WHERE ARE THEY NOW: The cast of 'Star Trek: The Original Series'

  • " Star Trek " debuted 56 years ago on September 8, 1966.
  • After the show, the cast of the original series remained sci-fi icons.
  • Only three stars of " The Original Series " are alive today, after Nichelle Nichols' death in July.

William Shatner led the crew of the USS Enterprise as Captain James T. Kirk.

star trek old crew

"Star Trek" was originally going to be focused on a different  captain, Captain Christopher Pike, played by Jeffrey Hunter. A pilot was even filmed, called "The Cage," but it didn't make it to airwaves until the '80s. Gene Roddenberry, the creator, eventually retooled the show and cast Shatner as a new captain, Kirk. Some footage from "The Cage" was then reused for a season one episode called "The Menagerie."

Before "Star Trek," Shatner was famous for his role in an iconic " Twilight Zone " episode, "Nightmare at 20,000 Feet," in which he played a man recently released from a mental hospital who becomes convinced he can see a creature on the wing of the plane he's flying on. It aired in 1963, three years before "Star Trek."

In addition to his "Star Trek" roles, Shatner acted in "T.J. Hooker" and "Boston Legal," hosted "Rescue 911," and he has written numerous books. He finally made it to the final frontier in October 2021.

star trek old crew

Though he's 91 years old, Shatner has shown no signs of slowing down. After "Star Trek" was canceled in 1969, he briefly returned to voice Kirk for the "Star Trek" animated series. In 1979, he again reprised his role as Kirk in " Star Trek: The Motion Picture ." He'd continue to do so regularly until 1994's "Star Trek Generations." He even directed one of the "Star Trek" movies: " Star Trek V: The Final Frontier. "

Besides "Star Trek," Shatner starred as the titular police officer on the '80s procedural "T.J. Hooker" and narrated " Rescue 911 ," a show that consisted of dramatic reenactments of real crimes.

Other roles that you might recognize Shatner from: a pageant host in " Miss Congeniality ," attorney Dennis Crane in " The Practice " and its spin-off " Boston Legal " for which he won two Emmys , and in the 2016-2018 reality show " Better Late Than Never ," in which Shatner, Henry Winkler, George Foreman, and Terry Bradshaw traveled around the world and experienced different cultures.

The actor is set to appear in the upcoming "Masters of the Universe: Revolution" series on Netflix. He also finally made it to space himself during a Blue Origin flight in October 2021, making him the oldest person to go into space at 90.

Shatner has written multiple books, both fiction and non-fiction over the course of his career. His 2016 book, " Leonard: My Fifty-Year Friendship with a Remarkable Man ," was about his friendship with "Star Trek" co-star Leonard Nimoy, who played his on-screen better half, Commander Spock.

Walter Koenig was cast as Ensign Pavel Chekov because of his resemblance to the Monkees' Davy Jones.

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While Chekov was Russian, Koenig was born in America and based his accent on his parents' accents — they were Russian immigrants. Koenig was cast because, according to legend, he was supposed to help attract young girls as viewers due to his resemblance to teen idol Davy Jones. He even wore a Davy Jones-esque women's wig for the first seven or eight episodes, he told TV Insider in 2016.

Koenig's mainly recognized for his on-screen role as Chekov, though he became a pretty prolific screenwriter in the '70s. He wrote episodes for the "Star Trek" animated series, anthology series "What Really Happened to the Class of '65?" and children's series "Land of the Lost."

Koenig appeared in the 2018 film "Diminuendo."

star trek old crew

Koenig, 85, (he's turning 86 on September 14) still makes frequent appearances on the "Star Trek" convention circuit, as well as acting in the occasional film. He appeared in 12 episodes of " Babylon 5 " in the '90s, voiced himself in an episode of "Futurama," and also voiced Mr. Savic on the Netflix animated series " Stretch Armstrong and the Flex Fighters. "

While not all of the "Star Trek" cast were on great terms, Koenig and his co-star George Takei remain close. Koenig was even the best man in Takei's wedding in 2008.

George Takei played Lieutenant Hikaru Sulu, a helmsman on the Enterprise.

star trek old crew

Over the course of the show, Sulu was revealed to have many interests outside of Star Fleet, most famously fencing. At the time, Sulu was one of the first Asian characters on TV who wasn't explicitly a villain, and instead was a fully formed hero.

"Up until the time I was cast in 'Star Trek,' the roles were pretty shallow — thin, stereotyped, one-dimensional roles. I knew this character was a breakthrough role, certainly for me as an individual actor but also for the image of an Asian character: no accent, a member of the elite leadership team," Takei told Mother Jones in 2012.

Takei originally was supposed to play Sulu as an astrophysicist, but the role was changed to helmsman. Before "Star Trek," Takei also appeared in " The Twilight Zone " like his co-star William Shatner, among other '50s and '60s procedurals.

Takei is still acting to this day, though many people know him now for his social media presence.

star trek old crew

Who says an 85-year-old doesn't know how to use social media? Takei's Facebook page has 9.5 million likes to date, and he has 3.4 million followers on Twitter .

In addition to his continued acting in films like "Paws of Fury: The Legend of Hank," " Kubo and the Two Strings ," "Blazing Samurai," and "Mulan," and TV shows like "Heroes," "Supah Ninjas," and " Star Wars: Visions ," Takei is an activist. He came out as gay in 2005  and began working as a spokesperson for the Human Rights Campaign.

Takei also starred in the 2012 musical "Allegiance," which was based on his and his family's experiences during Japanese internment in World War II.

Nichelle Nichols played Lieutenant Nyota Uhura, a translator, communications officer, and linguistics expert.

star trek old crew

Uhura was one of the first Black television characters that didn't have a menial job — instead, she was in a position of power. She and Shatner were also involved in what is thought to be the first interracial kiss on American TV.

Nichols stayed with the show for all three seasons, but it wasn't without drama. She was tempted to leave during the first year, but none other than Martin Luther King Jr. convinced her to stay. She told the New York Post in 2011 that when she told him that she wanted to leave, he told her, "You can't do that. You have the first non-stereotypical, non-menial role on television. You have created strength and beauty and intelligence. For the first time, the world sees us as we should be seen. It's what we're marching for. You're a role model and whether you like it or not, you belong to history now."

She also released an album in 1967, "Down to Earth." In between "Star Trek's" cancellation and its return on the big screen, Nichols starred in the 1974 blaxploitation film " Truck Turner ," as Dorinda, a madam.

Nichols died in 2022 at the age of 89. She had retired from public appearances in 2018.

star trek old crew

From 1977 until 2015, Nichols was involved with Women in Motion, a recruiting program for NASA to help get more women involved in the space program. In July 2020, a documentary about the program finally secured distribution and will be released in 2021, Deadline reported. 

"Nichelle Nichols not only was a trailblazer in Hollywood, she was a trailblazer for the future of our society. She took the fight for Civil Rights, diversity and inclusion and gender equality to new frontiers with NASA which continue to serve America's space program today. She was ahead of her time," said executive producer Ben Crump.

Nichols also appeared in " The Young and the Restless, " "Heroes," and " Futurama ." She was diagnosed with dementia in 2018 and subsequently retired from public appearances.

In July 2022, Nichols' son announced on social media that Nichols had died at the age of 89 .

Leonard Nimoy played Captain Kirk's first officer and close friend Commander Spock.

star trek old crew

Spock was the only alien member of the original crew, as he was half-human, half-Vulcan — an alien race from the planet Vulcan whose residents operate solely from a point of logic, not feelings. Much of the show's comedy came from Spock and Kirk's differences and their amusement at each other. His frequent farewell, " Live Long and Prosper ," accompanied by the Vulcan Salute, are among the most recognizable pieces of the "Star Trek" canon.

Nimoy had multiple small parts in B movies and TV shows before booking "Star Trek," including an episode of " The Man from U.N.C.L.E. " alongside future co-star William Shatner, as well as an episode of " The Twilight Zone ."

But once "Star Trek" premiered, Nimoy would be forever linked with his Vulcan counterpart, and he mainly did voice work after the show ended. He also reunited with Shatner for an episode of his show, "T.J. Hooker."

Nimoy died in 2015 at the age of 83. He played Spock for the final time in 2013's "Star Trek Into Darkness," meaning he played the role for almost 50 years.

star trek old crew

Nimoy is the only actor from the original series to appear in JJ Abrams' rebooted films, as he appeared in 2009's "Star Trek" and its 2013 sequel " Star Trek Into Darkness " as an older version of Spock who was trapped in an alternate universe.

In addition to acting, Nimoy was a photographer, recording artist, author, and director. He directed two "Star Trek" movies (" The Search for Spock " and "The Journey Home"), and "Three Men and a Baby," which became the highest-grossing film of 1987 .

Nimoy died in 2015 at the age of 83 due to chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).

DeForest Kelley played the ship's curmudgeonly chief medical officer, Dr. Leonard "Bones" McCoy.

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Bones, as he was affectionately called, was one of the oldest members of the crew, and thus got to be a bit more obnoxious than the rest of them. His frequent catchphrase, " I'm a doctor, not a ___, " is one of the most parodied lines of dialogue from the show.

Like his character, Kelley was older and a more established actor than the rest of the cast. Before the show, he had appeared in Westerns and historical films like " Gunfight at the O.K. Corral ," "Warlock," and " Raintree County " in the '50s.

Kelley died in 1999 at the age of 79, nine years after playing McCoy for the last time.

star trek old crew

Kelley essentially retired from acting, besides playing McCoy, after the success of "Star Trek." He appeared in all six films starring the original cast, and appeared in an episode of " Star Trek: The Next Generation " as McCoy, as well.

While he wasn't much of a sci-fi fan, Kelley was proud of his "Star Trek" legacy. When asked what he thought his legacy would be, he explained that his character inspired people to enter the medical field. He told the New York Times , "These people [fans] are doctors now, all kinds of doctors who save lives. That's something that very few people can say they've done. I'm proud to say that I have.''

He died in 1999 at the age of 79 due to stomach cancer .

Majel Barrett had a recurring role as Nurse Christine Chapel.

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Barrett was originally cast in the first version of "Star Trek" as Pike's first officer, but when that episode was scratched, so was her character. However, due to her romantic relationship with "Star Trek" creator Gene Roddenberry (who she later married), she was brought back as Nurse Chapel (a divisive character).

Before the show, Barrett was in various bit parts in '50s and '60s shows, but her big break was " Star Trek ," which she stayed involved in for the rest of her life.

Barrett died in 2008 when she was 76 years old. Up until her death, she had been involved with every "Star Trek" series in some way, leading fans to call her the First Lady of "Star Trek."

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Barrett reprised her role as Chapel in " Star Trek: The Motion Picture " and " Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home ." She also appeared in " Star Trek: The Next Generation " and "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine" as Lwaxana Troi, the mother of Deanna Troi, a main character in "Next Generation." Her other involvement in the series was the voice of the computer in many of the other " Star Trek" films: "Generations ," " First Contact ," "Nemesis," and 2009's reboot.

She died in 2008 at the age of 76 due to leukemia . 

James Doohan played chief engineering officer Montgomery "Scotty" Scott.

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Contrary to popular belief, the phrase " Beam me up, Scotty " is never actually uttered in the original series. The man on the other end of that command, Scotty, was played by Doohan, who was Canadian in real life, not Scottish.

Before "Star Trek," Doohan served in the Canadian military and was even on the beaches of Normandy during D-Day, and was a pilot as well. After the war, he began acting and became a successful radio actor. Like his co-stars, he also appeared in an episode of " The Twilight Zone ," and other popular procedurals. 

In the animated series, Doohan proved to be indispensable, with his talent for voice acting and accents. He voiced over 50 characters during the show's run.

James Doohan died at the age of 85 in 2005.

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Doohan didn't find much success outside of the world of "Star Trek," and thus embraced his role as Scotty. He appeared in "Generations," as well as an episode of " The Next Generation ." 

However, his impact on the field of engineering cannot be overstated. He was awarded an honorary doctorate from the Milwaukee School of Engineering "after half the students there said that Scotty had inspired them to take up the subject," according to the BBC .

Towards the end of his life, Doohan suffered from Parkinson's and Alzheimer's, and retired from public life in 2004. He died the following year, at 85, due to complications from pneumonia .

Grace Lee Whitney appeared in the first season of the show as Yeoman Janice Rand.

