Star Trek:The Animated Series

The Animated Adventures of Gene Roddenberry's Star Trek (1973)

Paramount

R1 Box Sets

Reviewer: Michelle Taylor

There has been a lot of debate over the years by many Trekkies as to whether The Animated Series fits into the Trek timeline, or even if The Animated Series can be considered part of the Star Trek "canon" at all. I think these fans take Star Trek far too seriously! I remember viewing Star Trek: The Animated Series on cable TV for the first time some years ago... and to be honest I didn't know what to think. For one thing the animation is truly simplistic, the voice acting is wooden at best and the episodes are aimed squarely at a younger, indeed pre-teen audience. Although some of the better episodes were written for Classic Star Trek using The Original Series "bible". However, on recently purchasing the DVD boxed set of The Animated Series and really enjoying the experience of seeing these quirky animated Star Treks in a new light I have had a change of heart.

It is without question part of the Star Trek legacy, most of the original cast voiced the characters and it had many of The Original Series scriptwriters to boot. The use of animation gave the makers a relatively free reign to introduce bizarre new aliens to the Star Trek universe that don't look remotely humanoid. They could also use more ships and gadgets that would have been too costly to create in the live action series of the time, such as the aquashuttle or the Starfleet cargo drones, it even had an early version of a holodeck. In addition, they were not limited by the size of a sound stage or a low budget, when it came to designing sets or exotic new worlds.

I do admit, the animation is of relatively poor quality and the acting is awkward but it has a 70s campness to it that I find entertaining. It also should be viewed in the context of the era it was made in, the early 1970s when daytime cartoons were cheap to produce. The Animated Series special features, however, are a little meager, there could have been a little more I think, but still it’s better than nothing.

It may not be as good as the other Star Trek series but it does have a unique place in the (until recently) ever expanding Star Trek universe. Don't expect too much from The Animated Series - just sit back, chill out and enjoy it for what its worth. Live long & prosper!

DVD Features:

Available Subtitles: English, Spanish, Portuguese

Available Audio Tracks: English (Dolby Digital 5.1), English (Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono), Spanish (Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono)

All 22 episodes on four discs

Commentary on select episodes

Text commentary on select episodes

Drawn to the Final Frontier: The Making of Star Trek: The Animated Series

What's the Star Trek Connection?

Storyboard Gallery

Show History