star trek beyond tv series

Log in or sign up for Rotten Tomatoes

Trouble logging in?

By continuing, you agree to the Privacy Policy and the Terms and Policies , and to receive email from the Fandango Media Brands .

By creating an account, you agree to the Privacy Policy and the Terms and Policies , and to receive email from Rotten Tomatoes and to receive email from the Fandango Media Brands .

By creating an account, you agree to the Privacy Policy and the Terms and Policies , and to receive email from Rotten Tomatoes.

Email not verified

Let's keep in touch.

Sign up for the Rotten Tomatoes newsletter to get weekly updates on:

Upcoming Movies and TV shows
Trivia & Rotten Tomatoes Podcast
Media News + More

By clicking "Sign Me Up," you are agreeing to receive occasional emails and communications from Fandango Media (Fandango, Vudu, and Rotten Tomatoes) and consenting to Fandango's Privacy Policy and Terms and Policies . Please allow 10 business days for your account to reflect your preferences.

OK, got it!

Movies / TV

No results found.

What's the Tomatometer®?
Login/signup

Movies in theaters

Opening this week
Top box office
Coming soon to theaters
Certified fresh movies

Movies at home

Netflix streaming
Prime Video
Most popular streaming movies
What to Watch New

Certified fresh picks

Monkey Man Link to Monkey Man
The First Omen Link to The First Omen
The Beast Link to The Beast

New TV Tonight

Chucky: Season 3
Mr Bates vs The Post Office: Season 1
Fallout: Season 1
Franklin: Season 1
Dora: Season 1
Good Times: Season 1
Beacon 23: Season 2

Star Trek Beyond

2016, Sci-fi/Adventure, 2h 2m

What to know

Critics Consensus

Star Trek Beyond continues the franchise's post-reboot hot streak with an epic sci-fi adventure that honors the series' sci-fi roots without skimping on the blockbuster action. Read critic reviews

Where to watch star trek beyond.

Watch Star Trek Beyond with a subscription on Apple TV+, Paramount+, rent on Vudu, Prime Video, Apple TV, or buy on Vudu, Prime Video, Apple TV.

Rate And Review

Super Reviewer

Rate this movie

Oof, that was Rotten.

Meh, it passed the time.

It’s good – I’d recommend it.

So Fresh: Absolute Must See!

What did you think of the movie? (optional)

You're almost there! Just confirm how you got your ticket.

Step 2 of 2

How did you buy your ticket?

Let's get your review verified..

AMCTheatres.com or AMC App New

Cinemark Coming Soon

We won’t be able to verify your ticket today, but it’s great to know for the future.

Regal Coming Soon

Theater box office or somewhere else

By opting to have your ticket verified for this movie, you are allowing us to check the email address associated with your Rotten Tomatoes account against an email address associated with a Fandango ticket purchase for the same movie.

You're almost there! Just confirm how you got your ticket.

Star trek beyond videos, star trek beyond photos.

A surprise attack in outer space forces the Enterprise to crash-land on a mysterious world. The assault came from Krall (Idris Elba), a lizard-like dictator who derives his energy by sucking the life out of his victims. Krall needs an ancient and valuable artifact that's aboard the badly damaged starship. Left stranded in a rugged wilderness, Kirk (Chris Pine), Spock (Zachary Quinto) and the rest of the crew must now battle a deadly alien race while trying to find a way off their hostile planet.

Rating: PG-13 (Violence|Sequences of Sci-Fi Action)

Genre: Sci-fi, Adventure, Action, Fantasy

Original Language: English

Director: Justin Lin

Producer: J.J. Abrams , Bryan Burk , Roberto Orci

Writer: Simon Pegg , Doug Jung

Release Date (Theaters): Jul 22, 2016 wide

Release Date (Streaming): Oct 4, 2016

Box Office (Gross USA): $158.8M

Runtime: 2h 2m

Distributor: Paramount Pictures

Production Co: Perfect Storm Entertainment, Skydance Productions, Sneaky Shark, Bad Robot, K/O Paper Products

Sound Mix: Dolby Atmos

Aspect Ratio: Scope (2.35:1)

View the collection: Star Trek

Cast & Crew

Captain James T. Kirk

Zachary Quinto

Commander Spock

Doctor "Bones" McCoy

Zoe Saldana

Lieutenant Uhura

Montgomery "Scotty" Scott

Anton Yelchin

Sofia Boutella

Lydia Wilson

Shohreh Aghdashloo

Commodore Paris

Screenwriter

Jeffrey Chernov

Executive Producer

David Ellison

Dana Goldberg

Tommy Harper

Lindsey Weber

J.J. Abrams

Roberto Orci

Stephen F. Windon

Cinematographer

Greg D'Auria

Film Editing

Dylan Highsmith

Kelly Matsumoto

Steven Sprung

Michael Giacchino

Original Music

Thomas E. Sanders

Production Design

Sanja Milkovic Hays

Costume Design

Miranda Davidson

News & Interviews for Star Trek Beyond

87 Fearless Women Movie Heroes Who Inspire Us

Your Epic Movie Franchise Binge Guide: The Best Way to Watch the Biggest Series

Rank Anton Yelchin’s 10 Best Movies

Critic Reviews for Star Trek Beyond

Audience reviews for star trek beyond.

Nice self-contained Star Trek episode, with a nice space station gravity skit, but otherwise not particularly profound in any way.

too long, too confusing, too unbelievable... but a fun ride nonetheless

I think this was the 3rd movie that the Star Trek reboot really needed. The 1st was riddled with time travel sci fi shenanigans while the 2nd was overwrought with exposition but this? This was a solid, good ol' action adventure that followed a tried and true formula. Which begs the question, what will be next? A repeat of this and the franchise may be branded as lazy, or not "Star Trek" enough. I just hope these films don't deteriorate into another overloaded Hollywood Sci Fi action-adventure. There's a balance of sophistication and fun still to be found on this "final frontier"

Definitely makes up for the mediocrity of Star Trek Beyond.

Movie & TV guides

Play Daily Tomato Movie Trivia

Discover What to Watch

Rotten Tomatoes Podcasts

Full Cast of Star Trek Beyond - Every Actor & Character In the Movie

With the future of Star Tr e k ’s Kelvin Timeline reboot movies in a seemingly-continuous limbo, here’s a list of every character who appeared in the most recent entry from 2016: Star Trek Beyond .

Around the early-to-mid 2000s, the Star Trek franchise was stagnating. Following Enterprise ’s cancellation and the box-office bombing of Paramount’s then-newest Trek film, Star Trek: Nemesis , the studio decided it was time for a change.

A reboot was conceived under the leadership of J.J. Abrams who went on to direct two movies, 2009’s Star Trek and its 2013 sequel, Star Trek Into Darkness .

The third entry into this rebooted series, Star Trek Beyond , opened on July 22, 2016, to less-than-stellar financial results.

Every Character & Actor in Star Trek Beyond

Many fans argue that Star Trek Beyond is the strongest movie in the Kelvin Trilogy. It featured a quick-moving narrative, solid character beats, and even a Beastie Boys song or two.

Here are all the characters that had a part to play in the threequel and their corresponding actor.

Chris Pine - Captain James T. Kirk

Chris Pine, James Kirk, Star Trek Beyond

Chris Pine’s Jim Kirk opens the film feeling the weight of the mission. The USS Enterprise has been exploring deep space for two and a half years, and everything is starting to feel a bit rote for the Starfleet captain.

Little does he know that a trip beyond Starbase Yorktown will result in him and his crew getting way more than they bargained for.

Zachary Quinto - Commander Spock

Everybody’s favorite half-human, half-Vulcan science officer returns, marking Zachary Quinto’s third time in Spock’s pointy ears.

Gravely injured during the first act and stranded on an uncharted planet with the rest of the Enterprise Crew, Spock must rely on the medical expertise of Dr. McCoy to survive.

Karl Urban - Dr. Leonard McCoy

Karl Urban, Leonard McCoy, Star Trek Beyond

Karl Urban returns as the irascible Dr. McCoy, who is teamed with Spock for much of the film as they try to find a way to reunite with the crew in between sarcastic zingers.

During the final conflict of the film, Bones and Mr. Spock man the controls of one of Krall’s drone ships to help take out the rest of the villain’s massive fleet.

Zoe Saldana - Lt. Nyota Uhura

Zoe Saldana, Nyota Uhura, Star Trek Beyond

The Avatar and Guardians of the Galaxy superstar Zoe Saldana comes back for another round as Lt. Uhura, who begins the film on the outs with her boyfriend, Spock.

After the Enterprise is destroyed and the crew is taken prisoner, Uhura must fight for her life against Krall and his forces, patching things up with her Vulcan suitor in the process.

Simon Pegg - Lt. Commander Montgomery Scott

In Star Trek Beyond , Simon Pegg’s Scotty uses his engineering genius to escape the crumbling Enterprise in a photon torpedo tube.

Once on the surface of the planet Altamid, Scott meets a fellow strandee named Jaylah, and the two join forces to help get the wreck of the long-lost USS Franklin up and running again.

John Cho - Lieutenant Hikaru Sulu

John Cho’s Lt. Sulu, the Enteprise ’s helmsman, shares the bulk of his screentime with Saldana’s Uhura as the two try and free themselves from their captivity.

Sulu gets to put his piloting skills to the test when he’s called upon to fly the outdated Franklin off of its resting place on Altamid.

Anton Yelchin - Ensign Pavel Chekov

Anton Yelchin, Pavel Chekov, Star Trek Beyond

By the time of Beyond , the wide-eyed whiz kid Chekov has developed into a highly competent Starfleet officer, who pairs up with Captain Kirk throughout the movie’s second act.

The film is dedicated to actor Anton Yelchin, who tragically lost his life in a freak accident shortly before the theatrical release. The cast has spoken on many an occasion about how difficult it would be to make a fourth movie without him.

Idris Elba - Captain Balthazar Edison/Krall

An ex-MACO for the United Earth Military, Idris Elba’s Captain Edison fought in multiple conflicts with the Romulans as well as the Xindi.

But when the Federation was founded, his military skills and knowledge had no further use, and he felt abandoned by the very governing body he used to fight for.

When his ship, the USS Franklin, crash-landed on Altamid, Edison took control of the planet’s technology, becoming the devious and disfigured villain known as Krall.

Sofia Boutella - Jaylah

Sofia Boutella’s Jaylah became marooned on Altamid as a young girl after her parents were killed by Krall.

In Beyond , Jaylah has taken up residence in the hull of the USS Franklin , a Federation vessel that went missing around the time of Captain Jonathan Archer’s missions in the mid-2100s.

Joe Taslim - Anderson Le/Manas

Joe Taslim plays Anderson Le, one of Edison’s crewmembers who was mutated into the evil Manas by Altamid’s energy transference tech.

Lydia Wilson - Jessica Wolff/Kalara

Much like her crewmate Le, Lydia Wilson’s Jessica Wolff survived on Altamid by becoming Kalara and serving as one of Krall’s underlings.

Sara Maria Forsberg - Kalara’s Translated Voice

Upon arriving in Yorktown to lure the Enterprise into Krall’s trap, Kalara is fitted with a universal translator collar which converts her alien speech into something more understandable. Sara Maria Forsberg provides the voice of the universal translator.

Deep Roy - Keenser

Deep Roy plays Scotty’s pal and fellow engineer Keenser in all three Kelvin timeline films. In Beyond , a caustic sneeze from Keenser helps the crew melt a lock to get out of a jam.

Melissa Roxburgh - Ensign Syl

An Enterprise crewperson, Melissa Roxburgh’s Syl hides a deadly weapon called the Arbonath in her cranial cavity thanks to some quick thinking on the part of Jim Kirk.

Shohreh Aghdashloo - Commodore Paris

The commanding officer of StarBase Yorktown, Shohreh Aghdashloo‘s Paris was actually added to the movie during reshoots. Some fans have also theorized that she’s an ancestor of Tom Paris from Star Trek: Voyager .

Greg Grunberg - Commander Finnegan

Greg Grunburg, a longtime staple of J.J. Abrams-affiliated productions, plays Finnegan, an officer stationed in Yorktown’s command center. Fun fact: Finnegan is the alternate reality version of the character by the same name from the Star Trek: The Original Series episode “Shore Leave."

Danny Pudi - Fi’Ja

Community ’s Danny Pudi makes a cool (cool, cool, cool) cameo as Fi’Ja, a would-be assailant of Scotty’s who is put down by Jaylah.

Kim Kold - Zavanko

Savanko, another alien who tries to attack Mr. Scott on Altamid, is played by Danish bodybuilder Kim Kold.

Fraser Aitcheson - Hider

Fraser Aitcheson plays Hider, the third alien who comes after Scotty and is quickly dispatched by Jaylah.

Douglas Chapman - Sir Olden

Sir Olden, a Starfleet science officer portrayed by Douglas Chapman, is on the Enterprise when it’s brought down by Krall’s swarm ships.

Anita Brown - Tyvanna

One of the Enterprise ’s bridge officers, Anita Brown’s Tyvanna evacuated the ship once it was attacked.

Doug Jung - Ben

Doug Jung wrote Star Trek Beyond ’s screenplay alongside Simon Pegg. He also made a brief appearance in the movie as Ben, Lt. Sulu’s husband.

Dan Payne - Wadjet

A red-shirted Enterprise operations officer, Wadjet, was portrayed by Dan Payne.

Shea Whigham - Teenaxi Leader

Boardwalk Empire ’s Shea Whigam lent his voice to the Teenaxian who appeared in Star Trek Beyond ’s opening scene

Jeff Bezos - Alien Starfleet Official

Jeff Bezos (yeah, that Jeff Bezos) made an easy-to-miss cameo under heavy alien makeup as a Starfleet officer.

Carlo Ancelotti - Yorktown Doctor

Carlo Ancelotti, the Italian football manager, also made a blink-and-you-miss-it appearance as a doctor on Starbase Yorktown. He reportedly got the role because he’s friends with Zoe Saldana.

Will Star Trek Beyond Get a Sequel?

Ever since Beyond was released in cinemas in 2016, various attempts at making another sequel have been announced and subsequently shelved.

As the main cast members are typically quite busy, it would be something of a Herculean task to get all their schedules aligned so that they could work on a fourth Kelvin timeline film.

Anything’s possible, however, with Paramount's top brass claiming that they wish to move the Star Trek franchise back into features alongside its healthy TV presence.

Star Trek Beyond is available for purchase where ever movies are sold.

Star Trek: Discovery Season 5 Cast, Characters & Actors (Photos)

LATEST NEWS

My Hero Academia Season 7 Release Date, News and Everything We Know

How to watch Star Trek in order

Whether you're wanting to check out the Original Series or Discovery, figuring out how to watch Star Trek in order is a breeze with this easy guide!

Is it just us or is figuring out how to watch Star Trek in order getting more and more complex with each passing year? The prospect of watching Star Trek in order would be daunting for even the most decorated of starship captains with multiple series being brought to life on both the big and small screens. But fear not Trekkies - we've got you covered!

If you've ever tried to watch the Marvel movies in order , you'd be forgiven for thinking that was the most complicated franchise on the planet, but we kid you not - it has nothing on Star Trek. The 55-year-old sci-fi franchise includes nine (soon to be 11) TV shows and 13 movies and it spans 1000 years, making for one super complicated and vast timeline.

So, what is the best way to watch Star Trek in order? Well, that depends. For you purists out there, you might like to opt for viewing this franchise by release date, just like all the original Trekkie fans did back in the day. This will allow you to follow along as they did and get a similar experience. While the timeline does jump around, ( Star Trek: Discovery , for example, is set at the end of the 32nd century but was released before Star Trek: Picard , which is set in the 24th century), it gives you a more complete picture.

Because the Star Trek franchise involves movies and TV series that take place at different times, another option is to watch everything in chronological order. This means you get to start with something a little bit more modern, but the one problem with this is that references will often be made to films you've not yet seen, which could make certain elements difficult to follow.

To be honest, just like we recommend in our guide to how to watch the Star Wars movies in order , it really is a matter of personal preference. As long as you have one of the best TVs , you'll find you enjoy this franchise no matter what order you decide to watch it in.

So, without further ado, here's how to watch Star Trek in order - based on release date and in-universe continuity...

Star Trek TV shows and movies in chronological order

This is probably the list you're looking for if you're trying to figure out how to watch Star Trek in order. It's where things get really interesting, as Star Trek movies and TV shows have a habit of jumping around the franchise's chronology with sequels, prequels and bits in between. There are even two distinct timelines – but don't worry, we'll explain all that.

The original ‘Prime’ timeline was started by the Original Series, the Next Generation-era TV shows, and the first ten movies, The alternative ‘Kelvin’ timeline, meanwhile, was created in JJ Abrams’ first Star Trek (2009) to allow the familiar Enterprise crew of Kirk, Spock, McCoy, Scotty, Sulu, Uhura and Chekov to have new adventures without contradicting canon . To avoid confusion, we've defined the two timelines as separate entities below.

This list doesn't, however, include all of the brief Short Treks – short stories which are mostly set around the Star Trek: Discovery era – and adventures where Starfleet crews time-travelled to the eras before any of the shows/movies are set (eg visits to 1986 in The Voyage Home and 2063 in First Contact). We've also left out upcoming Discovery spin-off Star Trek: Section 31 , since it's not yet in production. (Also, we're not entirely sure exactly when it'll be set.)

Let's start with everything in one big list.

Star Trek: Enterprise (seasons 1-4)
‘The Cage’
Star Trek: Discovery (seasons 1-2)
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds
Star Trek: The Original Series (seasons 1-3)
Star Trek: The Animated Series
Star Trek: The Motion Picture
Star Trek 2: The Wrath of Khan
Star Trek 3: The Search for Spock
Star Trek 4: The Voyage Home
Star Trek 5: The Final Frontier
Star Trek 6: The Undiscovered Country
Star Trek: Generations (opening sequence)
Star Trek: The Next Generation (seasons 1-5)
Star Trek: The Next Generation (seasons 6-7), Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (seasons 1-2)
Star Trek: Generations
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (seasons 3-4), Star Trek: Voyager (seasons 1-2)
Star Trek: First Contact
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (seasons 5-6), Star Trek: Voyager (seasons 3-4)
Star Trek: Insurrection
S tar Trek: Deep Space Nine (season 7), Star Trek: Voyager (season 5)
Star Trek: Voyager (seasons 6-7)
Star Trek: Nemesis
Star Trek: Lower Decks
Star Trek: Prodigy
Star Trek (2009) – Prime timeline sequences
Star Trek: Picard
Star Trek: Discovery (season 3-)
Short Treks: 'Calypso'

If you watch in the order given above, you'll get a continuous ‘history’ of the 22nd, 23rd, 24th and 32nd centuries according to the Star Trek timeline. That said, you will notice some odd discrepancies – thanks to the time in which respective shows were made, the technology in prequel show Star Trek: Discovery is significantly more advanced than what Kirk and Spock used in the Original Series.

Below, we'll explain how the different eras of the shows and movies break down for context.

Note that Gene Roddenberry's original pre-Kirk Star Trek pilot, 'The Cage', is counted as an instalment of the Original Series. You'll usually find it listed as a bonus episode as part of season one when you're watching it on streaming services.

Star Trek: Enterprise era (22nd century) Begins and ends with: Star Trek Enterprise seasons 1-4

About a century before James T Kirk and his crew embark on their famous five-year mission in Star Trek: The Original Series, Captain Jonathan Archer leads Earth's first steps into the wider universe.

Star Trek: The Original Series era (23rd century) Begins with: 'The Cage' Ends with: Star Trek: Generations (opening sequence)

For many this is the most familiar era of Star Trek, since it involves Kirk, Spock and the classic Enterprise crew.

This section of the Trek timeline kicks off with the original unaired Star Trek pilot, 'The Cage' . Next up in franchise chronology are the first two seasons of Star Trek: Discovery , which work as a prequel to the Original Series (they even feature a younger version of Spock), but it's all change in season 3 – the events of the season 2 finale send the crew into the distant future of the 32nd century. More on that later...

Upcoming spin-off Strange New Worlds will follow the adventures of Captain Pike, Number One and Spock on the Enterprise after the USS Discovery travelled to the future. And at some point after that, Captain James T Kirk will take command of Starfleet's most famous ship – a role he filled throughout The Original Series , The Animated Series and the first six Star Trek movies ( Star Trek: The Motion Picture , The Wrath of Khan , The Search for Spock , The Voyage Home , The Final Frontier and The Undiscovered Country ).

The latest point we've seen (so far) in the 23rd century era is James T Kirk being taken away by the Nexus ribbon in the prologue of Star Trek: Generations . This is the event that allows Kirk to meet Picard when the Next Generation crew take on the mantle of headlining the big screen franchise.

Star Trek: The Next Generation era (24th century) Begins with: Star Trek: The Next Generation Ends with: Star Trek (2009) – Prime timeline sequences

The richest, most complicated period in Star Trek chronology. During The Next Generation era, Star Trek was experimenting with the idea of a shared universe years before Marvel got in on the act, with three TV shows (TNG, Deep Space Nine and Voyager ) and four movies ( Generations , First Contact , Insurrection and Nemesis ) interweaving through the same timeline – Voyager's Captain Kathryn Janeway even shows up in Star Trek: Nemesis as a newly promoted admiral.

New animated comedy spin-off Lower Decks is set a year after Picard and the Next Generation crew's final mission in Star Trek: Nemesis, while Nickelodeon kids' cartoon Star Trek: Prodigy will see Kate Mulgrew reprising her role as Voyager's captain, Kathryn Janeway. That suggests it will presumably be set at a similar point in the Star Trek timeline.

In JJ Abrams' first Star Trek movie (2009), the destruction of Romulus and Spock Prime's accidental trip back to the pre-Original Series era (in the Kelvin timeline) also take place after the events of Nemesis.

In the list above, we've shown how the movies (roughly) fit into the chronology of The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine and Voyager.

Picard era (turn of the 25th century) Begins with: Picard Ends with: ???

Aside from glimpses of the destruction of Romulus in JJ Abrams’ Star Trek (2009), Star Trek: Picard gives us our first post-Star Trek: Nemesis look at what the United Federation of Planets has become.

Since we last saw Jean-Luc Picard, he's retired to his vineyard in France, an android uprising on Mars has led to a ban on all synthetic life, and a disabled Borg Cube (known simply as the 'Artifact') is being mined for technology.

Distant future (32nd century) Begins with : Star Trek: Discovery season 2 (finale) Ends with: ???

In order to save the galaxy, the brave crew of the USS Discovery set off on a one-way mission 900 years into the future in Star Trek: Discovery 's season 2 finale. Their 32nd century destination is new territory for Star Trek – thanks to the mysterious 'Burn', most of the dilithium in the galaxy has been destroyed, making warp travel impossible. As a result, the Federation is a shadow of its former self – even Earth has decided to go it alone.

This isn't, however, the furthest Star Trek has ventured into the future – Short Trek ' Calypso ' is set on the Discovery in a distant future where the ship's computer has become sentient.

Star Trek's alternate 'Kelvin' timeline explained

In 2009's Star Trek movie directed by JJ Abrams, Spock Prime tries to save Romulus from a supernova, inadvertently creates a black hole while doing so, and gets pulled into the past, along with Romulan mining vessel the Narada. Once there, the Narada attacks the USS Kelvin on the day James T Kirk is born. The ship is destroyed as Kirk's father, George, sacrifices himself to save the rest of the crew.

When all that happens, the alternative ‘Kelvin’ timeline is created, with events unfolding in parallel (but with remarkable similarity) to the original Prime timeline.

