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Star Trek The Animated Series - The Animated Adventures of Gene Roddenberry's Star Trek

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After NBC cancelled the original Star Trek series in 1969 for its second time, it seemed doubtful that the voyages of the Starship Enterprise would resume again until Filmation resurrected the original cast (with the notable exception of Walter Koenig) on September 8, 1973 for the Animated Series. William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, DeForest Kelly, James Doohan, Nichelle Nichols, George Takei and Majel Barrett lent their vocal talents to bring their familiar characters back to the small screen in addition to a few new bridge officers: Lt. Arex, a three-armed and legged alien of the Edo species voiced by James Doohan, and Lt. M'Ress a Caitian cat-woman with Majel Barrett purring her alluring voice. With most of the original crew onboard, the five-year mission would boldly go on for at least 22 more episodes of continuing missions. While it is generally regarded as non-canon among Trekkies (even Gene Rodenberry himself rejected the notion that TAS was canon and even the Stardates are inconsistent with those established in the original series) the animated series still contributed some reverent facts to the legacy of the enduring franchise including the revelation of Captain James T. Kirk's middle name as 'Tiberius' and the establishment of the first holodeck (known as the 'Rec Room') in the episode "The Practical Joker" which would serve as an important narrative device for The Next Generation. Walter Koenig would still contribute to the series as a writer for the episode "The Infinite Vulcan" and alumnus D.C. Fontana would write the stand-out episode "Yesteryear" in which Spock travels through the Guardian of Forever from the highly acclaimed Original Series episode "City on the Edge of Forever" and has to mentor his childhood self as an alienated half-human, half-Vulcan outcast on his home planet Vulcan.

Star Trek: TAS was one of Filmation's finest achievements along with The New Adventures of Flash Gordon and both shows shared the same theatrical quality animation with director Hal Sutherland at the helm of both shows. Despite budgetary constraints requiring some stock shots to be recycled, and occassional continuity errors in animation plates and erratic stories, the series managed to preserve the production design and spirit of the original series quite faithfully. I fondly remember most of all the stock Filmation background music by Jeff Michael and Yvette Blais which was looped throughout the series and recycled in several Filmation productions afterward including Ark II, Space Academy, Jason of Star Command and Tarzan. To this day, I can still hear that incidental music playing in my head after some 30 years and I would hope that someone will eventually release the soundtrack on CD. With the soundtrack being remastered in Dolby Digital 5.1 for the DVD release, it would seem logical that the original unmixed production tracks might possibly still exist for them to release the isolated music score and would serve not just as a piece of forgotten Trek memorabillia to merchandise but also a reference of nostalgic source cues from the Filmation music library (Lou Scheimer, are you listening?).

To coincide with the television broadcast of Star Trek: TAS in 1974, Mego Toy Corporation introduced a successful series of 8-inch action figures and a vinyl U.S.S. Enterprise bridge playset featuring a spinning Transporter chamber to make action figures "dematerialize." Fascinating.

Star Trek: The Animated Series beams onto DVD for the first time on November 21, 2006 and feature all 22 episodes remastered in high definition, 2 featurettes "Drawn to the Final Frontier - The Making of Star Trek: The Animated Series" and "What's the Star Trek Connection?," 3 episode commentaries by writers David Wise and David Gerrold, interviews and commentaries with Filmation producer Lou Scheimer, director Hal Sutherland and writer Dorothy Fontana, photo gallery, text commentary by Michael and Denise Okuda on episodes "Yesteryear" "The Eye of the Beholder" and "The Counter-Clock Incident," stoyboards, wallpaper and AIM icons, and much more!

These are the Animated voyages of the Starship Enterprise:

Season 1 (1973-1974)

101 "Beyond the Farthest Star"
102 "Yesteryear"
103 "One of Our Planets is Missing"
104 "The Lorelei Signal"
105 "More Tribbles, More Troubles"
106 "The Survivor"
107 "The Infinite Vulcan"
108 "The Magicks of Megas-tu"
109 "Once Upon a Planet"
110 "Mudd's Passion"
111 "The Terratin Incident"
112 "The Time Trap"
113 "The Ambergris Element"
114 "The Slaver Weapon"
115 "The Eye of the Beholder"
116 "The Jihad"


Season 2 (1974)

201 "The Pirates of Orion"
202 "Bem"
203 "The Practical Joker"
204 "Albatross"
205 "How Sharper Than a Serpent's Tooth"
206 "The Counter-Clock Incident"

The animated series of Star Treak is the least known of all and can be easily enjoyed by both children and adults. We see many more non humanoid creatures in this series because if is cheaper to do with animation than with puppets. The series ran for 22 episodes.

