek celebration is sponsored by the Roddenberry Foundation . Additional support provided by Adam Schneider. 

“We are incredibly excited to be joining the Smithsonian in celebrating the 50 th  anniversary of Star Trek and the impact the show has had on millions of people around the world,” said Rod Roddenberry, chairman of the Roddenberry Foundation. “I think my dad would have been overjoyed to know that the fans and the broader public will be gathering and honoring this occasion and revisiting what made the show special and what was so important to him—the celebration of diversity, tolerance, and respect for all life forms.”

The National Air and Space Museum building on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., is located at Sixth Street and Independence Avenue S.W. The museum’s Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center is located in Chantilly, Va., near Washington Dulles International Airport. Attendance at both buildings combined exceeded 8 million in 2015, making it the most visited museum in America. The museum’s research, collections, exhibitions and programs focus on aeronautical history, space history and planetary studies. Both buildings are open from 10 a.m. until 5:30 p.m. every day (closed Dec. 25).

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The studio model of the Starship Enterprise from the original Star Trek series underwent an extensive restoration, which was completed in May 2016, and is now on view in the “Boeing Milestones of Flight Hall” at the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum.

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Look back on 50 years of Star Trek in Paramount’s anniversary trailer

Titled “Celebrating 50 years of Star Trek … and Beyond” the video features a montage of scenes culled from each of the Star Trek movies, from the (somewhat forgettable) 1979 original film, Star Trek: The Motion Picture , on through the “Next Generation” era, and all the way to this year’s Star Trek Beyond , featuring the new cast and rebooted “Kelvin” timeline.

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To date, the 13 films in the Star Trek franchise have collectively earned nearly $1.4 billion in U.S. theaters and $1.7 billion worldwide.The most recent film,  Star Trek Beyond , has earned $155.4 million domestically and $294 million worldwide so far. A 14th film — the fourth film in the rebooted timeline — was confirmed by the studio to be in development.

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In the Futurama episode Where No Fan Has Gone Before, the wisecracking robot Bender describes Star Trek as having “79 episodes — about 30 good ones.” And, if we're being honest, Bender's not wrong. Across the franchise, there are now roughly 900 canonical installments, and out of a field that large, there are naturally dozens, even hundreds of entries that you can simply disregard. Of course, like any fanbase, Trekkies contain multitudes, and we don’t all agree on which episodes deserve the scrap heap. One fan’s space junk is another fan’s latinum, and there’s no accounting for taste. We’ve selected ten episodes from across the history of the franchise that some fans might tell you to skip, but that we think deserve your attention. Is one of your dark horse faves on our list? Have we gone to bat for an episode you wish would be erased from the space-time continuum? Follow us to the salvage yard and find out…

10. The Time Trap (TAS season 1, episode 12)

As much as fans love to praise Star Trek as groundbreaking science fiction, it’s important to remember that, for most of the franchise’s history, Trek was weekly procedural television. Until the streaming era, each series was churning out roughly 26 episodes a year, and by the later seasons of Star Trek: Voyager, some of the creative crew had been in the business of making Star Trek for over a decade. The franchise was a crossover commercial success, the kind of success that the money men like to leave exactly as it is for as long as it’s doing steady numbers. The operation was essentially on rails, and there was a lot of pressure from the studio and the network to keep it that way, which accounts for the general blandness of Voyager and the early years of its successor, Enterprise. The waning years of Trek’s golden era were plagued by creative exhaustion and, consequently, laziness. Concepts from previous series were revisited, often with diminishing returns, and potentially groundbreaking ideas were nixed from on high in order to avoid upsetting the apple cart. That’s not to say that Star Trek: Voyager isn’t still a solid television show, and even many Trekkies’ favorite. The saga of Captain Kathryn Janeway (Kate Mulgrew) and her gallant crew finding their way home from the farthest reaches of the galaxy may not be as ambitious as it could have been, but it is steadily entertaining, which is why new and nostalgic fans alike enjoy it as cozy “comfort viewing.” For our part, however, we tend to enjoy the episodes that have a certain emotional intensity or creative spark, that feel like conceptual or stylistic risks. As such, you might find that our list of the 10 best Voyager episodes differs greatly from some of the others out there. We like when Voyager dared to get heavy, or silly, or sappy, or mean. So, without further ado, let’s raise a glass to the journey ... Like Star Trek? Then check out how do I get into Star Trek? 10. Counterpoint (season 5, episode 10)

Counterpoint drops the audience into the middle of an ongoing story,in which Voyager is boarded and inspected by agents of a fascist government, the Devore. The Devore treat all travelers through their space with suspicion, but are particularly concerned with capturing and detaining all telepaths, who they view as dangerous. Despite the risks, Captain Janeway is attempting to smuggle a group of telepathic refugees to safety, all while putting on a show of cooperation for smiling Devore Inspector Kashyk (Mark Harelik). Much of the plot takes place in the background, obscured from the audience in order to build suspense. The real focus is on the evolving dynamic between Janeway and Kashyk, a rivalry that simmers into one of the Voyager captain’s rare romances. Kashyk works in the service of what are, transparently, space Nazis, but when he offers to defect to Voyager, can his intentions be trusted? Beyond its intriguing premise, Counterpoint is a particularly strong production with a lot of subtle hints of creative flair. Director Les Landau and director of photography Marvin Rush, who had been both working on Star Trek since the 1980s, shoot the hell out of this story, breaking from Voyager’s even lighting and predictable camera moves to make some very deliberate choices that build a great deal of tension around what is essentially a bottle episode. The makeup team, supervised by equally seasoned Trek veteran Michael Westmore, supplies a memorable and imaginative makeup design for an alien astrophysicist who appears in all of two scenes in this episode and is never utilized again. Most of all, Kate Mulgrew provides what may be her most subtle, human performance in the entire series, embodying Janeway’s famous conviction and strength of will while also granting a rare glimpse at her more vulnerable side without ever straying into melodrama.

When Andor premiered one year ago this week, the general response to its first three episodes, which all dropped on Disney+ at the same time, was … interesting. While everyone seemed to welcome the Rogue One prequel with open arms and positive reviews, some were quick to express their concerns over the show’s pace. On the one hand, it’s not hard to see why. Andor's first three installments essentially serve as both the series' inciting incident and its prologue.

The show’s opening chapters split their time between flashbacks to Cassian Andor’s (Diego Luna) traumatic childhood on the war-torn planet of Kenari and the present-day fallout of his impulsive decision to kill a pair of Imperial-adjacent officials. It isn’t until the end of Andor’s third episode that his backstory has been fully fleshed out and he’s actually left his adoptive planet of Ferrix with Luthen Rael (Stellan Skarsgård), the rebel leader who will jumpstart Cassian’s own radicalization. On paper, that might make it seem very little happens across Andor’s first three episodes.

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STLV 2024 Levels Up With Big Celebrity Guests And ‘Treksperts’ Stage Packed With Star Trek Luminaries

| July 21, 2024 | By: Brian Drew 13 comments so far

The Star Trek franchise sets course for Sin City as Creation Entertainment’s STLV: The 58-Year Mission convention begins on August 1 st , once again at the newly renovated Rio All-Suites Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas. This year’s lineup is shaping up for what may be one of the best ones yet.

TrekMovie will be there to cover the 4-day event as well as holding a panel and co-hosting a party. Panels and events will be spread across three separate stages and there is, as always, a dealers room with Star Trek merchandise along with a number of celebrities signing autographs.

So: Who’s coming?

The guest list for the STLV 2024 has been locked down, featuring 177 names encompassing almost every era of the franchise, including favorites William Shatner, Sonequa Martin-Green, Jonathan Frakes, and Anson Mount, as well as some celebrities who don’t often attend Star Trek conventions, including Christopher Lloyd, Laurence Luckinbill, Mary McDonnell, Carol Kane, and Ray Wise. So far, cancellations have been minimal, with only Daniel Davis, Andrew Robinson, and Ethan Phillips unable to attend.

“After last year’s successful show and COVID fully over we wanted to really try for our best Trek guest list ever”, said Gary Berman, co-CEO of Creation Entertainment. “We also wanted to up the game on the non-main stage tracks, add free parties; and essentially continue making the event more show biz while honoring the basic values of Gene Roddenberry’s legacy that make this convention unique. Hopefully, we fully succeeded because everyone has worked really hard on making sure everyone coming has a wonderful time.”

The full schedules for Thursday and Friday have already been posted with Saturday and Sunday coming soon at creationent.com .

William Shatner at STLV 2023 (TrekMovie.com)

Ingloriously go

The convention will feature extensive curated programming from the podcast we named as “The Best Star Trek Podcast of 2021”, The Inglorious Treksperts. Hosts Mark A. Altman, Ashley Miller, and Daren Dochterman will be presenting 4 days worth of panels in the DeForest Kelley Theater. The topics range from the very beginnings of Trek to the present day, with many celebrities and behind-the-scenes personnel as guests. Highlights include a series of big anniversary celebrations: a 30th anniversary Star Trek: Generations reunion with director David Carson and writers Ronald D. Moore and Brannon Braga, a Star Trek V: The Final Frontier 35th anniversary panel featuring Sybok himself, Laurence Luckinbill, and a 40th anniversary celebration of Star Trek III: The Search for Spock with Robin Curtis, producer Ralph Winter, and Leonard Nimoy’s assistant (and onscreen obnoxious punk rocker) Kirk Thatcher. Trekspert Daren Dochterman, an associate producer of the recent Star Trek: The Motion Picture Director’s Edition , will present a special look at that project as the film celebrates its 45th anniversary.

“We were delighted to be invited by Gary and Adam to create this unique programming track and I think we have some incredible plans that will delight audiences all week”, said Altman. “I could not be more excited about our staged reading of Plan Nine From Outer Space, featuring a remarkable array of  Star Trek and genre talent including an Oscar nominee, Mary McDonnell, performing what may be one of the worst films of all time, as well as such incredible talents as Anson Mount, John De Lancie, Dan Fogler, Terry Farrell, and many more, including Lower Decks ‘ Vanessa Marshall appearing at her first Trek convention. We even have a theremin player providing musical accompaniment.”

It’s an exceptionally ambitious slate that covers almost every aspect of the franchise imaginable and could be a convention all its own. Their full schedule can be found here.

In addition to the traditional panels, there will be other special events, including a 12 Monkeys mini-con featuring Todd Stashwick and Terry Matalas, a celebrity-filled Dungeons & Dragons game also with Stashwick and celebrity players, and a makeup workshop with Michael and McKenzie Westmore, among many other things. And there is a lot to see around the con, including multiple photo opportunities, a gallery of original Star Trek art, the world’s largest collection of LEGO Star Trek models, and much more to keep you occupied between panels.

Like every year, a number of special events will be held in the evenings. A big highlight this year will be a staged reading of the sci-fi film  Plan 9 from Outer Space with Anson Mount, John de Lancie, and other Trek celebs. There will be the traditional Saturday Night Gala, a Galaxy Ques t screening, a “Broadway to the Stars” show with Anthony Rapp and other Broadway vets, karaoke parties with Enterprise’s Dominic Keating and Connor Trinneer, the Cosplay Contest, The Rat Pack concert, and much more.