Got all that? There are just three movies set in the Kelvin timeline:

Star Trek (2009)
Star Trek into Darkness
Star Trek Beyond

Star Trek TV shows and movies in release date order

Star Trek: The Original Series (1966-1969)
Star Trek: The Animated Series (1973-1974)
Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979)
Star Trek 2: The Wrath of Khan (1982)
Star Trek 3: The Search for Spock (1984)
Star Trek 4: The Voyage Home (1986)
‘The Cage’ (previously unavailable Star Trek pilot from 1965, given VHS release in 1986)
Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987-1994)
Star Trek 5: The Final Frontier (1989)
Star Trek 6: The Undiscovered Country (1991)
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (1993-1999)
Star Trek: Generations (1994)
Star Trek: Voyager (1995-2001)
Star Trek: First Contact (1996)
Star Trek: Insurrection (1998)
Star Trek: Enterprise (2001-2005)
Star Trek: Nemesis (2002)
Star Trek Into Darkness (2013)
Star Trek Beyond (2016)
Star Trek: Discovery (2017-)
Short Treks (2018-2020)
Star Trek: Picard (2020-)
Star Trek: Lower Decks (2020-)
Star Trek: Prodigy (2021, TBC)
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds (TBC)

Considering The Original Series was cancelled after just three seasons in 1969, it's remarkable that Star Trek is still around half a century later. But as the show's popularity grew in syndication on US TV, Trek fandom became a big enough force for the five-year mission to resume via Star Trek: The Animated Series in 1973. Most of the original cast – with the notable exception of Walter Koenig (Chekov) – were enticed back to voice their characters.

Then, helped by Star Wars turning sci-fi into the hottest genre in Hollywood, Star Trek beamed onto the big screen with 1979's The Motion Picture . The original crew headed up five more movies ( The Wrath of Khan , The Search for Spock , The Voyage Home , The Final Frontier and The Undiscovered Country ) before bowing out in 1991. The ’80s also gave the world a hint of the Star Trek that never was when 'The Cage' , the original unaired pilot, was released on VHS in 1986 (it appeared on TV two years later). Of the pilot crew, only Leonard Nimoy's Spock went on to reprise his role in the TV show, though footage from 'The Cage' was used extensively in the Original Series’ only two-parter, 'The Menagerie'.

While the Enterprise was making it big in cinemas, the franchise returned to its TV roots in 1987 with The Next Generation . Set over 70 years after Kirk and Spock's final mission, it featured a new crew – led by Captain Jean-Luc Picard – on board a new starship Enterprise. The Next Generation was arguably even more successful than the Original Series, spawning two spin-off series: Deep Space Nine (which began in 1993) played with the Trek format by focusing on a space station, while Voyager (1995) dumped its crew on the other side of the galaxy, hundreds of light years from home.

The Next Generation crew also fronted four movies of their own ( Generations , First Contact , Insurrection and Nemesis ) between 1995 and 2002.

After Voyager came to an end in 2001, Star Trek left the Next Generation era behind, and went in a completely different direction – Star Trek: Enterprise was a prequel set a century before Kirk and Spock's adventures. Enterprise lasted only four seasons, however (The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine and Voyager all made it to seven), and was canceled in 2005.

These were also dark times for the movie branch of the Trek franchise, as the disappointing box office performance of Nemesis had put the film saga on hiatus – it wasn't until 2009 that Star Trek warped back onto the big screen.

Future Star Wars: The Force Awakens director JJ Abrams (already hot property as director of Mission: Impossible 3 and co-creator of Lost) gave the franchise an action blockbuster makeover, recasting Kirk, Spock and the rest of the original crew as rookies on their first mission. The reboot, simply titled Star Trek , made more than twice as much at the box office as any of its predecessors, and two sequels ( Star Trek into Darkness , Star Trek Beyond ) followed.

Star Trek belatedly returned to TV in 2017 with Star Trek: Discovery . Set a decade before the Original Series, it was a darker, more serialized Trek than we’d seen before – more in tune with the prestige shows of the so-called Golden Age of TV. As it’s turned out, it was just the beginning of Star Trek's renewed assault on TV...

A series of brief Short Treks appeared online ahead of Discovery's second season, while The Next Generation follow-up Star Trek: Picard left spacedock in January 2020. Animated series Lower Decks followed in August 2020, and Discovery spin-off Strange New Worlds – featuring Anson Mount's Captain Pike, Rebecca Romijn's Number One and Ethan Peck's Spock on the pre-Kirk Enterprise – is now in production.

There's also another cartoon offering heading for the Alpha Quadrant, in the form of animated kids show Star Trek: Prodigy.

And there's potentially even more to come, as the much-talked about Michelle Yeoh vehicle Section 31 is still in development. But with Paramount Plus programming boss Julie McNamara telling Variety that the streaming service's current aim is to debut "a new Trek every quarter", we may have to wait for Discovery, Picard, Lower Decks and/or Strange New Worlds to stand aside before we get a new TV iteration of Trek.

To keep things simple, all the shows above are listed by the date their first episode aired. While the chronology does jump around if you watch Star Trek in order of release date, there are some benefits. For example, the prequel shows assume a fair bit of knowledge of earlier series, like the Borg's appearance in Star Trek: Enterprise episode 'Regeneration', or Star Trek: Discovery's revelations about the ultimate fate of Christopher Pike (the Enterprise captain in 'The Cage', who later shows up in 'The Menagerie'). Moments like that undoubtedly make more sense in the context of later events in the Star Trek timeline.

How to stream Star Trek TV shows and movies

If you just want to know how to stream the 13 Star Trek movies and eight TV shows in the US and the UK, we've laid it out below.

In the US, the newly rebranded Paramount Plus (formerly CBS All Access) is definitely the place to go, with every TV show available to watch. In the UK, Netflix hosts all the Star Trek series except for Picard and Lower Decks.

Watching the 13 Trek movies is a rather more complex affair, with the films spread across numerous streaming services in the US and UK – and some of them you'll have to pay to rent/buy.

The TV shows

Star Trek: The Original Series ( US: Paramount Plus, Amazon Prime Video UK: Netflix)
Star Trek: The Animated Series ( US: Paramount Plus UK: Netflix)
Star Trek: The Next Generation ( US: Paramount Plus, Amazon Prime Video UK: Netflix)
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine ( US: Paramount Plus, Amazon Prime Video UK: Netflix)
Star Trek: Voyager ( US: Paramount Plus, Amazon Prime Video UK: Netflix)
Star Trek: Enterprise ( US: Paramount Plus, Amazon Prime Video UK: Netflix)
Star Trek: Discovery ( US: Paramount Plus UK: Netflix)
Star Trek: Picard ( US: Paramount Plus UK: Amazon Prime Video)
Star Trek: Lower Decks (US: Paramount Plus US: Amazon Prime Video)
Star Trek: The Motion Picture ( US: Amazon Prime Video, Hulu UK: Only available to rent/buy)
Star Trek 2: The Wrath of Khan ( US: Amazon Prime Video, Hulu UK: Sky Cinema/Now TV)
Star Trek 3: The Search for Spock ( US: Amazon Prime Video, Hulu UK: Sky Cinema/Now TV)
Star Trek 4: The Voyage Home ( US: Paramount Plus, Amazon Prime Video UK: Sky Cinema/Now TV)
Star Trek 5: The Final Frontier ( US: Amazon Prime Video, Hulu UK: Only available to rent/buy)
Star Trek 6: The Undiscovered Country ( US: Amazon Prime Video, Hulu UK: Only available to rent/buy)
Star Trek: Generations ( US: Paramount Plus, Amazon Prime Video UK: Sky Cinema/Now TV)
Star Trek: First Contact ( US: Paramount Plus UK: Only available to rent/buy)
Star Trek: Insurrection ( US: Amazon Prime Video, Hulu UK: Only available to rent/buy)
Star Trek: Nemesis ( US: Paramount Plus, Amazon Prime Video UK: Only available to rent/buy)
Star Trek 2009 ( US: DirectTV UK: Sky Cinema/Now TV)
Star Trek Into Darkness ( US : FX Now UK: Amazon Prime Video)
Star Trek Beyond ( US: Amazon Prime, Hulu UK: Amazon Prime Video)

Get daily insight, inspiration and deals in your inbox

Get the hottest deals available in your inbox plus news, reviews, opinion, analysis and more from the TechRadar team.

Richard is a freelance journalist specialising in movies and TV, primarily of the sci-fi and fantasy variety. An early encounter with a certain galaxy far, far away started a lifelong love affair with outer space, and these days Richard's happiest geeking out about Star Wars, Star Trek, Marvel and other long-running pop culture franchises. In a previous life he was editor of legendary sci-fi and fantasy magazine SFX, where he got to interview many of the biggest names in the business – though he'll always have a soft spot for Jeff Goldblum who (somewhat bizarrely) thought Richard's name was Winter.

European Badminton Championships live stream 2024: How to watch it FREE online

How to watch Paris–Roubaix 2024: live stream men's cycling online and on TV

AI will lead to cut in human workers, executives admit

'Star Trek Beyond' Cast on Legacy, Character Evolution, & the Future of the Franchise

Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Simon Pegg, Karl Urban, John Cho and Zoe Saldana also talk about Justin Lin’s approach, the new uniforms, and much more.

Created by Gene Roddenberry and reintroduced by J.J. Abrams in 2009, the Star Trek franchise celebrates its 50 th anniversary this year, as the next installment, Star Trek Beyond , sees the U.S.S. Enterprise and her intrepid crew exploring the furthest reaches of uncharted space. With director Justin Lin at the helm, they encounter a mysterious new enemy who puts them and everything the Federation stands for to the test.

During a conference at the film’s press day, co-stars Chris Pine , Zachary Quinto , Simon Pegg (who also co-wrote the film with Doug Jung ), Karl Urban , John Cho and Zoe Saldana talked about paying homage to 50 years of the franchise while also telling a story that can stand on its own, the new character interactions, honoring Leonard Nimoy , the evolution of these characters, including the Beastie Boys song “Sabotage,” Justin Lin’s approach, the uniforms, adding more strong females, the tragic loss of actor Anton Yelchin , and the future of this franchise. Be aware that there are some spoilers discussed.

Question: This is the 50 th anniversary of Star Trek , so what were the challenges of paying homage to the original while also making a movie that you could see without having seen any of the previous incarnations, including the first two with this particular cast?

SIMON PEGG: Yeah, that was very important to Doug and I, and Justin, going in. We wanted to try to create a hybrid of an episode of the original series with a spectacular cinematic event. The Star Trek movies have always been event films. In a TV series, you get time to spend with the characters. It’s a longer game. In the film, you have to hit it. It has to be very self-contained. It has to be memorable. So, the thing was to try to make sure everybody that’s been here for 50 years gets what they deserve, in terms of a good Star Trek film, but for people who have never seen it before, and who perhaps aren’t as familiar with Star Trek , then they’re welcome, too. This is an interesting universe, in every way. Not just fictionally, but factually.

This film pairs Spock and McCoy together a lot. Zachary and Karl, how was it to spend a lot more time together and further explore that dynamic of these great characters?

KARL URBAN: I feel like this is probably the most fun that I’ve had making a Star Trek film. I think what Simon and Doug were able to do was present the most well-defined, well-rounded version of the character. It certainly gave me a lot of material to work with. I had an amazing time working with Zach, and I have a huge amount of respect for him and his approach. It was just great to have those two characters, that are so diametrically opposed to each other, be forced into a situation where they have to depend on each other to survive, and through the process, come to a deeper understanding of who they both are. It was obviously a great opportunity to explore a lot of comedy, but it also really deepened the relationship between the two. And I think that by the end of it, they were able to go back to their respective corners with a bit of inside knowledge. For long term fans, it’s a rewarding direction.

ZACHARY QUINTO: I couldn’t agree more. Karl and I had a great time working together. In a movie franchise where we’re used to spending so much time together, with all of us on the bridge of The Enterprise and in many of our adventures, it was actually really nice to have so many days where it was only Karl and me together. I think we got to know each other and appreciate each other more than we already did, which was already a significant amount. And from a character standpoint, I really echo the idea that these two characters, historically in this franchise, come at things from entirely different perspectives and points of view. There’s nothing more fun for fans of the original show to see that dynamic, unmitigated by Kirk, who usually manages to get between them. In the same way, Bones really saves Spock’s life in this film, and I think there’s a deep appreciation for that, obviously. They end this film in a much better place, as a duo, than I would say they begin it.

Since he’s not super excited about being a Starfleet captain, at this point, where is Kirk at, three years into this mission?

CHRIS PINE: I always have the most fun on these films when we’re laughing or talking, and then usually shit blows up and we have to do the shit blowing up acting. I think I spend the majority of the film saying, “Let’s go! Can we do it? I don’t know.” I do a lot of just breathing heavily. I talked a lot with Simon about how to nuance what Kirk’s trip was, in this whole thing. Once we landed on the idea of him growing out of, or moving out from underneath his father’s shadow, that made a lot of sense. To do that scene with Karl was great fun. That scene made us giggle and have a good time, and hopefully people will appreciate that.

The film has such a lovely tribute to Leonard Nimoy. How did you figure out the way you wanted to pay homage to him, and was there initial expectation, earlier on in the process, that he would be part of the film, before his passing?

QUINTO: Leonard died on February 27 th . I think, if Leonard was well enough to be a part of this film, I’m sure he would have been. And I know that there were early conversations with him about that possibility, but true to his incredible self, he knew himself well enough to know that wouldn’t be possible, at a certain point. And then, it became important to all of us to figure a way to honor his legacy. I thought Simon and Doug did a beautiful job of incorporating it into the narrative of the film. We all carried him with us through this production, for sure. It was definitely a different kind of feeling to make this movie without him, for me in particular, but I think he was very much a part of it, in spirit. He will be a part of anything we do, moving forward, for sure.

PEGG: We wanted to make it part of Zach’s Spock arc, and not just a reference to Spock Prime. We wanted to have his passing be something which inspired our Spock to move on. And so, it became an integral part of the story, and not just a nod in Leonard’s direction. That felt more right.

Simon, Justin Lin said the main reason he wanted to tackle this project was because his childhood dream was to blow up The Enterprise, and then bring it back together. Was that a collaborative effort, or was that all his idea that he presented to you, and then you guys developed it in the script?

PEGG: I hated the idea at first. I was shouting at him, “We can’t do that! You can’t destroy The Enterprise!” My problem was that we’ve seen it before. It happened in “Search for Spock.” It happened in “Generations.” But Justin was very, very determined. And as we spoke about it, I realized what he was doing, brilliantly, was not only taking out a main character, but he was removing the physical connective tissue between the crew to see what happens when you take away the thing that physically bonds them together. If you take away that thing that necessitates their being a unit, do they dissipate or do they come back together? That was the genius of that. You take it away very violently and dramatically, and then you wait and see if they all come back together to be this family, which is essentially what they are. And of course they do. When I realized that, I backed down immediately and said, “Yeah, you’re right.” I do occasionally do that, but not always. In this instance, I realized it was a brilliant idea, but I was initially opposed to it.

Simon, what was the decision behind using the Beastie Boys song “Sabotage”?

PEGG: We just love the idea of them foiling a technologically terrifying threat with something very analog and old, like VHF. The initial idea was that they fired an old radio into the middle of the swarm. It took many shapes as we wrote it, but we realized that there was no sound in space, so we had to abide by physics. We just liked the idea that Jaylah discovered this old ship that had an archive of music, and she discovered rap music and liked it. She likes the beats and the shouting. “Sabotage” was a song we used in ’09. It’s part of Kirk’s childhood. All these things linked back to his past and his dad, with the motorbike and the song. It’s all him letting go of these things and moving on as a man, as well. It’s important for Kirk’s character, but it’s just a kick-ass song. If anything’s going to blow up a swarm of spaceships, it’s going to be the Beastie Boys.

Zoe, where is Uhura at now and how do you view her feelings for Spock, in this movie?

ZOE SALDANA: She’s tired. I think she’s homesick. The one thing I appreciated the most about what Simon and Doug did for this installment was that they made us human, and just homesick and sad. Being overly worked, and being away from home and all the things that keep you grounded, can put a strain, not just on the intimate relationships that you may have, but also the professional ones. I thought I would never see the day where I would walk into The Enterprise, and we’re not that excited to see each other. I thought, okay, this is a great place to start because I can only imagine where we’re going to end up. We literally end up in the opposite direction. We’re dying to be close to each other. We’re dying to save each other to get back together. I thought, okay, that’s brilliant. And the relationship with Spock and Uhura felt so normal and human to me. It’s those consequences that may occur when you decide to love your co-worker in a lovey-dovey way. Sometimes the professionalism can get in the way of the spirituality, and I feel like that’s what happened between both of them.

Is the Uhura/Spock relationship doomed, or do you have hope for them?

QUINTO: I think it ends on a really hopeful note, don’t you? Yeah, let’s go with hope.

SALDANA: If he were to walk in with some other Vulcan girl, shit would go down.

Zoe, 50 years since Star Trek began, how do you think Uhura has evolved?

SALDANA: I think there’s a beautiful – and I hate using the word – sprouting, but it’s true. Women are becoming very, very independent, not just in the workforce, but also in their personal lives. There’s something about realizing that you should want to be a part of something, but you don’t necessarily have to be a part of something, in order to be validated or respected or appreciated or considered strong enough. I feel like the break-up that Uhura and Spock have is amazing because she fell in love with her teacher. He came as this figure that represented responsibility and safety and maturity and wisdom, and now I think that she feels strong enough on her own. There is a parallel universe situation that’s going on with Uhura and women these days, where there’s no longer this animosity or this resentment to prove who you are. You just want to be left alone to find out who you are because you’re interesting and you’re curious. I like this autonomy that’s happening with women, right now. I like when a battle is fought just with a spoken word, and nothing that feels tense or violent.

JOHN CHO: One of the questions that we were asked, maybe for giggles, on the tour, in either Sydney or London, was “Which timeline would you choose to be in – the original series or ours – if you had the choice?” And I did say, if forced to choose, that I would choose ours. Roddenberry did set up a world that was incredibly progressive, but it was tempered by the social mores of the era. I feel like we can go further in 2016 than he was able to do, at the time. I feel like our version is able to give more to the women and the people of color in the cast than Roddenberry was originally able to.

PEGG: Not because he didn’t want to, either. He absolutely wanted to.

John, how do you feel about how Sulu has evolved? When did the idea come up to show his family life?

CHO: The idea came up when, I believe, Simon pitched it. Then, I was told of it through Justin, pretty early on, when he had set up at Paramount. We went in to have a chat and get reacquainted, and I thought it was a beautiful idea. I had concerns about how it would be received by George [Takei], and I had some other concerns, but the handling of it was the most important to me. Having seen the film, I think it’s nonchalant posture toward it is the best thing about it, and the fact that it’s normalized. It’s news now, but if you re-watch the movie in ten years, you won’t think anything of it. It’ll just go right by you. That’s the best thing about it. There’s no music cue. There’s no close up.

SALDANA: The one thing that I guess has taken a secondary position is that it wasn’t just that we revealed that he’s gay, but we revealed that he’s a father. None of our characters have families that we’ve ever talked about. I actually feel quite puzzled that, in 2016, we’re having a bit of a fit over who he fathered a baby with. I’m happy he’s a dad.

PEGG: What we wanted to do was put somebody we care about in Yorktown, so when Yorktown was under threat, that made the threat tangible. We knew that Sulu’s family was there, so it wasn’t just a bunch of faceless Federation people. It was somebody that we cared about because we care about Sulu. That was really important. The nature of that relationship wasn’t an issue. By the way, that whole thing with George, people like to make things into a spat. George and I email, all the time, with big, long, lovely discussions about it, and we’re on great terms. We were never shouting at each other, or anything like that. And it’s a great discussion to have. I’m really happy with the way that it’s been talked about and responded to, and I’m still a huge fan of G.T., for sure.

Simon, what would your character from Spaced like and dislike about this movie?

PEGG: For those of you who don’t know, I started out on a sitcom in the UK, and it was about a nerdy guy. I don’t know what I was talking about, and it wasn’t me at all, but there’s a line in Spaced where Tim says, “As sure as eggs is eggs, as sure as day follows night, as sure as every odd-numbered Star Trek movie is shit…” And I wrote that in 1998. And then, here we are in 2016, I’ve written an odd-numbered Star Trek movie, and I’m happy to say that Tim is wrong. It’s an incredible thing to look back on the circularity of that, and of having grown up a fan of Star Trek and science fiction, to now be participating in it, in such an active way. I tried to make the kind of Star Trek movie that Tim Bisley would like. That’s what Doug and I did. And when I say Tim Bisley, I’m talking about the people that have been with Star Trek for a long time. Star Trek must have been doing something right because it’s been around for 50 years, and if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. So, we wanted to embody the original show and instill it with what made the original show great, but also frame it in a big movie way, which is a luxury they never had, back in the day. That’s why the series turned into such a great thing. Necessity was the mother of invention with that show. They had to make these wonderful little teleplays. They couldn’t rely on special effects. Now we can do both, and it felt like I was always thinking, “What would Tim Bisley think?”

What was is like for all of you to be in space and fight in a foreign land?

SALDANA: I like being on the ship. There was dust everywhere. Helicopters were flying really low. I was like, “Put me on The Enterprise. It’s cleaner.” I’m more into comfort.

CHO: On the upside, it was cool to be paired off with Zoe, even though she was having a miserable time.

SALDANA: I was so happy that I was complaining with John.

CHO: Typically, as characters, you’re relating on the Bridge, and everyone’s relating to Kirk, so there’s less talking to one another. And so, just getting that opportunity brought out some different colors and vibes, so it was good.

Simon, what’s it like to live your dream and get to tell people in Star Trek what to do?

PEGG: I ask them nicely. I think the business of writing a good story and making sure the plot works superseded any kind of wish fulfillment. We had to start with that, really. The whole splitting up the crew into different little interactive groups was nice. I love the relationships in Star Trek , and it was nice to pursue those a little bit more, specifically with Bones and Spock, and as the scene with Kirk and Bones, in the beginning. Getting the keys to that kingdom was a real joy, and it was nice to be able to write our signature underneath the hundreds and hundreds of signatures that have gone into writing the Star Trek universe, over the years. It was nice to put our little stamp on that, and fill it with little Easter eggs that only we know about.

What was the dynamic like, working with Justin Lin, compared to J.J. Abrams?

QUINTO: Justin has a different energy about him. I’d say he’s a little more internalized, just as a person. He’s a little quieter, but he’s no less confident. He’s incredibly gifted, as a visual storyteller. And I think he’s really sensitive to character dynamics, as well. He brings a balance of both of those extremes. He came in on an already moving train, in a lot of ways. He didn’t have a lot of time to prep for this film. And I think all of us were incredibly impressed by his sense of leadership and vision. It was also really great to have Simon in a position of creative influence on this film because he was a tremendous conduit for us, early on, before we formed our own relationships with Justin. But all in all, he was a really welcome addition. I would say he was very different from J.J., but also really exciting and really unique, in his own ways. It was reflective of this experience, which was different and new for us, to be away from the past and the configuration of the last two films. We all had a great time working together, and we really enjoyed him. Seeing what he was able to create, in the final product, is really exciting for all of us.

How were the uniforms, this time around?

PINE: The pants were fantastic, this time. There was so much movement, and a lot of space in the hips, which I appreciate. This was like the retro-super-future version of Star Trek , so it’s looking way ahead into what Star Trek can become, and also has very specific nods to the past. One of the very small things that’s layered throughout all three iterations of the film, so far, is that there’s been a lot of discussions about the colors of yellow for Kirk’s shirt, and the cut of the shirt. This one is a very specific nod to the original series. It’s not the bright, fantastic yellow of the first and the second. It’s this lovely Kirk-ian mustard green.

URBAN: Our costume designer, Sanja [Milkovic Hays], did an extraordinary job. One of the things I was most proud of was the fact that, unlike the previous two films we got to do with J.J., the women in the Starfleet uniforms in Star Trek Beyond all had ranks on their uniforms. That’s a fantastic thing. I thought she did a great job. It was a throwback to the costumes, but also made them slightly new. I had massive envy for Chris Pine’s survival suit.

What was it like to add Sofia Boutella to the mix, as the very kick-ass Jaylah?

PEGG: Sofia’s incredible. Because she’s a dancer and she’s physically so adept, she was very up for the physicality of it. It’s funny, in the writing room, Doug, Justin and I wanted to create this very independent female, who was a very resourceful character, on the surface. We didn’t have a name for her, so we used to call her “Jennifer Lawrence In Winter’s Bone .” That was her long name. It was, “And then, Scotty lands there and suddenly ‘Jennifer Lawrence In Winter’s Bone ’ comes out and she fights these guys.” It started to get tiring calling her “Jennifer Lawrence In Winter’s Bone .” It’s a long name. So, we started calling her J-Law. And then, she became Jaylah. So, she’s named after Jennifer Lawrence in Winter’s Bone . But, there aren’t enough girls in Star Trek . Zoe has a lot on her shoulders, so we wanted to increase that. And also with Commodore Paris, as a figure of extreme authority. We all love Sofia. She’s a nutcase, and a golden addition to this group. She’s awesome.