Beyond the Farthest Star
The Enterprise is pulled off course and contacted by a noncopereal life form

Yesteryear
Kirk and Spock use the guardian of forever to go back in time but upon returning, nobody recognizes Spock and it is discovered that he died as a child.

One of Our Planets is Missing
The Enterprise crew try to stop a massive cloud like creature from destroying inhabited planets.

The Lorelei Signal
The crew enters a region of space where many ships have vanished from. Later, group of alien women hypnotize all the men of board
and are believe to be the ones responsible for the disappearances

More Tribbles More Troubles
Cyrano Jones introduces a new kind of tribble that does not breed quickly but does get really fat instead.

The Survivor
The Enterprise encounters a damaged pod with a woman on board who is the long lost fiance of one of the crewmen

The Infinite Vulcan
While on an alien planet, a plant like species clones Spock and intends th use the clone as a peacemaker

The Magicks of Megas-Tu
The crew learns magical powers from an alien species that resembles a devil.

Once Upon a Planet
The Enterprise crew return to the amusement park planet, only to discover that the keeper has died and the computers are malfunctioning

Mudd's Passion
The Enterprise crew track down Harry Mudd who now is accused of selling a snake oil love potion.

The Terratin Incident
After a blinding flash of light, all the crewmembers on board begin to shrink.

The Time Trap
While the Enterprise is under attack by a Klingon ship, both ships are sucked into a vortex and end up in a region with many abanboned ships

The Ambergris Element
When the crew are studying an ocean planet, Kirk and Spock are abducted by a sea monster and transformed into aquatic life forms.

The Slaver Weapon
When the crew is transproting a stasis device which can stop time, another is detected nearby. While looking for it, they are captured by a hostile species

The Eye of the Beholder
While invesitvating the disappearance of another starship crew, the Enterprise crew are captured by a higher life form which wants them as pets.

The Jihad
Kirk and Spock are asked to learn about a stolen religious artifact that could start a devastating holy war.

The Pirates of Orion
The crew is stricken with a disease fatal to Vulcans and the only know cure is on a planet that is too far away to arrive soon enough to save Spock.

Bem
Starfleet assign the Enterprse crew to open negotiations with an alien race that has advanced medical knowledge

The Practical Joker
The Enterprose computer starts playing tricks on the crew.

Albatross
When delivering medical suppiles to an alien planet, Dr. McCoy is accused of genocide that occured years earlier.

How Sharper Than a Serpent's Tooth
The Enterprise encounters a giant creature who claims to be Kulkukan, a Mayan Aztec deity.

The Counter-Clock Incident
The Enterprise is stuck in an alternate universe where time flows backwards.

This is a fine addition to any Star Trek Collection

Featuring the voices of William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, DeForest Kelly, Nichelle Nichols, George Takei, Majel Barrett, and James Doohan, Filmation's animated "Star Trek" boldly continued the voyages of the starship Enterprise and its ongoing mission to explore strange new worlds, to seek out new life and new civilizations, to boldly go where no man had gone before. And did it quite well, actually.

Produced by Filmation founders Norm Prescott and Lou Scheimer, 1973's "Star Trek" captivated Saturday morning viewers every bit as much as the live action series did for primetime viewers. Original series writers D.C. Fontana and David Gerrold wrote several of the episodes while cast member Walter Koenig (Ensign Chekov) wrote the episode "The Infinite Vulcan." Koenig was the only principal cast member to not reprise his role for the animated series.

After years of rumors and delays, Paramount Home Video finally announced that "Star Trek - The Animated Series" will officially release on November 21st! This LONG-AWAITED 4-disc (526 min.) set contains all 22 episodes from the entire series, original Full-Frame (1.33:1) Video, Dolby Digital English 5.1 Surround, English Mono and Spanish Mono. Special features include: "Drawn to the Final Frontier - The Making of Star Trek: The Animated Series" featurette; "What's the Star Trek Connection?" featurette; Commentary on "How Sharper Than a Serpent's Tooth", "Bem", and "More Tribbles, More Troubles" by writers David Wise and David Gerrold; Interviews; Text Commentaries by Michael Okuda and Denise Okuda ("Yesteryear," "The Eye of the Beholder," "The Counter-Clock Incident"); Photo Gallery; Show History; Wallpaper; AIM Icons.