Tickets still available

All 4-day packages are still available with the exception of the Gold and VIP packages. You can also purchase single-day general admission passes for $70 each day (with higher rates for preferred seating depending on day). Individual photo ops are available within the packages or can be purchased as standalones. Note, some special evening are priced separately. For more details, visit creationent.com .

TrekMovie.com will provide our usual coverage of the event both live via our social media accounts along with on-site and post-event coverage on our podcasts. We will be co-hosting the annual “Landing Party” at the Rio Masquerade Bar on Wednesday evening at 9 pm, where there will be a trivia contest with cool prizes.

We will also be conducting a “Star Trek Status Report: 2024 And Beyond” panel in The Lounge (formerly Jimmy’s Place) on Saturday at 11:00 AM. TrekMovie editors and podcasters Anthony Pascale, Laurie Ulster, Matt Wright, and Brian Drew will talk about where things stand and where things are headed for the franchise on television, film, and beyond. Please come and say hi, there will be a Q&A to ask any burning questions you have. Laurie will also be moderating the “ Discovery ‘s Found Family” panel with Anthony Rapp, Blu del Barrio, Ian Alexander, and Wilson Cruz on Friday 1:15pm on the main stage.

Keep up with information about Conventions at TrekMovie.com .

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Tempted to go!

This is really looking to be one for the ages. No better bunch to lead such an effort as the Treksperts.

Treksperts have managed to lose a lot of cred for me in recent years as they seem to be peddling more legend than truth, but even so, this con does sound loaded for mugato.

Be interested to hear if there is any fresh stuff on SFS and TFF, especially the latter.

Always wished Carson had gotten a better feature than GEN, though I think he and Alonzo did some pretty remarkable work in spite of the relatively weak material and line producer Bernie Williams, who might have been a better b-t-s guy for THE PRISONER and Stanley Kubrick than he turned out to be on his sole Trek effort.

What is the “legend rather than truth” that you see them peddling? I am not seeing that.

I’m not seeing that either. There my go to guys for some of sanest analysis in Trek. They tell it like it is which is refreshing.

Agreed! My feelings and thoughts toward Star Trek are usually simpatico with theirs, with a few exceptions.

Just off the top of my head, their stuff about Madlyn Rhue and SPACE SEED/TWOK, which was literally a snake-eating-its-own-tail internet loop o’ lies. Try looking to Facttrek for genuine and detailed research, they’re some of the same folks who demolished so much of Cushman’s made-up and cobbled-together myths.

Well, if you care to expound, I’m listening. It’s a pretty minor corner of Trek history, so is it lies or just not accurate? Are there more things you think they’re lying or otherwise inaccurate about?

There’s a bit from Altman about John Belushi visiting the Trek set to watch Shatner on TWOK that happened just a day before the former’s death … even though that took place well over a month after principal photography wrapped and weeks before the reshoots happened.

To be honest, I’ve stopped noting Altman’s opinions around the time he seemed to embrace the JJ stuff. That’s after being quite taken with his writings and views — even when I disagreed with them — in the 90s, at the time when he and the FREE ENTERPRISE director were, IMO, really working on all thrusters.

Dochertman’s faux movie posters were an absolute scream, but I have disagreed with pretty much every opinion he has voiced or action he has taken on TMP, which is why I stick with the admittedly very flawed theatrical version of the film, since it is less painful to watch and listen to than the versions he has helped mess with.

Love Cushman’s Trek books

And people wonder why I bemoan this site not having an IGNORE function …

Agreed. They’re great. Don’t trash the stuff they don’t like.. and the new shows will be well represented at the con.

I wish I could go. Sounds like heaven!

Boldly celebrating 50 years of ‘Star Trek’s’ all day long

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“Star Trek” celebrates its 50th anniversary this year, and the television series, along with its many spawned spinoffs and films, continues to be a relevant element of pop culture and an influential part of both Hollywood and space-based locales around the world. Fun fact: No one in the original “Star Trek” ever uttered the words: “Beam me up, Scotty.”

‘Star Trek Beyond’ stars discuss ‘uncomfortable conversations,’ Sulu’s sexual orientation and the future

• APPRECIATION: Leonard Nimoy made Spock ‘Star Trek’s’ most complicated hero
• PHOTOS: Notable cameo appearances in ‘Star Trek’ shows and film

The new Roddenberry Prize encourages participants to create a #boldlybetter future

By  Jevon Phillips

“Star Trek’s” influence is not felt just in entertainment circles, and the Roddenberry Foundation aims to make sure that the innovative themes and ideas started fictionally are backed by real encouragement.

The foundation has launched a new award program, the Roddenberry Prize, an annual $1-million gift in support of “solutions that address humanity’s greatest challenges.” The inaugural honor consists of one $400,000 grand prize and four $150,000 innovation awards, disbursed in lump sums to five recipients. And those recipients can be anyone who has an idea or invention that “could benefit humanity in areas as diverse as poverty, obesity, education or the environment.”

“We launched the Roddenberry Foundation to build on my father’s legacy and philosophy of inclusion, diversity and respect for life to meaningfully improve the lives of people around the world,” said Rod Roddenberry, son of “Star Trek” creator Gene Roddenberry, in a statement. “With today’s launch of the Roddenberry Prize, we hope to heighten awareness of the critical needs that many face on this planet, and unleash the imagination and drive of those inspired to do something about it.”

The spork is already invented, but surely some enterprising person will submit a game-changing project -- this year’s application period opened yesterday and closes Nov. 16.

Applications and rules are posted at The Roddenberry Foundation’s prize website at RoddenberryPrize.org . Winners will be announced in January 2017 -- just in time for the debut of CBS’ new “Star Trek: Discovery” series.

Review: In ‘For the love of Spock,’ Adam Nimoy pays an emotional tribute to his dad

By  Michael Rechtshaffen

Just as Leonard Nimoy had an uneasy relationship with his famous alter ego, his standing with his son wasn’t always on terra firma, as explored in Adam Nimoy’s honest but warmly affectionate screen memoir, “For the Love of Spock.”

Originally envisioned as a companion piece to the 50th anniversary of the original “Star Trek” series, the documentary took on a more personal air in the wake of the elder Nimoy’s death in 2015.

But while Adam, a 60-year-old TV director, now describes the film as a journey of self-discovery about his relationship with his not-always-present dad, Trekkies need not fear about being left out in the cold.

Everything we know about the new ‘Star Trek’ series

By  Tracy Brown

While the new James T. Kirk and his U.S.S. Enterprise crew continue their adventures in the rebooted “Star Trek” films, the franchise is preparing to boldly return to where fans first fell in love with the original series: television.

More than 700 “Star Trek” episodes have aired throughout five series since the original debuted in September 1966, but the Bryan Fuller-helmed “Star Trek: Discovery” is the first new “Star Trek” television series since “Star Trek: Enterprise” ended its run in 2005.

The new show was first announced in November before Fuller was even attached to the project. While the first teaser for the series promised “new crews, new villains, new heroes, [and] new worlds,” not a lot of details about “Discovery” have actually been revealed.

Here is everything we know about “Star Trek: Discovery” so far.

Reader comment sparks ‘Star Trek’ vs. ‘Star Wars’ debate

By  Shannon O’Connor

In a response to the article, “ What the set of the original ‘Star Trek’ series was like 50 years ago ,” a commenter boldly went where few dare by declaring, “Greatest sci-fi story ever told, greater than ‘Star Wars.’”

In order to gauge a larger audience’s opinion on this epic sci-fi franchise battle, we took to Twitter and braced for the responses.

Are these fighting words?: As #StarTrek turns 50, a reader takes a bold stand. #StarTrek50 https://t.co/2wqy31Qezk pic.twitter.com/3F6lAy17kO — LAT Entertainment (@latimesent) September 8, 2016

Surprisingly many agreed with the commenter and took their side in the debate:

The truth. https://t.co/6IhSZbdzdz — egtrigg (@peoplegetready) September 8, 2016

Others argued the fact that the two franchises were too different to be compared to each other:

@Davidlaz star wars isn't Sci Fi, it's fantasy. — Sean (@SeanTheDestroyr) September 8, 2016

@latimes Star Wars isn't sci fi, it's just an action movie. The Force made it fantasy until midichlorians replaced magic. — JR Howell (@JR_Howell_JR) September 8, 2016

Some decided to play devil’s advocate and not choose either:

@latimes I think we can all agree that #GalaxyQuest is the greatest sci-fi story ever told. #StarTrek50 #ThursdayThoughts — Serenity (@orangechicken42) September 8, 2016

Those are fighting words, considering that both franchises have roots in cheesy sci-fi action serials. #StarTrek50 https://t.co/8l9OLAKZL0 — Eric Mrozek 🇺🇸🦅🌎🗽✍🏻 (@EricMMrozek) September 8, 2016

So what do you think, “Star Trek” or Star Wars”? Let us know on Twitter .

Ranking every ‘Star Trek’ movie and TV series from first to worst

By  Marc Bernardin

A franchise achieves the kind of permanence that “Star Trek” has only if it expands beyond its origins and original characters. “Star Trek” spun itself off into multiple TV series, movies, novels, video games, comic books… somewhere, there’s probably a puppet Kirk putting the moves on a puppet Orion slave girl.

While the tendrils of “Star Trek” have touched almost every aspect of our culture, it all began with content on a screen. So we’re ranking them: All of the TV shows and the movies, all together.

Even George Lucas acknowledges ‘Star Trek’s’ greatness

George Lucas talks about the connection between “Star Wars” and “Star Trek” in an interview, one of the bonus features on the DVD release of “Trek Nation.”

Among the bonus materials included on the DVD for the documentary “Trek Nation,” which chronicles Rod Roddenberry’s journey to explore the importance of the sci-fi franchise dreamed up by his father, Gene, is an interview with “Star Wars” creator George Lucas talking about the integral role “Star Trek” played in paving the way for his own space opera.

‘Star Trek’ softened up the entertainment arena so that ‘Star Wars’ could come along and stand on its shoulders.

— George Lucas

What the set of the original ‘Star Trek’ series was like 50 years ago

By  Meredith Woerner

Editor’s note: The first episode of “Star Trek” premiered today (Sept. 8) on NBC in 1966. The L.A. Times was there 50 years ago on the bridge of the Enterprise interviewing show creator Gene Roddenberry and taking in the “spectacular” set.

Not sure what to make of this highly ambitious sci-fi series, L.A. Times staff writer Don Page seemed impressed with the look but skeptical of the series’ potential longevity.

If the show happens to fail on television, they could easily turn the set into a tourist attraction.

— Don Page

We’ve republished Page’s article, originally titled “Star Trek is Costly Sci Fi Epic,” from Sept. 21, 1966. It’s a quick behind-the-scenes glimpse of a series that would live on and inspire television spinoffs for decades.

In the semi-darkness of a massive sound stage on the Desilu-Gower lot, strange creatures dart about through web covered catacombs.

Facebook gives its reaction buttons a ‘Star Trek’ theme

By  Christie D’Zurilla

For the 50th anniversary of “Star Trek,” Facebook has themed its reaction buttons, and it’s enough to get a person angry at an adorable puppy video just so they can use the Klingon.

