all old star trek movies

How to watch the Star Trek movies in order

Set phasers to "fun" and watch the Star Trek movies in order

It’s a good time to be a Star Trek fan and watch all the Star Trek movies in order. With three active TV series ( Discovery , Picard , Lower Decks ) and three more in the works (Section 31, Prodigy, Strange New Worlds ), there are more Star Trek adventures airing now than at any point since the mid-90s. 

While Star Trek TV shows have come and gone since the ‘60s, Star Trek movies maintained a pretty consistent release schedule between 1979 and 2016. On average, we got a new film once every three years. But with the fourth move of the Star Trek reboot franchise allegedly canceled , we may be in for a long wait until we see the U.S.S. Enterprise on the big screen again.

Still, there’s one missing piece of the puzzle: Where are all the Star Trek movies? Unlike watching the Star Wars movies in order , you can't see every Trek film on the same service.

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In the meantime, there are thirteen Star Trek movies to watch (or rewatch), either on DVD or your favorite streaming services. I personally bought the Blu-ray collections so that I wouldn’t be at the mercy of shifting streaming schedules, but if you prefer an all-digital experience, these movies are almost always available somewhere online.

Star Trek movies in order of release date

Watching the Star Trek movies in release order is, for the most part, exactly the same as watching the Star Trek movies in chronological order. (There’s some time travel here and there, but the later films still follow “after” the earlier ones.) There are 13 films. The first came out in 1979; the last came out in 2016. 

The only issue is that they're spread out across a number of different subscription services. 10 of the 13 can be found on Amazon Prime Video, and seven of those are also on Hulu. FX Now and Fubo each have one Star Trek movie a piece, each film being a streaming exclusive (you'd need to buy or rent to watch otherwise). And then CBS All Access (soon to be Paramount Plus) and Pluto also have one film. 

• Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979) : On Hulu and Prime Video
• Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982) : On Hulu and Prime Video
• Star Trek III: The Search for Spock (1984) : On Hulu and Prime Video
• Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (1986) : On Prime Video
• Star Trek V: The Final Frontier (1989) : On Hulu and Prime Video
• Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country (1991) : On Hulu and Prime Video
• Star Trek: Generations (1994) : On Prime Video
• Star Trek: First Contact (1996) : On Prime Video
• Star Trek: Insurrection (1998) : On Hulu and Prime Video
• Star Trek: Nemesis (2002) : On CBS All Access/Paramount Plus and Pluto
• Star Trek (2009): On Fubo
• Star Trek Into Darkness (2013) : On FX Now
• Star Trek Beyond (2016) : On Hulu and Prime Video

Star Trek is just one of many great things you can watch on Hulu . In addition to its acclaimed originals like High Fidelity and Shrill, Hulu streams next-day airings of current TV shows and library content from FX.

Amazon Prime Video has a huge library beyond Star Trek movies. Not only do they have a ton of top movies and TV shows, they've got a lineup of acclaimed originals. They've got everything from Fleabag to Marvelous Mrs. Maisel to The Expanse to Jack Ryan. 

Fubo.TV : One of the streaming services you'll need to complete the Star Trek movies in order, Fubo has all of the right network channels too. Who needs cable? Not Fubo subscribers. It's got a 7-day free trial so you don't need to pay up front.

One year of Paramount Plus: was $99 or $59, now $49 or $29 If you sign up a little under one month before Paramount Plus launches, you'll save $30 to $50 on its annual price. The higher rate is for the ad-free version. Paramount Plus will pack everything from Yellowstone to SpongeBob SquarePants, The Real Criminal MInds and more.

On top of there not being one home for all the movies, there are a few small wrinkles in this plan, however. First: The Star Trek movies aren’t completely standalone. They require some knowledge of what happened in the Star Trek and Star Trek: The Next Generation TV shows to fully grok. 

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Furthermore, the 13 movies don’t tell one continuous story. Rather, they’re based on three separate iterations of the long-running franchise.

Star Trek movies in order of series

Just like the Star Trek TV shows, the Star Trek movies don’t all focus on the same characters and settings. While there’s a little bit of crossover (which we’ll cover below), the films generally fall into three categories.

The first category is based on Star Trek: The Original Series. This is your daddy’s Star Trek, complete with Kirk, Spock, McCoy, the original U.S.S. Enterprise and Scotty beaming people up. If you’ve ever heard about “KHAAAAN!” or “the one with the whales,” or “Shakespeare in the original Klingon,” this is where they come from.

They're all available on Prime Video, and almost all (The Voyage Home is missing) are on Hulu as well. 

Star Trek: The Original Series movies

Next up, there are the Next Generation movies. This is Gen X/Elder Millennial Star Trek, starring Picard, Data, Worf and the crew. The movies start off with the Enterprise-D, but transition to the sleeker Enterprise-E in First Contact. Generations features a crossover with some original series crewmembers, but the rest put the TNG cast front and center, with occasional Deep Space Nine and Voyager cameos.

You'll need at least two streaming services to see all of them.

Star Trek: The Next Generation movies

• Star Trek: Generations (1994): On Prime Video

Finally, there are the “reboot” Star Trek films, also known as the “Kelvin timeline” films. Kirk, Spock and McCoy take center stage again, but this time in an alternate reality, where events play out differently. This is Star Trek for the cool kids, complete with fast starships, pulse-pounding action and soundtracks populated by the Beastie Boys. (It’s not quite as mindless as it sounds — except for Into Darkness, maybe.) For the most part, these films don’t require previous Star Trek knowledge. But they do pick up where Nemesis left off, more or less, before winding the clock back.

This set is the splintered across services more than any of the others.

Star Trek reboot movies

• Star Trek (2009) : On Fubo

Star Trek episodes to watch first

TOS: The Original Series TNG: The Next Generation ENT: Enterprise

Watching the Star Trek movies is an extremely straightforward process, but they may be a little incomprehensible unless you’ve seen at least some of the TV series . (I watched the entire franchise , but that may not be practical for you.) The Motion Picture picks up after The Original Series ends; likewise with Generations and The Next Generation.

As such, here are some episodes you should watch if you’re going to dive into the movies. Generally, the movies stand on their own, but it might help to know about some of the supporting characters and subplots:

Episodes for Star Trek: The Original Series movies

• Space Seed (TOS, S1, E22) : On Hulu and Prime Video
• Errand of Mercy (TOS: S1, E26) : On Hulu and Prime Video
• Journey to Babel (TOS: S2, E10) : On Hulu and Prime Video

Episodes for Star Trek: The Next Generation movies

• Q Who (TNG: S2, E16) : On Hulu and Prime Video
• The Best of Both Worlds, Parts I and II (TNG: S3, E26 / S4, E1) : On Hulu and Prime Video
• Family (TNG: S4, E2) : On Hulu and Prime Video

Episodes for Star Trek reboot movies

• Unification, Parts I and II (TNG: S5, E7 & E8) : On Hulu and Prime Video
• First Flight (ENT: S2, E24) : On Hulu and Prime Video
• The Xindi (ENT: S3, E1) : On Hulu and Prime Video

Which Star Trek movies are good?

If you watch all 13 Star Trek movies, you’re signing yourself up for about 26 hours of screen time. That’s more than a casual fan may want to invest. Luckily (or unluckily?), not ever Star Trek film is created equal. For a long time, fans held that the even-numbered movies were good, while the odd-numbered ones were bad. That trend seems to have reversed with the recent reboot films, though: The odd ones are good, while the even one is, well, not.

In any case, if you want to start with the movies that are really worth your time, here they are:

I personally like some of the other ones quite a bit (Nemesis is better than you remember, and Generations has quite a few moving moments), but those should at least represent a good starting point.

And once you’re done with those, you can move onto Galaxy Quest: the best Star Trek movie that’s not actually a Star Trek movie.

• Next: How to watch Harry Potter movies in order

Marshall Honorof is a senior editor for Tom's Guide, overseeing the site's coverage of gaming hardware and software. He comes from a science writing background, having studied paleomammalogy, biological anthropology, and the history of science and technology. After hours, you can find him practicing taekwondo or doing deep dives on classic sci-fi. 

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Pocket-lint

How to watch the star trek movies and tv shows in order.

The universe is composed of 13 films and eight TV shows. Here's how to watch them all.

Key Takeaways

• Explore the Star Trek universe by watching the franchise in chronological order, based on stardates.
• The original Star Trek timeline includes the TV show Enterprise and the first two seasons of Discovery.
• The original series, The Animated Series, and the first Star Trek movie are important parts of the franchise's origins.

With the Star Trek franchise rapidly expanding on Paramount+ , now is the perfect time to boldly go explore the Star Trek Universe.

The universe is composed of 13 films and nine TV shows. Now, it'd be easy enough to watch them all in the order they premiered, but if you prefer to watch everything chronologically (when the events take place), we've compiled an ultimate viewing guide for you. Below, you'll find the entire franchise organized by stardates. It starts with the oldest event in the original Star Trek timeline.

Speaking of timelines, there are two in Star Trek: The original, which includes nearly all the films and TV shows; and Kelvin, an alternative timeline that kicked off with the latest three reboot films. To better understand what we're talking about, please read the guide below. Those of you who want to proceed spoiler-free, however, can scroll all the way to the bottom for the list version of this guide.

Also at the bottom, we've included another spoiler-free list. It's structured by order of release - or when each film and TV show premiered.

How to watch every Marvel movie and TV show in chronological order

The original star trek timeline.

The thing to remember about this order is that it is chronological - based entirely on the stardate time system in the Star Trek franchise. Think of stardates as years. In that case, the order below starts with the oldest events in the Star Trek Universe - but it excludes the Kelvin timeline films.

There are spoilers below.

1 Star Trek: E nterprise

The first to boldly go where no man has gone before, star trek: enterprise.

Stardate: 2151 to 2156

Enterprise follows the adventures of one of the first starships to explore deep space in the Star Trek Universe.

Set right before the founding of the Federation of Planets (and about 100 years before the original Star Trek series), Star Trek: Enterprise is a TV show that follows the adventures of Captain Jack Archer, played by Scott Bakula, and the Starship Enterprise crew. This ship is the first Federation vessel to have Warp 5 capabilities, allowing its crew to be among the first deep-space explorers.

The series introduces many of the different alien species important to the Star Trek Universe, such as the Vulcans and Klingons. It also begins to lay the groundwork for the Federation of Planets, in the fourth and final season.

2 Star Trek: Discovery seasons 1 and 2

Discover a new type of starship, set ten years before the original series, star trek: discovery.

Stardate: 2256

The first two seasons of Discovery is set ten years before the original series as the crew of the titular ship tests an impressive new warp drive.

Star Trek: Discovery follows Michael Burnham, played by Sonequa Martin-Green, the first officer aboard the USS Shenzhou before she is found guilty of mutineering. However, with the Federation at war with the Klingons, the captain of the new Discovery ship, Gabriel Lorca, played by Jason Isaacs, enlists Burnham to help get the ship’s experimental warp drive properly working.

Discovery's early setting in the Star Trek universe was changed with a leap through time at the end of season two, which is why we're placing the recently released third season elsewhere on our list.

3 Star Trek: Strange New World

A direct prequel to the original series., star trek: strange new worlds.

Stardate: 2258

Strange New Worlds follows the early adventures of the Starship Enterprise, before Kirk became its captain.

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds stars Anson Mount as Captain Christopher Pike.

Pike will be a familiar name to Star Trek fans, as Pike is the man who commanded the starship Enterprise before Captain Kirk. The series follows Pike doing just that, in his final five-year mission as captain of the Enterprise before he becomes Fleet Captain and hands the reigns to Captain Kirk.

This being a prequel to the original Star Trek series, there are also other recognizable names, with Ethan Peck playing Spock and Celia Rose-Gooding as Uhara. A third season is currently in production.

4 Star Trek: The Original Series

Where it all began, star trek: the original series.

Stardate: 2266 to 2269

The original Star Trek series follows Captain Kirk, Spock, and the rest of the crew as they boldly go where no man has gone before.

This is the original Star Trek TV show. It began airing in 1966 and primarily follows the crew of the USS Enterprise, starting with them embarking on a 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”.

The series introduces William Shatner’s Captain James T Kirk and Leonard Nimoy’s Spock, too.

It also gives us the basis for the universe that makes Star Trek so successful, from introducing numerous alien species like the Vulcans and Klingons to showing us the inner workings of the Federation of Planets. The origins of the Star Trek Universe wouldn’t exist without it.

5 *Optional* Star Trek: The Animated Series

Continue the journey with the original crew, star trek: animated.

Stardate: 2269 to 2270

Continue the adventures of the original series in this animated version that sees most of the cast return to voice their characters.

After The Original Series ended, it quickly became a cult classic. Creator Gene Roddenberry then began work on an animated series that saw most of the original cast provide voice work for the animated versions of their characters. The show essentially functions as the fourth season of the original series, with the original characters navigating unexplored sections of space.

However, it was eliminated from canon by Roddenberry himself, when the rights were renegotiated following the first season of Star Trek: The Next Generation. So, if you want to consume every drop of Star Trek content, add this to your list.

6 Star Trek: The Motion Picture

The first star trek movie, star trek: the motion picture.

Stardate: 2273

Captain Kirk, his crew, and a newly remodeled Enterprise head out to investigate an alien entity known as V'ger.

This is the first feature film in the Star Trek Universe. It sees Captain James T Kirk retake the helm of a renovated USS Enterprise to investigate a mysterious cloud of energy that is moving toward Earth. The energy cloud destroys a Federation monitoring station, as well as three Klingon ships, but before Kirk is able to engage it, he must learn to operate an unfamiliar USS Enterprise.

7 Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982)

Star trek: the wrath of khan.

Stardate: 2285

The crew of the Enterprise faces off against it's most fearsome adversary, Khan.

The second Star Trek movie is perhaps the most successful entry in the franchise. It sees Captain James T Kirk taking command of a USS Enterprise staffed with untested trainees in order to track down the adversary Khan Noonien Singh and his genetically engineered super soldiers.

In the process of escaping a planet that Kirk trapped him on, Khan learns of a secret device known as Genesis, capable of re-organizing matter to terraform (make them habitable) planets. Khan tries to steal the device, but, of course, Kirk will do all he can to stop him.

8 Star Trek III: The Search for Spock

The crew of the enterprise try to resurrect spock, star trek iii: the search for spock.

Captain Kirk and the crew of the Enterprise set out on a mission to recover Spock's body and bring him back to life.

Following their battle with Khan, the crew of the USS Enterprise returns home to Earth in this third feature film.

Once there, Leonard H “Bones” McCoy, played by DeForest Kelley, begins to act strangely, leading to him being detained. Captain James T Kirk, with the help of Spock’s father, Sarek, played by Mark Lenard, then learns that Spock transferred his Katra into McCoy before dying.