This film is bittersweet, with the loss of Anton Yelchin. What was it like to work with him on this?

URBAN: First of all, it’s devastating to lose a family member. We’re at a point where we should be celebrating, not only this film, but this beautiful, talented man. For all of us, it’s almost incomprehensible to be at a point where we have to talk about him in the past. The pain of his loss is still very raw. We went and spent time with Anton’s family, and we know that they’ll be very, very proud of his contribution to the film. This film will probably forever be the most special experience for all of us. It represents the golden period of when our family was fully together, for the last time. It really was the best summer of our adult lives. We love him so much, and we miss him terribly.

PINE: He was just a good guy. He was very sweet. He’s very beautifully, authentically Anton. There was not much of a sensor on the boy. I remember one of the first times I met him, like nine years ago or whatever, he was 17. I invited him back to my trailer to play guitar, because I knew he played guitar, and he played guitar really, really, really well. And he said, “I can’t, man, I’ve got to go back to my trailer.” I was like, “Okay, why?” He was translating an esoteric Russian novel into English, just because that’s what he wanted to do. Eight or nine years later, I talked to him and he was still translating it. And he was reading a book on physics that this French philosopher had written. And he was still trying to get all of us together. We’d be in Vancouver and he’d want to see some German neo-expressionist film that none of us had seen, and he would talk about as if everyone has or should have seen it. He was a great guy. He was just totally fearless. I think you try to grasp onto something that’s a positive, out of losing such a good guy, and it’s just to be fearless, creatively. He was always working on stuff. He had music projects and photography projects, and he was going to direct his first film this summer. He was just spectacularly interested in life, in a really great way.

The original Star Trek relied on social commentary reflective of the time to propel their story forward. In this day and age, what is the message now?

QUINTO: I think the message is the same as it was when it began. It’s just that we have more room to explore and express it than they did, at the time. It’s shocking to me how divisive our culture has become, and I feel like Star Trek maintains a position on inclusivity and unity that is as resonant today as it was in the late ‘60s. This film, in particular, explores that idea, one side of that being about the unity and inclusivity, and the other being about breaking that apart. I think that’s really reflective of the society that we live in today. It’s troubling to me, on such deep levels, that we’ve gotten to this point of unwillingness to see varied points of view or feelings or opinions or perspectives. I think Star Trek remains, in a landscape of popular culture entertainment, something that is a beacon of inclusivity and progressive thinking. I think it just takes on different forms now than it did 50 years ago.

PEGG: I think the film is actually even more apt today. It’s become more so, even since we shot it. The message of this and the social commentary in this iteration of Star Trek is that we’re better together. It’s about collectivism. And in this era of Brexit and talking about building walls in certain places, now more than ever, we should be thinking about the value of collectivism, about cooperation, and about unity. That can be and is our strength. The more fractured we become, the less secure we all feel.

CHO: In the Star Trek set-up, you’re going into space and seeing so many different kinds of species. It does become comically apparent, when you look around the planet Earth that we live on, that we do have so much more in common than we don’t. So, the little things that seem to divide us here, in our present time, seem even more exaggeratedly small after seeing an episode of Star Trek .

PEGG: We’ve all got one head, do you know what I mean? Let’s live together.

How far do you see the franchise going, with these characters?

PEGG: Well, I hope it goes on for another 50 years. We’ll keep going for as long as we can, until we’re old and inappropriate. Some of us already are, like me. I hope it goes on. There’s a new CBS series starting. I love that the universe is a boundless place, and there are so many adventures to be had. As long as we have this idea, where we might actually become slightly more enlightened and slightly more tolerant beings, Star Trek will live forever.

Star Trek Beyond opens in theaters on July 22 nd .

Upcoming Star Trek TV Shows: What's Ahead For The Sci-Fi Franchise

Here's what's ahead for Star Trek.

It’s a golden era for Star Trek tv shows, as the franchise is churning out more content than ever before. Fans with a Paramount+ subscription can stream a plethora of old and new content from one of the greatest sci-fi franchises of all time.

There’s a ton of new Star Trek content coming in the future, including the debut of a new show as well as the return of all the ones fans already know well. For those who need a breakdown of what all to expect, look no further because here’s where and when all the new Trek will arrive in 2023 and beyond. There’s even some information on planned shows that aren’t quite ready yet, but hopefully, we’ll see them soon enough.

Sonequa Martin-Green in Star Trek: Discovery

Star Trek: Discovery Season 5 - Premiering On April 4th 2024

Captain Michael Burnham and the crew are back, and based on what we've seen and heard about Star Trek: Discovery Season 5 so far, some changes are on the way. Season 5 will see the crew race against others in an attempt to secure an ancient power, and will apparently have a tonal shift that will skew more toward action and adventure. We also learned that this coming season will be the final adventure , as Paramount+ decided to end the series after this coming season. The final season will kick off in April and, fingers crossed, leave an avenue open for more stories with these characters in the 32nd century.

Anson Mount as Christopher Pike in Star Trek: Strange New Worlds

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Season 3 - In Production

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds is coming back for Season 3, and is currently filming for the upcoming season. It's likely the season will kick off with the second part of the adventure started in the Season 2 finale . Pike must decide whether or not he's going to listen to Starfleet and retreat to avoid further conflict with the Gorn or to stay and try to save the kidnapped crew members. I have a hunch I know what decision he'll make, but I'm also very invested in seeing if Scotty will remain with the crew and what other adventures will come as well.

Star Trek: Prodigy Season 2 - Coming In 2024

Paramount+ originally renewed Star Trek: Prodigy for Season 2, but announced later that it had been canceled alongside other shows on the platform. While the news was a bummer to many and encouraged responses from stars like Kate Mulgrew , there is a silver lining. After some talk with other companies, Paramount managed to negotiate a deal where the series will transition over to Netflix , and Season 2 will release over there. At this time, it's unknown whether or not this will lead to more seasons of Prodigy , but fans are thankful they'll at least get to see the season that was being worked on coming up in 2024.

Section 31 Movie - Production Underway

Section 31 was one of the first Star Trek spinoffs announced after Discovery , and yet it took the longest to get off the ground. The series was supposed to Michelle Yeoh ’s Phillipa Georgiou and her efforts in the secret ops Starfleet faction that does the jobs that others in the organization would rather not know about. Other former Discovery stars, like Shazad Latif, were involved at one point, but some believed the odds of it happening aren't great after Michelle Yeoh's Oscar win .

It turns out Yeoh was interested in making it happen, and Paramount+ decided to alter the idea to a movie . Fans are excited about the project all the same, and ready to see Michelle Yeoh back in her role. Production on the film is officially underway, and it's looking like a premiere sometime in late 2024 to 2025 is likely.

CINEMABLEND NEWSLETTER

Your Daily Blend of Entertainment News

Starfleet Academy - Production Starting In 2024

Alex Kurtzman revealed not long ago that Star Trek is actively working on another new live-action series , and it’s going to be set at Starfleet Academy. Of course, we don’t know exactly what era this series is set to take place during or who is going to star in it yet. We don’t really know much of anything, though it’s worth noting that Star Trek: Discovery did write off its character Tilly when she took an offer at Starfleet Academy. The episode where that happened seemed like it could be a backdoor pilot for the show, but again, we have no idea. We do know that the writer's room is underway, but details are scant beyond that.

As shown above, there’s still a ton of Star Trek on the way in 2024, and beyond. The only way to watch these shows is with a Paramount+ subscription , which is totally worth picking up with the increasing amount of shows and movies available to watch.

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.

Reacher Star Alan Ritchson Shares ‘Rare’ Footage Of Him Rehearsing A Bloody Reacher Season 2 Fight Scene, And I’m In Pain Just Watching It

Kourtney Kardashian Trolled Kim (Who Hates It) About The Viral Earring Post Of Lore, And Kris Jenner Assisted With An A+ Retort

Everybody Is Talking About The First Omen’s Birthing Scene, But The Director Says People Didn’t Even Notice Something Much More Disturbing

Star Trek streaming guide: Where to watch the Star Trek movies and TV shows online

Our Star Trek streaming guide will allow you to go boldly where you've never gone before, without getting off your couch.

How to stream the Star Trek Movies in the US

How to stream the star trek tv shows in the us, how to stream the star trek movies in the uk, how to stream the star trek tv shows in the uk.

Here's our Star Trek streaming guide, so you know where to go boldly where you've never gone before... Without leaving your sofa. We've come up with this Star Trek streaming guide because since the first ever episode aired back in 1966, there's been a huge number of additions into the franchise.

Star Trek is currently in a bit of a purple patch for content as Paramount Plus , which is the home of all things Star Trek, is responsible for several new shows in recent years. But, it's not just new content, you'll also find where to stream the classics both movies and TV series below.

Before, Star Trek content was scattered all around different streaming services and searching for what you wanted to watch could feel like hunting for a cloaked Bird of Prey. However, these days you're able to stream all Star Trek content out there on Paramount Plus. However, we do have round-ups of the best sci-fi movies and TV shows on Netflix , Disney Plus and Amazon if you want to check them out.

You can also check out our take on the Star Trek movies, ranked so you know which movies to beam up onto your device. While Paramount Plus has everything Star Trek out there, you can find the odd bit of content on other platforms. So, below you'll find where you can watch what, regardless of where you're based, in our Star Trek streaming guide.

Walter Koenig, Leonard Nimoy, William Shatner, James Doohan, DeForest Kelley, George Takei, and Nichelle Nichols in Star Trek IV The Voyage Home (1986)_Paramount Pictures

The Star Trek movies can be divided into three tidy groups: the original cast, the Next Generation cast, and the reboot cast. All of them can be found on Paramount+. However, Paramount+ isn't the only place you can stream the movies and in some cases you can rent or buy from places such as Amazon .

Here’s how to stream the Star Trek movies in the U.S., in order of release:

Star Trek: The Motion Picture — Paramount+ Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan — Paramount+ Star Trek III: The Search for Spock — Paramount+ Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home — Paramount+ Star Trek V: The Final Frontier — Paramount+ Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country — Paramount+ Star Trek: Generations — Paramount+ Star Trek: First Contact — Paramount+ Star Trek: Insurrection — Paramount+ , Spectrum Star Trek: Nemesis — Paramount+ Star Trek (2009) — Paramount+ , Pluto TV Star Trek Into Darkness — Paramount+ , Pluto TV Star Trek Beyond — Paramount+ , DIRECTV , Freevee

When it comes to Star Trek on the small screen, you can find them all in one place. Paramount+ not only has every episode of every legacy Trek show, it’s also the home of all the new Star Trek programming, such as Picard and Strange New Worlds. If you’re a Trekkie, you absolutely want to have Paramount+ to keep up with the object of your affection. A word of warning though, other streaming platforms may only have select episodes or series to stream.

Star Trek: The Original Series — Paramount+ , Pluto TV Star Trek: The Next Generation — Paramount+ , Pluto TV Star Trek: Deep Space Nine — Paramount+ , Sling , Spectrum Star Trek: Voyager — Paramount+ , Pluto TV Star Trek: Enterprise — Paramount+ Star Trek: Discovery — Paramount+ , DIRECTV Star Trek: Picard — Paramount+ Star Trek: Short Treks — Paramount+ Star Trek: Lower Decks — Paramount+ Star Trek: Prodigy — Paramount+ , DIRECTV , FuboTV , Spectrum Star Trek: The Animated Series — Paramount+ Star Trek: Strange New Worlds — Paramount+

Walter Koenig, William Shatner, James Doohan, DeForest Kelley, and George Takei in Star Trek III The Search for Spock (1984)_Paramount Pictures

Now that Paramount+ has arrived in the U.K, streaming Star Trek is a lot easier. You can view most of the movies on the streaming platform. Star Trek Beyond is the exception but that can be found on Amazon Prime. If you're not prepared to subscribe to Paramount+, the movies are available to rent or buy from a number of different platforms.

Star Trek: The Motion Picture — Paramount+ Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan — Paramount+ Star Trek III: The Search for Spock — Paramount+ Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home — Paramount+ Star Trek V: The Final Frontier — Paramount+ Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country — Paramount+ Star Trek: Generations — Paramount+ Star Trek: First Contact — Paramount+ Star Trek: Insurrection — Paramount+ Star Trek: Nemesis — Paramount+ Star Trek (2009) — Paramount+ , Amazon Prime Star Trek Into Darkness — Paramount+ , Amazon Prime Star Trek Beyond — Amazon Prime

Star Trek: The Next Generation - Picard, Ryker, and Troi

Now that Paramount+ has reached those across the pond, the U.K. can enjoy streaming Star Trek shows as well. Netflix is also another great option to fulfil your Trekkie viewing needs, especially if you're interested in checking out Star Trek: The Animated Series, which is exclusive to Netflix.

However, for the likes of Picard and Lower Decks, you’ll have to hop on over to Amazon Prime. It's worth noting that platforms such as SkyGo may only have a select number of episodes or series to stream.

Star Trek: The Original Series — Netflix , Paramount+ Star Trek: The Next Generation — Netflix , Paramount+ , SkyGo Star Trek: Deep Space Nine — Netflix , Paramount+ Star Trek: Voyager — Netflix , Paramount+ Star Trek: Enterprise — Netflix , Paramount+ Star Trek: Discovery — Paramount+ Star Trek: Picard — Amazon Prime Video , Paramount+ Star Trek: Short Treks — N/A Star Trek: Lower Decks — Amazon Prime Video Star Trek: Prodigy — Paramount+ , SkyGo Star Trek: The Animated Series — Netflix Star Trek: Strange New Worlds — Paramount+

Join our Space Forums to keep talking space on the latest missions, night sky and more! And if you have a news tip, correction or comment, let us know at: [email protected].

Get the Space.com Newsletter

Breaking space news, the latest updates on rocket launches, skywatching events and more!

Susan Arendt is a freelance writer, editor, and consultant living in Burleson, TX. She's a huge sci-fi TV and movie buff, and will talk your Vulcan ears off about Star Trek. You can find more of her work at Wired, IGN, Polygon, or look for her on Twitter: @SusanArendt. Be prepared to see too many pictures of her dogs.

'Beacon 23' series returns to MGM+ on April 7 with glowing blue rocks and alien artifacts

This Week In Space podcast: Episode 105 — Apoc-eclipse 2024!

These solar eclipse 2024 photos from our readers are absolutely amazing (images, video)

All the Star Trek shows and movies coming in 2023 and beyond

By tiara starks | may 25, 2023.

Pictured: Sonequa Martin-Green as Burnham of the Paramount+ original series STAR TREK: DISCOVERY. Photo Cr: Marni Grossman/Paramount+ © 2021 CBS Interactive. All Rights Reserved.

Trekkies have a lot to be thankful for this year as the Star Trek franchise we all know and love shows no signs of slowing down!

As of now, there are four series in production within the entire franchise. Before streaming took over in the mid 2010s, there were only five broadcast series on air including The Original Series , The Next Generation , Deep Space Nine , Voyager , and Enterprise . Now, with so many additions, both animated and live-action, it seems almost impossible to keep track of what to watch next, but you’ve come to the right place.

If you’ve been wondering when and where you can watch the current and upcoming seasons of Star Trek series and learn what anticipated films are set to be made, read on to find out!

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds

The most recently released live-action series in the franchise received positive reviews and has already been ordered for a third season ahead of its second season release. Strange New Worlds is set a decade before the events of the original series in the 23rd century and offers up a contemporary take on the original series’ episodic storytelling and 1960s design choices.

The main cast includes Anson Mount, Ethan Peck, Jess Bush, Christina Chong, Celia Rose Gooding, Melissa Navia, Babs Olusanmokun, Bruce Horak, and Rebecca Romijn as Number One. The second season will premiere on Paramount+ on June 15 .

Star Trek: Lower Decks

The adult animated series takes place in the late 24th century in the Star Trek universe, in which Earth is part of the multi-species United Federation of Planets and focuses on Starfleet’s least important starships, the USS Cerritos.

The main cast includes Tawny Newsome, Jack Quaid, Noël Wells, Eugene Cordero, Dawnn Lewis, and Jerry O’Connell. Even though the fourth season has yet to premiere, a fifth season was ordered in March 2023 and is already in development. Season 4 is scheduled to premiere on the streaming service Paramount+ in Summer 2023 with a 10-episode run.

Star Trek: Prodigy

Another wildly popular animated series in the franchise, Nickelodeon’s P rodigy is returning for a second season. The main cast includes Brett Gray, Ella Purnell, Jason Mantzoukas, Angus Imrie, Dee Bradley Baker, and Kate Mulgrew.

The series, which was met with positive reviews from critics and even received a Children’s and Family Emmy Award, has been airing since 2021. While an exact release date has not yet been set, season 2 will arrive this upcoming winter on Nickelodeon and Paramount+.

Star Trek: Discovery

The live-action series begins around ten years before the events of The Original Series which aired in the mid to late ’60s. The main cast includes Sonequa Martin-Green, Doug Jones, Shazad Latif, Anthony Rapp, and Mary Wiseman. A final 10-episode fifth season was ordered in January 2022 and is expected to premiere on the streaming service Paramount+ in early 2024.

Star Trek 4

The long-awaited sequel to the 2016 film Star Trek Beyond was originally supposed to be released in December 2023 but has since been pushed back. It is unclear when the film will be released in theaters.

Star Trek: Section 31

This movie is based on the novels that explore the operations of the clandestine organization known as Section 31 and expected to be released on streaming platform Paramount+. The film stars Michelle Yeoh who first appeared in Star Trek: Discovery as Captain Philippa Georgiou. Yeoh returns as an alternate universe version of her character who is now named Emperor Philippa Georgiou. She’ll be the central character in this movie. It is yet to be announced when filming will start but keep your eyes peeled for a date soon!

Next. WGA Strike explained: What the writers want, how it affects TV, and why you should care. dark

Stay tuned to Hidden Remote for more Star Trek news and coverage.

How to Watch Star Trek in Order: The Complete Series Timeline

The full star trek timeline, explained..

Ever since 1966’s premiere of the first episode of Star Trek: The Original Series, the entertainment world has never been the same. This franchise that has boldly gone where no property has gone before has captured the hearts and minds of millions around the world and has grown into a space-faring empire of sorts filled with multiple shows, feature length films, comics, merchandise, and so much more. That being said, the amount of Star Trek out in the world can make it tough to know exactly how to watch everything it offers in either chronological or release order so you don’t miss a thing. To help make things easier for you, we’ve created this guide to break down everything you need to know about engaging with this Star Trek journey.

It used to be a bit trickier to track down all the Star Trek shows and movies you’d need to watch to catch up, but Paramount+ has made it a whole lot easier as it has become the home of nearly all the past, present and future Star Trek entries.

So, without further ado, come with us into the final frontier and learn how you can become all caught up with the adventures of Kirk, Picard, Janeway, Sisko, Spock, Pike, Archer, Burnham, and all the others that have made Star Trek so special over the past 56 years.

And, in case you're worried, everything below is a mostly spoiler-free chronological timeline that will not ruin any of any major plot points of anything further on in the timeline. So, you can use this guide as a handy way to catch up without ruining much of the surprise of what’s to come on your adventure! If you’d prefer to watch everything Star Trek as it was released, you’ll find that list below as well!

How to Watch Star Trek in Chronological Order

How to Watch Star Trek by Release Order

1. Star Trek: Enterprise (2151-2155)

Star Trek: Enterprise is the earliest entry on our list as it takes place a hundred years before the adventures of Kirk, Spock, and the rest of the crew of Star Trek: The Original Series. The show aired from 2001 to 2005 and starred Scott Bakula as Jonathan Archer, the captain of the Enterprise NX-01. This version of the Enterprise was actually Earth’s first starship that was able to reach warp five.

While the show had its ups and downs, it included a fascinating look at a crew without some of the advanced tech we see in other Star Trek shows, the first contact with various alien species we know and love from the Star Trek universe, and more.

2. Star Trek: Discovery: Seasons 1 and 2 (2256-2258)

This is where things get a little bit tricky, as the first two seasons of Star Trek: Discovery take place before Star Trek: The Original Series but Seasons 3 and 4 take us boldly to a place we’ve not gone before. We won’t spoil why that’s the case here, but it’s important to note if you want to watch Star Trek in order, you’ll have to do a bit of jumping around from series to movie to series.

As for what Star Trek: Discovery is, it's set the decade before the original and stars Sonequa Martin-Green’s Michael Burnham, a Starfleet Commander who accidentally helps start a war between the United Federation of Planets and the Klingon Empire. She gets court-martialed and stripped of her rank following these events and is reassigned to the U.S.S Discovery.

3. Star Trek: Strange New Worlds (2259-TBD)

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds also begins before the events of Star Trek: The Original Series and is set up by Star Trek: Discovery as its captain, Anson Mount’s Christopher Pike, makes an appearance in its second season. If that name sounds familiar, it’s because Pike first appeared in the original failed pilot episode “The Cage” of Star Trek: The Original Series and would later become James T. Kirk’s predecessor after the original actor, Jefferey Hunter, backed out of the show.

Fast forward all these years later and now we get to learn more about the story of Christopher Pike and many other familiar faces from The Original Series alongside new characters. It’s made even more special as the ship the crew uses is the U.S.S. Enterprise NCC-1701, the very same that would soon call Kirk its captain.

4. Star Trek: The Original Series (2265-2269)

The fourth Star Trek series or movie you should watch in the order is the one that started it all - Star Trek: The Original Series . Created by Gene Roddenberry, this first Star Trek entry would kick off a chain reaction that would end up creating one of the most beloved IPs of all time. However, it almost never made it to that legendary status as its low ratings led to a cancellation order after just three seasons that aired from 1966 to 1969. Luckily, it found great popularity after that and built the foundation for all the Star Trek stories we have today.

Star Trek: The Original Series starred William Shatner as James T. Kirk and Leonard Nimoy as Spock, but the rest of the crew would go on to become nearly as iconic as they were. As for what the show was about? Well, we think Kirk said it best during each episode’s opening credits;

“Space: the final frontier. These are the voyages of the starship Enterprise . Its five-year mission: to explore strange new worlds, to seek out new life and new civilizations, to boldly go where no man has gone before.”

5. Star Trek: The Animated Series (2269-2270)

While Star Trek: The Original Series may have been canceled after just three seasons, its popularity only grew, especially with the help of syndication. Following this welcome development, Gene Roddenberry decided he wanted to continue the adventures of the crew of the Enterprise NCC-1701 in animated form, and he brought back many of the original characters and the actors behind them for another go.

Star Trek: The Animated Series lasted for two seasons from 1973 to 1974 and told even more stories of the Enterprise and its adventures throughout the Milky Way galaxy.

6. Star Trek: The Motion Picture (2270s)

The first Star Trek film was a very big deal as it brought back the crew of Star Trek: The Original Series after the show was canceled in 1969 after just three seasons. However, even it had a rough road to theaters as Roddenberry initially failed to convince Paramount Pictures it was worth it in 1975. Luckily, the success of Close Encounters of the Third Kind and other factors helped finally convince those in power to make the movie and abandon the plans for a new television series called Star Trek: Phase II, which also would have continued the original story.

In Star Trek: The Motion Picture, James T. Kirk was now an Admiral in Starfleet, and certain events involving a mysterious alien cloud of energy called V’Ger cause him to retake control of a refitted version of the U.S.S. Enterprise with many familiar faces in tow.

7. Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (2285)

Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry had a sequel to Star Trek: The Motion Picture written, but Paramount turned it down after the reception to that first film was not what the studio had hoped for. In turn, Paramount removed him from the production and brought in Harve Bennett and Jack B. Sowards to write the script and Nicholas Meyer to direct the film.