“We chose the most iconic and recognizable characters and symbols from the original Star Trek series, as well as the Next Generation,” Lindsey Shepard, Facebook Messenger marketing lead, said in a post on Medium. “We also wanted to honor the original design and spirit of Reactions, so we needed visual cues that were easy to identify at a glance, like Geordi’s visor. This led us to our final cast: Kirk, Spock, Geordi and a Klingon.”

The special reaction buttons will be available to some Facebook users in the U.S. and Canada for a limited time, she said.

Note the key phrase “some users.” It seems to help if you’ve previously expressed an interest.

Want to nerd up your profile picture for a while? Go to the official Star Trek page , scroll through the selection of limited-time-only anniversary frames and knock yourself out.

That barren planet where Capt. Kirk fought the Gorn? It’s really L.A.’s Vasquez Rocks, Hollywood’s favorite outdoor set

By  Randy Lewis

The mission, from the day “Star Trek” premiered on America’s televisions on Sept. 8, 1966, was ambitious: “to explore strange new worlds, to seek out new life and new civilizations, to boldly go where no man has gone before.”

Where did Gene Roddenberry’s TV series go to find those worlds?

Often as not, it was a piece of alien-looking geology right here in Southern California — amid the jagged, sandstone boulders of Vasquez Rocks Natural Area Park, a Santa Clarita Valley desertscape of prehistoric waves, frozen in time, that has done star turns in Hollywood productions since the 1920s.

It’s where Capt. James T. Kirk famously battled a seemingly indestructible green lizard called a Gorn in the episode titled “Arena,” and it represented planet Capella IV, where Kirk and Dr. McCoy helped an Amazon-like queen give birth to a warrior prince in “Friday’s Child.”

Vasquez Rocks Natural Area Park in Southern California has been used as a location on Hollywood productions dating back to the 1920s.

Stars Zoe Saldana and John Cho and director Justin Lin discuss making “Star Trek Beyond,” fandom, Sulu’s sexuality, and how they approached a timeless story from new angles.

For 50 years, Gene Roddenberry’s “Star Trek” has been doing two things: enthralling audiences around the world with a vision of a future in which humanity has put aside its petty differences, and taking to the cosmos to show how that future is possible only through diversity.

As has been made clear over the course of six television series and 12 movies — the 13th, “Star Trek Beyond,” hits theaters Thursday night — Starfleet and its captains (most notably James T. Kirk) would be nowhere without women and people of color leading the way. “Beyond” advances that inclusion further with the revelation that helmsman Lt. Hikaru Sulu — played by George Takei in the classic TV series and by John Cho in the new cycle of movies that began with J.J. Abrams’ 2009 film — is gay.

We sat down with Cho, Zoe Saldana (who plays Lt. Nyota Uhura) and director Justin Lin for a frank roundtable discussion about the legacy of “Star Trek,” representation and optimism.

When I go to conventions like Comic-Con or when I meet a Trekkie or a Trekker, if anything, I’m the one who’s kind of in awe because it takes a great level of devotion and determination and time to sort of go, ‘I love what this is. I don’t care if you’re telling me it’s real or not. What it makes me feel is real ...’

— Zoe Saldana

Behold! Bryan Fuller’s new ‘Star Trek’ ship, the Discovery

By  Times Staff

Bryan Fuller joined the casts of “Star Treks” past at San Diego Comic-Con to talk all things Starfleet and celebrate the 50th anniversary of the series.

But in even bigger “Trek” news, Fuller decided to debut the first look at the new spaceship which will lead his new “Trek” series (officially titled “Star Trek: Discover” on CBS All Access). Take a good, long look at the test flight of the Discovery.

Read every single L.A. Times ‘Star Trek’ movie review from 1979 to 2016

“Star Trek” is celebrating 50 long years of existence, and tucked into those 50 years are 13 “Star Trek” movies of all kinds and caliber; there’s even one hinging on humpback whales.

If you’re planning a “Trek” movie marathon, look no further: We’ve cobbled together all the reviews from the first film in 1979 all the way to this year’s rebooted “Trek” offering.

The Roddenberry vault opens for never-before-seen ‘Star Trek: The Original Series’ deleted scenes and outtakes

For the “Star Trek” completionists out there, there’s more to boldly go watch when “Star Trek: The Original Series — The Roddenberry Vault” is released on Blu-ray on Dec. 13 in honor of the show’s 50th anniversary.

The release touts unprecedented access to never-before-seen footage from the production of the original “Star Trek.” Hard to believe that there was anything else on the cutting room floor after all these years, but apparently episodic footage was preserved in film canisters by the Roddenberry estate.

A panel on Saturday (6:30 p.m.) at the Star Trek: Mission New York convention gave a more visual look at some of the vault’s material, which includes alternate takes, deleted scenes, omitted dialogue, outtakes and original visual FX elements.

The Blu-ray will include 12 episodes (chosen for their relevance to the vault materials, says the news release), and 11 of them contain isolated music tracks. Also, new audio commentaries appear on three fan-favorite episodes.

Each of the set’s three discs also features new documentaries that connect unseen vault materials with all-new interviews with crew members and famous fans.

Here’s what the release will include:

• Isolated music track
• Audio commentary by Dorothy “D.C.” Fontana and Gabrielle Stanton
• Inside the Roddenberry vault (Part 1)
• Star Trek: Revisiting a Classic
• Audio commentary by Roger Lay Jr., Scott Mantz and Mark A. Altman
• Inside the Roddenberry vault (Part 2)
• Strange New Worlds: Visualizing the Fantastic
• Audio commentary by David Gerrold and David A. Goodman
• Inside the Roddenberry vault (Part 3)
• Swept Up: Snippets from the Cutting Room Floor

Pop music boldly goes to space

Unlike “Star Wars,” “Star Trek” takes place not “a long, long time ago,” but in the not-too-distant future. That has allowed the series, both on TV and on film, to reference contemporary pop culture in general — and pop music in particular — in smart and lively ways over the last half-century.

In the latest movie, “Star Trek: Beyond,” for instance, 20th century music turns up when a surviving recording of Public Enemy’s “Fight the Power” rumbles out of a vintage boom box aboard a centuries-old abandoned starship.

More than just a cute cultural reference, the “vintage” music is a sonic savior when Capt. Kirk and his crew need something “loud and distracting” to fend off a swarm of hostile invaders. In that crucial moment, the Beastie Boys’ 1994 track “Sabotage” helps save the entire United Federation of Planets.

Program your transporter settings for these upcoming ‘Trek’-related activities

By  Chris Barton

“Star Trek at 50”: Screenings and after-show panels discussing Robert Wise’s 1979 big-screen adaptation of the series, “Star Trek: The Motion Picture,” and the first features involving the original “Star Trek” cast. Sept. 9-16, American Cinematheque at the Egyptian Theatre, 6712 Hollywood Blvd. $11 www.americancinemathequecalendar.com .

“For the Love of Spock”: The Kickstarter-funded documentary about Mr. Spock actor Leonard Nimoy (directed by his son Adam Nimoy). This screening, which will feature an appearance by Adam, and other films are a part of “TREKTEMBER” celebration at Laemmle’s NoHo 7, 5240 Lankershim Blvd, North Hollywood Thursday, 7:30 p.m. (Also at the American Cinematheque at the Egyptian Theater on Sat., Sept. 10.)

“All Star Trek”: The Heroes & Icons TV network offers a lineup that features all five live-action “Star Trek” series six nights a week as well as “Star Trek: The Animated Series,” which airs Sundays at 4 p.m. PDT. Check listings and local channel availability at www.heroesandiconstv.com .

What if ‘Star Trek’s’ theme song had lyrics? Wait, it does!

For those who grew up with syndicated UHF programming, the opening to “Star Trek” is about as indelible as it gets.

With delicate orchestral flickers framing an introduction that begins with William Shatner’s stentorian narration “Space… the final frontier,” the familiar, one-minute theme gallops on an operatic soprano that resembles a theremin framed by strings and brass. But what if that wordless melody actually had lyrics?

Before you start picturing Bill Murray’s swinging lounge singer delivering a theme to “Star Wars,” those lyrics already exist, written by the series’ beloved creator, Gene Roddenberry. And somehow, they’re more awkward than even Nick Winters could have imagined.

Beyond   The rim of the star-light   My love   Is wand’ring in star-flight...

A Nimoy back on the bridge: Cruising the con with Mr. Spock’s son

By  Jordan Hoffman

Whirrs, bloops and pings greet visitors inside a darkened non-nondescript, corporate-friendly ballroom. Half hotel, half life-sized reproduction of the famous bridge of the NCC-1701, this is Starfleet’s flagship Constitution Class vessel of exploration, the Enterprise.

“This really feels like coming home,” Adam Nimoy says with a laugh as we’re granted permission to take a stroll where few fans have gone before.

I’m in Las Vegas with Adam Nimoy at the first official “Star Trek” convention since his father, Leonard Nimoy, died. Gatherings that his father referred to as “victory laps.” It had been more than five months since the 83-year-old’s passing, and while there was a cloud of melancholy, fans were ready for what the convention was dubbing a “celebration of life” in the renamed Leonard Nimoy Theater.

Jordan Hoffman provides commentary as he tours the Starship Enterprise before the “Star Trek” convention opens in 2015.

How Leonard Nimoy was cast as Mr. Spock on ‘Star Trek’

By  Scott Collins

His role as Mr. Spock made a lasting impact on pop culture, but Leonard Nimoy barely noticed when he first heard about the role back in 1966.

“I really didn’t give it a lot of thought,” Nimoy recalled of the time his agent first called about the part.

Nimoy -- who died at 83 -- recalled how he won the landmark role as the relentlessly logical half-human, half-Vulcan Spock during a November 2000 interview with the TV Academy for its Archive of American Television Project.

If I keep my mouth shut, I might have a job here.

— Leonard Nimoy

Enjoy some Mozart in the ‘Star Trek’ universe with Pacific Opera Project’s ‘Abduction from the Seraglio’

By  Catherine Womack

It’s the final act of Mozart’s “Abduction from the Seraglio” and a tenor channeling 1960s-era William Shatner is belting out a florid aria as he battles a pack of gnarled Klingons. Welcome to the Pacific Opera Project’s update of “Abduction from the Seraglio,” a production that takes Mozart’s tale of kidnapping and beams it into outer space — the final frontier of “Star Trek,” to be exact.

Clearly, Josh Shaw and Stephen Karr, the co-founders of POP, are not afraid to mess with Mozart.

“This is a man who wrote poop jokes in letters to his sister,” Karr, POP’s musical director, says of the composer. “Mozart was in no way a prude.”

Though it’s hard to know what the maestro had to say about Klingons.

This month marks the 50th anniversary of the original “Star Trek” television series. To mark the occasion, POP is restaging one of its biggest hits: The “Star Trek”-themed rendition of Mozart’s 18th century drama about two women kidnapped by pirates and sold into a Turkish harem, and the brave Spanish captain who comes to their rescue.

The show runs for a single performance on Saturday night at the newly renovated Ford Amphitheatre in Hollywood.

Appreciation: Leonard Nimoy made Spock ‘Star Trek’s’ most complicated, and modern, hero

By  Robert Lloyd

It is important, and sometimes difficult, to remember that Leonard Nimoy was an actor, not an alien.

