Star Trek: The Animated Series (1973–1975) User Reviews

For philosophers and little kids ONLY

[rooprect · 9/10 · 28 July 2006]

Some consider this to be the ho-hum followup to a great show. I couldn't disagree more.

Aside from the fact that it's a cartoon and the episodes are rushed in 30 mins, I found this to be a philosophical cut above the Trek of the late 60s. Here in the animated series, we catch a glimpse of some amazingly progressive ideas such as non-violence, compassion and tolerance. Kirk & Spock aren't so quick to set phasers on kill as they were before. Klingon/Federation confrontations in space are resolved without bloodshed. In one episode (my favourite), Kirk defends Lucifer's right to live, because Lucifer--for all his past crimes and flaws--is a living entity. Folks, this is some advanced stuff.

Of course that means we don't see as much "action". Not many shootouts. Nothing violent really. The red shirts don't get wasted as bad. You may find yourself screaming at the TV, "Kirk, you WUSS! I woulda KICKED HIS ASS!" But that, I believe, is the whole point of Gene Roddenberry's visionary creation--that humans of the future would be a much more evolved, diplomatic and nonviolent species. This was evident in the original '66-'69 Trek, but we get it full force in the '74-'75 animated series.

If it means anything to you, both William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy were vegetarians for ethical reasons during the production of this show, and they still are today. (Edit 7 years after my original post: I'm pretty sure William Shatner has been poundin down the pepperoni pizzas lately, but Nimoy is still a veggie)

So if you're looking for zap-zap, kill the monster, good vs. evil stuff, you'll be disappointed. If instead you're ready for a truly philosophical mind trip, bordering on Buddhist spiritualism, then this will rock your socks.

And the music is primo.

9/10.

Still Trekking in the 23rd Century

[Bogmeister · 8/10 · 17 March 2007]

This was a sort of follow-up to the original Trek series, which ended in '69, using, to a large extent, the same characters and time frame of the original 5-year mission; in fact, this is the closest we got to a 4th season of the original show. It's somewhat of a shame that this batch of 22 episodes is largely considered non-canon in the Trek mythos (there are exceptions: Capt.April, introduced/depicted in the last episode, is now regarded as the actual 1st captain of Enterprise NCC-1701 and Kirk supposedly acquired his middle name 'Tiberius' in the episode "Bem"). I suppose this may stem from an attitude of regarding animation as a different universe from the live action stuff - a less realistic universe, maybe. But, in spite of many comments dismissing this series as aimed for children, there's no degradation in script quality or thought-provoking ideas. In fact, the main difference, for me, was less use of violence or brute force to get the ideas across as the stories progressed. So, in some ways, this series adhered even more to Roddenberry's concept - the use of our minds and powers of speech to address various problems, cosmic or otherwise. Indeed, some of the episodes ("The Time Trap") fairly preached a sense of higher morality that humanity should follow. All the regular actors of the original (except Walter Koenig) returned to voice their characters, so, even in the acting dept., there was very little reduction in quality. The show also utilized the talents of many of the same writers, such as David Gerrold and DC Fontana. Koenig even had a script produced (the episode "The Infinite Vulcan").

Of course, many point to the limited animation (by Filmation) as the reason for the lack of action. Filmation was clever in reusing the same stock poses and movements of characters, placed over some impressive background paintings. The obvious advantage to the show was in depicting landscapes and giant creatures which were not possible on the original series, as well as ideas such as shrinking the crew ("The Terratin Incident"). The actor James Doohan voiced a multitude of other characters besides Scotty (Doohan was close to being overused), as did Majel Barrett, and Nichelle Nichols & George Takei also got into the act; you heard Takei as a Klingon in one episode and Nichols as a god in another. But, they did bring back a few key actors for guest roles - Mark Lenard as Sarek, for example, Stanley Adams as Cyrano Jones and, of course, Carmel as the conman Harry Mudd, in episodes which functioned as sequels or follow-ups to original series episodes ("More Tribbles, More Troubles" and "Mudd's Passion"), but these actors were not credited (stock credits at the end of each episode). We also revisited the "Shore Leave" planet in "Once Upon a Planet." Chekov (and Koenig) seemed to be away on leave in these episodes (budget cuts!); instead, we saw the feline M'Ress and the extra-limbed Arex as part of the bridge crew. One bit of progressive evolution involved a more aggressive approach by the female characters: Uhura took command in one episode ("The Lorelei Signal") without so much as a by your leave and Nurse Chapel even karate chops the scoundrel Mudd in "Mudd's Passion" - so much for non-violence. What a difference just 4 years makes - clear evidence of the female liberation movement - right here in Trek!

But, the most eye-popping sequence of scenes for me was something I'd forgotten, until viewing "The Practical Joker" episode again: here we see the first use of a holodeck, in the Enterprise's 'recreation room.' So, this was not invented for the TNG show over a dozen years later! The TNG creators took the idea from an earlier Trek series! Many of the episodes were suffused with humor, usually very subtle for a supposed children's show, and main actors Shatner, Nimoy and Kelley were probably attracted to the material because of this adult approach. No, this certainly was not just a kid's show. The best episodes: "Yesteryear" - re-utilized the Guardian of Forever from "The City on the Edge of Forever" original episode, including another mind-bending time travel paradox and an expanded look at the planet Vulcan; "The Slaver Weapon" - a reworked Larry Niven science fiction story of stasis boxes containing ancient items, involving an ultimate weapon, and a great new villainous race in the Romulan/Klingon mold (but taking advantage of animation), with only Spock, Uhura and Sulu appearing as the regulars; "The Jihad" - exciting 'quest' action epic, which, despite the limits of the animation, was still as tense and suspenseful as many of the live action episodes; and "The Eye of the Beholder" - a unique perspective on zoos and intelligence, in that order; that title was also used on a Twilight Zone episode. I also liked "The Survivor," which used similar story ideas to "The Man Trap," but, as usual, without any death scenes and resulted in a more poignant version. Yes, maybe this animated series reused too many story ideas from the original, but it was still darn good Trekking. We had to wait another 5 years for the next new Trek vision - "Star Trek the Motion Picture" in '79.

