star trek spock timeline

Star Trek: Kelvin Timeline explained

We've remodulated our tricorders to help you make sense of the Star Trek Kelvin timeline from the recent Star Trek movies.

Our Star Trek: Kelvin Timeline explained article is here to tell Spock from Spock.

How do you reboot a franchise that’s been around more than 50 years old and whose fan base is, shall we say, passionate about the accuracy of its canon? If you wipe the slate completely clean and start afresh, you lose the benefit of five decades of lore from which to draw inspiration and characters. If you keep the continuity, you’re shackled to decades of details from which you can’t escape. What can you do? If you’re Star Trek, you create the Kelvin Timeline.

The Kelvin timeline, or "alternate universe Trek", creates a new environment in which the events of the more recent Star Trek films (Star Trek, Into Darkness, Beyond) won’t contradict those that came before. It’s also how Spock ended up meeting himself. 

If you want to rewatch the new Star Trek movies, our Star Trek streaming guide will show you where to watch them all online. And if you're curious to see how the new movies stack up against the classics, check out our Star Trek movies, ranked worst to best article. Now, let's dive into the Star Trek Kelvin timeline.

Event One: Nero Travels Through Time 

According to Star Trek (2009), the planet Romulus was destroyed by a supernova in the year 2387. Ambassador Spock attempted to use "red matter", a substance so powerful that a single drop can destroy a planet, to save Romulus by destroying the supernova. He did indeed manage to destroy the supernova, but not in time to prevent the planet’s destruction. To make matters worse, both his ship, the experimental Jellyfish, and the Romulan mining ship Narada were pulled into the black hole’s wake and sent hurtling backwards in time. Spock emerged in 2258 while the Romulans landed in 2233. 

The Narada’s captain, Nero decides to use this opportunity to take out his grief on the organization he holds responsible for the ruin of Romulus and, by extension, the death of his family: the Federation. One of his first acts is to destroy the U.S.S. Kelvin, captained heroically to the very last minute by George Kirk, who lives just long enough to name his newborn son James.

And thus begins the Kelvin timeline. 

Spock, Meet Spock 

Jim Kirk grows up as a rebellious punk constantly trying to outrun his father’s long shadow. Christopher Pike sees something of value in him and urges him to join Starfleet, which he eventually does. Through a contrivance of events, he ends up aboard the Enterprise along with Spock, Bones McCoy, Uhura, and the rest of the Original Series crew. 

It’s now 2258 and Ambassador Spock emerges from the black hole just in time to be scooped up by Nero, who keeps the Jellyfish — and its cache of red matter — for himself while abandoning Spock on the frozen planet of Delta Vega. He wants Spock to bear witness as the Narada drills a hole into the center of Vulcan and releases red matter at the planet’s core. The Enterprise tries to stop him and fails, though they do manage to rescue Spock’s father, Sarek. Nero is eventually defeated, and Spock's young and old take a moment to reflect on their coexistence

Enter Khan, Exit Kirk 

Nero’s too-close-to-success-for-comfort attempt to destroy Earth shifts Starfleet’s ethos from one of discovery to one of protection. They still want to "seek out new life forms," but only to find out how dangerous they are. In Into Darkness (2013), Alexander Marcus, leader of the secretive Section 31, finds the SS Botany Bay, stuffed to the rafters full of augmented humans in cryostasis. He wakes one of them up — Khan Noonien Singh — and forces him to build weapons that Earth could use to defend itself against alien threats. 

Huge surprise, Khan betrays Marcus, exacting vengeance on various Starfleet targets. In doing so, he kills Kirk’s father figure Christopher Pike. Marcus tries to leverage Kirk’s hot-headedness by sending Kirk after Khan, who has fled to the Klingon homeworld of Kronos. He figures Kirk will kill, not capture, Khan, thus removing a threat and evidence of Marcus’ secret project.

Kirk goes off script and keeps Khan alive, much to the chagrin of Admiral Marcus, who tries to blow them all the heck up. The sacrifice that leads to victory happens just as in the original, except in the Kelvin timeline it’s Kirk who gives his life to save his crew. In the prime timeline, Genesis brought Spock back to life, but here it’s Khan’s blood that gets the job done.

That bit of ugliness behind them, the Enterprise receives its five-year-mission. You know the one.

Farewell to Spock 

In Star Trek: Beyond (2016), the Enterprise discovers the USS Franklin, a Federation ship that had been lost for decades. Here’s what’s fun about that: the Kelvin timeline doesn’t start until 2233. The Franklin disappeared before that, so it exists in both timelines, which means a different version of it could theoretically pop up in Star Trek media that doesn’t adhere to the Kelvin timeline. 

In Kelvin, however, the Franklin is half-buried after crashing into the surface of the planet Altamid. Few of its former crew remain, and those that do are unrecognizable, having been transformed by technology they’ve used to keep themselves alive. The Franklin’s captain, Balthazar Edison, now known as Krall, rejects Starfleet ideals of peace. He’s a soldier and he believes that he should be allowed to do what he does best. He returns to starbase Yorktown with the goal of commandeering it to launch an attack on the Federation, but first he’ll have to kill every living thing in residence. Kirk et al save the day, of course. 

This is also the point at which Ambassador Spock leaves the timeline due to the passing of the peerless Leonard Nimoy. Kelvin Spock had been planning to rejoin what remains of the Vulcan people, but instead chooses to honor his other self by remaining in Starfleet.

Crossover With the Prime Timeline 

Keeping track of the Kelvin timeline is important because there are still Star Trek properties operating in the prime timeline, such as Picard . However, there has been a little bit of crossover between the two. Picard takes place long after the titular character has quit Starfleet, and early on we discover the destruction of Romulus was why. 

Picard wanted to launch a rescue mission to save as many Romulans as possible before the detonation of the supernova, but Starfleet pushed back. He went forward with it anyway, but when his ships were decimated by a fleet of rogue synths, Starfleet gave up all rescue efforts. Picard resigned in disgust. Everything that happens after that — and therefore everything taking place in the show — is part of the prime timeline, despite being kicked off by Event One.

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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.

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Spock (alternate reality)

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Spock – whose full name was generally considered unpronounceable to Humans – was a Human/ Vulcan hybrid who served with Starfleet in the 23rd century . As an instructor at Starfleet Academy , he programmed the Kobayashi Maru scenario . From 2258 , he was first officer under Christopher Pike and his successor, James T. Kirk , aboard the USS Enterprise . ( Star Trek )

• 1 Early life
• 2.1 Instructor at Starfleet Academy
• 2.2.1 Stopping Nero
• 2.2.2 Nibiru
• 2.2.3 Transferred to the USS Bradbury
• 2.2.4 Going after John Harrison
• 2.3.1 Stranded on Altamid
• 2.3.2 The Enterprise -A
• 3.1.1 Nyota Uhura
• 3.2.1 James T. Kirk
• 3.2.2 Leonard McCoy
• 4 Key dates
• 5 Memorable quotes
• 6.1 Appearances
• 6.2 Background information
• 6.3 Apocrypha
• 6.4 External link

Early life [ ]

Spock was born to Sarek , a Vulcan , and Amanda Grayson , a Human , on January 6 , 2230 in the city of Shi'Kahr on Vulcan . ( TOS : " Journey to Babel "; TAS : " Yesteryear "; Star Trek V: The Final Frontier ; Star Trek Beyond )

Spock suffered from the Vulcan equivalent of dyslexia as a young child, having what the Vulcans called L'tak Terai , which he had inherited from his mother. Realizing that Spock had learning disabilities, Amanda intervened early on to ensure that Spock was able to work past his disabilities. As part of her efforts to assist him with his learning disability, Amanda read Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Alice Through the Looking Glass to Spock. ( DIS : " Light and Shadows ")

Spock as a young boy

As a young boy, Spock was often the target of abuse from his schoolmates because of his Human ancestry. On one particular occasion in which three of his classmates accused his father of being a traitor for marrying "that Human whore ," Spock lost emotional control and was so angered that he violently beat up the lead tormentor, exhibiting such rage that, despite their advantage in size and numbers, the other two made no attempt to help their friend.

Previously, he had counted that the incident was the thirty-fifth time those particular schoolmates had attempted to elicit an emotional response from him. When Spock then spoke to his disappointed father about his mother, asking Sarek why he had married a Human, Sarek coldly remarked that his decision to marry her had been the logical choice, given that he was an ambassador of Vulcan to Earth .

Spock defies Vulcan elders

After completing advanced training which he began during childhood in the Vulcan Learning Center , Spock applied to both the Vulcan Science Academy and Starfleet Academy . He was also considering completing his training in the kolinahr – the Vulcan ritual of purging all vestigial emotions – and asked his mother whether she would think less of him for discarding emotion in that way. His mother simply remarked that she would always be proud of him, no matter what choices he made. He later was admitted to the Vulcan Science Academy, but declined the offer after the board remarked that his admission to the Academy was especially commendable considering his "disadvantage" of being half-Human.

Starfleet career [ ]

Instructor at starfleet academy [ ].

Spock in the Kobayashi Maru simulator control room

Spock went on to attend Starfleet Academy , and came to be known as one of its most distinguished graduates. By 2258 , he had attained the rank of commander , and acted as an instructor at the Academy.

Spock was in charge of starship assignments for the cadets . He initially assigned Lieutenant Nyota Uhura to the USS Farragut , in spite of Uhura having stated a desire to serve aboard the USS Enterprise , the new flagship . Commander Spock had served as Cadet Uhura's instructor and judged her performance to be consistently exemplary but, to avoid giving the appearance of favoritism as a result of her being one of his star students as well as being in a romantic relationship with him, he assigned her to the Farragut instead. Uhura later confronted him about this choice, noting that she was more than qualified to serve aboard the Enterprise , as had been confirmed by Spock on many occasions. After this conversation, he assigned her to the Enterprise .

Spock confronts Kirk about cheating

Spock programmed the Kobayashi Maru scenario , the purposes of which were to allow cadets to experience fear in the face of death and, in confronting such fear, to enable them to develop skills necessary for command. When James T. Kirk was ultimately able to pass the test and defeat the scenario, Spock accused the cadet of inserting a subroutine into the program, changing the simulation to his favor, so he could win. At a hearing of the Academy board , Kirk asked for the right to confront Spock directly, and the two clashed over Kirk's actions.

First officer of the Enterprise [ ]

Stopping nero [ ].

Spock beams down to Vulcan

The hearing was cut short by the receipt of a distress call from Vulcan , and Spock reported to the USS Enterprise as first officer under Captain Christopher Pike . En route to Vulcan, Spock once again clashed with Kirk, who had come aboard the Enterprise without authorization. Over Kirk repeatedly arguing that the distress call from Vulcan was the result of an attack by Romulans , Spock demanded that Kirk be removed from the bridge . However, when Uhura vouched for the accuracy of a crucial element of Kirk's claims, Spock decided Kirk was probably right, and as a result, Pike ordered the ship ready before dropping out of warp . Ultimately, arrival at Vulcan, which was under attack, proved that Kirk was correct, and contact was made with the Romulan mining vessel Narada , which was attacking the planet . When contact was established with the ship's captain, Nero , he appeared to know Spock, although Spock had never met the Romulan before. Pike, who was ordered to transport himself to the Narada , left Spock in charge as acting captain .

Spock reaches for his mother, but it is too late

After the Narada 's drill platform was disabled and Nero's plans were revealed, Spock beamed to the surface of Vulcan to at least rescue the Vulcan Council , including his father and mother. As the survivors were about to be beamed aboard the Enterprise , the disintegrating surface of the planet collapsed beneath Spock's mother, before the transport could be completed, and she died. She was one of almost six billion killed with the loss of the planet .

Struggling with the destruction of his homeworld and the death of his mother, Spock received comfort from Uhura . He decided to take the Enterprise to the Laurentian system – to rendezvous with the rest of the fleet – and engaged in a furious debate with Kirk, which led to Spock subduing the acting first officer with a Vulcan nerve pinch . Spock then ordered Kirk to be thrown off the ship, jettisoning him in an escape pod near Delta Vega .

Spock attacks Kirk

With the Enterprise now at warp, Spock was surprised when Kirk and Montgomery Scott were able to beam aboard the ship, and demanded to know how they had been able to transport during warp. Kirk, who had by now met with a version of Spock who had traveled back in time with Nero , had also been told that in order to save Earth, he himself had to take over command of the Enterprise . The older Spock had asked Kirk to sufficiently provoke the younger Spock, in order to show everyone that he was too emotionally compromised to be in command. Kirk made several unsuccessful attempts to insult and cajole Spock, until finally a jibe about whether Spock had loved his late mother made the Vulcan snap, attacking Kirk and coming extremely close to killing him. He was only stopped by his father and, quickly realizing what had happened, he stepped down from command. Returning to the transporter room , Spock was comforted by the words of his father, who admitted he actually had married Amanda because he loved her.

After a brief cool-down period, Spock returned to duty, accepting Kirk's command, and approved of Pavel Chekov suggesting they could hide the Enterprise in Titan 's atmosphere . Spock then volunteered to beam to the Narada , noting that the similarities between Romulan and Vulcan language and culture would help him in locating Captain Pike and determining a way to destroy the vessel. Kirk, now in command, agreed, and accompanied Spock aboard the Narada .

Spock in the Jellyfish cockpit

On the Romulan craft, Spock and Kirk engaged in a brief phaser fight with the Narada 's Romulan crew. Mind melding with an unconscious Romulan crewmember, Spock was able to locate the Jellyfish and Captain Pike.

On board the Jellyfish , the computer recognized him as Ambassador Spock ; when Kirk made an obviously sarcastic show of "surprise" and the computer stated that the ship had been built 129 years in the future , Spock realized exactly who Kirk had encountered on Delta Vega.

Attacking the Narada from the inside, Spock escaped into Earth's orbit , and was able to destroy the drill platform as it dug into San Francisco Bay . Ultimately, an artificially created black hole , with assistance from the Enterprise 's weapons, consumed the Narada and Nero, who had refused humanitarian assistance. Spock, angered over the destruction of his world, took the non-logical path for once, telling Kirk that, while it was logical to offer help, this time he didn't want to do it.

Spock salutes his older self from the Prime timeline

Back on Earth, Spock finally met with his older counterpart, who explained to him that he had wanted to make sure that Spock and Kirk became friends and shared the kind of friendship he and the other Kirk from his timeline shared: something which would ultimately define them both and was a crucial aspect of their lives. Spock had planned to resign from Starfleet and help rebuild Vulcan society, but the elder counterpart urged him to remain with Starfleet, put aside logic once in a while and do what felt right. About to join the surviving Vulcans himself, the prime Spock chose not to offer his alternate self the traditional Vulcan salute , noting that it would have seemed self-serving; instead, he wished him good luck. With Kirk now in command of the Enterprise , Spock offered his services as First Officer , which Kirk gladly accepted. ( Star Trek )

Spock prepares to detonate the cold fusion bomb on Nibiru

A year later , Spock was on Nibiru trying to prevent a volcano from causing the extinction of all life on the planet. From a shuttle piloted by Sulu and Uhura, Spock was rappelled in an environmental suit with a cold fusion device that would prevent the catastrophic eruption. The heat damaged the shuttle, snapping the wire and forcing Sulu and Uhura to leave Spock. From the Enterprise 's bridge, Kirk was informed that ash from the volcano would prevent them from transporting Spock away before the device detonated. Spock requested his captain leave him to die, as getting the Enterprise in range would expose the ship to the primitive Nibirans and violate the Prime Directive . Kirk did this anyway: Spock found himself in the transporter room and could only express concern over his captain breaking Starfleet's main rule.

Transferred to the USS Bradbury [ ]

Because Kirk covered up what happened in his captain's log , Spock filed a more truthful report when they returned to San Francisco . The Admiralty chose to return Kirk to the Academy and return the Enterprise to Pike, although Pike convinced Alexander Marcus to alter the decision to make Kirk his first officer shortly. Spock was transferred to the USS Bradbury under Captain Frank Abbott . That evening, Spock attended a summit at Starfleet Headquarters regarding a bombing at the Kelvin Memorial Archive in London . The perpetrator, John Harrison , appeared in an attack vehicle and opened fire. Spock tended to the wounded Pike, attempting to comfort him with a mind meld, and felt the life depart from his body.

Going after John Harrison [ ]

Spock and Kirk assigned to apprehend John Harrison

The next morning, Scott informed them Harrison had used the confiscated transwarp beaming formula to flee to Qo'noS . Marcus gave the vengeful Kirk permission to hunt down Harrison, and allowed him to reinstate Spock as his first officer. Spock objected to Marcus's orders to execute Harrison from orbit with 72 experimental photon torpedoes , deeming it immoral to kill him without trial. Kirk listened, and decided to arrest Harrison instead. Spock was also suspicious of the weapons specialist Marcus appointed to the Enterprise , Carol Wallace , and found no records of her serving on any ship.

Spock, Kirk and Uhura pilot the K'normian ship over Qo'noS

Spock and Uhura joined Kirk's away team in a shuttle to Harrison's location. When they were attacked by a Klingon patrol, Harrison appeared and singlehandedly killed them all so he could be taken into Kirk's custody. In the brig , Spock and Kirk questioned Harrison, who only responded that they examine the torpedoes, as well as a set of coordinates. In the meantime, Spock learned Wallace was actually Marcus's daughter, who was using her mother's maiden name as a cover, and informed Kirk before he ordered her to examine the torpedoes.

McCoy and Marcus opened a torpedo and found a man held in cryogenic stasis . Harrison revealed he was Khan Noonien Singh, revived and forced by Admiral Marcus to design ships and weapons for war with the Klingon Empire , and he had tried to smuggle away his fellow Augments but was forced to leave them after being caught. Marcus arrived in the USS Vengeance and demanded Kirk hand over Khan, but Kirk refused, wanting Khan to stand trial and expose the conspiracy. During the confrontation between the two ships, the Vengeance 's weaponry was deactivated by Scott, who was on a leave of absence and had boarded the ship after investigating the coordinates given by Khan. Kirk decided to board the ship with Khan, given his knowledge of its design, but Spock protested, distrusting Khan. Kirk countered he was desperate and needed his help.