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Rand appeared in eight episodes of the show's first 15-episode season as a clerical and administrative worker aboard the ship, before Whitney was released from her contract. At the time, the story was that the show didn't have enough money to keep everyone, but years later in her autobiography, Rand accused an unnamed executive producer , whom she called "The Executive," of sexually assaulting her.

"I tried to do what he wanted me to, so I could get it over with. I knew, deep down inside, that I was finished on 'Star Trek.' At that moment, however, I didn't care about that. Nothing else mattered — not my tarnished virtue, not my career, not my role on 'Star Trek.' The only thing that mattered was getting out of that room alive," she wrote.

Whitney died in 2015 at the age of 85.

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After getting written off the show, Whitney struggled with her career, and alcoholism. She credited co-star Leonard Nimoy with helping her get back on her feet and involved with "Star Trek" once again. She reprised her role in four of the original "Star Trek" films, and in an episode of " Star Trek: Voyager " alongside George Takei.

She died in 2015 due to natural causes at the age of 85.

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star trek old crew

  • Main content

The Only Major Actors Still Alive From Star Trek: The Original Series

Star Trek Kirk

Gene Roddenberry's celebrated sci-fi TV series "Star Trek" debuted on September 8, 1966, and it recently celebrated its 57th anniversary. Initially, "Trek" wasn't terribly popular, and it only managed to make a third season thanks to a coordinated letter-writing campaign (a campaign that Roddenberry was accused of orchestrating and encouraging himself). It wouldn't be until after "Star Trek" was canceled in 1969 that its popularity would significantly begin to grow. 

Thanks to a sweet infinite syndication deal, "Star Trek" reruns were common, and a cult began to form. By the early 1970s, the first "Trek" conventions began to appear. Naturally, conventions were a great place for the show's stars and creators to congregate and share production stories with a rising tide of obsessives. Fans were able to talk to and get autographs from William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, DeForest Kelley, Nichelle Nichols, Majel Barrett, Walter Koenig, George Takei, James Doohan, and Grace Lee Whitney, as well as many of the show's more supporting players. 

Many decades have passed, but the surviving "Star Trek" cast members, now in their 80s and 90s, still appear at conventions to share details of their now-long and storied careers. Over 57 years ago, they were at the start of a phenomenon; none of them could have likely predicted just what a massive impact "Star Trek" would have on the pop culture landscape. Three members of the original "Star Trek" cast appeared at Creation Entertainment's 57-Year Mission convention in Las Vegas, and one of them is already confirmed for the 2024 con  next August. 

If you're eager to get an autograph or merely to hear an amusing anecdote from across many decades of interaction with the "Trek" franchise at large, the following surviving actors will still happily oblige.

William Shatner

In March of 2023, Shatner, who played the resolute Captain Kirk on "Star Trek," turned 92, yet he still makes convention appearances. Stories have been told throughout Trekkie-dom that Shatner can occasionally be spiky at cons, but has clearly embraced them, even going so far as to say that fans are the future  of anything so deeply beloved as "Star Trek." Indeed, in many cases, fans care more about carrying on the legacy of a show than the studios; in many ways, Trekkies take the show more seriously than the people who make it.

Shatner has, of course, had a textured career. Some of his earlier films include adaptations of "The Brothers Karamozov" (in which he played Alexey) and "Oedipus the King" (in which he played a masked member of the chorus), as well as genre films like "The Intruder" and "Incubus." Although Shatner is best known for "Trek" — a common side-effect for most any actor who appeared on any "Star Trek" show — he forged an interesting acting career beyond ii. He appeared in the hit cop show "T.J. Hooker," and appeared in spoof films like "Airplane II: The Sequel" and "National Lampoon's Loaded Weapon 1." He released several notorious albums of speak-singing, and directed several documentaries about "Star Trek," including "The Captains" and "Chaos on the Bridge." 

Shatner also authored several "Star Trek" novels and even launched his own modestly successful sci-fi book series with "TekWar" (ghost-written by Ron Goulart) in 1989. He won two Emmys in 2004 and 2005 for his role as Denny Crane in "The Practice" and "Boston Legal." He's also an equestrian enthusiast and has won a few horseback riding awards. Shatner is spry for 92.

George Takei

In 2019, George Takei , who played the practical and intelligent Hikaru Sulu on "Star Trek," authored a graphic novel all about his childhood experiences of being rounded up and imprisoned in a Japanese internment camp during World War II. Takei was born in Los Angeles in 1937 (he's the only main cast member from the original show who is an L.A. native), and recalls being held against his will by the U.S. government as a child. It may have been that experience that made Takei as political as he is. In the early 1970s, after "Star Trek," Takei ran for a set on the Los Angeles City Council, and served as an alternate delegate at the 1972 Democratic National Convention. At conventions, Takei has spoken at length about his beliefs in civic infrastructure, encouraging L.A. to improve its long-beleaguered public transportation.

Takei came out as gay in 2005, revealing that he had been with his long-term partner, Brad Altman, for the last 18 years. He and Altman married in 2008, one of the first same-sex couples to be granted a marriage license in West Hollywood, California. Takei has been an outspoken queer rights activist ever since, raising money for charities and speaking at charity events regularly. He makes appearances at fan conventions on the regular. 

As an actor, Takei began reading English-language dubs for imported Toho monster movies prior to "Star Trek." He also starred in movies like "The Green Berets" and "Mulan." On TV, Takei guest-starred on many, many programs, including a notable regular role on the hit show "Heroes." His deep voice also afforded him an opportunity to regularly contribute to dozens of animated programs, most recently in Max's "Gremlins: Secrets of the Mogwai."

Walter Koenig

There were rumors circulating through the Trekkie community for years that Walter Koenig was hired to appear on the second season of "Star Trek" because the then-30-year-old actor looked an awful lot like Davy Jones from "The Monkees." This wasn't the case, but Koenig provided a youthful, heartthrob quality with his character, Pavel Chekov. His character was Russian, a notable character decision to make in the mid-1960s as the U.S. was still embroiled deeply in the Cold War. Chekov was a symbol that peace would eventually come. Koenig was never anything less than 100% committed, and reacted to extreme sci-fi scenarios with fire and aplomb. 

In the early '60s, the actor worked his way through smaller roles in multiple well-known TV series like "Mr. Novak," "Gidget," and "I Spy" before joining "Star Trek" in its second season. After, he continued apace, working on TV regularly, eventually landing a recurring role on a second beloved sci-fi series  "Babylon 5." He has also stayed a part of "Star Trek" up until the present, having provided a voice cameo in the most recent season of "Star Trek: Picard," as well as reprising his role as Chekov in the semi-professional and well-respected fan series "Star Trek: New Voyages." He's also dabbled in many amusing B-movies like "Mad Cowgirl" and "Scream of the Bikini," as well as animated shows like "Stretch Armstrong and the Flex Fighters."

Additionally, Koenig has served as an advocate for civil rights in Burma, having visited refugee camps there. Koenig still appears at conventions, happy to talk about his various projects and acting endeavors. Just please, whatever you do, don't ask him to say "nuclear wessels." The man just turned 87. He deserves a break from that. 

Memory Alpha

Regular cast

  • View history

This page is a list of regular cast for the Star Trek series and films .

  • 1 Star Trek: The Original Series
  • 2 Star Trek: The Animated Series
  • 3 The Original Series films
  • 4 Star Trek: The Next Generation
  • 5 The Next Generation films
  • 6 Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
  • 7 Star Trek: Voyager
  • 8 Star Trek: Enterprise
  • 9 The alternate reality films
  • 10 Star Trek: Discovery
  • 11 Star Trek: Picard
  • 12 Star Trek: Lower Decks
  • 13 Star Trek: Prodigy
  • 14 Star Trek: Strange New Worlds
  • 15 See also
  • 16 External links

Star Trek: The Original Series [ ]

Star Trek TOS cast

The Original Series cast

  • William Shatner as James T. Kirk
  • Leonard Nimoy as Spock
  • DeForest Kelley as Leonard McCoy
  • James Doohan as Montgomery Scott
  • George Takei as Hikaru Sulu
  • Walter Koenig as Pavel Chekov (seasons 2-3)
  • Nichelle Nichols as Nyota Uhura
  • Majel Barrett as Christine Chapel
  • Grace Lee Whitney as Janice Rand (season 1)

Star Trek: The Animated Series [ ]

Star Trek TAS cast

The Animated Series cast

  • James Doohan as Montgomery Scott and Arex
  • Nichelle Nichols as Uhura
  • Majel Barrett as Christine Chapel and M'Ress

The Original Series films [ ]

Star Trek TOS film cast

The TOS film cast

  • Walter Koenig as Pavel Chekov

Star Trek: The Next Generation [ ]

Star Trek TNG cast

The Next Generation cast (seasons 5-7)

  • Patrick Stewart as Jean-Luc Picard
  • Jonathan Frakes as William T. Riker
  • Brent Spiner as Data
  • LeVar Burton as Geordi La Forge
  • Michael Dorn as Worf
  • Gates McFadden as Beverly Crusher (seasons 1, 3-7)
  • Marina Sirtis as Deanna Troi
  • Denise Crosby as Natasha Yar (season 1)
  • Wil Wheaton as Wesley Crusher (seasons 1-4)

The Next Generation films [ ]

Star Trek TNG film cast

The TNG film cast

  • Gates McFadden as Beverly Crusher

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine [ ]

Star Trek DS9 cast

Deep Space Nine cast (seasons 4-6)

  • Avery Brooks as Benjamin Sisko
  • Nana Visitor as Kira Nerys
  • Rene Auberjonois as Odo
  • Michael Dorn as Worf (seasons 4-7)
  • Terry Farrell as Jadzia Dax (seasons 1-6)
  • Alexander Siddig as Julian Bashir
  • Colm Meaney as Miles O'Brien
  • Nicole de Boer as Ezri Dax (season 7)
  • Armin Shimerman as Quark
  • Cirroc Lofton as Jake Sisko

Star Trek: Voyager [ ]

Star Trek VOY cast, S7

Voyager cast (seasons 4-7)

  • Kate Mulgrew as Kathryn Janeway
  • Robert Beltran as Chakotay
  • Tim Russ as Tuvok
  • Robert Duncan McNeill as Tom Paris
  • Roxann Dawson as B'Elanna Torres
  • Garrett Wang as Harry Kim
  • Jeri Ryan as Seven of Nine (seasons 4-7)
  • Robert Picardo as The Doctor
  • Ethan Phillips as Neelix
  • Jennifer Lien as Kes (seasons 1-3)

Star Trek: Enterprise [ ]

Star Trek ENT cast

Enterprise cast

  • Scott Bakula as Jonathan Archer
  • Jolene Blalock as T'Pol
  • Connor Trinneer as Charles Tucker III
  • Dominic Keating as Malcolm Reed
  • Anthony Montgomery as Travis Mayweather
  • Linda Park as Hoshi Sato
  • John Billingsley as Phlox

The alternate reality films [ ]

Star Trek TOS film cast (alt)

The alternate reality film cast with director/producer J.J. Abrams

  • John Cho as Hikaru Sulu
  • Simon Pegg as Montgomery Scott
  • Chris Pine as James T. Kirk
  • Zachary Quinto as Spock
  • Zoë Saldana as Nyota Uhura
  • Karl Urban as Leonard McCoy
  • Anton Yelchin as Pavel Chekov

Star Trek: Discovery [ ]

Star Trek DIS cast, S1

Discovery cast for season 1 with Michelle Yeoh

  • Sonequa Martin-Green as Michael Burnham
  • Doug Jones as Saru
  • Shazad Latif as Ash Tyler (seasons 1-2)
  • Anthony Rapp as Paul Stamets
  • Mary Wiseman as Sylvia Tilly
  • Wilson Cruz as Hugh Culber (seasons 2-4, guest in season 1)
  • Rachael Ancheril as D. Nhan (season 3, guest in seasons 2, 4)
  • Tig Notaro as Jett Reno (season 4, guest in seasons 2-3)
  • Jason Isaacs as Gabriel Lorca (season 1)
  • Anson Mount as Christopher Pike (season 2)
  • David Ajala as Cleveland "Book" Booker (seasons 3-4)
  • Blu del Barrio as Adira Tal (season 4, guest in season 3)

Star Trek: Picard [ ]

