Sci Fi TV Flashback: Looking back at notable sci fi and fantasy television entries from years past.
What Is It? This animated series continues the adventures of the crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise with most of the same characters as the original series as they explore strange new worlds and seek out new life and new civilizations.
Aired: NBC, 1973-74, 2 Seasons Totaling 22 Episodes
Starring: William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, DeForest Kelley, Nichelle Nicols, James Doohan, George Takei
Created By: Gene Roddenberry
Is It Must-Watch Sci Fi? Not necessarily, but at least worth a look for a few of the stand-out episodes like “Yesteryear”.
The Skinny: This animated series came into existence in response to the phenomena that developed around the original show when it exploded in popularity in syndication during the early to mid ’70s. And while many Trek fans simply dismiss the animated series and consider the twenty two episodes that it produced as apocryphal, the fact is that it did a decent job of carrying on the spirit of the original series and at delivering a notable Saturday morning sci fi series. It brought back the majority of the original actors to voice their characters, it continued the basic premise of the original series, and it carried over several of the writers from the original show such as David Gerrold, D.C. Fontana, and Samuel A. Peeples (it even used the same series “bible” as a guideline for its writers). And even though it ran on Saturday mornings, Gene Roddenberry resisted NBC’s attempts to make it “kiddie trek” and insisted on presenting intelligent science fiction stories that did not pander or talk down to its audience.
The show gave fans the chance to return to the “Shore Leave” planet, catch up with Harry Mud and Cyrano Jones (and his tribbles), and the chance to look back at Spock’s childhood. Fans of the original series jonesing for more adventures from their favorite Starfleet officers in the early 70’s got at least a small fix from this show. Despite the corner-cutting animation delivered by Filmation and the thirty-minute running time that sometimes constrained episodes to story sketches, the show had its moments (though it also had its share of subpar episodes as well). It also had strong artistic direction, delivering beautiful alien vistas that the original series never could, and gave sci fi fans some respite from the wasteland of Prime Time television of the early and mid-70’s when genre entries were mostly shunned.
Among the stand-out episodes from the series are “Yesteryear” in which Spock visits himself as a child, “The Slaver Weapon” written by noted science fiction author Larry Niven, “More Tribbles, More Troubles” in which the furry creatures return (and Stanley Adams reprises the role of Cyrano Jones), and “The Infinite Vulcan” (written by Walter Koenig) which gives as a more credible take on the original series episode “Spock’s Brain”. It had some more decent episodes as well, but at least these are worth a look and keep the animated series relevant in the Star Trek lore.
Cancelled Too Soon? Star Trek: TAS was considered a hit when it first aired, though for Saturday morning television that doesn’t mean that the show will continue for multiple seasons. Typically, a successful Saturday morning series would get a couple of seasons or maybe even a third, but go through years of reruns because younger audiences are more willing to re-watch a show over and over. Oddly enough, though, NBC was reluctant to renew the show beyond its second season despite the fact that TAS appealed to a broader audience than the typical age range for Saturdays.
Should It Be Rebooted? Possibly. With most of the original actors having passed away or being far too old to play younger versions of themselves, a revival of the animated series is a viable option for revisiting the original mission of the U.S.S. Enterprise. And as CGI gets more and more sophisticated, it’s possible that a series using that technology could come close to replicating the look and feel of the original show. It is definitely worth considering and may be a better way of looking back on that era than the retconned Star Trek Discovery and upcoming Strange New Worlds.
Interesting Facts: Most of the original cast returned to voice their characters, though Walter Koenig (Chekov) did not make the cut (with the alien Lieutenant Arex taking over as navigator) because Filmation had to keep casting costs down. And the studio didn’t want to include Nichelle Nichols and George Takei either, but Leonard Nimoy refused to participate unless they were onboard, because he wanted the show to continue to highlight the ethnic diversity of the crew. The multi-talented James Doohan (Scotty) and Majel Barrett (Christine Chapel) voiced the regular alien characters Lieutenant Arex and Lieutenant M’Ress respectively as well many of the other characters that appeared throughout the episodes. As a consolation to Chekov not being included in the animated series, Walter Koenig was given the opportunity to participate in the show by penning one of the episodes (“The Infinite Vulcan”).
Where Can You Watch It?: The entire series has been released on DVD and Blu-ray and it is also available for purchase VOD. Currently, the only place it is available for streaming is Paramount+.
Read More About the Show: Wikipedia | IMDb.com.
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“Limitations of the animation” is putting it mildly. Filmation was pretty much the bottom of the barrel as far as animation studios of the time went. The crew, even the aliens, acquired force field belts for EVA as the animators refused to draw space suits.
In it’s defense, TAS gave TOS a run for it’s money when it came to overall story writing though. It never insulted it’s audience with episodes like “Spock’s Brain”, even though at least one of them “The Counter-Clock Incident” fails to hold water logically.
SF Author James Blish apparently thought so as well. He novelised several of TAS episodes including “Counter Clock” He was driven to include a supplementary scene where Karla Five is revealed to be an Organian and the entire adventure an illusion. Also, the Aprils sensibly decide to keep their rejuvenated youth which was explained as a “reward for a maze well run.”
2 seasons is a stretch. There are only 6 episodes in the second season. I’m sure I know why but it has never been explained
That was pretty much standard at the time. If a Saturday morning show received a second season or more, it was usually a shortened episode order (Land of the Lost was one of the few exceptions to this). Kids will watch the same shows over and over, so a few new eps makes it seem fresh, but they won’t stop watching if repeats come up pretty quickly.
Given the limitations of the animation and shorter running times, I thought this was an excellent cartoon to carry on the Star Trek legacy at the time. I liked the often-repeated incidental music used in the series as well as it set the mood of the episodes. Kudos to the late Leonard Nimoy for insisting on the racial diversity and characters of the original. My favorite episode is The Slaver Weapon, I’ve watched this one several times over the years.