The Original Series (1966-1969)
This is the original series of 79 episodes that kicked off the whole Star Trek juggernaut. During its initial run, the show’s ratings were actually quite poor. It didn’t enjoy peak popularity until it went into syndication in subsequent years. Set in the 23rd century, the show’s “five year mission, to boldly go where no man has gone before” introduced us to classic characters such as ship doctor Bones and Mr Spock, the Vulcan whose race displays no human emotions. The ship’s captain is Captain James Tiberius Kirk, played by William Shatner.
The Next Generation (1987-1994)
Star Trek: The Next Generation ran for seven seasons and 176 episodes, and is frequently voted as the most popular series of the whole Star Trek franchise. The Next Generation introduces to us a new crew of the Enterprise, 100 years after the original series was set. The captain in this series is Jean-Luc Picard. The show breaks with the original series in two aspects “ the Klingon security officer, Worf (in Kirk’s time, the Klingons were Starfleet’s mortal enemies), and the android second officer, Data. With the Klingons out of the way, the new enemies are the Romulans, Q (who is really more of a pest than anything else, albeit an omnipotent one), and later The Borg.
Deep Space Nine (1993-1999)
Deep Space Nine (DS9) also ran for seven seasons, and was totally different from the moment it started. It isn’t set on the Enterprise, or any starship for that matter. Instead, it is set on a space station, although a spacecraft was introduced in later seasons. There was also a new guy in charge: Commander Benjamin Sisko, played by Avery Brooks. It is notable that this was the first Star Trek series made without the involvement of Gene Roddenberry (who died in 1991).
Voyager (1995-2001)
Voyager also ran for seven seasons and differs from the previous series in three ways. First, the ship is not the Enterprise. It is Voyager. Secondly, due to the nature of the plot, many of the top officers were not Starfleet-trained, and are only commissioned officers out of necessity. Thirdly, this was the first Star Trek series to have a female captain “ Kathryn Janeway, played by Kate Mulgrew.
Enterprise (2001-2005)
Enterprise ran for just four seasons, and is a prequel to The Original Series. Enterprise is generally considered to be the weakest of the Star Trek shows, despite the Captain’s chair being filled by a veteran of science-fiction “ Scott Bakula, who is best known for the show, Quantum Leap. It’s also the first Star Trek to have an opening soundtrack, which is not “Trek”. The show is set in the year 2151 (115 years before Kirk takes over), and the show ends in the year 2161, when the United Federation of Planets is formed.