Lost classic

[GEM-20 · 17 February 2005]

Many fans have looked negatively on this series. That is too bad, and they do not give it the attention and credit it fully deserves. Sure there is an episode or two that was simply okay, but overall, I enjoyed all of it.

Gene Roddenberry, the creator of "Star Trek", was paid money for this series. He said that it was not part of "official" Star Trek. I think that is ridiculous, since he had the final approval of all of the scripts, and there were some great ones.

If anyone faulted the animation of this show, it must be remembered of what the state of animated films was in 1973. Even Disney had cut back considerably by that time; look at Disney's "Robin Hood" to see what I mean.

Because "Star Trek - The Animated Series" had a limited budget, there was not enough money to bring back Walter Koenig to play Chekov. But the show is a fine example of how "Trek" could work in animation.

And that is its finest accomplishment of all.

It may have been forgotten,but the animated was great!!!

[raysond · 6 August 2000]

After the cancellation of the original Star Trek TV series in 1969,network executives over at NBC came up with one of the most innovative and one of the best 'Star Trek' series ever. Even though it ran on Saturday Mornings,and was aimed directly at children,the series wasn't able to do what it precessdor would have in the original,but it had a whole lot more going than it expected being the first ever to have its own cartoon show,but also have the same cast from the original show to do the voiceovers. The animated was excellent throughout,and since it had interesting stories that went along with it,the show won several awards including two Peabody Awards during its two year run on the NBC network(from 1973-1975).

If you do catch some of episodes there are some good ones out on video that are worth seeing,including the part where Lieutenant Uhura commands the ship when Captain Kirk and Mister Spock faced great danger on a hostile planet. It may have been forgotten,but it still holds up to this day and as one of the best animated science-fiction shows ever devised for Saturday Mornings. Re-runs are out there somewhere.

Excellent show; brief run

[wperkins · 3 January 2002]

Despite being only a half hour in length, this show was consistently good. Several of the plots were just as intricate as the original series; a few of them revisited old locations (the "Shore Leave" planet; the "Guardian of Forever") and characters (Harry Mudd) from the original series. The show was easily head and shoulders above the rest of the Saturday morning lineup.

The only real problem I had with the series is that so few of them were made (just 22); NBC simply ran the same episodes again and again. It turns out that the reason was the show's audience--children, mostly preteens, who were willing to watch the same episodes repeatedly.

All in all, it was exciting to see a new Star Trek series just four years after the original was cancelled. After this, it would be six years before the somewhat lackluster Star Trek: The Motion Picture and over a decade before the next series. Consider this a fitting coda for fans of the original series.

Good scripts, lousy animation

[preppy-3 · 5 November 2008]

The forgotten animated version of "Star Trek". I believe most, if not all, of the original cast returned and provided their voices for the characters. I was probably 10 or so when it played on TV. I never watched it (I'm not a big sci-fi fan) but caught it in reruns when I was in high school. The animation was horrendous--the characters looked good but they barely moved and when they did it was in a stiff jerky motion. But the scripts were, for a Saturday morning cartoon show, pretty intelligent. These were aimed at kids but it didn't talk down to them or act like they were idiots. I also thought it was great that there was next to no violence. So the animation is dreadful but the good scripts make this somewhat enjoyable.

A mixed bag.

[Blueghost · 27 November 2002]

I enjoyed the original 1960's Star Trek TV show. The animated series was, as with all animated adaptations of live action shows, a cut or two below its predecessor, but with an interesting twist that sparked some interest for both Trek and sci-fi fan alike.

One of my real beefs with the show was the animation. Filmation studios utilized a method of pregenerated animations as fill to allow their animators to do what little "unique" animation needed to be done for each new episode. One could rightfully call it "pre-fabricated" animation. It was a kind of assembly line art that Filmation studios used with all their animated titles, and as a kid I could see this, critique it as such, and get angry with the cheapness of show's feel.

Even so, it must be said that many of the backgrounds and layouts for the series had exceptional art quality to them. Even if the main characters were stilted as they moved through a set of pre-programmed moves, typically the backgrounds in which they moved (whether it was the Enterprise moving across a starfield or planet, or the crew wander a planet) were very rich. Despite that, even as a child, I felt cheated by people who couldn't do "good" cartoons; smooth animation with the characters in unique poses.

The stories themselves were typical sci-fi fair, but were a little more far-out in terms of their extraordinary quality because the animated venue allow for more elaborate settings and circumstances. Regrettably, as one or two others have pointed out, the stories were aimed at kids. Understandibly this was because the Animated Star Trek series was slated for Saturday Mornings when it first aired. Thus all the adult interplay, innuendo and themes of the original 1960's show were truncated.

If you're a science fiction fan, then the series is worth a viewing (maybe more). If you're a die hard Star Trek fan, then you've probably already made up your own mind about this installment of the Star Trek universe. If you're a fan of sci-fi animation, or just animation, skip this one. It'd be interesting to see this set of 22 half hour episodes reanimated (and I'm sure in time someone will do just that), because some of the stories are rather interesting.