As Mr. Spock, the elf-eared, half-Vulcan science officer and first mate of the Starship Enterprise, he created a role that turned him from a journeyman into a star. The role made a footnote of everything he’d done before and colored everything that came after.

The titles of Nimoy’s two memoirs — “I Am Not Spock” (1975) and “I Am Spock” (1995) — indicate a process of rejection and acceptance the part played in his life. And each is true: He was all the while his own person — it’s interesting, even a little arresting, to watch him in “Star Trek” outtakes, smiling widely, cracking jokes — and yet there is no Spock without him. He is made from Nimoy’s own body and voice, his sense of timing and his sense of play.

Nimoy was 35 and had been a working screen actor for 15 years when “Star Trek” premiered in 1966. In series including “The Untouchables,” “Wagon Train,” “Perry Mason,” “Combat!,” “The Man from U.N.C.L.E.” and “Get Smart,” he played all kinds of parts, good guys and bad ones.

‘Star Trek’ at 50: How the TV series inspired a boy to become a scientist

By  William Marcellino

Like “Star Trek,” I turn 50 this year. But that’s not my only connection to the original television series. “Star Trek” inspired me to become a scientist, convincing me at an early age that science and the advancement of human knowledge could make the world a better place.

Like many people my age, I was transfixed by the futurism of “Star Trek” and the adventures of the Starship Enterprise. Part of the appeal was the action and exotic science-fiction elements: giant space amoeba, time-travel, cloaking devices — even shape-shifting alien salt-vampires. (Like I said, I’m a lifelong fan.)

But part of what makes “Star Trek” so compelling has been a consistent commitment to a set of pro-social values. If an advanced alien species sets up some sort of bizarre test where the only way the crew could survive was by acting in some barbaric or murderous fashion, you could be darn sure that they would choose to die rather than betray their values, and they would make their stand exceedingly clear in a moral lecture to said advanced alien race.

Boldly laughing at ‘Star Trek’ for Earth’s future

By  Steve Appleford

Some of comedian Joshua Snyder’s most lasting memories of “Star Trek” came from the weekly TV ritual of watching new episodes of “The Next Generation” with his dad. Except one year they watched “SeaQuest DSV” instead, and taped “Star Trek” for later.

“Please don’t print that,” Snyder says with a laugh. His history as a nerd is secure, since it remains a central ingredient to his standup career, as he jokes about Captains Kirk and Picard, dueling starships and interplanetary relations.

“Kirk is one of my favorite heroes because he solved problems by having sex with people,” he says of the original series. “The sex was so good that the entire race would have this huge enlightenment. ... Imagine having sex that was so good that you started recycling.”

Star Trek anniversaries

There have been several anniversary events in Star Trek 's history, which only became formalized by the Star Trek franchise in 1986 on the occasion of its 20th anniversary. [1]

• 1 7th anniversary
• 2 10th anniversary
• 3 20th anniversary
• 4 25th anniversary
• 5 30th anniversary
• 6 35th anniversary
• 7 40th anniversary
• 8 45th anniversary
• 9 50th anniversary
• 10 55th anniversary
• 11 Footnotes

7th anniversary [ ]

• Star Trek: The Animated Series debuts on NBC television seven years to the day after Star Trek: The Original Series debuted on the same network

10th anniversary [ ]

• The Labor Day weekend convention at New York City's Statler Hilton Hotel was dubbed " Star Trek Bi-Centennial-10," celebrating both the nation's bicentennial and the tenth anniversary of the series debut. All the stars, with the exception of Leonard Nimoy , who was performing in "Equus" on Broadway, were in attendance. However, Leonard Nimoy DID briefly stop by to address the convention in the Grand Ballroom. Evidently someone sent him a nasty letter for not appearing at this major convention, accusing him of not caring about the fans, etc. Leonard came to the convention to read the letter, substituting the word, “bleep”, for whatever expletives where aimed at him in the letter.
• Star Trek: The Next Generation - 10th Anniversary Collector's Edition
• Star Trek: The Next Generation - The Continuing Mission
• The Lives of Dax
• Prophecy and Change
• The Left Hand of Destiny, Book One
• The Left Hand of Destiny, Book Two
• The novel Unity was slated for the 10th anniversary of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine , but was pushed back to a 2003 release
• Star Trek Customizable Card Game releases its Energize set for DS9's 10th anniversary
• CCG: Tenth Anniversary Collection
• Distant Shores , a 10th anniversary of Voyager anthology
• Star Trek Trilogy: The Kelvin Timeline Blu-ray and 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray

20th anniversary [ ]

• Release of " The Cage ", the original unaired Star Trek pilot episode, in the VHS , Betamax , and LaserDisc home video entertainment formats. This is the first time the complete episode was available to the general public. As a full color version was then unavailable, the video release is a combination of the color footage used in TOS : " The Menagerie, Part I ", " The Menagerie, Part II ", and a black-and-white print of the pilot.
• Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home premieres
• Cinefantastique , issue 63, Vol 17 #2 – 20th anniversary retrospect
• Star Trek Star Fleet Technical Manual 2nd printing
• Star Trek: The Next Generation is green-lighted and taken into production; this was not a coincidence as then Paramount Television CEO Mel Harris deemed the anniversary as the perfect moment for the relaunch of the television franchise.
• Star Trek: The Motion Picture - 20th Anniversary Collector's Edition audio CDs
• TNG Complete Series Boxset (24 September)
• Star Trek - Next Generation Movie Box, Special Collectors Edition (26 October, Japan only 4-film DVD collection)
• Platz limited edition release of four The Next Generation related Star Trek model kits

25th anniversary [ ]

• " Redemption ", TNG 's 100th episode, airs
• AMT/Ertl Star Trek model kit (re-)releases with new box-art
• Cinefantastique , issue 86, Vol 22 #3 – 25th anniversary edition with two alternative covers
• Estes Industries reissues of their rocket propelled Star Trek model kits
• Impel Star Trek 25th Anniversary - Series I and Series II trading card sets
• Star Trek: 25th Anniversary (PC)
• Star Trek: 25th Anniversary (Game Boy)
• Star Trek: 25th Anniversary (NES)
• Star Trek 25th Anniversary Audio Collection
• Star Trek: 25th Anniversary LCD Video Game
• Star Trek 25th Anniversary Special
• Star Trek Commemorative Checker Set
• Star Trek Commemorative Chess Set
• Star Trek postal envelope, created by Keith Birdsong and limited to 25,000 copies
• Star Trek: The First 25 Years (cancelled)
• Star Trek: The Movies - 25th Anniversary Collectors Set
• The Producers Building on the former Desilu studio lot, attended by the entire cast of both The Original Series and The Next Generation , is ceremoniously renamed to the "Gene Roddenberry Building" (6 June)
• Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country premieres; despite the film division of the studio experiencing financial adversity at the time, it was decided to produce a Star Trek film with the original crew for the anniversary after all. Such was the determination not to let the occasion go by unnoticed, that a cancellation decision well into the production for budgetary reasons by a lower echelon studio executive was overturned by conglomerate higher-ups a few weeks later. (see: The Undiscovered Country: Story and production )
• "Silver Anniversary" was the title of the first chapter of George Takei 's autobiography, To the Stars .
• The Making of Star Trek reissues by Del Rey Books and Titan Books , the latter constituting the first and only edition of the book published outside the USA
• Star Trek: The Next Generation 25th Anniversary Event (23 and 26 July)
• The Best of Star Trek: The Next Generation, Volumes 1 & 2
• Star Trek: The Next Generation Calendar (2013) (August)
• Star Trek: Deep Space Nine celebrates twenty-five years
• Star Trek: Voyager 25th Anniversary Special (February)
• Star Trek: The USS Voyager NCC-74656 Illustrated Handbook (July)
• Star Trek Voyager: A Celebration (November)
• The Star Trek franchise institutes " First Contact Day " as an annual official real world public relations event (April)
• Star Trek: First Contact - The Making of the Classic Film (October 2022)
• Trekkies (24 May)

30th anniversary [ ]

• " The Ship ", DS9 's 100th episode, airs
• VOY : " Flashback "
• Actress Bibi Besch died one day before Star Trek 's 30th anniversary
• AMT/Ertl Star Trek model kit (re-)releases with new box-art and complementary cut-away prints of either the USS Enterprise -A or the USS Enterprise -D , never again reissued afterwards
• Barbie & Ken Star Trek Giftset
• Cinefantastique , issue 118, Vol 27 #11 – 30th anniversary edition
• SciPubTech starship cut-away posters
• Star Fleet Technical Manual 3rd printing
• Star Trek 30th Anniversary Crossword Puzzles ( 1 January )
• Star Trek - 30th Anniversary Movies Box Set , UK VHS release ( 6 November )
• Star Trek 30 Years
• Star Trek Night ( 26 August , BBC2 UK)
• Star Trek: 30 Years and Beyond ( 6 October )
• Star Trek: Federation Passport
• Star Trek: These Are the Voyages... pop-up book
• Bif Bang Pow! The Next Generation -related merchandise releases

35th anniversary [ ]

• 35 Jahre Star Trek VHS release
• Star Trek: Enterprise debuts on UPN television
• Star Trek - 35th Anniversary Rittenhouse Archives trading cards set
• Star Trek Night (16 September, BBC 2 UK)
• TV Guide celebratory cover variants (20 April) & July Star Trek 35th Anniversary Tribute special edition
• Return to Tomorrow - The Filming of Star Trek: The Motion Picture
• Limited (to six hundred screens) theatrical release of the 4K Ultra HD version of Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan  (Director's Cut) (10 and 13 September [1] )
• Limited theatrical release of the 4K Ultra HD version of Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (19 and 22 September [2] )

40th anniversary [ ]

• 40 Years of Star Trek ( The Space Channel , Canada)
• 40 Years of Star Trek: The Collection (5-7 October, New York City)
• Art Asylum toys
• Corgi 's "40th Anniversary Limited Edition" starship display model line
• Creation Entertainment official 40th anniversary Star Trek convention (17-20 August, Las Vegas)
• Master Replicas ' limited USS Enterprise "Commemorative Edition" display model reissue
• Planet Xpo Star Trek: 40th Anniversary Gala Celebration and Conference (8 September)
• Ships of the Line
• Star Fleet Technical Manual 4th printing
• Star Trek - Celebrating 40 Years - Special Collection
• Star Trek: Legacy
• Provenance of Shadows
• The Fire and the Rose
• The Star to Every Wandering
• Things Fall Apart
• The Centre Cannot Hold
• Shadows of the Indignant
• The Darkness Drops Again
• The Blood-Dimmed Tide
• Its Hour Come Round
• Strangers from the Sky
• Vulcan's Glory
• The Entropy Effect
• Rihannsu: The Bloodwing Voyages
• Burning Dreams
• Vanguard : Summon the Thunder
• Rihannsu : The Empty Chair
• Constellations
• The re-release of the Star Trek Logs adaptations of TAS
• Star Trek Logs One and Two
• Star Trek Logs Three and Four
• Star Trek Logs Five and Six
• Star Trek Logs Seven and Eight
• Star Trek Logs Nine and Ten
• Remastered Star Trek: The Original Series returns to television
• Many TV events such as SciFi UK's week-long marathon of Star Trek films and episodes. This took place between Monday 4, and Friday 8 September. The best Star Trek episode was voted for by viewers at the end of the week.