Star Trek Picard cast

Picard cast for season 1 with Jeri Ryan

  • Alison Pill as Agnes Jurati (season 1-2)
  • Isa Briones as Soji Asha / Kore Soong (season 1-2)
  • Evan Evagora as Elnor (season 1-2)
  • Michelle Hurd as Raffi Musiker
  • Santiago Cabrera as Cristóbal Rios (season 1-2)
  • Harry Treadaway as Narek (season 1)
  • Jeri Ryan as Seven of Nine (seasons 2-3, guest in season 1)
  • Orla Brady as Laris / Tallinn (season 2, guest in seasons 1 and 3)
  • Brent Spiner as Adam Soong (season 2, guest in seasons 1 and 3 in other roles)
  • Ed Speleers as Jack Crusher (season 3)

Star Trek: Lower Decks [ ]

Lower Decks cast (ensigns)

  • Tawny Newsome as Beckett Mariner
  • Jack Quaid as Brad Boimler
  • Noël Wells as D'Vana Tendi
  • Eugene Cordero as Sam Rutherford
  • Dawnn Lewis as Carol Freeman
  • Jerry O'Connell as Jack Ransom
  • Fred Tatasciore as Shaxs
  • Gillian Vigman as T'Ana

Star Trek: Prodigy [ ]

Star Trek Prodigy cast

Prodigy cast

  • Brett Gray as Dal
  • Ella Purnell as Gwyn
  • Jason Mantzoukas as Jankom Pog
  • Angus Imrie as Zero
  • Rylee Alazraqui as Rok-Tahk
  • Dee Bradley Baker as Murf
  • Jimmi Simpson as Drednok
  • John Noble as The Diviner
  • Kate Mulgrew as " Captain Janeway "

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds [ ]

Star Trek SNW cast

Strange New Worlds cast

  • Anson Mount as Christopher Pike
  • Ethan Peck as Spock
  • Jess Bush as Christine Chapel
  • Christina Chong as La'an Noonien-Singh
  • Celia Rose Gooding as Nyota Uhura
  • Melissa Navia as Erica Ortegas
  • Babs Olusanmokun as Joseph M'Benga
  • Bruce Horak as Hemmer (season 1, guest in season 2)
  • Rebecca Romijn as Una Chin-Riley

See also [ ]

  • Star Trek birthdays
  • Character crossover appearances
  • Cast members who directed
  • Regular cast characters by rank

External links [ ]

  • Official actor's websites
  • Official fan clubs
  • 2 USS Enterprise (NCC-1701-G)
  • 3 Star Trek: The Next Generation

Every Star Trek Crew, Ranked

Star Trek is one of the most iconic sci-fi franchises of all time, with new series growing each year. Here is every Star Trek crew ranked.

September 8, 2023, marked the 57th anniversary of the pilot premiere for Star Trek: The Original Series – an episode that few would have expected to spawn a decades-spanning franchise. Each installation in the Star Trek universe comes complete with an all-new crew (and sometimes familiar faces), and a new ship to traverse the unknown regions of the universe.

Every crew and series brings something fresh to the franchise, adding new stories, filling in rich histories, and offering fans something to look forward to. The Star Trek universe, created by Gene Roddenberry, is very much like our own: ever-expanding, and some of the crews have managed to capture fans' hearts and minds.

RELATED: CBS Studios Announces Release Date for Star Trek: very Short Treks

11 Lower Decks

Lower Decks refuses to follow the Star Trek “formula,” which is for better and for worse. For the fandom, Lower Decks has created breakout star Beckett Mariner, but lacks a strong enough ensemble to truly define the crew. While a great new comedic twist on Star Trek , its light tone means we don’t learn enough about the characters to bond with them truly.

Lower Decks plays its comedy well, often intersecting with other Trek series in one-part crossover, one-part parody. Voyager is the latest victim of this parody, bringing levity to a typically serious franchise.

10 Strange New Worlds

Strange New Worlds has brought a swift and much-needed infusion of optimism to the Star Trek universe, but their reinvention of past characters has weakened their crew. Overall, they need time to grow. The latest portrayals of Spock, Kirk, Uhura, and Pike are excellent and allow for more background for our original crew, but knowing the end makes it difficult to relive the beginning.

For example, knowing Captain Pike’s eventual fate tinges the experience with an air of desperation and sadness. Even Pike himself is made aware of this fate in Star Trek: Discovery , and while his optimism in the face of treachery is noble, many fans do not share that positive outlook.

RELATED: Star Trek's Lost Vulcan: Phase II Almost Replaced Spock With This Character

9 Enterprise

While charming for its era, Star Trek: Enterprise harbors one too many hang-ups in its quest to carve its own path within the Star Trek universe. While there are sweet moments binding the crew together, it often felt more focused on romance than professionalism.

The Chief Engineer of the retro Enterprise , Trip, worked hard to encapsulate the Southern cowboy charm that audiences craved at the time. Also, his surprise rivals-to-lovers romance with by-the-book first officer T'Pol created a remarkable tension previously unseen in earlier Star Trek sagas. The romance was novel and fueled many fans' desires for more romantic subplots, but it dominated the plot too heavily for the crew to advance.

Picard offers something different from other series: a remix of some of our beloved characters, plus new names and faces to grow to love. Picard does an excellent job of reinvigorating old characters while still leaving room for the new to grow, much like a passing of the baton from the older series to the “next generation,” so to speak.

However, the limited number of seasons has left viewers wanting, so the crew hasn’t had the time necessary to rise to a stature held by other notable Star Trek crews. The reintroduction of Seven of Nine and her ability to finally appear on screen has given necessary closure for long-hopeful Voyager fans.

RELATED: Star Trek Is Primed for a Return of These Previously-Hated Aliens

7 Kelvin Timeline

The Kelvin Timeline, also known as the Alternate Original Series (AOS), jump-started the Star Trek franchise and brought it into the 21st century. Between the punchy new dialogue and referential humor, this crew is iconic in how it breathes new life into the characters. However, it does lack originality despite excellent performances by (at the time) up-and-coming actors.

A film is often only as good as its villain, and The Kelvin Timeline uses the most dangerous villain of all in only the second film. While a great way to avoid the sophomore slump, it means that any perils faced by the crew following Khan will pale in comparison, limiting the crew's ability to prove themselves.

6 Discovery

Despite featuring the (arguably) most brilliant captain in the Star Trek universe, Michael Burnham, Discovery ’s serialized nature simply does not lend itself to deep dives into the crew’s relationships with one another. Further, the crew turnover rate (who’s captain at this point, anyway?) makes it difficult for viewers to get that ensemble feeling that other crews provide.

Now that Discovery has paved the way for its contemporary Strange New Worlds , it is no longer bursting at the seams with characters. This breathing room (along with a break from the war with the Klingons) has brought the crew closer together, allowing fans to really get to know who is at the helm of the titular ship.

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5 The Next Generation

Star Trek: The Next Generation featured a rock star crew, each so individually outstanding that viewers wondered why promotions weren't handed out left and right. Each character works so well on their own it’s difficult to have an episode that focuses on more than one character at a time. The character-driven narrative represents the best of Star Trek , just not necessarily the best crew.

The Next Generation was the first crew to arrive on the scene after The Original Series , with an almost 20-year gap between the two debuts. The Shakespearean skills of Sir Patrick Stewart as Captain Picard mixed surprisingly well with the sci-fi setting, elevating the genre to new heights. The simple chemistry between actors brought this crew to life for new and old viewers alike.

There’s nothing quite like getting stranded decades from home to bring a crew together. The Voyager crew is best known for their ingenuity. However, they also deserve their flowers for allowing the journey to bring them together rather than lead to a Lord of the Flies situation. However, this unification came primarily due to the strong leadership of Captain Kathryn Janeway.

Captain Janeway, the fearless leader, is known for her ability to make tough decisions-- even when faced with lizard offspring or the merged consciousness of her first officer and chef. Despite Voyager 's occasionally goofy storylines, the simple endurance of the crew (without promotions!) easily puts them on top.

3 Original Series

Star Trek: The Original Series ' crew has served as the kernel that keeps fans returning to the franchise, hoping to see similar magic across newer entries. Even today, many of the newer crews have tried to replicate the magic of The Original Series . Its jaunty adventures and forward-thinking political messaging have made Star Trek the refuge for underserved populations.

The Original Series marks the pivotal kiss between Black actress Nichelle Nichols (Lieutenant Uhura) and white actor William Shatner (Captain Kirk). This was one of the first interracial kisses on television, coming less than a year after the landmark court case Loving v. Virginia . Even in the worst instances of bad costumes or stilted dialogue, the original series delivered something that fans can't get enough of.

RELATED: Star Trek: Discovery Broke the Franchise Mold in a Way No One Talks About

2 Honorable Mentions

Star trek: prodigy.

The ragtag group of adventurers comprising Star Trek: Prodigy doesn’t completely count as a crew, given their outlier status, but what they lack in Starfleet affiliation, they more than make up for in charm.

Star Trek: The Animated Series

This retro romp takes our Original Series crew and animates their latest adventures. Considered canon only by some, the Animated Series was the first to translate Star Trek into a bold new medium. Featuring the iconic (and controversial) "Kirk is a Jerk" slogan, loved by fans and hated by William Shatner, The Animated Series is a fun twist on the original crew.

1 Deep Space Nine

Deep Space Nine is the blueprint for all crews. Not only did they work together to win a literal war against the formidable Dominion, but they were all friends with one another. The crew felt like a family, sometimes even being too close to one another (Doctor Bashir, for example). Despite their varying allegiances, Deep Space Nine ’s crew knew the true definition of loyalty.

While other crews become divided among the lines of (alien) race and Starfleet allegiance, the mixed crowd of Deep Space Nine changed how Star Trek operates. Rather than taking a utopian or dystopic view of the world, Deep Space Nine took the world as it is, continuing the important political work of Star Trek .

The Ending Of Star Trek: Picard Explained

Picard and Riker on bridge

Season 3 of "Star Trek: Picard" has come to an explosive end with series finale "The Last Generation," leaving fans with plenty to unpack. The final season of the spin-off series finally reunites Jean-Luc Picard with his former Enterprise crew, adding LeVar Burton, Marina Sirtis, Michael Dorn, Gates McFadden, Jonathan Frakes, and Brent Spiner to the cast. Returning alongside them is Jeri Ryan as Seven of Nine and Michelle Hurd as Raffi Musiker.

A rollercoaster adventure full of surprises, Season 3 kicks off with Picard receiving a call for help from his old friend Dr. Beverly Crusher. Gate-crashing the inaugural voyage of the newly-commissioned U.S.S. Titan, Picard discovers that he has a son who has been hidden from him for more than 20 years. But they're soon pursued by an old foe: Changelings have emerged after their decades-long absence following the Dominion War, and they're bent on revenge against the Federation. 

On the way to the final installment, it's revealed that the Borg have been behind the Changeling plot all along, and Picard's son Jack is key to their plans. Now that it's all over, it's time to dig into every detail of the "Star Trek: Picard" finale. We're here to unravel its mysteries, explore its messages, see how it all ties up, and prepare Trekkies for whatever comes next.

Hope has been a central, enduring message throughout "Star Trek: Picard," and it rings just as true as the series ends. When we first reconnect with him as a retired, world-weary winemaker in Season 1, Jean-Luc Picard seems to have lost his hope in the future, mankind, and himself. Thanks to visits from a young android in Season 1, an immortal trickster in Season 2, and a desperate call for help from an old friend in Season 3, Picard has finally realized that hope is never truly lost.

In the finale episode "The Last Generation," the Borg have returned and assimilated a new drone army. Earth is about to fall. But Picard has reassembled his old crew, pulled the U.S.S. Enterprise out of mothballs, and set a course to stop them. However, the Borg Queen has an unexpected ally: Jack Crusher, son of Picard and Dr. Crusher. He's inherited his father's Borg-assimilated DNA and is acting as the voice of the Borg collective. Now the Earth is on the verge of destruction, all the younger Starfleet officers have been assimilated through a piece of Borg genetic code introduced to their DNA through transporters, and the entire Federation fleet is under Borg control. 

Things look as hopeless as they've ever been. But then, a message is received by Federation President Anton Chekov (voiced by "Star Trek" legend Walter Koenig and named after the late Anton Yelchin): "Hope is never lost. There are always possibilities." 

A new evolution of the Borg

All season long, fans see evolution. First we meet Vadic, a Changeling whose rogue faction of shapeshifters have new abilities that help them survive. We also meet a new version of Commander Data, an android golem infused with the personalities of different Soong androids, representing an evolution of his former self. As his creator puts it, "Evolution is not an act of preservation, it's addition."