All in all I'm glad to have the series; the music's rather good, the voices of the original cast are welcome, and the art isn't half bad. But Filmation's cheap, chinsy, factory-assembled, ill-inspired, ugly, horrible, and otherwise just plain bad and wrong animation techniques leave a bad aftertaste in this viewer's mind. Sort of like waking up with a woman who looks good only after a couple of hard shots of Jack Daniels.

ADDENDUM November 2nd, 2015 In retrospect this show was created to keep the live action series alive and possibly in the minds of newer and younger viewers who would be entering their teenage years, and would have their interests piqued with an animated version of the show that seemed to garner a lot of praise by critics and fans alike.

It was purely done to keep the show alive and usher in a newer audience, but that's really not such a bad thing. I'm just sorry the production values for an animated version of the series weren't a bit higher.

The forgotten series

[Op_Prime · 16 March 2000]

In between the time of the original Star Trek series' cancellation by NBC and Star Trek: The Motion Picture's release date, Star Trek was growing in popular at a fast pace. One can assume the purpose of this show's existence was to cash in on Star Trek's popularity. Well maybe that's why NBC ran it, but the people behind appreciated the Original Series and it showed. This series had some interesting stories, but suffered a major setback from day one. Being animated and aimed at little children, this series wasn't able to do the kind of stories the Original Series and the following series were able to. The show was not cheaply done. Animation was excellent, with all the characters looking like the actors themselves. The series probably could have succeeded in prime time. Catch the reruns where ever you can.

Grossly Underrated Series

[peter-faizey · 8/10 · 4 March 2009]

Star Trek The Animated Series came about in 1973 following the cancellation of the original live action series in 1969. Produced by Filmation under the direction of animator Hal Sutherland the series closed a gap in between the cancellation of the original series and Star Trek: The Motion Picture which was produced in 1979. The show was born due to Star Trek's increasing popularity following its repeats through syndication in the early 1970's. With a considerable potential audience the Animated Series of Star Trek was a smart move at the time, with Paramount unwilling to finance a brand new live action series. William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy and later George Takei, James Doohan, Nichelle Nichols and Majel Barrett were all keen to return to voice the characters they had played in the original series and original series writer and script editor D.C Fontana was brought in to ensure a knowledgeable hand had control over the scripts brought in for the series. Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry acted as a 'Executive Consultant' and original series writers including David Gerrold, Samuel A. Peeples and Margaret Armen wrote for the programme. Walter Koenig was not able to return as Chekov due to budgetary restrictions, but he did pen the excellent episode 'The Infinite Vulcan'. Theoretically the animated series allowed the production team to be more imaginative in its creation of monsters and alien worlds, achieving results that would be impossible for a live action series. The show is certainly atmospheric, the limited animation is generally used to great effect and the layout artists do a fantastic job of conjuring unearthly settings. The writing is generally top notch, the stories rarely simplified for the younger audience it was largely intended for, with many adult themes running throughout. The fantastic 'Yesteryear' the only script contributed by D.C Fontana for the series is truly brilliant, a fascinating insight into Spock's childhood which one could imagine as an Original Series episode. The programme is often harshly criticised for its crude animation (an industry trait at the time) which admittedly is very repetitive. The reuse of certain monsters does become noticeable, certainly the usage of monsters becomes is considerable, countering the limitations the series had experienced in its live action format and certainly a good monster or two will keep the children entertained. Another criticism usually levelled is at the music in the series. I consider that criticism to be particularly unfair, the incidental cues (although recycled ad nauseum) are generally excellent, and the theme is a worthy homage of Alexander Courage's iconic original. Worthy of note is the initial unease of William Shatner and DeForest Kelley in the first few episodes with the voice-over format. Both fail to inject much emotion and enthusiasm into the performances initially but greatly improve by later episodes. DeForest Kelley later acknowledged that he found the voice work very difficult, not being able to interact with other actors. The show is also noteworthy for its sequels to Original Series episodes, most notably the excellent 'More Tribbles, More Troubles' and 'Mudd's Passion'. Star Trek The Animated Series ran for two seasons between 1973 - 1975 with 22 episodes being produced. It remains a considerable curio in the Star Trek universe, finally being released on DVD in full in 2006. Generally the short twenty minute episodes are of excellent quality, if less developed than the original series episodes. Favourites include 'Yesteryear', 'More Troubles, More Tribbles', 'The Survivor', 'The Infinite Vulcan', 'The Magicks of Megas-Tu', 'The Abergris Element', 'Bem' and 'The Pirates of Orion', but the whole series makes a truly enjoyable watch. It is a great shame that Gene Roddenberry would later 'decanonize' the animated series. In many ways it is far better than later Star Trek spin-offs and features some truly excellent stories and visuals. More recently it has been remembered with greater affection and has become something of a cult. It is, despite its flaws a good piece of television and in my view a worthy addition to the Star Trek franchise.

Emmy Award Winning, "Star Trek in Animation", with continuity!!!"

[CelluloidRehab · 9/10 · 22 March 2007]

Everything these days seems to relate to my childhood and early adulthood. Perhaps since I am advancing in years, I am also dwelling much more on the past. I remember seeing this show in a limited capacity back in the late 80's and early 90's. Technically, I saw 3 episodes on Nickelodeon and taped them. What I saw was quite impressive.

The animated series immediately follows the cancellation of the original series and can be considered the completion of the original 5 year mission.