Season One:
1. "Beyond the Farthest Star"
2. "Yesteryear"
3. "One of Our Planets Is Missing"
4. "The Lorelei Signal"
5. "More Tribbles, More Troubles"
6. "The Survivor"
7. "The Infinite Vulcan"
8. "The Magicks of Megas-tu"
9. "Once Upon A Planet"
10. "Mudd's Passion"
11. "The Terratin Incident"
12. "The Time Trap"
13. "The Ambergris Element"
14. "The Slaver Weapon"
15. "The Eye of the Beholder"
16. "The Jihad"

Season Two:
17. "The Pirates of Orion"
18. "Bem"
19. "The Practical Joker"
20. "Albatross"
21. "How Sharper Than a Serpent's Tooth"
22. "The Counter-Clock Incident"

It's been a long time coming, but now Star Trek fans can FINALLY complete their collection of 23rd century adventures of the starship Enterprise. I'm pleased that Paramount didn't take the quick & easy route with this series. There were rumors that this would just be a "bare bones" set, with just the episodes and no extras. But Paramount did the right thing, and has given us a collection that will sit proudly beside the original series DVD collections (even the packaging mirrors those earlier releases).

Of the bonus features, "Drawing the Final Frontier" is really the only one of note. It's a 24-minute documentary on the making of the animated series. One minor complaint: The creators spend way too much time trying to justify the show as "real" Star Trek. This is an age-old, and (in my opinion) ridiculous argument among Trek fans. Gene Roddenberry was involved with the series. It featured almost all the regular cast. It was written by original series veterans, as well as other noteworthy science fiction writers. How could it NOT be considered "real" Trek?

There's a well-intentioned, but brief and poorly designed feature on continuity withing the Trek universe. Trust me, you'll watch it once and probably never again. The same goes for the text-only segment on the show's history. Still, I appreciate that time was taken to create ANY supplemental material for this set.

As for the show itself. . .it's a hard lesson of growing up: Nostalgia ain't what it used to be. BUT, looking at the show from an adult standpoint, it's easy to appreciate the quality writing (most of the time) and the fact that care was taken to be true to the original series. The voice work is all fine, with the versatile James Doohan providing several additional character voices. Sadly, the animation is sub-par, even for an early 70's production. This is particularly apparent in the frequent close-up shots of characters, whose faces barely move.

Still, if you're a Star Trek fan, there's no question that you have to have the animated series. With a little imagination (which we still had to use back in the seventies and is virtually unknown in the age of CGI), you can imagine you're watching a "lost" fourth season of the original series.

Now I am a born Star Trek Junkie and freely admit my guilt as if I could ever hide it from anyone who knows me. That said the release of Star Trek - The Animated Series is a purely awesome event for my kind. I wondered if we would ever be privledged to see Star Trek - The Animated Series again.

I was beginning to think Star Trek - The Animated Series might be left to rot in some vault somewhere but, oh man now here they are and at a good price considering how Paramount usually charges the stars moon and galaxy as ransom for anything even remotely Star Trek related. Thanks Paramount for releasing these awesome voyages of the Star Ship Enterprise at a reasonable price.

Anyways these Star Trek - The Animated Series episodes with few rare exceptions were excellent sci-fi stories in their own right. The animation in Star Trek - The Animated Series while not first rate easily blows most of the drawings in use on commercial animation TV today right out of the water. Star Trek - The Animated Series while not officially part of the continuing voyages of the shows or movies did add a richness and texture to the TOS TV experience that easily held its own. There were some bad episodes in Star Trek - The Animated Series but far more hits than misses. The music in basic form was true to the original series and the title theme was a slightly and lovingly modified veriation of the Alexander Courage Star Trek Theme.

Star Trek - The Animated Series was free of the budget constraints that live action special effects require because, in animation if it can be drawn it can be made "real" in context of the show. I am a die hard Trek fan as such for me even the so called bad episodes of Star Trek - The Animated Series are good to me, just not great like the others. I am happy to have all the episodes and think anyone who still loves Star Trek will enjoy having these Star Trek - The Animated Series episodes in their collection.