Spock and Kirk interrogate Khan in the brig

While Kirk and Khan boarded the Vengeance in thruster suits , Spock contacted his older counterpart on New Vulcan , asking for information on Khan. Although the older Spock had sworn not to further interfere with history, he warned Spock that Khan was the most dangerous adversary the Enterprise 's counterpart had ever faced. Spock ordered McCoy to remove the stasis chambers from the torpedoes, before Khan appeared on the viewscreen , revealing he had murdered the admiral and taken control of the Vengeance . He demanded the torpedoes in return for Kirk and Scott, so Spock obliged, but Khan began firing on the Enterprise . An unsurprised Spock had the torpedoes detonated, crippling the Vengeance .

" KHAAAAAAAAN!" "

The damage sustained to both ships caused them to fall to Earth. Spock strapped on his seat belt and ordered all emergency power to life support , demanding the crew evacuate, but they refused, wanting to go down with their ship. However, the Enterprise 's engines reactivated, preventing it from crashing. Scott asked Spock to come to the warp core, where he found Kirk had repaired it without putting on a suit to shield himself from radiation poisoning . Kirk said he wanted Spock to know why he'd saved Spock from the volcano. Spock brokenly replied "Because you are my friend." As Kirk died, Spock lost his Vulcan demeanor and screamed, " KHAN! "

Spock cannot subdue Khan with a Vulcan nerve pinch

He beamed down to San Francisco where the Vengeance had crashed, and pursued Khan with the intent of executing him. The two fought on automated floating barges, but neither the nerve pinch or mind meld had any effect on Khan. Uhura beamed down and fired several shots to stun Khan, while explaining they needed his blood to cure Kirk. Spock finally knocked out Khan and brought him to sickbay , where McCoy performed a blood transfusion .

Two weeks later, Spock greeted a conscious Kirk and McCoy in a hospital room, where he expressed gratitude "Jim" was alive.

The five-year mission [ ]

Nearly a year later , Spock attended a memorial service for those killed by Khan and Admiral Marcus, and then stood by his captain as the Enterprise embarked on a five-year mission . ( Star Trek Into Darkness )

Spock learns of the death of his counterpart

Three years into the mission, Spock was present for the diplomatic mission to Teenax , placing the alien artifact known as the Abronath in the ship's archive vault upon its vehement rejection by the Teenaxi Delegation .

After the Enterprise arrived at Starbase Yorktown , Spock, who was already questioning whether his place was with the Vulcans or in Starfleet (which caused a rift between him and his girlfriend Nyota Uhura ), was greatly affected by the news of the death of his counterpart which further persuaded him to resign his commission to focus on continuing the elder Spock's work of rebuilding Vulcan society.

Stranded on Altamid [ ]

Spock repels invading Swarm drones

Before Spock could inform Starfleet or Captain Kirk of his decision to leave, the Enterprise was dispatched to the Necro Cloud ostensibly to rescue the crew of Kalara – in secret an agent of Krall . As the Enterprise was attacked and boarded, Spock and McCoy left the bridge to investigate and repel the invading force . Witnessing Krall obtain the alien artifact Abronath, Spock was pursued by the invaders, escaping into a turbolift with McCoy. As the Enterprise was severely damaged in the battle , the turbolift containing Spock and McCoy was ejected into space and captured by a Swarm ship . Escaping the lift, Spock and McCoy commandeered the Swarm ship and crashed on the surface of Altamid as the Enterprise was destroyed.

McCoy performing emergency surgery on Spock

Severely injured in the crash and suffering from massive blood loss, Spock was treated by McCoy as best the doctor could under the circumstances. Finding an alien structure, Spock recognized markings indicating Altamid was the origin of the Abronath, a super weapon hunted for by Krall. In the structure, Spock again experienced a loss of emotional control, alternating between mortal fear, hopelessness, and giddiness when interacting with McCoy.

Finally located by their fellow Enterprise crewmates aboard the wreck of the USS Franklin , Spock was immediately taken to the ship's mess where McCoy began emergency surgery. As the doctor repaired the hemorrhage, Spock assured Kirk they would "find hope in the impossible" and later assisted in locating the rest of his shipmates by using the ship's sensors to track the vokaya necklace he had given to Lieutenant Uhura.

Spock, along with Jaylah and McCoy, work to free the Enterprise crew

After assisting in the rescue of the Enterprise crew from Krall's encampment, Spock volunteered to once again board a Swarm ship to prevent Krall from unleashing the Abronath at Starbase Yorktown. Once again joined by a reluctant McCoy, Spock helped pilot a Swarm ship as the Franklin used radio signals to disrupt Krall's swarm. Pursuing a single ship piloted by Krall into Yorktown's internal structure, Spock and McCoy assisted in the destruction of Krall's ship before rescuing Kirk as he fell from Yorktown Headquarters .

The Enterprise -A [ ]

Following the defeat of Krall, Commander Spock was given the few belongings which Ambassador Spock brought from the future, including a photograph of himself with his crewmates circa 2287 , which moved Spock to reverse his decision and remain with the Enterprise crew when they were assigned to a replacement vessel: the USS Enterprise -A . ( Star Trek Beyond )

Relationships [ ]

Romantic relationships [ ], nyota uhura [ ].

Uhura comforts Spock after the loss of Vulcan and his mother

Spock and Nyota Uhura had a relationship that was established prior to the start of their careers on board the Enterprise . Spock was openly confronted by Uhura regarding her getting assigned to the USS Farragut even though she was qualified to serve aboard the USS Enterprise , to which Spock replied that his decision had been just "an attempt to avoid the appearance of favoritism." By Uhura insisting he change her posting to the Enterprise , he was indeed persuaded to do so.

While on duty aboard the Enterprise , Spock and Uhura maintained a formal professional relationship – Spock usually addressing her by her rank and surname – with the exception of some moments where the nature of their feelings for one another was displayed or hinted by their actions. Shortly after they arrived on the ship, Spock supported and extolled Uhura's abilities before Captain Pike.

One moment of affection between them was just after Spock realized Nero had created a black hole in the planet Vulcan. This incident impacted on Spock's relationship with Uhura, especially since he decided to beam down to the Vulcan surface himself, in an attempt to save his parents and the Vulcan High Council . When a concerned Uhura called him by name and not by rank, he paused, in the midst of a crisis, to explain to her what he was about to do and offered further explanation.

After Vulcan was destroyed by Nero, Spock was at one point pursued by Uhura off the bridge and into a turbolift , where she comforted him, the two lovers kissing and embracing each other.

After Spock lost control and attacked Kirk, he looked to Uhura, ashamed of what he'd done. He shared another look with her as he walked off the bridge after giving up command.

Later, their relationship revealed itself to Kirk and Scott when they witnessed Spock and Uhura kissing in the transporter room . There, Spock also called her by her first name, "Nyota". ( Star Trek )

A year later , Uhura accompanied Spock to Nibiru before he was rappelled from a shuttle into a volcano , to prevent it from wiping out the Nibirans . The ash damaged the shuttle and snapped the wire, forcing Uhura and Sulu to leave him. Uhura swam back to the Enterprise , which was hidden underwater. She was distraught to learn ash from the volcano would prevent the Enterprise from transporting Spock back aboard, and to hear Spock explain he would prefer to die activating the cold fusion device than violate the Prime Directive .

Nyota helps Spock suit up

Later, when the Enterprise was tasked with hunting down terrorist John Harrison , Uhura hinted to Kirk in the turbolift that she and Spock were having relationship troubles. While on a shuttle to Qo'noS where Harrison was hiding, Uhura and Spock got into an argument, where she accused of him of being too ready to sacrifice himself for a mission and not caring how she would feel if he died. Spock acknowledged that since his mother's death, he had been closing himself to such thoughts about how she would feel since he had experienced those feelings, specifically because he did care. Later, after getting back to the Enterprise , the two shared a reconciliatory kiss.

After Harrison revealed he was Khan Noonien Singh, Spock asked Uhura to contact his older parallel universe counterpart on New Vulcan for information. Uhura managed to make contact although the ship was outside of normal range of communication with his location.

When Kirk died in attempt to save the ship and his crew, Uhura encouraged Spock to beam down to go after and capture Khan, who had crashed the Vengeance into San Francisco . However, when McCoy discovered that a blood transfusion from Khan could heal Kirk, Uhura volunteered to beam down saving Spock from having his head crushed by Khan in the same manner in which he had killed admiral Marcus. As Spock took the opportunity to gain the advantage in the fight and kill him, Uhura stopped Spock by informing him they need Khan alive to save Kirk. ( Star Trek Into Darkness )

Almost 3 years into their five years mission, Spock and Uhura were still a couple but they experienced a brief time-out in their relationship as a consequence of him starting to doubt his purpose in Starfleet, and wondering if he maybe owed a debt of duty to his species, and he should have therefore left the ship to join the rest of the vulcans on New Vulcan helping them rebuild their race.

When the crew got to Starbase Yorktown , Uhura tried to give him back his mother's vokaya necklace that he had gifted her, but a visibly sad Spock declined the offer insisting her to keep it.

Uhura tries to give back Spock's vulcan amulet

Shortly after leaving Yorktown, the Enterprise was destroyed by Krall 's attack leaving Spock stranded on planet Altamid with Leonard McCoy while Nyota Uhura, and the rest of the Enterprise crew minus the Captain, Pavel Chekov and Montgomery Scott, got captured by Krall and held prisoner at his base.

While talking with McCoy, an injured Spock regretfully confessed that before their ship got destroyed and they lost the crew, he had wanted to discuss things more with Uhura but was interrupted by news about Ambassador Spock dying that affected him unexpectedly, and further persuaded him to leave Starfleet in spite of his feelings for her.

Later on after he was beamed aboard the USS Franklin by Kirk and Scotty, Spock realized that if Uhura was still wearing his Vokaya amulet, Chekov could track the unique Vulcan mineral (that emitted a harmless radiation) and find her (and thus the rest of the crew held prisoner by Krall). When the group made a plan to free the crew, a still injured Spock insisted to participate to the mission because Uhura was in the base too. In spite of his condition, both Kirk and McCoy allowed him to go with them acknowledging their friend's need to be there due to his relationship with the Lieutenant.

Sulu tells Spock that they have taken Uhura.

Once him, McCoy and Jaylah got to the base as planned and the two men freed the crew, Hikaru Sulu informed Spock that Uhura unfortunately wasn't with them anymore because she had been taken by Krall shortly before him and McCoy got there.

Spock then went looking for her alone but he got attacked by two Swarm soldiers and fell to the ground in pain, only to get saved by Uhura who helped him stand up and asked what he was doing there. When Spock answered that he clearly was there to rescue her (noticing the irony of the situation), Uhura smiled pleased by his care for her and his efforts.

Uhura looking pleased when Spock tells her he was 'clearly' there to rescue her.

Later, when Spock volunteered to pilot one of the swarms ships to try to stop Krall from destroying Yorktown, Uhura expressed concerns over him being still hurt for his injury to which Spock replied he respected and appreciated her concerns.

After the events on Altamid put his life into perspective, Spock realized that his place was with his friends just like the other Spock (who had a picture of his crew mates still with him when he died). Having decided to stay, him and Uhura, whose feelings for one another had not changed, reprised their relationship.

Spock tells Uhura that engaging with her socially is more pleasing than completing his mission report

At the party for Jim's birthday, Uhura, who openly wore his Vokaya necklace again, teased Spock saying that she thought he had a mission report to make, to which he replied that he did, but he thought that being with her would be more pleasing (implying he changed his original evening plans, putting work aside, and went to the party to spend time with her).

Spock and Uhura looking at each other while their friends look at the new Enterprise in construction

Later, Spock, Uhura and their friends observed the new Enterprise under construction.

Spock's actor Zachary Quinto said that part of Spock's existential crisis in the movie is about how conflicted he feels between his duty towards the other vulcans to help them repopulate, and his love for Uhura. He said that in spite of them not being "at the height of relationship bliss" in this film, theirs is an ongoing relationship where the two of them " love each other deeply and they want each other to be happy, to be fulfilled, to serve their purpose, and to realize their potential. " [16]

Friendships [ ]

James t. kirk [ ].

Spock and Kirk on the bridge of the Enterprise

Spock and Kirk had a complicated relationship from the start. As an instructor at Starfleet Academy and the creator of the Kobayashi Maru scenario , Spock did not appreciate that Kirk had altered the program so he could beat it, openly accusing him of cheating and forcing Kirk to answer before an inquiry board at the Academy for his actions. Kirk was subsequently suspended and only with the help of Doctor Leonard McCoy was he able to come on board the Enterprise . Spock and Kirk continued to clash with one another over vastly different viewpoints and philosophies they held. Spock was highly disciplined, always honoring regulations and adhering to a strict code of conduct, whereas Kirk was self-assured, overconfident and had an unconventional way of approaching matters. However, despite having initially dismissed Kirk's theory about an attack on Vulcan, Spock heard him out and proceeded to support the hypothesis as logical. Spock's inner conflict following Vulcan's destruction caused him to lose what little tolerance he had for Kirk's ways, resulted in his throwing Kirk off the ship altogether. When Kirk later provoked him by referencing his mother, Spock lost all control and brutally assaulted him. After speaking with his father about the loss both had shared, Spock returned to his duties as first officer and teamed up with Kirk to stop Nero.

Unlike the other members of the crew who mostly followed Kirk at first as he was the next in line for captain, Spock followed his leadership without hesitation and called him "captain", which only Chekov, Scotty and Uhura (sarcastically) did besides him. He also displayed an understanding and somewhat acceptance of Kirk's unusual methods, commenting – when Kirk decided to join him in attacking Nero – that he himself could state the regulations against it but that he wouldn't do so, as he knew Kirk would ignore them. Besides saying that, Spock didn't object.

Spock subsequently fought side-by-side with Kirk in the attack, even trusting him to watch his back after having nearly strangled him to death shortly before. He also addressed Kirk by his first name, "Jim", at one point, while asking him to convey his feelings to Uhura if he didn't survive.

Spock and Kirk work together to defeat Nero

Spock's attitude toward Kirk softened, however, after his encounter with an alternate version of himself , who advised both of them to set aside their momentary irritations, revealing that, in his timeline, the two had shared a great friendship. After they worked side by side to save Earth and beat the Narada , Spock became Kirk's first officer aboard the Enterprise . ( Star Trek )

Spock, along with Kirk, confront Khan Noonien Singh

But both men's opposing natures would once again come to a head when Kirk broke the Prime Directive to save his life during a mission. After Spock's report resulted in Kirk's demotion, Kirk came to resent Spock's apparent lack of gratitude, though Spock was relieved that Kirk didn't receive a more severe punishment. Spock was stunned speechless when Kirk said he'd miss him, a reaction that annoyed Kirk. However, Kirk still wanted Spock on board as his first officer, and when Kirk was dying of radiation poisoning, he confided he had rescued Spock because he was his friend. Spock lost control of his emotions at seeing Kirk dying to the point he lost his temper and was even willing to kill Khan in revenge. His unusual method of defeating the Vengeance , tricking Khan into thinking he had sent him his crew while he had really sent him armed photon torpedoes, was also inspired by Kirk's unorthodox methods of handling situations rather than Spock's usual by-the-book methods, acknowledged by Kirk before his death, saying they both handled the situation as the other would: Kirk sacrificed himself for the greater good while Spock used unorthodox tactics against his opponent. ( Star Trek Into Darkness )

Leonard McCoy [ ]

Although McCoy originally admired Spock from afar after seeing him best Kirk during a hearing regarding the cadet 's cheating on the Kobayashi Maru scenario , their relationship quickly became complicated. ( Star Trek )

In 2263 , after working aboard the same ship for some years, Leonard McCoy and Spock weren't exactly best friends yet. When the ship got to Starbase Yorktown for a break, McCoy accidentally witnessed a sad moment between Spock and Nyota Uhura as the man sadly looked after the woman walking away from him. Knowing about their romantic relationship, he ironically asked Spock if they were breaking up and promptly assumed it surely was because of something the Vulcan had done.

During the dramatic moments aboard the Enterprise following Krall's swarm ships attack, Spock and McCoy teamed up and got to the damaged ship sectors so that McCoy could check on the injured crew. During this time, they both got trapped into a turbolift that was subsequently expelled from the ship into space, and intercepted by one of the swarm ships. Not without effort, the two men successfully defeated the swarm drones aboard the vessel with McCoy taking control of the ship, and both of them looking in disblelief and fear as the enemy ships captured crew members that were leaving the hopeless ship in escape pods .

As a consequence of their harsh landing on the planet Altamid 's surface, Spock got severely injured on his lower abdomen and McCoy pointed out that with the Vulcan heart being placed where the human liver is, he was lucky the injury was located an inch away from it or he would have been killed instantly. With no medical equipment available to him, the doctor was forced to cauterize and seal Spock's injury the best he could using the heat produced by a phaser.

Later, when the two of them reached a cave to rest for a while, McCoy got concerned about Spock when the latter looked unconscious, and he tried to wake him up. Spock replied that he had closed his eyes to simply contemplate mortality. After a moment, in visible distress both physical and psychological, Spock confided to the doctor that the reason for the tension he had witnessed between him and Lieutenant Uhura before was the fact that he had started to be unsure about his place in Starfleet and wondering about whether he still owed a debt of duty to his endangered species, and the recent news about the death of Ambassador Spock had further persuaded him that he needed to leave Starfleet to help his people on New Vulcan. McCoy wondered about what Captain Kirk would have thought about it, to which Spock answered he had not told him about his decision yet. McCoy joked that if Spock left, he'd throw a party and, to his surprise Spock smiles, a detail that made him realize that the man was indeed delirious because of his injury.

McCoy helps an injured Spock on Altamid

Having understood that they needed to get out of their refuge to attempt to contact the surviving crew, the two men left the cave, which exposed them to the drones. Spock asked the doctor to leave him behind because it was important for him to find the rest of the crew, but McCoy refused to leave him there and sarcastically commented that for a moment he thought Spock cared about his well being too, to which Spock replied, as the swarm ship were getting close to them, that he thought his respect for him had always been clear in spite of their not always friendly dialog through the years.