The studio’s decision proved to be a successful one as Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan is considered by many, including IGN, to be the best Star Trek film. As for the story, it followed the battle between Admiral James T. Kirk and the crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise vs. Ricardo Montalban’ Khan Noonien Singh. Khan is a genetically engineered superhuman and he and his people were exiled by Kirk on a remote planet in the episode ‘Space Seed’ from the original series. In this second film, after being stranded for 15 years, Khan wants revenge.

8. Star Trek III: The Search for Spock (2285)

Star Trek III: The Search for Spock continues the story that began in Wrath of Khan and deals with the aftermath of Spock’s death. While many on the U.S.S. Enterprise thought that was the end for their science officer, Kirk learns that Spock’s spirit/katra is actually living inside the mind of DeForest Kelley’s Dr. McCoy, who has been acting strange ever since the death of his friend. What follows is an adventure that includes a stolen U.S.S. Enterprise, a visit from Spock’s father Sarek, a run-in with Klingons, and so much more.

9. Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (2286 and 1986)

While it is undoubtedly great that Kirk and his crew saved Spock, it apparently wasn’t great enough to avoid the consequences that follow stealing and then losing the Enterprise. On their way to answer for their charges, the former crew of the Enterprise discover a threat to Earth that, without spoiling anything, causes them to go back in time to save everything they love. The Voyage Home is a big departure from the previous films as, instead of space, we spend most of our time in 1986’s San Francisco.

10. Star Trek V: The Final Frontier (2287)

Star Trek V: The Final Frontier once again brings back our favorite heroes from Star Trek: The Original Series, but it’s often regarded as one of the weakest films starring Kirk, Spock, McCoy, etc. In this adventure, our crew’s shore leave gets interrupted as they are tasked with going up against the Vulcan Sybok, who himself is on the hunt for God in the middle of the galaxy.

11. Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country (2293)

Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country is the final movie starring the entire cast of Star Trek: The Original Series, and it puts the Klingons front and center. After a mining catastrophe destroys the Klingon moon of Praxis and threatens the Klingon’s homeworld, Klingon Chancellor Gorkon is forced to abandon his species' love of war in an effort to seek peace with the Federation. What follows is an adventure that calls back to the fall of the Soviet Union and the Berlin Wall and serves as a wonderful send-off to characters we’ve come to know and love since 1966, even though some will thankfully appear in future installments.

12. Star Trek: The Next Generation (2364-2370)

After you make it through all six of the Star Trek: The Original Series movies, it’s time to start what many consider the best Star Trek series of all time - Star Trek: The Next Generation . The series, which starred Patrick Stewart as Captain Jean-Luc Picard, ran from 1987 through 1994 with 178 episodes over seven seasons.

There are so many iconic characters and moments in The Next Generation, including William Riker, Data, Worf, Geordi La Forge, Deanna Troi, and Dr. Beverly Crusher, and many of these beloved faces would return for Star Trek: Picard, which served as a continuation of this story.

While we are once again on the U.S.S. Enterprise in Star Trek: The Next Generation, this story takes place a century after the events of Star Trek: The Original Series. However, there may just be a few familiar faces that pop up from time to time.

13. Star Trek Generations (2293)

While Star Trek Generations is the first film featuring the Star Trek: The Next Generation crew, it also features a team-up that many had dreamed of for years and years between Captain Jean-Luc Picard and Captain James T. Kirk.

Our heroes are facing off against an El-Aurian named Dr. Tolian Soran, who will do whatever is necessary to return to an extra-dimensional realm known as the Nexus. Without spoiling anything, these events lead to a meeting with these two legendary captains and a heartfelt-at-times send-off to The Original Series, even though not every character returned that we wished could have.

14. Star Trek: First Contact (2373)

Star Trek: First Contact was not only the second film featuring the crew from Star Trek: The Next Generation, but it also served as the motion picture directorial debut for William Riker actor Jonathan Frakes. In this film, the terrifying Borg take center stage and force our heroes to travel back in time to stop them from conquering Earth and assimilating the entire human race.

This movie picks up on the continuing trauma caused by Jean-Luc Picard getting assimilated in the series and becoming Locutus of Borg, and we are also treated to the first warp flight in Star Trek’s history, a shout-out to Deep Space Nine, and more.

15. Star Trek: Insurrection (2375)

Star Trek: Insurrection, which unfortunately ranked last on our list of the best Star Trek movies, is the third film starring the Star Trek: The Next Generation crew and followed a story involving an alien race that lives on a planet with more-or-less makes them invincible due to its rejuvenating properties. This alien race, known as the Ba’Ku, are being threatened by not only another alien race called the Son’a, but also the Federation. Captain Jean-Luc Picard and his crew disobey Federation orders in hopes to save the peaceful Ba’Ku, and while it sounds like an interesting premise, many said it felt too much like an extended episode of the series instead of a big blockbuster film.

16. Star Trek: Nemesis (2379)

The final Star Trek: The Next Generation movie is Star Trek: Nemesis , and it also isn’t looked at as one of the best. There are bright parts in the film, including Tom Hardy’s Shinzon who is first thought to be a Romulan praetor before it’s revealed he is a clone of Captain Jean-Luc Picard, but it also features a lot of retreaded ground. There are some great moments between our favorite TNG characters, but it’s not quite the goodbye many had hoped for. Luckily, this won’t be the last we’ll see of them.

17. Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (2369-2375)

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine is the fourth Star Trek series and it ran from 1993 to 1999 with 176 episodes over seven seasons. Deep Space Nine was also the first Star Trek series to be created without the direct involvement of Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry, but instead with Rick Berman and Michael Piller. Furthermore, it was the first series to begin when another Star Trek Series - The Next Generation - was still on the air.

The connections between The Next Generation and Deep Space Nine don’t end there, as there were a ton of callbacks to TNG in Deep Space Nine, and characters like Worf and Miles O’Brien played a big part in the series. Other TNG characters popped up from time to time, including Captain Jean-Luc Picard, and certain Deep Space Nine characters also showed their faces in TNG.

Deep Space Nine was a big departure from the Star Trek series that came before, as it not only took place mostly on a space station - the titular Deep Space Nine - but it was the first to star an African American as its central character in Avery Brooks’ Captain Benjamin Sisko.

Deep Space Nine was located in a very interesting part of the Milky Way Galaxy as it was right next to a wormhole, and the series was also filled with conflict between the Cardassians and Bajorans, the war between the Federation and the Dominion, and much more.

18. Star Trek: Voyager (2371-2378)

Star Trek: Voyager is the fifth Star Trek series and it ran from 1995 to 2001 with 172 episodes over seven seasons. Star Trek: Voyager begins its journey at Deep Space Nine, and then it follows the tale of Kate Mulgrew’s Captain Kathryn Janeway (the first female leading character in Star Trek history!) and her crew getting lost and stranded in the faraway Delta Quadrant.

The episodes and adventures that follow all see the team fighting for one goal: getting home. Being so far away from the Alpha Quadrant we were so used to letting Star Trek be very creative in its storytelling and give us situations and alien races we’d never encountered before.

That doesn’t mean it was all unfamiliar, however, as the Borg became a huge threat in the later seasons. It’s a good thing too, as that led to the introduction of Jeri Ryan’s Seven of Nine, a character who would continue on to appear in Star Trek: Picard and become a fan favorite.

19. Star Trek: Lower Decks (2380-TBD)

Star Trek: Lower Decks debuted in 2020 and was the first animated series to make it to air since 1973’s Star Trek: The Animated Series. Alongside having that feather in its cap, it also sets itself apart by choosing to focus more on the lower lever crew instead of the captain and senior staff.

This leads to many fun adventures that may not be as high stakes as the other stories, but are no less entertaining. There have already been three seasons of Star Trek: Lower Decks, and the fourth season is set to arrive later this summer.

The series is also worth a watch as it is having a crossover with Star Trek: Strange New Worlds that will mix the worlds of live-action and animation.

20. Star Trek: Prodigy (2383-TBD)

Star Trek: Prodigy was the first fully 3D animated Star Trek series ever and told a story that began five years after the U.S.S. Voyager found its way back home to Earth. In this series, which was aimed for kids, a group of young aliens find an abandoned Starfleet ship called the U.S.S. Protostar and attempt to make it to Starfleet and the Alpha Quadrant from the Delta Quadrant.

Voyager fans will be delighted to know that Kate Mulgrew returns as Kathryn Janeway in this animated series, but not only as herself. She is also an Emergency Training Holographic Advisor that was based on the likeness of the former captain of the U.S.S. Voyager.

The second season of Star Trek: Prodigy was set to arrive later this year, but it was not only canceled in June, but also removed from Paramount+. There is still hope this show may find a second life on another streaming service or network.

21. Star Trek: Picard (2399-2402)

Star Trek: Picard is the… well… next generation of Star Trek: The Next Generation as it brings back not only Partick Stewart’s Jean-Luc Picard, but also many of his former crew members from the beloved series. The story is set 20 years after the events of Star Trek Nemesis and we find Picard retired from Starfleet and living at his family’s vineyard in France.

Without spoiling anything, certain events get one of our favorite captains back to work and take him on an adventure through space and time over three seasons and 30 episodes.

The show had its ups and downs, but the third season, in our opinion, stuck the landing and gave us an “emotional, exciting, and ultimately fun journey for Jean-Luc and his family - both old and new - that gives the character the send-off that he has long deserved.”

22. Star Trek: Discovery: Seasons 3 and 4 (3188-TBD)

While Star Trek: Discovery begins around 10 years before Star Trek: The Original Series, the show jumps more than 900 years into the future into the 32nd Century following the events of the second season. The Federation is not in great shape and Captain Michael Burnham and her crew work to bring it back to what it once was.

Star Trek: Discovery is set to end after the upcoming fifth season, which will debut on Paramount+ in 2024.

For more, check out our look at the hidden meaning behind Star Trek’s great captains, why Star Trek doesn’t get credit as the first shared universe, if this may be the end of Star Trek’s golden age of streaming, and our favorite classic Star Trek episodes and movies.

IGN Recommends

Joker: Folie à Deux First Trailer Shows Joaquin Phoenix's Joker and Lady Gaga's Harley Quinn

Screen Rant

Every star trek tv series, ranked by popularity.

Star Trek has had a wide range of critical and commercial success. But what's considered to be the best Star Trek series, and which is most popular?

With the release of the new series, Strange New Worlds , fans are beginning to once again question what the best Star Trek series ever is. Star Trek has garnered universal acclaim over its more than five decades of existence, but some TV series within the franchise are more popular than others. Star Trek began in 1966 and is still generating content to this day with no signs of stopping. To date, the franchise has spawned 9 TV shows, 13 movies, and a whole host of other media such as books, podcasts, and video games. Television, however, is what makes up the backbone of the franchise, and the critical and commercial success of Star Trek's TV shows tells a fascinating story of how the property has continually appealed to fans since its inception.

The recent advent of streaming services has kicked the Star Trek franchise into overdrive, and all series are available to stream on various platforms. This makes it important to take into account all factors that make up the overall popularity of every Star Trek series including viewership numbers (when available), critic and fan reviews, and how the popularity of the series may have evolved over time due to things like syndication.

Updated on May 9th, 2022 by Tanner Fox: Older than almost any other television series relevant in popular culture today, Star Trek is a phenomenon that sparked a perpetual fascination with science fiction in avid TV viewers. It's gone through many changes over its half-century-long run, and not every project bearing the Star Trek tag has been successful. Still, most television outings related to the property tend to be well-received.

The continued competition between major streaming services has ushered in a new era for Star Trek, and, while shows like Below Decks may not have captivated audiences as the original animated series has, there's still every chance that the franchise continues to grow in popularity in the foreseeable future.

Star Trek: Prodigy

Star Trek: Prodigy isn't necessarily going to get set in stone as the least-popular outing for the sci-fi property, but it's definitely an unconventional one that's tough to compare to the more established series. Intended for younger audiences, Star Trek: Prodigy debuted on Nickelodeon in 2021 and sees a cast of characters learn the virtues of teamwork as they commandeer the abandoned U.S.S. Protostar in order to escape the Delta Quadrant.

RELATED: Which Character From Star Trek: Prodigy Are You, Based On Your Zodiac?

Thus far, the series seems to have garnered positive responses from fans, but it's tough to gauge the show's overall popularity given how new it is and the fact that it was intended to target a totally new audience who may not be familiar with Star Trek .

Star Trek: Lower Decks

Star Trek: Lower Decks is part of the recent Star Trek renaissance. Season 1 of Lower Decks premiered in August 2020, and the second was released in October 2021. Lower Decks is available on Paramount+ , the streaming service from ViacomCBS that was rebranded from CBS All Access earlier in 2021. It is one of the only animated shows in the franchise, and its writing and comedic style have earned both praise and criticism from fans.

It is also one of the lowest-rated Star Trek shows to date, earning a scant 67% at Rotten Tomatoes. Likewise, although not much data is available, Star Trek: Lower Decks did not break any streaming records for CBS All Access during its first season unlike its sister shows Star Trek: Discovery and Star Trek: Picard . Despite a relatively lukewarm response, fans of the show have praised its humor and references to the wider Star Trek universe.

Star Trek: The Animated Series

Star Trek: The Animated Series aired between 1973 and 1975. It was a direct sequel to Star Trek: The Original Series and a response to the popularity TOS had gained in syndication. Most of the regular cast from TOS returned to reprise their roles in The Animated Series .

Although the show is often overlooked by fans and has a questionable place in the canon, it was actually quite popular when it aired, and it continues to be relatively well-reviewed today by those who remember it. In fact, TAS had the opposite problem that The Original Series did while it was airing; ratings for the show were high, but it did not appeal to a younger audience, the demographic it was marketed to. Despite its apparent popularity, Star Trek: The Animated Series is not nearly as well-reviewed or well-remembered as most other Star Trek series.

Star Trek: Enterprise

Star Trek: Enterprise ran from 2001 to 2005 and was broadcast on UPN. Enterprise was a prequel to the franchise up until that point and was set in the 22nd century, chronicling the adventures of Captain Jonathan Archer and his crew on the very first Starship Enterprise . The premiere episode was watched by 12.5 million viewers, and ratings for the show continued to be good for a little while before beginning to decline at the end of the 1st season.

RELATED: Star Trek's 10 Best Vulcan Episodes

In an effort to bring them back, the third and fourth seasons featured more serialized storylines, but Star Trek: Enterprise continued to see a steady decline in ratings, which ultimately got the show canceled after 4 seasons. This has been attributed to both the storylines and the fact that UPN was flagging as a network. The show continues to have a small but devoted following in the fandom, but with only a 57% on Rotten Tomatoes and a 7.5/10 on IMDb, it seems that modern reviewers don't hold it in very high regard.

Star Trek: Voyager

Star Trek: Voyager was the series that came before Enterprise , airing from 1995 to 2002 on UPN. Voyager is best remembered as being the show with Star Trek's first female captain and for its overall diversity of cast members, including the most female leads of any Star Trek series up until that point.

Unlike Enterprise , Voyager always maintained above a 3.0 on the Nielsen rating scale, something that a show needs to do to be considered generally successful. However, Voyager never came close to achieving the same ratings that shows like Star Trek: Deep Space Nine or Star Trek: The Next Generation did. Like Enterprise , Voyager continues to maintain a devoted following , and modern fan ratings are much better than Enterprise's, as well. The show maintains a respectable 76% on Rotten Tomatoes and a 7.8 on IMDb.

Star Trek: Discovery

Premiering in 2017, Star Trek: Discovery served as a prequel to The Original Series until a time jump to the 32nd century in season 3. Discovery has almost exclusively been available on streaming but is the only modern Star Trek series to also have some more traditional data about viewership; the first episode and the first season were broadcast on CBS in 2017 and 2020 respectively. The 2020 full first season release saw a disappointing 1.7 million viewers tuning in, but this was likely because the show had already been viewed by many on streaming.

Discovery also set a subscription record for CBS All Access when the first season premiered, bringing in the largest number of subscriptions for a whole month after its release. Fan ratings place Discovery quite highly, with an average of 84% on Rotten Tomatoes for all 3 seasons. This percentage was helped significantly by the recent 3rd season which garnered high praise from all sides.

Star Trek: Picard

Star Trek: Picard is the most recent of the three modern Star Trek show that has aired on streaming services. Picard premiered in January of 2020, and both its fan and critical reviews are better on average than Discovery's . After two seasons, Picard has an 88% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, and most critics praised actor Patrick Stewart's performance in his return as the iconic Captain Jean-Luc Picard from Star Trek: The Next Generation .

RELATED: 10 Best Sci-Fi Shows Of All Time, According To Ranker

In addition to this, Star Trek: Picard set the record for the second most subscriptions to CBS All Access, and it actually beat Discovery's streaming record with 115% more total streams. That said, the audience response to the series hasn't been quite as positive as the critical response, though it remains one of the most highly-acclaimed Star Trek projects in quite some time.

Star Trek: The Original Series

Although it is true that Star Trek: The Original Series was canceled in 1969 mostly due to low ratings, several factors contribute to it being higher in popularity than its cancelation would suggest. One of the main reasons is that, even though ratings declined over the course of TOS's 3 seasons, the audience demographics for the show helped keep it alive. TOS has always had an extremely loyal and ardent fanbase which is perhaps best illustrated by the famous letter-writing campaign that fans put together after the second season amid rumors about the show's cancelation.

The third season was unfortunately not enough to save TOS from being canceled, although its cancelation has mostly been attributed to budget cuts and bad time slot decisions from the network. After TOS was canceled, however, it became immensely popular in syndication in the 1970s, gaining the status of a cult classic and reaching an even bigger audience than it had when it was on the air. Today, of course, TOS is celebrated as the show that launched the entire Star Trek franchise.

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine ran from 1993 to 1999 and achieved a high degree of both critical and commercial success. The show was a departure from traditional Star Trek up until that point both in terms of its setting and the darker themes incorporated into its plotlines. This did not hinder Deep Space Nine's popularity, however.

Although Deep Space Nine was the first in the string of Star Trek shows that saw ratings steadily decrease over the course of its 7 seasons, it always maintained ratings well within the margin of what it needed to be considered a success. In 1999, it was reported that Deep Space Nine was the number 1 syndicated show for adults ages 18-54, and it was consistently rated better than Star Trek: Voyager even though the two ran concurrently. Additionally, with a 91% on Rotten Tomatoes and an 8/10 on IMDb, fan consensus proves that Star Trek: Deep Space Nine is still held in high regard .

Star Trek: The Next Generation

Out of every show in the franchise, Star Trek: The Next Generation is universally the most popular . TNG aired from 1987 to 1994, and, although the first season is usually not thought of highly by fans, the show hit its stride quickly. Unlike The Original Series , TNG achieved wide mainstream success during its run, mostly due to the fact that it was created for syndication. TNG consistently maintained high ratings, often ranking in the top 10 of hour-long dramas, and is one of the few Star Trek shows that actually ended its run with higher ratings than when it began. Today, TNG has a 91% on Rotten Tomatoes, but places just slightly higher than Deep Space Nine on IMDb with an 8.6/10

Star Trek: The Next Generation and many of the other best shows in the franchise ended well over a decade ago, but the endeavors of that era continue to be the most highly-rated. That said, Star Trek has nearly limitless potential, and it may not be long until a series garners acclaim equal to or greater than that of TNG.

NEXT: The 10 Greatest Redemptions On Star Trek, Ranked

Cast & crew
User reviews

Walter Koenig, Leonard Nimoy, William Shatner, James Doohan, DeForest Kelley, George Takei, and Nichelle Nichols in Star Trek (1966)

In the 23rd Century, Captain James T. Kirk and the crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise explore the galaxy and defend the United Federation of Planets. In the 23rd Century, Captain James T. Kirk and the crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise explore the galaxy and defend the United Federation of Planets. In the 23rd Century, Captain James T. Kirk and the crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise explore the galaxy and defend the United Federation of Planets.

Gene Roddenberry
William Shatner
Leonard Nimoy
DeForest Kelley
277 User reviews
99 Critic reviews
16 wins & 31 nominations total

Episodes 80

Photos 1927

Captain James Tiberius 'Jim' Kirk …

Mister Spock …

Lieutenant Leslie …

Nurse Chapel …

Ensign Freeman …

Yeoman Rand …

Announcer …

Beta 5 Computer …
Security Guard …
All cast & crew
Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

Stellar Photos From the "Star Trek" TV Universe

Nichelle Nichols and Sonequa Martin-Green at an event for Star Trek: Discovery (2017)

More like this

Did you know

Trivia In the hallways of the Enterprise there are tubes marked "GNDN." These initials stand for "goes nowhere does nothing."
Goofs The deck locations for Kirk's Quarters, Sickbay and Transporter Room vary (usually between decks 4-7) throughout the series.

Dr. McCoy : "He's dead, Jim."

Crazy credits On some episodes, the closing credits show a still that is actually from the Star Trek blooper reel. It is a close-up of stunt man Bill Blackburn who played an android in Return to Tomorrow (1968) , removing his latex make up. In the reel, He is shown taking it off, while an off-screen voice says "You wanted show business, you got it!"
Alternate versions In 2006, CBS went back to the archives and created HD prints of every episode of the show. In addition to the new video transfer, they re-did all of the model shots and some matte paintings using CGI effects, and re-recorded the original theme song to clean it up. These "Enhanced" versions of the episodes aired on syndication and have been released on DVD and Blu-Ray.
Connections Edited into Ben 10: Secrets (2006)
Soundtracks Star Trek Music by Alexander Courage

User reviews 277

May 17, 2006

Lovable Creatures: Our Favorite Screen Pals

How do they maintain Gravity on the the U.S.S. Enterprise ? .
All aliens on all planets speak the English language?
What does "TOS" mean?
September 8, 1966 (United States)
United States
Star Trek: The Original Series
Backlot, Culver Studios - 9336 W. Washington Blvd., Culver City, California, USA
Desilu Productions
Norway Corporation
Paramount Television
See more company credits at IMDbPro

Technical specs

Runtime 50 minutes

More to explore

Follow Polygon online:

Follow Polygon on Facebook
Follow Polygon on Youtube
Follow Polygon on Instagram

Filed under:

Entertainment

Invincible season 2 finale, Netflix’s Ripley, and more new TV this week

Plus: American Horror Story: Delicate, Star Trek: Discovery, and Elsbeth return

Share this story

Share this on Facebook
Share this on Reddit
Share All sharing options

Share All sharing options for: Invincible season 2 finale, Netflix’s Ripley, and more new TV this week

Sonequa Martin-Green as Burnham and Doug Jones as Saru, holding each others arms and looking at each other in a still from Star Trek: Discovery

It’s April Fools’ Day, but this post is no joke: There is a lot of new TV to watch this week. In a lot of ways it’s a showdown of tense situations — “tense,” here, being used to cover things like Tom Ripley (Andrew Scott, in the new adaptation) trying to con his way into high society, American Horror Story: Delicate ’s Anna (Emma Roberts) attempting to figure what’s a real haunting and what’s in her head, Mark (Steven Yeun) trying to live up to the title of Invincible while he protects his family, or Larry David (Larry David) just trying to make it through the end of Curb Your Enthusiasm alive.

Lots to unpack in those stories, and beyond. Here’s the best new TV premieres and finales this week.

New shows on Netflix

Genre: Con-artist class warfare Release date: April 4, with all episodes Showrunner/creator: Steven Zaillian Cast: Andrew Scott, Johnny Flynn, Dakota Fanning, and more

Tom Ripley is always slippery, whether you’re encountering him in the original Patricia Highsmith novels or adapted to the screen. While he was last portrayed by Matt Damon in The Talented Mr. Ripley , here it’s Andrew Scott, rendered in stark black and white, as Ripley undertakes the same story as the film, and the tragicomic story of Ripley and Dickie Greenleaf (Johnny Flynn).

New shows on Hulu

American horror story: delicate part 2.

Genre: Rosemary’s Baby Release date: April 3 on FX at 10 p.m. EDT, next day on Hulu Showrunner/creator: Ryan Murphy and Halley Feiffer Cast: Emma Roberts, Kim Kardashian, Matt Czuchry, and more

Anna (Emma Roberts) should be enjoying having it all, in the running for the Oscar and with child. Unfortunately, things keep going mysteriously wrong, and she’s quickly losing time and sanity. Season 12b will pick up with where we left her last year before the season break — as the mystery mounts and the pregnancy progresses.

