AlthoughStar Trek: The Animated Seriesvery quickly became popular, there have long been questions surrounding the issue of whether it belongs in the franchise’s main canon, but there is a definitive answer. TheStar Trektimelinehas become far more expansive sinceThe Animated Seriesended, but the space opera’s debut spinoff laid the groundwork for the sci-fi saga’s future in several ways. Although the announcement of newStar Trekshowsdoesn’t feel quite so much like a landmark event anymore,Star Trek: The Animated Series' debut was incredibly exciting for early Trekkies.
Star Trek: The Animated Seriesaired for two seasonsbetween 1973 and 1975, totaling 22 episodes. Ofall the animatedStar Trekshows, it’s arguably the most instrumental in the franchise’s larger future. Not only did it renew interest in Gene Roddenberry’s creation, but it also opened the door for alternative mediums in whichStar Trekstories could be told. Regardless, there have been long periods where it has been tricky to work out whetherStar Trek: The Animatedseries should only be properly enjoyed in isolation, or whether it tied into the otherStar Trekmoviesand TV shows.
Star Trek: The Animated Series Is Canon To The Rest Of The Franchise
The USS Enterprise’s 5-year mission crosses over into the animated project
Star Trek: The Original Serieswas canceled in 1969after season 3. However, the show’s continued popularity brought the franchise out of dormancy whenStar Trek: The Animated Seriesbegan four years later. It certainly seemed as though returning showrunner Gene Roddenberry was making his animated spinoff as a direct sequel toStar Trek: The Original Series, as there was nothing to really disprove this. The change from live-action to animation understandably caused confusion, but any doubts should reasonably have been reduced by the return ofStar Trek: The Original Series' castto voice their respective characters.
Because of its long-standing situation of holding a nebulous place inStar Trekcanon,The Animated Serieswas largely ignored for decades, or at least was referenced far less frequently than other franchise projects. Since then, the show has been officially confirmed to be set within the same continuity asStar Trek: The Original Seriesand the other live-actionStar Trekshows. While it’s perhaps a little unfair that such an official categorization was ever withheld, it makes sense considering when the show was made as canon status, especially in sci-fi, is a far greater focus in the modern age.
Star Trek: The Animated Series Was Only Officially Made Canon In 2010
Gene Roddenberry’s stance wasn’t consistent
Despite Roddenberry’s attention to detail when makingStar Trek: The Animated Seriesand the obvious intention for it to serve as a show that documented the later years of the USS Enterprise’s five-year mission, the showrunner eventually changed his opinion of the animated spinoff and decided it was not part of the main canon. Although Paramount largely honored this choice, the addition ofStar Trek: The Animated Seriesto the list of officially canonical shows in 2010 means there’s no longer a debate about whether the project belongs in the main continuity.
Why Star Trek’s Blue Orions Pronounce Their Name Differently
Star Trek: Lower Decks brought back the blue Orions from Star Trek: The Animated Series, complete with the weird way they pronounce “Orion.”
Interestingly, even before the decision to canonizeStar Trek: The Animated Seriesin 2010, the franchise’s sprawling fan base had already adopted the show as part of the main universe, regardless of what Paramount’s stance was on the matter. Becausethere’s no narrative reason to believe thatThe Animated Seriescan sit perfectly alongside otherStar Trekshows, it’s a pretty harmless assumption to make.
Star Trek: Lower Deckscontains several references to specific events inStar Trek: The Animated Series.
Even afterStar Trek: The Animated Serieswas officially canonized, it took a while for other corners of the saga to start acknowledging its existence. When the decision was made in 2010, there were noStar Trekshows in active production, soit took untilStar Trek: Discovery’s debut in 2017 for the integration to properly begin. The biggest moveDiscoverymade was the casting of Adrian Holmes as Captain Robert April - a character who debuted inStar Trek: The Animated Series. Similarly,Star Trek: Lower Deckscontains several references to specific events inStar Trek: The Animated Series.
Star Trek Canon Has Changed A Lot Since The Animated Series
Star Trek has become a multimedia saga of epic proportions
Questions similar to those raised aboutStar Trek: The Animated Series' canon status haven’t gone anywhere since the 1970s. In fact, the exponential growth of the franchise that’s happened since has resulted in more and more confusion about what is canon and what isn’t.Star Trekhas moved far beyond just being a screen-based franchise now. There are countless books, comics, podcasts, and other forms of media that could arguably be set within the same continuity. However, the easiest rule to remember is that the movies and TV shows are prioritized over everything else.
98%
97%
1973-1974
94%
2020-2024
92%
1987-1994
Just asStar Trek: The Animated Serieswas made to sit in the main canon, officially or otherwise, otherStar Trekstories away from the TV shows and movies have since adopted a similar framework. The writers of these ancillary stories will almost always take into account the franchise’s canonical landmarks, lore, and backstory, but that doesn’t necessarily mean they’re part of the main continuity. That being said, if one of the screen-based installments directly references one of those offscreen narratives, then it’s pulled into the mainStar Trekcanon.
All Star Trek Animated Series Are Canon
Animation as a medium is equal to live-action in Star Trek
Star Trek: The Animated Seriesinitially seemed separate fromStar Trek: The Original Series, due in no small part to the fact the former was animated, and the latter was not. The franchise has since learned from its mistakes. For example,Star Trek: Lower Decksvery quickly made it clear it was no less canonical than its live-action counterparts. The biggest piece of evidence to support this is when the two of the show’s animated characters crossed over into live-action to interact with Anson Mount’s Captain Pike inStar Trek: Strange New Worldsseason 2, episode 7, “Those Old Scientists.”
Similarly,Star Trek: Prodigyis an original show, but it’s also essentially a legacy sequel toStar Trek: Voyager. Although it’s also a standalone story,Star Trek: Prodigymakes many direct references toStar Trek: Voyagerepisodes, and even folds in and continues certain storylines from the Kate Mulgrew-led show. At the same time, members of theStar Trek: The Next Generationcastalso reprise their roles inStar Trek: Prodigyand the same is true for their comebacks inStar Trek: Lower Decks. So, the animatedStar Trekinstallments are every inch as canonical as its live-action ones.
Star Trek: The Animated Series
Cast
Star Trek: The Animated Series follows Captain Kirk, Mr. Spock, and the crew of the Starship Enterprise as they embark on new adventures across the galaxy. This animated series, released in 1973, continues the iconic science fiction stories of exploration and discovery from the original Star Trek television series.
