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Every star trek theme song ranked.

The Star Trek franchise is known for its epic musical scores, and this is every main theme song ranked.

The recent release of  Strange New Worlds   has kept a  Star Trek   tradition alive by delivering an epic main title theme. Throughout the entire  Trek  franchise, the main theme has been used to get the viewer ready for each week's stunning space adventure.

Whether it is the classic theme from  The Original Series , to modern series like  Discovery , every show in the  Trek  franchise has had its own unique main title theme song. Even though they are all great in their own way, some  Trek  themes have lived on and become permanent fixtures in popular culture.

Enterprise (2001-2005)

Enterprise   was  Star Trek 's most ambitious show up to that point, and with its main title theme, they also went out on a limb. Eschewing the usual orchestral score,  Enterprise  greeted viewers each week with a main theme that included lyrics, and modern instrumentation.

RELATED: The 10 Best Star Trek Movies, According To Reddit

"Where My Heart Will Take Me" was a power ballad that wreaked of 1980s cheese, even though the show was airing at the turn of the new millennium.  Trek  fans weren't sure what to make of the head-scratching song, and many downright despised it. Though the creators were going for an uplifting mood with the song, most viewers would have preferred a straightforward orchestral theme.

Discovery (2017-Present)

As a reboot of the  Star Trek  TV universe,  Discovery  had big shoes to fill in almost every aspect of production. For its theme,  Discovery  went for a more subdued orchestral score, that is marked with peaks and crescendos as opposed to an epic and bombastic tune.

Though it harkens back to  TOS  with the familiar four-note sting,  Discovery 's theme lacks the adventurous tone of most other shows. It has a dark and brooding atmosphere that matches the mood of the show but makes it stick out from its contemporaries. Many of the fan complaints about the show are mirrored in the theme song, and despite its attempts to call back to the original theme, it nevertheless feels very un- Trek .

The Animated Series (1973-1974)

As a consolation prize to fans who had seen their favorite show canceled so quickly,  Star Trek  returned briefly in the 1970s as an animated children's show. Musically speaking,  The Animated Series  matched its theme to the jaunty and adventurous feel of the show, and delivered a surprisingly jazzy song.

Though it is an homage to the familiar theme of  TOS , the cartoon's song stands on its own and is actually quite catchy. The bright and vibrant journeys shown on-screen are matched perfectly by the theme song, and it is a toe-tapper even outside of its context of a  Star Trek  series.  The Animated Series ' two seasons were some of the best of the franchise , and the theme went a long way to help make it popular.

Deep Space Nine (1993-1999)

As far as tone went,  Deep Space Nine   took the  Trek  franchise into some of the darkest places it would ever go. Musically speaking,  DS9  was matched perfectly by its slow and almost militaristic theme song, complete with rolling bass drum sounds for added emphasis.

RELATED: Every Two-Part Deep Space Nine Episode, Ranked According To IMDb

Though the show didn't start out as dark as it would eventually end up, its theme was consistent throughout and almost acted like a distant early warning for the Dominion War plot line. Though it matches its show well, the song isn't the most memorable theme, and it gets somewhat muddled by its own dark and forbidding sound. Ultimately what hurts the  DS9  theme is that it gets somewhat repetitive over time.

Prodigy (2021-Present)

The world of animation has generally been kind to the  Star Trek  franchise, and  Prodigy   was an attempt to speak to a younger audience. Even with that goal, the theme of the series is everything that a  Trek  theme is expected to be, complete with soaring strings and an adventurous air.

The theme succeeds two-fold because it not only imparts the epic nature of the show, but it also hints at some of the immense mysteries of space. The refrain in the middle of the track is a unique piece of  Trek music, and gives the song alternating levels as opposed to an all-out auditory assault on the senses.

Lower Decks (2020-Present)

Star Trek  had tackled its fair share of deep issues , but never had a show gone for full-on comedy until  Lower Decks . Despite its silliness,  Lower Decks  received one of the strongest musical treatments in modern  Trek , and featured a sweeping theme that would gel with any of the franchise's live-action shows.

The familiar instrumentation harkens back to  The Next Generation , without resorting to a copy-cat approach. The song also succeeds because it maintains a playful air that lets the audience know that they are in for a fun, and funny ride with each week's episode. Even though it is  Trek 's goofiest show by far,  Lower Decks  received one of its best main themes.

Voyager (1995-2001)

Set in the furthest reaches of the galaxy,  Voyager   truly took  Trek  fan where no-one had gone before. Musically speaking,  Voyager  featured a main theme that encapsulated all of what was great about previous themes into one epic song.

RELATED: The Best Star Trek Series, Ranked According To IMDb

Beginning with its own isolated note stinger, the song features an open and brassy sound that harkens back to the militarism of  DS9 , but with an adventurous air. Hinting at the unlimited possibilities of the Delta Quadrant, the theme song is also somewhat mysterious and builds up with new instruments as it finds its climax.

Strange New Worlds (2022-Present)

Since the birth of the franchise, shows have been attempting to capture a little of the magic that made many fans consider  The Original Series  as the best  Trek  show , and  Strange New Worlds  has arguably come the closest. Though the theme teases viewers with the original hook from  TOS , the song quickly jumps into its own thing with surprising finesse.

Throughout Pike's monologue, the song builds until, like a rollercoaster ride, the audience is thrown into the sweeping massiveness of space with music to match. Mimicking the original theme, but in a different key, the song sounds like it would fit right in amongst the supplemental music of  TOS. 

The Next Generation (1987-1994)

Bringing  Trek  back to TV after decades away was an ambitious choice, and  The Next Generation  used its music to immediately set itself apart. The theme is quick and bouncy, with blaring horns and swinging strings that give the song a buoyant and adventurous feeling.

Grandiose compared to its predecessor,  TNG 's main theme has a theatrical vibe that lends importance to the episodes that it scores. Though it sounds totally different from  TOS 's main theme, that is perhaps its strongest asset. The song captured the mood of the show perfectly, and became just as instantly recognizable as the song that came before it.

The Original Series (1966-1969)

Very few shows in TV history are as indelibly linked to their theme song as  Star Trek: The Original Series is. From the tinkling note opening under Shatner's monologue, to the almost operatic voices overtop the music, everything about the main title song is iconic.

At its heart,  Star Trek  is about the future, and  TOS  is the only show that used its theme to imply a futuristic vibe. Harkening back to the best Science Fiction films of the 1950s, the show's theme has a ghostlike quality that is as haunting as it is beautiful, and it implies the many mysteries of space. The best episodes of  TOS were made all the better by a theme song that never failed to match the tone of whatever episode it played before.

NEXT: Every Star Trek TV Series, Ranked By Popularity  

All 9 Star Trek TV show theme songs ranked from worst to best

By camila domingues | nov 7, 2023.

Who doesn’t love a good intro song? Let’s look at all the ones that had us jamming before our favorite Star Trek episodes.

Welcome to the ultimate cosmic countdown where we traverse the musical star fields of the Star Trek universe . Our mission? To rank the iconic opening anthems that have been the gateway to countless adventures among the stars.

These theme songs have done more than just precede episodes of our favorite Star Trek TV shows – they’ve captured the essence of exploration and the pioneering spirit of the beloved franchise. From the whimsical to the wondrous, the serene to the soaring, every intro has left an undeniable mark on the hearts of Trekkies across the galaxy and in the fandom of science fiction as a whole. But which ones truly stand out as the best in Star Trek’s expansive universe of shows?

Buckle up as we set our phasers to ‘fun’ and warp into the world of Star Trek intros – where each note tells a story and every melody takes us boldly where no one has gone before. Oh yeah, and let’s rank them as we do so.

9. Star Trek: Enterprise (“Where My Heart Will Take Me”)

The theme song for Star Trek: Enterprise , delightfully titled “Where My Heart Will Take Me,” is a refreshing departure from the classic sounds that have long accompanied the voyages of the Starfleet. Featuring the vibrant voice of Russell Watson, this pop ballad injects a warm, human touch into the saga, striking a chord with its buoyant message and Watson’s earnest performance. Though it falls into the ninth spot in our musical trek through the stars (ha), its unique melody captures the essence of adventure in a way that’s as endearing as it is unexpected.

In a collection of scores that speak to the grandeur of space exploration, “Where My Heart Will Take Me” stands out as a song that, while straying from the orchestral majesty typically linked with Star Trek , and celebrates the franchise’s pioneering spirit in its own right. It’s a testament to the diversity of the Star Trek universe, a place where human (and alien) emotions finds its voice amidst the echoes of the unknown.

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Every STAR TREK Opening Theme Song Ranked from Worst to Best

Find out which is the greatest opening in Star Trek television history. Star Trek is the most iconic television show ever. It’s also spawned one of the most successful movie franchises ever made.

Part of its success is the Star Trek theme song. The original song is so iconic people know it even if they’ve never seen an episode of the show. Over the years there have been many spin-offs of the show which each used a new theme song. Some have been brilliant and some have been horrible.

Most recently Star Trek: Discovery is airing   on CBS All-Access . Soon the upcoming Picard series will introduce a new theme song. We don’t know if the opening for Picard will match up with some of the others. But it’s time to look back at the history of the Star Trek opening songs and rank them from worst to best.

Make it so.

11. Star Trek: Enterprise Season 3-4 (2003–2005)

Composed by Dennis McCarthy

Enterprise’s theme song is the first (and last) time Star Trek uses a contemporary song for the opening. Dennis McCarthy scored the pilot episode. Executive producer Rick Berman promised something new for Star Trek’s sixth spin-off series. He said the opening would “be using a little bit more contemporary kind of music. […] It’s not all of a sudden that the show is going to be scored with electric guitars. It’s going to be a little hipper.”

The song “Faith of the Heart” is written by Diane Warren and sung by Rod Stewart for Robin Williams’ comedic-drama Patch Adams (1998). The song was a hit and charted at number three on the US Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks and number 60 on the UK Singles Chart. It’s used for Star Trek and sung by Russell Watson . It’s a good song and some of the lyrics match up with the idea of space travel.

You have to inspire the courage of the producers for trying something new but it doesn’t work. There’s a tradition of Star Trek shows opening with a grand orchestral theme. This song sounds like a Rod Stewart concert. After fans complained the song is different in the third and final season of Enterprise .

The new version has a higher pitch and is sped up. They added tambourine and a more pronounced electric guitar. Star Trek managed to make a bad decision even worse.

10.  Star Trek: Enterprise  Season 1-2 (2001–2002)

Dennis McCarthy first made music for the Next Generation pilot episode and scored dozens of other episodes. McCarthy later composed the theme for the shows  Deep Space Nine and  Voyager. Plus he scored the soundtrack for movies like  Star Trek: Generations . 

The opening of  Enterprise uses the song “Faith of the Heart” sung by British crossover opera singer Russell Watson. Fans hated it so much that fans created many petitions to get rid of it. “[We] urgently request that you remove [‘Faith of the Heart’] and in its place utilize a score that is without vocals, as traditionally used by [the] ‘Star Trek’ television series,” one petition said.

“We wish to express our unmitigated disgust with the theme song that has been selected for the new ‘Enterprise’ series,” another online petition said. “It is not fit to be scraped off the bottom of a Klingon’s boot.”

“I’m in the horrible minority of people who like the song,” Rick Berman defended the song telling Sci-Fi Wire . “I think it fits beautifully. I think it’s a song that’s got a lot of hopefulness and uplifting qualities to it. And I like it. I’ve met a lot of other people who like it, but I’ve also heard a tremendous amount of banter about people who don’t. And what’s a Star Trek series without something for people to hate?”

Whatever you think of the song it was used as a wakeup call for NASA missions .

9. Star Trek: Enterprise Season 4 “Mirror Darkly” (2005)

Composed by Dennis McCarthy & Kevin Kiner

In 2005 the series Enterprise traveled to an alternate “evil mirror universe” for several episodes. To complete the feel that the show had traveled to another world they changed the opening. The theme song has a more militaristic tone and a darker feel.

It works well, especially when shown along with images showing how Earth entered into a long-standing war. Considering it replaced a pop song it’s even more impressive. Unfortunately, it only lasted a few episodes before going back to “Faith of the Heart”.

8. Star Trek: Discovery  (2017-2019)

Composed by Jeff Russo

When CBS started work on the Star Trek prequel Star Trek: Discovery they hired Jeff Russo to compose a new opening theme. Russo has started in a ’90s alternative rock band named “Tonic”. After that, he started composing songs for video games and television shows. He won an Emmy for his work on the FX series Fargo .

He describes himself as a life-long fan of Star Trek and Jerry Goldsmith’s work on The Next Generation in particular. The theme for Discovery sets itself apart because they decided to focus on emotion rather than exploration. It starts with the familiar fanfare for Star Trek and then uses stringed instruments to give a sense of mystery and hope. It ends with the theme again which implies the future of the franchise.

It’s a solid piece that relies on fan recognition. So it doesn’t stand out on its own.

7. Star Trek: The Original Series (1966–1969)

Composed by Alexander Courage

The theme for Star Trek played over every episode in the show’s three seasons. It’s called “Where No Man Has Gone Before”. It’s an instrumental piece and opens with a monologue by William Shatner starting with “Space. The final frontier”. The song itself relied on wind instruments and percussion by bongo drums, which was a popular instrument at the time.

Alexander Mair “Sandy” Courage Jr. was an Academy Award-nominated, Emmy Award-winning composer, arranger, conductor, and orchestrator of television shows and movies like Jurassic Park (1993), Star Trek: First Contact (1996), and Hello, Dolly! (1964).

Courage was inspired by the Richard Whiting song “Beyond the Blue Horizon,” giving him the idea for a song which was a “long thing that…keeps going out into space…over a fast-moving accompaniment.”

The original song is a masterpiece of its time evoking a feel of adventure and excitement and has been used in several pieces for Star Trek since then. Unfortunately, it feels dated. Bongo drums fell out of fashion decades ago. The operatic singing by  Loulie Jean Norman feels out-of-place. Iconic, but not quite as good as others.