After getting beamed to safety aboard the USS Franklin on time, McCoy finally tried to medicate Spock's injury using some of the old, albeit less effective, medical equipment they found on the ship. Later on, after Spock realized that they could track the Vokaya mineral of the necklace he had given to Uhura and find her and the rest of the crew still held captive by Krall, McCoy teased the vulcan about the fact that he had not only gifted radioactive jewelry to his girlfriend, but it also was a tracking device, much to Spock's chagrin and disbelief because that had not been his intention.

Spock dons a Franklin -style uniform aboard the old ship

McCoy was understanding and supportive of Spock's decision to join the rescue team because of Uhura's presence in the base among the ones in danger, in spite of the Vulcan's physical condition still being impacted by his injury thus requiring him to stay behind and rest. After successfully saving the rest of the crew and finally leaving the planet aboard the Franklin , Spock volunteered to pilot one of the swarm ships in order to find the signal that made them move in sync and give the rest of the crew the required information to disrupt it and defeat the swarm before they could destroy Yorktown. When both Uhura and Kirk expressed concerns over his condition, Spock proposed that he could be helped by doctor McCoy because he, too, was more familiar with those ships after their shared experience on one of them. This, much to the Doctor's horror and annoyance over the prospect of piloting one of those vessels again. Despite his protests, the two men are able to accomplish their mission and ultimately save Captain Kirk in time before he's sucked into space after defeating Krall.

The experience on Altamid no doubt gave to both Spock and McCoy a new mutual understanding and respect of each other. However, the doctor still maintained some of his old mocking habits when he saw Spock chatting with Uhura at the party he had organized for Kirk's birthday, and he eyed her necklace in a manner that suggested he was still judging the Vulcan for giving to his girlfriend a 'tracking device'. Star Trek Beyond

Ultimately, Uhura and McCoy were the only people who knew about Spock's personal conflict.

Key dates [ ]

• 2230 : Born in ShiKahr on Vulcan
• Declines admission to the Vulcan Science Academy after the board insulted his mother
• Enlists in Starfleet
• 2254 : Begins programming the Kobayashi Maru scenario
• 2255 - 2258 : Instructor at Starfleet Academy
• First officer of the USS Enterprise
• Appointed acting captain of the Enterprise until resigning due to being emotionally compromised
• Briefly transferred to the USS Bradbury
• Reinstated to the Enterprise to hunt John Harrison, who is revealed to be Khan Noonien Singh
• Attends the re- Christening ceremony of the Enterprise
• Embarks on the first five-year mission
• Contemplates leaving Starfleet after the destruction of Vulcan and then the death of Ambassador Spock
• Declines to leave Starfleet and decides to continue five-year mission aboard the USS Enterprise -A

Memorable quotes [ ]

" I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. What do you need? Tell me. Tell me. " " I need everyone to continue performing admirably. "

" If you eliminate the impossible, whatever remains – however improbable – must be the truth. "

" I intend to assist in the effort to reestablish communication with Starfleet. However, if crew morale is better served by my roaming the halls weeping, I will gladly defer to your medical expertise. Excuse me. "

" I am as conflicted as I once was as a child. " " You will always be a child of two worlds. I am grateful for this... and for you. "

" I feel anger for the one who took Mother 's life. An anger I cannot control. " " I believe she would say, if she were here, 'do not try to'. "

" I'm coming with you. " " I would cite regulation, but I know you will simply ignore it. " " See? We are getting to know each other. "

" So, her first name is Nyota? " " I have no comment on the matter. "

" Captain, what are you doing? " " Showing them compassion, may be the only way to earn peace with Romulus. It's logic, Spock. I thought you'd like that. " " No, not really. Not this time. "

" Doctor, the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few. "

" Spock! You all right? " " Captain, you let them see our ship. " " Oh, he's fine ."

" Are you giving me attitude, Spock? " " I am expressing multiple attitudes simultaneously sir. To which are you referring? "

" You misunderstand. It is true I chose not to feel anything upon realizing that my own life was ending. As Admiral Pike was dying, I joined with his consciousness and experienced what he felt at the moment of his passing. Anger. Confusion. Loneliness. Fear. I had experienced those feelings before, multiplied exponentially on the day my planet was destroyed. Such a feeling is something I choose never to experience again. Nyota, you mistake my choice not to feel as a reflection of my not caring while I assure you, the truth is precisely the opposite. "

" Mr. Spock. " " Mr. Spock. "

" Khaaaaaaaaaaaaaan!! "

" It is unwise to trivialize that which one simply does not understand, Doctor. "

" If I may adopt a parlance with which you are familiar, I can confirm your theory to be "horse shit""

" We will do what we have always done, Jim. We will find hope in the impossible."

" Lt. Uhura wears a Vokaya amulet which I presented to her as a token of my affection and respect. " " You gave your girlfriend radioactive jewelry? " " The emission is harmless, Doctor. But its unique signature makes it very easy to identify. " " You gave your girlfriend a tracking device. " (realizing) " That was not my intention ."

" Spock, what are you doing here? " " Clearly, I am here to rescue you."

" I thought you had to finish your mission report. " " I do. But I thought it would be more pleasing to engage with you socially." " You old romantic."

Appendices [ ]

Appearances [ ].

• Star Trek (First appearance)
• Star Trek Into Darkness
• Star Trek Beyond

Background information [ ]

Spock as a baby, from a deleted scene

Spock was mostly played by Zachary Quinto . As a child, he was played by Jacob Kogan . In a deleted scene , an infant Spock was played by Jenna Vaughn .

In the script of Star Trek , Spock was referred to as a "very courageous Vulcan." [21]

Sean Gerace , a researcher on the film Star Trek who also appeared in the movie, turned the producers' attention to Jacob Kogan. ( audio commentary for Star Trek , Star Trek (Special Edition / Three disc Blu-ray) )

Placing faith in Bad Robot Productions , Zachary Quinto publicly pursued the role, aware there was a risk he wouldn't be cast in the part. ( Star Trek Magazine  issue 145 , p. 16) " Zach has always known somewhere in his heart that he was going to play this role, " remarked casting director April Webster . ( Star Trek Magazine  issue 144 , p. 29) She further said, " This is something that he's always wanted to play. I guess when you have intention that strong, it sort of became inevitable in this case. " Even before casting for the film began, rumors were rife that Quinto would be selected to play Spock. ( SciFiNow , issue 27, p. 033)

April Webster and fellow casting director Alyssa Weisberg saw a couple of male actors for the part but Zachary Quinto was one of the first who they recorded auditioning. He was auditioned shortly after Webster began working on the film herself, his performances observed by not only her but also by a casting director friend of hers named Mark Scott . ( Star Trek Magazine  issue 144 , p. 29) Quinto's auditions were taped for producer and director J.J. Abrams , with the realization that the actor's schedule on Heroes would have to be worked around. ( SciFiNow , issue 27, p. 033) " We didn't put that many [actors] on [tape] because truly, once Zachary Quinto did it, we knew he was Spock, " Webster recalled. His physical appearance was a huge part of what made Quinto an appealing option for the casting department, who found him to have a striking resemblance to how original Spock actor Leonard Nimoy looked in his own youth. ( Star Trek Magazine  issue 144 , p. 29)

While J.J. Abrams was considering Zachary Quinto for the role, Leonard Nimoy himself had some limited involvement in the casting. He later explained, " J.J. [...] sent me some footage of Zachary's previous work. I immediately saw the value. He looked to me to be believable, but probably more importantly, he showed great intelligence as an actor, and a great internal life, which I think is terribly important for the Spock character. I called J.J. immediately and said 'I think you've found a wonderful choice.' " ( Star Trek Magazine Souvenir Special , pp. 67-68)

Despite his degree of physical similarity to Leonard Nimoy, auditioning Zachary Quinto for the role nevertheless involved multiple iterations of his performance. " We had poor Zach do it 12 different ways – we didn't know what we were looking for, really. We didn't know if they wanted the controlled Spock, or the Spock where we see his Human side, " stated Webster. " We played with it a million ways and just showed J.J. everything. " ( Star Trek Magazine  issue 144 , p. 29) Thus, attempting to adopt the character of Spock at first proved somewhat challenging for Quinto. " That's a very tough part [for] anyone to play, " Webster mused. " Even if you look like them, it's a hard part for someone to play. How do you play someone caught between these two personalities? Or caught between these two realities of having been shamed his whole life for being half human, and having that aspect of himself in control all of the time? I think that Zachary really found a fine line there for us. In the end, his casting was a no-brainer. " Indeed, Quinto was, according to Webster, cast "almost right away." He subsequently opined that one element which helped him attain the role was that he personally related to the duality inherent in the character. " I think that there are many experiences that I've had, " remarked the actor, " that informed this iteration of the character and where he is in this journey. " ( SciFiNow , issue 27, pp. 032 & 033)

Zachary Quinto signed up to play Spock before having read the script for Star Trek . Once he read the screenplay, he was satisfied that he had made the right choice, later stating, " The complexity of the story, the deeply rooted internal conflict, the vulnerability that Spock comes up against in this film was really compelling to me as an actor [....] One thing really leads to another in a great way for my character. " ( Star Trek Magazine  issue 145 , p. 16)

The reserved emotionality of the character continued to be vital to Zachary Quinto, throughout the making of the movie, and was also important to Jacob Kogan. The latter actor mused about the role, " Pretty much, if you're playing a part that is trying to keep their emotions in, then that 's the emotion you're trying to convey [.....] I feel like it's not exactly showing your emotions but showing your motives and if Spock's motive is to hide his emotions, then that's what he's showing. " [22] Quinto similarly commented, " For me as the actor playing the character, there was so much that had to be contained throughout Spock's journey. " ( Star Trek Magazine  issue 145 , p. 16)

Because Leonard Nimoy has earlobes whereas Zachary Quinto doesn't, lobes were intentionally sculpted into Quinto's prosthetic ears for his appearance as Spock, in order to match Nimoy's ears. ( Star Trek Magazine  issue 155 , p. 56) Quinto's ear prosthetics encompassed most of both his ears. A prototype clay sculpture of Quinto with Vulcan ears, though without hair, was also created by Proteus FX make-up effects supervisor Barney Burman , who was credited with designing and creating the film's aliens. ( Cinefex , No. 118, pp. 47 & 52) Make-up artist David Snyder applied Spock make-ups with Joel Harlow 's make-up crew on the film Star Trek . ( Cinefex , No. 134, p. 77) Quinto's first make-up screen test as Spock was in October 2007 and included his own hair but a pair of prosthetic ears. ( Star Trek  Special Edition / Three disc Blu-ray documentary featurette "To Boldly Go")

To further enhance Zachary Quinto's appearance as Spock, Makeup Department Head Mindy Hall shaved Quinto's eyebrows and replaced them with hair that she used to create more sharply angled eyebrows, after which Hair Department Head Terrell Baliel added a custom wig. ( Cinefex , No. 118, p. 47) Upon preparing for the filming of Star Trek Into Darkness , Quinto described the requirement of having his eyebrows shaved for the role as "definitely the most tedious part of playing Spock." He went on to say, " The first time, it took three weeks for them to come back in a way that I didn't have to wear my glasses every day to hide them. It was probably two months before they were really thick and bushy again. " [23] On the other hand, Quinto did value the make-up and hair required for the part, generally. " The hair and make-up process is incredibly important for a character like Spock, who is so inextricably identified by his aesthetic, " said Quinto. " It informs a tremendous amount of his cultural identity. The process took about two hours, and around halfway through that time I felt a shift within myself – a kind of emergence that would bring the character to life for the remainder of the day. " ( Star Trek - The Art of the Film , p. 63)

When he first played Spock, Zachary Quinto was attempting to learn lots about the physicality of the character. ( Star Trek Magazine Movie Special 2016 , p. 35) His and Kogan's performances as Spock were not influenced by each other, with neither of them seeing the other's acting until after the film Star Trek was produced. [24] Quinto instead took inspiration from Leonard Nimoy's past portrayal of the character. They " spent a great deal of time getting to know each other and talking before I started shooting, " Quinto explained, " and in all that time, I was also doing my own stuff. Leonard and I watched two Spock-centric episodes together – " Amok Time " was one of them – and we talked about the character and the experience of shooting them. Most of my work was done on my own – a lot of research and reading – or with Leonard before we started shooting. While we were shooting the movie, I would watch old episodes of the show in my trailer when I was hanging out in there, just to keep me rooted in the specificity and uniqueness of the world [....] When I saw [the film], it made so much sense that my version of Spock would evolve into [Nimoy's]. " ( Star Trek Magazine  issue 145 , pp. 18 & 19) Nimoy himself offered, " When Zachary and I met for the first time, he had already done a lot of research on his own. He had a good sense of what it was all about. We did spend quite a bit of time together, but it was more getting to know each other, than any specifics like how to do the Vulcan grip. It was really something terribly important: an understanding of the internal life of this character. What of mine came to the character, and what of his could come to the character. " ( Star Trek Magazine Souvenir Special , p. 69)

Leonard Nimoy was ultimately very impressed with how Zachary Quinto assumed the role of Spock in the film Star Trek . " I found Zachary Quinto did things with the character that had never occurred to me, which I found quite delicious, " Nimoy enthused. " I think he really has found a way to expand the character while at the same time, if you can understand what I'm trying to say, being true to the character. He has found ways to enrich the character. He's wonderful and I'm really proud of what he has done. " ( Star Trek Magazine Souvenir Special , p. 69) Nimoy also reckoned about Quinto, " I think he could have a great career as Spock: if he wants it, it's there for him. " ( Star Trek Magazine  issue 145 , p. 56)

In Star Trek Into Darkness , Spock witnessing the death of Kirk is a reversal of Kirk's reaction to Spock's death in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan , without the sense of being a milestone in a long-held relationship. " Our [Kirk and Spock] haven't known each other that long, so in our movie, that moment is a revelation for Spock that Kirk is his friend, " said Roberto Orci. " It's the beginning of Spock recognizing, 'Oh my god, this guy is my friend, and just as I figured it out, I lose him.' " [25]

To return as Spock, Zachary Quinto again had to don Vulcan ear prosthetics for Star Trek Into Darkness . " And a breath of acetone was enough to blend the appliance to Zachary's ear, " noted make-up department head David LeRoy Anderson . To ensure correct alignments when applying the character's Vulcan eyebrows, Anderson made everyday use of a clear plastic vacuform template, a mask which covered the area immediately around Quinto's eyes. The eyebrows, even if they were heightened by merely an incremental degree more than usual, could easily make Quinto's Spock appear angry. Consequently, the film's makeup team regularly used a small hole in the mask, positioned at the temples, to mark a registration dot on the actor's skin. " Zach tweezed away portions of his real eyebrows under my supervision, " stated Anderson. " We applied hairs one by one, gluing them in place, and then added a tiny bit of green-blue eye shadow. " ( Cinefex , No. 134, p. 77)

While co-writing Star Trek Beyond , Simon Pegg found that writing Spock's dialogue, which he termed "Spockese", was very fun but also challenging. ( Star Trek Magazine Movie Special 2016 , p. 74)

Zachary Quinto with Justin Lin

Star Trek Beyond Director Justin Lin once noted that, before he arrived to direct Beyond , "Zack had already crafted an amazing Spock with Leonard [Nimoy]." ( SFX , issue 276, p. 49) However, appearing in Star Trek Beyond still presented a challenge to Quinto, as regards portraying Spock's preference for logical thinking combined with his underlying emotions. " Emotionally, he has definitely evolved since the last time we saw him, but I think he's a little more settled in his human/Vulcan disparity [....] The trick [with playing the role] is to cultivate an inner life that's deep enough to draw in the audience, and make them understand that there's so much more going on than meets the eye. Also, my version of this character has always been a little bit more in that grey zone, between the Vulcan and the human sensibility. That continues in this movie, too, " Quinto related. " My version of Spock has always been a little bit more human than maybe you would expect him to be, because he's really trying to figure out these two aspects of himself. It's an interesting challenge – certainly a unique one [....] With a role like this, there's such a familiarity now. I felt like I was able to drop into this world and explore it as the script allows. It becomes more and more a part of me every time I do it [....] Now I understand it in a different way [than when first portraying the character], but it's still a process. " ( Star Trek Magazine Movie Special 2016 , pp. 34 & 35)

While being generally uncertain about which direction he would want to take Spock in the fourth film, Zachary Quinto has suggested, " I could be interested in exploring more of his personal life, maybe, and getting into some explorations of what that looks like. " ( Star Trek Magazine Movie Special 2016 , p. 36)

Apocrypha [ ]

His female counterpart

In the novelization Star Trek , Spock says that he is going to be the first Vulcan in Starfleet. However, this would seem to contradict T'Pol enlisting in Star Trek: Enterprise , although he may be referring to the Federation Starfleet, as opposed to the United Earth Starfleet.

In the Star Trek video game, Spock's failed attempts at cooking dinner for Uhura are discussed.

The virtual collectible card battle game Star Trek: Rivals is using a picture of Jacob Kogan as young Spock on card #11, titled "Half Vulcan Spock", and pictures of Quinto for card #57, titled "Recruit Spock", card #87 "Exo Suit Spock", and card #100 "First Officer Spock".

In " Parallel Lives, Part 1 " and 2 , he has a female counterpart who is also in love with Uhura's male counterpart.

In the First issue of IDW's Star Trek: Boldly Go comic series that is set after the events of Star Trek Beyond , Spock takes a sabbatical from Starfleet and he and Uhura return to New Vulcan.

External link [ ]

• Spock (Kelvin timeline) at Memory Beta , the wiki for licensed Star Trek works
• 1 Abdullah bin al-Hussein

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The evolution of Spock, from a scrapped Star Trek pilot to Discovery

Discovery season 2 adds more layers to the well-known Vulcan

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Star Trek Discovery season 2 , boldly going on the CBS All Access streaming service, is a success. After cramming a Klingon war, a weirdo mushroom-based propulsion system and an encounter with the Mirror Universe into one season 1 arc, the successor’s slower pace is welcome, and Anson Mount’s Captain Pike is already a fan favorite.

But even with the warp core purring, Discovery isn’t getting complacent. The second season’s seventh episode, “Light and Shadows,” takes its biggest swing yet by recasting one of the principal pillars of nerd culture — again.