• Limited (to five hundred plus screens) theatrical USA-only release of Star Trek: The Motion Picture (15 and 18 September [3] )
• The First Star Trek Movie (October)
• Star Trek: The Motion Picture - The Art and Visual Effects (September 2020, postponed)
• Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan - Director's Cut individual 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray release (September)
• Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan - The Making of the Classic Film (September 2023, postponed)
• 40th Anniversary at Memory Beta , the wiki for licensed Star Trek works

45th anniversary [ ]

• 11-13 March, San Francisco [4]
• 15-17 July, Boston [5]
• 11-14 August, Las Vegas [6]
• Legacy – Star Trek 45th anniversary art exhibition (8-20 September, Manchester, UK)
• Trek Nation

50th anniversary [ ]

• Star Trek Beyond premieres (22 July)
• 10 Movie Star Trek Collector's Set - Limited Edition Steelbook Collection (18 July, UK)
• 50 Years of Star Trek (14 August, The History Channel )
• AMT, Polar Lights and Revell Germany Star Trek model kit (re-)releases with new box-art.
• Bif Bang Pow! The Original Series -related merchandise releases
• The Captains: A Journey Through Time Australian/UK DVD releases (7 September/3 October)
• Creation Entertainment official 50th anniversary Star Trek convention (31 July–4 August, Las Vegas, USA [7] )
• The Fifty-Year Mission: The First 25 Years (28 June)
• The Fifty-Year Mission: The Next 25 Years (30 August)
• MAC Cosmetics release of a collection of Star Trek themed make-up (August).
• Star Trek: 50 Artists 50 Years (6 Septemeber)
• Star Trek: 50th Anniversary Cover Celebration (17 August)
• Star Trek: The Exhibition (8 July-4 November, Blackpool, UK)
• Star Trek: Legacies -trilogy release, featuring the main characters from Star Trek: The Original Series as well as Number One in a prominent role. (28 June – 30 August)
• Star Trek: The Original Series - The Roddenberry Vault (December)
• Star Trek: Ships of the Line (2017) (19 July)
• Star Trek: Ships of the Line Posters (22 September)
• Star Trek: Stardate Collection , UK 50th anniversary Blu-ray reissue
• Star Trek: The Starfleet Academy Experience (13 May, Ottawa, Canada)
• Star Trek: 50th Anniversary Collection (29 November)
• Star Trek 50th Anniversary Official Calendar (15 August)
• Star Trek 50th Anniversary Risk (June)
• Star Trek 50th Anniversary stamp releases by various Commonwealth postal services, among others those of Antigua & Barbuda, Australia, Canada, Grenada, St Kitts and Nevis, as well as Tuvalu, though not by that of the UK itself. Non-Commonwealth countries who have concurrently done so included Liberia and the Marshall Islands.
• Star Trek 50th Anniversary Special (September, TV Guide )
• Star Trek 50th Anniversary TV and Movie Collection (6 September)
• Star Trek Encyclopedia (18 October, 4th edition)
• Star Trek Online released the game's third expansion, Agents of Yesterday . This expansion saw the addition of a playable faction based on the 23rd century-era Starfleet and had players ally themselves with Montgomery Scott , Pavel Chekov , and Daniels in bringing a halt to the Temporal Cold War . This expansion added in a number of playable starships designed like they were in the TOS era and its first lockbox offered players a chance to own an alternate reality version of the Constitution -class .
• Trivial Pursuit: Star Trek 50th Anniversary Edition (May)
• Unendliche Weiten - Die William Shatner Edition für alle Star Trek Fans German Blu-ray / DVD releases (18 July)
• United States Postal Service Star Trek stamps (2 September)
• After a two-year restoration, the fully restored original eleven-foot USS Enterprise studio model was put back on permanent display in the National Air and Space Museum (NASM) on 1 July 2016 , as planned
• The franchise's " Star Trek Day" was centered around the 50th anniversary of The Animated Series , with Star Trek: Lower Decks taking center stage in the celebrations in equal measure as well. The series Star Trek: very Short Treks was launched for the occasion. (8 September)

55th anniversary [ ]

• Taking their cue from the " Marvel Cinematic Universe " (MCU) and DC Universe (DCU) concepts from competitors Disney and Warner Bros. Discovery, the overall " Star Trek Universe' " all-under-one-roof franchise umbrella concept was formally instituted by the Star Trek franchise by introducing its own dedicated, The Motion Picture film poster-inspired, logo which from then on was a mandatory requirement to have present in one form or another (most often by specifically using the logo's presentation of the three primary colors – command yellow, operations red, and sciences blue – as a theme throughout) on all merchandise packaging and/or promos, which befittingly included the official 55th anniversary logo as featured on the right. Eaglemoss Collections was among the very first merchandise companies to apply the new branding by concentrating all their then-current display model lines into the unified Star Trek Universe: The Official Starships Collection featuring the mandatory logo as its collection logo, albeit monochrome in their case, as one of the very few. (January) [3]
• For the occasion of both the anniversary and first time 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray September release of the first four Star Trek films, the franchise has commissioned new official promo poster art (typically for use by online Star Trek vendors, such as digital release companies among others), ordaining the thematic use of the three primary colors as employed in the Universe logo. New poster art for the last two original crew films were introduced a year later as the remastering work on these had not been completed in time for them to be included in the anniversary celebrations.
• Two theatrical showings of Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home by Fathom Events in select North American cities. It concerned the new 4K Ultra HD version of the film, whose remastering had just been completed. (19 & 22 August)
• Star Trek: The Original 4-Movie Collection (7 September)
• Star Trek - The Original Series: A Celebration (21 September)
• Star Trek Official Calendar (2022) (7 October)
• DVD and Star Trek: The Original Series - The Complete Series Blu-ray reissues (26 October)
• Star Trek: Prodigy premieres on Paramount+ (28 October)
• The Center Seat: 55 Years of Star Trek ( The History Channel , 5 November)

Footnotes [ ]

• ↑ 1.0 1.1 The first Star Trek anniversary for which the franchise took the initiative to introduce a formal anniversary logo, mostly featured as stickers on merchandise released in that year. Star Trek did not gather steam as a full-fledged multi-media franchise until well after the release of Star Trek: The Motion Picture in 1979, which is why there were no prior formal anniversary events, in the process also explaining why the first formal anniversary logo featured the title font of The Motion Picture instead that of the Original Series . Paramount Pictures had not taken any official interest in formally celebrating Star Trek previously; what rare events there were being predominantly " Trekkie " driven.
• ↑ By necessity, anniversary celebrations, particularly the public ones, were very limited on the 2021 occasion, due to the mandatory world-wide lock downs caused by the COVID-19 pandemic .
• ↑ Nothing more than a stillborn gimmick in the end, the entire " Star Trek Universe"-concept was dropped less than two years later due to the harsh economic realities Paramount+ , the franchise's streaming service , in particular was facing, resulting in that the mandatory use of the logo was abandoned in the latter half of 2023. Its absence was glaringly obvious during the September Animated Series ' 50th anniversary celebrations after Prodigy had been removed from the franchise shortly before on 26 June. Effectively, that removal had left the " Star Trek Universe"-concept completely in shambles (see also: main article ).
• 2 Daniels (Crewman)
• 3 USS Enterprise (NCC-1701-G)

20 out-of-this-world moments from the Star Trek anniversary convention

From a Borg-assimilated Darth Vader to a remote-control Horta, the 50th anniversary Star Trek convention in Las Vegas had plenty of surprising, weird and wonderful moments. Engage!

A quartet of Guinans

Star Trek turns 50 in 2016, marking a momentous milestone. To celebrate, thousands of fans came together with Trek luminaries ranging from William Shatner to Kirstie Alley at the official Star Trek 50th anniversary convention in Las Vegas last week. Spectacular costumes, entertaining celebrity panels and sci-fi hijinks ensued.

The 50th anniversary celebration also marked Whoopi Goldberg's very first Star Trek convention. Goldberg played the mysterious alien Enterprise bartender on "The Next Generation." She asked these three Guinan cosplayers to join her up on stage.

Kirkiest entrance ever

Captain Kirk himself showed up for the 50th anniversary Star Trek convention in Las Vegas. His arrival, accompanied by a scantily clad woman wearing strips of silver material, may have been the Captain Kirkiest stage entrance ever made. Shatner spoke about diverse topics, including "The Twilight Zone," Pokemon Go and Star Wars.

The USS Balloon Enterprise

A massive balloon version of the USS Enterprise graces one of the halls at the Star Trek 50th anniversary convention in Las Vegas. The front of the ship even lights up.

So many tribbles

The Star Trek 50th anniversary convention offers quite a few opportunities for fans to arrange their own themed photo ops. This spot includes a large screenshot from the classic Trek episode "The Trouble with Tribbles." The herd of tribbles on the floor are all battery-powered and chirp and tremble when you pick them up.

Edible salt monster

Quark's Bar is a special location within the Star Trek 50th anniversary convention. The bar hosted a collection of edible Star Trek art in the form of specialty cakes. This cake does an excellent job of capturing the look of the Salt Monster from original-series episode "The Man Trap."

City on the edge of today

"City on the Edge of Forever" is widely regarded as one of the best episodes of Star Trek ever made. This prop replicates the time/space portal from that show. It doesn't actually take you back to New York in the 1930s, but it does offer a great photo op where you can pretend you're returning from saving Doctor McCoy and the entire future of Starfleet.

LeVar Burton confesses

Here's LeVar Burton holding up a phone during a panel at the Star Trek 50th anniversary convention in Las Vegas. It's hard to tell from this image, but he's sharing a photo of fellow "Next Generation" actor Brent Spiner wearing Geordie La Forge's visor. This was part of the answer to a question about whether he kept any souvenirs from his time on the series.

Darth Vader met the Borg...and lost

It's fun to imagine different sci-fi franchises colliding. This fan has an answer to what would happen if Darth Vader from Star Wars came up against the Borg from Star Trek. The Sith Lord would be assimilated. Resistance is futile and Darth got turned into a cyborg with a lightsaber attached to the end of his robot arm.

Resistance is futile

I went to the Star Trek 50th anniversary convention and all I got was assimilation by the Borg. This wonderfully done prop lets fans join the Borg collective. You, too, can be just like Captain Picard.

The Trimbles

You might not recognize these people, but they were instrumental in making Star Trek the phenomenon it is today. Bjo and John Trimble were honored on stage at the Star Trek 50th anniversary convention.

Let's go back into the '60s. "Star Trek" was in danger of cancellation after its second season. Bjo Trimble started a grassroots letter-writing campaign to organize fan support and call for a third season. It worked. "Star Trek" was renewed and then eventually revived in the late '70s with the start of the movie series. That may never have happened if the show was shut down after only two seasons. That's why Bjo Trimble is known as "the woman who saved Star Trek."

"The Devil in the Dark" is a memorable original-series episode thanks to Leonard Nimoy's acting and the unusual alien known as the Horta. The Horta is a silicon-based life form that just wants to protect its babies. This remote-control Horta roamed the show floor at the 50th anniversary Star Trek convention in Las Vegas.