6. Star Trek: The Animated Series (1973–1974)

Composed by Ray Ellis (Yvette Blais), Norm Prescott (Jeff Michaels)

Raymond Spencer Ellis arranged many hit records in the 1950s and 1960s. He later started working with Filmation on their animated series. He used his wife’s name “Yvette Blais” as a pseudonym. Norman Prescott was co-founder and executive producer at Filmation Associates and worked with Ellis on the theme song. He used the pseudonym “Jeff Michael” after his sons Jeff and Michael.

Paramount decided to revive the original series for a Saturday morning cartoon. They decided to make the theme more modern.

Like the original song, it starts with Shatner’s monologue “where no man had gone before”. Then it moves onto a song with a much faster pace and tone than the original. The tone is slightly different as well but manages to capture the same feel of the original song. Plus, there’s no singing.

5. Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Season 1-3 (1993–1995)

Jerry Goldsmith was contacted to do the theme song but declined because of scheduling problems. Dennis McCarthy has done a ton of work on Star Trek and he admired the Star Trek: The Next Generation song. He said that he loved the trumpets and French horns in the theme so McCarthy used wind instruments to write the song for DS9 .

It’s different from other songs because it’s the first show to focus on a starbase instead of a spaceship. So the feel of the song is very different for the fourth television spin-off. Berman said he wanted to emphasize the loneliness of the station. McCarthy told SyFy he wanted the theme to say, “We are alone” and he accomplished it. It’s different but beautiful. In 1993 he won an Emmy for “Outstanding Individual Achievement in Main Title Theme Music” on DS9.

4. Star Trek: Picard (2019-)

Composed by Jeff Russo

CBS All Access went in a different direction with the theme song for Picard. Instead of relying on strings and a large orchestra to play the song it goes smaller. The song is thoughtful, serene and melodic. It’s not bombastic like the N ext Generation  theme or slow like  Deep Space Nine.

But it does owe a debt to the 90s Star Trek series. In the TNG episode “The Inner Light” Picard is knocked unconscious by an alien probe. He lives 40 years of life as an alien scientist named Kamin in the span of a few minutes. During the episode, he hears a flute song played by his “son” Batai (Daniel Stewart). After Picard returns to his normal life, he still remembers how to play and plays a melody on a flute. That flute and song have a special place in Picard’s life since it’s the family he never had but “lost”. It’s not a coincidence. The composer said he wanted to use a flute to evoke some of the feelings from the episode.

Russo told  The Ready Room  he wanted to “change to a feeling of emotional contentment for him because as we come to see, he lives on a chateau. And it’s sort of what we always thought would happen at the end of The Next Generation, and those movies where he would always sort of end up … That was his happy place. And then I wanted to … evoke how he has been awoken again.”

It ends with a small section of the theme from  Star Trek: The Next Generation . It’s lovely, thoughtful and moving.

3. Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Season 4-9 (1996–1999)

For the fourth season to the final season, the song changed. It’s actually better in many ways. The show had changed by the fourth season. New characters joined the show like Leeta (Chase Masterson) the Dabo girl. Other characters, like Worf (Michael Dorn) from Next Generation, returned. The starship USS Defiant was added to allow the show to travel to different parts of space.

All these changes led the producers and McCarthy to rework the theme song to make it lighter. The reworked song makes the show brighter and gives more hope. Star Trek is all about hope and it fits wonderfully.

2. Star Trek: Voyager (1995–2001)

Composed by Jerry Goldsmith

Jerry Goldsmith is a legend in the industry with a long list of awards including 18 Academy Award nominations. He won an Oscar for The Omen (1976) and was nominated for Star Trek: The Motion Picture in 1979.

Unlike The Next Generation which used music from his movie Star Trek: The Motion Picture, he decided to write a new song. The song is a beautiful sweeping theme that has stunning pictures of the ship soaring through space. The Voyager theme is somber and lonely but not sad. It’s uplifting.

The Voyager opening theme song is wonderful.

1. Star Trek: The Next Generation Season 1-7 (1987–1994)

Composed by Dennis McCarthy, Jay Chattaway, Ron Jones, Alexander Courage, Jerry Goldsmith

When the producers were planning out the first Star Trek show in decades they wanted to make sure the music would meet fan expectations. So they turned to the work of Jerry Goldsmith and used a piece from Star Trek: The Motion Picture. Specifically, they took a piece that played several times in the soundtrack. The first time is before the Enterprise’s first warp test.

The song is perfect for the opening as it has a feel of hope and majesty. The original song was performed by a 100-piece orchestra. Too much for a TV show so they scaled it back and McCarthy led the original orchestration of a slightly different version of the song.

It opens with the opening of the original Star Trek theme. Then Patrick Stewart says a version of the “Where no man has gone before” monologue. After that, the song begins and blows the doors off. It’s the best theme Star Trek has ever had and set the standard for all other openings.

Which is your favorite Star Trek theme song? Which one do you hate? Let us know in the comments below!

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Ranking The ‘Star Trek’ Themes

Music has always been a huge part of Star Trek , from 1966 and that fanfare to the modern stylings of Star Trek: Discovery , which begins its second season this week. Over the course of 13 movies and seven television series, not to mention a boatload of video games, various composers have tried their best to musically represent Gene Roddenberry ‘s vision of gunboat diplomacy and utopian societies. But which theme reaches maximum warp first? Which of the many pieces of music can deal with the most phaser hits and deciphering technobabble? Let’s find out.

15. Enterprise

Legend has it that when Enterprise launched there was a petition to ask the producers to ditch the opening theme. This is no surprise, I only wish I cared about the show back then to sign it. There’s no point beating around the bush here: it’s a dreadful theme. Probably the worst thing is that it’s not even original. It was written by super-songmeister Diane Warren for Rod Stewart to sing in the horrible Robin Williams picture Patch Adams , a movie so bad even the man it was based on came out to say how much it sucks. Even Russell Watson , who sings it for the show, does a poor Stewart impression, and it’s really the one and only reason for Netflix’s “skip intro” button to exist.

14. The Animated Series

While Star Trek only got one more live-action series after its initial cancellation, it did get a third lease of life in cartoon form in the shape of Star Trek: The Animated Series , which received 22 episodes from Filmation between 1973 and 1974. Most of the principal cast returned to voice the characters, but the task for the music for the entire series fell to two people, Yvette Blais and Jeff Michael , otherwise known as Ray Ellis (Blais was his wife) and Norm Prescott (who had two sons, Jeff and Michael). Ellis was a producer and arranger who had previously worked with the likes of Billie Holiday and Emmylou Harris as well as composing for the 1960s Spider-Man animated show, while Prescott was one of the Filmation producers along with Lou Scheimer. Being fair, their theme is heavily based on the Alexander Courage TV theme, but it’s still a decent tune. I guess they couldn’t afford to use any music from the live-action show, but for what it was it worked.

13. The Voyage Home

On the surface, Leonard Rosenman wasn’t really a bad choice. He was a famous composer with a back catalog anyone would wish for, such as East of Eden, Rebel Without a Cause, Fantastic Voyage , and Barry Lyndon among others. So while he might have been an odd choice for “the one with the whales,” especially after James Horner , he was nevertheless a good one. His score, however, well let’s just say it has divided fans a fair bit. His main theme isn’t that bad, a strong brassy effort with the pomp and circumstance you’d expect, but it just doesn’t feel like the right tone. It doesn’t help that the theme’s bridge is taken straight from the bridge of his theme from Ralph Bakshi’s 1978 animated Lord of the Rings . FFS, Lenny.

12. Deep Space Nine

Dennis McCarthy didn’t have much luck in 1987 when his theme for The Next Generation was rejected in favor of Jerry Goldsmith ‘s movie theme, but the stars were with him in 1993 when Deep Space Nine came around. The producers initially requested Goldsmith but he had another project at the time, so McCarthy finally got his chance. And it’s a strange theme. It was always going to have a different feel, with the show about a space station rather than the naturally propulsive starship, and it has a rather gentle feel to it, like a stately fanfare. A more dynamic arrangement was created for season four onwards, but it didn’t change much. It’s wonderful in its full concert arrangement, and in a solo piano arrangement McCarthy later did, but it was the one weak link in DS9 ‘s chain.

11. Generations

We meet again, Mr. McCarthy. Despite heavily featuring the TNG theme in marketing, the producers of Star Trek Generations decided to plunk for Dennis and he actually did a fine job, composing a stirring and muscular theme that works very well with horse riding scenes and Shatner making breakfast for Picard. It also blends in well with the original fanfare, which was pretty much a requisite for everyone but Jerry Goldsmith. The film and score get reasonably short shrift when it comes to fan debates, but both are better than their reputation. Unfortunately, McCarthy is now composing music for the films of convicted felon Dinesh D’Souza, which is about as far from the principles of Star Trek as you can get.

10. Discovery

The new kid on the block is yet another example of the division of fans today on social media. Discovery is an interesting case, it’s definitely different than previous Trek s, especially with heavy violence, interspecies intercourse, and a couple of F-bombs in its first season, but it’s gotten better and better to the point where it feels to me like it’s Star Trek . And it has a pretty great theme by omnipresent TV composer Jeff Russo that takes the modernistic approach while still remaining true to what has come before. Russo’s own theme is a wonderfully stirring and adventurous melody that fans out like the intriguing shape of the vessel before segueing to the classic fanfare at the climax. More, please.

For the last installment of the original film series, Jerry Goldsmith tried something different. Instead of something more heroic, the score is dominated by the theme for Shinzon, Tom Hardy’s genocidal Picard clone hellbent on conquering everything, including his twin. Goldsmith’s theme is economic, only using five notes, but it’s versatility allows it to be used in different modes throughout the film, often in a tragic tone. But perhaps the best is the end credit suite version, where it’s beautifully drawn out into a stunning full orchestral concert rendition that perhaps does the best job of musically describing Picard and his villainous equal.

8. Star Trek ’09

Everyone remembers the first time Michael Giacchino ‘s thrilling theme for the alternate universe adventures of the Enterprise appears properly in the film; when Kirk et al are transported to the flashy new hot rod of a ship for the first time. Known as “Enterprising Young Men,” the cue begins with an initial ostinato representing Starfleet cadets as they travel via shuttle, with the orchestra building and building with a fanfare of its own until the Enterprise is finally revealed and that huge brass melody soars. A classic moment that shows the power of the theme and why it really is the main theme of these movies, despite the end credit use of the ’60s tune.

7. The Undiscovered Country

For the 1991 sendoff of the original crew, director Nicholas Meyer picked a young composer named Cliff Eidelman to handle scoring duties, and he subsequently turned out one of the best scores in the series. While he used the original fanfare fairly liberally, his own theme was a wonderful tribute to the exploration and adventure of the franchise, a richly textured and emotionally resonant melody that hit exactly the right notes of nostalgia and optimism, allowing for a perfect goodbye to those we had spent decades traveling with.

6. Insurrection

Insurrection is usually remembered as a lesser-known entry and proof of the odd-numbered curse. But whatever you think about the film, Jerry Goldsmith’s sweet-natured main theme for the Ba’ku people is a gorgeous reminder of the composer’s ability to write memorable themes that stick with you beyond the film — often a good thing considering some of the pictures Goldsmith scored. The youthful nature of the Ba’ku is reflected in the delicate opening phrasing and the way the melody develops, a beautifully innocent theme that is eventually corrupted when the Federation step in.

When Paramount decided on launching a third Star Trek series set in the time of The Next Generation , Jerry Goldsmith was the only sane choice. The composer’s subsequent theme is a triumph, a melody that at first sounds somewhat subdued but is really keyed into the emotional plight of Voyager ‘s crew, being lost 70,000 light years away from home. Goldsmith gives a real mythic quality to the piece, and it’s a fitting theme for a ship that traveled for seven long years before finally getting home. Emmy-winning, too.

4. The Wrath of Khan

Star Trek II is often regarded as the film that truly kickstarted the movie series, and from that, there is a very definite decision to open the film and score with the original fanfare. However, what really makes it a success is James Horner’s sweeping nautical theme, itself a callback to Roddenberry’s original concept of Star Trek as “Horatio Hornblower in space.” It’s a stunning theme and is beautifully used throughout both II and III as an emotional crux for Kirk and Spock, with the B-section used as the A-theme in the latter film. It has hallmarks of Horner’s previous work, especially his score for Roger Corman’s Battle Beyond The Stars , but remains its own thing and an integral part of the franchise’s musical history.

3. First Contact

After Generations passed the torch to the TNG crew, along came their first solo film where they fought the evil Borg to the strains of a terrific Jerry Goldsmith score (with additional cues by his son Joel Goldsmith ). It’s a fine action work, but what really stands out is his spectacular main theme, for once not a march but a more emotional and evocative piece reflecting the human elements of the story, pulled along by one of the most gorgeous melodies you’ll ever hear. It connects Picard and Lily in the film, but its best use is as a triumphant closer for the climax of the film, where Farmer Hoggett meets the Vulcans. Stunning.

2. The Original Series

It’s impossible to overstate just how important this theme is to Star Trek ; it is Star Trek . Those four opening notes, that fanfare, that sweeping theme. It was an incredible time for television scoring and some of the best of that era came from the tales of the Enterprise . Of course, Jerry Goldsmith’s name comes up, as he was originally asked to write it but couldn’t (yet would still write themes for shows like The Man From U.N.C.L.E. and The Waltons ) so it fell to Alexander “Sandy” Courage, who couldn’t have done better. Over the show’s lifetime, it had three different flavors for the main melody; electric violin, cello, and soprano (I prefer the cello), and it’s still an instant musical memory for millions of people, and pop culture itself.

1. The Motion Picture

It may have been thought impossible to have a musical theme for Star Trek other than Courage’s piece, yet none other than Jerry Goldsmith showed everybody with his theme for the 1979 big-screen debut, Star Trek: The Motion Picture . Initially struggling to come up with something, Goldsmith eventually pulled out of his hat a powerful and stately march to underscore the adventures of the new Enterprise . The theme was so successful that it became the main theme of The Next Generation in 1987, and so to certain generations, it is Star Trek . And really, you couldn’t ask for a better piece of music to represent the sheer adventure, romance, and humanity of the franchise. A bold new musical step, but one that so far, hasn’t come near to be bettered.