New shows on Max

Curb your enthusiasm season 12 finale.

Genre: Cringe comedy Release date: April 7 Showrunner/creator: Larry David Cast: Larry David, Cheryl Hines, Susie Essman, and more

Larry David is going out on top — or his version of it, anyway. This is the guy who co-created Seinfeld , as he is oft reminded, and left in the final season, but did come back for the final episode, as he is also often reminded about. Probably nothing to read into for this finale.

Genre: Drama Release date: April 7 Showrunner/creator: Will Tracy Cast: Kate Winslet, Matthias Schoenaerts, and more

The Chancellor is losing it — and now it’s time to see how everything really shakes out for her.

New shows on Prime Video

Invincible season 2.

Seventeen-year-old Mark Grayson as the superhero Invincible

Genre: Coming of age (as a superhero) Release date: April 4 Showrunner/creator: Robert Kirkman Cast: Steven Yeun, Sandra Oh, Sterling K. Brown, and more

Mark (Steven Yeun) is still trying to figure his shit out, especially as he comes to terms with a breakup and a complete confusion of his sense of purpose. And now Angstrom Levy (Sterling K. Brown) is back and threatening his family. Fuck, dude.

New shows on Paramount Plus

Genre: (Still a) Columbo-esque procedural Release date: April 4 Showrunner/creator: Robert and Michelle King Cast: Carrie Preston, Wendell Pierce, and more

That’s right, we’re doing it again! Elsbeth , the Good Wife spinoff centered around the best Good Wife side character, Elsbeth Tascioni (Carrie Preston), is back with the rest of the season. While it technically appeared in these very pages announcing its premiere earlier in February, the season now starts in earnest. Join us!

Star Trek: Discovery season 5

Genre: Science fiction Release date: April 4, with one episode Showrunner/creator: Alex Kurtzman and Michelle Paradise Cast: Sonequa Martin-Green, Doug Jones, David Ajala, and more

Star Trek: Discovery is returning for its fifth and final season. It’s the show that’s been driving the Star Trek TV renaissance (or, at least, the show all the other shows are building off of). And, as Susana Polo put it in her preview , “ Discovery has reached the final final frontier for a Star Trek show,” with the opportunity not seen in a quarter of a century.

New shows on Apple TV Plus

Loot season 2.

Genre: Comedy Release date: April 3, with two episodes Showrunner/creator: Alan Yang and Matt Hubbard Cast: Maya Rudolph, Joel Kim Booster, Nat Faxon, and more

Molly Novak (Maya Rudolph) is still trying to reconnect to the real world through her philanthropic efforts. In the process, she’s learning to be a little more human herself — often to, well, humorous effect. With Rudolph and Loot coming back for season 2, we can trust Molly is going to really, finally figure it out this time.

Genre: Contemporary noir Release date: April 5, with two episodes Showrunner/creator: Mark Protosevich Cast: Colin Farrell, Kirby, James Cromwell, and more

Sugar (Colin Farrell) is a world-weary private eye who needs a break, but is now booked for one more case. This modern noir — told vibrantly, both in palette and tone — follows that case, which, as these things do, turns out to be more complicated than meets the eye. (That is his real name, though.)

New shows on Crunchyroll

Wind breaker.

Genre: Shonen anime Release date: April 4 Based on the manga by: Satoru Nii

Haruka Sakura is lonely in his first year of Furin High School, recognized in town as the school with a bad academic rep that’s basically just for delinquents. Or at least he was bored, until he meets the members of Bofurin, a school organization comprised of said delinquents, who he learns are actually the sole protectors of the town.

The next level of puzzles.

Take a break from your day by playing a puzzle or two! We’ve got SpellTower, Typeshift, crosswords, and more.

Sign up for the newsletter Patch Notes

A weekly roundup of the best things from Polygon

Just one more thing!

Please check your email to find a confirmation email, and follow the steps to confirm your humanity.

Oops. Something went wrong. Please enter a valid email and try again.

Loading comments...

harley quinn and joker dance on the stairs in Joker 2

The Joker 2 trailer introduces Lady Gaga’s Harley Quinn to the hallucinatory stage

How to finish ‘The Whisper’ and get Whisper of the Worm in Destiny 2

Isaac Clarke aims hit cutting tool at the right shoulder of a Necromorph which is backlit by sunlight in a screenshot from Dead Space (2023)

EA enlists Dead Space remake team to work on next Battlefield game

A group of Automatons hanging out in Helldivers 2

Helldivers 2 fans are shaken by the sudden return of Automatons

A Viera stands with her arms crossed, vexed by something in FFXIV

What you should spend Tomestones of Poetics on in FFXIV

Logos for ProbablyMonsters (a stylized Viking head) and Hidden Grove (a stylized “G”) on a black background

Former Destiny leads have a new studio and a new game

Show Spoilers
Night Vision
Sticky Header
Highlight Links

Follow TV Tropes

http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Film/StarTrekBeyond

Film / Star Trek Beyond

Edit locked.

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/stb.png

"We got no ship, no crew. How are we gonna get out of this one?" — Captain James T. Kirk

The One With… the Enterprise getting destroyed. Again.

Star Trek Beyond is the thirteenth film in the Star Trek film series, released in 2016.

The sequel to Star Trek Into Darkness and the third film in the "Kelvin Timeline" that began with Star Trek (2009) . Premiering at San Diego Comic-Con on July 20, 2016 and worldwide on July 22, it coincided with the franchise's 50th anniversary . It is directed by Justin Lin with a script by Simon Pegg and Doug Jung.

After a brutal attack on the Enterprise by an enigmatic and malevolent alien warlord named Krall ( Idris Elba ), the bridge crew are left stranded on an unknown world. Now Kirk ( Chris Pine ), Spock ( Zachary Quinto ), McCoy ( Karl Urban ), Uhura ( Zoe Saldaña ), Sulu ( John Cho ), Chekov ( Anton Yelchin ) and Scotty ( Simon Pegg ) must find a way to escape and put a stop to the warlord's sinister plans.

Star Trek Beyond provides examples of:

Abandon Ship : Kirk orders the crew to abandon ship after the Enterprise has been critically damaged and is unable to escape. The Enterprise itself has its warp engines and main engineering hull cut off in succession, while the saucer separates from the remains of engineering and crash-lands on a planet.
Aborted Arc : The first two movies had a plotline going on about the increasing militarization of Starfleet (thanks to Nero's incursion and Klingon border skirmishes) and a looming conflict with the Klingon Empire. Star Trek Into Darkness even had Starfleet wearing Nazi-ish uniforms and was full of The War on Terror parallels. Here, we get a bright, colourful standalone adventure where Scotty explicitly says "Starfleet is not a military organization," the opening scene is about diplomacy, and the main plot is a big-budget version of TOS's many "stranded on an unfamiliar planet" episodes. The only connection to this is a minor thematic one, as Krall is a stranded Starfleet officer who supports militarism. Furthermore, the technological advances from the last two movies (transwarp beaming, using augment blood to cure death) have been forgotten. None of this is a bad thing, though, because it brings this setting more in line with the parts of TOS that weren't about about Klingons, Romulans, or Khan (i.e. the majority of the show).
Don't let the Red Skirt fool you, Uhura can hold her own. After Enterprise 's neck is severed from the stardrive, she runs into a room to help Kirk manually separate the saucer, sees two of Krall's mooks , and kills both of them in seven seconds flat.
Jaylah, who is very handy in a fistfight or a gunfight.
Shohreh Aghdashloo plays a flag officer.
The Orion crewmember is played by Fiona Vroom, who previously portrayed one on the Fan Sequel web series Star Trek Continues .
Sulu is revealed to be gay, just like his original actor.
Along with a discussion on Aliens Speaking English , Jaylah's dialogue is a reference to Sofia Boutella's accent.
Greg Grunberg plays a ranking officer only this time he's defending the station, not attacking it
Adaptational Early Appearance : The Enterprise-A was only introduced fifteen years after the events of the five year mission. Here it appears three years in.
Ambiguous Syntax : In his log, Captain Edison says "Of the crew, only three remain." While presumably this means Edison himself, Manas, and Kalara, it could also be interpreted as meaning three crew members besides Edison himself, in which case there might be a fourth member of the Swarm out there.
And the Adventure Continues : The Enterprise crew departs from Starbase Yorktown on the Enterprise -A to resume their 5-year mission, with the "Space, the final frontier" monologue recited by the entire main crew.
Are We There Yet? : As Jaylah leads Scotty on an extended trek to the Franklin , he gripes this. She warns him to not keep saying it, but fortunately they are just about there.
Arm Cannon : The Swarm's normal weapons. They'e apparently detachable though, since Krall uses one in a failed attempt to shoot Kirk.
Armor-Piercing Attack : Krall's drones are able to bypass the Enterprise's shielding, because Krall has its shield frequencies from hacking Federation technology. Subverted when his three remaining swarm ships are tricked into ramming the Franklin , which possesses actual armor they can't completely penetrate .
Attack Its Weak Point : Used to brutal effect by Krall: eliminating the deflector dish prevents the Enterprise from activating its shields or warping long distances, taking out the nacelle pylons stops her from warping at all, and finally slicing the ship in half by attacking her neck severs the impulse engines from the warp reactors, disabling the ship. It turns out Krall knows so much about how Starfleet vessels work and how to attack them effectively because he used to be a Starfleet captain himself . Kirk returns the favor later on, using the "Bees'" computer navigation patterns against them to disrupt and destroy their formation easily.
Autobots, Rock Out! : Weaponized. Due to Jaylah's penchant for "beats and shouting" music, the Enterprise crew use "Sabotage" to, well, sabotage the communications Krall's swarm uses to coordinate . Kirk: Let's make some noise.
Award-Bait Song : Rihanna 's "Sledgehammer", which plays during the closing credits.
Awesomeness by Analysis : For the third time in this movie series, Uhura shows what the job of communications officer entails besides being the radioman. Her keen ears and eidetic memory for sound is what tips her off to the fact that Krall is really the long-MIA Starfleet Captain Balthazar Edison, via the key phrase "pushing the frontier" .
Badass Boast : A quiet one from Sulu to Krall: "You have no idea who we are. But you'll soon find out."
Bat People : Two recurring extras are Starfleet officers who resemble humanoid bats with skin the texture of exposed musculature.
Belly-Scraping Flight : Happens toward the end as the crew tries to get the nearly century-old USS Franklin airborne, which involves dropping it off a cliff to terminal velocity to get enough momentum for lift up. They scrape the cliff side once or twice on the way down, the tops of some trees when they pull up and brush a few more peaks on their way to orbit.
Big Damn Heroes : Kirk almost follows Krall being Thrown Out the Airlock when he fails to open an escape hatch in time , but Spock and McCoy reach him in their hijacked vehicle and rescue him.
Big Little Man : Kirk is surprised when the hostile alien ambassador roaring away at him charges down to kick his ass—and turns out to be the size of a small dog. Unfortunately all his friends pile onto Kirk as well, so he has to quickly beam out of there before they bite him to death.
Birthday Beginning : The film opens three days before Kirk's birthday, and he's a little morose, because this year he'll be older than his father ever was .
Birthday Hater : Kirk, because his birthday is also the anniversary of his father's death. This particular birthday is worse than usual because now he's a year older than his dad ever got to be.
Bizarrchitecture : Starbase Yorktown, Starfleet's new deep space base/colony, is a series of interlocking ring worlds with their own gravities (their hollow centers contain tunnels and docking stations for starships), with a central hub that's straight out of Inception .
Bluff the Imposter : Kirk pulls this on Kalara, claiming the artifact Krall is after is still on the Enterprise ; when she reveals her true colours , he and Chekov are able to get the drop on her.
Boarding Pod : Krall's swarm of small ramming ships serves as both weapons and boarding pods so the Enterprise can be boarded and torn apart simultaneously.
Body Horror : The victims of Krall's energy drain appear shriveled and mummified. McCoy has the opportunity to perform a medscan on one left barely alive and discovers that even internal organs are savaged by the attack. Later, Krall is seen performing his technique on two live crew members of the Enterprise in front of Uhura, who looks absolutely horrified.
With the Enterprise destroyed, the bridge crew is forced to use the USS Franklin , a 100-year-old starship by this point, as their new ride.
Kirk rides a vintage motorcycle that happened to be aboard the Franklin as part of the rescue mission.
Early on, McCoy steals a bottle of scotch from Chekov's locker so he can have a drink with Kirk (they both would have guessed him to be a vodka man ), and toast Kirk's father. At the end of the film, Chekov is briefly heard telling a woman that "whiskey was actually invented in by a little old lady in Russia."
One of the aliens who attacks Kirk in the opening scene and ends up beamed onto the Enterprise by accident is at Kirk's birthday party in the final scene, hanging out with Keenser . Kirk: Hey, Kevin. Still not wearing pants, I see.
Scotty mentions an Urban Legend that the Franklin was grabbed by a giant green space hand. In the credit's sequence, we see just such a hand. (Also counts as a Mythology Gag , since that very thing happened to the Enterprise in the Prime timeline.)
As it plays, McCoy and Spock note that it's classical music. Even Spock is bobbing his head to it. In Star Trek V , he did say he was "well-versed in the classics".
Kirk knows how to ride a motorcycle, as he did it a lot before joining Starfleet in the first movie.
Kirk remembers how he joined Starfleet because of Christopher Pike's Dare to Be Badass speech.
The USS Franklin , the derelict vessel that the crew jury-rig to make it back to Starbase Yorktown, is very similar in design to Captain Archer's Enterprise NX-01 and has an NX-series registry number (NX-326) as well. It's indicated to be Earth's first Warp 4 vessel, which would make it older than the Enterprise , though it was evidently kept in service until the mid-22nd century.
The Enterprise is equipped with escape pods built right into the walls of the main bridge. They're called "Kelvin pods" in reference to the USS Kelvin , most of whose bridge crew including George Kirk died because they had no way to escape the ship.
Scotty escapes the destruction of the Enterprise by removing the warhead from a photon torpedo, stowing himself inside, and launching it, a trick he apparently picked up from Khan.
Scotty again finds himself having to hold on for his life (and with his Starfleet ring prominently in view on his hand both times). While he had serious trouble before, this time he is able to make it without help.
The Franklin 's former captain, Balthazar Edison, is said to have been a MACO prior to the founding of the Federation. He also tells Kirk that he lost soldiers to the Xindi and Romulans.
Scotty mentions that the NX spaceships used to be built in space (so they're not meant to fly in atmosphere), unlike the current generation, a reference to how Kirk watched the Enterprise being built on the ground in the first movie.
Uhura's brilliance in linguistics comes into its most crucial play ever, when she discovers a critical secret about Krall just from catching a single word spoken on a scratchy video on the USS Franklin .
Sulu has a daughter .
The Starfleet commodore who gives Kirk the mission briefing early in the movie is later identified with the surname "Paris", suggesting she may be an ancestor of Star Trek: Voyager character Tom Paris (the son of an Admiral Owen Paris).
In the third film set in this timeline, the Enterprise is destroyed, just as it was in Star Trek III: The Search for Spock .
An In-Universe Call-Forward : Ambassador Spock is revealed to have passed away, and when Spock is looking through his belongings, he finds a picture of the original crew circa Star Trek V: The Final Frontier , 24 years in this crew's future .
Frequent Abrams collaborator Greg Grunberg appears as a Starfleet officer (Commander Finnegan) aboard the Yorktown starbase. If his name sounds familiar, it's because he's the alternate-universe version of the Cadet Shaun Finnegan who was Kirk's Academy-days bully in the original series. Related to this, he also voiced Kirk's (possibly abusive) stepdad in the first movie.
Danny Pudi of Community (for which Justin Lin directed an episode) appears under heavy makeup as one of the stranded aliens that accost Scotty when he lands on Altamid.
Casting Gag : One of the Enterprise crew members is a female Orion. She is played by Fiona Vroom, who already played the Orion woman Lolani in the eponymous episode of the Fan Sequel series Star Trek Continues .
Casual Danger Dialogue : Kirk is under attack from a Teenaxi Zerg Rush and desperately calling for a beam-out. Scotty's response? Scotty: That was quick. There's quite a bit of surface interference, Captain.
Character Development : Kirk has settled into the position of Captain, and no longer feels he doesn't deserve the job. As a result he seems more mature and confident, while also keeping a more aloof attitude .
Chekhov's Gag : Keenser is ill, and is coughing up some manner of acid that could corrode through a bulkhead, which McCoy is treating. This appears to be a one-off joke when McCoy mentions it, but later it comes in handy when the crew is captured, as he coughs on a wall with wiring to the cell door, enabling Sulu and Uhura to hotwire the door open for an escape attempt. [Keenser coughs up on the door] Uhura: Nice job, Keenser. Sulu: That is a one heck of a cold. [Keenser nods]
The necklace Spock gave Uhura, which is emphasized during their spat earlier in the film, becomes significant when Spock remembers that it's made of Vokaya, which he can track to find Sulu, Uhura, and the rest of the crew's location .
The stereo Jayla scavenged from the wreck of the USS Franklin , which is used to broadcast music that disrupts the communications of Krall's swarm fleet .
The seemingly useless trinket Kirk collects from a failed diplomatic mission is actually the MacGuffin that powers an ancient alien superweapon .
The hologram generators that Jaylah uses to disguise the USS Franklin are later used to produce multiple images of Kirk riding a motorcycle around Krall's compound, providing Krall's mooks with multiple false targets to shoot at.
Kirk is informed that Yorktown is building a new ship that will supposedly be more advanced than the Enterprise . It reappears at the end, when it is completed and christened the Enterprise - A .
In the opening, Scotty tells Kirk he can't beam him up because of "geological interference" — that is, he's too far underground. This becomes an issue in rescuing the crew as well.
The Breaching Pods slamming into the Enterprise hull gets turned against the villains when the Franklin suddenly launches out of the water in front of them, and Krall's ships get stuck in the hull, as the Franklin was built back when Starfleet still used armor plating instead of shields.
Kirk uses the gunk that he and Chekov got trapped in to shield a group of Enterprise survivors during the rescue from Krall's compound.
Chekhov's Gunman : Kirk runs into Ensign Syl during the Abandon Ship sequence. It's later revealed that he gave her the Abronath for safekeeping .
Chekhov's Skill : We get to see Kirk drive a motorcycle again to create a diversion to allow his crew to escape Krall .
Dr. Carol Marcus joined the crew of the Enterprise at the end of Into Darkness . She is not seen or even mentioned in this movie.
Likewise, Gaila (who appeared in the 2009 film, and joined the crew permanently in the IDW comic series leading up to this film) isn't present in the film.
Several Recurring Extra bridge crew members from the last film are also absent.
Close on Title : No title appears until the end of the film, a first in the franchise's fifty year history.
Clothing Damage : Kirk's fight with the Teenaxi leaves his uniform shredded. Bones: Jim, you look like crap. Kirk: Thank you, Bones.
Confess to a Lesser Crime : After crash-landing on Altamid, Kirk accuses Kalara of knowing that they would be ambushed and of having led them into a trap, to which she claims that she only did so to protect her crew whom Krall has imprisoned; it turns out she really was in league with Krall, but fortunately Kirk sees through it .
Continuity Nod : A number of them towards Star Trek: Enterprise , as that is the only series still officially canon to the reboot movies. On the planet, the crew find the Starfleet ship USS Franklin , which actually predates the NX-01 Enterprise and shares obvious design similarities. It's stated to be the first Warp 4 vessel, as the NX-01 was the first Warp 5 vessel. The transporter is mentioned as being rated only for cargo, not crewmen, as the NX-01 had the first official crewman transporter. The uniforms resemble the flight suit design. There are mentions of MACO, a pre-Federation Starfleet military corps that had a detachment on the NX-01, as well as events like the Romulan War and the Xindi Conflict. Krall's specifically mentions his time as a MACO and in the Xindi Conflict, which would indicate he served on the NX-01 during the third season .
Contrived Coincidence : One would think this when an escape pod carrying a survivor from one of Krall's attacks just happens to arrive at Yorktown right after the Enterprise , which happens to be carrying the MacGuffin Krall wants, docks at the station. However, it's later revealed that the whole thing was planned from the start by Krall to lure the Enterprise to Altamid .
The USS Franklin is from the era of Star Trek: Enterprise , being the predecessor to the Enterprise NX-01. Having been missing and in disuse for a century, Scotty and Jaylah bring the old boy out for one last flight to escape Altamid and reach Yorktown.
The USS Enterprise (NCC-1701): For her final appearance, she's been given a noticeable refit between this film and the end of Star Trek Into Darkness with her warp nacelles made somewhat smaller, the pylons swept back, and the back of the neck (nape?) pushed slightly inward.
The individual ships within Krall’s swarm. Spikes of Doom definitely in effect.
And of course, the USS Enterprise - A .
Costume Evolution : The Starfleet Uniforms get a overhaul dropping the delta patterned tunic from the first two films for solid colored ones closer to the Original Series designs with a tweaked collar.
Creation Sequence : The movie ends with the time-lapse creation of the Enterprise -A .
Creator Cameo : Doug Jung, who co-wrote the film, appears as Sulu's husband Ben. He's seen carrying their daughter to safety when Yorktown is attacked.
Curb-Stomp Battle : Yet again , the Enterprise is on the receiving end of one of these, mainly because it's a Zerg Rush of enemy ships. Tragically, it's her last.
Damsel out of Distress : By the time Spock arrives at Krall's camp to save Uhura, she's not only saved herself, but ends up saving him from one of Krall's mooks. Uhura: What are you doing here? Spock: Clearly I am here to rescue you.
Deadpan Snarker : Spock and McCoy spend much of the movie trading dry wisecracks.
Death by Irony : Enterprise gets her revenge on Kalara for luring her into Krall's trap, by way of Kirk firing all the ventral thrusters of the crashed saucer, flipping it over and crushing her under the saucer's bulk .
Death by Looking Up : Kalara getting squashed like a bug by the crashed saucer of Enterprise .
Death Notification : After arriving at Starbase Yorktown, Spock is approached by two Vulcan elders who inform him that Ambassador Spock has passed away .
Death of a Thousand Cuts : The Enterprise gets destroyed by a massive swarm of fighter-sized ships that, if encountered individually, would've been negligible threats.
Declining Promotion : Kirk in the end declines the promotion to admiralty he previously applied for. Like his prime universe counterpart, he now realizes he enjoys commanding a starship too much to give it up. Commodore Paris seems almost amused at this. Kirk: Vice Admirals don't fly, do they?
Deconstruction : The design of the Enterprise herself suffers this — literally. The nacelle pylons and the "neck" between the saucer and engineering hulls are obvious structural weaknesses, and Krall takes brutal advantage of that.
Determinator : After being wounded by shrapnel during their crash-landing on Altamid, Spock spends the rest of the film making a valiant attempt to soldier on in spite of his injuries; once he is out of mortal danger, he insists on accompanying the away team to rescue Uhura and the rest of the crew, and volunteers to board one of the enemy vessels (with McCoy forced to tag along in both instances, much to his chagrin).
Did You Think I Can't Feel? : McCoy and Spock spend much of the movie together, doing their emotion/stoic classic banter. McCoy at one point says he thinks Spock hates him and Spock is taken aback, calling him Leonard and saying he thought it was clear he had the utmost respect for him.
Digging Yourself Deeper : Though most of the bridge crew have assembled on the USS Franklin , almost every other Enterprise survivor is still imprisoned by Krall. Spock determines a novel method to locate them: Spock: It is vokaya , Mr. Chekov, a mineral unique to Vulcan which emits low-level radiation. ... Lt. Uhura wears a vokaya amulet which I presented to her as a token of my affection and respect. McCoy: You gave your girlfriend radioactive jewelry. Spock: The emission is harmless, doctor, but its unique signature makes it very easy to identify. McCoy: ...You gave your girlfriend a Tracking Device . Kirk, Chekov, Jaylah, Scotty : ( reaction shot ) Spock: ( Beat ) ... That was not my intention .
Disney Villain Death : Manas and Krall.
Distressed Dude : Spock suffers a nearly fatal injury in an escape pod crash. McCoy is there to help, but Spock is incapacitated until they get their hands on actual medical supplies.
Do a Barrel Roll : The Enterprise -A pulls one off at the end of the film.
Does This Remind You of Anything? : Krall's rhetoric bears a strong resemblance to that of the Nazis, no doubt on purpose. This may be ironic given that he turns out to be a black man. The good guys get this too, oddly, with Scotty illustrating Federation doctrine that strength comes from unity with the "fasces" symbol (a bundle of sticks is stronger than one) that was used by the Italian Fascists and inspired their name (of course, they are hardly the only ones who said this). note The actual Nazis and Fascists said both things, in fact. Struggle was good between nations or races, but unity was also a strength within as well. The Italian Fascists actually took the fasces analogy from the Roman Empire, who used it to represent the unity of the many different nationalities under the Imperial government, much like the many species and planets united under the Federation.
Dropped a Bridge on Her : Literally, even. The bridge of the Enterprise is dropped on Kalara, along with the entire rest of the saucer section .
Dutch Angle : Extensively used in scenes set in the crippled and crashed Enterprise .
Emotions Versus Stoicism : A natural consequence of McCoy and Spock being paired together during the Party Scattering .
Empty Chair Memorial : When pouring a drink for himself and Kirk, McCoy also pours a glass in memory of Kirk's father.
Escape Pod : The surviving crew abandons the ship in escape pods, which are quickly grabbed by Krall's fighters and brought to his base.
"Eureka!" Moment : When they argue the hive's Zerg Rush could be disrupted with a "loud and distracting" signal, Scotty suddenly recalls something he called that, and asks Jaylah to provide some music for their attack.
Explain, Explain... Oh, Crap! : Spock's reaction as he remembers Uhura's necklace and McCoy points out the implications of his explanation. McCoy: You gave your girlfriend a Tracking Device ? Spock: [beat] That was not my intention.
Krall's Mecha-Mooks are rather similar to the Geth ; both are a group of alien-created robots led by an organic being who happens to be a fanatical rogue agent of the respective series' main peacekeeping organization .
After The Reveal , Krall is clearly one for Pinbacker in Sunshine , down to the video logs .
Failsafe Failure : The last failsafe lever on Yorktown's atmosphere processing system refuses to work like the others did, forcing Kirk to tug at it until it finally comes free at the proper dramatic moment. Plus, the system has all kinds of elaborate safeguards to prevent anyone from tampering with it via the network — but a person can simply take an elevator to the roof of the building it's on and release a bio-weapon with ease even as people in the command center struggle to overcome the security protocols to try to stop them.
Fanservice Extra : Not to the extent of the previous films, but a Recurring Extra female Orion crew member who never gets any dialogue is wearing nothing but a nightgown during her only notable scene, where she kicks Chekhov out of her cabin.
Averted with Sulu, who has a photo of his daughter on his console on the bridge, yet survives the adventure, though at one point Krall threatens to kill him . His daughter herself, his husband, and all other inhabitants of Starbase Yorktown, are at risk of being killed by the Abronath when Krall attacks .
And then there is the photo of the original TOS crew, his "family" , that young Spock finds among the personal items he inherited from the recently deceased Spock Prime. He likely died of old age though, and may have already outlived most, if not all of them.
Flat "What" : Kirk's response to the Teenaxi Delegation's final logical descent to "They want to eat us!"
Forced Friendly Fire : Uhura, in the course of beating down one of Krall's mooks, uses his gun to blast another when she's on the way to help Kirk separate the Enterprise saucer from the remains of the engineering section.
The movie opens with tiny aliens trying to rip Kirk to pieces. Later, tiny swarm ships succeed in ripping the Enterprise to pieces.
When Kalara first approaches Yorktown, her incoming video feed glitches, causing her to briefly resemble Krall, as a hint that they're on the same side . She also briefly appears more humanoid in other glitched shots of the video, possibly hinting at her and Krall's true origins .
When Spock mentions to McCoy about his plan to return to New Vulcan after Ambassador Spock's death , he also says that he hasn't told Kirk about it as he hasn't had the time. McCoy mentions his belief that Kirk would not like it, saying, "he wouldn't know what to do without you" to Spock. In the climax, McCoy and Spock rescue Kirk from falling through the hatch into space. Promptly, Kirk thanks Spock with, "What would I do without you, Spock?"
When Kirk volunteers the Enterprise to go on the rescue mission as it has the best sensors, Commodore Paris mentions that the only other ship with better sensors is not fully built yet, foreshadowing the Enterprise -A .
Immediately after Spock stores the MacGuffin in the Enterprise archives, the archive computer readout momentarily blurs; revealed later that Krall was searching for the artifact by hacking into the Federation's computers .
He refuses to say where he learned to speak English. Nor does he ever name his people, or homeworld .
He's familiar enough with Federation tech to hijack one of their probes' signal .
His calling the USS Franklin "Old Friend" has the viewer assuming he's referring to Kirk. He's actually referring to his old ship.
Upon seeing Starbase Yorktown, he exclaims, "Look how far they've come," hinting that he was around when the Federation started .
His sucking the life of captives and how it changes his appearance to one more smooth-skinned and human-appearing hints that he's not what he appears .
His wardrobe has a similar pattern to NX-01 Enterprise -era uniforms .
Forgotten Phlebotinum : Transwarp beaming and using augment blood to cure death aren't even mentioned. However, three years have passed since the end of Star Trek Into Darkness , so it's possible the technology has been somehow lost in the interim. Transwarp beaming in particular would be a Story-Breaker Power in Beyond . If the crew could use it to return to Starbase Yorktown without a ship, then there would be no need for Jaylah or the Franklin to play any role in the story.
Four Lines, All Waiting : As detailed below on Party Scattering , once the Enterprise crashes there are four groups: Kirk and Chekov keeping their eyes on Kalara; Spock and McCoy; Scotty (who meets Jaylah); and Sulu, Uhura, and the rest of the surviving crew (who are captured by Krall). Then it's reduced by Kirk reuniting with Scotty, the latter managing to beam up McCoy and Spock, and ultimately the captive crew being rescued.
Freeze-Frame Bonus : Hendorff , the big burly Red Shirt who appeared in the previous two movies note He's the guy in the bar scene in Star Trek who insults Kirk by calling him "cupcake", and then appears on the away mission to Q'onos in Into Darkness can be seen walking directly behind Keenser when the enterprise prisoners are being herded onto Krall's base.
From Bad to Worse : The crew escape the wrecked Enterprise , only to end up as prisoners on an alien planet where Everything Is Trying to Kill You .
Future Music : Beastie Boys are now considered "classical". Ironically, Scotty doesn't like Public Enemy because it's " too old-fashioned."
Gale-Force Sound : Taken to the Logical Extreme : both the Franklin and Starbase Yorktown, using "Sabotage" by Beastie Boys . While not 100% accurate, as they use the music broadcasted over VHF frequencies , the editing makes it look like this (provided you forget about Sound In Space ). Works exceptionally well in case of Yorktown, the activation of its powerful transmitters being synced to the Metal Scream in the song .
Going Down with the Ship : Kirk is the last person to leave the Enterprise , though he doesn't crash with it.
Go Mad from the Isolation : Krall is actually a Starfleet captain who crashed on the planet a hundred years ago. He and two others ended up as the only surviving crew. After waiting most of his life to be rescued, he grew resentful of the Federation, and after finding advanced mining drones on the planet to be a formidable fleet, in his last official Captain's Log he swore revenge .
Got Volunteered : When Spock volunteers to commandeer one of the swarm ships, Kirk shoots him down because Spock is still injured. Spock compromises by suggesting someone also familiar with the swarm ship and his injuries join him. Cut to Bones giving Spock hell for the idea.
Gravity Screw : Because of the design of Starbase Yorktown, the Artificial Gravity fields create areas where one can fly on gravity slipstreams, such as during the Interesting Situation Duel between Kirk and Edison .
Gunship Rescue : Sulu and Uhura attempt this when stranded on Krall's base by attempting to send a distress beacon to Starfleet. Krall expected this, and actually skewed their location coordinates so any attempts at this trope would end up in the nebula, making them easy targets for Krall's fleet.
Happily Married : Hikaru Sulu. He has a husband and young daughter.
Hell-Bent for Leather : The survival uniforms worn by Kirk and Chekov — which sensibly lack rank insignia (given that they're survival gear, who wears them is a matter of who happens to get in that escape pod, and picking out senior officers in a situation where they may be evading and escaping from enemy territory would only tell the enemy who their high-value captives are) — have, as standard issue, a leather jacket (it's grey and dark blue, however, not black).
Heroic Sacrifice : During the Enterprise's fall, Uhura completes the saucer separation, leaving herself to be captured by Krall.
History Repeats : Just like his father, Jim Kirk is helpless to save his ship from an overwhelming enemy force, managing only to buy time for the survivors to evacuate. The Enterprise even closely resembles the USS Kelvin after her nacelles are blown off by the swarm. He does manage to escape before his ship's final destruction, however.
Hoist by His Own Petard : Krall is killed by the superweapon he's spent all this time seeking.
Hollywood Tactics : Par for the course with Star Trek when the Enterprise and later Starbase Yorktown use photon torpedoes against the swarm, which is ineffective because the swarm simply makes a hole for them to pass through. Photon torpedoes are consistently described as simply being matter/antimatter missiles, and even on Earth, explosive weapons don't need a direct hit to inflict damage: proximity detonation of the torpedoes would have inflicted significant casualties, if not ended the battle before the Enterprise was even boarded. (Partially handwaved when it's stated the torpedoes can't track the enemy, it's possible they could not even detect the targets for a proximity detonation.)
Hope Spot : In the final battle between Krall and Kirk, Krall sees his mostly human reflection in a shard of glass. After briefly pondering helping Kirk stop the bioweapon, he grabs the shard and tries to kill Kirk. Kirk kills him about 30 seconds later.
I Can Still Fight! : In spite of his various injuries, Spock keeps going on and surviving various away missions .
I Choose to Stay : Kirk and Spock are seriously considering leaving the Enterprise to pursue other interests at the start of the film, but they eventually change their minds.
I'm a Doctor, Not a Placeholder : During the battle at Yorktown, Spock and McCoy are beamed onto one of Krall's ships to gather intelligence. What McCoy isn't this time is a Riddle for the Ages note Assuming McCoy wasn't actually going to curse a certain F-word , the likely completion of the phrase would be "fighter pilot", given what Kirk was asking McCoy to do : McCoy: Damn it, Jim, I'm a doctor, not a f — [is beamed out]
Imperial Stormtrooper Marksmanship Academy : Justified . Krall's troops are actually re-purposed mining robots left behind by the former occupants of Altamid .
Inappropriately Close Comrades : As well as the ongoing Spock/Uhura, Kirk's "Captain's Log" section at the beginning describes the open formation and breaking up of sexual relationships among crew members as just something that happens on a long space mission.
Inertia Is a Cruel Mistress : Like Kirk and Sulu in the '09 film, Kirk and Jaylah are beamed out while in midair, and land hard.
In Spite of a Nail : The Enterprise is wrecked over an alien planet, much like in Star Trek III: The Search for Spock . And like in Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home , the crew later take command of the Enterprise -A.
A battle with Mecha-Mooks inside the Enterprise while it's being torn apart by the Swarm.
Kirk exchanging phaser fire with pursuers while sliding down the saucer section.
Kirk's final battle with Krall in the variable-gravity centre of Yorktown.
Invisibility Flicker : The holo-camouflage hiding the Franklin .
It Has Been an Honor : When Spock sees Krall's mooks converge upon them, he delivers a typically Vulcan variation on this trope to McCoy, right after McCoy quips, "And here I was thinking you cared." Spock: Of course I care, Leonard. I always assumed my respect for you was clear.
It's Not You, It's Me : Uhura's reason for breaking things off with Spock early in the movie. Lampshaded by McCoy: McCoy: When an Earth girl says, "It's not you, it's me," it's definitely you.
I Will Only Slow You Down : Spock says this to McCoy when they leave the cave: Spock: Leaving me behind will significantly increase your chances of survival, Doctor. McCoy: Well, that's damn chivalrous of you, but completely out of the question. Spock: It is imperative that you locate any surviving crew. McCoy: And here I was thinking you cared.
Kalara lured the crew of the Enterprise to be ambushed by Krall's swarm leading to the ship's untimely destruction. Later, Kirk and Chekov activate the thrusters of the downed saucer section causing it to flip and crush her.
Keystone Army : Krall's lethally swift and highly coordinated swarm of hive-minded drones are easily disrupted and defeated by jamming their control signal with "Sabotage" by Beastie Boys .
Kirk Summation : Given by ( who else? ) Kirk to Krall in the final act, trying to appeal to his former loyalty to Starfleet and humanity and his better nature. Krall responds with Shut Up, Kirk! , leading to the final fight.
Jaylah quite enjoys the "beats and shouting" of "classical" human rock music. Scotty, not so much.
Likewise, Spock has no problem quoting Shakespeare, to McCoy's annoyance. He also apparently has no problem with Beastie Boys .
Layman's Terms : While the crew attempt to figure out a way to stop Krall's attack on Yorktown , Spock comes up with an idea and starts going into a Technobabble-laden explanation, which annoys Kirk and he tells Spock to cut to the chase. Uhura helpfully translates in Spock's place. Uhura: What's he saying is if we can disorient the swarm, we can kick its ass! Spock: Precisely.
Leaning on the Fourth Wall : Kirk's log mentions that the last three years seem to have been of " episodic " nature.
Legacy Vessel Naming : The more advanced ship being constructed by the Federation is christened the USS Enterprise (NCC-1701- A ) at the end, after the Enterprise is destroyed in the film .