In "The Last Generation" we see that the Borg have evolved too. The crew must go aboard a cube hiding in Jupiter's gasses and shut down a beacon that is controlling the Federation fleet. They don't just find the Borg Queen, however: They also discover a fully-assimilated Jack Crusher, who is the voice of a new Borg collective and an evolution of their species.

Face to face with the new Borg Queen, Picard learns that the collective has been weak and vulnerable since last we saw them. Thanks to their alliance with the Changelings, though, their new collective no longer requires assimilation at all, or even the combination of machine and biology: They can propagate genetically, with the Federation's young becoming their new generation of Borg. Thus, their new mission is not to assimilate, but to annihilate. They have not taken Soong's words to heart, though — they only evolve to survive, and that turns out to be their weakness.

Seven finds her family

Season 3 of "Star Trek: Picard" hasn't just been about the reunion of the "Star Trek: The Next Generation" crew (though you'd be hard-pressed to find anyone who wasn't thrilled by that). The story of Seven of Nine also takes center stage, and comes to its conclusion in "The Last Generation," fulfilling an arc that began all the way back in "Star Trek: Voyager." 

Since she left the Borg collective in Season 4 of that series, Seven has struggled to find her place. In Season 1 of "Picard," we discover that Seven has joined a group of do-gooding outlaws called the Fenris Rangers, before finally agreeing to join Starfleet at the end of Season 2. But her time aboard the U.S.S. Titan as first officer isn't always pleasant. Frequent clashes with Captain Shaw — whose personal resentment of her Borg nature makes him icy towards her — leaves her feeling isolated and alone, and unsure if Starfleet is where she belongs. 

But when the Borg attacks, Shaw is killed, leaving Seven in command. In "The Last Generation," she rises to the occasion. With the help of Raffi, she retakes the bridge from Borg control, and, after discovering that Picard is attempting to shut down the enemy beacon, develops a plan to buy Earth time by disrupting the Borg-controlled fleet. Embracing her inner Captain Janeway , Seven even gives an inspiring pep talk to her ragtag crew, demonstrating just how far she's come.

Loneliness, belonging, and purpose in the hive mind

Though the fanfare around Season 3 of "Star Trek: Picard" mostly regards the return of the "Star Trek: The Next Generation" crew, the season also adds a major new character: Jack Crusher. The son of Jean-Luc Picard and Beverly Crusher, he's lived most of his life fighting by his mother's side on the fringes of the Federation. But as he got older, Jack knew he was different. He suffered from sleepless nights and disturbing dreams, and struggled to find meaning in his life. 

Eventually, Jack experiences waking hallucinations. In "VOX," he comes face-to-face with the Borg Queen and finally realizes why he suffers these spells. He's inherited some of his father's Borg-altered DNA, and his physiology is being used by the Queen as a kind of transmitter, to access new Borg drones. Once he's connected to the Borg hive mind, Jack finds the one thing he's always sought: belonging. Like the Queen, who spent years as a solitary collective, Jack has suffered endless loneliness in his life. Now, he finds a sense of meaning and purpose with the Borg.

Family is everything

The role of family is central to Season 3 of "Star Trek: Picard," and the revelation that Jean-Luc Picard has a son with Dr. Crusher isn't the only way it makes itself known. When we first meet Geordi La Forge, now a Commodore and director of the fleet museum, he too is having some serious family problems. His daughter Sidney is helmsman of the U.S.S. Titan, and she doesn't have the best relationship with him. When she puts her career and her life on the line to help Picard against the Changelings, she makes it clear that her crew is her family. In "The Last Generation," this same message resonates again.

Aboard the Borg cube, Picard is joined by Riker and Worf on a mission to disconnect the Borg beacon. But when faced with the destruction of the ship, Picard realizes he can't leave his son behind. It's then that he relinquishes his role as a Starfleet officer — a role he's repeatedly said is all he needs — to be a father and save his son. When confronted with Jack's decision to stay with the Borg collective, his father displays a willingness to die with him. It is this that convinces Jack to disconnect from the hivemind.

In the end, Picard — a man who never wanted or needed a family of his own — not only has one, but understands how important family can be. From blood family to found family, everyone from Seven to Raffi to Picard himself accepts that it truly means more than anything.

Sins of the past

More than 30 years ago, in "The Best of Both Worlds," Jean-Luc Picard is assimilated by the Borg to become their leader, Locutus. As a Borg, Picard helps the collective wipe out an entire Starfleet armada at the infamous Battle of Wolf 359, and is responsible for thousands of deaths. Since then, the physical scars of his assimilation may have healed, but Picard has remained haunted by the incident. "Star Trek: First Contact" allows him a measure of revenge on the Borg, but Season 3 of "Star Trek: Picard" and "The Last Generation" in particular sees him finally come to terms with the experience.

In the finale, he's able to not just be part of destroying the Borg Queen, which signals the end of the Borg forever — he also accepts that his time as Locutus does not define him. He no longer needs to carry the burden of that trauma, because it's who he is now and what he does today that really matters. Picard isn't the only one who learns this valuable life lesson. By the end of "The Last Generation," Raffi Musiker, who has long struggled with addiction and past mistakes, does the same thing. In rising up to help save the Federation, she too accepts that who she can be is what's important, not who she was. That Worf is able to help her get recognition for her heroics is icing on the cake.

Roads to redemption

In Season 3 of "Star Trek: Picard," Picard finds true redemption as a hero. Like so many other themes this season, he shares this experience with many other characters, including Raffi, Seven, and Captain Liam Shaw, who sadly doesn't live to see Seven and Picard's final victory over the Borg.

Introduced in Season 3, Shaw isn't what you'd call the friendly sort. He's more than just obsessed with rules and protocol — he's actively dismissive of his first officer, refusing to call her by her chosen name, Seven of Nine. He also disregards Starfleet legends like Picard and Riker, and is practically gleeful at the thought of seeing them court martialed. Part of this comes from his tragic past as a survivor of Wolf 359; he's always held Picard responsible for his role in the disaster. 

Following the destruction of the Borg Queen, however, Captain Tuvok arrives to show Seven of Nine the final performance review Shaw wrote for her before their mission began. The late Shaw calls her reckless and unrelenting, but also brave and loyal, and recommends a promotion to captain. He also refers to her by her preferred name, which suggests he doesn't even need redemption at all — he was simply hiding the good and honorable man within the whole time.

A legend returns to action

We'd be remiss if we didn't talk about the return of the starship Enterprise, restored after its destruction in "Star Trek: Generations." "The Last Generation" sees the Enterprise-D back in action fighting the Borg, and while Picard, Riker, and Worf are on the Borg cube, Geordi La Forge is left in command. Then, the Borg ship turns its weapons on them.

Despite being decades old, the Enterprise manages to evade their targeting scanners. With the help of skillful Dr. Crusher — who's had a lot of practice fighting off foes over the last 20 years — they're able to take out their weapons. When Riker and Worf send them the location of the Borg beacon, however, it's up to the new Data and his gut feelings to pilot them inside the Borg cube and take it out. With Picard locked in existential struggle for control of his son Jack, getting them out before Earth is destroyed by the Borg fleet may be a problem.

In a heartbreaking choice, the remaining crew of the Enterprise agrees that they may have to sacrifice Worf, Riker, Picard, and Jack to save the Federation. If you're expecting shocking deaths in the series finale, though, you'll be disappointed — with the old Enterprise, anything is possible. They're able to locate and beam them up just before the cube is destroyed. In the episode's conclusion, we learn that the Enterprise-D has taken its rightful place as an exhibit at the fleet museum.

Old friendships renewed and new ones forged

The cast of "Star Trek: The Next Generation" is tied together by close friendships, both on the show and in real life. In the world of "Star Trek," though, most of them haven't seen each other in years, and are spread out across the galaxy. But Season 3 of "Star Trek: Picard" sees them all come back together when Picard receives a cry for help from Dr. Beverly Crusher and soon discovers that the son he never knew he had is at the center of a plot against the Federation.

By the end of "The Last Generation," it's clear that these renewed friendships aren't going to be dissolving any time soon. The new and improved Data is seen getting counseling from Deanna Troi, which helps him realize that being human is as difficult and complex as aspiring to be human. Meanwhile, Picard and Dr. Crusher appear to be happy co-parents, if not more. The finale solidifies the fact that this crew is a family now and forever, and will remain close.

But the series finale is about more than a renewal of bonds — it's about new ones, too. Worf makes his friendship with Raffi Musiker clear, calling her a fellow warrior. Meanwhile, as Seven takes command of her own starship, we see the newfound friendships she's made with her new crewmates, Sidney La Forge and Jack Crusher, flourish.

The power of legacy

When Season 3 of "Star Trek: Picard" begins, Picard insists that he doesn't need a legacy. He's come to terms with never having had a family, and is happy to leave behind his accomplishments unto themselves, whether history remembers him or not. But all of that changes with the discovery of Jack Crusher. Suddenly, Picard is confronted with the fact that he does have a history to pass on to another generation of Picards.

As "The Last Generation" comes to a close, we flash forward one year from the events of Frontier Day, when Picard and his crew save the Federation from the Borg. Here, we learn that Jack has been accepted into an accelerated program at Starfleet Academy, and is now an ensign. His mother and father — who may or may not have renewed their romantic relationship — escort him via shuttle to his new assignment. Jack thinks that his family name has given him favor among the Starfleet brass, but Picard insists that such legacies mean nothing. He's proven wrong immediately, however, when Jack reveals that his first assignment is aboard the U.S.S. Titan, which has been re-christened the U.S.S. Enterprise-G in honor of Picard and his crew.

A send-off fit for heroes

When showrunner Terry Matalas set out to craft Season 3 of "Star Trek: Picard," part of his motivation was to give the "Star Trek: The Next Generation" crew the proper send-off they never got in their feature films. While fans will debate how many of his goals he managed to achieve, it's hard to argue that Matalas didn't stick the landing on this one.

Following the time jump a year past Frontier Day, the crew gathers at Guinan's bar Ten Forward in Los Angeles for a celebratory drink. While Riker and Troi plan a vacation and toasts are given, Data gets in half a joke — a throwback to Episode 2 of "Star Trek: The Next Generation" — and Dr. Crusher urges Worf to sing a little Klingon opera. To cap off the night, Picard proposes a friendly game of poker. 

This calls back to the card games they played for years as a close-knit crew. The episode's final scene also mirrors the closing shot of the series finale "All Good Things," from all the way back in 1994. As they settle their hands and Picard collects his pot, the overhead camera pans out, and the iconic "Star Trek" fanfare begins. It's glorious — but it's not quite the end.

A glimpse into the future

When Season 3 of "Star Trek: Picard" was first announced as the conclusion of the series, some fans may have expected it to tie up all loose ends and put a curtain over the character of Jean-Luc Picard. With the return of the "Star Trek: The Next Generation" crew, it wasn't unreasonable to think this was going to be the final appearance of that cast, and that the finale might even feature a shocking death of one or more of the crew members. That is, after all, often the custom in series finales — we're looking at you, "Star Trek: Enterprise."

But in "The Last Generation," not only does the entire crew make it out alive, there are clear set-ups for future adventures. Dr. Crusher is promoted to admiral, and becomes head of a new Starfleet medical branch. We see the return of Captain Tuvok, who gives Seven the good news that she's been promoted to captain herself. And she doesn't get command of just any ship — she gets the newly commissioned U.S.S. Enterprise-G, where she stands to become the second woman to command a ship by that name (shout out to Rachel Garrett). At her side is first officer Raffi Musiker, helmsman Sidney La Forge, and her special counsel, Ensign Jack Crusher.

It's a clear set-up for a new spin-off — one that showrunner Terry Matalas has already teased . Audiences are even given a sneak peek at what could be its first adventure: In a final mid-credits scene, the immortal trickster Q returns to warn Jack Crusher that a new trial is about to begin. Fans can't wait to learn what that means.

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

The full star trek timeline, explained..

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

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)

star trek old crew

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)

star trek old crew

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)

star trek old crew

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 old crew

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 old crew

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)

star trek old crew

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 old crew

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)

star trek old crew

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 old crew

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 old crew

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.

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Published Mar 25, 2024

What The Mariner-Freeman Family says about Starfleet and the Star Trek Community

Despite its imperfections, Starfleet has always been a hopeful model of the future.