Related Topics: alexander courage , cliff eidelman , dennis mccarthy , james horner , jeff russo , Jerry Goldsmith , leonard rosenman , michael giacchino , norm prescott , ray ellis , rod stewart , Star Trek

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All 9 Star Trek TV show theme songs ranked from worst to best

Who doesn't love a good intro song? Let's look at all the ones that had us jamming before our favorite Star Trek episodes.

Welcome to the ultimate cosmic countdown where we traverse the musical star fields of the Star Trek universe . Our mission? To rank the iconic opening anthems that have been the gateway to countless adventures among the stars.

These theme songs have done more than just precede episodes of our favorite Star Trek TV shows – they've captured the essence of exploration and the pioneering spirit of the beloved franchise. From the whimsical to the wondrous, the serene to the soaring, every intro has left an undeniable mark on the hearts of Trekkies across the galaxy and in the fandom of science fiction as a whole. But which ones truly stand out as the best in Star Trek's expansive universe of shows?

Buckle up as we set our phasers to 'fun' and warp into the world of Star Trek intros – where each note tells a story and every melody takes us boldly where no one has gone before. Oh yeah, and let's rank them as we do so.

9. Star Trek: Enterprise ("Where My Heart Will Take Me")

The theme song for Star Trek: Enterprise , delightfully titled "Where My Heart Will Take Me," is a refreshing departure from the classic sounds that have long accompanied the voyages of the Starfleet. Featuring the vibrant voice of Russell Watson, this pop ballad injects a warm, human touch into the saga, striking a chord with its buoyant message and Watson's earnest performance. Though it falls into the ninth spot in our musical trek through the stars (ha), its unique melody captures the essence of adventure in a way that's as endearing as it is unexpected.

In a collection of scores that speak to the grandeur of space exploration, "Where My Heart Will Take Me" stands out as a song that, while straying from the orchestral majesty typically linked with Star Trek , and celebrates the franchise's pioneering spirit in its own right. It's a testament to the diversity of the Star Trek universe, a place where human (and alien) emotions finds its voice amidst the echoes of the unknown.

8. Star Trek: The Animated Series

Now to take some time to acknowledge what might just be the most overlooked chapter in Star Trek history. That's right, it's time to appreciate the short-lived  Star Trek: The Animated Series , which ran on NBC for two seasons between 1973 and 1974, and continued the adventures of our favorite universe after the premature conclusion of the original series some years earlier.

Falling into the eighth spot on our chart, the zippy theme tune from the underrated animated show is memorable in its own right. Picture this: the song is like a mini rocket, packed with all the zip and zing of the Starship Enterprise's animated shenanigans. It's not the big, booming orchestra we're used to, but hey, it gets the job done with a wink and a smile.

Now, this song might not have all the bells and whistles, but it's got its own kind of magic. It's like the fun-loving cousin of the Star Trek theme family – not as flashy , but just as ready to launch us into a new adventure. It might not be the biggest star in the galaxy, but it sure knows how to light up our adventurous spirits.

7. Star Trek: Voyager

Imagine zooming through the cosmic playground that is space, weaving through stars and dodging asteroids, all from the snuggly comfort of your Earthly room. That's what you get from the memorable intro theme of Star Trek: Voyager . This song takes you on a couch odyssey that will be destined to get your pulse dancing to the rhythm of the blinking stars. Each note is a touch of adrenaline, each beat a leap between worlds. It's not just an intro, it's rocket fuel for the imagination, ready to launch you into a thrilling adventure.

A thrilling adventure is exactly what you're in for from this one, and with seven seasons of the show all introduced by this theme song, you are always ready for what's to come when watching it.

Now, the Voyager theme song may be the underdog among the other Star Trek intros, but doesn't mean it's not a good one. It's like that one friend who never raises their voice, but still turns all the heads when they stroll into the room. This tune doesn't scream for attention, it earns it with its blend of charm and daring. So hit play, lean back, and let this sleeper hit serenade you with its subtle power.

6. Star Trek: Deep Space Nine

Sitting at number six on our star chart of Trek-tastic intros, Dennis McCarthy's musical masterpiece featured in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine is a bit two-sided. On one side, it's got this majestic beat that marches along with the pride of a space station that's seen it all. It's not adventuring through the stars like the other Star Trek ships, but it's got its own kind of cool aura about it, standing firm in the starry sea.

The  Deep Space Nine intro theme might not make you want to zoom out of your seat like a photon torpedo, but let me tell you, this intro certainly has its own flavor – and then some. Imagine a symphony in space – there's a plethora of brass instruments giving you what feels like a grand space opera, the kind that's perfect for a show that's deep (pun intended) with plots and space-politics.

So, while it may not be the theme that makes you want to leap into hyperspace, for those who dig the twists and turns that Deep Space Nine has to offer us, this intro is like a warm blanket on a cold night in the cosmos.

5. Star Trek: Picard

Swooping into the number five spot is the out-of-this-world intro tune for Star Trek: Picard . This was the series that Star Trek fans had been waiting years for, as it finally brought back one of the most familiar faces from the whole of the franchise – and boy was it worth seeing Patrick Stewart again in his most iconic role. And then there's the theme song.

Jeff Russo is the maestro behind this little gem, and boy, does it take you on an interstellar emotional ride or what? It's like a space-aged scrapbook of the one and only Jean-Luc Picard, with each note feeling like you're flipping through pages filled with adventures of the past and snapshots of new frontiers.

Now, why does this theme deserve a high-five in our space odyssey of sounds? Whether you've been a Star Trek fan well before this show or just beamed aboard, this song is your personal invite to join Picard on his latest quest. It's not just an intro, it's a musical voyager that captures the heart of the show and plants it right into ours – a stellar addition to the Star Trek universe that resonates with fans of all ages and galaxies near and far.

4. Star Trek: Strange New Worlds

The newest entry in the ever-expanding franchise, Star Trek: Strange New Worlds is a Star Trek show for a whole new generation. It brings back some popular characters from the franchise's past (albeit played by new actors) while also serving as a new installment, with the Star Trek: Discovery spin-off offering up some wonderful adventures of its own.

The theme song for Star Trek: Strange New Worlds is like a warp-speed ride through the stars. It kicks off with a zippy tune that'll have all of you old-school Trekkies grinning from ear to ear, tipping its hat to the classic The Original Series that started it all. But hold onto your phasers, because this isn't just a throwback, we're cruising into new territory here.

As soon as Anson's soothing voice Captain Pike beams us up with his heart-lifting words, the music zooms off with an energy that's all its own, sparkling and spinning like a galaxy of fireworks. It's like the theme knows just where we've been and is super excited to show us where we're headed next. It's an ode to the awesome legacy of Star Trek, and it promises fresh space shenanigans and cosmic curiosities.

3. Star Trek: The Original Series

We're going way back to where it all began for the franchise now.

The opening jingle of Star Trek: The Original Series is not just any old tune – it's an interstellar icon and legend. Coming in at number three on the chart of Star Trek's musical kick-offs, this intro is the brainchild of the maestro Alexander Courage. You hit play, and whoosh – there you are, zooming past stars and through galaxies with your crew, all without leaving your couch. It's like this theme has its own warp drive, propelling us straight into the heart of adventure and mystery, making it the perfect soundtrack for our very own starship daydreams.

Now, let's talk about this earworm that's traveled light-years across the fandom universe. This isn't just a show intro – it's a staple for science fiction lovers everywhere. From the first twinkling note to the last, it's a musical "beam me up" that instantly teleports us to the Starships of our favorite Starfleet heroes. So next time you're stargazing or just needing a little nudge to your inner explorer, hum along to Star Trek's theme and watch the magic happen – it's literally an overture to the stars, inviting us to boldly go where no one has gone before.

2. Star Trek: The Next Generation

Strap in and let your ears take you on a ride with the Star Trek: The Next Generation theme song. It says it in the show's title, but this really was the Star Trek show for a whole new generation, carrying on its predecessor's legacy and introducing the franchise to a new legion of supporters. To help with that, it needed the right theme.

It's the one intro song I heard over and over as a child, and one that my own children have heard in their young years as well. Jerry Goldsmith, the mastermind behind the tune, totally knocked it out of the park when he composed this iconic tune for Star Trek: The Motion Picture . But it was such a good intro that it found its forever home with the TV crew of  TNG .

Every time those notes hit, it's like a high-five to adventure and thumb wrestling with the unknown. It's not just a bunch of snazzy sounds – it's like the Starship Enterprise of tunes, boldly taking your imagination where it's never gone before. While for some that aren't as into Star Trek, it's may be the silver medalist of space anthems, but for the vast majority of Trekkies, it's pure gold.

1. Star Trek: Discovery

Beam me up, Burnham, because every single time that first note of the Star Trek: Discovery theme hits, it sends me. It's like the composer has this magic wand, right? And with a flick, I'm sprinkled with this stardust that takes me light-years away. It's this absolutely gorgeous mix of old-school Trek vibes with a dash of the new, and it really captures what  Discovery really is: a fresh new take on an old world we all love.

And let's talk about that intro sequence – it's not just ear candy, it's a full-on feast for the eyes. The way it matches up with the music is just… chef's kiss . It's as if someone took the essence of adventure, bottled it up, and poured it all over the screen. I'm hooked from the first glimpse of those stars and spaceships, and by the end of it, I'm practically in my Starfleet uniforms, ready to join the crew (preferably Admiral Charles Vance).

So there we have it – our interstellar journey through the sound waves of Star Trek. We've been to the final frontier and back, and sitting pretty at the top is Star Trek: Discovery , with its epic blend of the heart-racing old and the spine-tingling new. But hey, let's appreciate all the intros, as they have been our launchpads into the universe of  Star Trek for decades. Each one has its own flavor of awesome, sprinkling a little bit of starlight on our Trekkie hearts.

Which of the Star Trek TV show themes do you prefer? Do you have a favorite?

Rating the new Star Trek theme songs from worst to best

By cameron black | oct 8, 2021.

Ranking the newer Star Trek theme songs from worst to best.

Hello and welcome to part 2 of my pieces that are rating the theme songs of the Star Trek series, both new and old. Perhaps you are reading this because you already read my first piece, ranking the theme songs of the first 5 series, and want to see what I do with the 3 new series.

Perhaps you are because you are a newcomer to the world of Trek, and have only watched the newer material so far, or perhaps you are here because you believe my first list was vastly irreparable and are hoping I do a better job with this one.

For whatever reason you have clicked on this piece, thank you for doing so, and please join me as I rank the 3 new theme songs that have been added to the musical canon of Star Trek.

The 3 themes will be rated from #3 (being the “worst” if there is a worst, of the new themes) to #1 (the best overall theme of the new series)

I mentioned this in my first piece , but it bears repeating (or saying for the first time if you haven’t read that piece) that I am completely blind, so my judgments are made purely off the music itself, therefore the images on the screen during the title sequences have no bearing on my decisions, that being said, let’s get started.

#3: Star Trek Lower Decks

While a solid entry in the Trek musical catalog, I don’t feel that the theme of Lower Decks has too much about it that truly defines it as a theme song in the beloved Star Trek franchise. There are few musical cords that would be immediately recognizable as Trek, or that stick with you long after the final notes of the song have faded.

Those light criticisms being stated, it acts as a perfect opening and promissory note to the show to come, which is to say it is light-hearted, action-packed, fun and funny, and light on drama and heavy on jokes.

It is a happy upbeat theme for Star Trek’s first foray into “adult animation” and fits the mood of the show perfectly.

#2: Star Trek Picard

From the opening cords of the violin, this orchestral arrangement is unlike any other theme song in the franchise, in a way, it actually sounds like the very music that the titular character of the series might listen to himself.

Not only does the theme completely capture you as the viewer, and sets the tone for the much more emotionally driven Trek series to follow, but it is in of itself just a beautiful piece of instrumental music.

While the theme of Picard sounds less like the theme for a Star Trek show and more like a piece of classical music (which considering Picard’s love for that type of music, might have been the intention) at the very end of the song is the very recognizable notes of The Next Generation theme song, as a quiet comforting nod to its origins, while at the same time letting fans know that even though much time has passed, they can still count on Jean-Luc Picard.

#1: Star Trek Discovery

At the time that this theme song was first heard, there had not been a new Star Trek series on television for roughly twelve years, so the hopes for Discovery were high and the theme song delivers. It starts out with the opening notes that any Trekkie worth his com badge will recognize at once, but changed up ever so slightly, showing that this shall be no remake or rehash, but a completely new adventure. After that, what follows can only be described as theatrical in its delivery and build-up, ushering in a new era of Star Trek.

Finally, the song’s final notes are a love letter to the 5 series that came before it and their fans, as well as welcoming a new legion of fans to Star Trek.

These are just the opinions of a humble Trekky, and one who admittedly is still making his way through the new series as well, but I welcome your opinions on what the best theme song is for the new series.

Next. The Top 100 episodes in Star Trek franchise history according to metrics. dark

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Published Sep 15, 2013

The Trek Series With The Best Theme Music Is...

Well, this was just a little unexpected. StarTrek.com asked readers to cast their votes as to which Star Trek series had the best theme music, and The Next Generation won. Now, that's not the surprise. What shocked us was that 25,000 people voted and The Original Series came in dead last. Here are the results:

Here's what some of your fellow fans had to say about the options:

"Jerry Goldsmith is kicking some rear end with the top two places so far for a combined 53%." -- Carl James

"The Enterprise theme song is the best!! At first I thought it was cheesy but now I love it. It reminds me of an awesome power ballad from the 80's." -- Ange Hertz

" TNG , no contest, though most of them had good theme music." -- Cole Whiteley

"I understand people's dislike for Enterprise's theme music - it really was a drastic change from what came before, and, in a way, didn't really 'fit' with the other themes, but I like the song a lot personally, and I think it suits Trek very well in feel - the song is celebrating the need to explore, to wander, and to have confidence in yourself, defying the odds against you. It's a powerful song." -- Matthew B. R. Sims

" Voyager because its song tells the story in itself... "persevere." Next Gen is nice but was a derivative of The Motion Piicture ." -- S. James Chorvat II

"Both Star Trek: the Motion Picture (and the Next Gen theme) and the Voyager theme were written by Jerry Goldsmith. Goldsmith won the Emmy for Voyager 's theme. Every time I hear that climatic high note, then the sound affect of Voyager passing through a planet's ring on the up-beat, I still get warm fuzzies all up and down my spine. Voyager 's theme is a musical, visual, and sound design masterwork." -- Michele Hansen

" DS9 has the best orchestration. Voyager is good, too. TNG is a nice march. TOS is very 1960s, so it's dated. The pop sound and vocals make the Enterprise stand out--love it or hate it. Give me DS9 every time." -- Charles Kufs

"I love the original theme of Star Trek . I like the other Star Trek series, but I love the original better..." -- Curtis Simpkins

"I have always loved DS9 's opening theme. It's majestic." -- Vicki Love

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Star Trek: Ranking All 13 Movie Soundtracks

Which one will be stuck in your head today?