If nothing is done, McCoy will die from carrying Spock’s Katra. So, the crew of the USS Enterprise go back to the site of their battle with Khan - in the hopes of retrieving Spock’s body. To top it all off, they must battle with the Klingon Kruge, played by Christopher Lloyd, over control of the Genesis Device. The Search for Spock is also directed by Spock himself, Leonard Nimoy.

9 Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (1986)

Earth is in danger and the only hope is humpback whales, star trek iv: the voyage home.

Stardate: 2286

The Enterprise travels back in time to 1986 and has to untangle a mystery involving humpback whales and an alien probe.

In this film, a mysterious ship begins orbiting Earth and destroys the planet's power grid. It emits strange noises, too, and the newly resurrected Spock realizes the sound is similar to the now-extinct humpback whale. Believing the strange ship is expecting to hear back the song of humpback whales, the crew goes around the Sun and travels back in time to 1986 to get a humpback whale.

Nimoy returned to direct this film, as well.

10 Star Trek V: The Final Frontier

The enterprise crew must face off with spock's brother, sybok, star trek v: the final frontier.

Stardate: 2287

The Enterprise heads out on a mission to rescue hostages from the planet Nimbus 3.

After finishing a mission, Kirk, Spock, and Bones are enjoying a camping trip in Yosemite in this film when they are ordered to rescue hostages on the planet Nimbus III. But, once arriving on the planet, the crew realizes Spock’s half-brother, Sybok, is responsible for taking the hostages in order to lure a starship, with the hopes of reaching the mythical planet Sha Ka Ree and meeting a God.

Sybok realizes he’ll need Kirk’s expertise to navigate through the barrier at the centre of the Milky Way that leads to this mythical planet. Along the way, the Klingon Kraa decides to hunt Kirk. The Final Frontier is also the only Star Trek film directed by William Shatner.

11 Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country

The final film starring the original series cast, star trek vi: the undiscovered country.

Stardate: 2293

After being framed for a political assassination, Kirk and the rest of the crew of the Enterprise must unravel the conspiracy to avoid war with the Klingon Empire.

In the final film of this series, we see the Klingon homeworld nearly destroyed, leading the hostile empire to engage in peace talks with the Federation. Captain James T Kirk is assigned to escort the Klingon ambassador, but is instead blamed when assassins beam aboard the Ambassador’s ship and kill him. The Klingons then sentence Kirk and McCoy to life imprisonment on a frozen asteroid.

At that point, Spock and the rest of the crew must find the true culprits behind the attack of the Klingon ship and rescue Kirk and Bones.

12 Star Trek: The Next Generation

The next generation takes over the uss enterprise, star trek: the next generation.

Stardate: 2364 to 2370

A new crew takes over the Enterprise and heads out on a five-year mission to explore the unknown.

Set 71 years after the USS Enterprise’s last mission with Captain James T Kirk at the helm, The Next Generation introduces us to a new USS Enterprise staffed with the next generation of Starfleet officers, led by Captain Jean Luc Picard (played by Patrick Stewart).

This TV series also shows us new species of aliens, the Cardassians and the Borgs, which replace the now-friendlier Klingons as the Federation’s primary adversaries.

The Next Generation ran for seven seasons and featured a couple of cameos from The Original Series, like Spock and Bones, among others.

13 Star Trek: Deep Space Nine

Everyday life in the deepest reaches of space, star trek: deep space nine.

Stardate: 2369 to 2375

Set on a stationary space station instead of an exploring starship, Deep Space Nine explores what life in space is like after the exploring part is done.

This TV show overlaps with the end of Star Trek: The Next Generation. It focuses on the former Cardassian space station, a backwood outpost that the Federation now controls and has ordered a Starfleet crew to run, with Avery Brook’s Benjamin Sisko as the commanding officer.

It's not about a starship exploring the unknown, but rather the trade disputes and political manoeuvring surrounding a crucial military hub.

14 Star Trek Generations

The two enterprise crews unite to take on a force with the power to destroy stars, star trek: generations.

Stardate: 2371

The first Star Trek film to feature the Next Generation crew also brought back the Enterprise crew from the original series.

Star Trek Generations is the first film to feature the crew of The Next Generation while also starring some of The Original Series cast.

The plot primarily centres around an El-Aurian, named Dr Tolian Soran (played by Malcolm McDowell), as well as an energy ribbon known as the Nexus.

You see, in 2293, Soran is rescued from the Energy Ribbon by a retired Captain James T Kirk, who is attending a maiden voyage of a new USS Enterprise. Then, in 2371, while answering a distress call, Captain Jean Luc Picard finds Soran - and he has a weapon capable of destroying stars.

15 Star Trek: Voyager

A federation starship stranded in uncharted space, star trek voyager.

Stardate: 2371 to 2378

Follow a Captain Janeway and her crew of the USS Voyager as they attempt to find their way home after being stranded in space.

After leaving Star Trek: Deep Space Nine in search of a group of Maquis rebels, the Starship Voyager, led by Captain Kathryn Janeway (Kate Mulgrew), is captured by an energy wave that sends it - and a ship of Maquis rebels - into the middle of the unexplored Delta Quadrant. With both ships damaged and far from home, the crews agree to join forces and begin a 75-year journey back to Earth.

16 Star Trek: First Contact

The crew of the enterprise travels back before the first warp drive was used, star trek: first contact.

Stardate: 2373

The Enterprise must travel back in time to prevent a Borg ship from assimilating all of Earth.

In this film, the USS Enterprise tries to help defeat a Borg Cube attacking Earth, with Captain Jean Luc Picard assuming command of a fleet of starships. However, just before the Cube is destroyed, it releases a smaller ship that enters a temporal vortex. The USS Enterprise gives chase through the vortex, but in the process, realizes the Borg traveled back in time and assimilated the entire planet.

And once through the Vortex, the crew arrives in 2063. More specifically, they arrive one day before Zefram Cochrane (played by James Cromwell) uses the first warp drive system, which draws the attention of the Vulcans, leading to humanity's first contact with an alien race.

17 Star Trek: Insurrection

The enterprise must uncover the mystery around a nearly immortal group of people, star trek: insurrection.

Stardate: 2375

The crew of the USS Enterprise uncovers a conspiracy involving the forced relocation of a peaceful alien race.

The action now centres around a planet with a type of unique radiation that rejuvenates its people, known as the Ba’ku. The effects of the radiation make the Ba’ku nearly immortal.

In this film, Brent Spinner’s Data is sent undercover to monitor the Ba’ku people and soon begins to malfunction, which causes Captain Jean Luc Picard and the crew of the USS Enterprise to investigate.

They uncover a conspiracy between a species, which is hostile to the Ba’ku, and Admiral Mathew Doherty, a Starfleet officer played by Anthony Zerbe. The crew of the Enterprise must stop them both in order to save the Ba’ku from being forcibly removed from their home planet.

18 Star Trek: Nemesis

Picard vs picard, star trek: nemesis.

Stardate: 2379

Captain Picard and the crew face a new, dangerous enemy in the form of a clone of Picard himself.

Captain Jean Luc Picard and the USS Enterprise crew are sent on a mission to meet with the leader of the Romulans, Shinzon, played by a super young Tom Hardy. Once there, they learn that Shinzon is actually a clone of Picard, created in the hopes that he would one day be able to infiltrate the Federation. The Romulans had abandoned the plan and sent Shinzon into slavery.

He led a rebellion, however, and created his own starship, the Scimitar. Soon, the Enterprise learns Shinzon’s true plan is to use a form of radiation poisonous to all life in order to attack the Federation and destroy Earth.

19 Star Trek: Picard

Picard's forced out of retirement one more time

Star Trek: Picard

Stardate: 2399

Captain Picard's retirement is about as full of adventure as his career on the Enterprise.

One of the most popular starship captains in the Star Trek Universe, Jean Luc Picard had retired to a life of wine-making, but a new mission set 20 years after the events of Nemesis sees Captain Jean Luc Picard return to space along with many of his old friends. The first season sees Picard struggling with the events that led to his retirement from Starfleet -- when he's forced into a conflict that sees him thrust into a captain's chair again.

The second season sees Picard transported to an alternate timeline by the interdimensional being known as Q (John De Lancie), who originally appeared in The Next Generation. The third and final season of Picard recently got a teaser and is slated to premiere in spring 2023.

20 Star Trek: Discovery seasons 3 and beyond

The discovery's journey picks up later than any other star trek content.

Stardate: 3188

Catch up with the rest of Discovery after a timejump shifts the story to the end of the Star Trek timeline.

Burnham and the crew of the Discovery make a jump through time that lands them further in the future than we've ever seen in the Star Trek Universe.

There, Burnham is separated from the rest of the crew of Discovery.

While trying to locate the ship, she learns that the United Federation of Planets has fallen following the event known as The Burn, which saw ships simultaneously explode throughout the entire galaxy. The fuel for Star Trek's ships, Dilithium, has also become extremely rare, which makes travel across wide distances of space much harder. In the fourth season, Burnham and the crew of the Discovery begin the process of rebuilding the Federation of Planets. A fifth season of Star Trek Discovery is slated to premiere in 2024.

Kelvin timeline: The alternate Star Trek timeline

These films kick off JJ Abrams' alternate Star Trek timeline. Officially called the Kelvin timeline, it's named after the USS Kelvin. If you want to watch them, you can do so either before or after Star Trek: The Original Series. We prefer you watch it after - in fact, watch it after you've finished the original Star Trek timeline, because it literally takes place in a different timeline.

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All Star Trek Movies Ranked by Tomatometer

Star Trek (2009) celebrates its 15th anniversary!

We’re boldly ranking the Star Trek movies by Tomatometer, from the original film series (1979’s The Motion Picture to The Undiscovered Country ), into the handoff to films featuring the Next Generation cast ( Generations to Nemesis ), and through to the reboot series (2009’s Trek to Beyond ).

Star Trek (2009) 94%

Star Trek: First Contact (1996) 93%

Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982) 87%

Star Trek Beyond (2016) 86%

Star Trek Into Darkness (2013) 84%

Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country (1991) 83%

Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (1986) 82%

Star Trek III: The Search for Spock (1984) 78%

Star Trek: Insurrection (1998) 55%

Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979) 53%

Star Trek Generations (1994) 48%

Star Trek: Nemesis (2002) 38%

Star Trek V: The Final Frontier (1989) 21%

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Every Star Trek Show And Movie In Chronological Order

As a media phenomenon, "Star Trek" began on September 8, 1966 with the airing of "The Man Trap" (the sixth episode in production order, but the first aired). Originally, the show's writers, including creator Gene Roddenberry, used the concept of "stardates" to ensure the show's actual timeline was left vague; for several episodes, all audiences knew was that "Trek" was set in the future and that the future was a pretty keen place. It wouldn't be until the episode "The Naked Time" (seventh episode produced, fourth aired, first aired on September 29, 1966) that the Gregorian year would be mentioned out loud, and an actual timeline could begin to be constructed. 

Since then, "Star Trek" has extrapolated an extensive, centuries long timeline of events, often skipping merrily back and forth through the centuries, adding more and more to the franchises complex chronology. The chronology of "Star Trek" is so complicated that entire books have been published tracking the various shows' and films' events. Because of the constant production of new "Star Trek," these books became dated immediately. 

" Star Trek: Strange New Worlds " is set to debut on Paramount+ on May 5, and it is set immediately before the events of the original "Star Trek," making it the third "prequel" series to the original. To keep matters as clear as possible, here is a (very brief, by the standards of "Trek") rundown of "Star Trek" chronology from within its own canon. 

NOTE : This list will not necessarily include single episodes wherein characters go back in time, but give an overall timeframe for each individual film and TV show.

1986: Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home

Although beginning and ending within the proper chronology of the "Star Trek" future, Leonard Nimoy's 1986 feature film " Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home " is set largely in the earliest point in the franchise's timeline (again, excluding single time travel episodes of any given TV series, wherein Mark Twain, the 1950s, and other eras are regularly visited). In the film, the crew of the Enterprise must go back in time to rescue a pair of humpback whales from extinction in order to appease an enormous, inscrutable space monolith that has been draining future Earth of its oceans, looking for its own kind. 

The bulk of "Voyage Home" takes place in 1986, and the film gained a lot of critical and audience attention for its fish-out-of-water humor and light tone; the previous three films had been comparatively dour, downbeat, or cerebral.

2024: Star Trek: Picard (Season 2)

As of this writing, the second season of "Star Trek: Picard" is still being released weekly on Paramount+, so the ultimate conclusion of the story is as yet unknown. 

What is known is that the trickster god Q (John De Lancie), a playful villain from "Star Trek: The Next Generation," visited an elderly Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) to warn him of a parallel universe. In this parallel universe, Earth is a genocidal conqueror race that has wiped out most life in the galaxy. Picard must travel back in time, paralleling the story of "Voyage Home" in order to stop the fascist timeline from starting. Thanks to the limited information they have, they travel to the year 2024, and the bulk of the season's action takes place there. 

A bit of a continuity error already: In previously mentioned "Trek" canon, the Eugenics Wars — the conflagration that wrought Khan from "Star Trek II" — should have already happened by 2024 (I believe the original date for the Eugenics Wars was 1997), but, in "Picard," they had clearly been delayed. One of the subplots of the second season of "Picard,' however, involves a malevolent genetic engineer, so it looks like the Eugenics Wars may finally be nigh.

2063: Star Trek: First Contact

Although never directly filmed, there are constant references throughout "Star Trek" to World War III, an event that left the entire planet devastated. Despite destitution and technological ruin, an inventor named Zefram Cochran managed to invent an engine that allowed humanity to travel faster than light. This technology, when being tested for the first time in the solar system, attracted the attention of some Vulcans who just happened to be passing by. This was the First Contact mentioned in the title of the 1996 film " Star Trek: First Contact ." 

In that film, the characters from "Star Trek: The Next Generation" travel back in time to foil a plot by a malevolent species of cyborgs called The Borg, and find themselves in the year A.D. 2063 where they could witness First Contact themselves. This was the event that essentially kicked off creator Gene Roddenberry's vision of a peaceful future. In meeting intelligent space aliens, a hobbled humanity learned that war was churlish, and that unity as a species was preferable in the face of a suddenly occupied cosmos. 

"First Contact" is essentially the "Star Trek" origin story.

2151 - 2155: Star Trek: Enterprise

After first talking to Vulcans, humans were eager to take to the stars and join the galactic community. The conceit of the 2001 TV series " Star Trek: Enterpris e" (originally just called "Enterprise") was that the Vulcans, seeing how illogical and roughhewn humanity still was, encouraged them to stay on Earth for nearly a century before actually taking to the stars. In that century, humanity rebuilt, formed a Starfleet, and constructed its very first long-mission starship, the U.S.S. Enterprise NX-01. The show is about the adventures of the very first humans in space, circa A.D. 2151.