Pros : All the voices of the original cast are present except for Walter Koenig : William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, DeForest Kelley, James Doohan, George Takei, Nichelle Nichols, Majel Barrett and even Roger C. Carmel (Harcourt Fenton Mudd) and Stanley Adams (Cyrano Jones) are there. Walter Koenig does make up for it by providing a script that allows us to experience a 60 foot tall Spock. We get episodes with more Harry Mudd, more tribbles, more fun on the shore leave planet, Uhura in command, Jihad and even a meeting with Lucifer himself. Also included is an Enterprise holodeck, pre-Pike, a laughing Enterprise, a reverse-timed alternate universe, Gukumatz (a.k.a, Kukulcan, Quetzalcoatl), Mr. Scott crawling on the ceiling, a cat on the bridge, "Blue" Kirk, more solo with Sulu and a nice smear of Shatnerian cleverness and ingenuity (don't forget about Shatnerian logic). There is also a furthering of the Star Trek universe. There are things (encountering lifeforms, aliens, other members of Starfleet along with the adoption of technical schematics, other ship designs and engineering and scientific principles) that seem to be pulled straight out of the technical manuals. All this did was add color, history and background to a somewhat plastic looking universe (up to this point). Books coming to life, imagine that. The animation freed the Star Trek universe from the shackles and limitations of live action. The exotic was limited only by the imagination and the animator's skills. It's as if all the fan energy and fervor to keep the show going at NBC was transmuted into this series. The show as a whole has a "chip on its shoulder" attitude. There are more than a handful of episodes, in the animated series, that could have easily replaced the not-so-good episodes of the original series (in terms of story, acting and pure science fiction fun).

Cons: Walter Koenig does not provide his voice. He ruins what could have been an even more unique event and show. How many times do you see actors reproducing themselves in animation and in this high of a percentage? Maybe this a positive thing to consider. Chekov is instead replaced by an Edosian (a 3 legged and 3 armed alien - one arm comes out straight from his chest) weapons officer named Arex. The animation is also quite typical of "kids-style" and other animated shows of its day. Anyone who has seen animated US shows from the 60's, 70's and 80's knows exactly what I mean. The animation can best be described as minimalistic. Often the illustrators saved money and time by repeating certain scenes. These are usually repeated in various capacities throughout the life of the show. In this case we get continuity errors like : Sulu talking from a planet while at the same time being on the bridge, Mr. Scott growing a wavy mustache instantaneously, Sulu looks much like McCoy in some scenes and much, much more. It will look similar in execution to the Planet of the Apes animated show (except that show had a strange "artistic" mural quality). The length of the episodes is quite a detriment. We were used to 45 minute episodes and now we are left with approximately half that. The voice work, which is the entire cast, lacks the passion of seeing the actors in person. The voices of the extras are also voiced by the Enterprise crew, but sound fake and contrived (often with laughable results). This is not the Simpsons, Futurama or Family Guy. Even Shatner and his Shatnerisms seem to be delivered with a heavy dose of Valium.

I do not want to be misleading. For fans of the show this is an absolutely must own. If you are a weekend Trek fan (a.k.a. - the long lasting debate of Trekkie vs Trekker), you can skip it entirely without missing a beat of the original show. You may want to check out 1 or 2 episodes to see if you would enjoy it. This could also be viewed as a nostalgic romp through the world of 70's animation.

For whatever reason, I still love this show and the original group of characters. There was a chemistry between them that was hard to miss. Though the lackluster voice work and average animation blemishes this version of the show, it still extends these interactions. Even from a science fiction perspective, the animated series does not hold much of a candle to the original. If anything, I would have called this Star Trek Lite - The Animated Series or Star Trek : For Kids. Well, its time to re-watch the Infinite Vulcan. Nothing gets to me more than when they steal Spock's brain from some mixed up alien plan.

Live Long and Thrive !!

In light of today, it wouldn't be appropriate to finish this review without proclaiming the most happiest of days for William Shatner. It's his birthday. Keep it coming Willie!!

-Celluloid Rehab

Toon Trek

[grendelkhan · 11 May 2004]

Trek returns as a cartoon, a medium befitting William Shatner's acting.

This was the first attempt at reviving Trek, and for the most part, it was pretty good. It's animation, so it's limiting. It's Filmation, so it's even more limiting. Filmation was a little more low-end than their rivals at Hanna-Barbera. Stock footage was constant in their productions and the voice work was usually of lower quality. Not this time, though. The original cast, minus Walter Koenig, provided their own voices, while Nichelle Nichols and James Doohan got to play other roles. The use of animation allowed the creation of better aliens and for situations that were impossible to film with live actors or effects (or just too expensive to film). Unfortunately, it also lent the show a certain stiffness.

The stories were quite good and featured writing from several Trek veterans and even a script from actor Walter Koenig. We finally got to see Orion pirates and see Spock as a child. There were even sequels to old episodes, like the Trouble with Tribbles and City on the Edge of Forever.

All in all, the series was a fine addition to the Star Trek world and stood out on Saturday Morning. It tended to skew more to an older audience, but it kept the youngsters entertained.

the voyage continues... sort of

[SnoopyStyle · 7/10 · 21 December 2015]

Most of the crew of the USS Enterprise returns after cancellation in animation form with the exception of Pavel Chekov. They continue their voyage with the use of many of the original ideas like the Tribbles, The Guardian of Forever, the Amusement Park planet, Harry Mudd and others. There are additional alien characters included in the crew. Some of them are too campy like the catlike character who purrs.