Unlike that other franchise whose name begins with "Star", Star Trek's cinematic musical identity has been surprisingly inconsistent over the past 40 years. With nearly every film came a new composer, leading to the franchise's near total lack of continued themes and leitmotifs across installments.

Without that thematic consistency, the franchise instead relied on tone – triumphant marches, sweeping overtures, romantic love themes, and catchy leitmotifs nudged the action along as much as any soaring vista, tragic death, or threatening space cloud.

Heavyweights like Jerry Goldsmith, James Horner, and Micheal Giacchino have produced some of Trek's greatest music, while unknowns like Cliff Eidelman have delivered scores that are just as memorable. Of course there are some headaches in the bunch (sorry Beastie Boys don't count), but for the most part Star Trek's musical legacy is a beautiful and hummable one.

Here's our ranking of all 13 (and counting) Star Trek movie soundtracks from worst to best.

13. Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home – Leonard Rosenman

Ditching all of the themes built across the previous two films by James Horner (to say nothing of Jerry Goldsmith's timeless material from Star Trek: The Motion Picture), Leonard Rosenman's music for Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home is an appropriately upbeat accompaniment to the film's comedic tone, if light on the expected fantasy and nobility of Star Trek film scoring.

Despite the score's Oscar nomination (the second and last for the franchises' music), much of the film lacks score due to director Leonard Nimoy's preference for more naturalistic dialogue scenes. What's left is a short soundtrack without much weight, heavily dated by the 1980s recording style and the inclusion of regrettable source music by The Yellowjackets. The structure of the main title is halting and let's not even talk about that odd Russian jig during Chekov's escape from the US Navy or the "look how much fun we're having" tone of the subsequent hospital chase sequence.

The highlight of this score is the brief but epic reprise of Alexander Courage's theme from Star Trek: The Original Series in the closing moments of the film ("Home Again and Credits" on the soundtrack album), but you'll probably just remember that profane punk song from the bus.

I played Shipyard Bar Patron (Uncredited) in Star Trek (2009).

To Boldly Sing

Star trek has inspired plenty of pop culture, but nothing is as bizarre as the musical fandom following its warp trail..

 Filed under: filk , music , novelty music , star trek , star trek music , star trek songs

Hey all, Ernie here with a fresh one from David Buck , who is helping us maintain our mental-health-break status for this week. If you’re a Star Trek enthusiast, you will enjoy this one.

Today in Tedium : Some readers might have noticed my absence last month. Unfortunately, my father passed suddenly and I was out of commission for a while. As I looked through some of his stuff, I came across some things that reminded me of the times we would sit down together to watch Star Trek: the Next Generation or Star Trek: Deep Space Nine . Thinking about those moments reminded me of some old files and pitches that I was working on a few years ago. I came across one idea and decided to flesh it out a bit: a piece on songs about a certain science fiction television show. If I recall correctly, the original outline of the piece was written for a certain site that ghosted me a few years ago. So, here it is, completely rewritten with fresh insights. So set your phasers to stun and beam up your sense of humor because in today’s Tedium, we’re going where no one has gone before: down the black hole of songs about Star Trek . — David @ Tedium

Today’s GIF comes from a claymation music video for the well-known novelty song “Star Trekkin’” by The Firm.

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“And on no other show do I police myself as much, because I’m such a fan of Star Trek that it’s important to me that we are as funny as we can be without breaking Star Trek at all times and without being mean about Star Trek. With the network and with the studio, the conversations are mostly when I’m pitching an episode, I’ll be like, ‘Here’s what inspired this episode.’ And it’s always coming from a thing that I love about Star Trek, and then ‘Here are the things that we love about these characters, here’s how we want to explore them, and then this is why it’s going to be funny.’”

— Mike McMahan , creator of Star Trek: Lower Decks , discussing his approach to comedy on the show in a 2021 interview with Collider .

Where no musician has gone before (well, not really)

Last year, I discovered something rather silly: a radio station with an apostrophe in its call letters. I joked with Ernie that it reminded me of the Klingon language. This led to a very interesting journey about Klingon that ended up going pretty far and even made an appearance on Vice’s Motherboard —something for which I am eternally grateful. Revisiting this idea only further brings home the point that science fiction television can be a goldmine for weird stuff.

Star Trek has always been a great source of humor. Where Deep Space Nine and Picard readily take on more serious themes, there’s something to be said about the ever present sense of humor that runs a deep vein through most Trek shows. It’s in “The Trouble With Tribbles,” all over TNG (especially in some of Riker’s most memorable scenes ), interspersed between more maudlin moments of DS9 , and encapsulated by certain characters on Voyager . And that’s only naming a few shows! It’s not difficult to see the humor in the shows.

A few years ago, a surprising new Star Trek show was announced, focusing on the non-bridge crew of a “second contact” starship called The Cerritos . That show was Star Trek: Lower Decks . Created by Mike McMahan (who also worked on shows like Rick & Morty and Solar Opposites ), the show centers on a few quirky characters who aren’t officers but perform the ship’s grunt work. It’s hysterical and the characters are quite fun to spend 22 minutes with each episode.

With Star Trek: Lower Decks already two seasons into its run and a plethora of Trek shows coming out, it’s almost as if a renaissance for the series is upon us. Also, Strange New Worlds looks amazing.

Lower Decks goes out of its way to take itself less seriously, proving there’s definitely some room for a bit of comedy interspersed with the more abstract seriousness the show often aims to hit. What Lower Decks does so well is how it leverages that crazy sense of humor into the fandom at large. It sort of reminds me of what happens when enthusiastic, musically inclined fans get together to write songs about the show.

Music has always been integral to Star Trek . From the opening theme of Star Trek (TOS) onward, music has been an integral part of Star Trek , inspiring viewers and musicians alike. While each show’s own music is instantly recognizable, the program also inspired a great deal of music by other artists (often related to TOS ). You’ve probably heard “ The Trouble With Klingons ,” a pastiche created by Dennis Williams for a certain novelty song contest or “Spock Rap” by the animators at Will Vinton Studios (under the name The Neural Paralyzers ) in the ’80s. Admittedly, not everything in this category is great, but there are plenty of gems around. Here are a few artists/songs that explore strange musical worlds, seek out new melodies, and boldly sing where no one has sung before!

You won’t find William Shatner’s The Transformed Man or Leonard Nimoy’s Two Sides of Leonard Nimoy here. Likewise, we won’t revisit the original Trek theme and its lyrics . Rather, these songs and sketches represent unique takes on Trek by various musicians and comedians past and present.

5. “Banned from Argo,” Leslie Fish & the Dehorn Crew

“ And we’re banned from Argo every one, banned from Argo just for having a little fun…”

Filk music is full of talented musicians who share a love of science fiction and community. Filk music—folk music with lyrics based on science fiction—has a rich history , with a strong connection to Trek.

Leslie Fish is perhaps the genre’s best known figure. With her 12-string guitar and larger than life persona, Fish writes about science fiction and beyond.

“ Banned from Argo ” is an upbeat shanty with slightly twisted lyrics. The Enterprise crew goes on shore leave and various hilarious hijinks ensue. It doesn’t reference TOS characters by name, it’s obvious which crew members she’s singing about.

The first few lines of a song explore the mischievous misadventures of the crew checking out “every joint and bar” on Argo during their shore leave. Listeners then learn about the Captain’s sinful tastes and complex methods, the engineer’s ability to “outdrink space marines and a demolition crew,” and the first officer teaches the computer how to swear. It’s a shame what happened to the doctor … but I digress.

Surprisingly, Fish doesn’t seem to like the song much. As she states in several interviews (notably her brief appearance in Trekkies 2 ), the tune was written as quickly to fill out an album. It rapidly became her best known song—something she is a bit cranky about .

Leslie Fish has a large ouvre of other songs, both Trek related and otherwise. Her exuberant performances and love for storytelling shine during her performances. If you’re not a fan of folk music and/or sea shanties, you may want to give this one a pass.

If you enjoy her Trek music, check out the song “Carmen Miranda’s Ghost” and its accompanying anthology . For the full Leslie Fish experience, give Folk Songs for Solar Sailors a spin—if you can find it .

4. “Everything I Do, I Do with William Shatner,” Warp 11

”I don’t want to go to work, just wanna hang with Captain Kirk and if I had my way, I’d make it so…”

Dedicated to all things Trek , Sacramento’s Warp 11 built a career playing Trek -themed music. Originally devised as a “band that only plays Trek songs” for a one-time video project of bass player/singer Karl Miller, the idea stuck and Warp 11 was born. Two decades and six albums later, the band is still on their musical journey.

Through incredible energy, crunchy electric guitar, and hilarious lyrics, “ Everything I Do, I Do with William Shatner ” from 2002’s Red Alert perfectly reflects the band’s “mission statement” —to convert listeners into Trek fans. Despite its title, the song is about Captain Kirk rather than Shatner himself.

Effortlessly juxtaposing the manic energy of The Presidents of the United States of America and the killer chops of The Ramones with a wider mix of blues, rock, and punk styles. Add their DIY punk-meets- TOS cosplay aesthetic, and you get one very eclectic listening/visual experience.

With Warp 11, you’ll find songs about Q and Betazoids, an entire album covering The Borg, and a few sporadic tunes about Voyager . The band’s healthy mix of TOS and TNG material is the epitome of Trek music created by fans, for fans.

While I enjoy their music, it skews toward a teenager/adult audience and is definitely not for kids. Warp 11 are well known for their sense of humor and double entendre and they can be a bit R-rated at times, with mildly NSFW album art. Some of their stuff can be a bit of an acquired taste, but if you dig pink, scifi, humor, and Star Trek , they’re worth checking out!

For those interested in Warp 11, start with Red Alert , then dive into any of their post-2007 work from It’s Dead Jim onward, available at their website and most streaming services.

3. “StarDrek,” Bobby “Boris” Pickett and Peter Ferarra

“ To boldly go where everyone has gone before !”

What do The Godfather , the most famous Halloween song of all time, and Star Trek have in common? Bobby “Boris” Pickett, of course. After having his breakout smash with “The Monster Mash” in 1962 (we wrote about this classic novelty tune in 2018 ), Pickett forged a career as a writer, playwright, comedian, and songwriter.

In 1975-1976, Pickett got together with producer Peter Ferrara to record “Godfather’s Respect”—a song about the 1972 film set to the tune of Aretha Franklin’s “Respect”—and an original spoken word spoof of TOS called “Star Drek” (not to be confused with the MAD Magazine spoofs of a similar name).

The sketch follows the daily operation of a parody version of The Enterprise and its crew, focusing on the most exaggerated aspects of each character.

It isn’t an outright mockery of the franchise and its fans, either. “Star Drek” is a carefully crafted satire of the genre that plays to the absurdity of the occasional technobabble used on the show, taking a light hearted approach to the action. We won’t spoil the punchline for you here.

Barrett Hansen—a.k.a. radio host Dr. Demento—included the sketch on his 25th Anniversary collection, writing the two were on opposite coasts during the recording process so Peter ended up doing all the voices himself. They shared the credits, as Pickett helped write the piece.

The sketch is uproariously funny every time you hear it—a rare accomplishment for a comedy/novelty song—full of nuance and spot-on characterizations. Of course, your mileage may vary. The humor may be a bit dry for some, but it’s a fun piece that holds up remarkably well today.

If you like Pickett and Ferrara’s style consider listening to Pickett’s The Monster Mash LP. For more Peter Ferrara, watch the Jonathan Winters specials On the Ledge and Spaced Out .

(via Terry McGovern’s website )

2. “Beam me up Scotty,” Terry McGovern

”Beam me up Scotty, oh beam me up Scotty, life sure is trouble below …”

Terry McGovern is known today for his voice acting (he was the voice of Launchpad McQuack in the original Duck Tales ), but he began his career as a radio broadcaster . Later, he would work in movies and television as well. In 1976, he released a Trek song of his own, “Beam me up, Scotty” on Baseball Records as a B-side to his rendition of the classic tune “ Pachalafaka .” You can hear the entire thing on SoundCloud .

Not to be confused with an obscure country tune of the same name, McGovern’s song is a quiet rumination on how boring/awful life on earth can seem sometimes. The singer longs to join the crew of The Enterprise and escape the banality of modern life.

The song received airplay on various radio shows, but languished in obscurity for years until being officially re-released on a compilation album in the early 2000s. While it may not be the most well known Trek tune, it’s certainly well loved .

McGovern regularly attends conventions and teaches acting classes—on top of his legendary voice work.

1. “Star Trekkin’,” The Firm

“ There’s Klingons on the starboard bow, starboard bow, starboard bow… ”

The final entry in our list may be the best known: “Star Trekkin’” by The Firm. No, not Jimmy Page’s post Zeppelin band; this group was a side project of John O’Connor, a British music producer.

The song was popular in its own time—it hit Number One in the UK music charts and stayed there for quite awhile back in 1986—but took on new life in the internet age. It was used in one of the episodes of a Flash-based web series called Stone Trek (a mashup of The Flintstones and TOS ) and a claymation video makes the internet rounds every so often. Not bad for a novelty song that was rejected by every record company O’Connor approached. Then it became a million seller, prompting O’Connor’s move to America, where he went on to compose for television .

The Firm released a full-length LP, Serious Fun , that’s worth at least a slip of gold pressed latinum. “Star Trekkin’” is the best and catchiest of the tracks. Good luck getting the tune out of your head.