Lightning Bruiser : The "bees". The swarm is made of thousands of incredibly fast ships that simply dodge any attacks they come across, and they're sturdy enough to go through the Enterprise without being damaged, but they have no offensive weapons like phasers or torpedoes and are reliant on their communications network to coordinate attacks.
Limited Wardrobe : While recording his Captain's Log , Kirk opens his wardrobe and looks at the identical uniform shirts.
Literal Cliffhanger : Scotty's torpedo topples into a ravine as he makes a futile leap for the ledge... then we see he's managed to grab on lower down.
Looks Like Orlok : Idris Elba's Big Bad character Krall has pointy ears, sharp teeth, and angular features.
Meaningful Echo : During Kirk's meeting with Commodore Paris at the beginning, they discuss Kirk's doubts about his suitability for his current role, and she says that in space, "it's easier than you think to get lost." During their meeting at the end, they discuss what Kirk has learned about what happened to the crew of the Franklin after they were stranded on Altamid, and Kirk says their captain wasn't a bad man, he just got lost.
Mecha-Mooks : The foot soldiers and pilots of the Swarm are revealed to be this, with Krall's only living henchmen being Manas and Kalara .
Mildly Military : Kirk puts in for a promotion from Captain to Vice Admiral. In most navies, the rank of Rear Admiral is between Captain and Vice Admiral. (And promotions are awarded, not applied for.) Of course, Starfleet isn't a military organization .
Misfit Mobilization Moment : Jaylah: You take my house... and you make it fly.
Model Planning : Kirk and his officers plan their attack on Krall's base and the rescue of their crew using parts from the spaceship they're trying to repair.
Mythology Gag : Considering the size of the franchise — more than enough for a separate page .
Near-Villain Victory : Even after his swarm fleet is destroyed, Krall manages to sneak his way to the top of the central building inside Starbase Yorktown and almost succeeds in distributing his bioweapon throughout the station's ventilation system, which would kill everyone on board. Kirk barely manages to prevent it by ejecting both Krall and the weapon out the airlock just in time — and almost goes with them.
Neglectful Precursors : The original inhabitants of Krall's planet. They departed long ago and left behind all kinds of dangerous technology including a fleet of swarm ships that can tear a starship to pieces , Bio-Augmentation technology that can extend life and enhance the body, and half of a Phlebotinum Bomb that kills life on a potentially massive scale.
Not So Above It All : Spock can be seen bobbing his head slightly to Beastie Boys.
Offscreen Airplane Pull-up : Because the Franklin wasn't designed with atmospheric flight in mind, the ship can't take off from its cliffside perch, and has to fall down said cliff to pick up enough speed for the thrusters to provide lift. Right as it reaches the bottom of the cliff, you see the ship nose-up like it's trying to pull up, but it keeps falling straight down regardless and falls out of view. A few seconds later, the ship races overhead as if atmospheric flight was trivial.
Off with His Head! : The Enterprise's saucer section is sliced away from the stardrive section. Krall: Cut its throat.
Older Is Better : The Franklin is inferior in virtually every way to a modern starship, but its outdated hull plating makes it more resistant to Krall's fighters than newer ships which rely on shielding that Krall's fighters can ignore. This is probably as close as starships get to Truth in Television , considering that WWII-era warships had thick armor to protect them, whereas modern warships rely more on advanced defensive weaponry.
Spock is injured, and McCoy does emergency surgery on him, following it with an attempt to make things lighter with a joke. Spock starts laughing in response. McCoy correctly deduces that Spock's lost a significant amount of blood due to the injury, and is delirious.
While previously shown to be gregarious and forceful, the movie opens with Captain Kirk feeling isolated and lacking purpose.
Outdated Hero vs. Improved Society : Krall, a.k.a. Captain Balthazar Edison , was a former hero of the Romulan and Xindi Wars. When Starfleet was formed and the Federation preferred peace and cooperation between alien species rather than waging wars, Edison found out the hard way that he could not adapt to the new society. That, coupled with being abandoned in uncharted territories by the society he once proudly served, was the final straw that drove him mad and caused him to swear vengeance.
Outrun the Fireball : Done by Kirk and Chekov once the captain shoots at the crashed Enterprise 's fuel compartment.
Krall's fleet of swarm ships. They're too numerous for phasers to destroy many of them, they're too small and nimble for torpedoes to lock onto them, and they have tech that lets them pass straight through shields. They behave in much the same way as piranhas in movies do , and can destroy a starship in minutes.
The swarm ends up on the receiving end when the Franklin gets involved, as it not only has a means to disable the swarm's coordination (getting VHF on a high-tech starship is trivial when the ship has a 20th-century "boombox" stereo on board), but since it uses armor instead of shields for defense, the biggest chunk of damage it takes in the film note not counting the wear-and-tear that sitting on a cliff for 100 years must have done to it is when ramming a bulkhead , which would obliterate a more "modern" ship like the Enterprise , does cosmetic damage to the Franklin .
The aforementioned boombox is itself an OCP, as it's not very likely you'd find one that far into the future when they're already ancient by 21st-century standards.
Party Scattering : The crew of the Enterprise are split up once they land on Altamid. Scotty's escape pod lands him near Jaylah; McCoy and Spock (who were piloting an enemy ship) crash land in a mountainous river region; Sulu, Uhura, and the rest of the crew end up in Krall's base; and Kirk and Chekov (who left the Enterprise last) end up in a forest region near the Enterprise 's crashed saucer.
Percussive Maintenance : Played for Laughs during Kirk's opening log by Scotty and Keenser trying to fix a device. Keenser whacks it as the scene closes with unknown results.
Personal Effects Reveal : Spock receives Ambassador Spock's possessions, which include a portrait of the TOS Prime crew.
The Peter Principle : Kirk was starting to get exhausted with the deep space exploration and being gone from anything related to Earth in years. For this reason he was considering a promotion to Admiral, but at the end of the film decides against it because he knew once he did he would miss the adventure of being a Captain. Kirk accepting promotion and hating it was a major character point in the original films, as Admiral Kirk became a bureaucrat and was told by both Spock and McCoy that commanding a starship is what he is best at (his demotion back to Captain was gladly received).
Planet Spaceship : Starbase Yorktown is less a conventional starbase and more a small artificial planet that just happens to double as one. It's big enough to hold millions of inhabitants in rings along the edges.
Powered by a Forsaken Child : Krall has managed to stay alive for "many lifetimes" thanks to technology that harvests the energy of the people he captures, to make himself younger. This technology has mutated his human form so that he resembles those he's feeding off.
The Power of Friendship : Krall spends the entire film sneering that the Federation's objective of peace and cooperation makes them weak.
The Power of Rock : Spock comes up with the idea of using radio jamming to disorient Krall's fleet, but they need a signal to broadcast. Cue Beastie Boys . Judging from the reactions of the characters, the music itself is broadcast on the ship and Yorktown as well. (The trope's best shown as the biggest explosion occurs right at a Metal Scream .)
Pre-Asskicking One-Liner : Just before unleashing The Power of Rock , Kirk can't quite resist the temptation. Kirk: Let's make some noise.
Ragnarök Proofing : The USS Franklin seemingly crashed on the planet about 80 years ago and is expressly said not to be built for atmospheric travel. But with some hand-built repairs, the crew is able to get it back into decent condition and, with aid from a freefall, use it to escape the planet. It's not the first time in the franchise the Federation has made use of an 80+ year-old starship. It also helps that Jayla's been living in it since she was young; Scotty mentions she's done a number of repairs herself over time.
The antagonistic aliens assault the Enterprise by swarming the ship with thousands of smaller craft that cause hull breaches wherever possible. When flying in formation, they're able to slice the nacelles right off, and separate the saucer from the engineering section a few minutes later.
This backfires on Krall at the end. In order to intercept his remaining swarm fighters in Yorktown, Kirk has the Franklin burst from a pool that the ships are travelling over, causing all three to embed themselves in the Franklin's armored saucer (it's an older model which doesn't have shields).
The original red shirts are given the traditional treatment when Krall boards the Enterprise . In this case it's fully justified ; their shipboard function is to repel hostile boarders, and they are intentionally putting themselves in harm's way to protect the rest of the crew. They also manage to put up a decent fight, but it's a one-sided battle from the get-go .
The two who accompany Kirk during his first tussle with Krall are never named and don't last five seconds, although they do aid in taking down Krall's own mooks in turn.
When the boarders storm the bridge, a handful of blue-shirts soak up the fire, leaving the main cast unscathed.
Poor Ensign Syl is slaughtered for no other reason than to showcase Krall's ultimate weapon.
A redshirt and a blueshirt are sacrificed to Krall's life-draining machine when he demonstrates it to Sulu and Uhura. In a cruel twist, Simon Pegg mentioned that these are Robert Tomlinson and Angela Martine, the couple Married at Sea in the Prime Timeline episodes TOS : " Balance of Terror " and 'SNW : " A Quality of Mercy ." One of them dies in those episodes.
And like the second film, where he was involved in a defiance of this trope, Hendorff again survives the film's events. In this case, the trope is merely averted for him.
Retro Upgrade : Kirk's crew manage to replace damaged parts of the Franklin with what little they could salvage from the Enterprise .
The Reveal : Looking at some video logs (while doing some Rewind, Replay, Repeat ), Uhura finally figures out that Krall Was Once a Man , and even more, a Starfleet captain. Notably, she spots or rather hears the resemblance due to the way Krall and Captain Edison pronounce the word "frontier."
Rule of Cool : Why does the swarm turn to engulf the Franklin in a literal oceanic-style wave? Why does Kirk's frequency attack use a Beastie Boys song? Because it's awesome.
Franchise-wide, played with. After two previous films where Kirk gets his butt kicked by aliens/enhanced humans, he finally wins a fight against one of them.
Kelvin Universe-wise, this movie showcases the third time a starship has "breached" something it's typically not supposed to. The first movie had the Enterprise breach the clouds of Titan as a signature scene, Into Darkness had it breaching high-rise clouds on Earth after a narrowly avoided burn-up, and here we have the Franklin breaching the water of a large pool, just in time to blockade all remaining enemy craft, including the Big Bad 's .
Russian Reversal : Actually a plot point: Uhura's Cunning Linguist ears are able to recognize the similarity in Krall's line to a recording of USS Franklin 's missing CO, Captain Balthazar Edison, cluing her in that they're the same person. Krall: The Federation has pushed the frontier for centuries. But no longer. This is where it begins, Lieutenant [Uhura]. This is where the frontier pushes back .
Saved by the Platform Below : Scotty's escape pod comes to a hold above a cliff's edge . When he exits, the pod drops into the abyss with Scotty following shortly after. Then the camera pans beyond the edge to show that he actually managed to hold on to a ledge just below.
Scenery Gorn : The Enterprise is again turned into an impressively detailed burning wreck of broken metal.
Scenery Porn : The Enterprise entering Yorktown, which is absolutely stunning in its scope. A snowglobe in space, as McCoy describes it, containing cities in rings around the edges.
In the first film , the ship, albeit damaged, remained operative through the end.
In the second , the ship almost crashed after taking severe damage and had to be repaired so she could fly again at the end.
In this one, the ship finally gets completely wrecked beyond repair.
Shining City : Yorktown, even filmed in one of the few cities on Earth that look futuristic, Dubai.
Shooting the Swarm : The Enterprise firing her phasers at Krall's swarm. It does little to no good.
The central MacGuffin is a bioweapon, over which its creators could not maintain control . It looks exactly like a Guyver unit.
The backstory of Krall's time on the planet Altamid is one to Forbidden Planet .
The plan at the end involves stealing an enemy ship and using it to introduce a disrupting signal that will help eliminate the alien fleet. Perhaps Kirk had just rewatched Independence Day .
The armor Krall's soldiers wear strongly resembles the Covenant Elites' armor in Halo .
Yorktown's design brings to mind the space station/cityscape of Elysium , on a more massive scale.
Ensign Syl's cranium strongly resembles the facehuggers from the Alien films, and she shares the name of the Species femalien ("Sil") — both similar-typed aliens with H.R. Giger designs.
One of Jaylah's traps ( the one Kirk and Chekov get caught in ) is essentially the Amber gas from Fringe .
You can tell Simon Pegg co-wrote this film, with his classic "Skip to the End" line lurking in the script.
McCoy refers to the Franklin 's medical systems as "from the Dark Ages". He has similar sentiment of 20th century medicine in Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home after coming across an elderly hospital patient on dialysis.
The motorcycle ridden by Kirk is a Hilts PX70 — the manufacturer being the name of Steve Mc Queen 's character in The Great Escape , who famously tries to evade Nazis using a bike (while ironically, the one in this movie is used to enter a prison).
Single-Biome Planet : Averted. Altamid has a wide variety of environments ranging from dense forests to arid wastes to craggy mountains.
Sink The Life Boats : Subverted when the Swarm snatch the lifepods as they eject, as Krall needs them to maintain his youth.
Smug Snake : Kalara, for thinking that Kirk wasn't onto her after leading the Enterprise into a trap that saw it destroyed.
The Social Darwinist : Krall believes that struggle makes you strong, and loathes the Federation's ideal that strength comes from unity, though his people seem pretty united themselves .
Sophisticated as Hell : Spock of all people pulls one as McCoy attempts to cauterize his wounds and suggests that the pain would be less severe if Spock did not expect it: Spock: If I may adopt a parlance with which you are familiar, I can confirm your theory to be horseshit .
Space Clothes : Played with. Aboard ship, the crew all wear the regular Starfleet uniform, but after they're stranded dirtside following the Enterprise 's destruction, Kirk and Chekov change into uniforms more practical for field duty, featuring knee pads, boots, and a heavy coat. (Spock, McCoy, and Scotty leave the ship by means other than the escape pods and so don't have field uniforms on hand, and the rest of the crew is captured without the chance to change clothes.)
A downplayed version; after three years in deep space, Kirk is losing his sense of purpose. Commodore Paris: There's no relative direction in the vastness of space. There's only yourself, your ship, your crew. It's easier than you think to get lost.
A more straight version would be Krall, whose sociopathy is borne out of being marooned on a desolate planet and feeling that the Federation has abandoned him .
Space Station : Starbase Yorktown, which is a large globe containing the equivalent of several cities floating in space.
Spectacular Spinning : Krall's armor has a shoulder disc that spins for no reason other than to look awesome.
Stating the Simple Solution : Upon seeing Starbase Yorktown for the first time, McCoy suggests that it would've made far better sense to just rent out space on a planet instead . Spock says the decision was political : the Federation government apparently didn't want to show favoritism to any particular member planet, so they put it in deep space.
Spock gets unexpectedly beamed up while he and McCoy are both surrounded by hostile alien gunships.
When Kirk rides into Krall's base, Krall tries to shoot him down, allowing Uhura to slip away from captivity. Krall: [to Manas] Where is she?
When Chekhov reports that Krall's swarm is forming an attack wave, it's shown resembling a massive tsunami wave coming at them.
The signal used to disrupt Krall's swarm ships? "Sabotage" !
Stock Scream : There's a Wilhelm scream when a Red Shirt suffers a Railing Kill in the initial battle.
Straight Gay : Hikaru Sulu is gay, in honor of his original actor George Takei , and he and his husband have a young child.
Stranger in a Familiar Land : Krall, born Captain Balthazar Edison. A MACO and a combat veteran of the Xindi and Romulan conflicts , Edison helped win the war for Earth, only for Earth to disband his entire organization during the formation of the Federation and merge its personnel with the only Mildly Military Starfleet. They gave him a ship and turned him into an explorer. Even before his obvious madness and belief that he was abandoned, it's not hard to imagine he harbored some resentment over it.
Stacked Characters Poster : The movie poster depicts the main characters in a pillar from bottom right to top left.
Sudden Sequel Death Syndrome : Of all things, the USS Enterprise . She's attacked and ripped apart by a Zerg Rush about a quarter of the way into the film.
Super-Powered Robot Meter Maids : Krall's swarm of starship-killing drones were apparently originally built as mining robots .
Surprise Party : Early in the film, Kirk and McCoy celebrate Kirk's birthday in a low-key manner a few days early because he doesn't really like to celebrate on his birthday, what with it being the day his father died. At the end of the film, however, McCoy ends up hosting a large surprise party on Yorktown with the surviving Enterprise crew.
Take Back Your Gift : Uhura attempts to return a necklace Spock had previously given her (as it's a family heirloom). He refuses, saying that it is not the Vulcan custom. Good thing he didn't take it back.
Take My Hand! : Kirk reaches out to grab Jaylah's hand as he's being transported while she's falling to her death. He manages to reach her just in time to take her with him, saving them both.
Team Spirit : After Scotty meets and befriends Jaylah, she begins helping out him and the other members of the Enterprise crew, but he has to teach her some of the Starfleet values of working together to support everyone. Scotty: You're part of something bigger now, lassie. Right? Dinnae give up on that. 'Cause we'll sure as hell never give up on you. That is what being part of a crew is all about.
Technobabble : When discussing how to defeat Krall's swarm. Spock: Captain, the flight patterns of bees are determined by individual decisions. Krall's swarm formations are too complex not to rely on some form of unified cyberpathic coordination. I surmise that if we— Kirk: Spock! Skip to the end. Uhura: What he's saying is that if we disorient the swarm, we can kick its ass! Spock: Precisely.
Teleportation Sickness : McCoy complains after being beamed up that his innards "feel like they went to a barn dance." Scotty replies that it's because the Franklin 's transporter was only rated for cargo, and he had to make some modifications.
As Kirk and Chekov are traveling, the younger officer queries Kirk about how he knew that their recent passenger was a mole, and Kirk replies that he has a "nose for danger". As soon as they drop down into a gulley, a strange noxious fume wafts out, and Kirk sighs upon seeing it, knowing he just did this trope. It ended up being a good thing in the end, because they got ensnared in one of Jaylah's traps, and it leads to a reunion with Scotty.
As McCoy and Spock find themselves surrounded by hostiles, McCoy notes that at least he won't die alone. Spock is promptly beamed away. McCoy: ... Well, that's just typical.
After being beamed onto and hijacking one of the drone ships, McCoy reminds Spock that the last time they attempted to pilot one of the ships it crashed — mere moments later, they narrowly avoid crashing into one of the other drones; McCoy does, however, manage to pull off some impressive piloting.
Terrible Trio : The Swarm is headed by three individuals: Krall is the Big Bad , Manas assists him in taking vessels that are lured into the nebula by Kalara .
That's No Moon : Upon first encountering Krall's swarm ships, the Enterprise reads them as one large vessel. Then Kirk orders a zoom and realizes their true nature.
There Is No Kill Like Overkill : Kirk kills Kalara in repayment for destroying the Enterprise by squashing her like a bug with the wreckage of the saucer.
There Was a Door : Krall and his mooks are shown blasting through a door on Enterprise . It's the vault, though, so odds are it was locked.
Think Nothing of It : When Commodore Paris thanks Kirk for saving Yorktown. Kirk: It wasn't just me. It never is.
Twice McCoy and Spock hijack an alien fighter and twice its pilot goes out the airlock.
Krall/Edison, along with the bio-weapon he tried to use on Starbase Yorktown. Kirk is saved from the same fate.
Tinman Typist : Each swarm drone has two android pilots and breathable air on board for some reason.
Said word-for-word by Kirk during his birthday toast, to the Starfleet personnel who died during the film (and to Leonard Nimoy ). Also, an unintended meta-example, when Kirk says his line, the camera turns to the crowd, and center in the shot is Chekov, played by Anton Yelchin , who died a few weeks prior to the film's release.
An unsaid version in the early scene where McCoy pours himself and Kirk shots, and a third, representing Kirk's lost father. They tap their shot glasses to the extra glass, then to each other's.
Tracking Device : When Spock realizes that he can locate Uhura by scanning for a rare mineral in the necklace that he gave her, McCoy points out that he essentially put a tracker on his girlfriend. Spock's reaction is appropriately awkward.
Trailers Always Spoil : Later TV spots reveal the big third act surprise ( the Was Once a Man twist concerning Krall ), much to the fury of fans and Simon Pegg . Several also show the big final space battle (although not the very end) with the USS Franklin taking out the swarm.
Translator Microbes : Kalara uses a more realistic variation where you hear her speak an alien language, and a computer voice speaking English at the same time.
True Companions : Exploited by Krall, who drags Sulu into the prison area where the surviving Enterprise crews are held and attempts to drain his life to coerce the crew into surrendering the MacGuffin , knowing that they value each other's lives more than it. Ensign Syl finally relents and surrenders the MacGuffin to Krall because she doesn't want Sulu to die. Krall later brutally kills her to demonstrate the MacGuffin's power.
Tuckerization : The director's father Frank Lin inspires a starship, while planet Altamid is an anagram of Simon Pegg's daughter Matilda.
Turbine Blender : Narrowly avoided by Kirk. When trying to vent the atmospheric processor before the bioweapon is cycled into the atmosphere, Scotty warns him that failure to trigger the venting sequence will cause him to be sucked into the fan along with the bioweapon. Kirk manages to throw the switch just before he's sucked toward the fan.
Despite not being a starship pilot, McCoy knows how to pilot the alien starfighter when he ends up in one. Though if this timeline is anything like the prime one, Starfleet Academy gives basic courses on shuttle piloting (which would help).
Sulu scoffs at the idea that he might not know how to pilot a 100-year-old starship. note In the prime universe, Sulu had an appreciation for older pilot-driven vehicles and the skills to adapt to them, as he did in The Voyage Home .
Unspoken Plan Guarantee : Kirk and Chekov attempt to use the Enterprise's sensors to locate the crew. The actual plan was to get Kalara to think she's found the MacGuffin and thus contact Krall, allowing Chekov to trace the signal rather than look for bio-signs.
Or in Kirk's case, adventure is now boring. Three years into their five-year mission, Kirk is slowly starting to feel this way. He muses in his Captain's Log that if space is truly infinite, then they will never truly reach whatever it is they're striving for. He's ready to retire and become an admiral with a cushy desk job until the events of the film change his mind .
Krall also seems somewhat dissatisfied with what his victories have given him. He is convinced that humanity has doomed itself by becoming a peaceful species, instead of a Proud Warrior Race .
Vitriolic Best Buds : Spock and McCoy, having been separated from the crew during the crash landing, spend most of the film snarking at each other whilst McCoy tries to treat injuries Spock sustained in the crash with minimal supplies; nevertheless, Spock later confides in him the reasons for his strained relationship with Uhura, the death of Spock Prime, and his conflict over whether to remain at Starfleet or continue Spock Prime's work on New Vulcan, leading to the two of them seemingly growing warmer to one another . However, Spock later volunteers himself and McCoy to be beamed onto an enemy drone ship, much to McCoy's chagrin.
Was Once a Man : Krall isn't an alien, but a mutated human, and an ex-Starfleet officer at that.
Weaksauce Weakness : Krall's drone swarms are terrifying, but it turns out they can easily be defeated by broadcasting powerful VHF signals such as music, which disrupts their communications . However, this is justified in that the drones are actually mining units, and not intended to be weapons .
As Spock states. Fortunately, Kirk is entirely willing to provide one, seeing as it involves riding a motorbike.
When McCoy has to yank out the metal embedded in Spock's torso, he asks Spock what his favorite color is, knowing that Spock will be distracted by such an illogical question.
Two in fairly close succession. Scotty: Sir, the nacelles, they're gone! Kirk: Mister Sulu, abandon ship.
After Uhura and Sulu temporarily escape and send a distress signal, Krall confronts them. Sulu: You have no idea who we are. But you'll soon find out. Krall: You mean the distress signal you thought you sent ? The coordinates were altered. Your rescue ships will be stranded in the Nebula, and your base left vulnerable... Millions of souls from every Federation world holding hands. It's a perfect target.
And then another one during the climax: Kirk: I don't know how, but Edison is Krall !
The sight of the Enterprise's severed warp nacelles floating away from the ship, their glow dying as power fades. At this point, it's clear that our heroes are screwed .
After Scotty meets Jaylah, she takes him to her "house", which is actually a crashed ship. Scotty is then stunned when he sees the name of said ship: USS Franklin . It's a Starfleet ship.