Graphic illustration of side profiles of Captain Carol Freeman and Beckett Mariner facing each other

StarTrek.com

Star Trek: Lower Decks Season 3 begins with Ensign Beckett Mariner throwing a potted plant against a wall. Her mother, Captain Carol Freeman , is facing tribunal. Her ship is docked. She and her friends are grounded (which also happens to be the title of this aptly-named episode). Her father, Admiral Alonzo Freeman, is insisting she wait and let the Starfleet judicial system do its job — her mother didn’t destroy Pakled Planet , after all. Everything will be fine.

However, Mariner refuses to take this crisis lying down. Rounding up her friends and a few surprising allies, Mariner plans to break her mother out of Starfleet custody and clear her name. After a handful of daring heists, Mariner nearly does just that... only for Starfleet to absolve Captain Freeman of all charges.

When she meets back up with her family, Mariner’s father scolds her for not listening to him when he said that Starfleet would come through. By the time the credits roll, it seems like the moral of the story is that Mariner was wrong, Starfleet is a morally good organization, and that’s the end of it. Right?

Mariner sits between her parents Captain Carol Freeman, who rests her hand on her shoulder, and Admiral Freeman in 'Grounded'

"Grounded"

Despite the pro-Starfleet conclusion of " Grounded ," there’s abundant evidence in other Lower Decks ' episodes — and even other Star Trek series — to demonstrate that there’s more nuance to this conversation about Starfleet and its "goodness." In fact, the Mariner-Freeman family itself is a great microcosm of Starfleet perspectives. Depending on which generation you're talking to, they might favor the goodness of the individual officer or the organization as a whole, proving just how complicated the conversation about Starfleet's morality can be.

Let’s start with Ensign Beckett Mariner. As one of the four main characters of Lower Decks , viewers get ample insight into her personality and experiences — especially when it comes to Starfleet. For example, Mariner's personal history demonstrates that she has reason not to trust Starfleet as an organization. In her time as a young officer, she's been a firsthand witness to Starfleet's negligence, such as the choice to cover up the loss of the U.S.S. Atlantis crew simply to avoid embarrassment (" Mugato, Gumato "). Instead of admitting they lost so many crewmembers to lice, they said those officers disappeared, thus denying those crewmembers' families closure. Meanwhile, Mariner’s also been known to be friendly with non-Federation personnel, including the likes of the Ferengi Quimp and the Klingon General K'orin (" Parth Ferengi’s Heart Place " and " Envoys ," respectively). This means she’s heard more outside perspectives on the Federation and Starfleet than the average Ensign — the good and the bad. It makes Mariner quick to act if she feels like Starfleet isn’t doing its best to help people.

A severely beaten Mariner and Quimp, both sporting black eyes, hug in the rain in front of the Ferengi Dominion War Memorial in 'Parth Ferengi's Heart Place'

"Parth Ferengi's Heart Place"

For example, In the first episode ever of Lower Decks , Mariner broke protocol to give extra resources to the Galardonian farmers (" Second Contact "). She knew that if she waited for Starfleet bureaucracy, some of the Galardonians would starve. She complains to Boimler that the Starfleet hierarchy cares more about a "pension and a place in the history books" more than they do about the little guy. So, she bypassed Starfleet paperwork entirely to get the Galardornians the farming equipment they needed.

However, what’s interesting about Mariner is that her distrust of Starfleet does not extend to its people. Her relationships with her fellow lower decks ensigns as well as her previous peers from the Academy ("The Inner Fight”) or the U.S.S. Atlantis / U.S.S. Quitos (" Cupid’s Errant Arrow ") have given Mariner a lot of faith in the kind of people that join Starfleet. She often willingly jumps into danger to protect them, even if that danger means trying to kill a fellow officer who she thinks is a parasite ("Cupid’s Errant Arrow"). Meanwhile, influential colleagues like Sito Jaxa still inform her behavior to this day. This firm belief in the individual is something that, by the end of Lower Decks Season 3, you realize her parents (particularly her mother) do not share to the same degree.

In a flashback on the grounds at Starfleet Academy, Cadet Mariner approaches Wesley Crusher and Sito Jaxa while clutching her PADD to her chest in 'Old Friends, New Planets'

"Old Friends, New Planets"

No episode proves Captain Carol Freeman's struggling faith in Starfleet individuals more than the Season 3 finale, " The Stars at Night ." Once one powerful individual turns on her — Admiral Les Buenamigo and his Texas -class ship Aledo — Captain Freeman very readily assumes that she and the U.S.S. Cerritos are doomed. It never even occurs to her that individual Starfleet officers would defy the Admiral to come and save her. This isn't the first time Captain Freeman doubts the individual Starfleet officer, either. For example, she openly admits in the Season 3 episode " Trusted Sources " that she finds many lower decks officers inexperienced and embarrassing, only trusting the "Starfleet elite" to represent the U.S.S. Cerritos . Captain Freeman even goes as far as to reassign her own daughter to Starbase 80 when she thinks she gave a poor individual interview about the ship.

Yet in her direst hour in "The Stars at Night," Ensign Mariner is the one who rallies other California -class starships to save the day and the U.S.S. Cerritos , contradicting Captain Freeman's negative assumptions.

In the Cerritos mess, Freeman places a proud hand on her daughter Mariner's shoulder in 'The Stars at Night'

"The Stars at Night"

Let’s take a journey through Captain Freeman and Alonzo Freeman's lives to understand why they so readily support Starfleet as an organization but fear the individual. Both of Mariner's parents are career Starfleet officers who consider either starships or the Starfleet San Francisco base their home. They’re friends with Starfleet poster boys like Will Riker and have had successful careers following the rules and working within the lines. Captain Freeman has been nurtured, taught, and rewarded for trusting Starfleet’s rules to succeed. Meanwhile, she’s watched officers beside and below her struggle to accomplish the same because of their rebellious or insubordinate behavior. This of course also includes Mariner, her daughter.

Even in her pet project, Project Swing By , Captain Freeman assumes updating Starfleet protocol and sanctions is the most effective way to improve First and Second Contact — not by bending the rules or going out of her way to get involved in trouble like Mariner does.

Star Trek: Lower Decks - Project Swing By

Ultimately, though, neither Ensign Mariner or Captain Freeman are more right than the other. Throughout Starfleet history, both the individual officers and the organization itself have done tremendous good. And, in Starfleet's many years, there have been events of both individual officers and the Starfleet organization acting corrupt, negligent, and even downright evil.

For the case of Starfleet as a whole failing, the Maquis are a great example. While Starfleet and The Federation understandably prioritized ending war with the Cardassians, they never did enough work to help mediate the conflict between the border and the Cardassian Central Command. Instead, the Maquis grew into an active rebellion group which — over time — infiltrated Starfleet itself and used the organization as a resource to fuel their acts of sabotage. Speaking of, Starfleet has had a persistent problem with allowing systemic infiltration into high positions of power and not noticing it until it's almost too late (" Paradise Lost ," " Conspiracy ").

On the other hand, during her time in Starfleet, Mariner has made friends with the kind of people that get hurt the most by these oversights. The red shirts, the lower decks, the fringe farmers, or non-Federation peoples.

In off-duty attire, a crouching Beckett Mariner looks up towards her mother Captain Carol Freeman as they both stand defensively with phasers drawn in 'wej Duj'

"wej Duj"

In Star Trek: Discovery 's premiere episode "The Battle of Binary Stars," Michael Burnham says in reference to her defiance of her captain’s orders, "You wanna know how I turned on you? I believed saving you and the crew was more important than Starfleet's principles." That’s exactly the kind of mindset that Mariner finds herself more aligned with even if, like in Burnham's case, it doesn’t always fit within Starfleet regulations.

Sometimes, though, Starfleet does go above and beyond its own rules to make positive changes in the galaxy and protect its own people. That singular fact is why Captain Freeman and Admiral Freeman have such faith in Starfleet.

For example, in " Parth Ferengi’s Heart Place ," Captain Freeman takes a dangerous risk by agreeing to Nagus Rom 's swindler’s deal... as long as he brings Qo’noS, the Klingon home world, into the Federation. Thankfully, this encourages Rom to begin real, above-board negotiations with Starfleet. But despite the risk — what if Nagus Rom had managed to effectively conspire to make it happen? — Captain Freeman got praised for her quick thinking; AKA breaking rules as long as it didn't cause Starfleet any problems.

Aboard the U.S.S. Toronto, Rom leans in his chair with his arm over the back while Leeta holds her Starfleet PADD with Ferengi appetizers on the conference room table in 'Parth Ferengi's Heart Place'

However, Starfleet has also risked conflict with major civilizations simply to protect one officer — Wesley Crusher in " Justice ," Miles O’Brien in " Tribunal ," or Worf in " Rules of Engagement ." While a captain or commander often led the charge, Starfleet tended to ultimately support them. Even in the severe case of situations like " The Menagerie , Parts 1 and 2 ," Starfleet put Spock on fair trial and then ultimately exonerated him, despite the many Starfleet rules he broke for Captain Pike. So, Mariner's parents — Starfleet vets who feel like Starfleet is where they belong — have no doubt Starfleet can make the best decision for "the Greater Good" most of the time.

Meanwhile, Captain Freeman has historical evidence to be anxious about the actions of individual Starfleet officers. When talking about the aforementioned Maquis, Sisko's security officer, Michael Eddington, single-handedly stole secrets, smuggled weapons, and hurt fellow officers to help the Maquis resistance before he was discovered (" For The Cause "). Even on her own ship, Peanut Hamper proved to be unhelpful and individualistic, which led to the death (and later traumatic resurrection) of her beloved security officer Shaxs (" No Small Parts "). Captain Freeman knows and fears just how much damage one rogue officer can do.

An injured Captain Freeman lays in a bio-bed in Sickbay as she, Dr. T'Ana, Tendi, Mariner, Boimler, Rutherford, and Shaxs look towards Peanut Hamper who has her back to them all in 'No Small Parts'

"No Small Parts"

In this way, both Beckett and her parents represent some of the differing perspectives in the Star Trek community. Some think of Starfleet as a beacon of hope while others see Starfleet as an often-corrupt organization. Some take pride in the goodness of officers while others discuss the villainy that comes with power, even in Starfleet. Multiple writers and video essayists like Luke McKinney , Steve Shives , Lore Reloaded , Venom Geek Media , and Christine Dinh have all come to bat for either side of the conversation, discussing Starfleet's principles, officers, and incidents.

Ultimately, neither perspective is wrong. Starfleet's rules and ideals have wronged entire civilizations "outside their jurisdiction" and saved entire planets from imminent doom. Starfleet members have been heroic and well-intentioned and they’ve completely failed or even exploited people who needed to help. Starfleet was made to do good in the galaxy, but also still has a long way to go to repay the mistakes they’ve made or the injustices they’ve allowed. In Lower Decks alone, if the higher-ups kept a better eye on Starfleet negligence, Buenamigo's rise or the underestimation and then escalation of the Pakled incidents could both have been stopped. Yet at the same time, without Starfleet's (and the Cerittos ') positive interventions, the Betans would still follow the dictator A.I. Landru ("No Small Parts"), Areolus would’ve been doomed ("A Mathematically Perfect Redemption"), and Nick Locarno would’ve started an ensign war with the Federation (" Old Friends, New Planets ").

Ransom on the bridge looking at Captain Freeman, seated in her captain's chair, with Shaxs standing behind her and Dr. Migleemo seated next to her, as seen in Star Trek: Lower Decks 401 'Twovix'

"Twovix"

Both Ensign Mariner and her parents have every right to believe in and be critical of Starfleet and its officers. But there needs to be a balance in these perspectives to get the most honest view of Starfleet.

Starfleet — and by extension The Federation — has always been a hopeful model of the future. All members of the Mariner-Freeman family (just like the Star Trek community members and writers) have valid points about Starfleet's imperfections in its leadership, organization, and people. At the same time, no organization or person can be perfect. The best one can do is lend an honest ear to criticism while still working to be better. The Mariner-Freeman family's experiences prove that Starfleet can be both — flawed and altruistic; selfish and galaxy-changing.

From its individuals to its organization, Starfleet is a symbol of hope that always needs improvement.

Illustrated banner featuring the Cerritos, Star Trek: Lower Decks showrunner Mike McMahan, and episodic stills from Season 4's finale

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Stephanie Roehler (they/she/he) is a freelancer who loves to write about video games, books, movies, TV shows, comics, and especially Star Trek.