The animation is comparable to other TV animation of the era. However I'm not sure it's any more of a show for kids just because it's animated. It does allow the show to have greater scope and freedom. I like the miniaturization episode and animation certainly makes it easier to do. There is some arguments about cannon but it's a good show for fans no matter what. Some of the new ideas in this series get reused in later incarnations.

'Made a good transition from the original series to the motion pictures

[garrard · 9/10 · 24 January 2006]

The original "Star Trek" was never a ratings powerhouse, but it had a devoted fan base, thus encouraging Paramount to try a Saturday morning spin-off. The series, though crudely drawn in spots, benefited from superb writing, the vocal talents of most of the original cast, and a score that had its exciting moments.

Some of the best episodes were "The Slaver Weapon," an installment that featured Uhura and Sulu in prominent roles (much more than the original series ever did); "The Jihad" (In order to avert a galactic conflict, Kirk leads a team of aliens to find a sacred item); "How Sharper Than a Serpent's Tongue" (The Enterprise is held captive by a space-faring serpent-creature that served as a "god" to primitive Earth peoples); the Peabody-winning "Yesteryear," wherein Spock goes back in time to correct an inconsistency; and the amusing "More Tribbles, More Tribbles," a sequel to the classic original episode.

Not only did all but one of the original cast members supply their voices but guest stars Roger C. Carmel ("Harry Mudd"), Stanley Adams ("Cyrano Jones") and Majel Barrett ("Nurse Chapel") return in their respective roles.

A brilliant series lost in time

[pepe-121 · 19 March 2006]

This is like some lost series of Star Trek.

Carrying on from the fourth year of their five year mission this is 22 more episodes with Kirk and crew. Some episodes serve as excellent sequels to original episodes, others are absolute gems of creativity in their own right.

There is a real passion behind this series. Everything from the creative writing to the efforts put in by James Doohan doing several voices at once really gives this show it's charm.

Officially it's not part of the Star Trek time-line but that aside it does have key Star Trek elements shown for the first time.

Much like how we appreciate The Original Series today with its low-grade effects (by todays standards) - you can appreciate it for its creative value, effort and shear brilliance.

One to seek out

[TBJCSKCNRRQTreviews · 7/10 · 14 October 2015]

The continued adventures of the starship Enterprise. It gives us the last two of the ship's five year mission, high on the list of "worst ideas of specific details to main concepts", because before this, it only lasted three, and if this had gotten a third season, oops, it lasted more than the five. It slips right back into the soft continuity, with a similar opening, and if you watched this right after The Original Series, and wasn't told there were years between it, you'd barely be able to tell. Like that, no (aired) pilot or finale. This was made when NBC realized that the old Nielsen system didn't get the ratings right, it had actually been one of the most successful series, but props from it were gone, so they did what other live-action prime time did in the 70's, including Happy Days, Laverne & Shirley, Mork & Mindy, The Partridge Family, and The Dukes of Hazzard. Go Saturday morning cartoon with it. It even won an Emmy in that category. It is smarter and more mature, and not specifically for kids. You *can* go in blind: if this is the first Star Trek you watch, while there are elements and such that are followed up on that you won't appreciate as much, you will pick up anything you need to know to follow it: You'll learn what warp speed, Klingons and phasers are. And this fits in nicely tonally. This review is co-written by my ex-fiancée, who has graciously lent her expertise on the franchise each time I delve into one of these.

We are again led by the adventurous, and though it's less present here, seducer-of-women, Captain James Tiberius Kirk(Shatner, clever and determined, who still pauses here and there, the rest of his trademark not as clear, given the medium). His Second in command and Science Officer is Spock(Nimoy, R.I.P., half-Vulcan and -human, driven by the former to logic, intelligence, away from the emotions of the latter, in spite of clearly caring about his friends, including Jim, who he represents the mind of. He will now sometimes Troi). Where the modern takes on this are ensembles, the two aforementioned, are the focus, along with Dr "Bones" McCoy(Kelley, R.I.P., Southern, gives his opinion and driven to protect and heal), the passion of the Cpt. The two last-mentioned people have a sibling relationship, picking on each other, yet you never doubt, and will see, they'd do anything to help the other when it counts.

The Chief of Engineering is Scotty(Doohan, who's love of the ship rubs off on the audience. He also gives us Arex, an orange-skinned, goofy-grinned crew member). He performs as a lot of guests, and I'm not certain why... did he jump at the chance, was it someone's idea they ran with, was he deemed the best at changing his voice of the mains, was he less expensive than some of the others, maybe he demonstrated that he could produce the most variety, perhaps it helped that he was the only one who didn't speak in his real accent as his regular? The pilot is Sulu(Takei, a swashbuckler). In charge of communication is Uhura(Nichols, a strong woman, who here may just get to take command... and *own* it!). Nurse Chapel(Barrett, now a full lieutenant. She also does M'Ress, the purring, cat-like being). Chekov is Sir-Not-Appearing-On-This-One, and he's the only bridge person. It was because of costs cut of hiring. He did pen a script. This was the most expensive drawn shows on the air at the time, primarily because of the six "names". They, and any one-offs and such, all give solid performances. It's very unusual and impressive for those not trained for voice acting to do this well – I don't know if it's themselves or the direction...anyway, kudos to them all.