Of a broader sort, Krall and the Franklin crew were first stranded decades before Nero's temporal incursion. What happened to them in the prime reality?
Two Swarm ships plus Krall's are left following the "Sabotage" scene and crash into the Franklin's hull. Hull breaches are reported and we see what happens to Krall, but what about the four drones aboard those ships?
When She Smiles : Subverted. McCoy's reaction to Spock breaking into a smile? McCoy: [fairly shocked] You really are delirious!
Where's the Fun in That? : Kirk is offered a promotion to Vice Admiral after saving Yorktown Kirk : Vice Admirals don't fly, do they? Paris : No. They don't. Kirk : Well, no offense, ma'am, but... where's the fun in that?
The background for Krall is essentially a simplified and militarized version of Morbius in Forbidden Planet : one of the last survivors of a mission of exploration is driven mad — or at least madder — by the technology of Neglectful Precursors , which he then uses for his own ends. Perhaps not coincidentally, the name of the planet is Altamid, which is close enough to "Altair IV" for one to suggest it wasn't a coincidence. Krall's name is also very similar to that of Forbidden Planet 's precursors, the Krell.
The idea of combating a hostile alien race by using the power of music is a plot ripped straight out of Macross , though in practice it has more in common with Mars Attacks!
Woobie, Destroyer of Worlds : For all of Krall's crimes and insanity, it's hard to not pity the man. Even Kirk seems to feel kinda bad for him in the end.
The Worf Effect : The Enterprise is one of the most advanced, well-armed ships in a major galactic power's military fleet... yet it gets torn to pieces in short order by the new villain's swarm ships. Later in the film though, it's established the villain is intimately familiar with the workings of Starfleet, including specifications of ships like Enterprise via information/communication interceptions, so he knew exactly where and how to hit them hard prior to the attack , as opposed to spontaneously. On top of that, there's a strong element of Outside-Context Problem at work: the Enterprise wasn't designed to fight large numbers of small craft, because nobody uses that kind of tactic in this setting.
Worst Aid : Lampshaded by McCoy when he says that pulling out the chunk of metal in Spock's gut could make him bleed to death. Unfortunately, he doesn't have the luxury of proper medical equipment to safely treat Spock, nor can he leave the object in Spock in their current situation. Instead, he decides to Take a Third Option by heating another piece of metal with his phaser and using it to cauterize Spock's wound, once the object is removed — it works well enough as a temporary measure until he finds better equipment.
Wounded Gazelle Gambit : Kalara claims to be the sole survivor of a catastrophe to lure the Enterprise into Krall's trap. She later tells Kirk that Krall is holding her family hostage to ensure her cooperation, hoping to gain the Captain's sympathy so she can steal the artifact from him. The second time, Kirk is onto her.
Wrench Wench : Jaylah, in addition to being a handy fighter, is a natural engineer. She gets many of the Franklin 's systems operational, despite a lack of formal training and not understanding English . Kirk is so impressed that he arranges for her to be admitted to Starfleet Academy.
"Yes"/"No" Answer Interpretation : When Scotty meets Jaylah, he asks if she's one of Krall's people, and she spits angrily on the ground. He decides to take that as a no.
You Have GOT to Be Kidding Me! : Scotty's reaction to his communicator falling apart.
You Killed My Father : Jaylah gets her revenge on The Dragon Manas, who was the one who killed her father when she escaped.
Zerg Rush : This is how Krall's fleet of drones operates, forming massive swarms of ships that are far too numerous for any single vessel to destroy before being overwhelmed. And given they fly very close, they're foiled once their communication is jammed, leading the ships to crash into one another, causing Impressive Pyrotechnics .

Video Example(s):

Starbase Yorktown

The Enterprise arrives at starbase Yorktown, for resupply, shore leave for its crew and a good dose of eye candy for the audience.

Example of: Scenery Porn

My Edge Is Stil...

Super Blood

Speed Racer
Creator/Prologue Films
Superman Returns
Star Trek Into Darkness
Recap/Star Trek: The Original Series
QuoteSource/Star Trek
No Place for a Warrior
Recap/Star Trek
Creator/Skydance Media
Franchise/Star Trek
Grand Finale
Star Trek: Nemesis
BoxOfficeBomb/S-T
Starchaser: The Legend of Orin
Creator/Paramount
The Stepford Wives
Creator/J. J. Abrams
Films of the 2010s – Franchises
Alien Works
Science Fiction Films
AmericanFilms/N to S

Important Links

Action Adventure
Commercials
Crime & Punishment
Professional Wrestling
Speculative Fiction
Sports Story
Animation (Western)
Music And Sound Effects
Print Media
Sequential Art
Tabletop Games
Applied Phlebotinum
Characterization
Characters As Device
Narrative Devices
British Telly
The Contributors
Creator Speak
Derivative Works
Laws And Formulas
Show Business
Split Personality
Truth And Lies
Truth In Television
Fate And Prophecy
Edit Reasons
Isolated Pages
Images List
Recent Videos
Crowner Activity
Un-typed Pages
Recent Page Type Changes
Trope Entry
Character Sheet
Playing With
Creating New Redirects
Cross Wicking
Tips for Editing
Text Formatting Rules
Handling Spoilers
Administrivia
Trope Repair Shop
Image Pickin'

How well does it match the trope?

Example of:

Media sources:

11,241--> Report

an image, when javascript is unavailable

Why ‘Star Trek: Discovery’ Built Season 5 Around a Classic Episode From a Legacy Series

By Adam B. Vary

Adam B. Vary

Senior Entertainment Writer

Why ‘Star Trek: Discovery’ Built Season 5 Around a Classic Episode From a Legacy Series 5 days ago
‘Star Trek: Discovery’ Star Sonequa Martin-Green on the Show’s Unexpected Final Season, the ‘Pressure’ of Representation and Taking the ‘Trek’ Cruise 6 days ago
Jerrod Carmichael Was Terrified of Being Seen, So He Made a Reality Show: ‘This May Be Unhealthy. It Is a Little Dangerous’ 2 weeks ago

Sonequa Martin-Green as Burnham of the Paramount+ original series STAR TREK: DISCOVERY. TM & © 2022 CBS Studios Inc. All Rights Reserved. **BEST POSSIBLE SCREENGRAB**

SPOILER ALERT: This story discusses major plot developments in Season 5, Episode 1 of “ Star Trek : Discovery,” now streaming on Paramount+.

By the end of the episode, however, the mission has pushed Burnham and her crew to their limits, including slamming the USS Discovery into the path of a massive landslide threatening a nearby city. Before they risk their lives any further pursuing this object, Burnham demands that Kovich at least tell her why. (MAJOR SPOILERS FOLLOW.)

Kovich’s explanation evokes the classic “ Star Trek: The Next Generation ” episode “The Chase” from 1993 in which Capt. Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) — along with teams of Romulans, Klingons and Cardassians — learn that all humanoid life in the galaxy was created by a single species that existed billions of years earlier, and seeded thousands of planets with the DNA to pass along their legacy. (Along with presenting a profound vision of the origins of life, the episode also provided an imaginative explanation for why almost all the aliens in “Star Trek” basically look like humans with different kinds of forehead ridges.)

Kovich tells Burnham that the Romulan scientist was part of a team sent to discover exactly how these aliens — whom they call the Progenitors — made this happen; the object they’re seeking winds up being one part of a brand new “chase,” this time in the 32nd century, to find the Progenitors’ technology before it can fall into the wrong hands.

“I remember watching that episode and at the end of it just being blown away that there was this huge idea where we all come from,” Paradise says. “And then they’re going to have another mission the next week. I found myself wondering, ‘Well, then what? What happened? What do we do with this information? What does it mean?’”

Originally, Paradise says the “Discovery” writers’ room discussed evoking the Progenitors in Season 4, when the Discovery meets an alien species, the 10-C, who live outside of the galaxy and are as radically different from humans as one could imagine. “As we dug deeper into the season itself, we realized that it was too much to try and get in,” Paradise says.

Instead, they made the Progenitors the engine for Season 5. “Burnham and some of our other characters are on this quest for personal meaning,” Paradise says. Searching for the origins of life itself, she adds, “feels like a big thematic idea that fits right in with what we’re exploring over the course of the season, and what our characters are going through.”

That meant that Paradise finally got to help come up with the answers to the questions about “The Chase” that had preoccupied her when she was younger. “We had a lot of fun talking about what might’ve happened when [Picard] called back to headquarters and had to say, ‘Here’s what happened today,’” she says. “We just built the story out from there.”

More From Our Brands

Olivia rodrigo sings with jewel at madison square garden: ‘an honor’, a baby formula billionaire just dropped $27 million on this massive beverly hills estate, ncaa men’s final ratings can’t match women amid uconn routs, the best loofahs and body scrubbers, according to dermatologists, the rookie’s eric winter opens up about filming this week’s ‘raw’ #chenford scene: ‘tim has spiraled’, verify it's you, please log in.

Why 'Star Trek: Discovery' deserves more credit as a barrier-breaking series

Starship Discovery will soon be ending its mission, and what a journey it's been.

“Star Trek: Discovery,” which premiered in 2017, is entering its fifth and final season Thursday on Paramount+. And you’ll need the Captain’s Log to remember all the twists, turns and transformations the show has gone through since it began.

One thing that hasn’t changed, though, is the hate the series has received from some Trek fans. (“Discovery” has an overall audience score of 37% on Rotten Tomatoes, a stark difference from the 87% critic rating.)

While the show is far from free of legitimate criticism, many of the complaints seem unfairly – though perhaps tellingly – placed on the show’s focus on a Black woman commander, its LGBTQ+ stars and allies and its inclusive storylines. “Woke agenda” and other dog whistles frequently surface on Reddit and social media posts about the series.

That so much of the negativity is rooted in a backlash against inclusivity raises questions. After all, the "Star Trek" franchise has long emphasized and celebrated culture, diversity and humanity coming together and preserving the integrity of beings they meet across the galaxy.

"It doesn't make any sense, because (these fans) say they love this franchise," series star Sonequa Martin-Green says in an interview. The show “has always been about breaking those boundaries. It's always been about diversity and equality. And our world has changed since the last iteration of 'Trek.' We have a responsibility to push that needle forward and to stay true to that."

More: Issa Rae says Hollywood needs to be accountable. Here's why diverse shows are so important

The series is originally set before the events of NBC's original “Star Trek: The Original Series” (later jumping to the future) and follows Michael Burnham (Martin-Green), who became the starship’s captain, and the rest of the crew of the USS Discovery: first officer Saru (Doug Jones), chief engineer Paul Stamets (Anthony Rapp), lieutenant and now Starfleet Academy teacher Sylvia Tilly (Mary Wiseman), medical officer Hugh Culber (Wilson Cruz), courier and Burnham’s love interest Cleveland “Book” Booker (David Ajala) and ensign Adira Tal (Blu del Barrio).