"Enterprise" took place before a lot of established "Trek" tech had been invented. There were transporters, but they weren't entirely safe for use on humans. There were no shields around the ship. There were no food replicators, and the Enterprise required a galley. Most notably, there wasn't a Prime Directive yet, so a lot of mistakes are bound to be made. It wouldn't be until 2161 — according to ancillary revelations — that the Federation would be formed. 

2254: The Cage

The unused "Star Trek" pilot has probably gained more canonical traction than any other unused footage from any other work of filmed fiction. "The Cage" didn't air in its complete form until 1986, 20 years after its making. Previously, footage from "The Cage" was incorporated into a two-part "Star Trek" episode called "The Menagerie" (November of 1966). 

In the pilot, we first meet Capt. Christopher Pike (Jeffrey Hunter) and his ship the U.S.S. Enterprise NCC-1701. We were first introduced to Spock as well, although Spock would be the only character carried over into the second pilot that was eventually used. Majel Barrett played the Enterprise's first officer in "The Cage," and she would go on to play multiple other roles throughout "Star Trek," including Nurse Chapel, M'Ress, Lwaxana Troi, and the voice of the ship's computer. 

The events of "The Cage" would also be revisited in the second season of "Star Trek: Discovery."

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

Another cataclysm that had been mentioned multiple times throughout "Star Trek" was a war between the Klingons and the Federation. The first season of "Star Trek: Discovery," which debuted on CBS All Access (now Paramount+) in November of 2017, dramatized those events explicitly, as seen through the eyes of the U.S.S. Discovery. This new ship was a science vessel that had figured out a way to tap into a galaxy-wide network of near-undetectable, microscopic spores into order to teleport anywhere in the galaxy instantaneously. 

After surviving the Klingon war, the Discovery teamed up with the U.S.S. Enterprise while it was still being captained by Christopher Pike (now played by Anson Mount), putting the events of "Discovery" immediately after the original pilot. There were a lot — and I mean a LOT — of narrative excuses as to why the high-tech Discovery (realized with late-2010s special effects) didn't match the boxier, monochromatic world of "The Cage." 

The show's writers also needed to come up with an organic reason why a ship that can teleport — a technology that would have fundamentally changed the world of "Star Trek" — was never mentioned in any of the "Trek" shows made from 1966 until 2017. As such, at the end of the second season of "Discovery," the ship was thrown almost 1,000 years into the future in order to outrun an insidious computer intelligence that would spread throughout the galaxy if knowledge of it was passed around. As such, the Discovery more or less deleted itself from existence. As panicked, narrative ass-saving measures go, it's a 7.

2258: Star Trek: Strange New Worlds

The appearance of Capt. Pike on "Discovery" was so well-received that Paramount+ elected to go back to the Enterprise, bring back the characters from "The Cage," lump in a few familiar faces from the 1966 "Star Trek," and make " Strange New Worlds ," a series that takes place only eight years prior to the events of the original TV series. 

"Strange New Worlds" brings back Anson Mount as Pike, as well as a young Spock, a very young Uhura, a young Nurse Chapel, one of Khan's ancestors, and Dr. M'Benga, who showed up in a few episodes if the 1966 show. It also, notably, will not have season-long story arcs, but a single-hour episodic structure, standing in contrast with most of the other Paramount+-era "Star Treks," with "Lower Decks" being the proud exception.

2258 (KELVIN): Star Trek (2009)

Thanks to "Star Trek," the notion of parallel universes is quite well-known to the public. Incidentally, it's been quite odd watching the films and TV shows in the Marvel universe slow-walk the notion of a multiverse over the course of multiple installments when we've already seen Spock with a goatee. 

Thanks to complicated studio politics, there was a split in Paramount in the mid-2000s, and the Paramount side of the schism — when wanting to make a new "Star Trek" feature film — was legally required to make something distinguishable from the TV shows. Enter J.J. Abrams and his 2009 feature film " Star Trek " which takes place at the same time as "Strange New Worlds," but in a parallel universe where the characters from the 1966 show now look like a new cast, the Enterprise looks brighter and sleeker, and everything is more intense and action-packed. 

This new timeline would be created when a villain went back in time interfered with James T. Kirk right when he was born.

2259 (KELVIN): Star Trek Into Darkness

Although taking place far before the events of 1982's "Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan," J.J. Abrams' " Star Trek Into Darkness " (2013) drew a lot of story parallels to the Nicholas Meyer film. Taking place almost immediately after the 2009 film, "Into Darkness" involved the character of Khan who, in the timeline of the 1966 series, wouldn't be resurrected from cryogenic sleep for a few years hence. In "Into Darkness," he was awakened early, became involved in a plot to smuggle other cryogenically frozen compatriots. 

Originally, the Eugenics Wars were meant to have started in the 1990s, but — as "Star Trek" persisted, and the '90s came and went in the real world — that timeline had to be altered several times. The timeline of the Eugenics Wars in "Into Darkness" are a little unclear. As we saw above in "Star Trek: Picard," we know that they'll now take place sometime after 2024.

2263 (KELVIN): Star Trek Beyond

In Justin Lin's " Star Trek Beyond " (2016), Kirk (Chris Pine) laments that his adventures have already become episodic. It's unusual that the 2009 film and the 2013 sequel are essentially origin stories about the young Kirk coming into his own, and "Beyond" skips ahead to the point where he's already tired of being on "Star Trek." We missed the actual "five year mission" part!

Another interesting wrinkle in "Beyond" is that it alludes to a time somewhere after "Star Trek: Enterprise": The evil Kroll (Idris Elba) was, in fact, a human captain named Edison who led his own starship in the "Enterprise" era. Before the film, he was mutated into an evil alien. "Beyond," in explicitly mentioning the Xindi wars and other events from "Enterprise," anchors the Kelvin films a little more solidly into the "Trek" timeline.

2265 - 2269: Star Trek

After "The Cage" was abandoned by Paramount, the studio and Gene Roddenberry reworked the show into the 1966 program we all know and love. As mentioned, Spock was the only character carried over from the original pilot, and "Star Trek" now featured William Shatner as Captain Kirk and a host of new characters besides. "Star Trek" began as a horror show — there are many monsters and scare moments in the first season — eventually tackling ethical issues in a sci-fi fantasy context. 

"Star Trek" ran for three seasons, ending its initial run on June 3, 1969. Thanks to the gods of syndication, "Star Trek" would remain in reruns for the following decade, building up interest, spawning Trek conventions, and allowing the show to grow into a full-blown cultural phenomenon.

2269 - 2270: Star Trek: The Animated Series

In the opening credits of " Star Trek ," Shatner brazenly informed the audiences that the U.S.S. Enterprise was on a five-year mission. Given that the show was canned after only three years, there was more mission left to witness. In 1973, Roddenberry teamed up with Filmation to make an animated "Star Trek" series that would, by dint of its two seasons, ostensibly complete the five-year mission. Chekov (Walter Koenig) was absent from this show, but other unusual aliens took his place, including a cat woman named M'Ress and Mr. Aryx, a being with three arms. The animated format allowed for wilder ideas, aliens, and ships to be employed, and there are stories featuring flying serpents, aliens made of plants, an undersea episode, and a story with a 50-foot Spock. 

This 1973 version of "Star Trek," in only running 30 minutes per episode, cut out a lot of extraneous character moments from the traditional "Trek" structure, and got straight to the story. It's a far more efficient show than the 1966 program, and it has a passionate following of fans. 

2273: Star Trek: The Motion Picture

The decade of syndication, "Trek" conventions, and the financial success of George Lucas' sci-fi serial epic " Star Wars " in 1977 led Paramount to start thinking about restarting "Star Trek" on TV. A project was put into production that was to be called "Star Trek Phase II," and would have reunited several familiar "Trek" characters as well as introduce some new ones. For various reasons, "Phase II" was abandoned and elements of it were transformed into what would become the 1979 theatrical release " Star Trek: The Motion Picture ."

If all you had prior to "The Motion Picture" was a failed, low-budget TV show and a little-regarded animated series, this movie would feel grand in ways that you couldn't previously imagine. A lot of time was devoted to the size of the Enterprise, the importance of the characters, and mind-bending notions about the unending vastness of the cosmos. Here was a "Star Trek" film that is often compared to 1968's "2001: A Space Odyssey." Good gracious was it enormous. 

"The Motion Picture" was successful enough to warrant a sequel, but not so successful that Roddenberry was welcomed back. Remember that detail when we get to "Star Trek: The Next Generation."

2285: Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan and Star Trek III: The Search for Spock

2285 was a significant year. In the events of Nicholas Meyer's "Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan" (1982), a thawed out Khan — the version played by Ricardo Montalbán from the 1967 "Star Trek" episode "The Space Seed," not the version played by Benedict Cumberbatch in "Star Trek Into Darkness" — hijacked a starship called the U.S.S. Reliant and set out on a mission of revenge against Admiral Kirk. The good admiral, we find, had forgotten about a lot of irresponsible actions taken in his past and had to face them head on just as he was looking down the barrel of old age. "Star Trek II" didn't end well for Kirk or for Spock. In that film, Spock famously dies. 

Not wasting any time, however, Kirk and co. sprang back into action in Leonard Nimoy's " Star Trek III: The Search for Spock " (1984), which picks up immediately after "Khan" ended. Thanks to the fineries of Vulcan psychic powers, and a high tech radiation wave that can generate life out of nothing, Spock could potentially be resurrected, and Kirk hijacks the Enterprise in order to help a friend. In so doing, Kirk destroys the ship, rouses the ire of some Klingons, loses his son (killed by said Klingons), and possibly destroys his career in Starfleet. Oops. 

Perhaps one of the reasons "Star Trek IV" (which began in 2286) was so popular was that it was the first "Trek" film to end on a wholly positive note. 

2287: Star Trek V: The Final Frontier

Often cited as the worst of the "Trek" movies, William Shatner's "Star Trek V: The Final Frontier" (1989) starts with a promising concept, but was undone by a bad script hastily written during a strike, and a repeatedly cut FX budget. The film ultimately feels flimsy and ill-considered, not able to truly confront the interesting ideas it brings up. Shatner has apologized for the poor quality of his film, which was fraught with production troubles.

In "Frontier," a newly-built Enterprise is hijacked by Spock's half-brother Sybok (Laurence Luckinbill), who is leading a cult of brainwashed followers, freed from pain by their leader's psychic powers. He seeks a mysterious planet at the center of the galaxy where he believes God physically lives. The final frontier of the title is not space, but the soul, religion, or spirituality. Many "Trek" purists will point out that seeking the center of the galaxy, and finding a deity there, is similar to an Animated Series episode called "The Magicks of Megas-Tu," wherein Kirk found the planet at the center of the galaxy is actually home to Satan. 

Note : "The Magicks of Megas-Tu" is far better than "Star Trek V: The Final Frontier."

2293: Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country

Made after the fall of the Berlin Wall, Nicholas Meyer's " Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country " (1991) was very clearly a metaphor for the end of the Cold War. In it, the Klingon Empire is crippled by the accidental explosion of one of their moons, leaving the entire government requiring Federation help. "Country" is about how difficult it is to give up being enemies, especially when so much of one's identity is tied in with hate. There's an assassination, a investigation, a trial, a prison break ... It's one of the best "Trek" movies. 

One might glean from the title of the previous film in the series that the entire Kirk era was meant to end with "The Final Frontier." One might also glean that the poor reception and bad box office of "Final Frontier" led to one last go 'round. Fans may be relieved that the final feature film in the Kirk era was actually, y'know, a good one.

2364 - 2370: Star Trek: The Next Generation

Throughout the 1970s, Gene Roddenberry made tours on the convention circuit, talking about his vision for "Star Trek," and interacting with fans who were inspired by the peace, diplomacy, and calm that "Star Trek" has written into its DNA. Looking back over the 1966 show, notions of optimism and diplomacy are present, but they are mixed in with a lot of violence, sexism, and other now-backward ideas. After Roddenberry was essentially barred from involvement on the "Star Trek" feature films, he decided to make a purer, better version of his old show, set another 80 years in the future, and even more devoted to intelligence and diplomacy than ever before. Hence, 1987's " Star Trek: The Next Generation ." 

Taking place on a new ship, the Enterprise NCC-1701-D, and featuring an all new cast, the update of "Star Trek" started a little clumsily, but eventually found its stride to become the best "Star Trek" has offered to date. The tech was more convincing than it ever was, and it featured professional, adult characters who deal with crises with stiff upper lips. More so, it more frequently addressed questions about the meaning of life that humanity will always, it seems, wrestle with.

"Next Generation" last for seven full seasons, and its characters ended up occupying just as large a place in the pop consciousness as the characters from the 1966 TV series. 

Yes, "Next Generation" went back in time several times.

In terms of chronology, "Next Generation" overlapped with...

2369 - 2375: Star Trek: Deep Space Nine

" Deep Space Nine " (1993 – 1999) was an unusual animal in many ways. It was the first time two "Star Trek" shows would run concurrently, and would take place over the same time frame (Picard from "Next Generation" appeared in the show's pilot). It was not about trekking at all, as it took place aboard a space station. It was also not set in the world of the Federation, often revolving alien species who were not offered protection from the organization. It was a show of healing and animosity. Of war and death. It started with an ensemble of seven or eight people, and eventually expanded to include about 30 main characters. "Deep Space Nine" is "Star Trek" via a Russian historical novel. 

When taken as a unit, "Next Generation" and "Deep Space Nine," both excellent in their own rights, become a complementary mass that is greater than their sum. The strength of diplomacy vs. its breakdown. The avoidance of war vs. the involvement in it. The absence of fascism vs. its inevitable regrowth. 

Yes, "Deep Space Nine" went back in time several times. 

"Deep Space Nine's" chronology would overlap with "Star Trek: Voyager," as well as with...

2371: Star Trek: Generations

The 1994 feature film " Star Trek: Generations " was a strange excursion. Although "Next Generation" had already run for seven years, "Generations" was still insistent on "passing the torch" from Kirk to Picard, and it bent over backwards to create the means by which Kirk and Picard, separated by 87 years of history, could meet face-to-face. It was the fan crossover no Trekkie wanted. As such, "Generations" is a flimsy affair, speeding through a ridiculous plot about a mobile temporal nexus that serves as Heaven for the people it scoops up along its path. 

Trekkies were even-headed enough to realize that Kirk and Picard weren't meant to meet, and that "Next Generation" was its own entity. The decision to aggressively tie the two shows even more closely together was just baffling. 

