Much has been made about Gene’s love/hate relationship with the Animated Series over the years, and I think it’s likely due to the general quality of the art rather than the storytelling (although a case could be made that some of the animated adventures stretch storytelling in-universe, and in one episode a cross-over with another science fiction titan’s own future history.) Filmation was a low-budget television cartoon studio founded in 1963 that produced scores of limited-animation series, a few movies, and even a few live-action series between its formation and its dissolution at the end of the 1980s.
After the live-action show was canceled in 1969, the Star Trek started airing in broadcast syndication across the U.S. and internationally for the first time to surprising ratings success. The show was counter-programmed on local networks agains the Big Three’s nightly news programs in over 100 cities and 60 other countries by 1972, reaching ratings it never achieved during its initial run. Because of the continued interest from broadcasters and fans alike, Lou Scheimer (of Filmation) returned to an idea his team had presented to Gene during the original show’s third season as a way to continue the crew’s five-year mission. As initially conceived, Filmation would produce a children-focused show, featuring the original cast training a group of “cadets” on a new ship (the U.S.S. Excalibur) and they produced some concept art to try and sell the idea. Obviously, this new series was rejected by Roddenberry at the time as the original series was still in production.
Rather than go the route of the original proposal from 1969, Filmation was able to convince Gene that they could produce an animated series true to the tone and style of the popular 60’s show in a 23-minute cartoon format. With most of the cast returning to lend their voices and many of the writers from the prior series, Star Trek (subtitled with “created by Gene Roddenberry, or later Star Trek: The Animated Series and The Animated Adventures of Gene Roddenberry’s Star Trek) debuted in the fall of 1973 as a part of NBC’s Saturday morning cartoon line-up.
The following episodes are relevant (at some level) to the this relaunch of Star Trek either providing some background on characters or the universe itself. This is not, however, a greatest hits list of The Original Series, it is intended to give you a taste of what its influence on this Saturday morning cartoon that was meant for both adult and children.
Credit is given to D.C. Fontana, who was the Story Editor and Associate Producer on the new series, for steering the writing of the series in a more “family-friendly” direction. In order to achieve this, she set about omitting the more romantic and violent elements of the original series from the scripts. That said, the list below does not take that into consideration, and some parents may not find some of the episodes in this list entirely appropriate for younger audiences.
If you’ve not watched Star Trek recently (or at all), I recommend working your way through this prelude series before dipping your toes into the first animated Star Trek series!
| Episode | Stardate | Season |
|---|---|---|
| The Cage | Unknown | 0 |
| Where No Man Has Gone Before | 1312.4 | 1 |
| Mudd’s Women | 1329.8 | 1 |
| Charlie X | 1533.6 | 1 |
| Balance of Terror | 1709.2 | 1 |
| Space Seed | 3141.9 | 1 |
| Shore Leave | 3025.3 | 1 |
| Errand of Mercy | 3198.4 | 1 |
| The City on the Edge of Forever | Unknown | 1 |
| Amok Time | 3372.7 | 2 |
| Journey to Babel | 3842.3 | 2 |
| I, Mudd | 4513.3 | 2 |
| The Trouble with Tribbles | 4523.3 | 2 |
| The Ultimate Computer | 4729.4 | 2 |
| The Enterprise Incident | 5027.3 | 3 |
| Day of the Dove | Unknown | 3 |
| The Savage Curtain | 5906.4 | 3 |
Congratulations! You’ve made it to the end, now go watch the original animated series!
Watch Trek 