Star Trek: The Animated Series (1973)
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Star Trek: The Animated Series Review
Star Trek: The Animated Series is a science fiction animated series that originally aired on NBC from 1973 to 1974. It was a surprisingly solid addition to this franchise.
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“Probably because you’re not very natural to begin with, Spock“
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This show consisted of two very short seasons, which altogether finished their run at twenty two episodes count. The show was never all that popular to begin with, but it deserves more attention because it’s actually not bad at all and in my opinion it is better and more enjoyable than ‘The Original Series’.
The series mostly rested on recapturing the feel of the original show as all of the famous characters and actors returned here along with some recognizable storylines, the same opening credits and similar themes and action-adventure elements. And yes, some episodes were just extensions of the similar storylines done before on that show, but the best ones did their own thing and did something the original could never do.
What is that one thing? Well, imagination of course. ‘The Original Series’ remains dated and silly as they simply did not have proper effects to execute the many imaginative storylines at display, but because this is animation, they suddenly had a lot of golden opportunity for anything they could imagine, resulting in some very colorful and fun adventures. The animation overall is pleasing and very strong, but the character designs were dated and far from polished.
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Let’s talk about the episodes. Beyond the Farthest Star is awesome. I loved this storyline with the derelict pod ship being an instantly memorable imagery and the entire episode reminded me pleasantly of the best Arthur Clarke novels, in particular ‘Childhood’s End’. Yesteryear is also very strong. In fact, it’s one of Spock’s best episodes, period. We finally get to see his backstory here and the roots of his personality.
One of Our Planets Is Missing is similar to the first Star Trek movie in its uninspired, dull storyline. The Lorelei Signal is also dated in its depiction of women and very annoying. More Tribbles, More Troubles is an improvement as it benefits from some interesting ideas, but the execution overall should have been better.
The Survivor is intriguing in its premise and a very well realized mysterious storyline. The Infinite Vulcan is a lot of fun in its plant-based alien beings premise not seen before in this entire franchise. The Magicks of Megas-tu is over-the-top in its villain, but quite entertaining as are most episodes of this series. Once Upon a Planet explores its amusement park planet stupendously and is very imaginative overall.
Mudd’s Passion revisits this old character, but I have never found him particularly interesting to begin with. The Terratin Incident is solid and intriguing, The Time Trap is your typical time-related excursion, but The Ambergis Element is outstanding. It’s my favorite episode of this series as I love underwater adventures and here the animation is colorful, the creatures are fascinating and the world building is superb.
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The Slaver Weapon and The Eye of the Beholder are both forgettable. The Jihad had potential, but overall it wasn’t all that interesting. The Pirates of Orion and Bem are entirely uninteresting while The Practical Joker is ridiculous and cartoony. Albatross is a pretty solid plague episode that is quite atmospheric while How Sharper Than a Serpent’s Truth is mythical in its ancient culture storyline. The Counter-Clock Incident is a solid concept in its handling of time.
Overall, the second season of this show was inferior and the series lost its edge later down the line, but it remains quiet solid overall. The emphasis on world building and imagination is excellent, but the science should have been more sophisticated.
Worst Episodes: The Practical Joker and The Lorelei Signal.
Best Episodes: The Ambergis Element and Beyond the Farthest Star.