The number of songs in the Star Trek musical Boldly Go! Written by a Caltech theoretical physics graduate , Grant Remmen, and his brother Cole, the show is a humorous and satirical take on The Original Series . With songs like “Dammit Jim, I’m a Doctor” and “Captain’s Log (As Great As I Know I Am),” the show is well worth watching for its two hour runtime. According to a 2016 Caltech ad for the show, Boldly Go! is ”a story about being true to oneself and one’s convictions, about friendship and love, about discovery and wonder, about the triumph of the individual over adversity, and about the joy of sharing with each other this vast and mysterious Universe.” For those interested in such things, it’s available in its entirety on YouTube .

When I originally outlined this —several years ago now—it had quite a few more songs. But over time, my interest and enthusiasm for Trek has waned somewhat.

And of course we couldn’t fit all of our favorite goofy science fiction songs into this piece. But there are plenty of great Trek bands around like “one-chord punk rockers” No Kill I (and NKI: the Next Generation and NKI:Deep Space Nine; they’re all different bands), modern filkers Ookla the Mok , and the Klingon metal group Stovokor , whose performances take Trek music to the next level.

Songs and sketches about Trek continue to endure well into the 21st century and beyond and it will be interesting to see what strange musical moments the future of Trek fandom holds.

And although this piece no longer resembles anything close to the original idea I had for it, I’m glad I was able to take a quick reprieve from the insanity of our modern world to find—and share—some humor from the bridge of The Enterprise that can still resonate with audiences today.

Thanks again to David for the great piece. Find this one a worthy read? Share it with a pal ! And see you all next week.

Your time was just wasted by David Buck

David Buck is a former radio guy/musician who researches and writes about all manner of strange and interesting music, legacy technology, Nintendo and data analysis.

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Star Trek: Discovery’s Mary Wiseman Knows She And Sonequa Martin-Green Looked Miserable In 'Whistlespeak,' But Told Us Why It Was 'Actually So Freaking Fun'

Yet another reason I'm going to miss this cast.

Warning! The following contains spoilers for the Star Trek: Discovery episode "Whistlespeak." Be warned if you haven't yet watched with a Paramount+ subscription . 

Searching for the Progenitors' technology is challenging, but who would've thought it'd ever become a literal footrace to get the next clue? Tilly and Michael were tasked with a grueling run while facing excessive thirst in the latest Star Trek: Discovery and all I could wonder was if filming it was as miserable for the actual actors as the characters themselves. Fortunately, Mary Wiseman confirmed to CinemaBlend that it wasn't as bad as it looked, and her answer made me realize how much I'll miss this cast when the show is over. 

I had the pleasure of speaking to Mary Wiseman for Star Trek: Discovery 's "Whistlespeak," and while I didn't attempt to get more answers out of her potentially returning as Tilly for Starfleet Academy , we did get the scoop about how real the experience of running through the forest while dying of thirst was. Fortunately, Wiseman assured me it wasn't as miserable as it looked and broke down what was and wasn't staged:

I mean, we're definitely running, but we stayed hydrated. I don't think any of us are that method that we wouldn’t hydrate ourselves. It would be pretty punishing. But the running is real. Yeah, you [run] just because it's hard to fake the breath of it. Stuff like that helps. Red makeup helps. They really, really crusted over our lips, so we look really messed up and dehydrated. That helps a lot.

Props to the Star Trek: Discovery makeup team, because I was more fooled than I should have been, and thought Sonequa Martin-Green and Mary Wiseman were at least somewhat dehydrated and possibly desperate for water at the end of the shoot. It's obviously comforting to hear they're just good actors instead, and presumably weren't in any danger of fainting or something like that. 

The stakes were high as the Discovery crew needed to find the rest of the clues to that device, but it was all fun for the BTS crew, according to Mary Wiseman. The actress had heavy screentime with Sonequa Martin-Green, and as they often do on the set of the show, they were having a blast and made up their own scenario to help pass the time while filming in a Canadian park: 

Yeah, 100% It was actually so freaking fun. It's funny that you say that because we had this like whole joke thing going on. Like, ‘Ok, if we got stuck here and we had to live here and like, caveman rules.’ I'm a big fan of Alone and so I'm like, ‘Ok, if we were stranded here, how would we survive,’ and we were like picking out places we could live like little caves. We were like, ‘What's our diet?’ We're like, ‘First day, we gotta make tools. Also, figure out how to make a fire.’ That was like our ongoing joke for the entire time. Like, how do we survive in this gorgeous Canadian Park right now? So, yeah, we had a good time.

During production, no one knew Star Trek: Discovery Season 5 would be the final season , so readers can understand the silliness that occurred on set. The cast and crew were informed after production wrapped, and some like Doug Jones were on cruise for fans when it happened. Had they known at the time, who knows if Mary Wiseman and Sonequa Martin-Green would've been coming up with survival ideas in the midst of filming? 

I feel strongly about these picks. 

"Whistlespeak" set up some high stakes in which Tilly's life is saved by Michael being her often inspiring self in helping a pre-warp civilization understand ancient advanced tech on their planet. While the adventure did slow the rampant action Star Trek: Discovery has showcased since Season 5's beginning, at least this pre-warp civilization will no longer use unnecessary human sacrifice to get rain. 

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Hearing about the fun Mary Wiseman and Sonequa Martin-Green had on set made my day but also bummed me out a bit. Obviously, Star Trek: Discovery is finished, and we have no guarantees that these two will work together again. With that said, there seemed to be a hint in this episode that they could link up in the Starfleet Academy show , which would be a great treat. if not there, hopefully, there's some unannounced upcoming Star Trek show that can reunite these two!

Until that gets announced, enjoy the rest of Star Trek: Discovery , which streams new episodes on Paramount+ on Thursdays. I can't wait to see where the rest of the season goes and just how involved the Breen may get as we inch closer to the finale. 

Mick Joest is a Content Producer for CinemaBlend with his hand in an eclectic mix of television goodness. Star Trek is his main jam, but he also regularly reports on happenings in the world of Star Trek, WWE, Doctor Who, 90 Day Fiancé, Quantum Leap, and Big Brother. He graduated from the University of Southern Indiana with a degree in Journalism and a minor in Radio and Television. He's great at hosting panels and appearing on podcasts if given the chance as well.

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Recap/Review: ‘Star Trek: Discovery’ Goes On A Spiritual Journey In “Whistlespeak”

| May 2, 2024 | By: Anthony Pascale 78 comments so far

“Whistlespeak”

Star Trek: Discovery Season 5, Episode 6 – Debuted Thursday, May 2, 2024 Written by Kenneth Lin & Brandon Schultz Directed by Chris Byrne

A classic Trek setup delivers a solid episode exploring character arcs and big ideas.

Hey, I’m in this episode too!

WARNING: Spoilers below!

“The most important thing is to work in harmony”

Picking up on the clue they nabbed in the previous episode, Paul and the geek squad run into a science wall deciphering the simple vial of water so the captain suggests they try cultural analysis instead before she pops off to the mysterious Infinity Room. Kovich tells her that another ship is tracking Moll and L’ak, and the Disco has to stay on task for the Progenitor Tech. He does offer a bit of help, providing a list (on actual paper!) of all the scientists from Vellek’s team. Returning to the science lab the team quickly sorts out which scientist left the water clue, it was a Denobulan named Dr. Kreel who designed rain-making weather towers. A bit more detective work narrows things down to an arid world on an old Denobulan trade route and presto shroomo, they arrive at Planet Helem’no. The good news is they found one of Kreel’s weather towers. The bad news: the tower is surrounded by some “weird energy” preventing scans… and a pre-warp society. The captain flexes her xenoanthropology, revealing Helem’nites have three gender identities and no concept of class status; sounds like just the kind of place a Denobulan would party. Tilly is tagged to join on the field trip and so it’s good ol’ alien disguise time!

On the planet, they have a bit of a hike to get to the tower so they walk and talk about Tilly’s new life as a teacher at Starfleet Academy, where she is concerned one of her students is thinking of leaving. Soon enough they follow some “whistlepseak” (title alert!) leading to a group of pilgrims, only to witness one collapse due to spending too much time in the dust storms. Michael and Tilly struggle over that old Prime Directive, but the local woman ends up being saved by High Priest Ohvahz and his cool “sound cure,” which has the surprise side effect of knocking Michael out. She wakes up to find Tilly making friends with the priest’s kid Ravah who is super excited to get to the temple at the high summit, which is actually an 8-century-old Denobulan weather machine. Shhh. There is a traditional “Journey” race with the winner getting the honor to enter the temple and so Michael and Tilly sign up as a way in to search for the clue. Ravah signs up too, but priest dad is suspiciously not into the idea. Tilly encourages them, seeing the same kind of ambition she admires in her cadets. Michael takes a surreptitious sidebar to talk to Rayner and the gang on the Disco. Adira discovered more old (and broken down) weather towers and this last one is about to fritz out too. This fun day trip just turned into one of those “everyone is going to die if we don’t fix it” kind of things.

Why am I getting a sense this is no “fun run.”

“Let’s go meet the gods together”

Meanwhile on Discovery, Culber is still feeling a bit off. He decides to get counseling from a holo grief program based on his own abuela, who was known to dabble in the spiritual. He is looking for answers to what’s been happening to him since he merged with a Trill , but grandmother reminds him she was also a doctor, suggesting he stop trying to examine his soul before examining his body. So he grabs his hubby and they head to sickbay because “nothing is as romantic as a neural scan.” Aww. All Paul can detect is Hugh’s brain is normal, and of course “handsome.” Adorable. Culber was hoping for more, revealing ever since Trill he feels “more connected” to something big, but he just doesn’t know what to do it about. Is someone about to meet a Koala ?

Michael has a curious chat with the cured woman from earlier talking about how she really misses her old friend who won the last big race. Like priest dad, she suggests there are other ways to show devotion besides participating in the Journey ritual. Hmm. The race begins with the sucking of a cube that parches the competitors as they head up a course lined with water bowls, which they can’t drink without being disqualified. After spotting some mutated moss, Michael leaves the race to find the radiation-leaking control panel. Eventually, Tilly and Ravah are the only two left, both tripping big-time with dehydration. The ritual now calls for carrying water bowls, which seems particularly cruel. Ravah drops theirs and Dad is elated, but Tilly steps up and shares her water with her new little protégé, and they continue to the high summit together. Teamwork! They tie up and both get to enter the temple. As Ravah takes in the spiritual moment, Tilly uses her cool new retinal tricorder but isn’t finding any clue. Priest dad shows up looking miserable, telling the winners their sacrifice will bless Helem’No for many seasons. Sacri-whatnow?

Upon reflection, fire was not a good call for the vacuum chamber.

“Beliefs can evolve”

As the walls are about to literally close in on Tilly, Michael gets some tech support from Adira to fix the weather system’s control panel, which is in the middle of the forest for some reason. The ensign is still feeling out of sorts since letting the time spider on board (not their fault) but Rayner rallies them so after some technobabble, the system is fixed. Tilly is now trapped in a vacuum chamber and can’t be beamed out so Michael breaks the Prime Directive and beams into the room right next door where Priest Dad is hanging out. With the air escaping, Ravah is now having second thoughts as Michael goes all in with their father, revealing his whole world is a lie so he should just open the door. Yeah, that didn’t work so Michael makes contact through the impenetrable wall using her subcutaneous communicator and starts humming a song she hears from Ravah that their mother used to sing. That gets Ohvahz’s attention and with “I am not a god but maybe I was sent here by one,” he opens his mind to a new reality… and the door. By this time Ravah has collapsed but Culber’s medical team can now beam in for the save. Heisenberg be praised!

As Culber and his team work everyday miracles, Ohvahz takes in the wonder of a hologram of his planet as he learns aliens called Denobulans saved them centuries ago. Now it’s his job to keep their technology working… no prayer required. Michael plays agnostic on whether this big reveal disproves the divine, leaving him with the thorny issue of getting his society to stop the pointless (yet popular) sacrifices. As Dad and Ravah reunite, Tilly has big news, showing Michael wall markings matching those on that persnickety water vial clue. They are in the wrong tower, but the next map piece and clue is in tower #5. Back on the ship, Book is sulking for not getting picked for the fun away mission, doing what dudes do… playing video games – technically shuttle combat simulation, but it looked just like Asteroids . Culber joins to cheer him up with a snack and to find a new outlet to talk about his burgeoning “spiritual awakening.” The former courier offers solace saying it’s okay for Hugh to have a part of his life he doesn’t share with Paul, while Book inadvertently shares how much he misses what he had with Michael. As the boys share a nice moment, Tilly and Michael have one too as they put the fourth piece of the map in place and ponder the big picture, and how each of the scientists seems to be sending them a message through time, warning of the “massive responsibility” of the Progenitor tech. Before they work all that out, the word comes that Moll and L’ak have been found. Black Alert!

Wait ’till I tell you about Denobulan marriages, it’s going to blow your mind.

Faith of the heart

“Whistlespeak” is a decent mid-season episode that takes a moment to pause and reflect on the season’s themes and impact on the characters. The pacing was slower by design, giving time to take in the location, performances, and character development. And they threw in the world-ending stakes to keep it interesting. Like other season 5 entries, the premise is classic Trek with an actual visit to a strange new world. Exploring a pre-warp society and coming into conflict with the Prime Directive, evokes episodes like “Who Watches the Watchers,” “The Paradise Syndrome,” and many others. You may not even notice it but the facial markings and even Tilly’s hairstyle were added as they beamed down, a subtle 32nd transporter tech upgrade to having the doctor handle alien disguises. It’s always hard to come up with a new culture on Star Trek but keeping it simple worked for “Whistlespeak.” The events on Helem’No were also a bit of a microcosm of the season itself, a race to receive the grace of the gods is not so different than the USS Discovery’s race to find the Progenitor’s tech. Like the Progenitors, the Denobulans played God with this planet but there is a warning about even good intentions can have unintended consequences. Confronting the Prime Directive — one of the core tenets of Federation philosophy — isn’t so different than how the High Priest had to evolve his worldview. The season’s focus on connection was nicely woven throughout the various plots and stories with a strong emphasis on the recurring theme of exploring spirituality without getting too heavy-handed, showing respect, and learning lessons from different points of view, which is all very Star Trek.