Star Trek: Lower Decks streams exclusively on Paramount+ in the U.S. and is distributed by Paramount Global Content Distribution. In Canada, it airs on Bell Media’s CTV Sci-Fi Channel. The series will also be available to stream on Paramount+ in the UK, Canada, Latin America, Australia, Italy, France, the Caribbean, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Ireland and South Korea.

A collage of images from the TNG episode "The Royale."

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8 Alpha Quadrant Things Star Trek: Voyager Found In Delta Quadrant

  • Star Trek: Voyager finds familiar things from the Alpha Quadrant in the Delta Quadrant, sparking important questions and connections.
  • Encounter with Ferengi negotiators leads Voyager crew to stop their interference in a pre-warp civilization for profits.
  • Janeway and crew discover humans abducted by aliens in the 1930s living in the Delta Quadrant, including Amelia Earhart.

For a show with the conceit of being so far from home, Star Trek: Voyager found a surprising number of things in the Delta Quadrant that originated in the Alpha Quadrant, including several from Earth itself. The USS Voyager, commanded by Captain Kathryn Janeway (Kate Mulgrew), and Commander Chakotay's (Robert Beltran) Maquis raider Val Jean were both brought to the Delta Quadrant in 2371 by the Caretaker (Basil Langton). After Janeway destroyed the Caretaker's array to save the Ocampa , Voyager and the Val Jean were left without a ticket back to the Alpha Quadrant, and banded together to make the long journey.

Finding something familiar in an otherwise totally alien corner of the galaxy brought a sense of familiarity to the USS Voyager crew and viewers at home alike, but the presence of something from the Alpha Quadrant in the Delta Quadrant inevitably raised important questions , like how familiar people and objects traveled 70,000 light years from home in the first place, and whether the find could lead Captain Kathryn Janeway towards a quicker path home to Earth.

Star Trek: Voyagers 20 Best Episodes Ranked

A pair of ferengi negotiators, arridor and kol, star trek: voyager season 3, episode 5 "false profits".

The USS Voyager encounters a pair of Ferengi negotiators, Arridor (Dan Shor) and Kol (Leslie Jordan), who claim to be the prophesied Great Sages of the Takarians, a society with Bronze Age level technology. The Ferengi have no Prime Directive to deter them from interfering with the Takarians' development , so they're performing "miracles" with a standard replicator to reap the monetary benefits of the Takarians' worship. Voyager's crew know the Ferengi reputation well enough to know they're no Sages, so they must figure out how to put a stop to Arridor and Kol's grift.

"False Profits" serves as a Star Trek sequel episode to Star Trek: The Next Generation season 3, episode 8 "The Price", as Voyager catches up with Arridor and Kol (formerly played by J. R. Quinonez) seven years after their Delta Quadrant arrival. The Ferengi took a test flight through the supposedly stable wormhole near Barzan II, which was supposed to emerge in the Gamma Quadrant, but instead stranded the Ferengi in the Delta Quadrant, where they made the best of their situation as only Ferengi can.

Star Trek: Voyager Season 3, Episode 23 "Distant Origin"

"Distant Origin" opens on Forra Gegen (Henry Woronicz), a scientist who discovers that his people, the Voth, share certain genetic similarities with the humans aboard the USS Voyager. While this confirms Gegen's theory that the Voth are the descendants of a species brought to their homeworld millions of years ago , religious leader Minister Odala (Concetta Tomei) refuses to accept the truth. Even with Commander Chakotay present as a living specimen of humanity, Odala pushes Gegen to recant, because Gegen's theory goes against the Voth Doctrine that keeps Odala in power.

After meeting Gegen's assistant, Tova Veer (Christopher Liam Moore), Janeway and the Doctor use the holodeck as a research guide to extrapolate how hadrosaurs might look in the 24th century if they'd been able to evolve into a humanoid form with comparable intelligence. The result resembles Veer, so Janeway and the Doctor conclude, like Gegen, that the Voth evolved from hadrosaurs into a highly advanced species on Earth , then fled to the Delta Quadrant in spacefaring vessels instead of being wiped out with the other dinosaurs.

The Friendship One Probe

Star trek: voyager season 7, episode 21 "friendship one".

By Star Trek: Voyager season 7 , the USS Voyager is in regular contact with Starfleet Command, and Starfleet gives Voyager a mission to retrieve a 21st-century Earth probe, Friendship One . The probe proves difficult to find, but once discovered on an alien planet suffering devastating climate collapse, the implications of Friendship One's launch become clear. Besides the irreversible damage to the planet's climate, the inhabitants are all suffering from radiation sickness, and bear understandable hostility towards Earth, because the aliens believe humans orchestrated their destruction with the Friendship One probe.

The United Earth Space Probe Agency was one of the early names for the organization the USS Enterprise belongs to in the Star Trek: The Original Series episode, "Charlie X".

Friendship One was launched in 2067 by the United Earth Space Probe Agency with the intention of making friends with whomever found it, as the name implies. Although Friendship One, the 400-year-old Earth probe, traveled for centuries carrying messages of peace, musical recordings, and ways to translate languages, the people who discovered Friendship One in the Delta Quadrant took a greater interest in the antimatter it used to travel across space. Without the proper knowledge of its use, antimatter proved devastating to the planet and its people, resulting in death and disease for generations.

Dreadnought, a Cardassian Missile

Star trek: voyager season 2, episode 17 "dreadnought".

The USS Voyager discovers a dangerously powerful, self-guided Cardassian missile in the Delta Quadrant, which Lt. B'Elanna Torres (Roxann Dawson) recognizes as one nicknamed "Dreadnought" . When B'Elanna was with the Maquis, Torres had actually reprogrammed the missile herself, with the intention of turning the Cardassians' own weapon against them. Without a Cardassian target in sight, the artificially intelligent Cardassian Dreadnought targets a heavily-populated Class-M planet , Rakosa V. B'Elanna determines she must be the one to keep Dreadnought from hurting anyone else, and boards the missile to convince it to stand down.

While no concrete reason is given for exactly how the Dreadnought wound up in the Delta Quadrant, its last known location in the Alpha Quadrant was the Badlands, the same rough patch of space where Voyager and the Val Jean, Chakotay's Maquis raider, fatefully met. Because of this, Torres theorizes that Dreadnought arrived in the Delta Quadrant the same way that Voyager and the Val Jean did , courtesy of the Caretaker.

Star Trek: Voyagers BElanna Is More Klingon Than TNGs Worf Ever Was

A klingon d-7 class cruiser, complete with klingons, star trek: voyager, season 7, episode 14 "prophecy".

The USS Voyager certainly never expected to find a Klingon ship in the Delta Quadrant, but more surprising is the fact that the crew of the Klingon D-7 Class Cruiser believes their savior, the prophesied kuvah'magh, is aboard Voyager . Janeway assures the Klingon captain, Kohlar (Wren T. Brown), that the Federation and Klingon Empire have been allies for the past 80 years, and offers Voyager's own half-Klingon, Lt. B'Elanna Torres, as proof their societies are working together now. The kuvah'magh is Torres' unborn daughter, who does save the Klingons, but not the way they expected.

Centuries ago, Kohlar's great-grandfather set off on a quest to find the kuvah'magh, and the Klingon D-7 Cruiser became a generation ship that is now crewed by the descendants of its original crew . The quest begun by Kohlar's great-grandfather brought Kohlar and his crew to the Delta Quadrant after four generations of searching. Whether B'Elanna's child is actually the kuvah'magh or not, Kohlar desperately wants the baby to be their savior, so that his people may finally rest.

Amelia Earhart

Star trek: voyager season 2, episode 1 "the 37s".

The discovery of a 1936 Ford truck, seemingly disconnected from any parent vehicle, leads the USS Voyager to a nearby Class-L planet, where they find eight humans who have been in cryo-stasis since they were abducted by aliens in the 1930s. Among them are one of Janeway's personal heroes, legendary American aviator Amelia Earhart (Sharon Lawrence) , who disappeared without a trace while attempting to fly around the world, and Earhart's navigator, Fred Noonan (David Graf). Earhart and the other preserved humans are known by the planet's inhabitants as "The 37s", and revered as sacred.

Originally thought to be aliens, the natives of the unnamed planet are the descendants of humans. A species called the Briori abducted the natives' ancestors, along with Earhart and the other 37s, from Earth centuries earlier , and took them to the Delta Quadrant. Once held as slaves, the humans who weren't in stasis revolted to free themselves from the Briori, and developed a thriving, Earth-like civilization in the Delta Quadrant. Voyager's crew consider staying with the humans in their little slice of home, while Janeway also offers a ride back to Earth to anyone who wants it, including Amelia Earhart.

The USS Equinox

Star trek: voyager season 5, episode 26 & season 6, episode 1 "equinox".

The crew of the USS Voyager believe they're the only Starfleet vessel in the Delta Quadrant until they find the USS Equinox, five years into their journey home. Captain Rudolph Ransom (John Savage) and the Equinox crew have had a harder time in the Delta Quadrant than Voyager, with more damage, fewer starting resources, and fewer opportunities to make friends along the way. Ransom's survival tactics include sacrificing innocent nucleogenic life forms for a more efficient form of fuel, which Janeway finds hard to stomach, and decides that Ransom needs to be held accountable for defying Federation ideals, regardless of how badly the Equinox is damaged.

Although Seven of Nine (Jeri Ryan) suggests that the Equinox might be in the Delta Quadrant on a rescue mission to find Voyager, the USS Equinox's specs don't fit the profile of a starship that would be assigned to a long-range mission. The explanation of how the Equinox arrived in the Delta Quadrant in the first place seems fairly simple, because Captain Ransom tells Janeway that the Equinox was also abducted by the Caretaker , just like Voyager, but the Equinox has only been in the Delta Quadrant for 2 years, and Janeway destroyed the Caretaker's array 5 years earlier.

Seven of Nine

Debuts in star trek: voyager season 4, episode 1 "scorpion, part 2".

When Captain Kathryn Janeway allies with the Borg in order to secure safe passage across Borg space, Janeway refuses the cursory assimilation that the Borg want to use to communicate with Janeway and Voyager's crew, and instead requests a speaker for the Borg, citing the existence of Locutus (Patrick Stewart) as precedent. Seven of Nine , Tertiary Adjunct of Unimatrix 01, is selected as the Borg drone to act as liaison between the Collective and Voyager, likely because Seven of Nine had once been a member of Species 5168, like most of Voyager's crew -- in other words, human.

Voyager season 5, episodes 15 & 16, "Dark Frontier" provides even more detail of the Hansens' fateful journey.

After Seven's link with the Collective is severed, more information about Seven's human origin comes to light. In Voyager season 4, episode 6 "The Raven", when Voyager nears the Hansens' ship, the USS Raven, memories of Seven's early life surface, revealing that Seven had been six-year-old human Annika Hansen , the daughter of Magnus Hansen (Kirk Baily) and Erin Hansen (Laura Stepp), Federation scientists who were studying the Borg when they were assimilated. Voyager season 5, episodes 15 & 16, "Dark Frontier" provides even more detail of the Hansens' fateful journey, showing the Raven arriving in the Delta Quadrant by following a Borg Cube through a transwarp conduit.

10 Ways USS Voyager Changed In Star Treks Delta Quadrant

Star Trek: Voyager links back to the greater Star Trek universe with people and starships from the Alpha Quadrant. Connections to the familiar were especially important early on, because Voyager 's place in the Star Trek franchise was established and aided by the legitimacy these finds offered. Later, when the USS Voyager used the Hirogen communications array to communicate with Starfleet Command, links back to the Alpha Quadrant were plentiful again, not only to prove that the USS Voyager was closer to home, but to help Star Trek: Voyager maintain connections to Star Trek and carry the franchise in its final years.

Star Trek: Voyager is available to stream on Paramount+.

Star Trek: Voyager

Cast Jennifer Lien, Garrett Wang, Tim Russ, Robert Duncan McNeill, Roxann Dawson, Robert Beltran, Kate Mulgrew, Jeri Ryan, Ethan Phillips, Robert Picardo

Release Date May 23, 1995

Genres Sci-Fi, Adventure

Network UPN

Streaming Service(s) Paramount+

Franchise(s) Star Trek

Writers Michael Piller, Rick Berman

Showrunner Kenneth Biller, Jeri Taylor, Michael Piller, Brannon Braga

Rating TV-PG

8 Alpha Quadrant Things Star Trek: Voyager Found In Delta Quadrant

Promotional art for Star Trek: Discovery season 5, featuring a cast lineup surrounded by alien runes. LtR: Blu Del Barrio as Adira, Mary Wiseman as Tilly, Wilson Cruz as Culber, Sonequa Martin-Green as Burnham, David Ajala as Book, Doug Jones as Saru and Anthony Rapp as Stamets.