Notable too: The Enterprise-D was destroyed in "Generations," and would be replaced by a big ol' ugly thing for three additional feature films.

2371 - 2378: Star Trek: Voyager

" Star Trek: Voyager " debuted in 1995 and ran concurrently with "Deep Space Nine" both on television and within the chronology of "Star Trek." To cleverly avoid any interference between the two shows, however — "Deep Space Nine" would eventually become embroiled in a galaxy-spanning war — "Voyager" was given a "Lost in Space"-style premise wherein the title ship was thrown all the way across the galaxy to a portion of space that has never been explored by Starfleet, and could otherwise only be reached by 70 years of space travel. 

While the premise would perhaps lead a viewer to believe that "Voyager" was going to be about resource allocation and survival, it quickly became more about the Borg, a character played by actress Jeri Ryan, and Captain Janeway's (Kate Mulgrew) steady slide into autocracy. 

"Voyager" struggled with ratings for years, but still managed to last seven seasons like "Next Gen" and "Deep Space" before it. The final episode of "Voyager," a time travel story called " Endgame ," would air in March of 2001.

2375: Star Trek: Insurrection

While "Voyager" and "Deep Space Nine" were running concurrently on television, the "Next Generation" crew were yukking it up in the overwhelmingly mediocre 1998 Jonathan Frakes film " Star Trek: Insurrection ." Like "The Final Frontier," "Insurrection" can be seen straining against the limits of its budget, with bad CGI, bland costumes, and locations clearly found in the California mountains. The cheapness of "Star Trek" has often served as a boon for its story, forcing writers to insert interesting and challenging ideas into their plywood sets. "Insurrection" has no such ideas, asking the ethical question of forced relocation, but never feeling threatening, and offering a magical curative radiation that would require study and collection. 

Although one can admit this: "Insurrection" captures the tone of the "Next Generation" TV series far better than any of the other movies in this part of the series. It's a pity, though, that after the grand finale of "Next Generation," we find ourselves with suck lackluster films. 

Speaking of lackluster films ...

2379: Star Trek: Nemesis

Released in 2002, Stuart Baird's " Star Trek: Nemesis " was poised to be the final gasp for "Star Trek." "Enterprise" was already taking the franchise in a new direction, and the "NextGen" cast was clearly too tired to handle a continued barrage of poorly planned action movies, and thrillers that didn't resemble the show they were inspired by. "Nemesis" is dark and action-packed and violent and takes a lot of structural cues from "Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan." 

In it, Tom Hardy plays a character named Shinzon who is, in fact, a clone of Captain Picard, grown in a Romulan lab, and eventually discarded into a Romulan mine. Shinzon escaped the mine, built an army, and is poised to take a giant death ship into Federation space to revenge all over people. "Nemesis" is also the film in which Data (Brent Spiner) dies, and Captain Picard drives a dune buggy. 

The sentiment of the time was reminiscent of T.S. Eliot's " The Hollow Men ." This is the way "Next Gen" ends. Not with a bang, but a whimper.

Worry not. There will be further whimpers for the NextGen crew.

2380 - ?: Star Trek: Lower Decks

Named after a seventh season episode of "Next Generation," and taking place in line with the end of "Nemesis" and "Voyager," " Star Trek: Lower Decks " debuted on Paramount+ in 2020 as part of a slew of "Star Trek"-related indicia that the company was desperate to exploit. And while the all-your-eggs-in-one basket approach to TV production affected by Paramount led to stinkers like "Discovery" and "Picard," it did lead to this surprisingly good animated program. 

One of the more appealing aspects of "Star Trek" is that it's essentially a series of workplace shows. The characters are typically vocation-forward, and take their duty to their ship very seriously. Where a "Star Trek" character works speaks powerfully to who they are. "Lower Decks" follows the people who have the worst possible jobs on a Starfleet vessel, often tasked with cleaning holodecks, sanitizing floors, and arranging widgets for the senior staff. It's rough going for ensigns. They sleep in the hallway and are typically not deemed important enough to include on more exciting missions. What's more, the central ship on "Lower Decks" is a tiny, crappy ship with substandard tech. Surely such jobs would exist in "Star Trek." 

"Lower Decks" is eager to make "Trek" references, and is clearly made by people who understand "Trek's" ethos, but who still have a raunchy sense of humor. The future is here. And it's still crappy for those on the bottom. 

2383: Star Trek: Prodigy

Produced under the auspices of Nickelodeon, " Star Trek: Prodigy " (2021) was the first Trek series to be made explicitly with a younger audience in mind. The series follows a ragtag group of alien youths as they flee a prison mine and discover an abandoned Starfleet vessel called the U.S.S. Protostar. On board is an instructional hologram of Captain Janeway from "Voyager," and she teaches the kids how to behave like Starfleet officers, the importance of duty and compassion, and how their trauma does not define them. The design and the creatures are more reminiscent of "Star Wars" than "Star Trek" (the series features an evil emperor and his powerful masked servant, invoking the Emperor and Darth Vader), but it certainly functions as a generic space adventure. The "Star Trek" stuff is mere window dressing. 

It's almost disappointing to include "Prodigy" on this timeline, as one of the show's central mysteries — at least for the first part of its first season, the only part to have aired as of this writing — is when and where it takes place. It was possible that "Prodigy" took place centuries or even millennia beyond the known Trek universe. The last we saw, however, the real Captain Janeway is still alive, giving "Prodigy" a known place in Trek chronology. 

2399: Star Trek: Picard (Season 1)

After nearly 20 years of a world without Picard, Paramount+ convinced Patrick Stewart to reprise his role in a new show named for him. " Star Trek: Picard " debuted on Paramount+ in 2020, taking place further in the future than any other Trek show to date. In the timeline of "Picard," the Federation had become soured by xenophobia and openly discouraged the evacuation of Romulus, historically an enemy world, but now in dire straits after their sun went supernova (something something J.J. Abrams). Picard had left Starfleet in disgust, and had now retired to his winery. 

The story of the first season is too convoluted to get into here, needless to say it involved a Romulan secret society, a planet of androids, a reclaimed Borg cube, and a robot Cthulhu. I'm not kidding. 

It's a pity that "Picard" did not roll with its future setting more, establishing new tech or positive sea changes in the "Trek" universe. Instead, everything is devoted to a chewy, awful story about androids. Indeed, by the end, Picard himself would have his consciousness shunted into an android body. What a snore.

3188 - 3190: Star Trek: Discovery (Seasons 3 and 4)

When last we saw the U.S.S. Discovery, it was being pulled through a time hole into the distant future. In the third and fourth seasons , Discovery's crew learns that they are stranded 930 years from home, and now must rediscover their function as Starfleet officers after the Federation went into hiding. A galaxy-wide disaster — The Burn — spontaneously destroyed millions of starships, and a fierce new criminal enterprise, The Emerald Syndicate, now rules the galaxy.

The 23rd-century ship now has to learn how to use 32nd-century technology. The Discovery was redesigned, and the new mission became to spread diplomacy in a galaxy unready for it. This is the premise, it seems, that Discovery should have started with two years prior. The writing is still rather weak, and the characters are callow and weepy, but "Discovery" does excel in one notable way: Queer representation. Seven of the main cast members are openly queer. After 55 years of a dodgy relationship with queerness, "Discovery" finally nailed it.

I just wish it were a better show.

Den of Geek

Star Trek Streaming Guide: Where to Watch All the TV Shows and Movies

Find out where you can stream all the voyages of sci-fi’s longest-running franchise.

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Launched on September 8, 1966 — nearly 54 years ago — the NBC-TV series Star Trek was the beginning of a new age of science fiction on television and, eventually, the big screen. The first show to echo the sophistication and vision of sci-fi literature , Star Trek was only a cult hit at the time of its initial run but refused to die even after its cancellation, with the original 79 episodes running for years in syndication.

More than five decades later, Star Trek encompasses eight TV series (a total of 764 episodes and counting) and 13 films, plus countless books, comics, games and more. It’s had its ups and downs, its high points and its misfires, but it remains one of the most beloved and durable franchises in all of pop culture.

Now, thanks to streaming, all those episodes and movies are available to watch any time (we know you diehard Trekkers have the Blu-rays and DVDs, but you don’t have to break those out anymore). Below is a handy guide to where you can stream every iteration of Trek , from The Original Series to the movies to the new Star Trek: Picard . Grab your remote and boldly go…

Star Trek TV

Star Trek: The Original Series (1966-1969)

The one that started it all, the original Star Trek came along at a time when most screen sci-fi (movies and TV) was still just monster movies or kiddie fare ( Lost in Space , anyone?). Gene Roddenberry ’s vision of an intelligent, allegorical sci-fi series, which used actual genre writers for much of its first two seasons, was groundbreaking in ways that reverberate to this day. And its cast, led by William Shatner as Captain Kirk, Leonard Nimoy as Spock and DeForest Kelley as Dr. McCoy, became iconic.

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Available in the US on Amazon , Hulu , Netflix , CBS All Access

Available in the UK on Netflix UK , Amazon UK * (*purchase only)

Star Trek: The Animated Series (1973-1974)

Using the voices of many of the original cast members and even employing writers from the original series, TAS had a genuine chance to extend the original show with the visual freedom animation offered. But the format turned out to be its enemy, as clunky, cheap animation and frequent reuse of shots gave the show a shoddy, amateurish reputation. Some of the stories are quite good, however.

Available in the US on Amazon , CBS All Access

Available in the UK on Netflix UK

Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987-1994)

Set nearly a century after the original series, with Gene Roddenberry mandating that conflict between the crew members be diminished by that point, ST: TNG proved to be enormously popular even with a brand new, unfamiliar crew. It took most of three seasons for the show to find its footing, but Captain Picard (a magnificent Patrick Stewart ) and company went on many captivating and genuinely outstanding adventures of their own.

Available in the US on Amazon , Netflix , CBS All Access , Hulu

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Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (1993-1999)

Many fans consider DS9 the best Trek series ever , and they certainly can make a good argument for it: the first Trek show not set on a starship, but instead on a remote space station, DS9 addressed cultural divides, character conflict, religion and war in a bolder fashion that any Trek entry before it — while also utilizing the kind of serialized storytelling that is now the standard across the medium.

Available in the UK on Netflix UK , Amazon UK* (*purchase only)

Star Trek: Voyager (1995-2001)

Voyager found members of a Federation starship and the rebel Maquis stranded together 70,000 years from Earth in the Delta Quadrant, facing a 75-year journey home. Headed by Trek ’s first female captain , Kathryn Janeway (Kate Mulgrew), Voyager encountered all kinds of interesting new races as well as old enemies the Borg during the long and often compelling journey home.

Star Trek: Enterprise (2001-2005)

The first series to act as a prequel, set a decade before the creation of what would become the United Federation of Planets, Enterprise followed the crew of the first ship to bear that name. Uneven in quality and struggling to find resonant stories, Enterprise was canceled after four seasons and ended an 18-year run for Trek on TV. 

Available in the US on Amazon , Netflix , Hulu , CBS All Access

Star Trek: Discovery (2017- )

Set 10 years prior to TOS , Discovery ’s troubled birth (it went through numerous delays and several showrunners) led to the most polarizing show in the franchise to date. Focusing for once on a central character other than the captain — mutinous anthropologist Michael Burnham (Sonequa Martin-Green), who turns out to be the adopted sister of one Mr. Spock — it has often ignored or played fast and loose with Trek continuity while painting Starfleet in a more conspiratorial light. Season 3 will debut in 2020.

Star Trek: Picard (2020- )

Like Discovery before it, Picard has divided Star Trek fans with its depiction of a Federation in decline, marked by bigotry, deception and treachery. But there is no questioning the powerful presence of Patrick Stewart, playing an older, flawed Picard for the first time in 18 years, and the thrill of seeing old friends like Seven of Nine, Will Riker and Deanna Troi. The show has certainly had its moments ; we’ll see if more are to come in the already-announced season 2 .

Available in the UK on Amazon UK

Star Trek: 50 Best Episodes

The 15 best worst episodes of star trek: the original series, star trek movies.

Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979)

After an aborted attempt at a second TV series ( Star Trek: Phase II ), Paramount Pictures brought Trek to the big screen in a lavish, $40 million epic (the most expensive movie of its time) that reunited the original crew in a 2001 -like encounter with a massive, mysterious space probe. Slow-moving, alternately impressive and shaky visually, ST: TMP nevertheless proved that the crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise could hold their own on the big screen — and strangely, the film has actually aged better than most.

Latest TV reviews

Doctor who series 14 episode 3 review: boom, star trek: discovery season 5 episode 8 review – labyrinths, inside no. 9 series 9 episode 2 review: the trolley problem.

Available in the US on Amazon , Hulu

Available in the UK on NOW TV , YouTube *, Amazon UK *, Sky Store * (*purchase/rent only)

Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982)

Still considered the finest Trek movie of all , and rightfully so, The Wrath of Khan focused — like the original show — on character and story instead of visual effects and esoteric concepts. Bringing back a deadly enemy from the first season, the generic superman Khan (Ricardo Montalban), the movie was thrilling, dramatic and, with the death of Spock at the finale, incredibly moving.

Available in the UK on NOW TV , *YouTube , *Amazon UK , * Sky Store (*purchase/rent only)

Star Trek III: The Search for Spock (1984)

Even though the end of Star Trek II strongly hinted at Spock’s return, it wasn’t a given. But Leonard Nimoy did come back for Star Trek III — as director (and yes, as Spock too in the film’s closing minutes) of this somber and often underrated entry . Captain Kirk loses almost everything — his beloved ship, his commission and his newly reconciled son — to save his friend’s life in a poignant story about friendship and loyalty. And there’s a bad-ass villain too, a Klingon captain played to the hilt by Christopher Lloyd.

Available in the UK on NOW TV , * YouTube , * Amazon UK , * Sky Store (*purchase/rent only)

Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (1986)

Leonard Nimoy’s second outing as director is both a comedy and an environmentally themed adventure — and it turned out to be one of the biggest hits of the franchise. This light-hearted romp sent Kirk and the gang back to 20 th century San Francisco to rescue a pair of humpback whales, and the fish-out-of-water (pun intended) antics of the crew provide plenty of laughs and a ton of heart.

Available in the US on Amazon

Available in the UK on NOW TV , * Amazon UK , * YouTube , * Sky Store (*purchase/rent only)

Star Trek V: The Final Frontier (1989)

Shatner got behind the camera for this turgid, unfunny mess , which regularly rates near the bottom of any Trekker’s list. The old “alien pretending to be God” trope, a long-lost brother we never knew Spock had and the other cast members acting by and large like buffoons make this perhaps the most embarrassing of the Enterprise ’s big screen voyages. There are a few nice moments — there always are — but this nowhere near first on our revisit list.