This has 2 seasons, 22 episodes total, each of 20-21 minutes, fantastical, personal, or both. They kept up a similar ratio of 'serious' ones, to 'action' ones, to 'light/funny' ones. They vary some in quality... with that said, there isn't a single one I would suggest you skip, and this has a handful that live up to the standards expected from Gene Roddenberry's idealistic, utopian, optimistic view of what's in store for us. The characters are the driving force and we get cool, compelling and/or fun sci-fi concepts explored well: vastly different forms of life from what we know, including intelligent plants and huge monsters, unusual situations, and frequently amazing, detailed aliens, tech, vast settings, they really build an incredible world. This is exciting, at a fast pace, tight, and rarely too fast. There are a handful of new technologies like the recreation room (later the idea was reused, where it was known as a holodeck) and the aqua-shuttle. They can now go onto non-M-class planets, ones that don't support human life, with life-support-belts. As a result of the use of recycled footage, there were also many instances of randomly misplaced people and equipment.

The events, phenomena, and as already mentioned, non-humanoid aliens, are much freer and more surprising than before, since with animation, you can basically do anything, and with the humans on our crew being, well, human, and that they look and move fairly realistically, it grounds this in our reality, just in our future and in space. As envisioned by the time it was made, of course. And thus, the amazing things are that much more effective, than in some fiction where everything is outlandish, nothing is like our world, our time, us. This was done by Filmation. Relatively simple visuals. Often fairly limited angles and movement in the frames. When someone runs, they will often appear as a silhouette.

There are themes, ideas and sights that aren't for the youngest of viewers... one's age should probably be in double digits. I recommend this to anyone who enjoys speculative fiction, and would urge those thinking this is "just for kids" to give it a chance. 7/10

Surprisingly cerebral Saturday morning fare...

[poe426 · 10/10 · 15 January 2013]

With simple but effective economy of motion, STAR TREK: THE ANIMATED SERIES was light years ahead of the Special Needs programming doled out by most networks on Saturday mornings. (Not that it was limited to Saturday mornings: the live-action PLANET OF THE APES teleseries would've probably fared better had it aired on Saturday mornings as well: despite the superb production values- including fantastic makeup, on a weekly basis-, PLANET OF THE APES was written on a child's level, with often simplistic and sometimes downright embarrassingly stupid stories.) STAR TREK: THE ANIMATED SERIES often transcended the live-action limitations, venturing into uncharted territory. Action was minimal, but there were some interesting aliens throughout (and some familiar faces, and some recycled story lines). Of particular interest to me was the introduction (finally) of Captain Robert T. April, the first captain of the Enterprise. And the episode where the crew caught The Plague was definitely not the norm for Saturday morning cartoons of that period.

Saturday Morning TV Has Never Had It So Good

[Steve_Nyland · 8/10 · 8 January 2008]

I'd go to bat and say that STAR TREK: TAS is perhaps the greatest single animated Saturday morning TV show ever conceived. The Bugs Bunny, Scooby-Doo and Superfriends phenomena were series that spanned several seasons and changes to format. STAR TREK: TAS was only a season and a half, and while popular never really resonated on a cultural level, though I am willing to bet that most everyone who recalls seeing it during the initial run was an instant fan. I grew up in a household where television viewing was very strictly regulated until our teen years and Saturday morning TV was one of the few areas where as kids we had carte blanche to choose what we watched, so for whatever its worth I probably saw more of this series at the time than the original series episodes, and it left an impression.

I re-discovered the show as an adult on home video and was fascinated to find that, as another contributor points out, it's a very mixed bag. Some of it is in it's own way at least as good as the original series ("Beyond the Farthest Star", "Yesteryear"), some of it tries new things out that sort of fell flat due to the limited scope of a 24 minute cartoon show ("Magicks of Megus Two", "The Infinite Vulcan") where some triumphed wonderfully using that cartoon element to advantage ("The Pirates of Orion", "Jihad"), some of it is downright silly or even beneath the franchise's standards ("Mudd's Passion", "Albatross"), some of it feels like warmed up leftovers ("More Tribbles, More Troubles", "Once Upon A Planet"), some of it anticipated events yet to come in the Star Trek universe ("One of Our Planets Is Missing", "The Practical Joker") and some of it is just plain weird enough to transcend the whole concept of Star Trek itself and almost exist as a "new" show ("The Slaver Weapon", "The Ambergris Element") that had it's own unique identity.

Leave it as safe in saying that fans of the original adventures with Kirk, Spock, McCoy and Scotty will be delighted, not just because the original actors reprise their roles for the cartoon characters, but because unlike some of the behind the scenes antics from the live action series the whole cast gets a fair shake this time ... Legends about Bill Shatner's line cutting and scene stealing are notorious amongst those in the know about how the original show was made, and the animated series does a good job of cutting everyone down to size -- though Shatner still overacts shamelessly as a cartoon character, which is not an easy feat. Somehow, he managed to, and the animated series is a great extension of the Captain Kirk mystique of applied heavy-handedness.

Some of it is really impressive for a 1970s cartoon effort: The likenesses of the beloved bridge crew is captured without a flaw, and in spite of some stiffness in delivery (the cast was often reciting their lines from different studio locations, in one instance Shatner even memorably recording his lines in the restroom of a studio while on a tour with an off-Broadway play) there is still the same feeling of unit cohesion & family like closeness amongst the cast. Some of it is still very very good Star Trek, and while there were a few dead ends as far as innovations for the franchise -- why were the life support belts dropped? they made perfect sense -- some of it stuck, most notably "The Practical Joker"'s rec room, which became the venerated Holodeck. And it was nice to see some genuinely alien Federation personnel, specifically the 3 armed orange Lt. Arex, sitting in for Chekov (who got to write an episode as compensation).

