This animated series continues the adventures of Captain James T. Kirk and the crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise as they explore the galaxy and defend the United Federation of Planets during the end of their five-year mission. This show takes advantage of the visual freedom of animation to present stories with more unusual stories and the featuring of more alien elements. Stories that were never possible or unused during the original Star Trek (TV Series 1966-1969) were easily made thanks to this animated serial, being freer to go where no Star Trek story has gone before. This show followed the iconic Star Trek series from the 60s after its cancellation and returned all the original actors to voice their respective roles. They brought back the show due to its unparalleled success yet the sets and props of the show were long gone, destroyed or stolen so the idea arose to bring it back in the form of animation instead. I really enjoyed hearing all the actors again back in their iconic roles and just hearing each of their interactions with one another brought so many memories back to the original show. However, unfortunately not all of the cast returned, there was one exception. Chekov, who was a prominent character in the previous instalment. He wasn't present in this show apparently due to budget cuts meaning they were not able to hire all the original cast, which was such a big shame however, thankfully, he returned for the movies. He would also go on to write one of the episodes for this show, 'The Infinite Vulcan' becoming the first Star Trek actor to write a Star Trek story which is pretty cool. His character was replaced with a new alien character - Arex, which was the first ever time we saw an alien as part of the Enterprise's crew (besides Spock of course). There was also another alien character who stood in for Uhura on communications at times called M'Ress who was a feline humanoid character. The original wasn't able to have more alien characters, especially not any with unique features or looks so this show allowed them to overcome that issue with ease although not with some minor complications to work around. Personally, I much preferred the original show in contrast to this show as although most of the cast returned I just think it didn't feel quite the same as the original, which I adored. This show isn't classed as part of the canon narrative and isn't connected to the other materials so it can be enjoyed more as a 'what if this happened' kind of show. It has some very creative stories and has become much loved by fans that they deem it part of canon regardless. Some of my favourite episodes from the series were when they made connections to the original by meeting past characters and going to planets they previously visited, which was super fun and great for long-time fans to pick up on. There were two episodes which I truly enjoyed above all else: 'Yesteryear' and 'The Counter-Clock Incident'. Yesteryear had Spock go back in time to fix an incident, which resulted in his disappearance on the crew of the Enterprise and rescue his younger self. The Counter-Clock Incident had the whole crew of the Enterprise begin to shrink and have to try to return to their normal size whilst being unable to control the ship as they keep getting smaller, which is a story that wouldn't have been possible in the original show, I'm sure. There is also another notable episode, 'The Lorelei Signal', where Uhura takes command of the Enterprise with help from the female crew when the men of the crew become ill, which made for an interesting event that gave her time to shine. Overall, I do like this show and hearing all the cast return to their roles again but for me, I will always be more of a fan of the original. There were certainly a few episodes that stood out the most, however, which I thoroughly loved. This is definitely a show that Trekkies will like and appreciate with its many references and great usual interactions from the fantastic cast. Although not canon, this show offers lots for fans to rejoice in. Four years later, the first-ever live-action movie was released. Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979) continued the canon story and led to many more movies continuing the voyage of the starship Enterprise.
Creator: Gene Roddenberry
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