[ Ed. note: this article contains spoilers through the seventh episode of Discovery ]

This week we finally meet the second Spock of the decade, and the first as a television regular since the original series. And Discovery is ready to play with expectations; as revealed in “Lights and Shadows,” Starfleet’s most famous science officer is dyslexic.

Unlike with the 2009 J.J. Abrams-led “reboot” (or, eleventh film in the series, if you want to get technical, and by Kahless’ shroud I sure do), Leonard Nimoy is not here to offer his benediction to actor Ethan Peck. Instead this new Spock is traversing the galaxy on his own, after apparently killing a doctor during a sanitarium breakout (!?) and pursuing red flashes throughout the galaxy he believes to be a “Red Angel” he’s had visions of since he was a child (!?!?).

The latest episode reveals that Spock evaded the U.S.S. Discovery and Section 31 and found his way to Amanda on Vulcan. She put him in a sacred crypt containing Katra Stones that shield it from even Sarek’s telepathic links. For days he’s been roiling in emotion, muttering and mumbling and scratching numbers (and a rendering of the Red Angel) on the wall. Not quite the Spock we’re used to!

I may occasionally (and jokingly) refer to Leonard Nimoy as “Real Spock,” but there have been more Spocks along the route than we may realize. And, no, I don’t mean an “outsider” character unable to handle human interaction that appeals to the typical Trekkie’s crypto-Asperger’s inclinations in every series ( TNG – Data, DS9 – Odo, Voyager – Seven of Nine, Enterprise – T’Pol, Discovery – Saru). I mean that Spock evolved.

Let’s look at the timeline.

In “The Cage,” the Trek pilot shot in late 1964, Gene Roddenberry cast Leonard Nimoy (with whom he has worked on The Lieutenant ) as a Mephistophelean alien. He was not the second-in-command; that was Roddenberry’s future wife, Majel Barrett, who would later play Nurse Chapel, and then Lwaxana Troi. Instead, Spock was the Science Officer, and, once Captain Pike was endangered, was at the forefront of the away mission to rescue him.

The differences are major: Calm, dispassionate Mr. Spock has the volume turned to eleven from the very first scene. (When the Talosians yank the female crewmembers from the transporter pads, he famously yelps “The Women!!!”) He’s also positively giddy at the odd plantlife on Talos IV. He doesn’t raise an eyebrow. He giggles.

Though NBC rejected “The Cage,” the material remains canon. Roddenberry repurposed scenes for the flashback scenes in The Original Series’ first season two-parter “The Menagerie.” All the characters from “The Cage” were scrapped saved Spock. Even though he wasn’t fully developed, the pointy-eared guy showed promise.

The second pilot, “Where No Man Has Gone Before,” brought us Kirk and the bright red ring on the Enterprise’s bridge, but not all of the show’s pieces snapped into place yet. Spock wore tons of makeup, his eyebrows frighteningly steep, and a gold tunic with a thick collar. He’s also a bit of a dunce. When Kirk says that Spock’s style of playing chess can be irritating, this alleged genius on a mostly-Earthling vessel looks puzzled, takes a beat, asks “Irritating?” then brightens with an “ah, yes, one of your Earth emotions.”

Spock’s true nature quickly emerged. In the next episode, “The Corbomite Maneuver,” featured a scene in which everyone on the bridge is rightly freaked out by a giant, powerful Rubik’s Cube in space. Nimoy had his “aha!” moment on set when he delivered his line in a peculiar way. With a little bit of humor and perhaps a whiff of braggadocio, he meets this curiosity as a scientist, raises an eyebrow and simply says “Fascinating.”

From then on, Spock, who tamped down all emotion, ironically became the heart of the show. Nimoy was television’s least likely sex symbol, and his “fan mail” (still a metric for success in those days) dwarfed that of the show’s leader, William Shatner. The fame caused consternation until Roddenberry was somehow able to convince his leading man that the pair worked in tandem, and without Kirk there could be no Spock, and that however high the Vulcan’s star rose, he’d still be giving him orders.

Spock, the next generation

Star Trek was famously cancelled after three seasons, but success in syndication brought it back, albeit briefly, in animated form. Much of is silly, but a few episodes are legit. The episode “Yesteryear,” written by TOS staffer D.C. Fontana, is widely considered a high point, and was the first time someone besides Nimoy got to play the role of Spock.

Young Billy Simpson voiced a child version of Spock, who thanks to time travel, we see preparing for his kahs-wan ritual. The line readings are ... atrocious, as if he’s hearing the words milliseconds before he’s saying them. There are awkward gaps and the cadence with which he repeats the phrase “yes, father,” is hilarious. It’s a solid episode, but very hard not to goof on this kid. Fun fact: Simpson did a bit more acting as a tyke, then as an adult segued into becoming “Whimsical Will,” part of radio weirdo Doctor Demento’s extended circle.

Major aspects of the franchise were upended for Star Trek: The Motion Picture . The entire aesthetic of the film is very 1970s, very “new age.” As such, Spock’s demeanor is serious and sparse. It’s a style that rubbed a lot of people as being quite dull. Things got back to normal in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, but by this point Nimoy was through. He only agreed to do the movie if he would get killed off.

And yet … he was convinced to return. Primarily as director. Nimoy stayed behind the camera for almost all of Star Trek III: The Search for Spock , but there is plenty of Spock on screen. As the Genesis planet kickstarts the life cycle of Spock’s katra-free body (just work with me here) we check in with speechless Spock at age nine, 13, 17 and 25.

Carl Steven, who played the nine-year-old version of Spock, is primarily tasked with looking timid. Weirdly enough, Steven would later play another younger version of a Leonard Nimoy character in the 1991 television movie Never Forget . (He was also in Teen Wolf , but died in 2011 at age 36.)

Vadia Potenza plays the 13-year-old quasi-Spock who, I must confess, I never really noticed wasn’t Carl Steven until now. As 17-year-old Spock, Stephen Manley is the angry, freaked-out Vulcan in physical discomfort. Even as a little kid I somehow intuited that the mindless, rapidly aging Spock was undergoing raging hormonal agony. Spock needed to vent the airlock! Manley continues to work, and does so regularly, in movies with names like Rogue Warrior: Robot Fighter.

Joe W. Davis rounds out the group, and his Spock had an even more shattered psychology. They needed to get the Spock body off the Genesis Planet and back to Vulcan where a High Priestess could initiate the Fal-Tor-Pan and bring it together with Spock’s Katra that was inserted into Bones McCoy. Obviously.

The last scene of Star Trek III shows Spock dazed — but everyone gets a little spaced-out after surgery — so in Star Trek IV, Nimoy plays his character as half-“himself” and half a confused fool. It’s Starfleet by way of One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest. “You really have gone where no man has gone before!” Bones sighs. It is fantastic.

Spock is completely back to normal by V and VI , and seems the same but older when he appears opposite Captain Picard (and Data!) in the episode “Unification, Part II” on TNG. Same goes for the Nimoy scenes in the J.J. Abrams 2009 Star Trek. But what about his younger counterpart?

Star Trek beyond ... the original cast

When casting was announced, Zachary Quinto, who was known for the TV series Heroes seemed like the biggest coup. I mean, he really looked like Spock. Chris Pine was a big question mark and, Karl Urban was the dude from Xena and Simon Pegg was definitely funny, but could he be Scotty? With some distance now, if I had to rank the casting of the “Kelvin Timeline” crew, I’d probably put Quinto down near the bottom.

His version of Spock is pouty. Until Star Trek Beyond, he never quite nails the humor. It’s hard to put my finger on it, but something about Quinto leads me to feel that he thinks he’s just a tiny bit “above” the role. The fact that he and Nimoy became genuine friends toward the end of the elder Spock’s life really carried a great deal of Altair water with me, and probably with other fans, too.

(Oh, there was another kid version of Spock in the 2009 film, Jacob Kogan, and he was great. Plus, in the deleted scenes, there’s a shot of an infant Spock, too – a little baby with pointy ears!)

Before getting to Ethan Peck’s big moment, Star Trek Discovery season 2, introduces us to a grumpier kid Spock in the form of actor Liam Hughes. (This guy also played a young Barry Allen on The Flash, so let’s hope he’s a bonafide nerd in life.) Whereas Kogan’s version was sympathetic (as was the Animated Series’ ), Hughes’ Spock is something of a jerk when we see him earlier in the season, then a bit sadder in episode 7’s flashback with Michael Burnham.

Peck’s big debut (other than his voice, which is deeper than Quinto’s) is something of a bait and switch. He’s definitely there and gets his close-up, but he’s rambling, repeating the First Doctrines of Logic, and freaking out in a Surak-enhanced catatonia. But even without Peck getting into it with Sonequa Martin-Green with scene work there are some surprises with Spock 3.0.

Canon purists will be surprised to learn that Spock returned to Talos IV (or at least appears to be heading there after episode 7) after “The Cage” but before “The Menagerie.” (It also appears that the Burnham-Spock team-up in the first Discovery tie-in novel Desperate Hours has officially been memory holed, too.) But the bulk of fandom will be most interested to learn that the most famous Science Officer in Starfleet is actually dyslexic. On Vulcan the rare condition is called l’tak terai , and the implication is that he inherited the trait from his human side.

This is unexpected, but in line with Discovery ’s stated goal of being the most inclusive iteration of Star Trek yet. There have been some examples of neurodiversity in the franchise — Lt. Barclay, while not officially diagnosed, could likely be considered — but Spock’s new layer is one clear enough to start a dialogue about highly functioning people with learning disabilities. (Though using it as a gag to discover a code (“the numbers are backwards!”) is another story.)

A preview for next week’s Star Trek: Discovery teases even more Spock, and even more twisting of Trek canon. If you think you know everything there is to know about this Vulcan, consider the past, present, and future: the conclusion that there’s a “Real Spock” is nothing short of ... highly illogical.

Jordan Hoffman is a writer and member of the New York Film Critics Circle. His work can be read in The Guardian, New York Daily News, Vanity Fair, Thrillist and elsewhere.

Star Trek Timeline Explained, Including Two Kirks, Two Different Prequels, and the Return of Picard

Boldly go through the eons of Trek.

It began so simply: A man named Gene Roddenberry wanted to make a TV show set in the future, featuring characters who would represent the best of humanity, boldly going where no one has gone before. Now, Star Trek has become one of pop culture's most enduring touchstones, constantly evolving with the times.

It is not an easy thing to put together a coherent timeline for a franchise that consists of over 50 years of films and TV (nine series and 13 films, to be exact). Yet Star Trek , when you break it down, does hold together pretty well for a narrative that has been crafted by literally dozens of writers and directors over the decades. This is especially impressive given the amount of time travel that's been built into the story, as well as some conflicting dates (for example, the Eugenics War makes things complicated ).

Choosing the most important dates of Trek history to focus on was at times difficult, but an effort was made to pinpoint moments where the franchise’s relationship with time was most complicated — after all, the ultimate goal of this article is to take over 50 years of sci-fi adventure and make it relatively comprehensible. With that in mind, The timeline below is restricted to the film and TV entries in the Trek universe, in part because the books, comics, and other media are fascinating enhancements to the narrative (especially when they push forward into the future) but are not widely considered to be officially canon.

Given that many of these events take place on different planets — with, thus, different year cycles — some dates are approximated, especially when their placement in the timeline is based on statements like "a thousand years ago." (If Trek 's stardate dating system was easier to compute, then it would have been incorporated here. Alas.) But even when some dates don't quite line up, the franchise's central principles are rarely lost.

[Editor's note: This article was updated on September 14, 2021 to incorporate "Star Trek: Lower Decks" Season 1.]

The Films and TV Shows (Combined)

The Age of Shatner and Nimoy

• Star Trek: The Original Series Season 1 (1966-1967)
• Star Trek: The Original Series Season 2 (1967-1968)
• Star Trek: The Original Series Season 3 (1968-1969)
• Star Trek: The Animated Series Season 1 (1973-1974)
• Star Trek: The Animated Series Season 2 (1974)
• Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979)
• Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982)
• Star Trek III: The Search For Spock (1984)
• Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (1986)

The Next Generation Begins

• Star Trek: The Next Generation Season 1 (1987-1988)
• Star Trek: The Next Generation Season 2 (1988-1989)
• Star Trek V: The Final Frontier (1989)
• Star Trek: The Next Generation Season 3 (1989-1990)
• Star Trek: The Next Generation Season 4 (1990-1991)
• Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country (1991)
• Star Trek: The Next Generation Season 5 (1991-1992)
• Star Trek: The Next Generation Season 6 (1992-1993)
• Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Season 1 (1993)
• Star Trek: The Next Generation Season 7 (1993-1994)
• Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Season 2 (1993-1994)
• Star Trek Generations (1994)

The Next Next Generation

• Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Season 3 (1994-1995)
• Star Trek: Voyager Season 1 (1994-1995)
• Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Season 4 (1995-1996)
• Star Trek: Voyager Season 2 (1995-1996)
• Star Trek: First Contact (1996)
• Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Season 5 (1996-1997)
• Star Trek: Voyager Season 3 (1996-1997)
• Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Season 6 (1997-1998)
• Star Trek: Voyager Season 4 (1997-1998)
• Star Trek: Insurrection (1998)
• Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Season 7 (1998-1999)
• Star Trek: Voyager Season 5 (1998-1999)
• Star Trek: Voyager Season 6 (1999-2000)
• Star Trek: Voyager Season 7 (2000-2001)

The Enterprise Era

• Star Trek: Enterprise Season 1 (2001-2002)
• Star Trek: Nemesis (2002)
• Star Trek: Enterprise Season 2 (2002-2003)
• Star Trek: Enterprise Season 3 (2003-2004)
• Star Trek: Enterprise Season 4 (2004-2005)

The Kelvin-verse

• Star Trek (2009)
• Star Trek Into Darkness (2013)
• Star Trek Beyond (2016)

The CBS All Access Age

• Star Trek: Discovery Season 1 (2017-2018)
• Star Trek : Short Treks Season 1 (2018)
• Star Trek: Discovery Season 2 (2019)
• Star Trek : Short Treks Season 2 (2019-2020)
• Star Trek: Picard Season 1 (2020)
• Star Trek: Lower Decks Season (2020)

Note: Spoilers follow for all of the above, including the season premiere of Picard .

The Days Before Space

4.6 Billion BCE (or maybe even more):

• The birth/arrival/creation of the Guardian of Forever on its ancient planet (ST:TOS S1E28, "The Guardian on the Edge of Forever").

4 Billion BCE:

• An unknown humanoid species, to quote Geordi LaForge, "scattered this genetic material into the primordial soup of at least 19 different planets across the galaxy," explaining why most sentient species look the same (ST:TNG S6E20, "The Chase").

3.5 Billion BCE:

• The beginnings of life in the Alpha Quadrant are threatened by Q's anomaly ( ST:TNG S7E25-26 , "All Good Things") .

400 CE (approximately):

• Approximate time when the Changelings founded what would become the Dominion, with the Jem'Hadar

900 CE (approximately):

• Kahless the Unforgettable slays the Qo'noS tyrant Molor and becomes the first Emperor of the Klingon Empire.
• First known sign of the Borg in the Delta Quadrant.

1600 CE (approximately):

• The beginnings of Bajoran space exploration leads to first contact between the Cardassians and Bajorans. (It does not go well for them.)

1800 CE (approximately):

• Establishment of the Cardassian Union.
• Picard, La Forge, Troi, Riker, and Crusher arrive in San Francisco after the discovery of Data's severed head in their century. Samuel Clemens (AKA Mark Twain) gets caught up in their efforts to save him (ST:TNG S5E26-S6E1, "Time's Arrow").
• Kirk and Spock chase a drugged and disoriented McCoy through the time portal known as the Guardian of Forever to New York City. While there, Kirk falls in love with Edith Keeler, a social worker whose life McCoy saved, but Kirk must ultimately let die, in order to preserve the timeline and prevent Germany from winning World War II (ST:TOS S1E28, "The City on the Edge of Forever").
• The Briori abduct several hundred humans from Earth and bring them to the Delta Quadrant, including Amelia Earhart (ST:VOY S2E1, "The 37's") .

1944 (alternate universe):

• Jonathan Archer and the Enterprise NX-01 crew find themselves in an altered version of World War II, where the Nazis have invaded America (ST:ENT S4E1-E2, "Storm Front").
• Quark, Rom and Nog crash their ship in Roswell, New Mexico and have to escape from the U.S. Military (ST:DS9 S4E8, "Little Green Men") .
• The Enterprise travels back to this year to prevent an agent from interfering with events, because Starfleet had a record of them doing so. Time travel is fun that way (ST:TOS S2E26, "Assignment: Earth"). The Enterprise also went on a similar mission in 1969 (ST:TOS S1E19, "Tomorrow Is Yesterday") .
• Kirk and friends, in search of humpback whales to save the future, arrive in San Francisco, where they meet marine biologist Gillian Taylor, invent transparent aluminum, and teach Spock how to swear (Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home) .
• The Eugenics Wars rage on (at least, according to almost all sources ). When the Enterprise first discovers genetically enhanced Khan Noonien Singh (ST:TOS S1E24, "Space Seed") , Spock says that during these years, Khan had conquered most of the Earth, before fleeing the Earth with 84 of his followers to drift through space in the S.S. Botany Bay.
• In this version of 1996 (perhaps because they've just ended?), there's no sign of the Eugenics Wars in action when the Voyager is pulled to sunny Southern California by a 29th century time ship. Despite being featured on local news broadcasts, the Voyager and its crew manage not to damage the timeline before returning to the 24th century (ST:VOY S3E8-9, "Future's End") .

December 27, 1999:

• One of Captain Janeway's ancestors gets caught up in the controversy surrounding the construction of the Millennium Gate tower, a self-sufficient structure built in Indiana that would become the model for the colonization of Mars (ST:VOY S5E23, "11:59") .
• Archer and T'Pol arrive in Detroit to stop the Xindi from annihilating the human race with a bioweapon — they succeed (ST:ENT S3E11, "Carpenter Street) .

Aug. 30-Sept. 2, 2024:

• Thanks to a transporter accident, Sisko, Dax and Bashir arrive in a very different San Francisco from the modern world, and get caught up in the Bell Riots, a historical event which eventually led to massive reform of America's social issues (ST:DS9 S3E11-E12, "Past Tense") .