This was a great episode for Mary Wiseman as she showed off all the familiar aspects of Tilly from her dry wit to her whip smarts, with the season’s added layer of her growing into a mentor figure, such as how she immediately bonded with Ravah, ably played by guest star June LaPorte. And once again this final season reminds us where it all started, bringing back some of the Michael/Tilly bonding seen in the first couple of seasons, including a bit of running together as they used to do around the USS Discovery. Extended scenes with Wiseman and Sonequa Martin-Green have been missed. But as this was a Tilly-focused episode, the show could have held back some of its tendencies, giving her more of the “aha” moments to move the plot along. Burnham will also be the hero, but share the character wealth. Wilson Cruz also stood out as we explored his character’s spiritual awakening. This storyline has been playing along nicely and seems to be setting something up. Simple things like paying off namedrops of his abuela show how much Discovery has improved on layering in these season-long character arcs.

Tilly is concerned about her listing on ratemyprofessor.com.

Reach for any star

While the intriguing big Breen reveal from the previous episode was set aside for this week, the search for clues structure continues to allow for these nice little episodic adventures. It’s always great to meet a new culture and expand on the canon. Once again the season doesn’t shy away from utilizing franchise lore, in this case bringing in a few bits of Denobulan society through Dr. Kreel. However, after we got to (sort of) meet the first two Progenitor research scientists in episodes 1 and 3, the show is missing an opportunity to continue that by introducing the others. Instead of just talking about Denobulans, it would have been a treat to actually get to see Dr. Kreel (and Dr. Cho in the last episode, too), and that could have also helped sell some of the episode’s themes. On the other hand, it’s always great to get to learn more about the enigmatic Dr. Kovich, with David Cronenberg continuing to intrigue us with more tidbits about his character who has a penchant for old legal pads. This and his “Infinity Room,” all feel like it is leading somewhere and hopefully this series doesn’t wrap up without finally explaining what is his deal.

Of course, the episode also has some of the usual frustrations. Discovery needs to find some more creative ways to explain away when and how and where the 32nd technology doesn’t work. It seems every episode has some weird energy field preventing the transporters from working so that the episode can progress at the desired pace, specifically a walking pace. That being said, the retinal tricorders were a nice new bit of tech, although perhaps not discreet enough if someone checks out what’s happening with one of your eyes. And while it may only be the “Prime Suggestion” to many Trek captains, it still isn’t clear if the season plot “Red Directive” supersedes the Prime Directive, but for obvious reasons, it’s not likely Burnham will face the same kind of tribunal as (formerly) Captain Rayner. The disruption to this society was pretty profound and they probably should have noted that Starfleet would be back to check in to make sure they didn’t just kick off a religious war. By the way, why didn’t the Denobulans ever check in after leaving all their tech running? These quibbles are not episode breakers but are the usual kinds of things that Discovery doesn’t seem interested in tying up, and perhaps they are a bit nitpicky, but that too is a Trek tradition. Finally, this may not be a nitpick, but the crew seems a bit blasé in how they treat the slowly-assembling map, which seems to be left around various parts of the Discovery. Like every hero ship before, the USS Discovery has been boarded by the bad guys on several occasions, so maybe this is setting up for a coming heist.

The most important thing in the Federation makes for a nice conversation piece.

Final thoughts

This (dare I say) “filler” episode was a solid outing that delivered some classic Star Trek to Discovery . With four out of five pieces of the map assembled in six episodes, it feels like we are making progress without getting sidetracked. The pivot in Season 5 continues to be finally finding the sweet spot in episodic adventures, serialized plot, and character development.

Only four more, y’all.

• For the third episode in a row, Doug Jones is not credited. Saru is confirmed to appear in at least the finale episode, so he will be back.
• The actual whistlespeak heard in the episode was performed by professional whistler Molly Lewis .
• Michael studied xenolinguistics on Vulcun under a Dr. T’Prasi.
• Denobulans use silver iodine to make it rain on Denobula, which is used today in cloud seeding .
• The walls of the Denobulan vacuum chamber were made of solid Tritanium , which was commonly used by Starfleet in the 24th century, but perhaps the thickness prevented beaming.
• The (replicated) Culber family Mofongo con pollo al ajillo is a traditional Puerto Rican dish with rice, chicken, and garlic.
• The “sound cure” bowls used by the Hilem’No are like so-called Tibetan “ singing bowls ” which have been used in the modern era for “ music therapy .”
• The sound wave pattern shown during the “sound cure” is a real phenomenon called cymatics .
• The weather control interface was in the Denobulan language , first seen on  Star Trek: Enterprise .
• If Kovich’s 21st century legal pad is made of acid-free paper, then it could indeed survive for centuries .
• Vellek (Romulan)
• Jinaal Bix (Trill)
• Carmen Cho (Terran)
• Hitoroshi Kreel (Denobulan)
• Marina Derex (Betazoid)… obviously named in honor of Marina Sirtis .

Four more?… for you maybe.

More to come

Every Friday, the TrekMovie.com All Access Star Trek Podcast  covers the latest news in the Star Trek Universe and discusses the latest episode. The podcast is available on Apple Podcasts ,  Spotify ,  Pocket Casts ,  Stitcher and is part of the TrekMovie Podcast Network.

The fifth and final season of  Discovery debuted with two episodes on Thursday, April 4 exclusively on Paramount+  in the U.S., the UK, Switzerland, South Korea, Latin America, Germany, France, Italy, Australia, and Austria.  Discovery  will also premiere on April 4 on Paramount+ in Canada and will be broadcast on Bell Media’s CTV Sci-Fi Channel in Canada. The rest of the 10-episode final season will be available to stream weekly on Thursdays. Season 5 debuts on SkyShowtime in select European countries on April 5.

Keep up with news about the  Star Trek Universe at TrekMovie.com .

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It’s a good stand-alone ep. It proves you don’t need bad guys chasing for the same relics. I realized how unnecessary they are.

I echo that sentiment, big-time!

The best Trek is without “bad guys”. Always has been. Too bad modern writers don’t get it. This was a gem of an episode.

Great episode i really enjoyed the slow pacing of it and i always like a episode involving a trip to a pre warp society.

It’s great that they have gotten 4 of the 5 pieces of the puzzle already and not leaving it to the penultimate episode.

I do agree with the review that it would be nice to see the rest of the scientists and i hope when they do find the Progenitor Tech we find get some form of flashback with the scientists finding the tech.

I really like it when NuTrek references Enterprise.

What do you mean, exactly? I didn’t get get it

Possibly he’s referring to the Denobulans.

This is like the trill episode. A lot of other stuff happens with a minimal plot advancement. I’m ok with that, if it’s interesting. If you’re going to recycle and re-use tropes, it needs to be interesting. This was largely, not. I found it more interesting than the Trill episode, and I loved the delivery of the message Burnham gives at the end. That why I found this episode better than that one. But still wasn’t all that great.

I was bored rigid. This is what happens when you take 45 minutes of plot and stretch it out over 10 episodes.

I finally started watching Slow Horses on the weekend – and ended up binging all three seasons this week.

Six 40ish-minute episodes a season, no filler, complex plots and solid characters, writing and acting.

I wish Trek could pull that off.

Great show.

This is my main problem with it, yes. I loved episodes 1 and 2, but from after that it started going downhill for precisely that reason: because there’s not much of a story here. So we get a whole lot of filler scenes, scenes about people being unsure of themselves (this must be the most emotionally fragile crew in the history of Starfleet–it’s getting kind of ridiculous at this point), and minimal plot advancement. Meanwhile, all the focus is on Action Hero Michael every single episode, with Saru, Stamets, the entire bridge crew, and Reno doing almost nothing all season. Tilly has had more to do this season, which is great. But other than Michael, Book, Culber, and Saru, everyone else has done almost nothing since season two. I really wanted to like this season, and when it started I very much did. But it’s going nowhere fast.

You nailed it.

Wow you said everything I been thinking too. The season is feeling more and more flat and the characters outside a few of them just has nothing to do.

Started off great but halfway through now and I’m getting bored again because it doesn’t feel compelling enough.

Yeah, they took what might have been a solid four-hour story and turned it into ten hours, and they gave us two entirely lackluster villains. One thing that has been a big problem on Trek for a while now–on Discovery, as well as on Picard–has been utterly forgettable and boring villains. Not one of them has really stood out to me on either show, other than Lorca.

This has been the problem with almost all of these. I go back to, if you’re going to deviate a bit, it’s ok.. but it better be engaging.. better be interesting. With Star Trek, you really have to make the theme feel original. None of that happens here. I don’t have a problem with what they’re trying to do.. I have a problem with the execution of it. And that’s the same problem with most of Discovery for me.

agree. I wonder what the financial upside would be if they had the courage to write the main story they want to tell and film it. This should be the benefit of the streaming platform model. If it’s 5 episodes, it’s five episodes but – if they are a great five episodes, wouldn’t that be better for the franchise than 10 of mediocre quality?

Pssst… not sure if you are aware of this or not. But that was the whole premise of the show from the start. It was… and is… about Michael. It was never going to be a cast show. It is a show about Michael. And that is why she is predominately the focus in the episodes.

Bit behind on this series and just watched episodes 2 and 3 this evening., but Culber had a big part in episode 3 in my opinion. Also it seems to me that Captain Rayner has a big part. It isn’t just the Kirk, Bone, Spock show to me with Discovery this season.

This sounds lovely and wonderful! I think I’ll finally break down and join Paramount+ instead of waiting for the DVD release! (And I’m a Tilly fan, too :)

My least liked episode of the season. It was a filler episode without any meaningful filler.

Yeah they found the next clue in the end but it went sideways at times with Tilly and Culber having some kind of personal crisis that went nowhere. .In my opinion, it wouldn’t be noticed if this episode were accidentally skipped. It is a standalone episode that stands still.

Maybe this show is better if the seasons are watched in one sitting?

Hopefully the next episode will advance the plot more than this one did.

To my happy surprise, I enjoyed Tilly’s involvement a lot. I don’t always like her. But here, I thought she worked well. The rest of the episode? Pointless.

So Betazed is the location for both a red herring AND a real clue? Moll and L’ak are going to be pissed they missed it. I mean, they had to have missed it or they would have had no motivation whatsoever to return to Lyrek.

I think that’s more because the clues left for the Trill episode pointed toward the Trill and not the Betazed clue though too. Although, yeah I’d be irritated too.

Anyone else find it interesting though that whatever they’re making they are finding the pieces right in the order they appear in the circular puzzle?

Does anybody know why Doug Jones is absent for so much of this season? Was he off making a movie or something? It seems odd that he is not actually in the series that he is one of the main stars of…

This season is peculiar because of the missing regular cast, hard to believe they couldn’t get commitments from the actors unless the show simply couldn’t use them or didn’t want them. I suspect it has something to do with controlling the budget or other contractual issues.

It’s peculiar, I agree. Discovery has become the Michael-Book-Culber show, with most of the characters under-utilized and ignored. That, for me, has been its greatest failing in the past couple seasons, but especially in this one.

Tilly was similarly absent for most of last season. It’s keenly felt because it’s a small cast to begin with. That’s part of my frustration with how they never really promoted any of the bridge crew to be a more impactful and fleshed-out character. There’s been plenty of time to do it.

Doug Jones posted that he was out for most of this season due to Hocus Pocus 2.

Thanks for the information, William. I was going to say it was weird that he chose to be absent from a big chunk of the last season of his show, but then remembered that he did not know it was the last season.

Seems like Hocus Pocus 2 came out waaay before this and that wouldn’t have been filming anywhere close to each other – dates in Wikipedia indicates HP2 was done filming by the time Disco 5 was even ordered

But – time is an illusion. Tea time, doubly so.

This is his Twitter post: https://twitter.com/actordougjones/status/1784136793753042992

He was promoting Hocus Pocus 2 while S5 was being filmed.

That’s not how contracts work, though. If they wanted him for episodes of Trek, he’d have had to skip the press tour. This means they let him out of any contract he had, presumably; which in turn likely means they were find with paying him for fewer episodes.

It was a descent episode. And since you guys were discussing what a ‘filler’ episode is on you and Laurie’s (amazing) podcast, I too wanted to say: this is a classic filler episode. Nothing really happened but it was injoyable on its own. Funny enough, I give this one an enjoyable 7, where last week was a frustrating 7.

Some of the repeating things are getting annoying:

• Michael headlining EVERY episode.
• Transporters not working.
• Talking about characters but not showing them (at least here it was an unknown).

I still don’t understand what they’re trying to do with Culber and his so-called spiritual awakening. Like you said, it must be going somewheren, because, what else is the point. I’m juist not seeing (or getting) it yet.

I’m shocked you didn’t mention the perfectly machine-made wooden water bowls by the way. That one bugged me, for such a primitive people.

And I cringed at the Marina tribute, because it was just too on the nose as a literal first name of a person.

By the way, regarding Kovich: there might be a chance he’s from the department of temporal whatsit. Although not the same suit as temporal agents on SNW season 2, it is about the same color.

Yeah, I’ve always assumed Kovich could time-travel, so that’s how he gets the paper.

Correction: The episode happened in and around tower #3, the clue was in tower #5

I only mention that because I read somewhere how nitpicking is part of Trek … :)

I guess the fact that the winner of the race was sacrificed was supposed to be a surprise? When the priest tried to talk his child out of it, and the person Burnham saved talked about how the friend who’d won the race she ran when she was young was dead, I was sure that the winner would be sacrificed. If it was obvious to ME, how did Burnham and Tilly miss it?

I know Burnham decided to break the Prime Directive for what she thought was a good reason, but I’m amazed that she decided to show the priest his planet from space. Wait, once it’s broken, you can go whole hog? There’s no attempt to maybe limit the damage?

I’m an atheist because of Occam’s Razor, and I’m always uncomfortable when Star Trek tries to get spiritual. I grew up on Kirk’s unmasking false gods and tearing down computers who pretend to be gods, so NuTrek’s careful tiptoeing around gods always makes me long for a little Jim Kirk. Apollo’s just an alien with an extra organ in his chest, damn it! :-)

I didn’t even like it when DS9 turned the franchise more toward a distinctly non-Roddenberrian spirituality, much less when Discovery does it. That said, I enjoyed this episode.