But it should also nearly go without saying that non-converts of the original series and perhaps skeptics of all walks of life may find the presentation awkward, hackneyed and even tedious. Some of the animation techniques have not aged well when considering the young skulls filled with mush who have been spoiled by decades of Japanese anime, computer graphics, and endless toy commercials masquerading as entertainments for children. There is a decidedly low-tech approach to how the show was constructed that will appeal to the hand drawn animation geek as much as it turns off those who prefer a glossier edge. It's certainly not a show for everyone, but once it gets under your skin it can be at least as enjoyable as the original live action series, and indeed a bit more esoteric. This is advanced Star Trek viewing nowadays, a specialized function of the franchise that had a very limited run, wasn't seen by as many people, and remains somewhat elusive for most mainstream fans of the show to key into.

I absolutely adore the series, not only was it an important part of my youth but as an extension of the original series that deserves to be brought back into the canon of the franchise. To paraphrase writer David Gerrold, if Gene Roddenberry decided to make it and got paid for the work then it should be an official part of the universe, even if certain aspects of it didn't work out. It's amusing to see how Star Trek was translated to a lower common denominator and expanded at the same time, with downright bizarre alien settings, some ingenious alien races that could only exist as animations, the hyper funky & just different enough to avoid a lawsuit musical score, and the animated Enterprise which seems to be perpetually sliding sideways through space as a rotoscoped cartoon ship.

Available on a magnificent DVD box set now featuring the entire 22 episode run with some fascinating commentary options and a making of special, I encourage anyone with an appreciation for Star Trek or weird 1970s Saturday morning programming to check it out, it's a very special show that deserves to be seen again.

8/10

An Interesting Oddity in the Star Trek Universe

[Samuel-Shovel · 4/10 · 22 February 2019]

"Star Trek: The Animated Series" had a short run, the shortest of all the shows. Today many don't even consider it's contributions to the ST-verse as canon. And while yes, the animation is bad, the scripts are made up largely of TOS rejects, and the voice acting is tired at best, this isn't a show to be overlooked.

For one, any Star Trek completist should have the time to binge through this season & 1/2 of 20 minute episodes. Some might be pleasantly surprised to find a few redeeming episodes. And while not officially canon, many Star Trek writers have used the events, characters races, and ideas here and Incorporated them into future Star Trek episodes. We're introduced to fun new crew members like M'Ress the Caitian and Arex the Edosian. We learn more about Spock's background and interact more with foreign aliens.

Lots of the ideas here are already played out but at just 22 total episodes, I'd recommend checking it out.

Season 1: 4 Stars Season 2: 4 Stars

Loved In Childhood But Now...

[StuOz · 30 January 2019]

Animated Star Trek with the original cast doing the voice work.

I had two reactions to this series, so here we go:

My 1970s childhood reaction: I would get up at 6am or 7am on a Sunday morning to see this. I loved it. During this period, there was much less Star Trek around (today it is all over the place) so I really welcomed the chance to see Trek with the original cast doing the voice work. In this period I watched a lot of cartoons and I clearly remember this one being more "complicated" in plots than stuff such as Superfriends.

My current middle aged adult reaction: Today I often walk down memory lane and watch childhood favourites of the 1970s...but for reasons that are not too clear...this Star Trek cartoon is a struggle to watch today! There is something a bit off about how William Shatner (Captain Kirk) speaks his lines...not sure how to describe the problem...it seems like he is not putting his heart into the work here. I don't like the new regular characters added (the weirdo aliens on the bridge). The animation sucks.

As an adult, the best thing I can say about Star Trek The Animated Series is that the ever-present music cues (which were re-used in 1974's Shazam!) are about 90% of the show's entertainment value. There is so much of Star Trek around today, so the cartoon is not as special as it once was.

Terrific Trek!

[CosmicDwellings · 9/10 · 6 December 2006]

I was an avid fan of the Original live-action TV series when I was a boy which was being re-run at the time - unrealistic 'Jelly' Monsters and the like were fascinating viewing for a 6 or 7 year old.

But, "Star Trek: The Animated Series" offered something a little more believable, in a sense, because we were able to view more realistic 'Jelly-type' monsters in a true cartoon fashion. The series itself, which is not considered as part of the 'canon' for the franchise, stands out remarkably well on it's own merits and I am of the opinion that all age groups will be fascinated by it's concept and unique format.

For starters, it is the original cast members who are providing the voice-overs for their own characters, and also aboard the enterprise are some of the original series best-loved writers. The main plus-fact is that it is a Gene Roddenberry project. 'Filmation' are the company who produced this animated series - a company who have come into criticism because of it's lacklustre quality of cartoons throughout the years. But, surely with "ST: TAS" this is one of it's true exceptions.

There are some very good half-hour episodes in this series, beautifully written and designed and it's a crying shame that a number of 'Trekkies' don't give this series the praise and recognition it deserves. I, for one, am not a 'Trekkie' but I am a big fan of this animated classic of which I would prefer to sit down and watch an episode of as opposed to the original series. This so-called cartoon is not strictly a 'kiddies' production - a fabulous factor indeed.

I've just recently purchased the well-packaged DVD release of this series and it is the only piece of 'Trek - related' merchandise I own, and I am likely to own forever.

"Star Trek: The Animated Series" should be spoken about in the same context as the Series' and the feature films. It has been, and still is, so undervalued.

A true EMMY AWARD WINNER - no joke!

Don't believe the Kool-Aid drinkers!