2026 – 2053:

• World War III ravages Earth, killing six hundred million humans.

The Dawn of the Warp Era

April 4, 2063:

• The Enterprise-E arrives at Earth after chasing a Borg sphere from the 24th century, just as the Borg plan to disrupt the launch of Zefram Cochrane's extremely important prototype warp drive flight (Star Trek: First Contact) .

April 5, 2063:

• Thanks to the Enterprise-E, Cochrane successfully completes his flight and, later that day, a Vulcan ship arrives on Earth, initiating first contact and beginning humanity's journey to its future as an architect of the Federation (Star Trek: First Contact).
• Colonies on Mars are established.
• An elderly Zefram Cochrane vanishes, after heading out on one last space voyage (ST:TOS S2E9, "Metamorphosis") .
• The Enterprise NX-01, the first starship capable of traveling at Warp 5, begins its mission to explore the galaxy. A major part of its adventures have to do with the Temporal Cold War, in which the crew found itself caught up in time travel conflicts.

March 2153:

• The Xindi attack Earth, firing a blast that causes destruction from Florida to Venezuela, killing seven million people. The NX-01 refocuses its mission on trying to stop the Xindi from causing further destruction.
• For the first time, Starfleet officers travel to the Mirror Universe, encountering a far darker version of their world (ST:ENT S4E18-E19, "In a Mirror, Darkly") .
• Discussion of uniting various planets for some sort of... federation, perhaps, begins (ST:ENT S4E22, "These Are the Voyages...") .

2156–2160:

• A four-year war with the Romulans leads to the creation of the Romulan Neutral Zone.
• Captain Archer speaks to the Coalition of Planets about the need to create...
• The United Federation of Planets, which is officially born that year (ST:ENT S4E22, "These Are the Voyages...") .
• Starfleet Academy is also founded.
• In an alternate timeline, the crew of the Defiant was sent back in time to this year, crashing on a planet called Gaia. While Kira died, the survivors eventually built a society of eight thousand people. This society, however, was wiped out of existence when the Odo living on Gaia prevented the Defiant from replicating that journey into the past, to save Kira's life (ST:DS9 S5E22, "Children of Time") .

March 22nd, 2233:

• In the Kelvin Timeline, Kirk is born aboard a USS Kelvin shuttlecraft as time-traveling Romulan Nero attacks the ship now being captained by James' soon-to-be-deceased father George (Star Trek 2009) .
• In the Prime Timeline, Kirk is born (exact location unknown, but could have still been aboard the USS Kelvin, albeit under more peaceful circumstances), and eventually raised in Iowa by George and Winona Kirk.
• Michael Burnham's family was killed at Doctari Alpha, following which Sarek brought her into his home and made her Spock's adoptive sister (ST:DIS S2E1, "Brothers") .
• The USS Enterprise, captained by Christopher Pike, launches its second five-year mission to explore the universe.
• Captain Pike, Lieutenant Spock and the Enterprise visit the planet of Talos IV (ST:TOS S1E15-E16, "The Menagerie") .
• The USS Shenzhou is called to investigate damage done to an interstellar array on the edge of Federation space, which leads to the ship being overwhelmed by an onslaught of Klingon ships. In the conflict, Captain Georgiou is killed, and Lieutenant Michael Burnham not just committing mutiny, but triggering a war between the Federation and the Klingons (ST:DIS S1E1-E2, "The Vulcan Hello"-"Battle at the Binary Stars") .

November 2256:

• Michael Burnham is, via a roundabout set of circumstances, transferred from prison to the USS Discovery under the command of Captain Gabriel Lorca (ST:DIS S1E3, "Context Is For Kings") .
• The Discovery arrives in the Mirror Universe thanks to Lorca, who had secretly snuck into the Prime Universe. The ship eventually returns home, but with the devious Mirror Universe version of Georgiou on board (ST:DIS S1E13, "What's Past Is Prologue").
• By making a pact with L'Rell and stopping an attack on the Klingon homeworld, Burnham is able to end the Federation-Klingon War (ST:DIS S1E13, "What's Past Is Prologue") .
• As the Enterprise needs repairs and the Discovery needs a (temporary?) captain, Captain Pike fills in the gap, introducing the mission to discover what's going on with the "Red Angel" who keeps appearing in multiple spots across the Alpha Quadrant (ST:DIS S2E1, "Brothers") .
• Burnham learns that the Red Angel is herself, from the future, and ultimately chases that predestination paradox (ST:DIS Season 2) .
• The Discovery, with a limited crew, travels to the year 3186. Those who stay behind, including Pike, Spock and Number One, adhere to the pact that speaking of the Discovery or its crew ever again is a treasonable offense (ST:DIS S2E14, "Such Sweet Sorrow, Part 2") .

2258 (Kelvin-verse):

• The Prime Universe version of Spock arrives from the future — which is just what Nero has been waiting for, for 25 years (Star Trek 2009) .
• James Kirk is just about to finish his time at Starfleet Academy when the planet of Vulcan is destroyed by Nero. Kirk and his new crew ultimately take down Nero, and end up taking over the Enterprise for a mission of exploration (Star Trek 2009) .

2259 (Kelvin-verse):

• Khan Noonien Singh arises to try to tear down the Federation. Kirk dies, but does not stay dead (Star Trek Into Darkness) .

2260 (Kelvin-verse):

• The Enterprise sets out on its five-year mission (Star Trek Beyond) .

2263 (Kelvin-verse):

• Three years into said mission, the Enterprise crew saves the space station Yorktown from destruction — destroying their ship in the process, but the Enterprise-A immediately gets commissioned (Star Trek Beyond) .
• The Prime Universe Spock, having lived in the Kelvin timeline for seven years, passes away at the age of 162 (Star Trek Beyond) .
• James T. Kirk takes command of the USS Enterprise for another five-year mission, encountering Klingons, con men and more.
• McCoy, after an unfortunate injection, rushes to the surface of an alien planet and escapes to the year 1930 thanks to the Guardian of Forever (ST:TOS S1E28, "The Guardian on the Edge of Forever") .
• The Enterprise experiences plenty of wacky experiences, but few as memorable as a trip to Deep Space Station K-7 to handle an agricultural situation aggravated by a tribble infestation (ST:TOS S2E13, "The Trouble With Tribbles") .
• After a time traveler tries to interfere with the events of DSS K-7, Captain Sisko and his crew arrive to make sure Kirk keeps the Klingons from sabotaging things (ST:DS9 S5E6, "Trials and Tribble-ations") .
• The Enterprise discovers Zefram Cochrane marooned on a remote planetoid, but ultimately leaves him behind with an alien consciousness with which he is in love (ST:TOS S2E9, "Metamorphosis") .
• At the end of the five-year mission, Kirk is promoted to the rank of Admiral, while Will Decker becomes captain of the USS Enterprise.
• When an alien-retrofitted version of Voyager returns to Earth, Kirk resumes control over the Enterprise to save Earth (Star Trek: The Motion Picture) .
• The Prime Universe Khan gets his chance at conquering the galaxy. Spock dies in the successful effort to thwart him (Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan) .
• Kirk steals the Enterprise, but Spock is successfully resurrected thanks to the planet Genesis's extraordinary properties. They return Spock to Vulcan so he can recuperate (Star Trek III: The Search For Spock) .
• An alien probe broadcasting humpback whale song doesn't get any response, and starts trying to destroy the planet Earth as a result. To prevent this, Kirk and his friends travel back in time (Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home) .
• Kirk is demoted to the rank of Captain, and thus he can return to being the Captain of the Enterprise (Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home) .
• The Enterprise crew goes on another adventure, which might be boiled down to this memorable incident: Captain Kirk asks the question "What does God need with a starship?" (Star Trek V: The Final Frontier) .
• Hikaru Sulu becomes captain of the USS Excelsior.
• Kirk is framed for the assassination of Klingon Chancellor Gorkon, and he and McCoy even go to prison for that presumed crime, but their friends rescue them in time to prevent another assassination. Kirk saves the peace talks and is told to bring the Enterprise back to Earth. He might end up taking his time getting there (Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country) .
• Tuvok serves under Captain Sulu aboard the Excelsior (ST:VOY S3E2, "Flashback") .
• Later that year, Kirk and other crew members are visiting the newly commissioned Enterprise-B. After an encounter with the Nexus that destroys a good part of the ship, Kirk is considered dead (Star Trek Generations) .
• Captain Rachel Garrett and the Enterprise-C are lost while defending a Klingon settlement, an event which proved pivotal to creating peace between the Klingons and the Federation — so pivotal that when it didn't happen in an alternate universe, it led to a far worse future (ST:TNG S3E15, "Yesterday's Enterprise") .
• War between the Federation and Cardassian Union begins, with conflicts tapering off in the 2350s.
• The USS Pegasus is considered missing after experimenting with phasing technology ( ST:TNG S7E12, "The Pegasus") .

The Rise of Picard, Sisko, and Janeway

• Seven years later, Picard re-experiences this first mission, because it is revealed that the trial which Q began during the trip to Farpoint had never actually ended ( ST:TNG S7E25-26 , "All Good Things").
• Lieutenant Natasha Yar is killed in action (ST:TNG S1E23, "Skin of Evil") .
• The Enterprise encounters the Borg for the first time, after being flung into the Delta Quadrant by Q (ST:TNG S2E16, "Q Who") .
• The Enterprise-C arrives in a very changed version of the universe, 22 years after it disappeared into a temporal rift. Captain Garrett and her crew eventually return to the point of their disappearance to preserve the original timeline, with Tasha Yar (who did not die in this new timeline) returning with them (ST:TNG S3E15, "Yesterday's Enterprise") .
• Jean-Luc Picard gets abducted by the Borg, and a battle he spearheads as Locutus of Borg, known as Wolf 359, is a brutal moment for the Federation. Benjamin Sisko's wife Jennifer is one of the many, many casualties (ST:TNG S3E26-S4E1, "The Best of Both Worlds"; ST:DS9 S1E1, "Emissary") .
• With the ascension of Gowron as Emperor, the Klingon Civil War begins.
• The Klingon Civil War ends, with Gowron maintaining his control over the Empire (ST:TNG S5E1, "Redemption II") .
• Ambassador Spock travels to Romulus to try to reunite the Vulcans and Romulan people — unsuccessfully. (ST:TNG S5E7-8, "Redemption I-II") .
• Commander Benjamin Sisko arrives at the station Deep Space Nine, where he encounters the "wormhole aliens," AKA "the Prophets," and devotes himself to bringing local planet Bajor into the Federation as Bajor rebuilds after Cardassian occupation (ST:DS9 S1E1, "Emissary") .
• The Enterprise-D recovers long-lost Montgomery Scott from a transporter buffer, and Scotty sets out to go exploring the galaxy (ST:TNG S6E4, "Relics").
• Commander Riker, struggling to decide what to do when his old commanding officer Admiral Pressman asks for his help, uses the holodeck to look back at Captain Archer's big speech to the Coalition of Planets (ST:ENT S4E22, "These Are the Voyages..."; ST:TNG S7E12, "The Pegasus") .
• The Federation-Cardassian Treaty is signed, officially ending hostilities and creating a demilitarized zone that left several planets previously colonized by Federation citizens under Cardassian control. This leads to the creation of the Maquis, former Federation members who rebel against the Cardassians (ST:DS9 S2E20-21, "The Maquis") .
• Picard begins to shift in time, from his past to his future, which lead to him discovering that Q has spent the last seven years evaluating the human race, based on the adventures of Picard and his crew. Ultimately, Picard convinces Q of humanity's value ( ST:TNG S7E25-26 , "All Good Things").
• Picard learns that his brother and nephew have ben killed in a fire at his family vineyard (Star Trek Generations) .
• The Enterprise-D gets caught up in Dr. Soran's attempt to reach the Nexus, a realm outside of space and time that can feel like paradise. Picard, inside the Nexus, meets Kirk, who he convinces to leave the Nexus with him to stop Soran. They succeed, but Kirk is killed and the Enterprise is destroyed (Star Trek Generations) .
• The USS Voyager departs Deep Space Nine to track down a missing Maquis ship, but both ships end up getting dragged 75,000 light years away from Earth. The Starfleet and Maquis crews end up working together to try to get back to the Alpha Quadrant (ST:VOY S1E1-2, "Caretaker") .
• The USS Defiant, a new ship to be captained by Benjamin Sisko, arrives at Deep Space Nine (ST:DS9 S3E1, "The Search, Part I") .
• Odo learns that his people, the Changelings, are the Founders of the Dominion, which controls the Gamma Quadrant, and now aims to take over the Alpha Quadrant (ST:DS9 S3E1-2, "The Search, Parts I/II") .
• The Enterprise-E is launched.
• Thanks to Changeling infiltration at the highest levels of government, war erupts between the Federation and the Klingon Empire. Worf joins the crew of Deep Space Nine (ST:DS9 S4E1-2, "The Way of the Warrior") .
• After the Battle of Sector 001, in which the Borg gets close to attacking the Earth, the Enterprise-E launches into action, following a Borg Sphere back into the past (Star Trek: First Contact) .
• When the Changeling impersonating General Martok is revealed, war between the Federation and the Klingons ends (ST:DS9 S5E1, "Apocalypse Rising") .
• The Federation first learns about the existence of the non-corporeal Pah-wraiths, enemies of the Bajoran Prophets, when one of them takes over the body of Keiko O'Brien (ST:DS9 S5E5, "The Assignment") .
• Bashir, without anyone's knowledge, is replaced by a Changeling, which is not uncovered for a month (ST:DS9 S5E14-15, "In Purgatory's Shadow"/"By Inferno's Light") .
• The Dominion, as part of the deal, helps Cardassia completely eliminate the Maquis.
• To avoid war with the Dominion, the Bajorans sign a non-aggression treaty (ST:DS9 S5E26, "Call to Arms") .
• The Dominion takes over the Bajor sector as the Federation departs, beginning the Dominion War (ST:DS9 S5E26, "Call to Arms") .
• Voyager assists the Borg in fighting off Species 8472, and a drone known as Seven of Nine gets marooned on their ship (ST:VOY S4E1, "Scorpion, Part II") .
• Meanwhile, crew member Kes leaves the ship to explore her psychic abilities (ST:VOY S4E2, "The Gift") .
• The Dominion War is fought on multiple fronts, with Kira leading a resistance effort on Deep Space Nine while Sisko and the Defiant battle to eventually retake the station (ST:DS9 S6E6, "Sacrifice of Angels") .
• Gul Dukat's daughter Ziyal is killed by Damar during the battle over DS9 (ST:DS9 S6E6, "Sacrifice of Angels") .
• Worf and Jadzia Dax get married (ST:DS9 S6E7, "You Are Cordially Invited...") .
• First major appearance of Section 31 (in the Prime timeline), as an agent attempts to recruit Bashir (ST:DS9 S6E18, "Inquisition") .
• Thanks to Sisko working with the ruthless Garak, the Romulans join the war against the Dominion (ST:DS9 S6E19, "In the Pale Moonlight") .
• Dukat, having snuck onto DS9, kills Jadzia Dax and releases a Pah-wraith which closes the Bajoran wormhole permanently (ST:DS9 S6E26, "Tears of the Prophets") .
• The Dax symbiont is joined with a Trill named Ezri (ST:DS9 S7E1, "Image in the Sand") .
• After having left DS9 for a short time, Sisko recovers the Orb of the Emissary, and returns to reopen the wormhole (ST:DS9 S7E2, "Shadows and Symbols") .
• Dukat now leads a cult devoted to the worship of the Pah-wraiths (ST:DS9 S7E9, "Covenant") .
• The Enterprise-E crew, including Worf, work together to reconcile the Son'a and Ba'ku people after a century of distrust (Star Trek: Insurrection) .
• Sisko makes plans for life after the Dominion War, and also marries long-time girlfriend Kasidy Yates (ST:DS9 S7E18, "'Til Death Do Us Part") .
• Kira, Odo and Garak go to Cardassia to help Damar, now in open rebellion against the Dominion, lead a resistance movement. Odo learns that he has been infected by the virus killing the Changelings, which was created by Section 31 (ST:DS9 S7E21, "When It Rains...") .
• The Defiant is destroyed by the Breen, and a new ship is renamed in its honor (ST:DS9 S7E24, "The Dogs of War") .
• Odo, having been cured of Section 31's disease, returns to his people to spread the cure to them (ST:DS9 S7E26, "What You Leave Behind").
• Dukat, having surgically altered himself to resemble a Bajoran, becomes a confidante of Kai Winn and manipulates her into helping him unlock the power of the Pah-wraiths in the Fire Caves on Bajor. Sisko arrives in time to stop him, but all three of them are considered dead (ST:DS9 S7E26, "What You Leave Behind") .
• The Dominion War ends (ST:DS9 S7E26, "What You Leave Behind") .
• The USS Voyager continues its journey home.
• Tom Paris and B'Elanna Torres get married (ST:VOY S7E3, "Drive") .
• Neelix leaves Voyager to join a Talaxian community (ST:VOY S7E23, "Homestead").
• With the help of a time-travelling Admiral Janeway, Voyager successfully uses the Borg transwarp network to get back to Earth (ST:VOY S7E25, "Endgame") .
• Miral Paris is born (ST:VOY S7E25, "Endgame") .
• William Riker and Deanna Troi get married (Star Trek: Nemesis) .
• The Enterprise-E discovers that Data's creator, Dr. Soong, had created an early prototype of Data known as B-4, which is more primitive than Data. Data tries to help by transferring his memories into B-4.
• Picard comes to Romulus after a military coup puts Shinzon, a clone of Picard created by Romulans who ended up becoming the leader of the Remans. In the ensuing fight, Picard kills Shinzon, but Data is killed saving his crew (Star Trek: Nemesis) .
• Ensign Tendi joins Rutherford, Mariner, and Boimler to serve on board the U.S.S. Cerritos, a ship dedicated to "second contact" encounters with new civilizations (Star Trek: Lower Decks S1E1, "Second Contact") .
• Boimler jumps at the chance of promotion to serve on board the U.S.S. Titan under the command of Captain William Riker, leaving behind his friends on the Cerritos (Star Trek: Lower Decks S1E10, "No Small Parts") .
• Thaddeus "Thad" Troi-Riker is born (ST:PIC S1E7, "Nepenthe").