The extended impact of Culber’s experience on Trill could have played out in a very cliche way, so at least this is different. I suspect his “new outlook” will have a place in the resolution of the Progenitor tech. It’s also sort of retcon of his rebirth, which never really was “used” properly. So far, I am liking this… and I definitely come to Trek to should down alien gods!

Mankind has no need for gods we find the one quite adequate Captain Kirk

McCOY: We were speculating …’Is God really out there?’ KIRK: Maybe He’s not out there, Bones. Maybe He’s right here …in the human heart. …Spock?

Kirk or Sisko wouldn’t have asked the dad to open the door. They would have blasted it with their phaser.

Could Kovich be a Supervisor ala Gary Seven and Tallinn?

I was wondering – or a Q?

I think he’s a time agent. His suit is different than the time agent in SNW but basically the same dark grey.

Two ‘meh’ ones in a row. Who Watches the Watchers this is NOT!

Sure, It’s great to see a pre-warp prime directive story again and I liked that Burnham revealed herself in the end to save Tilly and the girl. That’s always a Trek trope and I’m trying to think of any episode where they managed to stay completely hidden the whole time. Anyone have any examples?

But this episode just really lacked for me. Not awful just not very interesting either. It tried but just felt pretty flat overall.

As for finding pieces of the progenitor tech, it’s become pretty formulaic now and very little of a challenge. The clues are all easily found and it’s literally like putting together a Jinga puzzle. It just feels too easy. And Moll and Lak doesn’t feel threatening at all. They are just there so they can have some conflict in the story but it also feels so meh, similar to the Book and Tarka’s ‘chase’ last season.

I know they are trying and want to give us this grand adventure story but it’s still Discovery falling back to the same issues again and again. And this show keeps stretching five minutes of plot into an hour story. I wish I could care more about Culber’s ‘spiritual journey’ but yeah I just don’t.

Anyway four more episodes. Trying to stay positive but sadly I think I’m just back for the show to end. Hopefully things will finally start to ramp up and the Breen becomes a bigger part of the story.

Some great acting and character moments happened throughout this episode. But I was amused that violating the Prime Directive is just a matter of paperwork now.

I also always wonder how Michael and Tilly communicated with the people on the planet. Of course they had their universal translators and could understand them, but the people they were talking to didn’t have them.

I was surprised by the Prime Directive being paperwork too, especially after Rayner seemed to lose his command over what they were considering a Prime Directive issue.

yeah, the prime directive stuff is eye rollingly bad. It’s really there for the exact reasons they violate it in this episode. It’s stupid.

That has always been a problem with the universal translator on Trek. The concept works fine over a comms channel. But as soon as people are in direct communication the concept (as presented on all the shows) kind of falls apart, especially if only one side of the conversation even has such a technology.

I am thoroughly enjoying this season of Disco. Possibly because I am not hunting for anything and everything to criticize. Among other things, I think it is nicely balancing the slower pace of a serialized format while also having more episodic stories. It reminds me a lot of DS9 in this regard without having as many episodes per season to work with.

I am also interested in how well they will explore the topic of spirituality, another commonality with DS9. Although in the end I don’t think DS9 quite succeeded in this because the viewers could just dismiss Bajoran Faith as ignorance of the “true” nature of “The Prophets” as “wormhole aliens.”

Looking forward to see how it all turns out, though I wish this were not the final season as the series really seems to have hit its stride. But all good things…

I thought it was “ok.” Definitely tried to be a more traditional Star Trek episode, but I often feel when Discovery, and to a lesser degree Strange New Worlds, tries to do traditional Trek it just feels shallow. Like they are following a recipe to the letter but not adding any of the zest that really makes it stand out. I was also confused why they made such a big deal of the “whistle speak,” and then have it play almost zero role in the plot. Finally, it was really convenient that Michael and Tilly just happened to arrive at the exact perfect time to join the race to enter the temple. I wish I could master the art of perfect timing so well :-)

I though it was pretty clear that the young woman wanted to become and adult and requested the race because she thought she could beat “foreigners” in the race.

But I also thought it was going to become a battle to the death. They never went that far – only starving their competitors!

Ah, could be. I plan to watch it a second time and will look for that… thanks!

Making the race a battle to the death doesn’t really make sense because the winner of the race was actually going to be sacrificed.

I would like some Saru, Owosekun and Detmer now please.

The music in this episode was outstanding.

Is it now a Star Trek trope to show a member of a pre-warp society a view of their planet from space?

Whistlespeak is about caretaking.

Did this week’s episode begin a deeper, exploration of what this all could really mean? Power? Responsibility? Her trepidation is a nice way to end the episode.

I’m in love with the whole idea of sound as language. I wanted SNW’s musical episode to be totally like what we see in this episode – so it was a nice kick for me to get a taste .

That Denobulan’s name Hitoroshi Kreel….Hoshi Sato. Why do I feel like that might be another Enterprise reference?

47 comments so far. Discovery is quite the barn-burner! ; )

Maybe people are just annoyed by all the whining that people post in here.

People keep saying this and yet so far this has been generally a very positive season so what are we missing??

Even this episode, while more divided there are just as many people who liked it as many who didn’t (and unfortunately I am in the latter personally). Actually I would probably say more liked it than didn’t.

This idea that its been nothing but constant hate this season is not remotely any basis in reality. Most people seems to be more positive than negative over it. The real possibility seems to be many have just stopped caring in general as there is a lack of discussions everywhere online besides here and probably why the lack of postings this season.

I’m not sure what you’re reading, but it’s been nothing but negative comments from season one. People are sick and tired of the same comments over and over again. I know many people have stopped commenting due to this. But would be interesting to see what the site traffic numbers are and to see if the site traffic is gone down or just the comment section. It’s honestly the same people saying the same thing over and over and over… Yawn.

The real strength of this season so far is that they have not teased something they cannot deliver. I have really enjoyed each episode without worrying that the characters were going to do something stupid just for the sake of stuffing the plot with action. Seems pretty sad that they are largely “getting it right” and no one wants to celebrate that.

I literally counted the number of positive vs negative posts in the episode 4 thread when someone suggested this and it was 24 positive posts about an episode vs 3 negative ones.

Go back to the first two episodes of the season. Again it was overwhelmingly positive. Nearly everyone liked those. The outliers were the people who didn’t.

I just counted the number of people who were positive about this episode vs the people who weren’t. And I only counted the ones who directly said they liked or hated it.

The people who said they liked it are 13 people. Now some some of those were mixed feelings for sure but if they said they ultimately liked it then it counts. But half of those considered it outstanding. As for the ones, like me, who didn’t like it are 7 people. So again that’s more people here saying they liked it than didn’t correct? So what am I missing?

Every episode this season there has been way more positive posts than negative overall. Yes I get your bigger point people have been putting down the show since the first season which is definitely true lol but it didn’t stop people from talking about the show in droves for YEARS. And your argument doesn’t hold water this season because most people who are commenting seems to LIKE it, right? The minority comments so far are the people who still thinks the show sucks.

And even the people who don’t they are just giving their opinions about it and not attacking or challenging anyone who DID like it. That’s actually one thing I have been noticing about this season and there isn’t a lot of infighting about the show. Again look at this thread, besides me and you lol, who is arguing about it? There is no big debates or people being triggered. The people who said they liked it aren’t being challenged over it no more than the people who said they hated it.

Isn’t this is what we want on a message board? People being civil and not attacking others? And one such troll was finally banned here a month ago who IRONICALLY kept attacking anyone who was being negative about the show and turning everything into a ridiculous fight in every thread; so that probably has helped the civility here a great deal now he’s gone regardless of your personal thoughts about the show.

So I don’t remotely buy this argument. The reality seems to be a lot of people have just moved on from the show in general. When you look at the level of discussion about the show in its first three seasons vs the last two the gap is very obvious.

Again maybe many people are still watching the show. Unfortunately we don’t have any data on that. But we know how this works when people are passionate for a show on the Internet it’s very very easy to see everywhere.

Picard season 3 is the perfect example. I went and checked how many posts its episode 6 got here (since this episode 6 of this season) and it was 450 posts and that was just a year ago. And people slammed season 2 like no one’s business lol.

I don’t think this season has even gotten that many posts if you combined all the episodes.

I’ve also said this before as well and the show had been off the air for two years now. Yes we’re used to seasons having longer gaps these days but that’s still very long even for today and a lot of people could’ve just moved on or lost interest.

“Again maybe many people are still watching the show. Unfortunately we don’t have any data on that.”

Actually I have to correct myself on that because I forgot Paramount+ is part of the Nielsen ratings for streaming. But I have no idea exactly how in-depth they make it publicly. I only know how well a show is doing here when this site reports it.

And maybe Discovery will enter the top 10 this season. Now let me make this very very very clear, even if it doesn’t it doesn’t mean the show is failing in terms of views obviously. When there are 200 streaming shows these days and many on much bigger sites to boot it’s a miracle for any Trek show to be in the top 10 lol. And those listings are very skewed in my opinion since the only ‘top 10’ list we ever see are original shows. So while I’m happy to see Trek on any top 10 lists it still doesn’t tell us the whole picture just much these shows are truly being viewed.

And Paramount+ still avoids releasing any numbers independently unless a show is huge like some of the Yellowstone spin offs.

“Every episode this season there has been way more positive posts than negative overall.”

Hmm, maybe that’s the real problem and it’s all the negative and bitter haters that just finally left haha.

But don’t worry I still show up as much as possible! 😁

I’m teasing I’m actually enjoying the season for the most part but agree I think most people just lost interest. Obviously the people who always loved it are probably still devotely watching but it is probably the fence sitters and the people who always hated it who ultimately moved on which would make sense.

And I have seen people say they just have no interest to watch the show week to week anymore after being burned every season and just plan to binge it when this season was over. I even remember reading you were thinking of doing that so that could be another issue.

“Isn’t this is what we want on a message board? People being civil and not attacking others? And one such troll was finally banned here a month ago who IRONICALLY kept attacking anyone who was being negative about the show and turning everything into a ridiculous fight in every thread; so that probably has helped the civility here a great deal now he’s gone regardless of your personal thoughts about the show.”

This is really is the biggest irony out of all of this. A lot of these comments section does get inflated when you had people like that guy being triggered all the time, making the same 20 posts a day over anything he didn’t like (how many times did he utter the phrase ‘ROTJ’ in every Picard post 🙄) and literally went on constant tangents how people here were just coming here to drown the boards in hatefests?

Instead that lunatic was removed and ironically this place has been the most relaxing in years lol. The very fact as you pointed out no one is spending time arguing with others over their opinions is another reason there are fewer posts because no one cares anymore lol.

I think everyone just resigned to the fact the show is now done and everyone’s views are baked in so what’s the point arguing over it anymore?

And when you remove the disruptive people who wants to act like insullen babies like that guy and Alpha Predator, REGARDLESS how they feel about a show, good or bad, surprise surprise you get a more civil and balanced discussion and board now.

Yeah … shocking! 😉

Good for you. You counted the comments the last couple of episodes. What about all the past seasons? Have you gone back and counted all that? People just don’t want to bother with all that negativity. It’s like the movie BEYOND, a far better movie than INTO DARKNESS. But less people went to see because they felt it would be bad like ID. Same thing here. Because of all the negativity last season in the posts, less people are reading and posting comments. Like I said, would be interesting to see if the traffic on this website reflects the comments. My guess, the same amount are hitting the page but less commenting. And the ones that are commenting, are the same usual suspects. People can’t be bothered reading the toxic comments spewed towards the actors, the writers and the producers. Same old blah blah from the same old people. Yawn.

I’m going to say it again.

A. This is NOT the only place that has less discussions. I keep saying this and it keeps getting ignored lol. This is across the board. A great example is Reddit. It’s easily the biggest Trek board. Until this season most Discovery threads had 600+ posts when an episode review was posted. Now most of them are under 500 which is not horrible but it already tells you a huge gap Discovery has when you compare it to the bigger shows like Picard and SNW which easily goes into the thousands. It’s the same with TrekCre, Trek BBS, etc. The show has less people talking about it these days.

B. Your logic doesn’t make sense because if the more negative posts drove away the more positive posts then why are there still more positive posts?? And literally on every review thread. How do you derive at that conclusion if more people are actually saying nice things about it? Wouldn’t it be the opposite then? Or at least a bigger subset of those posts? Help me out here?

C. I have been saying these boards have been negative since 2009. You just made the point for me with STID. That time was brutal lol. Way worse IMO because there were so many more people at the time.

People go on and on about how much hate Discovery gets here but very few threads ever went into the THOUSANDS of people fighting over it like what happened with STID… for years after it came out.

But you’re also right yes less people discussed Beyond when that came around but I don’t think you can blame that all on STID either. I think people grew tired of those movies in general and Beyond just didn’t grab people on its own (and had a HORRIBLE marketing campaign), hence a big reason why it bombed. I don’t think you can blame this board for that lol. In fact I think less postings was simply an reflection that less people had interest in the movie in general and its box office indicated that.

I’m saying the same thing has happened with Discovery. It’s not just ONE thing. I do agree that the negativity has maybe driven some people away. I also think the show itself has driven people away too for those people really unhappy with the last few seasons. It CAN be both right? Just like what happened with the Kelvin movies.

D. How is it any different than all the derision Picard got in it’s first two seasons? And yet season 3 had the highest number of people posting probably simce STID. And most people seem to think season 2 wasn’t just the worst season of that show or even NuTrek but one of the worst Trek seasons ever.

It didn’t stop anyone talking up season 3 to death and not everyone loved that season either.

Amazing episode again. This season the show is just knocking it outta the park! Wish it wasn’t the last season.