[planktonrules · 4/10 · 9 April 2015]

I am amazed to see so many glowing reviews for this short-lived "Star Trek" animated series. This is because although many score it 9 or 10, I cannot for the life of me understand this. Even if the shows had been well written (they often weren't) the animation is abysmally bad. In fact, in an era where the quality of animation was at its nadir, "Star Trek: The Animated Series" is possibly the worst--with incredibly low cell-counts and often ridiculous animation quality. To make things worse, the writing was all over the place. For every excellent script, there were several that were just awful--either due to bad ideas, terrible dialog or both. Yet, inexplicably, the Kool-Aid drinkers say it's the best animated show ever!!! Hello...get a bit of perspective here!!! While I have seen every live action Trek series and loved them, I think I can be objective enough to realize not every single episode of every single show is perfect....and this cartoon is about as far from perfect as they come!!! Watch if you dare, but you're in for a disappointing ride.

Lousy production values but top notch scripts and features most of the original actors

[bgaiv · 8/10 · 29 March 2022]

The animation is quite weak and the Enterprise looks strangely small. The music is often extremely bombastic.

But they have most of the original actors voicing their roles and that gives it an incredible legitimacy. The scripts are likewise from many of the original series writers--- these stories are absolutely not dumbed down for Saturday morning cartoons.

Also, the show has numerous aliens and crew members that couldn't be believably realized in the original show.

The Fourth Season of TOS?

[johcafra · 8/10 · 26 December 2006]

Imagine the dilemma faced by the producers of this "cartoon show": A series that would entertain and perhaps even educate, without offending the sensitivities of children and their parents, while very closely watched by older viewers with near-eidetic memories.

At its broadcast premiere TAS was compulsory viewing for any college-age Trekker if only because there was no other reason for anyone that age to publicly admit their Saturday morning viewing habits. All the same I missed perhaps a third of the episodes broadcast. Years later I passed on buying the series on videotape save for the first two episodes. I couldn't resist the DVD set. Fast forward some decades from its premiere and I can only report how quietly pleased I remain whenever I revisit TAS.

Mass-produced animation in the Seventies was what it was, but Filmation had a good track record as an animation studio, showing suitable respect in adapting radio or older TV shows as well as The Cosby Kids.

Yet this was anything but standard toonfare, not with the direct participation of Gene Roddenberry and Dorothy Fontana, most of the TOS regulars, and a studio committed to illustrate, storyboard and animate crowded story lines set in a consistent Trek universe, not practically constrained by an effects budget but limited to a general budget and production deadline, utilizing "library" shots and continuity at every opportunity, and fitting each story into 25 minutes or less with two commercial breaks.

Shatner, Nimoy, Kelley, Doohan, Takei, Nichols and Barrett voiced their TOS characters' animated counterparts and gracefully remained in character throughout. The radio-trained Doohan displayed remarkable versatility for other characters and made Commander Scott quite literally sing, while Barrett, Nichols and Takei deftly joined the hidden chorus. Uncredited voice artists included Stanley "Cyrano Jones" Adams, Ed "U.F.O." Bishop, Roger C. "Harry Mudd" Carmel, sci-fi author David Gerrold, Ted "Caddyshack" Knight, Mark "Sarek" Lenard, and the producers themselves.

A writer's strike allowed some TOS scriptwriters to contribute to TAS. Gerrold adapted two scripts he had originally written for TOS. Fellow award-winning author Larry Niven adapted a short story involving his catlike Kzinti to the Trek universe. And even though the budget couldn't add Ensign Pavel Chekov the series got a decent first-time script from the character's actor Walter Koenig.

We again met tribbles and Jones, and rollicked with Mudd. Spock got cloned, Kirk breathed water, and giant slugs outsmarted both of them. We first stepped onto a holodeck and visited the center of the galaxy. We revisited Ted Sturgeon's "Shore Leave" planet and the Guardian of Forever, the latter in a moving story that quite literally gave me pause. At least two episodes would turn today's conservative heads halfway round, one episode bears a remarkably prescient title, and another episode carries as much "hard science" as you would expect from a Richard Feynman lecture.

TAS appears made out of respect, with love, and displaying no small amount of fun. (Is that a portrait of the producers and Gerrold as Enterprise crewmen in one episode?) It could very well have been the TOS season that wasn't and should have been. Trekkers of any generation should add TAS to their Trek canon and sit back to observe artists at work and play.

It should have been canon

[playerazzi · 8 January 2003]

Well, I really must disagree with the Late Great Bird of the Galaxy (*). He said that this series should not be canon, but I think it should.

The stories were good, including many of the original writers, and even a story by Hugo/Nebula award winner, Larry Niven. The animation was - well - let's say Disney animation tastes like a fine, high quality, Austrian cake, and ST's animation tastes like cardboard.

If you are a ST-TOS fan, well, get every single episode here.

If you are a ST-TNG+ fan, try one out, preferably Yesteryear, or More Tribbles, and then decide if you want to see more. There are some silly ones.

** out of *****

(*) This is Gene Roddenberry, for the uninitiated

A well written entry in the Star Trek franchise.

[freemantle_uk · 8/10 · 10 February 2020]

Star Trek: The Animated Series is a great example of a show being able overcome a low budget and some bad to voice acting to become an excellent sci-fi show. The Animated Series was a continuity to the original series but has been considered non-canon which was a shame because some of the episodes in the original series. Some of the best were "Yesteryear", "One of Our Planets is Missing", "The Slaver Weapon", "The Jihad" and "The Counter-Clock Incident." These were episodes that handled moral issues, had sci-fi concepts and adventures. Due to the series being animated it didn't have the restrictions of the '60s show because they could actually make aliens and environments look well, alien. It was quite daring for a Saturday Morning Cartoon because it was willing to into darker territory and explore deep issues.