Many more characters have stood on the bridge, battled with Burnham, or otherwise make up the world of "Discovery." The series had some trouble finding the right footing, but it’s always had heart, especially in its recurring theme of redemption. And it deserves more support for what it has meant for the entire "Star Trek" franchise.

Here’s why “Star Trek: Discovery” deserves more credit:

Prioritizing diversity and inclusivity

A Vulcan philosophy (and one espoused by “Star Trek” creator Gene Roddenberry) is IDIC, or “infinite diversity in infinite combinations,” and many of the related series, movies and books underscore this belief. “Discovery” also has diversity at its core: the show focuses on a Black woman who becomes captain. Stamets and Culber are an openly gay couple, and engineer Jett Reno (Tig Notaro) is a lesbian. And the show introduced a few franchise firsts: Adira Tal as the first nonbinary character in "Star Trek ," and their boyfriend, Gray ( Ian Alexander ), is the first transgender character , both introduced in Season 3.

More: 'Star Trek' documentary unveils star Nichelle Nichols' impactful NASA connection

Starting a new age of Star Trek

“Discovery” helped launch the CBS All Access streaming platform, a CBS subscription service that would eventually become Paramount+, as well as a new era of "Star Trek" series including “Lower Decks” and “Picard.” Before “Discovery,” the last Trek series was “Star Trek: Enterprise,” which ended in 2005.

Exploring strange new worlds

The second season of “Discovery” also served as a launching pad for the well-received spinoff, “Star Trek: Strange New Worlds,” which resurfaced popular characters from the original series including Spock (Ethan Peck), Captain Pike (Anson Mount), Uhura (Celia Rose Gooding) and Number One (Rebecca Romijn).

Finding time for the simple things

In a few scenes scattered throughout "Discovery," we see characters like Culber and Stamets sharing a meal or talking about their day while brushing their teeth. It’s almost mundane, but there’s also something so lovely about watching LGBTQ+ characters who rarely are the focus in movies or television simply living their lives, being their whole selves. Burnham rocking braids at the beginning of Season 3 speaks cultural volumes. The subtle amid the big battles and overarching plots do have meaning, especially for those whose voices often go unheard.

Going boldly

The first season of “Discovery” went out of its way to highlight its connections to the original series: Burnham is Spock’s adopted sister, and there's a brief appearance by Spock’s father, Sarek. But it wasn’t always so neatly woven, sometimes seeming more like it was using franchise lore as a crutch. But “Discovery” wasn’t afraid to try new things, turning itself around after an overcomplicated first season and again after a very “TOS”-inspired second, slowly building up its own universe without relying too heavily on the old.

The first episodes of Season 5 are a little rocky before it settles into a comfortable speed.

"This time around, we wanted to bring in some levity," Martin-Green says. "But there's a grand sort of epicness to Season 5, even though we didn't know it was our last season when we were shooting it. I think looking back on it, and when we share it with the world, it'll seem that way because the season is so big. So people can expect a lot of fun. They can expect it to go really fast."

It will be interesting to see if “Discovery” sticks the landing through the remainder of the season.

“The good outweighs the bad,” Burnham says in an upcoming episode about a mission, and that’s also true of “Discovery."

The fifth and final season of "Star Trek: Discovery" (two episodes now streaming, then weekly on Thursdays) streams on Paramount+.

How Star Trek's Vulcans Evolved Beyond Gene Roddenberry's Creation

Quick links, creating the vulcans in the original series era of star trek, the vulcans stay at arm's length during the next generation era, how star trek: enterprise reimagined the vulcans and history with humanity, the vulcans and romulans are living in the days of futures past.

When Gene Roddenberry was first creating his " Wagon Train to the stars" in 1964, the Vulcans were the first alien species he created during development. Personified by Mister Spock (played by Leonard Nimoy), these logical humanoids were imagined with pointed ears, green blood and, most importantly, no emotions. However, Nimoy, other actors and writers all contributed behind the scenes to making Vulcans the most important aliens in Star Trek history. What's interesting about the Vulcans is that along with being a logical and scientific people, they are also deeply spiritual and ritualistic. This seems a bit like an incongruity, especially knowing how adamant Roddenberry was about humanism over religion.

Later storytellers helped reconcile these two facets of the Vulcan culture by fleshing out the species' history. Along with strong psychic abilities, the Vulcans are not emotionless. Rather, they have very intense and destructive emotions, far different from their human cousins. Thus, ritualism and spirituality are the "scientific method" they use to suppress their emotions in healthy and constructive ways. In the modern, third wave of Star Trek series, the Vulcan culture continues to be examined with storytellers continuing to build on the foundation laid by Roddenberry, D.C. Fontana, Star Trek's "other" Gene , Nimoy and everyone from set designers to costumers.

'The Phone Didn't Ring': Walter Koenig Reflects on Career Struggles After Star Trek

When developing the first Star Trek pilot in 1964, Gene Roddenberry hadn't fully fleshed out the idea of what the Vulcans were. Vulcans existed only so far as making Spock half-human. "I wanted part of him to be at war with the other, the human part and the alien part," he said in The Fifty-Year Mission by Edward Gross and Mark A. Altman. Later, when developing the second Star Trek pilot, thanks to Lucille Ball , Roddenberry combined Spock's character with the "computer-mind qualities" of Number One, the woman First Officer discarded in the second version. That's how they became unemotional and logic-based.

In The Making of Star Trek by Roddenberry and Stephen E. Whitfield, the former envisioned that, despite the multispecies Federation, crews would be mostly human, Vulcan or other member species. As Spock became Star Trek 's central character , more stories about his people were created. Sarek, his father, was brought into the show. The classic Season 2 episode "Amok Time" introduced the Vulcan homeworld, while also establishing that Vulcans, while logical, were almost irrationally private about their most basic biological functions.

Leonard Nimoy was also essential to defining who the Vulcans were. He created the infamous Vulcan neck pinch and the salute, drawn from his Jewish heritage. Later, in the films, he would weigh in on Vulcan culture, defining it exclusively once he started directing. In The Center Seat - 55 Years of Star Trek , actor Robin Curtis who played Saavik described how Nimoy created the "love scene" between her and the reanimated Spock going through his first Pon Farr. Set and costume designers tried to marry the ideas Vulcans were scientific and logical as well as an ancient society. Their robes, ceremonial accessories and mostly stone structures were born from this notion.

9 Things About Star Trek: The Original Series That Make No Sense

When Gene Roddenberry was asked by Paramount to develop Star Trek: The Next Generation he turned to many of his collaborators from the days of the original series. Robert H. Justman, Dorothy Fontana, David Gerrold and others came back to help, though they didn't last long on the series. While many concepts from The Original Series were reused for The Next Generation , Roddenberry didn't want to include too many familiar elements. Primarily, this meant the Vulcans. There were no regular Vulcan characters in any of the second-wave series until Tuvok in Star Trek: Voyager .

Despite the lack of regular Vulcan characters, there was significant advancement to the Vulcan story. The first came in Season 3's "Sarek," in which it's revealed that Vulcans live hundreds of years longer than humans. This episode also introduced what writer Marc Cushman called "the idea of a Vulcan going through senility," in The Fifty-Year Mission . Roddenberry liked the idea, but in the same book writer Ira Steven Behr reveals there was a massive fight with producers over whether they could even say Spock's name. Later, Paramount would convince Nimoy to bring Spock to Star Trek: The Next Generation to "pass the baton" and promote Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country.

The episode featured Spock seemingly defecting from the Federation to the Romulan Star Empire. Only he wasn't defecting. Spock wanted to bring the logic philosophy of Surak to Romulus in the hopes of reunifying the Romulans and the Vulcans into a single society again. Some fans felt the episode was too small, and executive producer Michael Piller said he was unhappy with his work on the episode. He called the episode "dark," "flat" and "talky" in The Fifty-Year Mission . In hindsight, it's a love swan song for the Spock character. He shares a lovely scene with Data, and his final mission puts him on a path to making the last great enemy of his time in Starfleet an ally.

Star Trek The Next Generation: When Does TNG Get Good?

Every new iteration of Roddenberry's universe since Star Trek: The Animated Series has been met with skepticism, and in some cases, outright hostility from fans. Star Trek: Enterprise perhaps received the most flak, in part because of how it depicted the pre-Federation history of the Vulcans and humans. Rather than dear friends, the Vulcans were antagonistic and did not trust the emotional humans to join the larger galactic society. Enterprise 's creators were trying to do something different without moving things too far from what makes Star Trek so identifiable.

Still, there were conflicts. Antoinette Stella recounted in The Fifty-Year Mission when an angry fan called Paramount to complain a Vulcan character lied. Her assistant, Juan Hernandez spoke to the fan, who pointed out Spock said Vulcans don't lie, quoting The Original Series . "And Juan took a beat and said, 'When Mr. Spock said that, he was lying." In fact, there are many examples of Spock lying, especially in The Undiscovered Country . The Enterprise storytellers made Vulcans more complete by showing they had the same kind of idiosyncrasies and character flaws as any group of people .

The showrunner for season 4, Manny Coto , helped to reconcile the Vulcans of Enterprise with the Vulcans fans knew. " I thought there was a great opportunity to do [a series of episodes] which bridged those two cultures and to develop a story about how they'd floundered from the original teachings of Surak ," he said in The Fifty-Year Mission . Not only did it help explain why these Vulcans seemed so different, it also underscored why Vulcans and humanity would be close allies while still maintaining the elements of secrecy and tension established in previous series.

Review: Discovery's Final Season Is a Bittersweet Star Trek Symphony

The third wave of series -- particularly Star Trek: Discovery and Star Trek: Strange New Worlds -- faced fan consternation as well, particularly because of their handling of Vulcan history. Michael Burnham, played by Sonequa Martin-Green, was conceived as Spock's adopted sister, raised by Sarek and Amanda Grayson after her parents died. This gave viewers a new angle on Vulcan culture, from "logic extremists" to a reunified Vulcan and Romulan society in the 32nd Century . The producers know that Vulcans are extremely important to Star Trek , so they want to both honor the past and advance their story, justifying the use of the characters.

The best development to come of this is fixing the biggest mistake of the Kelvin Timeline films . The time-travel convention used to bring Nimoy's Spock into the past inadvertently meant his final mission was a failure. Yet, by the 32nd Century, Spock's mission to unify Vulcan and Romulans is a success, and they fully credit him for the development. This was an important element for Discovery Season 3, according to showrunner Michelle Paradise , allowing Burnham to discover just how far her adopted brother reached out to the galaxy.

In Strange New Worlds , however, some of the Vulcan cultural developments happen as they did in The Original Series era: out of story necessity. For example, the Vulcan V'Shal ritual "purely came out of [writers] breaking the story," co-showrunner Henry Alonso Meyers said . While the storytellers wanted to keep it authentic to Vulcan culture, it was created because it was funny to put Spock through a "when he's 'pretending' to be Vulcan" scenario. The danger of treating Star Trek Vulcans with too much regard for their sacred history is underserving the stories being told today . Thankfully, Star Trek has found that balance as it always does.

The Star Trek universe encompasses multiple series, each offering a unique lens through which to experience the wonders and perils of space travel. Join Captain Kirk and his crew on the Original Series' voyages of discovery, encounter the utopian vision of the Federation in The Next Generation, or delve into the darker corners of galactic politics in Deep Space Nine. No matter your preference, there's a Star Trek adventure waiting to ignite your imagination.

Created by Gene Roddenberry

First Film Star Trek: The Motion Picture

Latest Film Star Trek: Nemesis

First TV Show Star Trek: The Original Series

Latest TV Show Star Trek: Strange New Worlds

Cast Nichelle Nichols, Scott Bakula, Kate Mulgrew, Jonathan Frakes, Patrick Stewart, William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, Avery Brooks, Deforest Kelley, James Doohan

TV Show(s) Star Trek: Animated, Star trek, Star Trek Voyager, Star Trek: Enterprise, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Star Trek Lower Decks, Star Trek: Discovery, Star Trek: Picard, Star Trek: Prodigy, Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, Star Trek: Lower Decks

How Star Trek's Vulcans Evolved Beyond Gene Roddenberry's Creation

IMAGES

'Star Trek Beyond' first trailer hits a little forced
Watch: Final Trailer for 'Star Trek Beyond' Featuring a Rihanna Song
Star Trek Beyond
Karl Urban Nearly Passed on Star Trek Beyond
Review: 'Star Trek Beyond' is a terrific 50th anniversary salute to the
Free-TV-Premiere "Star Trek Beyond" ist der Höhepunkt der Science

VIDEO

Star Trek Beyond // TV Spot με ελληνικούς υπότιτλους

COMMENTS

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds (TV Series 2022- )
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds: Created by Akiva Goldsman, Alex Kurtzman, Jenny Lumet. With Anson Mount, Ethan Peck, Christina Chong, Melissa Navia. A prequel to Star Trek: The Original Series, the show follows the crew of the USS Enterprise under Captain Christopher Pike.
Star Trek Beyond Ending & Why No Sequel 7 Years Later Explained
Summary. Despite Star Trek: Beyond leaving room for further adventures, Star Trek 4 has yet to be released after 7 years. Star Trek Beyond introduced the USS Enterprise-A as the new starship for Kirk and his crew. The delays in creating a sequel to Star Trek Beyond may be due to pay disputes and the desire to compete with Marvel blockbusters.
Star Trek Beyond
Left stranded in a rugged wilderness, Kirk (Chris Pine), Spock (Zachary Quinto) and the rest of the crew must now battle a deadly alien race while trying to find a way off their hostile planet ...
Star Trek Beyond
Star Trek Beyond is a 2016 American science fiction action film directed by Justin Lin, written by Simon Pegg and Doug Jung, and based on the television series Star Trek created by Gene Roddenberry.It is the 13th film in the Star Trek franchise and the third installment in the reboot series, following Star Trek (2009) and Star Trek Into Darkness (2013). ...
Star Trek Beyond Cast, Characters & Actors
The third entry into this rebooted series, Star Trek Beyond, opened on July 22, 2016, to less-than-stellar financial results. Every Character & Actor in Star Trek Beyond. Many fans argue that Star Trek Beyond is the strongest movie in the Kelvin Trilogy. It featured a quick-moving narrative, solid character beats, and even a Beastie Boys song ...
Star Trek Beyond (2016)
Star Trek Beyond: Directed by Justin Lin. With Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Karl Urban, Zoe Saldana. The crew of the USS Enterprise explores the furthest reaches of uncharted space, where they encounter a new ruthless enemy, who puts them, and everything the Federation stands for, to the test.
How to watch Star Trek in order
Let's start with everything in one big list. Star Trek: Enterprise (seasons 1-4) 'The Cage'. Star Trek: Discovery (seasons 1-2) Star Trek: Strange New Worlds. Star Trek: The Original Series ...
Star Trek Beyond Cast on Legacy & the Future of the Franchise
Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Simon Pegg, Karl Urban, John Cho and Zoe Saldana also talk about Justin Lin's approach, the new uniforms, and much more. Created by Gene Roddenberry and reintroduced ...
Star Trek 101: Everything You Need To Know Before Star Trek Beyond
Spock was eventually able to incapacitate Khan and put him back in stasis, and one year after the movie's events, the Enterprise crew began their infamous five year mission. Star Trek Beyond will ...
Watch Star Trek Beyond
After an alien seeking revenge on Starfleet destroys the Enterprise and maroons its crew on a lost planet, Capt. Kirk must prevent another attack. Watch trailers & learn more.
Upcoming Star Trek TV Shows: What's Ahead For The Sci-Fi Franchise
It's a golden era for Star Trek tv shows, as the franchise is churning out more content than ever before. ... As shown above, there's still a ton of Star Trek on the way in 2024, and beyond.
Star Trek streaming guide: Where to watch Star Trek online
Star Trek Into Darkness — Paramount+, Pluto TV Star Trek Beyond — Paramount+, DIRECTV, Freevee. How to stream the Star Trek TV shows in the US (Image credit: CBS All Access)
Star Trek Beyond Remembers The Importance Of Scott Bakula's Enterprise Show
A major plot point from the J.J. Abrams produced Star Trek Beyond movie honors the legacy of Scott Bakula's Star Trek: Enterprise series. The cancelation of Enterprise signalled the end of Star Trek on TV for over a decade, with the torch being handed on to a multi-million dollar movie franchise headed up by Chris Pine as Captain James T. Kirk. Taking place in an alternate reality created by ...
All the Star Trek shows and movies coming in 2023 and beyond
Star Trek: Prodigy. Another wildly popular animated series in the franchise, Nickelodeon's Prodigy is returning for a second season. The main cast includes Brett Gray, Ella Purnell, Jason ...
Watch Star Trek Beyond
Explore the lavish lives of mega-rich individuals living in Korea. Two orphans raised as brothers become rivals as they vie for the title of Wizard King, the highest magical rank in the land. After an alien seeking revenge on Starfleet destroys the Enterprise and maroons its crew on a lost planet, Capt. Kirk must prevent another attack.
How to Watch Star Trek in Order: The Complete Series Timeline
Where to Watch: Paramount+ 20. Star Trek: Prodigy (2383-TBD) Star Trek: Prodigy was the first fully 3D animated Star Trek series ever and told a story that began five years after the U.S.S ...
Watch Star Trek Shows In Chronological Order of Timeline
From the original series to 'Picard,' 'Discovery' and beyond, here's your guide to the 'Star Trek' TV timeline. Michael Patrick. Mar 31, 2023. Premiering in 1966, Star Trek only lasted for three ...
Every Star Trek TV Series, Ranked By Popularity
With the release of the new series, Strange New Worlds, fans are beginning to once again question what the best Star Trek series ever is. Star Trek has garnered universal acclaim over its more than five decades of existence, but some TV series within the franchise are more popular than others.Star Trek began in 1966 and is still generating content to this day with no signs of stopping.
Star Trek timeline in complete chronological order, explained
Check our complete list of the Star Trek timeline in chronological with all movies and TV series to date, including the Kelvin timeline and Prime timeline. Tom Percival . Published: Oct 24, 2023. ... Star Trek: Beyond (Kelvin timeline - Year set in: 2263) Star Trek: The Original Series seasons 1-3 (Year set in: 2265-2269)
Star Trek (TV Series 1966-1969)
Star Trek: Created by Gene Roddenberry. With Leonard Nimoy, William Shatner, DeForest Kelley, Nichelle Nichols. In the 23rd Century, Captain James T. Kirk and the crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise explore the galaxy and defend the United Federation of Planets.
Star Trek
Star Trek is an American science fiction media franchise created by Gene Roddenberry, which began with the eponymous 1960s television series and became a worldwide pop-culture phenomenon.Since its creation, the franchise has expanded into various films, television series, video games, novels, and comic books, and it has become one of the most recognizable and highest-grossing media franchises ...
Star Trek Discovery, AHS Delicate, Invincible and more new TV this week
Genre: Rosemary's Baby. Release date: April 3 on FX at 10 p.m. EDT, next day on Hulu. Showrunner/creator: Ryan Murphy and Halley Feiffer. Cast: Emma Roberts, Kim Kardashian, Matt Czuchry, and ...
List of Star Trek television series
The Original Series logo. Star Trek is an American media franchise based on the science fiction television series created by Gene Roddenberry.The first television series, simply called Star Trek and now referred to as The Original Series, debuted in 1966 and aired for three seasons on NBC.The Star Trek canon includes eight live-action television series, three animated series and one short-form ...
The Final Days of Star Trek Discovery: What to Expect ...
Discovery's New Mission: Phasers on Fun. As Jonathan Frakes teased in 2023, Discovery 's final season has a flair borrowed from Indiana Jones, lending season 5 a treasure-hunt structure. And ...
Star Trek Beyond (Film)
The One With… the Enterprise getting destroyed. Again. Star Trek Beyond is the thirteenth film in the Star Trek film series, released in 2016.. The sequel to Star Trek Into Darkness and the third film in the "Kelvin Timeline" that began with Star Trek (2009).Premiering at San Diego Comic-Con on July 20, 2016 and worldwide on July 22, it coincided with the franchise's 50th anniversary.
'Star Trek: Discovery' and 'The Next Generation' Connection Explained
Latest; Why 'Star Trek: Discovery' Built Season 5 Around a Classic Episode From a Legacy Series 4 days ago 'Star Trek: Discovery' Star Sonequa Martin-Green on the Show's Unexpected Final ...
'Star Trek: Discovery': Why the barrier-breaking series is important
The series is originally set before the events of NBC's original "Star Trek: The Original Series" (later jumping to the future) and follows Michael Burnham (Martin-Green), who became the ...
How Star Trek's Vulcans Evolved Beyond Gene Roddenberry's Creation
When Gene Roddenberry was first creating his " Wagon Train to the stars" in 1964, the Vulcans were the first alien species he created during development. Personified by Mister Spock (played by ...

Log in or sign up for Rotten Tomatoes

Email not verified

Sign up for the Rotten Tomatoes newsletter to get weekly updates on:

Movies / TV

Star Trek Beyond

What to know

You might also like

Rate And Review

What did you think of the movie? (optional)

How did you buy your ticket?

You're almost there! Just confirm how you got your ticket.

Cast & Crew

News & Interviews for Star Trek Beyond

Critic Reviews for Star Trek Beyond

Movie & TV guides

Full Cast of Star Trek Beyond - Every Actor & Character In the Movie

Every Character & Actor in Star Trek Beyond

Chris Pine - Captain James T. Kirk

Zachary Quinto - Commander Spock

Karl Urban - Dr. Leonard McCoy

Zoe Saldana - Lt. Nyota Uhura

Simon Pegg - Lt. Commander Montgomery Scott

John Cho - Lieutenant Hikaru Sulu

Anton Yelchin - Ensign Pavel Chekov

Idris Elba - Captain Balthazar Edison/Krall

Sofia Boutella - Jaylah

Joe Taslim - Anderson Le/Manas

Lydia Wilson - Jessica Wolff/Kalara

Sara Maria Forsberg - Kalara’s Translated Voice

Deep Roy - Keenser

Melissa Roxburgh - Ensign Syl

Shohreh Aghdashloo - Commodore Paris

Greg Grunberg - Commander Finnegan

Danny Pudi - Fi’Ja

Kim Kold - Zavanko

Fraser Aitcheson - Hider

Douglas Chapman - Sir Olden

Anita Brown - Tyvanna

Doug Jung - Ben

Dan Payne - Wadjet

Shea Whigham - Teenaxi Leader

Jeff Bezos - Alien Starfleet Official

Carlo Ancelotti - Yorktown Doctor

Will Star Trek Beyond Get a Sequel?

LATEST NEWS

How to watch Star Trek in order

Star Trek TV shows and movies in chronological order

Star Trek's alternate 'Kelvin' timeline explained

Star Trek TV shows and movies in release date order

How to stream Star Trek TV shows and movies

Get daily insight, inspiration and deals in your inbox

Most Popular

'Star Trek Beyond' Cast on Legacy, Character Evolution, & the Future of the Franchise

Upcoming Star Trek TV Shows: What's Ahead For The Sci-Fi Franchise

Star Trek: Discovery Season 5 - Premiering On April 4th 2024

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Season 3 - In Production

Star Trek: Prodigy Season 2 - Coming In 2024

Section 31 Movie - Production Underway

CINEMABLEND NEWSLETTER

Starfleet Academy - Production Starting In 2024

Most Popular

Star Trek streaming guide: Where to watch the Star Trek movies and TV shows online

How to stream the Star Trek Movies in the US

Get the Space.com Newsletter

Most Popular

All the Star Trek shows and movies coming in 2023 and beyond

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds

Star Trek: Lower Decks

Star Trek: Prodigy

Star Trek: Discovery

Star Trek 4

Star Trek: Section 31

How to Watch Star Trek in Order: The Complete Series Timeline

How to Watch Star Trek in Chronological Order

1. Star Trek: Enterprise (2151-2155)

2. Star Trek: Discovery: Seasons 1 and 2 (2256-2258)

3. Star Trek: Strange New Worlds (2259-TBD)

4. Star Trek: The Original Series (2265-2269)

5. Star Trek: The Animated Series (2269-2270)

6. Star Trek: The Motion Picture (2270s)