How celebrity photos are made

A highlight for many Star Trek convention fans: meeting their heroes and having a picture taken. The lines are long, but they move quickly. This massive bank of industrial photo printers generates the photos for fans to take home. A graphics specialist from Creation Entertainment, the convention producer, personally checks each photo before it goes to the printer.

Tribble claw game

Most claw games are full of stuffed bears or action figures. This claw game is full of tribbles. It's hard to tell if they've been breeding in there, but there are plenty of tribbles for the taking for anybody who has the skill, patience and spare change to play the game.

On the bridge of the NCC-1701

Fans at the Star Trek 50th anniversary convention in Las Vegas get to captain their own starship when they step into this colorful, lit-up replica bridge from the NCC-1701. The bridge set is incredibly elaborate, right down to the dedication plaque on the wall near the turbolift doors.

The Roddenberries

There aren't a lot of Star Trek tribute bands in the world, which makes The Roddenberries an extremely special act. Here, they party while playing the original-series theme song in front of the 50th anniversary logo. The Roddenberries provide entertainment every evening during the 50th anniversary convention at Quark's Bar.

A lot of fans opt for Starfleet uniforms or alien costumes for their fashionable convention-wear. This fan decided to go just plain weird with a Santa Claus Gorn outfit. The green lizard-like alien might have wanted to kill Captain Kirk, but this one just wants to spread cheer.

Hundreds of Trek cosplayers

Hundreds of Star Trek cosplayers stand on the main stage for a photo op during the 50th anniversary convention in Las Vegas. There are Starfleet officers, Klingons, tribbles, Andorians and unique characters from across all the series and movies. There were so many costumed fans, some had to stand on the floor.

Plush phaser

The vendors' room at the Star Trek convention in Las Vegas is full of costumes, action figures, autographed photos and a few oddball items like this extremely large, plush phaser. The droopy phaser looks like it would make for a very comfortable pillow to throw on your couch while you're marathoning your favorite Star Trek series.

Costume contest

Costume-contest guest judge Terry Farrell (Jadzia Dax from "Deep Space Nine") inspects an elaborate costume depicting the Crystalline Entity from "The Next Generation."

Behind the scenes

Thousands of fans attend the Star Trek 50th anniversary convention in Las Vegas. What they don't see is all the behind-the-scenes work involved with keeping the show rolling. This peek out from backstage looks out into the main auditorium, capable of seating 6,000 people. It was near capacity for Kirstie Alley, who played the Vulcan Saavik in "Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan." This was her first Star Trek convention.

Bonus: Peek at the Sharpie stash

Most of the Star Trek celebrities who attend the convention in Las Vegas also spend time signing autographs for fans. This collection of Sharpie pens sits behind the scenes, waiting to be distributed as needed. It takes a whole lot of Sharpies to keep the autograph lines going.

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Den of Geek

Star Trek 50th anniversary: 25 episodes to celebrate with

Toast fifty years of Star Trek with these 25 episodes, drawn from across its TV universe, each celebrating an aspect of the franchise...

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It seems unlikely that readers of Den of Geek need to be introduced to Star Trek . Five live-action TV series ( soon to be six ), one animated series, 13 movies and countless other books, computer games, board games, comic books and other forms of media, all adding up to fifty years of one of the biggest franchises in science fiction history.

Here we’ve collected 25 episodes from across the various Star Trek TV shows that might help you to celebrate Star Trek ’s fiftieth  birthday. A combination of all-time classics, episodes that sum up the ethos of the series, episodes that celebrate Star Trek itself and episodes that are just plain fun, this selection should have you happily toasting to the next fifty years of this venerable sci-fi institution.

This is not a ‘best of’ list; we have tried to select episodes that are good and worth watching, of course, and some of the all-time greats have been included as examples of Star Trek at its best, but this is more about summing up what Star Trek , in all its many incarnations, really is , rather than cherry-picking the best hours alone.

(Please note, this list is for TV episodes, not the movies, which is a separate list! Spoilers have been kept to a minimum, but you may encounter some along the way).

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1. Star Trek The Original Series: The City On The Edge Of Forever

Season One, Episode 28

What better place to start than one of the most popular episodes in the entire franchise? This classic instalment has it all – time travel, noble sacrifice (technically of other people rather than self-sacrifice, but Kirk was very upset about it), a story focused on the central trio of Kirk, Spock and Bones and a perfect example of our heroes putting the future of the Federation ahead of all other considerations. It’s also the episode the gang watched during that one episode of Men Behaving Badly , where Debs describes Bones jumping through the doughnut thing.

2. Star Trek The Original Series: Amok Time

Season Two, Episode 1

Star Trek has introduced us to many alien races over the years, but two stand out above all the others as having gained a place in popular culture awareness more generally – the Vulcans and the Klingons. This episode introduces us to Vulcan, but it also gives us the best Kirk/Spock moment in Star Trek history (“Jim!!”) and a typically Kirk-like cheating solution to an apparently unsolvable dilemma.

3. Star Trek The Original Series: Mirror, Mirror

Season Two, Episode 4

Star Trek has dominated the depiction of many classic science fiction tropes over the years. This is the episode that gave us the Mirror Universe, where most characters are evil and Spock (despite being slightly less evil) has an Evil Goatee. A genre-defining example of the ‘evil universe’ trope.

4. Star Trek The Original Series: The Trouble With Tribbles

Season Two, Episode 15

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We make no apology for including all the episodes that focus on Tribbles in this list. They are ridiculous, they are scientifically implausible, they are cheap, they are silly, they are hilarious. An ermine violin would not be nearly so much fun.

5. Star Trek The Animated Series: Yesteryear

Season One, Episode 2

The Animated Series is not actually part of the Star Trek canon, but it introduced so many ideas that would later be re-used or re-told in other offshoots of the franchise, it seems wrong not to include it. Also, it’s the only version of Star Trek in which the aliens can look really, really alien. In this, one of its best episodes, we learn more about Vulcan.

6. Star Trek The Animated Series: More Tribbles, More Troubles

Season One, Episode 5

More tribbles, more fun.

7. Star Trek The Next Generation: Yesterday’s Enterprise

Season Three, Episode 15

One of the best episodes of Star Trek ever made – dramatic, tragic and compelling. This episode also fills in some gaps in the history of the Enterprise (being the only story to feature the Enterprise-C ), brings back the rather snazzy red uniforms from the movies, and gives a beloved character a rather more satisfying send-off then she originally had.

8. Star Trek The Next Generation: The Best Of Both Worlds, Parts 1 & 2

Season Three, Episode 26 and Season Four, Episode 1

Season Two’s Q Who may have been the episode that introduced the Borg, but this two-parter was the story that cemented their position as one of Star Trek ’s all-time great adversaries. One of The Next Generation ’s most beloved stories, it also features one of the best cliffhangers in TV history.

9. Star Trek The Next Generation: Darmok

Season Five, Episode 2

This episode perfectly encapsulates what Star Trek: The Next Generation was all about. While The Original Series was a Western in space, all high adventure on the frontier, The Next Generation was much more concerned with the politics and diplomacy involved in getting out there and making contact with the universe. In no other episode are the problems of trying to understand an alien race better explored than in this one.

10. Star Trek The Next Generation: Relics

Season Six, Episode 4

There are numerous crossovers within the Star Trek universe, including several episodes of The Next Generation that feature guest appearances from the stars of The Original Series . However, while Bones makes an un-named cameo and Spock, thanks to his Vulcan lifespan, plays an active role in the politics of the twenty-fourth  century, this episode, featuring Scotty, is a beautiful rumination on time and age and a poignant toast to the classic series – and, therefore, a perfect episode to celebrate Star Trek ’s 50-year legacy. When Scotty asks for a holodeck recreation of his own Enterprise , you’ll get chills up your spine.

11. Star Trek The Next Generation: Chain of Command, Parts 1 & 2

Season Six, Episodes 10 & 11

While Gene Roddenberry was alive, the main characters in Star Trek tended to be paragons of virtue who never put a foot wrong. After he died, the series started to explore more shades of grey in its heroes. In this two-parter, Captain Picard is able to be the hero we want him to be – but at great personal cost and, as he reveals to Counsellor Troi, it was a close-run thing. The episode also explores what it is to serve on a militaristic starship under different commanders, with a new and very different Captain who is highly unpopular, but who, on occasion, does have a point (it is an unspeakable relief to see Troi finally wearing a proper uniform). 

12. Star Trek Deep Space Nine: Crossover

Season Two, Episode 23

Deep Space Nine is, in some ways, a very different show to the others in the franchise, but it still knew it was Star Trek , and at times it really let loose with some classic Trek tropes. One of the elements of The Original Series that Deep Space Nine ran away with and made its own was the concept of the Mirror Universe; this first episode featuring it establishes the tone nicely.

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Season Four, Episode 3

One of Deep Space Nine ’s finest hours, a moving episode focusing on the relationship between Captain Sisko – the only series regular Captain to have a family – and his son. It also highlights what Deep Space Nine in particular did best, focusing on character studies and relationships.

14. Star Trek Deep Space Nine: Trials and Tribble-ations

Season Five, Episode 6

Twenty years ago, both Deep Space Nine and Voyager produced special episodes focusing on Original Series characters, to celebrate Star Trek ’s 30 th anniversary. While Voyager ’s is not necessarily as bad as its reputation suggests, it is Deep Space Nine ’s hilarious contribution that has become an all-time classic. This also completes Star Trek ’s Tribble Trilogy.

15. Star Trek Deep Space Nine: Far Beyond The Stars

Season Six, Episode 13

If you’re looking for an episode that encapsulates Star Trek ’s values, you can’t go far wrong with this lovingly produced parable. There are no direct references to earlier Star Trek series, but this dream of a better future, cruelly dashed for science fiction writer Benny in the 1950s but lived out by Sisko in the twenty-fourth  century, places Star Trek itself, with its then-ground-breaking casting of Nichelle Nichols as Uhura in 1966, within its own story.

16. Star Trek Deep Space Nine: In The Pale Moonlight

Season Six, Episode 19

Following the increasing drive to depict more morally grey aspects of its heroes, this is one of a few later episodes of Star Trek in which we see Starfleet captains carry out actions that could be considered morally wrong, but which they feel are necessary. It is, perhaps, the best of these hours, Sisko openly uncomfortable with his choices but unable to see another path, demonstrating what it can do to a captain when Star Trek ’s ideals become impossible to live up to and they truly seem to have encountered what Captain Kirk never believed in, a no-win scenario.

17. Star Trek Voyager: Caretaker Parts 1 & 2

Season One, Episodes 1 & 2

Voyager ’s pilot offers a different type of no-win scenario, in which Captain Janeway willingly strands her ship and crew (along with Chakotay’s ship and crew) years away from home in order to uphold her own morals. Voyager ’s pilot episode, in addition to being one of the better Star Trek pilots, takes a story we have seen several times – the ship thrown an impossible distance away by some alien being – but actually follows through on the consequences, leaving our heroes genuinely stranded and making the frontier new again, returning Star Trek to its initial premise of exploration on the edges of the known world.