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  • 2024 Spring Entertainment Preview

Star Trek: Discovery is finally free to do whatever it wants

Imagining the future of the future

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It’s a truth universally acknowledged that even among the greatest television shows in Star Trek history, most of them take two seasons to stop being kind of bad. Never has that been more true or more excruciating than in the case of Star Trek: Discovery .

star trek old crew

Polygon is looking ahead to the movies, shows, and books coming soon in our Spring 2024 entertainment preview package, a weeklong special issue.

Often it felt like what Discovery was really doing in its early seasons was discovering what didn’t work. Strong performances from a great cast? That works. A Klingon design that absolutely nobody liked ? Definitely not. But despite the stumbles, Discovery season 1 had still averaged C’s and B’s with reviewers, and had built an audience and a subscriber base for Paramount Plus. On the strength of Disco ’s first season, Paramount greenlit Star Treks Picard , Lower Decks , and Prodigy , three new shows covering a huge range of ages and nostalgic tastes. And spinning out of Disco ’s second season, which introduced familiar , nostalgic characters and a brighter, more Star Trek-y tone, Paramount produced Star Trek: Strange New Worlds , inarguably the best new addition to the franchise since 1996.

Star Trek: Discovery crawled so that the rest of modern Trek could run... and then it started to walk. The show’s third season saw the USS Discovery and crew in the place that should have been their starting blocks: the bleeding future edge of Star Trek’s timeline. Thanks to season 3’s groundwork, season 4 became the first time that Discovery had a status quo worth returning to. In its fifth and final season, Star Trek: Discovery is finally free — free in a way that a Star Trek TV series hasn’t been in 23 years.

Sonequa Martin-Green as Captain Michael Burnham in Star Trek: Discovery, season 5. Wearing a glowing uniformed spacesuit, she clings to the back of a spaceship speeding through hyperspace, colorful lights streaking the background.

Star Trek: The Next Generation is such an elder statesman of the television elite that it’s easy to forget that it was daring. The show’s triumph wasn’t just that it featured a new cast of characters, but also its audaciousness in imagining the future of the future — and making that future unmistakably different . The Original Series showed a racial and national cooperation that seemed fantastical in its time, with an alien crewmember to denote the next frontier of embracing the other . Next Generation saw that bet and raised it, installing a member of the Klingon species, the Federation’s once-feared imperialist rival state, as a respected officer on the bridge of Starfleet’s flagship.

Next Generation ’s time period — one century after Kirk’s Enterprise — wasn’t a nominal choice, but a commitment to moving the story of Star Trek forward. From the show’s foundations, Gene Roddenberry and his collaborators, new and old, set a precedent that the Federation would evolve. Therefore, in accordance with the utopian themes of the franchise, old enemies would in time become friends. Next Generation embraced The Original Series ’ nemeses and the rest of ’90s Trek saw that bet and raised it again, pulling many of Next Gen ’s villains into the heroic fold. Voyager welcomed a Borg crewmember and disincorporated the Borg empire; Deep Space Nine gave the franchise the first Ferengi Starfleet cadet, and brokered a Federation-Klingon-Romulan alliance in the face of an existential threat.

But Discovery — at least until it made its Olympic long-jump leap 900 years into the future — couldn’t move Star Trek forward. So long as it was set “immediately before Kirk’s Enterprise,” hemmed in by the constraints of a previously established era of Star Trek history, it could graft on new elements (like Spock’s secret human foster sister) but it couldn’t create from whole cloth (like a galaxy-wide shortage of starship fuel that nearly destroyed the Federation). Like its predecessor, the ill-fated Star Trek: Enterprise of the ’00s, it was doomed to hang like a remora on the side of the events of The Original Series , or, if you’ll pardon another fish metaphor, doomed like a goldfish that can only grow as large as its half-gallon fishbowl will allow.

Discovery ’s later, free seasons in the 32nd century have shown the Federation at its most vulnerable, a subtler echo of Picard ’s own season 1 swing at fallen institutions . (Fans of Voyager and Deep Space Nine know that this is an extremely rich vein of Trek storytelling.) In its third season, Discovery solved a galaxy-wide fuel crisis that had shattered the community of the Federation. In its fourth it fought for a fragile new Federation alliance and its millennia-old ideals.

And those seasons have also boldly committed to the idea of imagining the future’s future — 900 years of it. The centuries-old rift between Vulcans and Romulans is long healed, Ferengi serve as captains in Starfleet, the work of Doctor Noonien Soong has brought new medical technologies to the fore.

Even still, Discovery hasn’t been truly free in its third and fourth seasons. Star Trek: Picard was out there, forming new past elements of a post- Next Gen / Voy / DS9 era that Discovery had to abide by. And, after all, the show still had to make sure there was something for its own next season to come back to.

Blu del Barrio as Adira in Star Trek: Discovery. She kneels confused before a strange figure dressed in white with white hair, with red robed figures in the background.

But now — with Prodigy and Picard finished, and Strange New Worlds and Lower Decks locked into their settings of Star Trek’s established past, and Starfleet Academy and Section 31 not yet in production at the time that its final season would have been written — Discovery has reached the final final frontier for a Star Trek show. If you’re a Star Trek fan, that should excite you.

Not since Deep Space Nine in 1999 and Voyager in 2001 has a Star Trek series had the freedom to wrap up its run with the Federation in any state it wants to. With franchise flagship Next Generation at an end, and Voyager restricted to the Delta Quadrant only, Deep Space Nine used its last seasons to throw the Federation into all-out war, making sweeping changes to the established ficto-political norms of ’90s Trek. Voyager used its finale to do what Captain Picard never could: defang the Borg (mostly).

We don’t know exactly what Discovery will do with that freedom. Season 4 directors have talked about reaching “ into the past to get further into the future ,” and likened it to Indiana Jones. Official news releases have said the crew will “uncover a mystery that sends them on an epic adventure across the galaxy to find an ancient power whose very existence has been deliberately hidden for centuries.” But speculating on what that means would be beside the point.

Discovery , the show about an intergalactically teleporting starship, can finally, actually, go anywhere. It’s been almost a quarter of a century since a beloved Star Trek series was so free to boldly go. Let’s hope they’re very bold indeed.

Star Trek: Discovery season 5 premieres with two episodes on April 4 on Paramount Plus.

Spring 2024 entertainment preview

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Spock Experiments on a New Set in First ‘Star Trek: Strange New Worlds’ Season 3 Image

Strange things are brewing in the Enterprise's new science lab.

The Big Picture

  • Ethan Peck's Spock examines a strange lifeform in a new lab set on the USS Enterprise, in the first image from Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Season 3.
  • Jonathan Frakes returns to the director's chair for Strange New Worlds , and calls one episode the "best episode" he's ever done.
  • Season 3 will feature the classic Star Trek character Scotty, who made an appearance in the Season 2 finale.

Star Trek fans may have a while longer to wait for the third season of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds to air, but we have a first glimpse of the upcoming season, which is currently filming in Toronto, Ontario. The new image, courtesy of Variety , shows Spock ( Ethan Peck ) clad in a full-body environment suit, examining a strange lifeform in the new science lab set of the USS Enterprise. In the impressive new set, the translucent floor covers a four-foot pool of illuminated water, while the walls are bedecked with six viewscreens displaying live graphics.

Star Trek mainstay Jonathan Frakes , who will return to the director's chair for Strange New Worlds ' third season, also teased a bit of what we can expect. The third season will feature one episode structured like a Hollywood murder mystery that Frakes calls "the best episode of television I’ve ever done." This may be connected to a recent filming update from star Anson Mount , who noted that the upcoming season will feature something he's never done before.

'Star Trek: Strange New Worlds' Season 3 Resumes Filming With New Set Image

What can we expect from season 3 of 'strange new worlds'.

The third season of Strange New Worlds will continue to chronicle the 23rd-century voyages of the USS Enterprise and its crew, including Captain Christopher Pike (Mount), Spock (Peck), Una Chin-Riley ( Rebecca Romijn ), Nyota Uhura ( Celia Rose Gooding ), La'an Noonien-Singh ( Christina Chong ), Erica Ortegas ( Melissa Navia ), Christine Chapel ( Jess Bush ), and Dr. Joseph M'Benga ( Babs Olusanmokun ).

Presumably, it will open with the conclusion of last season's cliffhanger finale , which saw the crew imperiled by the hostile reptilian Gorn aliens on all fronts; not only is the Enterprise under attack from a Gorn fleet, but Pike's fellow captain and love interest Marie Batel ( Melanie Scrofano ) has been implanted with Gorn embryos that will kill her when they hatch. The third season will likely also incorporate classic Trek character Montgomery "Scotty" Scott into the cast. The crew encountered him for the first time in the Season 2 finale, as played by Martin Quinn .

The water in the new science lab set may simply be for effect, or it may allude to an occasionally-referenced part of Star Trek lore that wasn't seen on-screen until the second season of Star Trek: Lower Decks : Cetacean Ops, an area of some Starfleet ships that features a large aquarium and is staffed by various intelligent whales and dolphins.

The third season of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds is currently filming and does not yet have a release date . You can stream the previous seasons on Paramount+. Stay tuned to Collider for future updates.

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds follows Captain Christopher Pike (played by Anson Mount) and the crew of the starship USS Enterprise (NCC-1701) in the 23rd century as they explore new worlds throughout the galaxy in the decade before Star Trek: The Original Series.

Watch on Paramount+

Screen Rant

How old is riker in tng & star trek: picard.

William Riker served as the First Officer on the USS Enterprise for 15 years, but how old was he in Star Trek: The Next Generation and in Picard?

  • Commander Riker served as First Officer on the USS Enterprise-D for 15 years, earning a reputation for unorthodox tactics and dedication to duty.
  • Riker joined the Enterprise crew at 29, facing challenges with his estranged father and developing close relationships with his crewmates.
  • In Star Trek: Picard, Captain Riker returns at 64 to aid in a galaxy-saving mission, showcasing his strong leadership and loyalty to Picard.

How old was Commander William Riker (Jonathan Frakes) when he served on the USS Enterprise-D in Star Trek: The Next Generation and later in Star Trek: Picard ? Commander Riker served as the First Officer on the Starship Enterprise under the command of Captain Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) for 15 years, from 2364 to 2379. Considered by Picard to be one of the best First Officers in the Fleet, Riker turned down multiple offers for his own command . Will became close friends with Captain Picard and most of his Enterprise crew members and had an on-again-off-again romance with Counselor Deanna Troi (Marina Sirtis).

William Riker was born on August 19th, 2335 in the state of Alaska to parents Betty and Kyle Riker (Mitchell Ryan). Betty Riker passed away when Will was only two years old, leaving Kyle Riker to raise his young son alone. Kyle found it difficult to discuss his feelings with his son, creating a rift between the two men that lasted for thirty years. Will was often left to care for himself, and his father completely abandoned him when Will was fifteen. Will held an understandable grudge against his father for years afterward.

Commander Riker’s 10 Best Star Trek TNG Episodes, Ranked

How old commander riker was in star trek: tng, the man captain picard called: "the finest officer with whom i have ever served.".

Will Riker's Star Trek timeline began when he joined the crew of the newly launched USS Enterprise-D in 2364 at the age of 29. Throughout his years on the Enterprise-D, Riker led numerous away missions and expertly commanded the ship when Captain Picard was incapacitated or otherwise occupied. Riker earned a reputation for his unorthodox tactics, and he was instrumental in rescuing Picard from the Borg and preventing a Borg attack on Earth.

Captain Picard endearingly referred to Commander Riker as "Number One."

Commander Riker also participated in several diplomatic missions with the USS Enterprise-D, occasionally going undercover to observe alien cultures. Riker faced disciplinary action on several occasions, but he was a good man and a great officer who always tried to do the right thing. By the time of the Star Trek: The Next Generation series finale, "All Good Things...," Will Riker was 36 years old.

Jonathan Frakes was around 35 when he was cast as Will Riker, making him about six years older than his character. Frakes is currently 71 and remains one of Star Trek's most prolific and beloved directors.

How Old Commander Riker Was In Star Trek: TNG Movies

After 7 tng seasons and 3 movies, riker finally accepts a promotion..