Admittedly this is kind of a paint-by-numbers Star Trek episode, but I enjoyed it quite a bit if largely for Tilly’s charisma. I do find the ongoing Culber existential crisis a little off balance, feels like we’ve already been here before with him after a far more significant event. But I do like aspects of his crisis, especially the tug between the scientific and the spiritual and how that’s expressed in his conversation with the analytical (yet caring) Stamets. Like much of Discovery’s writing, the story does take some logic shortcuts that I find distractingly convenient, but at least it fills in most of the gaps. On a side note, although I have a very high end sound system that sounds phenomenal with most streaming content, Discovery has uniquely terrible onset audio, it’s been a constant problem for the show (and seemingly all Toronto-based productions), but this season is by far the worst. It’s making it really hard to understand every word being spoken, I’m constantly rewinding to listen again and I just straight-up miss things all the time because the voices are often garbled.

While I certainly did not dislike this episode, I still found its resolution to be kinda lacking. It left me wondering whether they couldn’t have found a way to bend the Prime Directive instead of outright breaking it (even though, arguably the DISCO-crew weren’t the first to do so but rather the Denobulan scientist who installed those weather towers in the first place). It seemed like they just took the easiest possible route there… Also: Why was the episode even called “Whistlespeak”? Was there any sense in introducing that culture’s whistle language at all? I was honestly flabbergasted that there was no mention of such means of communication actually existing on Earth (on the Canary Island of La Gomera) and it existing on that planet could’ve been a nice setup for another linguistics-centered episode (not necessarily another “Darmok”, but maybe something akin to SNW’s “Children of the Comet” – you know like, a linguistic problem interwoven with a bunch of other problems). However, upon closer inspection, the whole introduction of that concept just went absolutely nowhere. A bit of a pity if you ask me.

Loved this episode. Very smart writing and continued with a great pacing. It had quite the TNG feel to it as well as feeling like a really Star Trek-y episode.

Really loving this season. The writing has been very solid as has been the acting.

For how much I dislike this season, I must admit this was actually a good episode to watch. As usual too many shared emotions, but the plot and the story was enjoyable for once.

I know I have mentioned this before but the dearth of posts this season is really surprising.. It’s the middle episode of the final season and its barely gotten 60 posts so far after a day. And again this is not TM alone. The show has lacked discussion everywhere and nowhere close to the kinds of discussions SNW season 2 and especially Picard season 3 got.

Maybe its getting more viewings than the discussions themselves are suggesting but if not it’s probably was a good idea to end the show after this season. I think a large part of the fanbase have simply moved on.

Yeah, I was curious about this and went back to check. Each recap/review article for SNW and Picard got hundreds of comments.

Yeah! And to be more fair I went and checked how many views those shows previous seasons got in the seasons run to correlate with the current episode of this season and for episode 6 Picard season 3 had 450 posts (which is pretty insane lol). For SNW season 2 it had around 240 posts which to be fair is the more common number for most live action shows.

Picard was more of an outlier for the obvious reasons. But then again it’s also PROOF when people are excited or passionate about a show or season you see it reflected.

It’s not nearly the same for this season. Many seem to like it overall and I include myself in that even if I’m starting to feel more mixed about it, but no one is really jumping up and down about it either.

Also, I wonder if Culber’s holo-Grandma is going to be the medical-holo on Academy. This seems like a perfect set up.

'Tracker's Justin Hartley Will Reunite With His 'This Is Us' Co-Star Jennifer Morrison [Exclusive]

And we'll get to see her this season!

The Big Picture

• Get ready for a thrilling reunion as Jennifer Morrison joins Justin Hartley in the season finale of Tracker !
• Fans of This Is Us will love seeing Hartley and Morrison together again, bringing their chemistry to a new show.
• Morrison's role as an old family friend of Colter Shaw promises to add depth and star power to the season finale.

In the world of television, few things are as thrilling as witnessing the reunion of beloved actors from past successful shows. Fans of This Is Us are in for a treat, as Justin Hartley and Jennifer Morrison are set to reunite in the upcoming season finale of Tracker . Hartley, who has stepped into the role of both lead actor and executive producer for Tracker , recently shared exciting details about Morrison's involvement in the series while chatting with Collider's Christina Radish . Morrison is the latest big name to join the series after the addition of Jensen Ackles earlier this week.

Hartley teased her appearance, saying:

“ I’ll give you a little tidbit, in the finale, we have Jennifer Morrison coming on to play a key role. I haven’t worked with her since This Is Us , and she comes on as an old family friend of Colter’s, from way back when they were kids. And so, that whole family dynamic leaks out a little bit through her experience with him in the finale. So, there’s that. I probably wasn’t supposed to tell you that, but it’s all good."

Who Did Justin Hartley and Jennifer Morrison Play on 'This is Us'?

The reunion collaboration is particularly significant, given the duo's history on This Is Us , where their chemistry and screen presence together left a lasting impact on fans. Morrison joined the cast of This Is Us in its fourth season , playing Cassidy Sharp, a military veteran whose life becomes intertwined with Hartley's character, Kevin Pearson. Their dynamic was a highlight of the series , and ended up becoming one of the most popular and beloved narrative arcs on the series.

Now, as Morrison steps into Tracker to play a figure from Colter Shaw’s childhood, expectations are high about the layers she will add to her character and the backstory she will bring to life. The inclusion of Morrison not only serves as a nice nod and Easter Egg to This Is Us enthusiasts but also adds more depth, and star power, to the world of Tracker , promising to deepen the understanding of Hartley's character through shared history and perhaps unresolved tensions.

The finale of Tracker is poised to be a gripping one, with old memories surfacing and past relationships influencing the present. Already a massive success for CBS, a big build-up and star-studded series finale should ensure that one of the year's hottest shows goes out with a bang ahead of an already-eagerly anticipated second season, already announced by CBS .

Stay tuned to Collider for more on Tracker .

Colter Shaw travels the country in his old-school RV to help police and private citizens solve crimes and locate missing persons until his latest case changes everything.

Watch on Paramount+

May the Fourth be with you: As National Star…

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May the fourth be with you: as national star wars day approaches, see how movies’ legacy lives on.

Saturday, May 4, is National Star Wars Day . It’s about as official as an unofficial holiday can be.

Once just a silly little pun, the wordplay on the most famous phrase in the “Star Wars” universe has, in recent years, become recognized by city and state governments throughout the United States.

“Star Wars” itself has morphed and evolved in the 47 years since George Lucas first brought his vision for a space opera to the silver screen. Heavily influenced by Flash Gordon, the films of Kurosawa and John Ford’s Westerns, modern filmmakers now use “Star Wars” as their reference material.

Not bad for a film that even its creator feared would be a flop. The first film, later retitled “Star Wars: A New Hope,” was a mere 121 minutes, two hours of intergalactic fun. This week, counting the series finale of “Star Wars: Bad Batch,” Disney+ boasts 14-thousand minutes of “Star Wars” content. That adds up to nearly 10 full days of continuous viewing to get through the 234 hours of adventures, not counting the controversial “ Star Wars Holiday Special .”

Add to that nearly 400 books and story collections that expand the worlds of “Star Wars.”

Where it started

“Star Wars” debuted in theaters on May 25, 1977. After the success of “Jaws” two years earlier, movies expected to do well were released wide, in between five and 700 theaters. “Star Wars” opened in 43 . In fact, most theaters took it as a package deal, the mediocre film they had to run to get the big hits from Twentieth Century Fox.

That led to the now-famous images of people lined up around the block, waiting for hours to see the film. Some, including a truck driver named James Cameron, came out and immediately got in line to see it again. Despite the crowds, it still took a minute to catch on. The most famous theater at the time, Mann’s Chinese on Hollywood Boulevard, only had “Star Wars” because William Friedken’s “Sorcerer” was delayed.

Famously, George Lucas so expected the film to flop, especially after being dragged over the coals by his film school buddies at a private screening, he went on vacation in Hawaii with Stephen Spielberg, where the seeds were planted that would become “ Raiders of the Lost Ark .”

In the heat of summer, “Star Wars” was playing on more than 1000 screens — and stayed in theaters for more than a year. It was re-released with minor changes (like the title change) four times — 1978, 1979, 1981 and 1982. In 1997, Lucas released the much-maligned Special Edition trilogy in theaters.

All told, the original film grossed $460 million. That sounds pretty tame by today’s box office standards, but adjusted for inflation, it’s more than $1.9 billion in 2024 dollars . Taking into account its inflation-adjusted budget and box office gross. That adds up to about a 2,396% profit.

The prequel generation

In 1999, “Star Wars: The Phantom Menace” made the term “prequel” a household word. Going back to his notes from his original idea, “The Adventures of Luke Starkiller,” as taken from the “Journal of the Whills, Saga I: The Star Wars,” Lucas decided to tell the origin story of his most famous villain: Darth Vader.

The movie grossed more than $474 million, but received a Rotten Tomatoes critical score of only 52%. Fans weren’t thrilled with the 9-year-old protagonist, the 5-year age disparity between him and his future wife, and the mish-mash of politics and government machinations. While most liked the addition of Qui-Gon Jin, Darth Maul and various members of the Jedi council, they hated Jar Jar Binks and his Gungan compatriots. The highest praise was reserved for Ewan McGregor playing a pitch-perfect younger iteration of Obi Wan Kenobi.

The film’s success was largely attributed to nostalgia and a desire to return to “A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away,” even if it didn’t quite match up with the expectations of its now more-mature audience.

Regardless, the success allowed Lucas to finish out the prequel trilogy. Maybe the movies didn’t connect as strongly with original fans, it definitely became the touchstone for their kids. “Attack of the Clones” and “Revenge of the Sith” brought a new generation to join forces with the old, and together drove “Star Wars” to even higher heights.

Part of the new, younger world was more detailed, and canonized animation. Fans got to dig deeper into the Clone Wars, thanks to a film and two animated series. The longer form “Star Wars: The Clone Wars” animated series would usher writer-director Dave Filoni formally into the “Star Wars” creator sphere — something that would pay off in spades in the decades to come.

The Disney-fication of it all

In October 2012, George Lucas sold Lucasfilm to The Walt Disney Co. for just over $4 billion. The House of Mouse had been partnering with Lucasfilm all the way back in 1989 when Star Wars-MGM Studios was launched as the newest theme park in the Disney World Orlando complex. But this was something new. Not just props, merchandise, and Star Tours rides. Disney was going to complete the vision Lucas had for a final trilogy — or so they said.

In 2015, self-proclaimed “Star Wars” fanboy JJ Abrams, known for “Alias,” “Super 8,” and launching the Star Trek Kelvin timeline, brought us “Star Wars: The Force Awakens.” The film was a huge success; the first “Star Wars” film to nearly crack $1 billion at the box office. For better or worse, it did not follow the outlines Lucas sold to Disney for the last third of his ennealogy.

There were criticisms of the film, largely that the story in many ways too closely reflected the very first movie. Too much fan service, some said; others complained there wasn’t enough — and why did they make a woman and a disgraced Stormtrooper the main characters? Still, most were happy to see Han and Chewie and Leia again, were curious about the new Supreme Leader and a few new additions to the mythology.

The films that followed did not go as well. While “Rogue One” is often considered the best of the Disney era films, it’s also the least “Star Wars”-like in many ways. Set before the events of the original trilogy — it literally ends as Vader strides into his first scene of “A New Hope” — it focused on the grittier, war aspects of the galactic conflict that was about to erupt.

How it’s going

Abrams handed off the film reins to Rian Johnson. Having established himself with Looper and Brick, fans should have expected some subversion of expectations. “Star Wars: The Last Jedi” is the most polarizing of all the “Star Wars” filmed properties. Either you love it or hate it.

“Last Jedi” was quickly followed by another look into “Star Wars” past — the origins of everyone’s favorite scruffy nerf herder, Han Solo. Cowritten by Lawrence Kasden, who penned “Empire” and “Jedi,” and switching out directors mid-stream, Solo is a bit unbalanced, answering questions no one was asking, while trying to tie together disparate pieces of the “Star Wars” universe. It’s the lowest-grossing “Star Wars” film — by a long shot.

That didn’t bode well for the final movie at the time. Trying to redeem or explain the events of “Last Jedi” and cater to the nostalgia of fans, “The Rise of Skywalker” managed to bobble both. It’s not a horrible film, it just struggles to find itself and pales in comparison to what came before. It did worse at the box office and with critics than any other Skywalker-centric film. Even bringing back the Emperor couldn’t help.

As Disney-Lucasfilm canceled several previously-announced projects, “Star Wars” seemed bound for the scrap heap of fond memories, tainted by overstaying its welcome.

The rise of Disney+

That’s when Dave Filoni stepped back in. Soon to be crowned the chief creative officer of Lucasfilm, Filoni, with the help of “Iron Man” and “Lion King” director Jon Favreau, made the transition from award-winning animated “Star Wars” shows to award-winning, live-action “Star Wars” shows.

Disney+, the entertainment giant’s new streamer needed a flagship show. Filoni and Favreau put their heads together and we got “The Mandalorian.” Set in the years immediately after “Star Wars: Return of the Jedi,” the show managed to capture the gold standard set by the original trilogy, while at the same time successfully connecting pieces and parts of the “Star Wars” universe in a way the other Disney films failed to do.

It also introduced easily the most popular character in the “Star Wars” universe, at least according to search engine stats compiled by 1337 Games — everyone fell in love with Baby Yoda, aka Grogu.

“The Mandalorian,” “Book of Boba Fett,” “Ahsoka,” “Andor” and “Obi-Wan” not only launched Disney+ to Netflix-level streaming domination, they resurrected the “Star Wars” brand. Sure, there have been some hiccups, but for the most part, it’s the most successful “Star Wars” storytelling since the heyday of the original trilogy.

Later this year, we’ll see “Star Wars: Skeleton Crew” and The Acolyte on Disney+. Shortly thereafter, The Mandalorian and Grogu returns the franchise to the big screen. The second (and final?) seasons of both “Andor” and “Ahsoka” should arrive in 2025 as well. And, Rey Skywalker is making her way back too.

Until then, novels, comics, video games, Disney Park’s Star Wars Galaxy’s Edge, celebrations and anniversaries will keep fans invested in the Galaxy Far Far Away. “Star Wars: The Phantom Menace” returns to theaters this weekend for its 25th anniversary. Tickets for Star Wars Celebration Japan , happening in the land of the rising sun in April 2025, went on sale yesterday.

“Star Wars” is here to stay, so May the Fourth, er, Force be with you.

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