18. Star Trek Voyager: Year Of Hell, Parts 1 & 2

Season Four, Episodes 8 & 9

Voyager ’s finest hours, this dramatic two-parter also upholds another of Star Trek ’s core values, as Chakotay insists that not just any civilization, but “a single life is significant”. Star Trek is often criticised for constantly pressing the reset button after each story, but this episode includes surely the most satisfying, in-story pressing of the reset button we’ve ever seen.

19. Star Trek Voyager: Living Witness

Season Four, Episode 23

This episode is not just an intelligent, carefully considered rumination on the nature of history and how we tell it; it also incorporates a wonderfully realised alternative exploration of Evil Versions Of Our Crew (the Mirror Universe having already been plundered by Deep Space Nine , including appearances from some Voyager characters). Both fun and thought-provoking, with a bittersweet coda; a perfect hour of Star Trek .

20. Star Trek Voyager: Bride Of Chaotica!

Season Five, Episode 12

If it’s pure fun you’re looking for, then this is the episode for you. Voyager had already produced a number of short homages to 1950s B-movies through Tom Paris’s new favourite holodeck programme, but in this episode, what was a quick, aside joke becomes the plot, and the results are gloriously silly. A celebration of American science fiction through the years, and simply hilarious. “Intruders! Intruders from the Fifth Dimension! Intruders…”

21. Star Trek Voyager: Equinox, Parts 1 & 2

Season Five, Episode 26 and Season Six, Episode 1

When Voyager is stranded in the Delta Quadrant, Captain Janeway, classic Roddenberry hero that she is, immediately announces her determination to stick to Starfleet’s rules, regulations and ethics, no matter what. This two-parter explores the alternative option, as we learn that the Captain of the Equinox was not quite so steadfast in his loyalty to Starfleet. Naturally, we are led to the conclusion that Janeway was right, but this is an action-packed story that neatly explores Star Trek ’s outlook and values and why they matter.

22. Star Trek Enterprise: Carbon Creek

Season Two, Episode 2

Getting away with messing with Star Trek ’s established timeline just a little with a nice shout-out to other areas of the franchise (“there’s a statue”), this fish-out-of-water story is a fun exploration of what might happen if you put Vulcans in the middle of 1950s America (their bafflement at the nuclear arms race is particularly nice). It’s a nice episode to celebrate Star Trek ’s anniversary due to its warmth and focus on Vulcans and Vulcan culture; and as an added bonus, it also almost has the feel of an episode of Captain Archer, Scott Bakula’s, previous show, Quantum Leap . Lovely.

23. Star Trek Enterprise: Similitude

Season Three, Episode 10

Numerous episodes of Star Trek over the years have taken a basic science fiction concept and produced, essentially, a contained short story on the subject using the regular characters. It is one of the things that Star Trek does best, and the format – with a wide ensemble of characters to use and a tendency to focus on stand-alone stories, some seasons of Deep Space Nine and Enterprise notwithstanding – provides the perfect vehicle for classic science fiction story-telling. This is one of the best, and most moving.

24. Star Trek Enterprise: Affliction/Divergence

Season Four, Episodes 15 & 16

No list of episodes celebrating the history of Star Trek would be complete without a story focusing on the Klingons. There are so many classic Klingon episodes from across the franchise that we could have chosen for this list, and no doubt everyone will have a favourite or two. The beauty of this story in particular, though, is that it takes a problem no one wanted to talk about – the difference in appearance between the Klingons of The Original Series and those seen from the classic movies onwards – and created an interesting story around it, producing a reasonably satisfying explanation that could finally put all the fan theories to rest.

25. Star Trek Enterprise: In A Mirror, Darkly Parts 1 & 2

Season Four, Episodes 18 & 19

Set entirely within the Mirror Universe, this episode serves as an excuse not only to see evil versions of the Enterprise crew, but also, through various timey-wimey plot shenanigans, to bring back the classic 1960s uniforms not seen (outside of Trials and Tribble-ations ) since The Original Series . Connecting with all sorts of areas of Star Trek history, from Original Series episode The Tholian Web to the movie First Contact , this two-parter is, in itself, a grand celebration of decades of Star Trek . With extra added evil.

While not a television episode, if you don’t want to finish your celebratory marathon in the Evil Mirror Universe, we’d suggest watching the JJ Abrams 2009 movie Star Trek , featuring the only canon iteration of Star Trek that doesn’t exist in television format. With its time-travelling plot shenanigans, it’s the perfect way to bring everything full circle so you can start all over again…

Or watch Galaxy Quest and have a good-natured laugh at the whole thing, while still celebrating its enduring legacy.

Juliette Harrisson | @ClassicalJG

Juliette Harrisson is a writer and historian, and a lifelong Trekkie whose childhood heroes were JRR Tolkien and CS Lewis. She runs a YouTube channel called…

Star Trek Day 2023: How to celebrate Trek's 1966 'Original Series' today with warptastic specials

Jerry O'Connell hosts the biggest party in the galaxy on Paramount+ this Sept. 8

Summer may be unofficially over now that Labor Day is gone, but don't be sad - there's still one more hot date to mark on your calendar: Star Trek Day!

Formally created back in 2020 to salute NBC's pioneering sci-fi TV series' first broadcast episode "The Man Trap" on September 8, 1966, "Star Trek" Day is a time of remembrance for creator Gene Roddenberry's "Wagon Train To The Stars" that presented Captain James T. Kirk ( William Shatner ), Spock (Leonard Nimoy) Dr. Leonard "Bones" McCoy (DeForest Kelley), Nyota Uhura (Nichelle Nichols) and the intrepid crew as they crisscrossed the galaxy aboard the starship U.S.S. Enterprise.

Paramount is treating fans to an official global Star Trek Day Celebration on Sept. 8 starring the voice of " Star Trek: Lower Decks " Commander Jack Ransom, Jerry O'Connell, on Paramount+ with a celebratory program of events, tributes, merchandise deals, and screenings due to beam down to Earth starting this Friday (Sept. 8).

Related: Star Trek streaming guide: Where to watch the Star Trek movies and TV shows online

Watch Star Trek on Paramount Plus: Get a one month free trial  

Get all the Star Trek content you can possibly handle with this free trial of Paramount Plus. Watch new shows like Star Trek: Strange New Worlds and all the classic Trek movies and TV shows too. Plans start from $4.99/month after the trial ends.

Here's the official synopsis:

"A salute to the franchise, the special program will include segments that look back at memorable moments over the past 57 years; commemorate 50 years of 'Star Trek' animation; pay tribute to 'Star Trek: Discovery' ahead of its final season; provide an exclusive sneak-peek clip from the upcoming fourth season of 'Star Trek: Lower Decks'; and commemorate many other moments that highlight 'Star Trek's' legacy."

This special will also air on select local CBS affiliates, Comedy Central, Paramount Network, Pop TV, Pluto TV, Fave TV and Smithsonian.com.

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Star Trek: Strange New Worlds special airings on CBS

"The CBS Television Network will broadcast the first two Season 1 episodes of the hit Paramount+ original series 'Star Trek: Strange New Worlds' with back-to-back special airings, beginning at 8 p.m. ET/PT with the episodes 'Strange New Worlds' and 'Children of the Comet.'"

Star Trek: The animated celebration – Star Trek: Lower Decks special screenings

"The animated universe of 'Star Trek' began 50 years ago on Sept. 8, with 'Star Trek: The Animated Series.' This 'Star Trek' Day commemorates the 50th anniversary with an evening of cartoon comedy, including four specially selected episodes of the hit animated series 'Star Trek: Lower Decks.'

"Fans can attend these exclusive, free promotional screenings and experience the brand-new season of 'Star Trek: Lower Decks' on the big screen. The day is jam-packed with sneak peeks and surprises, free concessions, giveaways and more! This is a can't-miss event for long-time fans of 'Star Trek' and adult animation across the U.S., Canada and the UK. The special 'Star Trek: Lower Decks' fan screenings will take place in Columbus, Dallas, Denver, Philadelphia, Phoenix, San Diego, St. Louis, Washington D.C., Vancouver, Calgary and London."

Special Star Trek Day merchandise and sale

"Fans can use code STARTREKDAY for 25% off sitewide at Shop.StarTrek.com, which includes curated 'Star Trek' Day and 'Star Trek: The Animated Series' collections.

More info on "Star Trek Day" programming and can be found at StarTrek.com/Day.

Join our Space Forums to keep talking space on the latest missions, night sky and more! And if you have a news tip, correction or comment, let us know at: [email protected].

Jeff Spry is an award-winning screenwriter and veteran freelance journalist covering TV, movies, video games, books, and comics. His work has appeared at SYFY Wire, Inverse, Collider, Bleeding Cool and elsewhere. Jeff lives in beautiful Bend, Oregon amid the ponderosa pines, classic muscle cars, a crypt of collector horror comics, and two loyal English Setters.

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Monday 1 February 2021

Star trek 55th anniversary logo.

CBS have revealed a new 55th anniversary Star Trek logo, to mark the latest anniversary moment this year. The logo features a whole gaggle of  TOS icons: The Enterprise, a Starfleet delta, the three uniform division colours, and the title text! 

Continue below to check out the first 55th anniversary merch you can find this on, and a look back at previous anniversary logos.

This is a cool post, thanks! I too have a lot of nostalgia for the 30th one. I guess it doesn't count as a logo, but I liked the 40th-anniversary banner used on a lot of TOS novels in 2006.

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Star trek’s movie cast has the right attitude about star trek 4.

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Star Trek: Voyager's Season 4 Finale Needed To Be Better Than What We Got

Enterprise’s vulcan flashback retconned star trek history 22 years ago, 7 years later, star trek: discovery’s premiere is still incredible & controversial.

J.J. Abrams' Star Trek movie cast has the right attitude about the long-delayed Star Trek 4 . Led by Chris Pine as Captain James T. Kirk and Zachary Quinto as Mr. Spock, J.J. Abrams' successfully recast and relaunched the dormant Star Trek franchise in 2009. Set in the alternate Kelvin Timeline, the Abrams-directed Star Trek (2009) and Star Trek Into Darkness in 2013, and the Justin Lin-helmed Star Trek Beyond in 2016 elevated Star Trek movies into cinematic summer blockbusters , and set the stage for the rebirth of Star Trek TV shows for the streaming era on Paramount+.

However, it has now been over 8 years since Star Trek Beyond hit theaters and the fourth J.J. Abrams-produced Star Trek movie has been mired in development hell . Versions of Star Trek 4 spearheaded by directors S.J. Clarkson and Matt Shakman went nowhere. Quentin Tarantino walked away from Star Trek 4 after envisioning it as an R-rated gangster picture. Paramount Pictures has announced an Untitled Star Trek Origin prequel movie directed by Toby Haynes, but a reunion of Chris Pine and Zachary Quinto's crew aboard the Starship Enterprise remains elusively in the far-off final frontier.

Zachary Quinto & Cast Are Right Star Trek 4 Has No Age Limit

J.j. abrams' star trek cast gets more interesting with age.