The Future Is a Dark Place

• Jean-Luc Picard puts the Data's Daughter painting into storage at the Starfleet Archive Museum (ST:PIC S1E1, "Remembrance") .
• Seven of Nne, working as a Fenris Ranger near the Romulan Neutral Zone, loses adopted son Icheb (a former Borg like herself) after Icheb is attacked by raiders looking for black market Borg implants (ST:PIC S1E5, "Stardust City Rag") .
• When a star near Romulus goes supernova, the entire planet is destroyed, despite Spock's attempt to stop the explosion by injecting the star with Red Matter and creating a black hole. The black hole instead brings both his ship and the nearby Romulan mining vessel containing Nero into the past (Star Trek 2009) .

2388-89 (approximate):

• In the wake of the destruction of Romulus, the Utopia Planitia Fleet Yards of Mars are destroyed by rebellious synthetic workers on First Contact Day (April 5), killing thousands and leaving Mars ablaze for years to follow (ST:ST "Children of Mars," ST:PIC S1E1, "Remembrance") .
• The Troi-Riker family moves to the outlying planet of Nepenthe (ST:PIC S1E7, "Nepenthe") .
• The original year that the Voyager returned to the Alpha Quadrant, prior to Janeway's temporal interference (ST:VOY S7E25, "Endgame") .
• While the future that Picard saw during his final confrontation with Q was eventually rewritten, this would have been the year in which Picard reunited his old crew to work together to stop the anomaly ( ST:TNG S7E25-26 , "All Good Things").
• Thad Troi-Riker dies of mendaxic neurosclerosis at the age of 15 (ST:PIC S1E7, "Nepenthe") .
• Jean-Luc Picard, having left Starfleet years ago after the destruction of Romulus, meets Dahj, a frightened young woman with a mysterious connection to Data. She inspires him to leave retirement and investigate further ( ST:PIC S1E1, "Remembrance").
• Picard's search to understand Dahj's origins leads him to assemble a ramshackle crew and discover Dahj's synth twin Soji, but in the race to save her and her fellow synths, Picard's terminal brain condition catches up with him and he dies in the climactic battle. Fortunately, his consciousness is saved and transplanted into a synthetic body, meaning that Picard has potentially years worth of adventure ahead of him (ST:PIC S1E10, "Et in Arcadia Ego, Part 2") .
• Admiral Janeway, having spent years figuring out a plan, leaves her original timeline to travel to the year 2378 and change the past (ST:VOY S7E25, "Endgame") .
• The USS Discovery arrives in an uncharted future. What happens next is totally unknown (ST:DIS S2E14, "Such Sweet Sorrow, Part 2," ST:DIS Season 3) .

3200s (or potentially more):

1000 years into the future of the Discovery, the abandoned ship (run by a now-sentient computer) rescues an escape pod and forms a bond with its occupant (ST:ST "Calypso") .

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.

How to Watch Star Trek by Order of Release

• Star Trek: The Original Series (1966 - 1969)
• Star Trek: The Animated Series (1973 - 1974)
• Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979)
• Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982)
• Star Trek III: The Search for Spock (1984)
• Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (1984)
• Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987 - 1994)
• Star Trek V: The Final Frontier (1989)
• Star Trek VI: 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 (2009)
• Star Trek Into Darkness (2013)
• Star Trek Beyond (2016)
• Star Trek: Discovery (2017 - Present)
• Star Trek: Picard (2020 - 2023)
• Star Trek: Lower Decks (2020 - Present)
• Star Trek: Prodigy (2021 - TBA)
• Star Trek: Strange New Worlds (2022 - Present)

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.

In This Article

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A friendly reminder regarding spoilers ! At present the expanded Trek universe is in a period of major upheaval with the continuations of Discovery and Prodigy , the advent of new eras in gaming with the Star Trek Adventures RPG , Star Trek: Infinite and Star Trek Online , as well as other post-57th Anniversary publications such as the ongoing IDW Star Trek comic and spin-off Star Trek: Defiant . Therefore, please be courteous to other users who may not be aware of current developments by using the {{ spoiler }}, {{ spoilers }} OR {{ majorspoiler }} tags when adding new information from sources less than six months old (even if it is minor info). Also, please do not include details in the summary bar when editing pages and do not anticipate making additions relating to sources not yet in release. THANK YOU

• Imperial Starfleet personnel (alternate reality)
• ISS Enterprise (alternate reality) personnel
• Mirror universe (alternate reality) characters
• 2230 births

Spock (mirror Kelvin timeline)

• View history

Biography [ ]

Spock then oversaw the Terran Empire 's victory over the Klingon Empire on Qo'noS . He then personally oversaw the execution of Chancellor Gorkon . Spock gave Gorkon the choice to swear fealty to the Terran Empire, undergo Terran re-education, and take a low administrative post in the Klingon colonies. When Gorkon refused his offfer, Spock ordered Sulu to behead the chancellor. Spock was then informed that Commander Kirk had taken Praxis , but had left and went to the Klingon penal colony of Rura Penthe to settle a vendetta against Nero . ( TOS comic : " Mirrored, Part 1 ")

While Kirk was boasting about ruling the new Terran Empire, Uhura secretly beamed Spock off the Enterprise shortly before Kirk orders it to be destroyed, giving the impression that he had killed Spock.

Spock later freed a captured Spock Prime from the Narada , and with the help of Uhura, beamed to the surface of Vulcan in order to stop Kirk from killing the Vulcan elders, with his plan to wipe out the planet with red matter from Spock Prime's ship. Spock shot Kirk in the back with a phaser and decided to remain on Vulcan, along with Spock Prime, in order to keep the alliance between Vulcan and the Terran Empire intact. ( TOS comic : " Mirrored, Part 2 ")

Connections [ ]

• 1 Tzenkethi
• 2 The Chase
• 3 Preserver (race)

Spock is an influential half Vulcan half human Starfleet officer. He is son of Sarek & Amanda Grayson . The presence of Spock in Star Trek Timelines was first revealed in the Spock in Star Trek Timelines dev blog.

The addition of Talos IV Spock made Spock only the third character to have a version of every rarity level, behind Riker and Wesley .

• 2 Related Dev Blogs
• 3 External Links
• 4 References

Related Dev Blogs

External links.

• Spock at Memory Alpha
• Pages using DynamicPageList parser function
• Complete Rarity Set
• Appears in The Original Series
• Appears in The Next Generation
• Appears in Discovery
• Appears in Strange New Worlds

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Published Jan 25, 2023

Spock vs. McCoy Across the Timelines

Is there anything more fun in Star Trek than a Spock-McCoy spat between these bickering besties?

StarTrek.com

A warp core isn't worth its weight in dilithium if you don't have a matter-antimatter reaction. And you can't have Star Trek: The Original Series without a Spock and Bones spark.

We talk a lot about the classic troika — Captain James T. Kirk, Mr. Spock. Dr. Leonard “Bones” McCoy — and how they align themselves with the classic Freudian designations of id, ego, and super-ego. (Well, maybe you don't talk about this a lot, but I do.) Still, things get interesting when pairs break away. Kirk/Spock and Kirk/Bones have a natural function; the decision-maker using logic and the decision-maker investigating his conscience. When the primary focus is away, however, well, that's when we can have a great deal of fun.

Spock/Bones spats are always a delight, and more often than not, a TOS episode will conclude with a little volley between the two as goofy music plays on the soundtrack. (I did my due diligence, the official instrument of “Spock and Bones are zinging one another” is the bassoon!)

Sometimes their interactions do get serious — their philosophical discussion about the Genesis Device in The Wrath of Khan almost crosses the line from friendly disagreement to plain old impolite — but, by and large, all Spock/Bones spats reinforce the idea that these two space-faring individuals love and need one another to keep the engines moving.

No "Troubles"

In between the Cold War intrigue and adventure in “ The Trouble With Tribbles ,” which might still be the best introductory episode for a TOS newbie, there is no shortage of levity. This is a story that concludes with fuzzballs bouncing off our captain's head, after all.

When Dr. McCoy and Spock are analyzing the swiftly breeding pests, Spock expresses frustration about the human desire for “soft, furry, pleasant” creatures. Suddenly, Bones announces he's made a discovery. “What is that, Doctor?” Spock asks. “I like them better than you,” he fires back, in a way that says that he's kidding but also maybe kinda not.

One Spat Beyond

The Kelvin Timeline films didn't ignore this corner of Star Trek lore, and actors Zachary Quinto and Karl Urban sank their teeth into the rivalry best in the third film, Star Trek Beyond . The Enterprise is destroyed and the crew is rolled out like dice on Altamid, a planet in the Necro Cloud nebula. Spock and Bones end up together, and engage in some bickering wherein Bones cries out, “Cut the horseshit!”

But Spock is injured. Luckily, Bones is a doctor, as he's reminded us in every timeline. He also figures yanking a piece of shrapnel (causing green blood stains) will hurt less if Spock is temporarily perplexed by a seemingly random question (“What's your favorite color?”).

Anyhow, after Spock howls in pain, he lays out one of the most-Vulcan sentences ever heard across all of Star Trek . “If I may adopt a parlance with which you are familiar, I can confirm your theory to be... horseshit.”

Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home is, bar none, the funniest of the Star Trek films. Its central conceit is the fish-out-of-water premise, with our heroes of the future coming to our time. (Nowadays, our past, but you get me.) With the comedy bar raised, the Spock/Bones patter had to be at Warp 10, and luckily, writers Steve Meerson, Peter Krikes, Nicholas Meyer and Harve Bennett were up to the task, as were Leonard Nimoy and DeForest Kelley.

When the post-Fal-Tor-Pan Spock rejoins the crew, Bones tries to engage with his ol' chum, especially since he carried his katra through the whole last movie. The newly reborn Spock is all business, seemingly less able to pick up on human social cues than he ever was. “Come on, Spock, it's me!” he shouts to the stone-faced Vulcan. “You really have gone where no man has gone before,” he sighs.

Reconnected His Mouth

Some like to bury their head in the quadrotriticale, but for me, “Spock's Brain” is something to revel in, not ignore.

And it concludes in a cavalcade of weirdness. Spock's brain has been stolen and placed in some sort of vat where it can power the underground civilization of women in thigh-high boots. (Hey, it could happen.) Bones sticks his head under a futuristic hair dryer called “The Great Teacher of All The Ancient Knowledge,” and, for a time anyway, is able to conduct the complicated re-braining surgery.

When it is done (and after the crew has been through a lot of mayhem), Spock won't stop babbling about his experience. “It it all began thousands of years ago when a glacial age reoccurred...”

“I knew it was wrong, I shouldn't have done it,” Bones mutters. “What's that?” Kirk asks.

“I should never have reconnected his mouth.”

Finally Got The Last Word

There are times when others will get caught in the crossfire of a good Spock/Bones volley. Case in point, the ending of “ Journey to Babel .” Kirk, Spock and Sarek are all in biobeds, with Amanda and Nurse Chapel as witnesses. And for all the verbal banter we've enjoyed, Bones falls back on an old reliable to get everyone to listen to him. “Shut up!” followed by a “Shhh” and an even more forceful “Shhhh!”

It's a great example of how sometimes less is more.

With more than 50 years of Spock and Bones bickering, I'm sure I left out some great spats. Let me know your favorites @StarTrek on all things social.

This article was originally published on February 17, 2019.

Jordan Hoffman (he/him) is writer, critic and former host of Engage: The Official Star Trek Podcast. His writing can also be read at Vanity Fair, The Guardian and Times of Israel. Bones is his favorite.

Stay tuned to StarTrek.com for more details! And be sure to follow @StarTrek on Facebook , Twitter , and Instagram .

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Star Trek movies in order – chronological, release, and recommendation

With a truly expansive timeline, here's a complete guide on how to watch the Star Trek movies in order chronologically, by release, and our own recommendation.

James Osborne

Published: Aug 31, 2023

Here’s our complete guide on how to watch the Star Trek movies in chronological order, release order, as well as our own bespoke recommendation. Since the ‘70s, cinemagoers across the world have been treated with new Star Trek movies in every single decade. What a blessed world we live in.

The 2020s will continue this trend as Star Trek fans were recently hit with the announcement that a new Star Trek movie  is coming. The  Section 31 release date is scheduled for 2024, and until then, we have 13 previous entries to rewatch including some of the best science fiction movies of all time.

But the Star Trek timeline is a messy one, and figuring out the best way to enjoy the adventures of Star Trek captains Picard and Kirk isn’t straightforward. So, we’ve put together the definitive guide on how to watch all of the  Star Trek movies in order , starting with an explainer on the two timelines, our own recommendation on the best watch order, then chronologically, then by release. Engage, hit it, thataway, etc.

What is the difference between the Kelvin timeline and Prime timeline in Star Trek?

The Star Trek movies take place over two timelines: the Kelvin timeline, and the Prime timeline. Understanding the difference between the two before you embark on a mission to watch the Star Trek movies in order is important.

The Kelvin timeline covers the events seen in the three Star Trek reboot movies starring Chris Pine, and everything else (from all the Star Trek series on TV, to the TOS and TNG movies) is the Prime timeline.

Aside from it being a launching point for a new era of Star Trek, the Kelvin timeline actually has an in-universe explanation. In the year 2387, in the Prime timeline, Spock unintentionally sends himself back in time along with a Romulan named Nero.

Having been sent to the past (specifically 2233), Nero interferes with the natural passage of events and destroys the USS Kelvin, killing George Kirk (James T. Kirk’s father) in the process. Doing so splinters the flow of time, creating a divergence point that leads to two parallel but alternate timelines: the Kelvin timeline (which includes the events of Star Trek 2009, Into Darkness, and Beyond), and the Prime timeline.

The best way to watch the Star Trek movies in order

The best way to watch the Star Trek movies in order is to start with the three Kelvin timeline movies (which star Chris Pine as Kirk) before moving on to the classic TOS-era adventures and then the TNG-era movies. 

If you want to be really rogue, you can even add Star Trek Picard season 3 onto the end, as it is effectively a ten-hour long TNG movie, which ends the adventures of Picard and his crew on a much, much better note than Nemesis. Just don’t watch the two awful seasons which preceded it.

This is unorthodox but means you can watch the timelines progress in a mostly linear fashion. We get into much more detail on our reasons for this below, but this is how we watch the Star Trek movies, and it’s how we think you should too.

How to watch the Star Trek movies in order:

Star Trek 2009

Star trek into darkness, star trek beyond, star trek the motion picture, star trek ii the wrath of khan, star trek iii the search for spock, star trek iv the voyage home, star trek v the final frontier, star trek vi the undiscovered country, star trek generations, star trek first contact, star trek insurrection, star trek nemesis, star trek picard season 3.

Where to watch: Paramount Plus

Placing Chris Pine’s movie in this position is relatively controversial, but stick with us. Though it begins with the Prime Spock years after Nemesis, 99% of what we see in the three Kelvin timeline movies effectively serves as a prequel.

Set in an alternate timeline created by Leonard Nimoy ’s Spock, Star Trek 2009 follows a young James T. Kirk as he first takes command of the USS Enterprise, starts his journey as a captain, and meets his crew. Therefore, though set in an alternate timeline, the Pine movies act as prequels to the events seen in TOS, and the best way to watch the Star Trek movies in order is to start here. This is by no means the consensus, but we think it offers the most coherent and satisfying viewing experience.

Where to watch:   Amazon Prime Video (VOD)

The second installment in Pine’s trilogy brings in Khan as the antagonist, playing with the order of events as seen in Shatner’s adventures. Let’s put a pin in that, for now.

Khan causes havoc, corruption is rife within the Federation, and there’s an inversion of major plot points seen in The Wrath of Khan. The movie proved to be divisive upon its release, and does lose sight of the thematic thoughtfulness which makes Star Trek so distinct.

Still, it continues to deepen the connection shared by the main cast and characters, and if you’re going to commit to watching the Star Trek movies in order, it’s an important and necessary piece of the puzzle.

Set three years into the Enterprise’s five-year mission, Star Trek Beyond is the last film in the Kelvin timeline and somehow the first to really show the crew actually doing its job. Unsurprisingly then, it’s the best movie of the three, and it achieves a good balance of adventure and introspection by toning things down and lowering the stakes.

Amid all the fast action and fun, Beyond focuses on Kirk’s loneliness and his search for meaning in the vastness of space. It’s something new, and Star Trek thrives on new.

Since 2016, fans have been waiting patiently for the Star Trek 4 release date . But, with behind-the-scenes issues, it seems like that’s now dead in the water.

Where to watch:   Paramount Plus

Now we get to the Star Trek movies with William Shatner and co. as the crew of the USS Enterprise.

We recommend watching The Motion Picture after Beyond, because the Kelvin timeline Star Trek movies take place during Kirk’s five-year mission, and The Motion Picture is set after these adventures when Kirk has been made an Admiral. So, despite being set in alternate timelines, this is just how it makes sense to us, rather than skipping backward and forwards across timelines.

In The Motion Picture, Kirk re-assumes command of the USS Enterprise to deal with the threat posed by the mysterious V’Ger. His old crew join together once again in a frosty reunion but regain their connections as the adventure unfolds, building to a triumphant ending. It’s this growth across the movie, and the depth of its themes, which means that we love The Motion Picture despite its status as an awkward start to the cinematic side of the franchise.

One of the best movies ever made, The Wrath of Khan is set over a decade after The Motion Picture with Spock now the captain of the Enterprise. How times change.

The movie is remarkably straightforward. Kirk is tricked into coming face to face with his old enemy Khan Noonien-Singh, before the USS Enterprise and USS Reliant engage in a deadly game of cat and mouse. Thrilling, clever, and deeply moving, The Wrath of Khan ends with the death of Spock, who sacrifices himself to save the Enterprise and his friend Jim Kirk. We’re not crying, you are.

Directed by Leonard Nimoy who, in his infinite wisdom, wanted to add a sense of TOS-style fun back into proceedings, The Search for Spock is Star Trek at its most adventurous. Kirk steals the still-damaged Enterprise to embark on a mission to resurrect Spock, with his loyal crew in tow. Captain Picard could never.