I was in Highschool when these Star Trek - The Animated Series first came on Saturday Mornings in Baltimore, they are one of the joys of my childhood. Seeing Star Trek - The Animated Series again via these DVD's after all these years will be like seeing a long lost family member return home to me well and healthy after being many years too long parted. [...]

From what I had read in various places around the internet, I was hesitant to buy the Animated Series. I am not a true Original Series fanatic, but I truly love Star Trek - in all of its incarnations.

So let me tell you, Star Trek the Animated Series belongs in the canon. There, I said it. I cannot think of any reason why it has been excluded, many of its stories are excellent, and as a whole it has the tone of the live action series and in many cases is just as serious. As for those who don't like the wackyness of TAS, I remind you of "The Omega Glory" from the original series. I can tell you, from flying Aztec gods to ornery entities, there was NOTHING in the Animated Series half as ridiculous as when the Yangs hauled out Old Glory and the U.S. Constitution (up until that point it was a fairly well-done and compelling episode.)

I can only assume the exile that TAS has lived in has been caused by Gene's dislike of trek that he did not directly control combined with the seeming snobbery of stewards of modern trek toward anything predating the current era (TNG, DS9, VOY).

Aside from the animation, which is on par with other seventies animation, the show has great production values with good paintings, voice-work and music. The best part is, most of the stories easily beat out the first few seasons of Voyager and Enterprise. This is probably because it really is the "fourth season" of Star Trek.

In conclusion, it is good, it is great, and any hardcore Star Trek fan that hasn't seen it, should.

As a big fan of the original series I had hoped that with many of the original voices and scriptwriters, this animated series of Star Trek would in essence be the fourth season of the original series. Unfortunately this isn't the case, which I believe is as a result of two main factors. First of all each episode is half the length of the originals, which dramatically reduces the amount of time spent for character and story development. Having watched all the animated episodes, many of them seemed like they rushed though the story. Secondly since this series was aimed at children as apposed to prime time general audiences the stories and themes seemed simplified and less edging, even by 1970's standards.
While an animated format does allow writers more freedom to create much more elaborate science fiction environments and aliens, this was offset in the series by the average level quality of the animation of the time. I'm sure diehard fans will most likely not be put off from buying this series by my review. I'd just want to make sure that fans know what they're getting is not quite the same thing as the original series.

No collection of Filmation cartoons is complete without their version of Star Trek. Like many Filmation projects from the seventies through the early eighties, the emphasis was on creating "realistic" animation focusing on well-drawn characters with live-action sounding voice acting. Of these projects, Star Trek is one of the best, right up there with their version the Adam West-Burt Ward Batman show, the Flash Gordon series from 1978 and their William Conrad Lone Ranger series from 1980 (I also love their classic Superman - the show the company was founded to produce - and Justice League cartoons from the sixties, but Filmation was still not as refined an animation house in those days, and their classic Zorro 'toons were really farmed out to Japan, so they don't count as real Filmation shows).

Of course, Filmation is known for their repeated use of stock animation that was reassembled to tell many different stories. This is something that bugs a certain group of fans, but I prefer to look at the creativity behind manipulating the stock footage into new stories in creative ways, with some doctoring for specific story scenarios. On Star Trek it worked particularly well because they were emulating a TV show that used a set number of stock effects shots repeatedly anyway (Enterprise in orbit, the one long ship-length shot of the Enterprise from it's side, etc). These techniques allowed Filmation to be the last bastion of TV animation in the United States, and I find the feel of old Filmation cartoons to be very endearing.

animation...the final frontier...left to conquer, that is...yea, we all know the debate about whether or not this should be considered part of the 'star trek universe', but, if i can indulge your attention for a moment, read on mcduff...paramount has explored every possibility with marketing dvd's from this lucrative franchise, and yet, it took them forever to realize this classic bit of brilliance right under their noses...and anyone who says that this isn't a 'true part' of the legacy is simply being a cartoon snob...this series brought into play harry mudd, tribbles, and the guardian of forever, all from the original series, and all in perfect form...and, besides that, the production quality is simply wonderful...so what if they use the same shot of the ship passing by, and you can see pixels of color missing...that was always part of it's charm, along with the 'slightly' warped music soundtrack...and the storylines were first rate (sometimes even better than some from the original series!), plus, you had almost all of the original cast return, and that alone should relegate it to 'must include' status...(and, as a bonus, you don't have to put up with any 'paper mache' rocks)...so, put away your prejudice (if you have any), get out your phaser and tri-corder, and order this immediately...