Available in the UK on NOW TV , * Amazon UK , *YouTube , * Sky Store (*purchase/rent only)

Star Trek IV: The Undiscovered Country (1991)

The classic Trek cast bounced back from Star Trek V with a final adventure that was also one of their best . A suspenseful, urgent meditation on aging, grievance and the end of the Cold War, Star Trek IV was a remarkable example of how Trek could show us at our finest even while facing down our lingering demons. Plus it ends with both a great space battle and one of the greatest cast send-offs ever (which was emulated by none other than Avengers Endgame ).

Star Trek: Generations (1994)

What could have been a magnificent passing of the torch from the classic Trek cast to the TNG crew ends up looking and feeling more like a tepid extended TNG episode with weak cameos from Kirk, Scotty (James Doohan) and Chekov (Walter Koenig). Patrick Stewart and his team are all solid, as is villain Malcolm McDowell, and the crashing of the Enterprise is a genuinely gripping setpiece. But the story and motivations are undercooked — as is most of the movie.

Available in the UK on NOW TV , * Amazon UK , * Sky Store , * YouTube (*purchase/rent only)

Star Trek: First Contact (1996)

Easily the best of the TNG quartet, First Contact travels back in time to the very start of Earth’s push into space, where the Borg intends to cripple humanity once and for all. The crew of the Enterprise follow them to make sure history isn’t changed, even as Picard confronts his fear and hatred of the Borg . Jonathan Frakes does a nice first-time directing job, balancing the action and character work ably, while Alice Krige steals the show as the sensual Borg Queen.

Star Trek: Insurrection (1998)

Like Generations , the third TNG theatrical outing feels like a mediocre TV segment stretched to feature length; even Frakes’ direction seems uninspired. One difference: with Picard fighting a secret plan (engineered by F. Murray Abraham, above) to uproot the natives of a “fountain of youth” planet, the seeds were planted for later Trek entries that portrayed an increasingly corrupt Federation. Otherwise, this is a forgettable, often cheesy film.

Star Trek: Nemesis (2002)

The final big-screen outing for the TNG cast is better than its reputation suggests , as Picard squares off against a renegade Romulan who happens to be his clone. Tom Hardy chews the scenery fabulously as the latter, and the climactic battle between his massive ship and the Enterprise is well handled by director Stuart Baird. There’s also a surprising emotional payoff for Data (Brent Spiner) that ends up being the hook for Star Trek: Picard 18 years later.

Star Trek (2009)

J.J. Abrams does what many thought couldn’t be done — he reboots Star Trek with a fresh, young cast inhabiting the original roles made iconic by Shatner, Nimoy and their crew. The new cast, led by Chris Pine as Kirk and Zachary Quinto as Spock, is the best thing about the film, which also uses a clever plot device to position this timeline just slightly to the side of the original one. The reliance on action over ideas is a bit of a letdown, and unfortunately would carry over to the next two movies.

Available in the UK on Netflix , NOW TV , * Amazon UK , * Sky Store , * YouTube (*purchase/rent only)

Star Trek Into Darkness (2013)

One of the worst Trek films ever , right down there with The Final Frontier . STID insults both fans and casual viewers with a brain-dead script, frantic action and massive contrivances (such as the sudden ability for someone to beam across the galaxy or the screenwriters’ well-worn “magic blood” gimmick). But its most egregious offense is turning into a half-assed remake of The Wrath of Khan that’s as dumb as it is pointless. This is what happens when people tackle Trek with no understanding of it.

Available in the UK on * Amazon UK , * Sky Store , * YouTube (*purchase/rent only)

Star Trek Beyond (2016)

Still too reliant on action over depth, and featuring the third revenge-driven storyline in a row, Star Trek Beyond is nevertheless better than its predecessor . It mostly works as a standalone adventure, and once again the Pine/Quinto cast delivers with heart. But even though Beyond does occasionally capture the vibe of classic Trek , there’s a vague sense of desperation at work — like the franchise knows it’s run out of gas (and crashing the Enterprise for the third time in 13 films doesn’t help).

Available in the UK on * Sky Store , * Amazon UK , * YouTube (*purchase/rent only)

Don Kaye | @donkaye

Don Kaye is an entertainment journalist by trade and geek by natural design. Born in New York City, currently ensconced in Los Angeles, his earliest childhood memory is…

• Where to watch 'Star Trek' TV shows
• Where to watch 'Star Trek' movies
• 'Star Trek' timeline and eras explained

Where to watch every 'Star Trek' movie and TV show, from 'The Original Series' to 'Strange New Worlds'

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• There are now 12 shows and 13 movies in the "Star Trek" franchise.
• The iconic sci-fi series focuses on the lives of Starfleet members as they explore the universe.
• Most "Star Trek" titles are available to stream on Paramount Plus ($5/month).

The "Star Trek" franchise continues to boldly go where no man has gone before. From "The Original Series" in 1966 to the spin-offs, sequels, and prequels of today, "Star Trek" has been a pop culture mainstay for more than 50 years. 

The franchise focuses on the adventures of various Starfleet crew members as they travel throughout the universe. And beneath the series' fun escapism, "Star Trek" movies and shows have used science fiction to comment on issues like racism, sexism, human rights, and politics. By exploring new worlds in "The Original Series," creator Gene Roddenberry was able to tell allegorical stories with thoughtful themes that relate to our own experiences.

In many ways, "Star Trek" has always highlighted diverse storytelling. In fact, one of the first interracial kisses ever aired on TV was in an episode of "The Original Series." This mix of sci-fi entertainment and social commentary is still present in the latest "Star Trek" installments, most of which air as Paramount Plus originals. "Star Trek: Discovery" introduced multiple queer leads, including the first transgender and non-binary characters in the "Star Trek" universe. 

If you're a new fan looking to explore the world of "Star Trek" for the first time, or you're a devoted Trekkie who just wants to watch it all over again, we've compiled a list of every "Star Trek" movie and TV show, along with details on where you can stream them all right now. 

Where to watch 'Star Trek' shows

There are 12 "Star Trek" shows in total, including nine live-action series and three animated shows. All of the shows are available on Paramount Plus, and many are also available to buy or rent from video-on-demand (VOD) services. One series, "Deep Space Nine," is also streaming on Netflix.

Where to watch 'Star Trek' movies

The "Star Trek" franchise includes 13 movies from 1979 to 2016. A new movie is also set to begin production in spring 2022. You can currently watch every "Star Trek" film on Paramount Plus. The movies are also available to buy or rent without a subscription through different VOD services, and you can stream a couple for free with ads.

'Star Trek' timeline and eras explained

"Star Trek" movies and TV shows all take place in different time periods that focus on different crews and starships. These time periods are generally categorized by fans and creators into four distinct eras: Pre-TOS, TOS, TNG, and Kelvin

Pre-TOS era

Movies and TV shows set during the Pre-The Original Series (Pre-TOS) era take place at some point before James T. Kirk becomes captain of the Enterprise.

A few notable series set during this early time period include "Star Trek: Enterprise," "Star Trek: Discovery," and " Star Trek: Strange New Worlds ."

The Original Series (TOS) era of movies and TV shows follows the crew members on the starship USS Enterprise after Kirk (William Shatner) becomes captain. Other notable characters featured during this period include Spock (Leonard Nimoy), Dr. McCoy (DeForest Kelley), Nyota Uhura (Nichelle Nichols), and Hikaru Sulu (George Takei).

The Original Series era includes the first "Star Trek" TV show from the 1960s, as well as several spin-off movies that feature Captain Kirk and his crew. 

The Next Generation (TNG) era is set 100 years after Kirk's adventures during "The Original Series," and includes movies and TV shows about the new crew of the USS Enterprise with Patrick Stewart as Captain Picard.

"Deep Space Nine" and "Voyager" are set during this time period as well, but focus on other crews and starships. Captain Picard's story also continues after "The Next Generation" in the Paramount Plus original series "Star Trek: Picard."

Kelvin Timeline

The Kelvin Timeline was introduced in 2009 with the release of director J.J. Abrams' first "Star Trek" movie starring Chris Pine as Captain Kirk and Zachary Quinto as Commander Spock. This film features the crew from "The Original Series" but takes place in an alternate universe that's separate from the main "Star Trek" timeline. 

In this version of events, Kirk still becomes Captain of the USS Enterprise but his path to get there is brand new, which gives the writers freedom to explore different storylines with familiar characters. 

The Kelvin Timeline includes "Star Trek" (2009), "Star Trek Into Darkness" (2013), and "Star Trek Beyond" (2016). An upcoming fourth movie in the Kelvin Timeline is set to begin production in spring 2022.

Disclosure: Mathias Döpfner, CEO of Business Insider's parent company, Axel Springer, is a Netflix board member.

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All 13 Star Trek Movies Available On Paramount + For The First Time

| November 1, 2021 | By: TrekMovie.com Staff 81 comments so far

Paramount+ is the home to the Star Trek TV Universe with every episode of every series, including five Paramount+ original series (once Strange New Worlds debuts in 2022). And now, finally, it is also the home of every single Star Trek feature film.

Paramount+ now has all the Star Trek

Over the last year, Paramount+ has been building up its library of feature films. Earlier this summer the catalog for the USA streamer grew to include all but one of the Star Trek feature films, however, due to previous licensing deals all but two left the service in August .

As of today, all the movies are back. Paramount+ includes all six Original Series movies, all four Next Generation movies, and all three Kelvin-era J.J. Abrams-produced movies.

All 13 Star Trek movies in Paramount Plus

Some of the Trek films are also available via other streaming services, including Hulu, AMC+ and Epix, but none have all thirteen. While it is possible that there are still pending exclusive licensing deals that could see some of the Trek films movies leave Paramount+ temporarily in the future, it appears that ViacomCBS is trying to ensure as much of its catalog is available on its own streaming service. Other entire Paramount film franchises are now available on the service as well, including all four Indiana Jones movies, and all six Mission: Impossible movies.

ViacomCBS has made it clear that they have changed their policy towards licensing to third parties, making Paramount+ the priority. We have already seen evidence of this with Star Trek, as three series left Netflix in September the USA after being available for a decade. It’s quite possible that as deals for the various Star Trek legacy series expire with thrid party streaming companies they will not be renewed. This pattern may also repeat itself internationally as Paramount+ expands overseas in the coming years. None of this is unique to ViacomCBS as all the major media companies are prioritizing their own content on their own streaming platforms.

More to come in 2022… and beyond

Over the summer Paramount announced they were developing a new 4K version of the Director’s Edition of Star Trek: The Motion Picture, which will debut exclusively on Paramount+ in 2022.  Paramount’s new chief has also recently confirmed that the studio is developing plans for multiple Star Trek feature films. And currently Paramount is generally making major theatrical releases available on Paramount+ within 45 days of release . The studio is also committed to developing more exclusive films for Paramount+, which could include potential future Star Trek movies. We have already seen them do this for other franchises including a Paranormal Activity movie released exclusively on Paramount+ last week.

All the Trek movies but which versions are they?

Right now it looks like the first four TOS movies are the same old circa-2009 theatrical versions, and not the newer 4K remasters that were released digitally and on disc a couple of months back. All TNG movies and the rest of the TOS movies are also the same circa-2009 versions with 5.1 audio.

Of the Kelvin-timeline films only Into Darkness is available with 4K HDR/Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos, Star Trek (2009) and Beyond are HD and 5.1 only, despite them being available in 4K HDR and Atmos since 2016 as digital copies and on disc.

NOTE: Device support for 4K and/or HDR/Dolby Vision and/or Dolby Atmos is rather limited, you can see the details in this Paramount+ help article .

Keep up with all the  Star Trek streaming news at TrekMovie.com .

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Actually, they still haven’t put Snake Eyes on Paramount Plus and that came out in theaters months ago.

Well, I saw that movie in theaters and regret doing so. It was very bad. Unless you’re a huge Joe fan, don’t bother

GI Joe: Origins ?

I thought it was about the guy at the Hasbro factory who said, “hey, let’s make a doll for boys!”

I find it interesting that paramount was able to hold onto the writes for the first 4 indy films I would have thought Disney would have fought tooth and nail to get them since they may have been filmed on paramount lots but they belonged to lucasfilm i guess the only way to stream both the first 4 and the fifth when it comes out is to have both paramount plus and Disney plus

Paramount will be involved with Indiana Jones in perpetuity. When Disney acquired Lucasfilm, it was granted ownership rights to the Indiana Jones IP, but Paramount retained the ownership of distribution rights for the films. Disney eventually acquired the distribution and marketing rights to future movies, but per the terms of their agreement, Paramount will continue to distribute the first four films for Disney and will receive “financial participation” from any additional films yet to be made.

I’m wondering when they figure out the rights issues with the royalties or whatever it is with the comic books so Marvel can reprint all the Dark Horse and original Marvel runs and do a new comic series. They’ve slowly been reprinting the Star Wars legends stuff but no Indiana Jones.

I don’t think it’s a rights issue; I think they’re just waiting until the next major market opportunity, which should come with the release of the fifth movie (just as the release of the fourth movie prompted a general wave of new Indy stuff, including reprints and reissues and whatnot of old comics in new collections, old novels, soundtracks, etc.).

It was a pretty ironclad contract, and with each film I believe Paramount always finded the entire budget themselves and thus had more leverage.

What I’m curious to see is if some canny Viacom lawyer finagled a way to keep the mountain logo at the beginning of Indy 5.

See my reply above yours. :)

We just don’t know if Paramount’s participation will ever be featured onscreen going forward. I’d love for it to be like The Avengers where their logo still came on even though they had ceded distribution responsibilities to Disney.

It’s still funny to see the one Avengers movie on Paramount+. It’s so random lol.

I think they have their eye on streaming revenue of the new films rather than the box office. That might speed things along. The franchise could even survive the occasional dud and not go into exile for a few years.

This so much. If Trek continues to be overall a good thing for P+ then they may be able to try some new ideas they’ve talked about. I wish they’d get back with Nick Meyer about the (apparently Kahn related) project he was working on. I think cinematic miniseries of 3 episodes would be great. Then do a mix of P+ stand alone streaming lower budget movies, and exclusive streaming rights to future big budget movies.

It’s obvious, regardless of what people may think of current trek, that it’s working for the streaming service.