In an interview with Variety about his new NBC series Brilliant Minds, Zachary Quinto said he is "open to it" and would "absolutely love" to return in Star Trek 4. Quinto's Star Trek cast originally portrayed the crew of the Starship Enterprise in their energetic 20s. Inevitably, Star Trek 4 would present the Enterprise heroes at their current ages, in their 40s or beyond . But Zachary Quinto correctly points out that Star Trek characters aging has always been part of Star Trek' s "limitless universe." Check out his quote below:

Zachary Quinto: There’s no cutoff. Th e original cast did movies for decades, well into their 50s, 60s. The stories might be different. We might not be running as fast on the other planets, but I think anything’s possible, and I think there’s nothing more fulfilling as an artist then to come back to something after time has passed, and cultivate a relationship with it from a completely different perspective, and a completely new point of view.

Chris Pine echoes Zachary Quinto's feelings about playing their Star Trek characters as older and more experienced. Pine is in his early 40s, and he would similarly portray Captain Kirk warping toward middle age in Star Trek 4 . Pine told the audience at ACE Superhero Comic Con 2024 that he would be "curious" about playing an older Kirk and what that story would be. Read Pine's quote below:

Chris Pine: In terms of the next phase of [Star Trek], obviously you’re all fans, so I’m sure you’ve read it… We all like one another a lot. I’m good friends with everybody I’ve worked with. We have a great time doing it. I’m a lot older now, so I would be curious where that next story lands us in terms of what it would be and what we’ve said in the press.

As Zachary Quinto pointed out, Star Trek: The Original Series ' cast played their characters in several films into their 50s and 60s. Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan saw Admiral Kirk (William Shatner) mark his 50th birthday, but advancing age didn't hinder the heroism of the original Starship Enterprise crew. Seeing J.J. Abrams' cast as older could easily be woven into Star Trek 4 and become one of its most interesting aspects.

Is Star Trek 4 Ever Happening?

The long wait continues.

The last report about Star Trek 4 was earlier in 2024, indicating that screenwriter Steve Yockey ( The Flight Attendant ) was hired to pen the film. Star Trek 4 was also billed as "the final chapter" of J.J. Abrams' Starship Enterprise cast. However, there have been no further updates on the state of Star Trek 4 . This is especially unfortunate because Star Trek 's 60th anniversary is in 2026, and the return of Chris Pine's Captain Kirk and his Enterprise crew in a new movie would have been an ideal way to mark 60 years of Star Tre k.

Star Trek movies in theaters and streaming are still on the way.

Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, and their Star Trek movie cast have repeatedly stated they all want to return if Star Trek 4 happens , so there is no lack of desire from the actors. Coming up with a worthy Star Trek 4 story seems to be one of the issues preventing the next movie from taking flight. However, Star Trek movies in theaters and streaming are still on the way. Along with Toby Haynes' Untitled Star Trek prequel , Paramount+ will premiere the first Star Trek streaming movie, Star Trek: Section 31 starring Oscar winner Michelle Yeoh, in 2025. Luckily, age will not be an issue for the Starship Enterprise cast if Star Trek 4 does happen.

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William shatner to bring ‘star trek ii: the wrath of khan’ to capitol theatre sunday.

William Shatner

WHEELING – Earthlings in the Ohio Valley will have an opportunity to enjoy a rare treat Sunday evening, when the one and only William Shatner beams down to the Capitol Theatre for a special appearance in Wheeling.

The legendary actor will man the bridge for a screening of the classic motion picture “Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan,” followed by an interactive discussion with the audience in the theater. Show time is 7:30 p.m. on Sunday, Sept. 29.

Best known as the star of the original “Star Trek” television series portraying the charismatic Capt. James T. Kirk, Shatner has forged a career that has spanned more than seven decades. And, at age 93, it appears he has no intention of coming out of warp speed anytime soon.

Shatner recently took time to speak with The Sunday News-Register about his upcoming visit to the Ohio Valley. Shatner was on a short break from his busy touring schedule when he expounded on his planned voyage to go where few celebrities of his stature have gone before – The Friendly City.

“I’m calling from a phone booth in the middle of the … no, I’m not. I’m home in Los Angeles,” he joked, noting that he would be back on the road soon. “I’m coming to Wheeling.”

Showing one of the most beloved “Star Trek” motion pictures with a live question and answer session afterwards makes for a fun and entertaining evening, Shatner said. He noted that it’s a chance to see a classic film on the big screen, and the version of “Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan” he’s bringing with him has been remastered for a truly unique viewing experience.

“It’s refurbished – the sound and color. It’s a terrific film,” he said. “Uniquely, I’m coming in with a wonderful motion picture that will entertain you. If you went just to see the motion picture, you’d be happy – it’s that good of a film. But I come out and do my best to tell stories and discourse on a variety of things that we’re all interested in and have a wonderful time.”

William Shatner, right, appears with the cast of the motion picture “Star Trek II” The Wrath of Khan.” (Paramount)

Shatner said he plans to share stories and answer questions from the audience members for about an hour to an hour and a half immediately following the screening of the film.

“The audience has a fascinating evening in which they’ll see a terrific motion picture, and the actor in the picture comes out and answers questions and tries to give informative and entertaining answers,” he said, adding that a lot has happened since “The Wrath of Khan” first hit the silver screen in 1982. “This is unique, too, because the actor comes out … somewhat older, because time has passed by since the film was made. But I try to make up for it with a lot of jumping around and laughter. It’s a fun time.”

While it’s been 42 years since the second original “Star Trek” motion picture was released, it’s been way longer since Gene Roddenberry’s original “Star Trek” series invaded television airwaves in the late 1960s. This month, Trekkies celebrated the 58th anniversary of the show’s debut.

Shatner said that although he’s known as the captain of the USS Enterprise, he doesn’t voyage as deep into “Star Trek” lore as some do.

“The 58th anniversary isn’t as resounding as the 50th anniversary or even the 60th anniversary. Are they going to have a 59th anniversary, as well?” he laughed.

Undeniably, the galactic appeal of “Star Trek” has pulled many generations of fans into its orbit. It’s hard to put a finger on the longevity of the franchise’s immense and far-reaching popularity, Shatner said, but it’s one that has remained close to his heart for decades and has become inseparably attached to his identity.

“Nobody knows the secret,” he said. “If you could put it down on paper, you would be a great success. If you could distill it to a series of proclamations, everyone would be in on it.”

William Shatner, left, shares the moment with longtime friend and fellow actor Leonard Nimoy during ceremony in Hollywood, Los Angeles on Thursday, May 19, 1983 honoring Shatner with a star the 1,762nd along the Hollywood Walk o Fame. (AP Photo/Reed Saxon)

Although well known for his “Star Trek” connection, Shatner’s career in show business has gone well beyond the realm of that wildly popular television and motion picture series. The Canadian-born thespian has appeared on Broadway, starred in numerous television shows and has even made waves as a recording artist. He’s appeared in countless commercials and makes public appearances at a variety of events.

Many of Shatner’s ventures maintain ties to themes of science and science fiction, and his more recent work can be seen on The History Channel as host of “The Unexplained,” which he also served as executive producer, and streaming on Fox Nation with the show “Aliens Among Us.”

The audience at the Capitol Theatre is welcome to ask him about topics related to “Star Trek” or any of his other ventures, Shatner noted, including his recent and perhaps most daring voyage so far. In 2021 at age 90, he became the oldest person to travel out of this world during a space flight on Blue Origin.

“If I’m asked that question – if they have interest in it, of course,” he said when asked if he planned to speak about his accomplishment of becoming a space traveler – not just portraying one on TV. “It was beyond exciting. I’m one of 600 people who’ve gone into space and felt weightlessness. But I don’t know how many people who came back had the same feeling as I did.”

Shatner said he experienced what is known as the “overview effect” while in space – a unique perspective from viewing the Earth from afar. Seeing the thin layer of atmosphere where every person and every living thing known to man has ever existed stirred an overwhelming yearning to protect it.

“Up in space I saw the fragility of this little rock that we live on,” Shatner said. “It’s such a little rock, and what we’ve done to it – how we’ve defecated on it, in every sense of the word – unknowingly. Now we know better, and now we have a limited amount of time to do better. But I was so moved about how sad I felt – the grief I felt for our Earth – that when I came down, I was crying. I didn’t understand why I was crying, and it took me hours to be alone – and I realized that I was feeling grief.”

It was not long that Shatner held the record as the oldest space man – as another space flight passenger surpassed him soon afterwards. Ed Dwight took the title – also at age 90 but entering space a few weeks older than Shatner was when he temporarily departed Earth.

Shatner seems to be able to not only defy gravity at times, but defy aging as well.

“People lie about my age,” he joked.

William Shatner, who play Capt. James Kirk (left) and Leonard Nimoy, who plays Mr. Spock, the first officer on the U.S.S. Enterprise, the ?Star Trek? spaceship in back have a laugh during a press conference at paramount Studios where the new movie version of the old TV series was announced on Tuesday, March 29, 1978 in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/JLR)

Believe it or not, space was not the final frontier for Shatner. Later this year, he will be appearing on yet another voyage to a place that few have gone before – Antarctica. And he invited people of the Ohio Valley to join him, astronaut Scott Kelly, science guru Neil deGrasse Tyson and others on the Space2Sea holiday cruise to Antarctica Dec. 19-29.

“It’s going to be remarkable,” Shatner said. “I’ll be working it – I’ll be appearing. Have you ever been to the Antarctic? Nor have I. Are you interested in seeing a leopard seal?”

Shatner described it as a “voyage of a lifetime” and invited everyone to look it up and consider coming along.

Until then, the next frontier in Shatner’s long and prosperous career will be in Wheeling on Sunday night. Despite his sometimes otherworldly personality, the famed actor seemed to be very down to Earth and sincerely looking forward to his appearance at the Capitol Theatre.

“It’s a wonderful evening in the theater,” Shatner said. “A really wonderful connection between the actor and the audience takes place. It’s a unique time in the theater. It’s really worthwhile.”

For tickets and additional information about the show, visit www.capitoltheatrewheeling.com.

Actor Ricardo Montalban appears as the title character, villain and nemesis of Capt. James T. Kirk in the 1982 motion picture “Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan.” (Paramount/Getty Images)

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Celebrate the 45th Anniversary of Star Trek: The Motion Picture with This Limited Edition Release

Bring home this release on November 19!

StarTrek.com

Set a course for the final frontier!

Celebrate the 45th anniversary of Star Trek: The Motion Picture by bringing home this limited-edition Steelbook, featuring the original theatrical cut in 4K Ultra HD, and a bonus remastered Blu-ray, from Paramount Home Entertainment on November 19.

This bold blockbuster launched one of the longest running movie franchises, reuniting the cast of the original Star Trek series, including William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, DeForest Kelley, George Takei, Nichelle Nichols, Walter Koenig, and James Doohan. The adventure begins when an unidentified alien intruder destroys three powerful Klingon cruisers. Captain James T. Kirk returns to the helm of a newly transformed U.S.S. Enterprise to take command. As a bonus, an exclusive booklet boldly explores the original marketing materials and behind the scenes images from the Paramount Archives.

Originally released in 1979, Star Trek: The Motion Picture became the fourth highest grossing movie of the year and earned three Academy Award nominations for Best Visual Effects, Best Art Direction, and Best Music, Original Score. The film successfully launched the Star Trek franchise beyond the original television series, despite having been rushed to theaters with incomplete special effects and forced editing choices.

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