Star Trek Generations' main story takes place in 2371, making Commander Will Riker 37 years old . Riker commands the USS Enterprise-D during its final battle, as the ship goes up against the Duras sisters (Barbara March, Gwynyth Walsh). Riker manages to destroy the Duras sister's ship, but the Enterprise suffers catastrophic damage , resulting in the ship's saucer section crash landing on Veridian III. In Star Trek: First Contact , set 2 years later, Riker and Lt. Commander Geordi La Forge (LeVar Burton) get to be Zefram Cochrane's copilots on his historic warp flight aboard the Phoenix.

While visiting the Ba'ku planet in Star Trek: Insurrection , Will and Deanna Troi rekindle their romance. Riker also makes use of a tactic that Geordi dubs the "Riker Maneuver" during a battle with the Ba'ku's enemies, the Son'a. For his last mission on the USS Enterprise-E, Riker helps Captain Picard and his crew stop Shinzon (Tom Hardy) and his Reman followers in Star Trek: Nemesis . Will also finally accepts a promotion to Captain and takes over command of the USS Titan in 2379. Now 44 years old , Will marries Deanna Troi , and she transfers to the Titan to serve alongside her husband.

How Old Captain Riker Is In Star Trek: Picard

Jonathan frakes delivers his best performance yet as captain riker..

Will Riker returns briefly in Star Trek: Picard season 1 before making a more substantial return in Picard season 3. Admiral Picard visits Will and Deanna on the planet Nepenthe in Picard season 1, as he is trying to help the young android, Soji Asha (Isa Briones). By this point, Will and Deanna have had two children, Thaddeus and Kestra (Lulu Wilson). Tragically, Thad passed away due to illness as a young teenager, which caused understandable strain in Will and Deanna's marriage. At the age of 64, Will goes back into active duty with Starfleet.

Star Trek: Picard season 3 has one of the best versions of Will Riker , and he jumps at the chance to aid Picard in his mission to rescue Dr. Beverly Crusher (Gates McFadden). Riker helps Picard hijack the USS Titan-A and finds himself caught up in another galaxy-saving adventure . Will temporarily takes command of the Titan from Captain Liam Shaw (Todd Stashwick), when Shaw is critically injured in a conflict with the villainous Changeling, Vadic (Amanda Plummer). Now 66 years of age, Riker reunites with his old Star Trek: The Next Generation crew members on the rebuilt USS Enterprise-D and helps stop the Borg/Changeling plot to destroy the Federation.

Star Trek: The Next Generation & Star Trek: Picard are available to stream on Paramount+. The TNG films are available on Max.

IMAGES

  1. Star Trek’s 100 Most Important Crew Members, Ranked

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  2. The Best Original Star Trek Characters, Ranked

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  3. The Definitive Chronological Viewing Order For The Star Trek Cinematic

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  4. The 20 Best Episodes of 'Star Trek: The Original Series'

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  5. Star Trek Original Series Cast: Then and Now

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  6. star, Trek, Original, Crew Wallpapers HD / Desktop and Mobile Backgrounds

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VIDEO

  1. Feeling nostalgic about old star trek

  2. STAR TREK SEASON 1X4

COMMENTS

  1. List of Star Trek: The Original Series cast members

    William Shatner as James T. Kirk, commanding officer of the USS Enterprise. Majel Barrett as Christine Chapel, medical officer. James Doohan as Montgomery Scott, chief engineer. DeForest Kelley as Leonard McCoy, chief medical officer. Nichelle Nichols as Uhura, communications officer. Leonard Nimoy as Spock, first officer and science officer.

  2. THEN AND NOW: the Cast of 'Star Trek: the Original Series'

    Nichelle Nichols, who played Nyota Uhura, died in July 2022. "Star Trek" debuted 56 years ago on September 8, 1966. After the show, the cast of the original series remained sci-fi icons. Only ...

  3. Star Trek (TV Series 1966-1969)

    Star Trek (TV Series 1966-1969) cast and crew credits, including actors, actresses, directors, writers and more. Menu. ... See agents for this cast & crew on IMDbPro Series Directed by . Marc Daniels ... (14 episodes, 1966-1968) Joseph Pevney ... (14 episodes, 1967-1968)

  4. Star Trek: How Old Every TOS Main Character Was At The Start & End

    Spock (Leonard Nimoy) has an equally well-documented age. Spock was born on January 6th, 2230, and by the start of TOS was 35 years old, turning 39 by the end.The last time Leonard Nimoy's Spock appeared in the franchise's Prime Timeline was in the TNG episodes "Unification, Parts 1 and 2", which were set in the year 2368. Spock was 138 years old by this time, his Vulcan heritage allowing him ...

  5. Star Trek: The Original Series

    Star Trek is an American science fiction television series created by Gene Roddenberry that follows the adventures of the starship USS Enterprise (NCC-1701) and its crew. It acquired the retronym of Star Trek: The Original Series (TOS) to distinguish the show within the media franchise that it began.. The show is set in the Milky Way galaxy, c. 2266-2269.

  6. Star Trek (TV Series 1966-1969)

    Star Trek: Created by Gene Roddenberry. With Leonard Nimoy, William Shatner, DeForest Kelley, Nichelle Nichols. In the 23rd Century, Captain James T. Kirk and the crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise explore the galaxy and defend the United Federation of Planets.

  7. List of Star Trek characters

    List of Star Trek characters with recurring roles: Actor(s) Character The Original Series (1966-1969) The Animated Series (1973-1974) The Next Generation (1987-1994) Deep Space Nine (1993-1999) Voyager (1995-2001) Enterprise (2001-2005) Discovery (2017-present) Short Treks (2018-2020) Picard (2020-2023)

  8. Star Trek: The Original Series

    Star Trek: The Original Series (referred to as Star Trek prior to any spin-offs) is the first Star Trek series. The first episode of the show aired on 6 September 1966 on CTV in Canada, followed by a 8 September 1966 airing on NBC in America. The show was created by Gene Roddenberry as a "Wagon Train to the Stars". Star Trek was set in the 23rd century and featured the voyages of the starship ...

  9. The Only Major Actors Still Alive From Star Trek: The Original ...

    George Takei. Paramount. In 2019, George Takei, who played the practical and intelligent Hikaru Sulu on "Star Trek," authored a graphic novel all about his childhood experiences of being rounded ...

  10. Star Trek: The Original Series Cast & Character Guide

    Star Trek: The Original Series - originally known simply as Star Trek - features some of the most iconic characters in all of science fiction with the crew of the original USS Enterprise. After its initial pilot episode was rejected by network NBC, Star Trek was massively overhauled with a largely new cast and a more adventurous tone.Star Trek debuted in 1966, and while it was never a ratings ...

  11. Regular cast

    This page is a list of regular cast for the Star Trek series and films. William Shatner as James T. Kirk Leonard Nimoy as Spock DeForest Kelley as Leonard McCoy James Doohan as Montgomery Scott George Takei as Hikaru Sulu Walter Koenig as Pavel Chekov (seasons 2-3) Nichelle Nichols as Nyota Uhura Majel Barrett as Christine Chapel Grace Lee Whitney as Janice Rand (season 1) William Shatner as ...

  12. Every Star Trek Crew, Ranked

    September 8, 2023, marked the 57th anniversary of the pilot premiere for Star Trek: The Original Series - an episode that few would have expected to spawn a decades-spanning franchise. Each installation in the Star Trek universe comes complete with an all-new crew (and sometimes familiar faces), and a new ship to traverse the unknown regions of the universe.

  13. Star Trek: How Old Every TNG Bridge Character Was At The Start & End

    Lieutenant Worf was born in 2340. He was 24 at the start of TNG, and he celebrated his 30th birthday with the crew in the season 7 episode "Parallels." Michael Dorn was 35 when he began playing Worf and 42 when TNG ended, although he continued to play Worf in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, creating the record for most Star Trek appearances.By the time DS9 ended Worf was 35 and Dorn was 47.

  14. "Star Trek" The Deadly Years (TV Episode 1967)

    The Deadly Years: Directed by Joseph Pevney. With William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, DeForest Kelley, Charles Drake. A landing party from the Enterprise is exposed to strange form of radiation which rapidly ages them.

  15. 'Star Trek: Picard' reunites the old crew for its ...

    After a pair of slow-going voyages that sought to blend old and new, "Star Trek: Picard" warps back to its roots in a third and final season filled with familiar "The Next Generation" faces.

  16. William Shatner At 93: 10 Greatest Star Trek Moments

    William Shatner, who plays the iconic Captain James T. Kirk in Star Trek: The Original Series, celebrates turning 93 on March 22, 2024.The actor behind the franchise's most famous captain ...

  17. The Ending Of Star Trek: Picard Explained

    In the finale episode "The Last Generation," the Borg have returned and assimilated a new drone army. Earth is about to fall. But Picard has reassembled his old crew, pulled the U.S.S. Enterprise ...

  18. Star Trek

    Star Trek is an American science fiction media franchise created by Gene Roddenberry, which began with the eponymous 1960s television series and became a worldwide pop-culture phenomenon.Since its creation, the franchise has expanded into various films, television series, video games, novels, and comic books, and it has become one of the most recognizable and highest-grossing media franchises ...

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

    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 ...

  20. Walter Koenig Was Told He Was Too Old To Play Chekov In Star Trek

    After the end of Star Trek: The Original Series, some producers felt Walter Koenig was too old to continue playing Pavel Chekov.Ensign Chekov joined the crew of the USS Enterprise as the ship's ...

  21. What The Mariner-Freeman Family says about Starfleet and ...

    The best one can do is lend an honest ear to criticism while still working to be better. The Mariner-Freeman family's experiences prove that Starfleet can be both — flawed and altruistic; selfish and galaxy-changing. From its individuals to its organization, Starfleet is a symbol of hope that always needs improvement.

  22. Star Trek: How Old Every DS9 Bridge Character Was At The Start & End

    The Ages Of Each Crew Member In 2375. Seven years aboard Deep Space Nine saw many of the characters grow, and their ages reflected that change as well. Commander Sisko had made captain and left DS9 at the age of 43, while Major Kira became the station's new commander at the shockingly young age of 33. Jadzia Dax, unfortunately, died at 34 but ...

  23. 'Star Trek: Section 31'

    The crew soon realizes that the Enterprise-C must respond to a Klingon distress call in its own timeline, ... Star Trek: Section 31 is now in post-production, and has not yet set a release date ...

  24. Star Trek (2009)

    Justin Stafford. ... special contact lens painter. Susan Stepanian. ... makeup artist. Miho Suzuki. ... makeup effects lab technician: Proteus Make-up FX.

  25. 8 Alpha Quadrant Things Star Trek: Voyager Found In Delta Quadrant

    Story by Rarest.org. • 37m • 9 min read. Despite believing they were the only Alpha Quadrant representatives in the Delta Quadrant, the USS Voyager crew often found they weren't alone.

  26. Star Trek: Discovery is finally free to do whatever it wants

    Thanks to season 3's groundwork, season 4 became the first time that Discovery had a status quo worth returning to. In its fifth and final season, Star Trek: Discovery is finally free — free ...

  27. Star Trek: How Old Every Enterprise Bridge Character Was At The Start & End

    How Old The Enterprise Crew Was In 2161. Newer series like Strange New Worlds paid tribute to Captain Archer because of his time aboard the Enterprise, and he was 49 when his mission ended with an admiral position and eventually the Federation Presidency. T'Pol was still quite young at 73, but her former partner "Trip" Tucker died at the age of ...

  28. The Deadly Years

    The Deadly Years. " The Deadly Years " is the twelfth episode of the second season of the American science fiction television series Star Trek. Written by David P. Harmon and directed by Joseph Pevney, it was first broadcast December 8, 1967. In the episode, strange radiation causes members of the crew of the Enterprise to age rapidly.

  29. First 'Star Trek: Strange New Worlds' Season 3 Image

    Ethan Peck's Spock examines a strange lifeform in a new lab set on the USS Enterprise, in the first image from Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Season 3.; Jonathan Frakes returns to the director's ...

  30. How Old Is Riker In TNG & Star Trek: Picard?

    Now 66 years of age, Riker reunites with his old Star Trek: The Next Generation crew members on the rebuilt USS Enterprise-D and helps stop the Borg/Changeling plot to destroy the Federation. Star Trek: The Next Generation & Star Trek: Picard are available to stream on Paramount+. The TNG films are available on Max. Cast.