At this point, that may be the option for the movies and just go to P+. They can make lower budget ones and do some interesting and creative things. Imagine something like the Star Trek: The Beginning movie they originally had in mind that dealt with the Romulan War. Script is already written! That can now be a Paramount+ exclusive. A movie that takes place in the 31st century aboard a ship right after The Burn hit and trying to get home. Or they can make a series of DS9 films set 10 years after the Dominion war! Get Ira Steven Behr back and make it great! Or a film that takes place during the Eugenics war staring a young Khan. Or one that involves Enterprise and give that show real closure. We’ll forget TATV exists. ;)

There are tons of ideas they can do that make not work for an entire show but done in a movie format. And this way they don’t have to worry about trying to get a bunch of new fans (and China) to make these movies a hit and you can tell a wide range of stories that doesn’t involve Kirk jumping off things like he’s Ethan Hunt or fighting another uber-villain who wants to destroy the Federation.

Wow great news!

I assume the 09 film was coming. It was on Netflix for half the year (which is where I watched it recently) but then it was pulled in August. Since it never showed up anywhere else I was hoping Paramount+ gets it.

Paramount+ is finally feeling like a real Star Trek library. Still needs more like the documentaries or TV specials but the movies and shows is what matters most. It’s crazy to know you can access 800+ hours of Star Trek for just $5-10. Beats the old days when I used to rent a 2 episode TOS VHS cassette for $3 at Blockbuster lol.

I still have Encounter at Farpoint and the pin it came with. Didn’t subscribe beyond the first one because that was like under ten bucks with a free pin and the others were twenty dollars a tape. Years later they had more affordable selected episodes at Blockbuster that is purchased like Best of Both Worlds tape 1 and 2 and All Good things tapes 1 and 2. Still remember buying the used rental tape for First Contact without the poster since they wouldn’t let that go. Or taping insurrection from the pay per view service it first appeared on before the cassette came out. I also taped the movie edit of dark frontier.

As much as we have it SO good today when it comes to just access, sometimes I do miss those old days. Renting or buying a VHS tape felt special. I remember going to Blockbuster after school when they marked down their First Contact cassettes for purchase and I nabbed the last one. Man I could not tell you how happy I felt that day lol.

I remember I used to record the shows on my VCR but I would stop it to edit out all the commercials so I can get a ‘quality’ experience later! I used to tape all the two-part episodes together as well. ;D

Haha when I was a kid I used to tape a few TOS episodes on my Dad’s audio reel to reel tape recorder and I wondered when they would ever invent an affordable video recorder for consumers. When VHS and Beta was first introduced, it felt like a miracle haha.

Pretty amazing that in less than 50 years after I was recording reel to reel audio-only from 79 hrs of available TOS, I can now access more than 800 hours of Star Trek using VOD via streaming – and watch it on a flat panel like the one Mr. Flint had in Requiem for Methuselah. (How will they ever make a CRT so thin??)

LOL the things us fans used to do to have these shows and films; especially at a time when buying these things outright was very cost prohibited. I remember a younger fan on Reddit a year ago ask why is binging so popular today when back then you could’ve still watched all the shows and movies on VHS or DVD, not realizing just how much it would cost just to rent one tape of DVD.

It could cost literally hundreds of dollars even in the 90s to try to watch every episode and movie and that was just to rent. And depending on the country, even more expensive. Buying was just insane. I remember one poster saying she had to order the TOS tapes from other countries back in Ireland because it just wasn’t on in her area IIRC and 2 episodes per tape were around US$8 a piece when you included shipping and handling.

Today, it’s around US$5-15 tops for a month for the entire library depending on what sites you have pretty much worldwide. And you have the entire thing in your pocket. No hauling dozens of tapes in a room. ;)

No, if you wanted to see the shows in the 90’s it was actually quite easy. Just record all the reruns. Then you had all of them. With commercials but you could just skip them. Sure, you were at the whims of whatever was rerun. But it wasn’t that hard to cacth Trek then.

IF you lived in America that is. The shows weren’t seen in every country like it is today. It was mostly in North America and Europe.

And yes I said I would tape the show without the commercials lol. But it was still very different time compared today.

I have a close friend with every TNG episode on VHS with commercials from the 90s. He won’t get rid of the tapes because of the commercials. That’s a lot of boxes.

LOL that’s funny. Do they still even have their VCR?? It would be fun to see a lot of those commercials today.

Yeah, I had a friend who did that too. But he has been trying to unload them for 20 years. He recorded all the MST3K episodes too!

Have you watched the Star Trek documentary on the Smithsonian documentary channel on Paramount+? It is quite good. One of the fun tidbits I learned from it is that the TOS sets were disassembled and sent to the UCLA theater department where they were repurposed for years-worth of students building sets for plays out of them. They speculate that there may still be pieces of the TOS sets being used as random pieces of plywood there.

You know, I haven’t yet! I see it on Paramount+ and tell myself I plan to watch it but never do. But since you recommend it, I’ll try and give it a watch this week now after I watch the next Prodigy episode. Keep it Star Trek themed. ;) Thanks for the recommendation!

They’re also all available in my DVD collection!

Same, but streaming is just so convenient!

Best to worst: II, III, VI, FC, IV, 09, ID, TMP, GEN, BEY, V, NEM, INS

agreed, no.

Nemesis basically never even opened, it was dead on arrival and never even left space dock. The final space battle is cool but not enough to lift the film from its abyss of mediocrity. It had to play against the second film of Lord of the Rings the Two Towers, oops.

Nemesis came out a week earlier, and didn’t even finish No.1 at the box office that week, losing to Maid in Manhattan .

II,VI,IV,III,V,TMP,09,BEY,ID,GEN,FC,NEM,INS

TWOK,TUC, FC, TSFS, GEN, TMP, TFF, INS, TVH, NEM

TUC, FC, TMP, TWoK, TSfS, TVH, INS, 09, TFF, ID, GEN, BEY, NEM

Insurrection is actually quite underrated. Might Feel kikda slow compared to First Contact, but it is indeed a nice standalone story, Even though it feels more like a TV double episode

I think Nemesis gets a bad wrap. IMHO the reason for the lower than hoped for box office has more to do with outside forces more so than the movie itself. As a TNG movie, I find it has quite a lot going for it. Was it perfect? No. Was it flawed, yes it had some flaws. But then, so did WoK. And that movie worked well in spite of the errors. Nemesis was the first time I, as a viewer, empathized with the data character some. It also was a really good finale for the group. It was the final episode they never got. And it worked. And yes, that 3rd act was really something.

I would say I like Insurrection a lot more today. It has grown on me, but it’s still on the lower end of the spectrum on my list overall. I also don’t hate any of the movies, but there are certainly quite a few bad ones too.

WOK, TUC, FC, TVH, BEY, TSFS, GEN, ST09, INS, STID, TFF, TMP, NEM

FC, TVH, TUC, 09, TWOK, TSFS, GEN, BEY, NEM, STID, TMP, INS, TFF

TUC, TWOK, FC, Nem, Bey, XI, TVH, Gen, ID, Ins, SFS, TFF, TMP

I’m not sure about “best”, but my favorite to least favorite looks something like this:

Star Trek – The Motion Picture Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan Star Trek III: The Search for Spock Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (tied for 1st through 4th place)

Star Trek: First Contact

Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country Star Trek: Generations (tied for 6th and 7th place)

Star Trek: Insurrection

Star Trek V: The Final Frontier Star Trek: Nemesis (tied for 9th and 10th place, which sounds low, but I do still enjoy everything to this point)

Star Trek [2009] Star Trek Into Darkness (tied for 11th and 12th place; these are the only ones I really dislike at all)

I never saw Star Trek Beyond since I didn’t merely dislike but outright hated its two immediate predecessors so much, but I’ll rectify that eventually in the name of completeness, and because I consistently read / hear from other fans that it’s the best of the Kelvin movies. I enjoy all the “Prime” timeline movies, albeit it to varying degreees. The ranking here is somewhat flexible, and on a different day the titles from fifth place to tenth place might shuffle around a bit, but the original four movies from TMP to TVH and the first two Kelvin timeline movies are pretty much locked where they are.

I never saw  Star Trek Beyond  since I didn’t merely dislike but outright hated its two immediate predecessors so much,

You should give it a shot. It really is in many ways the closest in tone to TOS.

Oh, I indeed intend to; that’s what I meant by “I’ll rectify that eventually in the name of completeness”. I do fully expect to enjoy it more than its predecessors. I doubt it’ll salvage the entire “series” for me given that I’ll still loathe two thirds of it, but I do want to have seen every production in the franchise at least once.

II,FC,VI,IV,BEY,III,GEN,TMP,09,INS,ID,V,NEM

The biggest reason why I put NEM at the bottom is as follows. I don’t mind watching The Final Frontier, whereas I have a hard time watching Nemesis.

Opinions, can, and will, vary.

There really isn’t a wrong answer, either. Just individual opinions.

Yay! I love everyone sharing their favorite Trek movies in order:

TWOK, First Contact, TSFS, TVH, Generations, TUC, Beyond, 09, TMP, Into Darkness, TFF, Ins. (I won’t even put Nemesis on this list since it’s so bad.)

II, FC, IV, 09, VI, III, TMP, ID, BEY, GEN, INS, NEM, V

But NEM and V could be reversed, depending on my mood. Both are neck-and-neck for being worst.

Since it seems we are doing this…

WoK TUC ST09 SFS NEM TMP FC BEY GEN STID INS TFF TVH

for me this is the layout best to worst fc,tuc,nem,gen,ins,twok,tsfs,tmp,tff,tvh and all time worst 09,id,bey and for the series best to worst dsc,pic,lds,pro,ent,ds9/voy,tng,tas,tos and once snw comes out the best to worst will be this dsc,pic,lds,pro,snw,ent,ds9/voy,tng,tas,tos

Nice, though I’ll likely skip Generations.

I skip the JJ films, I pretend they don’t exist. Into Darkness is the most vile film in the franchise IMO.

Agreed. Into Darkness was absolutely terrible.

The first half of Into Darkness is damned good, in my opinion. As soon as Cumberbatch announces he is Khan, it starts to go off the rails, and the ending is atrocious. I’d still rather watch it than V or Nemesis , no hesitation about that at all.

I will be honest, STID was the most entertaining of the Kelvin movies for me, at least it used to be. I rewatched all of them this year and wow it has REALLY slowed down for me. The last hour is looooong. I agree with you though, I still rather watch it than movies like Nemesis and TFF but its a badly written movie as those. It’s just much better made at least, certainly when compared to TFF lol.

I think I can agree to that. That movie really fell apart once it was known he was Khan.

That said, while it was easily the worst of the three KU flicks…. Their goal was the proper goal. Kirk needed to EARN the chair. They just went about it in a bad way. This reflects Secret Hideout today. The idea of different genres is sound. They have just approached it in a terrible way.

All thirteen are worth watching.

That’s the spirit!

Wish I had your enthusiasm. I will watch all the films from time to time but the only one I skip is TVH. I just find it really hard to watch without facepalming every 10 minutes.

My least favorites are Final Frontier and Motion Picture, but their is still a lot of good in both of them. Motion Picture is a beautiful movie with some great visuals. Final Frontier has a lot of funny scenes and some good character moments, even if the overall plot is dumb. I think Voyage Home is a bit overrated, but I find it to be a lot of fun, and it has some of the most quotable moments in the movies.

I think that way about TFF. It’s a bad concept badly executed but it did have it’s moments where the three showed their bond. Which I really liked.

…but with Paramount+ still offering a Stone Aged UX, if you manage to click around and actually find the Star Trek hub, it’s still only the shows.

They seem to have fixed that lately. I was having the same problem too, but the last week or so you type in Star Trek everything comes up. I noticed it at least since Prodigy started.

Sure, but the only dedicated hub you can click to is for the shows. By now they should get their act together and have some franchise hubs to reinforce why people should stick with their service.

They can start with Star Trek, Indiana Jones, Mission: Impossible, NCIS, CSI and Spongebob, and then eventually claw back the rights to things like South Park, Jack Ryan, Transformers and Garfield.

Oh you’re definitely speaking to the choir on that lol. I been whining about that here for months now. Yeah, it really bothers me there is a dedicated link for the Star Trek shows but for some reason doesn’t include the movies or the ONE documentary they have. Why is everything simply not together? Compare that to what you see on Disney+ or HBO Max where all their franchises have their own special sections or hubs is sad. For awhile, they did have all the Trek stuff at least listed in one area when the 55th anniversary arrived. That was up for a few weeks before it was gone again. And yes why not have hubs for MI, Transformers, Indiana Jones etc? Highlight your biggest brands like the others.

Paramount+ is definitely improving but its still waaaaay behind in many ways when compared to the big boys.

Has anyone else noticed the terrible sound mixing on TOS on Paramount+? You can barely hear Shatner’s voiceover on the opening credits in most episodes. This was never a problem on Netflix or AppleTV; it’s unique to Paramount+. You’d think the owners would take better care of their signature franchise.

THANK YOU! I thought I was going nuts, never hearing that voiceover at the proper sound level.

No, it was a problem on Netflix. It’s buried in the mix, which is awful because it’s so iconic and it loses all power when you can’t even hear it!

It seems to be a problem especially if you’re listening in stereo (rather than a surround sound system) https://twitter.com/StarTrekVisComp/status/1445387118369558536?s=20

I have TOS on BD so it’s never been a problem for me.

On Blu-ray it’s fine. CBS messed up the digital copies they give to streaming companies.

Perhaps so. I’ve never streamed anything I already own on BD.

Still waiting on the Director’s Edition of Khan, Paramount+. You already have that one in the can.

I’m thinking they may want to have a version of every movie, episode, and short on Paramount+ for the bulletpoint checklist appeal and its value as a selling point, but keep certain versions of certain productions available only on disc, as sort of an exclusive reward for those people who still buy physical editions. The DE of Khan could be one such thing. They might even do it eventually with the upcoming DE of TMP , despite it rolling out initially as a P+ exclusive – it might debut streaming on P+, have a brief period there as the latest P+ exclusive to attract new customers, then get a disc release for those who want it, and finally be dropped from P+ and remain available exclusively on disc. I don’t pretend to know that’s what they’ll do, but I could see them doing that.

Has the extended edition of TNG ‘s “The Measure of a Man” ever been offered for streaming or download anywhere, or has it only ever been available on disc? I’m not sure, but as far as I know it’s been disc-only since it first came out with the TNG S2 Blu-ray set nearly a decade ago (wow, I can’t believe it’s been that long already). I believe the DE of The Undiscovered Country has been streamed, though…

Oh my, I may just have had an inkling, the ultimate inkling. I’ve recently watched tons of astrophysics documentaries. The Big Bang Theory relies on the concept of the redshift being a result of universal expansion. It further relies on the existence of dark matter to explain a stronger gravity than expected and dark energy to compensate for the higher expansion rate of the universe.

But that expansion theory is based on the perception of the redshift in light from far away galaxies. Let’s take that expansion out of the equation.