Probably unknown to those raised on ST: The Next Generation series, these animated adventures bridged the gulf between the Original Series and the movies that were the "Genesis" of the new wave of Star Trek lore. These are the adventures of the USS Enterprise after the original series left the air, but before the refitting that we see in Star Trek: The Motion Picture.

I'm biased perhaps because I grew up on Star Trek and watched each of these episodes over and over again. Superior ones begin with "Yesteryear", one of the finest Star Trek programs ever made. I especially love the mature way it deals with a loss that many children will face when growing up.

"The Slaver Weapon" gets better and better with each viewing, despite the "pink" ship used by the Kzinti. It's probably the best Sulu episode since "The Naked Time". "The Magicks of Megas-Tu" is hokey, but fun hokey with an inspired turn by "Lucien" voiced by James Doohan who, along with Nichelle Nichols did many of the voices during the series. "The Lorelei Signal" has perhaps the most bizzare moment in Star Trek history, Scotty singing an old love song acapella while the Enterprise orbits slowly over a planet.

Most of the episodes have monsters or "beasties", probably to appeal to the younger set. Although "How Sharper than a Serpent's Tooth" is fun for those interested in ancient mythology...or to hear DeForest Kelly say "Capellan Power Cat" with a lot of vim and vigor.

There are also three sequels to the Original series episodes. "Once Upon a Planet" follows up "Shore Leave" and is pretty much an excuse to show another "beastie". Just like "Mudd's Passion", although it's great that Roger C. Carmel was able to play Harcourt Fenton Mudd one more time. "More Tribbles, More Troubles" is the best of the three and includes Stanley Adams reprising his role as Cyrano Jones.

The presentation of packaging is noteworthy as it's similar to the Orginal Series DVDs. The plastic container is attractive and functional, but you can dispense with it and simply keep the 4 DVD jewel case as I have.

All 22 episodes have been remastered, so the quality is very good. A little too good perhaps as you can see all the scratches and imperfections of the film. Filmation used a process of moving a still image over the background art and you can certainly see the lines, dust, and scratches. And while some of the characters and in particular the background art is something the original series could never hope to do, Filmation's schedule was so tight that many shots were reused during the series (in particular the Enterprise flying by).

The documentary covering the "animated" endevor is both informative, but somewhat disappointing. I can't believe that no one took a single picture of the actors behind the microphones, especially when they were gathered together for each session. But no pictures are presented during the program. It was nice to include D.C. Fontana, but it was curious that no Star Trek actors like Walter Koenig (who wrote "The Infinate Vulcan") or George Taikai were included.

A lot of fuss is made about whether these episodes are "canon" (i.e. should they be considered part of the Star Trek history). I suppose they matter to true "Trekkers", but to me I think if Gene Roddenberry was happy enough to approve them then, I don't see why anyone dissaproves now.

I loved these shows when I was growing up and thus I cannot give an unbiased review, but I do dock one star for the extras and in particular the documentary being a disapointment considering the impressive attention payed to the restoration and packaging of these episodes.

Tidbits:

"Practical Joker" introduces the precuser to the holodeck, a staple of future Star Trek episodes, especially ST:TNG.

James T. Kirk has apparently grown some during the interim between the original and animated series. In "Mudd's Passion", he's just as tall as Harry Mudd, which is somewhat surprising since he's several inches shorter in original series episode "I, Mudd".

None of the guest actors are credited, although it's easy to pick them out (like Roger C. Carmel). But going out on a limb, I believe that William Smithers, who played Captain Merick on the original series "Bread and Circuses" plays the chief investigator in "Albatross".

We see during "More Tribbles, More Troubles" the Enterprise able to fire both phasers and photons at the same time, which may not be all that important, but it's pretty cool.

Yes, that's Ted Knight (or Ted Baxter to those raised on "The Mary Tyler Moore Show") doing the voice of Carter Winston in "The Survivor".