Star Trek: The Animated Series

Everything About Fiction You Never Wanted to Know.

An Animated Adaptation and the first Spin-Off from the original Star Trek series.

Given the reality that it was produced by Filmation, the animation is typically the studio's ultra-cheap style. However, they more than made up for that with most of the original cast and the writers as well (although Larry Niven was a tad lazy in squeezing The Soft Weapon from his Known Space universe into that of Star Trek). The result is a show that might be badly animated, but it still boasted spectacular imagery and believably non-human aliens that the original show could never depict, while still reasonably keeping to its artistic spirit. For instance, this series took home the franchise's first Emmy Award.

However, the franchise creator, Gene Roddenberry, later insisted that the animated show be kept out of continuity since he never anticipated that Star Trek would later be revived in live action on such a scale as would happen. However, many fans insisted that at least the best episode, "Yesteryear," be counted, considering that it gives a valuable look into Spock's youth and character, as well as the planet Vulcan. Because of the information about Vulcan presented in the show, the introducing of the Holodeck and giving Kirk his middle name, many of the Star Trek writers and actors involvement in the show, many fans consider it a part of their personal Star Trek Canon. In addition, the producers of Star Trek: Enterprise have used numerous references from this series. The Expanded Universe, already having less of a need to adhere to strict canon, even went so far as to revive M'Ress and tri-symmetrical Lt. Arex.

CBS recently declared this series full canon around the time they released it on DVD.

The title used here and on the DVD release is a back-formation. The show originally aired as simply "Star Trek". It's also known by the more ponderous title of The Animated Adventures of Gene Roddenberry's Star Trek.

Tropes used in Star Trek: The Animated Series include:
Provides aversions of:
  • Lighter and Fluffier: one of the main reasons given by Gene Roddenberry as to why he chose Filmation out of all the animation companies who made a pitch at doing the cartoon version is because they were the only company who didn't suggest giving the Enterprise crew "funny animal sidekicks". Interestingly, after getting the job, the idea apparently did surface at pre-production meetings... but it was quickly (and rightly) kiboshed by Roddenberry.
    • Regardless, Filmation didn't let the concept of kid sidekicks in space go to waste and created the live action series, Space Academy, a few years later.