What if the universe is indeed static and the redshift is caused by looking through uncountable layers of dark matter. The further a galaxy is remote from our position, the more its light waves are polarized by dark matter and shifted towards the infrared spectrum.

Over small distances that dark matter is virtually invisible but over such long distances, there is loads of that dark matter to gaze upon and that causes the redshift!

Dark matter is basically otherwise inexplicable gravity. If I’m correct, we can see it in the redshift. It isn’t inconceivable, invisible at all. It’s no longer in the dark but it is red! Hence we could call it RED MATTER!

And what does it do? It is utterly condensed gravity. If you were able to isolate it from its natural state even very small dosages could be sufficient to cause a massive gravitational singularity. Something like a black hole…

If any of that is true, ST09 would actually make a lot of sense. And not just that…

If there is no big bang but a static universe, the cosmic microwave background (CMB) may actually be a gaze upon the two-dimensional holographic projection matrix of the universe, a giant holodeck. And that holographic universe would explain inconsistencies between general relativity and quantum mechanics.

The Red Matter in its natural state surrounds us, binds us together… it may also be an “explanation” for something like the Force or even the Mycelium Network.

Now that’s interesting.

Something like how Warp drive in Trek speculation predates Alcubierre’s theory by three decades.

Would love to have Dr Erin Macdonald look at this one.

Maybe significant to some. Not to me. I have them all on BD. No need to rely on streaming. And it’s actually way easier to just pop the disc in the player and hit “play” than go through the hassle of casting to the TV. But hey, if that makes you youngsters happy, I get it.

This is not really aimed at people like us (although I don’t own any of the films today although I used to from TMP through First Contact).

You have to remember not everyone who watches Star Trek are A. hardcore fans or B. old fans. There could be many people who are watching the new shows for the first time like Picard, Discovery, Prodigy etc may not have ever seen a single film. Now they are there for them to watch as well and to get into. Paramount knows the hardcore has most of these films already, but its for the NEXT generation of fans as well.

And there are a lot of people who just want to watch a movie once and move on. That’s why streaming is a great option for people like this. They can now sample shows and movies they probably would never think to do otherwise. The reality is for most, buying movies and shows really do nothing but take up space after they watched the first time. I had tons of DVDs until I realized I wasn’t watching them lol. I bought them with the idea I would rewatch them of course but that just doesn’t really happen outside a few of them.

Wondering when those movies are available outside the US

My rankings based on personal enjoyment weighted with overall movie quality:

1. Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan 2. Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home 3. Star Trek: First Contact 4. Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country 5. Star Trek III: The Search for Spock 6. Star Trek: Generations 7. Star Trek: TMP (remastered) 8. Star Trek [2009] 9. Star Trek Beyond 10.Star Trek: Insurrection 11.Star Trek Into Darkness 12.Star Trek: Nemesis 13.Star Trek V: The Final Frontier

Why can’t I add Short Treks to My List at Paramount Plus?

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

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

How to stream the Star Trek Movies in the US

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Star Trek' s 2009 Reboot Changed Everything

J.j. abrams and company didn't just revive star trek, they steered the franchise—and hollywood—in a new direction..

Star Trek has been an important fixture of sci-fi TV for decades, and alongside its continued existence, movies have helped further flesh out the characters. But in both the movies and TV, the early 2000s weren’t kind to the franchise: 2002's Star Trek: Nemesis was a critical and commercial disaster, and Star Trek: Enterprise had a respectable four-season run, but the shortest of the shows since the original series. Change was in order, and it was eventually decided that would take the form of a reboot that took everyone by surprise.

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Star Trek— that is, the reboot film released May 8, 2009—is one of those movies that showed up at just the right moment. At the time, movies based on old TV shows like Starsky & Hutch and Charlie’s Angels had found commercial successes, which gave this reboot some cultural context. It also helped that it was being helmed by a trio of filmmakers who knew how to make hits: J.J. Abrams was still riding the high off directing Mission: Impossible 3 (speaking of movies based on old TV shows) , along with the almost-ended Lost and the still young Fringe . Writers Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman had written Mission and were further on Paramount’s good side with the first Transformers movie. If there was anyone who could make a new Star Trek flick that’d get anyone’s attention, for better or worse, it’d be these guys.

It really can’t be understated how much Paramount was banking on this new Star Trek being a hit back then. The studio wanted, more than anything, to get audiences to care about Star Trek again, and how best to do that in the 2000s? By hyping up its action scenes and Kirk being quite the ladies man. That didn’t entirely go over well, much like Abrams’ comments that the movie would mainly be for non-Trekkies. Even with that, the movie couldn’t help but look interesting. Those trailers didn’t tell you a dang thing about its actual plot, but they had good vibes, and made you want to see how the Enterprise crew would come to be the adventurers our parents and grandparents had fallen in love with back in their day.

And fall in love, people did: the reboot movie was met with critical acclaim and later four Academy Award nominations, ultimately winning one for Best Makeup and being the only Trek movie to net an Oscar. Despite mixed reactions on the movie splitting off into its own timeline, critics and audiences loved the young cast’s takes on the original characters—especially Zachary Quinto’s Spock and Zoe Saldana’s Uhura—and their chemistry. With a $385.7 million box office, Star Trek succeeded in making people care about the franchise once more. But its high ended up coming down quicker than you’d think, and in the years since, the movies have been marooned in space.

A few years later, 2013's Star Trek Into Darkness left an odd taste in audiences’ mouths. It still made money, but something about it felt off: maybe it was how it did a more convoluted retelling of Wrath of Khan, or maybe it can be owed to its very weird B-plot with 9/11 parallels that feel like they belong in a completely different movie (or another franchise entirely). Star Trek Beyond , conversely, went for a considerably simpler approach and just functioned like a regular episode of the show. That energy, combined with a still- incredible needle drop , was the right move, even if the film wasn’t a smash hit when it dropped in 2016. Paramount’s spent years trying to get a fourth movie off the ground since then, and it’s anyone’s guess as to if it’ll actually happen.

Things have gone much better over in TV land: Star Trek: Discovery and Lower Decks , a pair of well-liked shows, are both ending after their respective fifth seasons—a run that feels like a miracle these days. Star Trek: Picard gave Next Generation fans the legacy sequel they’d been wanting for years, and Star Trek: Prodigy , despite how messily its schedule was handled, brought younger audiences into the fold. It’s Star Trek: Strange New Worlds that’ll be spearheading future TV plans, which currently include a Starfleet Academy show and the Paramount+ film focused on Michelle Yeoh’s Discovery character Phillipa Georgiou .

Star Trek 2009 's biggest aftershock came outside of its franchise with the big reboot and legacy sequel boom of the 2010s. New takes on Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Power Rangers, RoboCop , and Evil Dead were born from this movie’s success, even if it was just to revitalize its own series. Abrams, Orci, and Kurtzman went on to become even bigger names in Hollywood: the former famously went on to revive Star Wars for the big screen, and is a producing powerhouse. Orci and Kurtzman went on to be involved with the Amazing Spider-Man movies, and create or executive produce shows like Sleepy Hollow and Fringe . When the duo separated, Kurtzman—following his directorial debut The Mummy , which failed to launch Universal’s Dark Universe—effectively became Star Trek’s equivalent to Kevin Feige. Orci, last we heard, was writing a Spider-Man adjacent movie for Sony that’s gone quiet in the years since its announcement.

All-in-all, Star Trek was a game-changer, and for better or worse, you don’t get our current movie landscape without it. With how big the franchise is right now, it’s understandable why Paramount’s wanted so much to get a fourth film off the ground—but is it possible by this point? That hypothetical (and surprising ) Star Trek 4 has been waylaid by shifting creatives for years, to the point you feel like someone should finally make the call to pull the plug. Not only did Beyond give the Kelvin universe its cleanest end after the passings of Anton Yelchin and Leonard Nimoy, fourth movies can sometimes be dicey, especially when their franchise wasn’t really built with it in mind. And it’s anyone’s guess as to if a Starfleet prequel set in the same timeline will rejuvenate it for more films or just be a small detour before we head back to Prime time.

In 2022, Chris Pine said the best way forward for Star Trek movies may require they be less bombastic, more geared toward fans, and cost less to make. It’s an easy sentiment to get behind, and that may really only be possible by junking Trek 4 and doing it with another movie. The Enterprise of the Kelvinverse had a good run, and after 15 years, it’s more than fine to boldly go in a new direction.

Want more io9 news? Check out when to expect the latest Marvel , Star Wars , and Star Trek releases, what’s next for the DC Universe on film and TV , and everything you need to know about the future of Doctor Who .

Why Zachary Quinto's Spock Is So Different to the Others

Zachary Quinto's Spock is a younger version of the popular character, very different from Leonard Nimoy's version; here is why.

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Quinto's spock is a member of an endangered species, quinto's spock has a different relationship with his family, quinto's spock is in a long-term relationship with uhura, quinto's spock is younger, but learning lessons quicker.

May 8th marked the 15-year anniversary of the release of J.J. Abrams's Star Trek . The film was the highly anticipated reboot of the popular science fiction franchise, one whose plot was surrounded by mystery up until the film's release. The film not only had the monumental task of reviving the Star Trek franchise for a modern audience but also recasting some of the biggest names in popular culture. Names like William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy were so linked to Kirk and Spock's characters that it seemed impossible to imagine anyone else in the role.

Now, though, both have been recast twice. Spock himself can be seen on the Paramount+ streaming series Star Trek: Strange New Worlds , played by Ethan Peck . Yet before that, the actor who first had to fill the boots of the legendary Leonard Nimoy was Zachary Quinto . Fans flocked to Quinto as the perfect actor to take up the role of Spock almost immediately after his debut as Sylar on Heroes in November 2006. By the following year, he was cast as Spock, and when the film opened in 2009, fans, critics, and Nimoy himself praised Quinto's performance.

While Quinto certainly gets many of the Spock hallmarks down, he is also a very different take on the character. Here is where Zachary Quinto's Spock from the Kelvin timeline differs from Nimoy's and Peck's versions from the Prime timeline.

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Easily, the biggest change from the two timeline versions of Spock is that in the Kelvin timeline of J.J. Abrams's reboot, Spock's homeworld of Vulcan is destroyed. Vulcan is a significant planet in the Star Trek franchise. It was frequently seen in the original series and was vital to the plot of Star Trek III: The Search for Spock , and subsequent Star Trek material featured the planet. Vulcans are one of the most recognizable and recurring alien species in Star Trek .

But in the Kelvin timeline, Nero destroys Vulcan using red matter that creates a black hole at the center of the planet. Spock estimates that no more than 10,000 Vulcans survived the planet's destruction, which makes Spock a member of an endangered species . While the older Spock from the Prime timeline does find a planet to set up a new Vulcan colony, this changes Spock's journey in the Kelvin films. In both Star Trek and Star Trek Beyond , Quinto's Spock feels like he must serve his duty to the Vulcan species whereas Nimoy's and Peck's versions were more than free to do their duties to Starfleet.

It is only on the advice of Nimoy's Spock in the first film, informing him how valuable the friendship with Kirk will be, and then having that friendship in action in Star Trek Beyond , that Spock makes a decision for himself. While Nimoy's Spock famously said , "The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few, or the one," Quinto's Spock has done something for the needs of himself, which will be for the betterment of many.

As seen in both Star Trek: The Original Series and Star Trek: Strange New Worlds , Spock has a complicated relationship with his father, Sarek, but is more open with his mother, Amanda Grayson, a human, which is where Spock gets his half-human nature. This dynamic is similar to that of 2009's Star Trek , but the destruction of Vulcan causes Amanda Grayson to die . Whereas Spock's mother didn't die until he was much older in the original timeline, here he loses her as a much younger man and in the act of war.

This now only draws a parallel to Kirk, as now both men have lost a parent in this timeline that they did not in the other thanks to the time-traveling villain Nero, but it forces Spock and his father to open up to one another. Previously, Amanda Grayson often acted as a buffer between Spock and Sarek, the two men must now take comfort in one another without her.

In one of the best moments in the franchise, Sarek and Spock finally have a heart-to-heart following Spock's outburst when Kirk got him to show he was emotionally compromised on their mission by insulting his mother. Sarek tells Spock it is never unwise to speak his mind, and Spock opens up with the human emotion of anger, wanting to take revenge on the person who killed his mother. Sarek tells Spock he is proud his son can be half-human and half-Vulcan , allowing these two men to become closer than they were in the original timeline. When Sarek finally answers Spock's question from earlier in the film about why he married a human, Sarek responds with a very emotional answer: he loved her. While Spock loses his mother at a young age in this new timeline whereas his older counterpart got to spend many years with her, that loss brings father and son closer together.

One of the most controversial decisions in J.J. Abrams's Star Trek was not the destruction of Vulcan, but the reveal that Spock was in a relationship with Lt. Nyota Uhura . In the original series, the two are no more than co-workers, and this is carried over into Star Trek: Strange New Worlds , which shows Uhura's earliest missions aboard the USS Enterprise in the original timeline. In Star Trek: The Original Series and Strange New Worlds , Spock is engaged to a fellow Vulcan, T'Pring. T'Pring is not present or mentioned in the Kelvin timeline films.

All Roads Lead to Discovery: The Full Star Trek Timeline, Explained

Spock's relationship with Uhura is a major part of his arc in three recent live-action Star Trek films. Star Trek Into Darkness deals with the troubles the two face in a relationship, while by the time Star Trek Beyond begins, the two have broken up, only to reconcile by the end of the film. This romantic relationship does a lot to humanize Spock and draw a contrast with the past incarnations that highlight this younger version of the character.

Of course, Spock's age difference is a major part of what separates him from the other versions. Spock is born in 2230. 2009's Star Trek takes place in 2255, meaning Spock is only 25 during the events of the movie , a much younger character than when audiences first meet him in Star Trek: The Original Series , which took place between 2266 and 2269 when Spock was between 36 and 39 . The youngest that audiences see Spock in the original canon is during Star Trek: Discovery Season 2, which is between 2257 and 2258, placing Spock at about 27. That means his youngest canon appearance in the original timeline is still older than Spock during his massive adventure in 2009's Star Trek .

Because of this change in the timeline, Spock has to experience many major events at a younger age. A great example of this is his first meeting with his future best friend, Captain Kirk . In Star Trek , Kirk meets Spock in 2255 during an academic trial where Spock (rightfully) accuses Kirk of cheating on a test. The two start out as adversaries but eventually grow to respect one another. Their meeting in the original timeline does not happen until four years later, as seen on Star Trek: Strange New Worlds , where they are at the bar onboard the USS Enterprise and the two have a more relaxed, friendly encounter.