Set directly in the aftermath of The Wrath of Khan, The Search for Spock is the make-shift middle installment in one of the best trilogies ever made. The Klingon Kruge is a fearsome foe (though he can’t hold a candle to Khan) who pushes Kirk to his very limits, and it sets the stage perfectly for the brilliant movie that follows it.

The Voyage Home is the one with the whales, and the nuclear wessels, and it’s an amazing achievement once again helmed by Nimoy. As Kirk prepares to return to Earth on the HMS Bounty to atone for his sins (disobeying Starfleet orders), the crew is instead roped into a time travel romp with a single goal: take whales from the past and bring them into the present (2286).

There’s very little jeopardy here: no Khan, no Kruge, just a heartfelt adventure to save Earth from its past misdeeds. It’s packed with laughs and fun, with perfect fish-out-of-water humor found in Kirk and his colleagues traversing ‘80s San Francisco. In the end, after the day has been thoroughly saved, Kirk is demoted back to the rank of captain which is really what he’d always wanted.

It ends a cohesive trilogy of Star Trek movies, following the death of Spock, his rebirth, and his return to adventure alongside Jim Kirk. If you’re looking for the best science fiction movies ever made you don’t have to look any further than these three.

Exit Nimoy, enter Shatner. As well as sitting in the captain’s chair, Shatner was swapped into the director’s chair for The Final Frontier too. And, honestly, the movie is a pure reflection of the man himself.

Concerned with grand philosophical ideas, notions of ego, and the quest for knowledge, The Final Frontier follows the first voyage of the USS Enterprise-A on the search for God. It marks the introduction of Spock’s half brother Sybok (a brilliant Star Trek villain), and is notorious for its iffy visual effects and puzzling tone.

It’s not all bad, though, and there are some gloriously camp sequences between Kirk, Spock, and McCoy on their camping trip. The humor doesn’t always land here, but its heart’s in the right place and I enjoy watching Kirk climb a rock (and adore his ‘Go climb a rock’ shirt). But, The Final Frontier was bad enough that it almost prematurely ended the franchise, and prevented Shatner from exerting his creative influence over the next movie.

The final adventure of the whole TOS-era crew, The Undiscovered Country is a grand, emotional send-off for the first Star Trek cast and a group of beloved characters.

As the Klingon moon Praxis explodes due to unsafe mining conditions, Kirk is sent on one last mission: to negotiate peace between the Federation and the Klingon Empire after years of tension and war. It’s a direct parallel to the Chernobyl disaster, the collapse of the Soviet Union, and the end of the Cold War.

Unsurprisingly then, The Undiscovered Country is the most political Star Trek movie, concerning itself with deep-rooted prejudice and how personal conflicts can be barriers to social progress and peace. Kirk learns to overcome his hatred for the Klingons and see the bigger picture, but not before the Enterprise crew uncovers a traitor in its midst who is attempting to sabotage the peace process.

“Second star to the right, and straight on ‘til morning,” is the perfect end to it all. At least, it could have been.

After the smash success of Star Trek The Next Generation (the finale was seen on broadcast by an astonishing 30 million viewers), it was the TNG cast ’s turn to have a go at making movies too. What better way to start a new era than by looking back to an old one?

Set in the immediate aftermath of TNG season 7, Captain Kirk joins forces with Captain Picard thanks to a convenient time travel plot device. Together, they defeat the villainous Soran, a man obsessed with finding a fantastical extra-dimensional realm called the ‘Nexus’. The Enterprise-D is destroyed, and to make things even worse, Kirk dies along the way too. He’s buried under a pile of rocks by Picard, which isn’t exactly a hero’s send-off, but here we are.

Like some joyless inverse of The Voyage Home, First Contact sees a former first officer (Jonathan Frakes’ Riker) step into the director’s chair to create an adventure that catapults the crew of the USS Enterprise back in time to Earth. This time though, there’s the threat of the Borg: it’s a lot darker than a mission to save some whales.

As the Borg attempts to prevent Earth from making first contact with the Vulcans, the TNG crew split up to combat the Borg in space with the shiny new Enterprise-E and ensure that things go as they should down on Earth’s surface. With some of the best action Star Trek has to offer, this is widely seen as the greatest TNG movie, even if its attempts to turn Picard into a Rambo-style action hero are misguided.

Often likened to a TNG episode, Insurrection lowers the stakes and opts for a more personal story instead. Mostly set on the planet of Ba’ku, Insurrection sees Picard ditch Starfleet’s orders in favor of doing the right thing.

The planet has restorative effects thanks to its metaphasic particles, which the Federation’s allies the Son’a want to harness for their own personal aims. That would mean shunting Ba’Ku’s inhabitants off to another world, though, and Picard refuses to cooperate. Instead, he helps the Ba’Ku mount a resistance, which brings him close to death.

While the TOS cast got six movies, the TNG cast could only manage four. Nemesis was their fourth and final adventure (until their reunion in Picard season 3) and it brought Picard into conflict with an evil clone… of himself, played by a bald Tom Hardy.

This clone is Shinzon, who leads the Remans (slaves to the Romulans) aboard his ship the Scimitar. The Scimitar is equipped with an extraordinarily powerful Thalaron weapon that has the power to destroy all before it, including Earth. In the battle to defeat Shinzon, Data sacrifices himself in an act similar to Spock’s sacrifice in The Wrath of Khan. Riker leaves to take command of the USS Titan , and the Romulan commander Donatra suggests peace could be on the horizon (something that never happens).

It’s a downer ending which, after the perfection of All Good Things… which concluded their time on TV, retroactively made all four TNG movies seem somewhat of a misfire.

No one wants to finish their Star Trek movie marathon with Nemesis, for God’s sake. Instead, end on a high with Star Trek Picard season 3.

Some critics, and plenty of audience members, called it one of the best seasons of Star Trek ever. Let’s make this abundantly clear: it’s not . The plot is packed full of contrivances, the attempt to force in nostalgia is cynical, it’s got too many subplots, the return of the Borg is predictable, and unlike 99% of TNG (which is so wants to remind you of) it ends with a giant mindless battle.

And yet, it at least gives the beloved Star Trek The Next Generation cast a happy ending. It also, to be fair, has some great moments, ideas, and episodes, with the like of No Win Scenario, and Dominion. It can be thrilling, and exciting, and it has a genuinely brilliant movie-like score.

In fact, it really wants to be a TOS-style Star Trek movie. And, perhaps it should have been. Cutting down the length would have solved a lot of problems and bloat. Still: to finish things off with some Star Trek VI-style optimism, you can end your re-watch with Picard season 3. For better and worse.

How to watch the Star Trek movies in chronological order

As the Kelvin timeline is created in the Prime timeline in the year 2387, the formal way to watch the Star Trek movies in chronological order is with Chris Pine’s Star Trek trilogy at the end.

Star Trek 2009 starts with Prime Spock post-Nemesis, so the movies are technically (if not spiritually) sequels. This isn’t the ideal order in which to watch the movies, because it’s jarring to skip back and forth.

But if you’re a stickler for rules, this is how you’ll want to do it. You’ve been warned, though. It gets messy, and pretty confusing.

How to watch the Star Trek movies in chronological order:

• Star Trek The Motion Picture (2270s)
• Star Trek II The Wrath of Khan (2285)
• Star Trek III The Search for Spock (2285)
• Star Trek IV The Voyage Home (2286)
• Star Trek V The Final Frontier (2287)
• Star Trek VI The Undiscovered Country (2293)
• Star Trek Generations (2371)
• Star Trek First Contact (2373)
• Star Trek Insurrection (2375)
• Star Trek Nemesis (2379)
• Star Trek 2009 (Prime timeline 2387; Kelvin timeline 2255)
• Star Trek Into Darkness (Kelvin timeline 2259)
• Star Trek Beyond (Kelvin timeline 2263)

How to watch the Star Trek movies in release order

Beginning over a decade after the end of the first Star Trek series, the Star Trek movies began in 1979. Since then, new movies have been making their way into cinemas in neat intervals up until 2016, with the release of the most recent Star Trek Beyond.

Thankfully, watching the Star Trek movies in release order isn’t complicated at all.

Star Trek movies in release order:

• Star Trek The Motion Picture (1979)
• Star Trek II The Wrath of Khan (1982)
• Star Trek III The Search for Spock (1984)
• Star Trek IV The Voyage Home (1986)
• Star Trek V The Final Frontier (1989)
• Star Trek VI The Undiscovered Country (1991)
• Star Trek Generations (1994)
• Star Trek First Contact (1996)
• Star Trek Insurrection (1998)
• Star Trek Nemesis (2002)
• Star Trek 2009 (2009)
• Star Trek Into Darkness (2013)
• Star Trek Beyond (2016)

All upcoming Star Trek movies

As it enters a new golden era with its TV series, the Star Trek franchise has plenty of life left in it, and there are two potential Star Trek movies which could be arriving in the next few years.

First, we have the one which is officially in development: Star Trek Section 31. A spin-off of Star Trek Discovery centering on Michelle Yeoh’s Philippa Georgiou, the new movie is set to shine a light on the secretive operations of the infamous Section 31. This is a clandestine organization which forms part of Starfleet Intelligence and serves to protect the security of the Federation by any means necessary.

The Star Trek Section 31 release date looks like it will arrive at some point in 2025, and it’s set to air exclusively on Paramount Plus .

Then, we have the apparently-cursed Star Trek 4. A sequel to Star Trek Beyond with the Kelvin timeline cast has been in the works for close to a decade now, and still we have nothing concrete confirmed about the film.

Contractual negotiations and scheduling, as well as lots of shifting creative directions behind the scenes, have prevented the movie from ever getting further than a script. And even that, reportedly, is now scrapped. As each month passes by, the likelihood of Star Trek 4 ever being made lessens. The movie hasn’t been officially canceled yet, just indefinitely delayed, so we’ve still got a shred of hope. For now.

Upcoming Star Trek movies:

• Star Trek Section 31
• Star Trek 4

And, that’s it on how to watch the Star Trek movies in order. If you got to the end, well done: you’ve watched 13 movies across two parallel timelines. That’s no mean feat.

If, like us, you still can’t get enough of the Enterprise in all its forms, you can check out some of our other Star Trek articles, including our interview with Anson Mount and Rebecca Romijn about Strange New Worlds as well as our guides to the Strange New Worlds season 3 release date,  Lower Decks season 4 release date and a potential Star Trek Legacy release date .

You can also see our picks for the best Star Trek starships , as well as our explainers on the USS Intrepid , USS Farragut , and USS Kelcie Mae . Or, see our picks for the best Star Trek characters of all time, and our thoughts on which Star Trek captain would win in a zombie apocalypse . You can also check out what’s new on Paramount Plus this month, as well as our choices for the best TV series of all time.

James Osborne After graduating from the University of York with a degree in archaeology (inspired by Captain Picard), James worked with the news team at Screen Rant while contributing features to Vulture, The AV Club, Digital Spy, FANDOM, and the official Star Trek website. Now, he writes about all things sci-fi and fantasy at The Digital Fix with an 'Enterprise-D ambiance' playlist on loop. He's a seasoned expert on all things Star Trek , Lord of the Rings , Star Wars , and Yellowstone , and is more than willing to share his hot takes on TNG which he believes is the greatest series ever made.

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A Trekkie’s Guide To Navigating the Star Trek Timeline

With a narrative that spans seven decades and more than three times as many shows and movies, determining how to watch Star Trek might seem like a daunting prospect. Whether you’re new to the franchise or want to know how to watch the series following the in-universe chronology, this guide should help.

What is a stardate?

To avoid placing Star Trek in a specific century, the franchise has its own system of time: the stardate system. Originally inspired by the Modified Julian date system used by astronomers, writers, and producers have selected numbers using different methods over the years (some more arbitrary than others), which makes it impossible to convert all of the stardates to equivalent calendar dates.

What to know about the Star Trek timeline?

How time works in Star Trek, and how it’s impacted by Starfleet’s time travel shenanigans, is debated amongst the most devoted followers of the Church of Trek. But for casual fans, the first thing it’s necessary to know is that the Star Trek Universe consists of two timelines: the prime timeline and the Kelvin timeline. Although two timelines exist, most of the franchise’s films, shows, and tie-ins take place on the prime timeline.

The second thing to know is that Star Trek’s timelines are always subject to change. Due to the nature of time travel in the franchise, entries appearing earlier on the prime timeline can be impacted and changed (very important to remember) by events that happen later on. For example, the Star Trek: Enterprise season 2 episode “Regeneration” follows up on the events of Star Trek: First Contact .

How to watch the Star Trek prime timeline in chronological order

Here’s how to watch Star Trek ‘s prime timeline in chronological order:

Star Trek: Enterprise (stardates: 2151 – 2155)

Star Trek: The Original Series pilot “The Cage” (stardate: 2254)

Star Trek: Discovery seasons 1 and 2 (stardates: 2256 – 2258)

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds (stardates: 2259 – 2260)

Star Trek: The Original Series (stardates: 2265 – 2269)

Star Trek: The Animated Series (stardates: 2269 – 2270)

Star Trek: The Motion Picture (stardate: 2272)

Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (stardate: 2285)

Star Trek III: The Search for Spock (stardate: 2285)

Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (stardate: 2286)

Star Trek V: The Final Frontier (stardate: 2287)

Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country (stardate: 2293)

Star Trek: The Next Generation (stardates: 2364 – 2370)

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (stardates: 2369 –2375)

Star Trek Generations (stardate: 2371 and some in 2293)

Star Trek: First Contact (stardate: 2373)

Star Trek: Insurrection (stardate: 2375)

Star Trek: Voyager (stardates: 2371 –2378)

Star Trek: Nemesis (stardate: 2379)

Star Trek: Lower Decks (stardates: 2380 – 2381)

Star Trek: Prodigy (stardates: 2383 – 2384)

Star Trek: Picard (stardates: 2399 – 2402)

Star Trek: Discovery seasons 3 and 4 (stardates: 3188 – 3190)

What about the J.J. Abrams’ Star Trek movie trilogy? 

As touched on above, there are two timelines in Star Trek . The J.J. Abrams movies take place on the Kelvin timeline, a parallel timeline created when a 24th-century Romulan, Nero, travels back in time to 2233 (between Ent and Disco season 1, for those keeping track) and splits the timelines in two. 

Most of the Kelvin timeline takes place around the TOS ‘s timeframe but on an alternate timeline. Well, at least so far. 

Here’s how to watch all three movies in the Kelvin timeline in chronological order:

Star Trek (2233)

Star Trek Into Darkness (2259 – 2260)

Star Trek Beyond (2263)

(featured image: Paramount Pictures)

A Complete Timeline of Star Trek

Star Trek stands as one of the most enduring and influential pop-culture franchises on the planet. From a comparatively humble cult TV series, it has expanded into an entire universe of speculative future history encompassing dozens of movies and TV shows. With more projects on the way, it doesn't look to slow down anytime soon. That can lead to a convoluted timeline, particularly in the early days when no one expected it to last as long as it has.

Star Trek: The Original Series producers didn't worry about what came before or after their show, and series creator Gene Roddenberry had a way of simply ignoring episodes he considered sub-par. Writers Michael and Denise Okuda are largely credited with firmly establishing a canonical Star Trek timeline during the expansion of the franchise following Star Trek: The Next Generation . That's resulted in a definable, if complicated, fictional history to chart the rise of the United Federation of Planets and its development through centuries of galactic history. Here's a breakdown of the Star Trek in-universe timeline, divided roughly by era.

The Early Years of Star Trek's Timeline Are Vague

Wrath of khan creates star trek's biggest plot hole, and the real-life explanation is hilarious.

The early years of Star Trek 's timeline run into a number of real-world continuity issues. This was most notable with the Eugenics Wars , which originally took place in the 1990s, but has since been retconned to an indeterminate point in the future. They're linked to the rise of genetically augmented humans who conquer and rule much of the planet, led by the notorious Khan Noonien Singh. The Eugenics Wars culminate in a Third World War, and the ensuing nuclear apocalypse all but destroys civilization. Khan and his followers escape the planet in a stasis ship, and await their rendezvous with Captain Kirk in The Original Series episode, "Space Seed."

The most important event after that arrives on April 5, 2063, subsequently known as First Contact Day. As depicted in Star Trek: First Contact , scientist Zefram Cochrane develops a faster-than-light engine and tests it in his vessel, the Phoenix . A Vulcan survey vessel notices the feat and makes first contact with Cochrane in Bozeman, Montana that evening. With the Vulcans' help, humanity quickly gets back on its feet. Hunger and poverty are eliminated by the early 22nd century, and even war itself has ended on the planet by 2113. A world government is established in 2150, uniting the globe under a single unifying body for the first time in human history.

Enterprise Reveals The Founding of the Federation

Why star trek: enterprise used shuttles instead of transporters.

The events of Star Trek: Enterprise begin just one year later, in 2151, as humanity launches its first earnest efforts to explore the galaxy. Captain Archer and the crew of the Enterprise spearhead the effort, resulting in key first contact with such important species as the Andorians and the Tellarites. It also comes with new conflicts, notably the Xindi crisis of 2153 which lasts for nearly a year. That is followed in 2156 by the Earth-Romulan War , which stretches out over four years. Humanity, Andorians, Vulcans, and Tellarites all join forces against the common threat, resulting in the defeat of the Romulans and the establishment of the Neutral Zone.

The victory leads immediately to the founding of the United Federation of Planets in San Francisco in the year 2161, organized by the four victorious species. Several decades of peaceful exploration and expansion follow, led by Starfleet vessels who set out to explore in the name of peace, coexistence, and scientific understanding. That marks the end of the events of Star Trek: Enterprise and a relative blank spot in the timeline for a little less than a century.

The 23rd Century Brings War, Peace, and The Original Series

The complete history of vulcans in the federation era of star trek.

With the exception of a few peripheral events, the next few decades are quiet as far as canon events go. The timeline picks up again properly with the beginning of Star Trek: Discovery as open war breaks out between the Federation and the Klingon Empire in the year 2256 . The war lasts for a year and proves costly to both sides, ending thanks to efforts of the USS Discovery to stabilize the political situation in the Empire. The Discovery vanishes approximately one year later during the battle with the rogue AI Control , jumping ahead in time to the 32nd century in the process.

