Since the original series debuted on CBS in 1966, thee have basically been seven other variations of the franchise on the golden and silver screens. Here is a list of the different series and their common abbreviations used by fans and industry enthusiasts:
- Star Trek: The Original Series (TOS)
- Star Trek: The Animated Series (TAS)
- Star Trek: The Next Generation (TNG)
- Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (DS9)
- Star Trek: Voyager (VOY)
- Star Trek: Enterprise (ENT)
Also, there have been 10 feature films with casts of TOS and TNG, and an eleventh with a new cast portraying TOS characters in a "reboot," or prequel to the earliest episodes
To a novice or casual fan, the Star Trek universe can be confusing and seemingly paradoxical. A basic understanding of the lineage of existing shows can lend greatly to a more enjoyable viewing experience.
There is also a plethora of alternate media in the forms of novels, comic books, fan films, and other art. While these media are often enjoyed by fans, they are generally not considered "canon," meaning they do not fit into the over-arching story arc of the universe and should be considered unconnected with otherwise converging plot lines.
A Wagon Train to the Stars
The Original Series ran for only three seasons, and was nearly canceled after two but saved by a fan-driven letter-writing campaign. Ultimately, despite a core dedicated following, it was a ratings failure and never made it past it's third year on the air. In a Hollywood twist of fate, though, the 79 episodes ran repeatedly through the process of syndication. Reruns are common today but in the early 1970s, they were in their infancy and allowed the show to be seen by a much larger audience.
This iconic series is probably what most people picture when they summon images of Star Trek. Captain Kirk, Dr. McCoy, and the ubiquitous Mr. Spock were the center characters of the show and accompanied by four other main supporting cast (Uhura, Scotty, Sulu, and Chekov). The show was groundbreaking in its vision of a future where race, national origin, and greed were no longer social issues among humans (or at least not to the extent they were in the twentieth century).
The show centered around adventures of the crew of the starship, USS Enterprise, who were assigned to a five-year exploration mission in deep space. Each episode used the platform of this journey and encountering new phenomena and races as a plot vehicle to deal with various humanities subjects. The show was dubbed as a "wagon train to the stars" based on it's superficial similarity to westerns popular in that era.
After the show's cancellation, there was a short-lived animated series that showed other adventures form the Enterprise crew's mission. Although debated among fans, many consider TAS to not be canon within the greater storyline.
Considered by Some to be "Space Opera"
Longtime Paramount Pictures producer Harve Bennet said, in an interview for a fan documentary, that he "always believed Star Trek to be 'space opera," implying a slightly more esoteric drama that involves emotional sequences in an operatic unfolding on-screen (minus the singing of course). The Trek films were spawned by the success of George Lucas' Star Wars movies, when Star Trek: The Motion Picture (the big-screen debut) was released in 1979 in lieu of a syndicated follow-on TV series that was tentatively titled "Star Trek: Phase II."
The first six films were exclusively further adventures of the Original Series crew. During the third film (Star Trek III: The Search for Spock), the beloved USS Enterprise is destroyed by Kirk (by that point promoted to admiral but desperately seeking a route back to the captain's chair) in a last-ditch effort to save his crew. The fourth film features Kirk and crew saving the Earth when a bizarre alien probe unknowingly places the planet in peril. For Kirk's actions destroying the Enterprise he faces reprimand but in light of his heroism, he is "punished" by being reduced to the permanent rank of captain and re-assigned to command of a ship. The command turns out to be the Enterprise-A, a near-exact replica of the original ship and beginning of the ship's Starfleet lineage (not counting the experimental Enterpise of the eponymous show that would come, in reality, years later but chronologically earlier in terms of storyline).
For further reading on incarnations of Star Trek, to include, The Next Generation and beyond, please read the article "A Further Explanation of Star Trek."
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