Star Trek: 10 Facts About Spock You Probably Didn’t Know (Or Forgot)

In addition, Spock does not die at the wrath of Khan in Star Trek Into Darkness like his prime self does in the appropriately named Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan , but instead, it is Captain Kirk, when they are both much younger men. In Wrath of Khan, the death highlights the long friendship between Kirk and Spock, and Spock's sacrifice is meant to humble Kirk and make him realize that he can't always win, flipping the script and having it be Kirk die (if only briefly) at the early part in his and Spock's friendship in Star Trek Into Darkness gets Spock to open up and admit to Kirk that he is his friend .

He becomes overwhelmed with anger and goes on to chase Khan down, giving into his violent urges until Uhura stops him, informing him they need Khan alive to save Kirk. This is a Spock who is still struggling to handle his emotions, and while he might appear like the classic Spock on the surface when he is prone to moments of emotion, they are bigger.

It is clear that Zachary Quinto's Spock was going on a journey to grow into the version Leonard Nimoy played while also forging his own path. Certainly, the long and many delays to Star Trek 4 have certainly stalled more major developments than this version of Spock would have. Hopefully, Paramount can get that fourth film in the Kelvin timeline off the ground, bring back the cast, and give Quinto at least one more outing as everyone's favorite Vulcan.

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The brash James T. Kirk tries to live up to his father's legacy with Mr. Spock keeping him in check as a vengeful Romulan from the future creates black holes to destroy the Federation one pl... Read all The brash James T. Kirk tries to live up to his father's legacy with Mr. Spock keeping him in check as a vengeful Romulan from the future creates black holes to destroy the Federation one planet at a time. The brash James T. Kirk tries to live up to his father's legacy with Mr. Spock keeping him in check as a vengeful Romulan from the future creates black holes to destroy the Federation one planet at a time.

• J.J. Abrams
• Roberto Orci
• Alex Kurtzman
• Gene Roddenberry
• Zachary Quinto
• 1.6K User reviews
• 532 Critic reviews
• 82 Metascore
• 27 wins & 95 nominations total

• Spock Prime

• (as Zoë Saldana)

• Amanda Grayson

• George Kirk

• Winona Kirk

• Captain Robau

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• (as Antonio Elias)
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• Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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• Trivia Simon Pegg did not audition for the role - he simply received an email from J.J. Abrams asking if he would like to play Scotty. Pegg said he would have done this for free, or even paid Abrams to be in this film, if he had not been offered a role.
• Goofs After Spock boards the Vulcan ship on board the mining vessel, Kirk is seen walking through some pipes. His Starfleet phaser has switched to a Romulan gun (longer barrel and no lights), before switching back to the Starfleet one again in the next scene. He actually acquires the Romulan gun a few scenes later.

Spock Prime : James T. Kirk!

James T. Kirk : Excuse me?

Spock Prime : How did you find me?

James T. Kirk : Whoa... how do you know my name?

Spock Prime : I have been and always shall be your friend.

James T. Kirk : Wha...

[shakes head]

James T. Kirk : Uh... look... I-I don't know you.

Spock Prime : I am Spock.

James T. Kirk : Bullshit.

• Crazy credits The first part of the closing credits is styled after the opening credits of Star Trek (1966) , where the starship Enterprise blasts off into space as a monologue describes its mission, and then the cast names appear as the famous "Star Trek" theme music plays.
• Connections Edited into De wereld draait door: Episode #4.157 (2009)
• Soundtracks Theme from 'Star Trek' TV Series Written by Alexander Courage & Gene Roddenberry

User reviews 1.6K

• Mar 22, 2015
• If this premise is that an alternate timeline created when Nero traveled back in time, then what happened to James Kirk's older brother, Sam, aka George Samuel Kirk Jr.?
• How can Spock's mother still be alive years later (original series) when she dies earlier on in this movie ?
• What is Star Trek about?
• May 8, 2009 (United States)
• United States
• Official Facebook
• Star Trek: The Future Begins
• Vasquez Rocks Natural Area Park - 10700 W. Escondido Canyon Rd., Agua Dulce, California, USA (Vulcan)
• Paramount Pictures
• Spyglass Entertainment
• See more company credits at IMDbPro
• $150,000,000 (estimated)
• $257,730,019
• $75,204,289
• May 10, 2009
• $385,681,768

Technical specs

• Runtime 2 hours 7 minutes
• Dolby Digital
• Dolby Atmos
• 2.35 : 1 (original ratio)
• 2.39 : 1 (original ratio)

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Star trek: discovery season 5 episode 8 ending explained.

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Star Trek: Discovery Season 5 Returning Cast & New Character Guide

Star trek: discovery’s breen go too far beyond other enemy alien ships, every love story in star trek: discovery season 5 (old & new).

WARNING: Contains SPOILERS for Star Trek: Discovery season 5, episode 8, "Labyrinths".

• Moll orchestrates a coup to become the new leader of the Breen Imperium in Star Trek: Discovery season 5, episode 8.
• Burnham sacrifices the Progenitors' treasure clue to save the Eternal Archive in Star Trek: Discovery season 5, episode 8.
• Burnham faces her fears and earns the final clue in an intense mindscape test in Star Trek: Discovery season 5, episode 8.

At the end of Star Trek: Discovery season 5, episode 8, "Labyrinths", Captain Michael Burnham (Sonequa Martin-Green) is forced to hand over vital information to the Breen Imperium, setting up a thrilling two-part finale. Discovery season 5, episode 8, "Labyrinths", written by Lauren Wilkinson & Eric J. Robbins, and directed by Emmanuel Osei-Kuffour, sees Burnham complete one final test to acquire the coordinates for where the Progenitors' treasure is hidden. While Burnham navigates the labyrinths of her mind, the USS Discovery, Commander Rayner (Callum Keith Rennie) and Cleveland Booker (David Ajala) protect Michael and the Eternal Archive from attacking Breen forces.

With Moll (Eve Harlow) now in the custody of the Breen Imperium in the wake of the events of Star Trek: Discovery season 5, episode 7 , "Erigah", she begins manipulating the political situation for her own ends. Proving that Moll will stop at nothing to resurrect her dead husband, L'ak (Elias Toufexis), she instigates a coup against Primarch Ruhn (Tony Nappo). With both the USS Discovery and the Breen Dreadnought in possession of the location of the Progenitors' treasure, Star Trek: Discovery season 5's final two episodes are set to be an epic struggle for the secrets of life itself.

As Burnham seeks the universe's greatest treasure in Star Trek: Discovery season 5, she'll need help from a host of new and returning characters.

Moll Becomes The Breen’s New Leader - Was She Star Trek: Discovery Season 5’s True Villain All Along?

Primarch ruhn had to go..

Moll pulls off her most impressive feat yet in Star Trek: Discovery season 5, episode 8. Held in the custody of the Breen, Moll is able to engineer a coup against the Primarch, with the help of the sympathetic Lieutenant Arisar . Throughout "Labyrinths", Moll challenges the Primarch's authority, sowing the seeds of doubt in the heads of his followers. As the Primarch becomes increasingly reckless in his attempts to secure the final clue, he risks all-out war with the Federation. This is something that Moll points out will further exacerbate the political upheaval among the Breen in Star Trek: Discovery season 5.

When the Primarch attempts to destroy the Archive even after securing the location of the Progenitors' technology, Moll launches a revolt, murdering Ruhn and uniting the Primarch's followers behind her and the one true Scion, L'ak. In doing so, Moll has positioned herself at the head of the Breen Imperium going into Discovery season 5's two-part finale . While Moll is driven by her love for L'ak and her belief that the Progenitors' technology can resurrect people , she also seems to be enjoying the very position of power that her husband rejected, foreshadowing a potential clash between the two lovers.

Why Captain Burnham Gives The Breen The Progenitors’ Complete Treasure Map

Burnham made a calculated tactical decision to save the archive..

Burnham's decision to hand over the collected Progenitors' scientist's clues may seem like a huge mistake, but it's worth remembering that she was placed in an impossible situation. Primarch Ruhn was prepared to destroy the Eternal Gallery and Archive, which would have been a devastating loss to the galaxy. If the search for the Progenitors' treasure in Star Trek: Discovery has proved anything, it's that culture and history matter. On top of the lives that would be lost, the Breen's destruction of the Archive would have eradicated an astonishing amount of artifacts that make up the cultural legacy of Federation and non-Federation worlds alike .

However, Burnham's decision at the end of Star Trek: Discovery season 5, episode 8, was also influenced by the knowledge she had gained from her time in the mindscape. After finally completing the test, Burnham learned that she needed one last piece of information to acquire the Progenitors' treasure. So far, only Burnham knows this information, as it wasn't even voiced on screen. Therefore, Burnham is banking on the Breen being unable to figure out the final piece of the puzzle before the Discovery crew can acquire the Progenitors' treasure.

With their massive Dreadnought starship and intimidation tactics, Star Trek: Discovery's Breen go overboard compared to other Trek villains.

To further throw the Breen off the scent, Captain Burnham pulls off an impressive Star Trek captain maneuver which effectively fakes the destruction of the USS Discovery. Venting plasma in from the Discovery into the charged atmosphere of the Badlands, Burnham orders Commander Paul Stamets (Anthony Rapp) to jump to the final location at the exact moment the Discovery's shields began to buckle under the strain of the Breen's weaponry. With the ship gone, the Breen's weapons instead ignited the plasma, resulting in a huge explosion that made it look as if they had destroyed the USS Discovery , giving Starfleet a tactical advantage ahead of Star Trek: Discovery season 5, episode 9, "Lagrange Point".

Star Trek: Discovery season 5, episode 9, "Lagrange Point" is directed by Will Riker actor and prolific Star Trek director, Jonathan Frakes.

Burnham Faced Her Greatest Fear - How Michael Earned The Progenitors’ Final Clue

Burnham must know herself before acquiring the progenitors' treasure..

Star Trek: Discovery 's Counselor Troi tribute becomes more pronounced in "Labyrinths" as Dr. Marina Derex's test was a mindscape that effectively acted as therapy for Captain Burnham. Given a sassier, more impish version of Book as her guide, Burnham makes several missteps in her quest to escape the labyrinths of her mind. With time running out and the lights going out all around her, Burnham settles on the solution being that she simply has to navigate the maze to its exit.

After she winds up back where she started, Burnham breaks down and begins discussing her fears with the interface of Dr. Derex's program. Telling "Book" that she has no fear of death, Michael instead reveals that her greatest fear is failure; as a captain, as a friend, as a partner, and as the seeker of the Progenitors' treasure . Predictably for a test designed by a Betazoid, Burnham's introspection is the lesson, as she comes to terms with who she is as a person. As the interface states to her:

If you're going to be the one to protect what the Progenitors left behind you have to know yourself, to be honest with yourself, especially with the things that are hard to look at; fear, guilt, things you may be vulnerable to.

As well as securing her the final clue to the location of the Progenitors' treasure, Burnham's personal journey finally allows her to confront her failings with Book . Now that she's shared her doubts with the interface, it may make it easier for Michael to finally be honest with Book, leading to their romantic reconciliation. However, with the Breen on their tail, the romantic reunion between Burnham and Book will have to wait until later in Star Trek: Discovery season 5.

The Importance Of Book’s Kwejian Artifact Explained

How will book reconnecting with kwejian affect his story with moll.

Book's presence at the Eternal Gallery and Archive is requested because they need his assistance in identifying a Kwejian artifact. As one of the last surviving members of his race, Book is one of the few people who can give the archivists the context that they need. The artifact is two cuttings of the World Root, the network of tree roots that symbolized the Kwejian's ancestral chain. So far in Star Trek: Discovery season 5, Book has struggled to find a connection in the wake of his planet's destruction. It's one of the reasons Book has become so intent on saving Moll, who he sees as the closest thing to a living relative.

With his connection to the World Root restored, it may be easier for Book to cut ties with Moll...

However, now that Booker's connection with his home planet has been renewed, and Moll has seized control of the Breen Imperium, he may be forced to abandon his crusade. Book's relationship with Moll is borne out of an obligation to his mentor, the late Cleveland Booker III. If Moll is too far gone, Book might not be able to bring her back from the brink in the remaining episodes of Star Trek: Discovery season 5 . With his connection to the World Root restored, it may be easier for Book to cut ties with Moll. Alternatively, it could provide Moll with the means to Book him onside, by suggesting that it, combined with the Progenitors' treasure, the cuttings could bring back Kwejian.

Discovery season 5 premieres with fresh chapters for old love stories, along with a few new ones, bringing some levity to a usually heavy Star Trek.

Why Star Trek: Discovery’s Eternal Gallery & Archive Is So Important To The Federation & The Breen

The eternal archive and gallery is open to all races, even if they're at war with each other..

The importance of the Eternal Gallery and Archive in Star Trek: Discovery season 5, episode 8, "Labyrinths" isn't restricted to the clue to the Progenitors' treasure. As Hy'Rell (Elena Juatco) stated before she was rudely interrupted by Burnham, the Eternal Gallery houses the largest collection of historical and cultural artifacts in the Alpha or Beta Quadrants . As Michael states to the interface during her test, history is important, as those who don't learn from the mistakes of the past are doomed to repeat them. However, cultural preservation is also hugely important, as proven by the World Root cuttings.

Hy'Rell is an Efrosian like Nick Ryas' helmsman in Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home and Kurtwood Smith's Federation President in Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country .

Given how many planets get destroyed in Star Trek , it is vitally important that cultural artifacts are kept to preserve the legacies of those worlds. It's likely for this reason that the Eternal Gallery and Archive exists independently of the Federation, so that all worlds can submit items to their collections. This is why archivists like Star Trek: Discovery 's Hy'Rell are well versed in negotiation, as they have to keep warring powers like the Federation and the Breen Imperium apart, to preserve the peace and sanctity of the Eternal Gallery and Archive.

A Damaged USS Discovery Is Now In A Race Against Time With The Breen For The Progenitors’ Treasure

The discovery's only an hour ahead of the breen imperium..

At the end of Star Trek: Discovery season 5, episode 8, the USS Discovery and her crew are battered and bruised from their fight with the Breen. On their way to the location of the Progenitors' treasure, the Discovery's spore drive malfunctioned, leaving them 22 lightyears off target. To make matters worse, the USS Discovery's warp drive is also damaged, with the Breen just six hours away from reaching the Progenitors' treasure. With the crew racing to get both the spore and warp drives operational, the window to protect the Progenitors' treasure from the Breen is closing as Star Trek: Discovery season 5 enters its endgame.

Star Trek: Discovery season 5 streams Thursdays on Paramount+.

Star Trek: Discovery

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Star Trek: Discovery is an entry in the legendary Sci-Fi franchise, set ten years before the original Star Trek series events. The show centers around Commander Michael Burnham, assigned to the USS Discovery, where the crew attempts to prevent a Klingon war while traveling through the vast reaches of space.