With the end of the war comes another era of peaceful expansion and exploration. That encompasses the events of both Star Trek: Strange New Worlds and Star Trek: The Original Series , as Starfleet "boldly goes where no one has gone before." As the 23rd century continues, the franchise shifts to the first six big-screen Star Trek movies. That culminates in the events of Star Trek VI in 2293, resulting in the Khitomer Accords and long-term peace with the Klingon Empire . Captain Kirk is presumed dead a short time later as depicted in the movie Star Trek: Insurrection , officially bringing The Original Series era to a close.

The Next Generation Kicks off The 24th Century

10 best star trek: the next generation characters.

The early decades of the 24th century are another blank spot in the Star Trek calendar, marked by a few notable events but otherwise leaving a good deal open for speculation. The most important development during that time is the Battle of Narendra III in 2344 , where the Federation vessel USS Enterprise-C sacrifices itself to defend a Klingon colony from Romulan attackers. This results in a formal alliance between the Federation and the Klingons.

Star Trek: The Next Generation officially begins in the year 2364, with the Federation enjoying a golden age of peace and prosperity. The Enterprise-D under Captain Picard serves as Starfleet's flagship, conducting missions of diplomacy and peaceful exploration. The Enterprise first encounters the Borg in 2366 , during The Next Generation's Season 2 episode "Q Who." The Borg invade the Federation a year later, and come within a hair's breadth of destroying the Earth before the Enterprise crew saves the day during the Season 4 premiere, "The Best of Both Worlds Part II."

The Dominion War and the Delta Quadrant Mark DS9 and Voyager

How star trek: the next generation disserviced this fan-favorite character.

In 2369, a stable wormhole to the unexplored Gamma Quadrant opens near the planet of Bajor, kicking off the events of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine . What at first seems a conduit to a whole new sector of space soon becomes an existential threat. The Dominion is a powerful totalitarian government in the Gamma Quadrant ruled by a species of shape-shifting Changelings. The Dominion sets its sites on the Alpha Quadrant , and launches an invasion in 2373. The Federation is forced to rally its long-time foes in the Romulan Empire to its side, who join with Starfleet and the Klingons to finally defeat the Dominion in 2375.

If that wasn't bad enough, the Borg launch another attack on Earth in 2373, and again come perilously close to assimilating the entire Federation before Jean-Luc Picard and his crew put a stop to them during the events of Star Trek: First Contact. Amid it all, the USS Voyager vanishes in the year 2371, having been flung into the far reaches of the Delta Quadrant and launching a seven-year journey to return to Federation space.

The 24th Century Ends with Peace and Old Enemies

Star trek: lower decks paid off a deep space nine character arc.

The end of the Dominion War marks the beginning of another extended period of Federation-led peace. Voyager returns from its long journey in 2378 , and the Enterprise averts a surprise attack from the Romulan Empire in 2379 during the events of Star Trek: Insurrection . Beyond that, peace prevails, which leads the way to lighter Star Trek series such as Star Trek: Lower Decks (which begins in 2381) and Star Trek: Prodigy (which begins in 2383).

That comes to an end with the implosion of the Romulan Empire, whose sun is doomed and whose most militant factions sabotage any chance at Federation aid by orchestrating the destruction of the Utopia Planitia Fleet Yards on April 5, 2385. Two years later, the Romulan sun goes nova, seemingly killing Mr. Spock, who was attempting to halt the explosion and creating the Kelvinverse timeline of the 2010s big-screen Star Trek movies. It renders the Romluans a scattered and defeated people. Jean-Luc Picard is able to repair some of the damage done to the two powers in Star Trek: Picard, Season 1, then rejoin with his crewmates in Season 3 to defeat a unified Dominion/Borg attack on the Federation in the year 2402.

The Far Future Beckons

'we broke barriers': star trek: discovery star celebrates show's diversity.

Star Trek canon comes to a halt at the beginning of the 25th century after the events of Picard Season 3. That leaves a vast stretch of centuries that have not yet been defined in Star Trek canon, and will presumably be filled in by series to come. In that time, the Federation continues to expand until it is more than double the size it was in the 24th century. Then disaster strikes in the form of an event called The Burn, which instantly renders all dilithium in the galaxy inert in the year 3069. Every active warp engine detonates, causing widespread disaster and rendering interstellar travel exponentially more difficult.

The arrival of the Discovery in the year 3188 -- beginning with the premiere in Season 3 -- changes all of that. After destroying the tyrannical Emerald Chain, Captain Michael Burnham and her crew set about restoring the shattered Federation, which leads to the events of Discovery's final three seasons. With the series bowing out at the end of Season 5, subsequent Star Trek projects will have a new final frontier in the 32nd century -- uncluttered by earlier shows -- thanks to the leap forward in time.

Star Trek is currently streaming on Paramount+.

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

Screen Rant

15 star trek actors in the mission: impossible franchise.

Both Star Trek and Mission: Impossible were Desilu productions, so there was crossover of actors, writers, and directors which continues to this day.

• Mission: Impossible and Star Trek: The Original Series both originated with Desilu, and both franchises have shared talent in front and behind the camera.
• Iconic actors like William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, and Ricardo Montalban showed their range in the realm of Mission: Impossible, crafting captivating characters.
• The links between Star Trek and Mission: Impossible continues to this day in the Tom Cruise-led movie franchise.

Given their shared origins, it's no surprise that multiple actors have appeared in both the Star Trek and Mission: Impossible franchises. While Mission: Impossible is now best known as a multi-million dollar movie franchise led by Tom Cruise, it originated on TV in 1966, the same year that Star Trek: The Original Series debuted. Like Mission: Impossible , Star Trek was made possible by Lucille Ball and her production company, Desilu. While Star Trek: The Original Series was sold to NBC, and ran for three seasons, Mission: Impossible aired on CBS and clocked up seven seasons between 1966 and 1973 .

Given that Star Trek: The Original Series and Mission: Impossible were Desilu productions, there was considerable crossover of talent between both franchises. For example, before playing Rollin Hand in the first three seasons of Mission: Impossible , Martin Landau turned down playing Spock on TOS . The crossover between the Star Trek and Mission: Impossible franchises continues long into the 21st century. In 2006, J.J. Abrams made his feature debut directing Mission: Impossible III . Three years later, Abrams would direct the 2009 Star Trek reboot, bringing along M:I 3 star Simon Pegg as the Kelvin Timeline's version of Scotty.

What Simon Pegg Has Done Since Star Trek Beyond

15 william shatner as tommy kroll and joseph conrad, mission: impossible season 6, episode 2, "encore" & season 7, episode 6, "cocaine".

William Shatner was one of many actors who found work on Mission: Impossible after Star Trek: TOS was canceled in 1969. Shatner made two appearances in Mission: Impossible , first as aging gangster Tommy Kroll in the season 6 episode "Encore". Tommy Kroll was Shatner's most memorable M:I role, because of the high-concept plot of his episode, "Encore." To solve a decades-old murder, the Impossible Mission Force convinced Kroll that he had time traveled to the year 1937 . By watching Kroll repeat the events of decades earlier, the IMF were able to uncover new evidence to close the case.

William Shatner returned a year later to play Joseph Conrad, the trusted lieutenant of a cocaine smuggler, Carl Reid. In the appropriately named Mission: Impossible episode "Cocaine", the IMF convince Shatner's playboy gangster to lead them to the location of Reid's latest shipment. The ruse this time involves a machine that can create synthetic cocaine, something that the IMF correctly surmise will drive a wedge between Conrad and his employer.

Both of William Shatner's Mission: Impossible episodes were written by Harold Livingston, who would later write the script for Star Trek: The Motion Picture .

14 Mark Lenard as Felipe Mora, Col. Cardoza, Aristo Skora and Col. Bakram

Mission: impossible 107. "wheels", 202. "trek", 321. "nitro", 511. "the rebel".

Prolific character actor and the man who played Spock's father in Star Trek: The Original Series , Mark Lenard also played four different characters in Mission: Impossible . The most notable of these roles was Colonel Bakram in M:I season 5, episode 11, "The Rebel". The episode sees the Mission: Impossible team captured by government forces in a Latin American nation, headed by Mark Lenard's Colonel Bakram. "The Rebel" was a family reunion for the Spock and Sarek actors, as Leonard Nimoy's Paris became a nemesis to Mark Lenard's Bakram as the IMF tried to get their people out alive.

13 Leonard Nimoy as The Great Paris

Mission: impossible seasons 4 & 5.

Spock actor Leonard Nimoy joined the regular cast of Mission: Impossible in 1970, after NBC canceled Star Trek: The Original Series . Nimoy played The Great Paris, an actor, magician, and master of disguise, who aided the IMF's missions in Mission: Impossible seasons 4 and 5 . Paris replaced the IMF's resident master of disguise and role-play, Rollin Hand (Martin Landau). While the Great Paris' real name was never revealed, he did reveal a tragic backstory involving a love triangle between him, his magician mentor, and the mentor's assistant. Paris' talents as a magician allowed the team to infiltrate a royal palace and avert a military coup in the three-part episode "The Falcon".

In an odd coincidence, years after he took a role first offered to Martin Landau, Leonard Nimoy replaced the actor on Mission: Impossible when he left after season 3.

12 John Colicos as Commissioner Taal Jankowski

Mission: impossible, season 1, episode 16, "the reluctant dragon".

John Colicos played Star Trek: The Original Series ' first Klingon antagonist, debuting as Kor in 1967's "Errand of Mercy" . Earlier that year, John Colicos played Commissioner Taal Jankowski in the Mission: Impossible episode "The Reluctant Dragon". Colicos' character was a Soviet security chief who suspected rocket scientist Dr. Helmut Cherlotov (Joseph Campanella) of wishing to defect to the West. However, Cherlotov is loyal to his country, forcing Rollin to show the scientist the bleak truth about his country and how it treats its scientific community. Eventually, the IMF convince the scientist to emerge from the Iron Curtain, just as Colicos' character feared.

DS9 Brought Back (& Changed) 3 Classic TOS Klingons

11 ricardo montalban as gerard sefra, mission: impossible, season 1, episode 21, "snowball in hell".

Best known as Khan Noonien Singh in Star Trek , Ricardo Montalban was a prolific character actor, who also made an appearance in Mission: Impossible season 1. Montalban played Gerard Sefra, the villain-of-the-week in the episode "Snowball in Hell" . Like Khan, Gerard Sefra was a cruel tyrant, who ran a penal colony that doled out sadistic and old-fashioned punishments to its prisoners. Sera has also come into possession of cesium, an element that can be used in the construction of nuclear weapons. At the end of "Snowball in Hell", Ricardo Montalban's character is undone when his new weapon explodes in his face, not unlike the Genesis Device in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan .

10 Paul Winfield as Klaus

Mission: impossible, season 2, episode 24, "trial by fury".

Ricardo Montalban's Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan co-star, Paul Winfield appeared as Klaus in the Mission: Impossible episode "Trial by Fury" . Set in a Latin American prison, it sees Jim Phelps (Peter Graves) try to save the life of an innocent man accused of being a snitch, by revealing the true informer. Paul Winfield's Klaus is one of the hardened prisoners who wants to have Cardoza killed for passing information to the Commandante. Klaus was one of Winfield's earliest roles, and he makes a strong impression in a tense episode of Mission: Impossible that has a thorny dilemma at its core.

The prison's Commandante was played by Joseph Bernard, who played Tark in the Star Trek: The Original Series episode "Wolf in the Fold".

9 Joan Collins as Nicole Vedette

Mission: impossible, season 3, episode 22, "nicole".

In 1967's "The City on the Edge of Forever", Joan Collins played Edith Keeler, the best of Captain Kirk's love interests in Star Trek: The Original Series . Years later, Joan Collins played Nicole Vedette in Mission: Impossible , an enemy agent with whom Jim Phelps fell in love. In the episode, named after Joan Collins' character, Jim Phelps is wounded during a mission, and receives aid from Nicole, who risks her life to help an enemy. The two begin to fall in love, but Nicole is tragically killed, just like Edith Keeler in Star Trek , allowing a grieving Phelps to escape with Rollin before the enemy guards regroup.

The villain of the week in "Nicole" is General Valdas, played by Logan Ramsey, the Proconsul from the Star Trek: The Original Series episode, "Bread and Circuses".

8 Michael Ansara as Ed Stoner

Mission: impossible, season 7, episode 21, "the western".

Michael Ansara played the Klingon Warrior Kang in Star Trek: The Original Series , season 3, episode 7, "Day of the Dove", later reprising the role in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine 's "Blood Oath". Ansara had a long list of acting credits between Kang performances, including roles in the short-lived Shaft TV series, Fantasy Island , and Mission: Impossible . Playing the small role Ed Stoner, Michael Ansara was underused in the episode , essentially a gun-toting ranch manager who tries to scare Jim Phelps and Barney Collier (Greg Morris) off the land owned by the villain-of-the-week, Van Cleve (Ed Nelson).

7 Barry Atwater as Dr. Carlos Enero, Matthew Royce and Others

Mission: impossible, season 1, episode 13, "elena" and season 7, episode 21, "the western".

Barry Atwater also appeared in the Mission: Impossible episode "The Western", playing Matthew Royce, the betrayed criminal partner of Van Cleve, who gets killed in the opening minutes. Atwater had a more substantial role as the psychiatrist Dr. Carlos Enero in the season 1 episode, "Elena". Paired up with Martin Landau's Rollin, Enero has to figure out why an agent is acting so erratically, so they can avoid an international incident.

In Star Trek: The Original Series , Barry Atwater played the Excaliban projection of the legendary Vulcan, Surak in the episode "The Savage Curtain". Atwater also played three more Mission: Impossible characters between Dr. Enero and Matthew Royce. He played Premier Leon Vados in season 3's "The Play", Grand Duke Clements in season 4's "Gitano", and General Marin in season 5's "The Field".

Bruce Gray played another version of Atwater's Surak in the Star Trek: Enterprise episodes "Awakening" and "Kir'Shara".

Star Trek's 10 Best Vulcans Ranked

6 arlene martel as atheda, mission: impossible, season 4, episode 20, "terror".

Another notable Vulcan to appear in Mission: Impossible is Arlene Martel, who played Spock's fiancée T'Pring in Star Trek: The Original Series . Martel played Atheda in the Mission: Impossible episode "Terror" . Atheda is the right-hand woman of El Kabir (Michael Tolan), a terrorist whom the IMF are trying to prevent from leaving prison. The episode was from Leonard Nimoy's first season as The Great Paris. Sadly for fans of Spock and T'Pring , however, Nimoy and Martel don't share much screen time in "Terror".

5 Brock Peters as Walter DuBruis

Mission: impossible, season 2, episode 8, "the money machine".

Before he was crooked Admiral Cartwright in the Star Trek movies, Brock Peters played crooked financier Walter DuBruis in Mission: Impossible . The IMF uses counterfeit money and DuBruis' own greed to con him into making a huge business deal. When DuBruis is discovered to be using counterfeit money, he is arrested, losing all of his investments and his freedom, saving the West African nation's economy from further damage. It's a villainous role for Peters who, while sharing something in common with Cartwright, was miles away from Joseph Sisko in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine .

4 Gary Lockwood as Nicholas Varsi

Mission: impossible, season 7, episode 16, "the question".

Gary Lockwood played Kirk's friend and enemy Gary Mitchell in Star Trek: The Original Series ' second pilot, "Where No Man Has Gone Before". Lockwood later appeared in the final season of Mission: Impossible as Nicholas Varsi , a notorious assassin and enemy agent who wants to defect. The IMF interrogate Varsi, but can't tell if he really wants to defect, or if it's a deception as part of his next mission. Varsi is let go, with the IMF hot on his trail as he completes his next assignment; revenge. Much like in the TOS pilot, Lockwood's suspicious character quickly charms one of the female characters as part of his mission.

3 George Takei as Roger Lee

Mission: impossible, season 1, episode 10, "the carriers".

Best known as Mr. Sulu in Star Trek: The Original Series , George Takei appeared as Roger Lee in "The Carriers", from Mission: Impossible season 1 . Takei's character was another member of the IMF, who made his sole appearance investigating an artificial town where enemy agents are trained to impersonate westerners. As a bacteriologist, Roger was an important addition to the team, given that the entire town was infected with a deadly plague. Presumably, Takei's commitments to Star Trek and his movie career meant that he couldn't make future appearances as Roger Lee in Mission: Impossible .

One scene from "The Carriers" redresses the corridor of the starship Enterprise to represent a subterranean corridor leading to the villain's underground laboratory.

George Takei Has A Surprising Link To Star Trek: Enterprise

2 john de lancie as matthew drake, mission: impossible (1988), season 1, episode 1, "the killer".

John de Lancie has the distinction of helping to reboot two Desilu shows in the late 1980s. That's because, after appearing as Q in Star Trek: The Next Generation , John de Lancie played Matthew Drake in the pilot of the 1988 Mission: Impossible revival . Drake was an international assassin who had killed Jim Phelps' successor at the IMF, forcing Phelps to come out of retirement to avenge his death. It's a typically fruity John de Lancie performance, as he's clearly relishing the chance to play a charismatic contract killer.

"The Killer" was directed by Cliff Bole, who directed 25 episodes of Star Trek: The Next Generation , including the episode "Hide and Q".

1 Simon Pegg as Benji Dunn

Mission: impossible 3 to mission: impossible - dead reckoning parts 1 & 2.

Simon Pegg's Benji Dunn is J.J. Abrams' lasting impact on the Mission: Impossible franchise , as it was his movie that introduced the long-serving character. While it's hoped that Simon Pegg will return for the long-delayed Star Trek 4 , he continues to play Benji alongside Tom Cruise in the two-part Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning. Much like Scotty in Star Trek , Benji is an incredibly skilled technician in the Mission: Impossible movies, making him an invaluable member of the team. Both of Simon Pegg's characters aren't afraid to voice their frustrations with their commanders, be it Tom Cruise's Ethan Hunt, or Chris Pine's Captain Kirk.

All episodes of Mission: Impossible and the movies are available to stream on Paramount Plus.