Star Trekis easily one of the most iconic franchises of all time, and in its nearly 60-year history, it has produced some of the greatest television ever. FromStar Trek: The Original Seriesback in 1966 to the upcomingStar Trek: Starfleet Academy,Star Trekhas kept a decades-long promise to keep sharingGene Roddenberry’s vision for a hopeful future.Star Trekhas a lot to be proud of, and a lot of exciting things in its future.
In the modern streaming era, it can be easy to forget there have been times throughoutStar Trekhistory when no new shows were being produced. AfterStar Trek: Enterpriseended in 2005, it was unclear when, if ever,Star Trekwould return. With the benefit of hindsight, however,it’s possible to look back at the past 20 years ofStar Trekand see just how many iconic moments there have been. It’s impossible to quantify which moments were the coolest, so chronological order is the best way to reflect on the past 20 years ofStar Trek.
20Star Trek: Enterprise Finally Solved A Long-Lasting Klingon Mystery
Ever sinceKlingons were redesignedinStar Trek: The Motion Picture, there was an unspoken question amongStar Trekfans aboutwhy Klingons inStar Trek: The Original Series look more human than the Klingons inStar Trek: The Next Generation.In 2005,Star Trek: Enterprisefinally answered that question in the season 4 episodes “Affliction” and “Divergence.”
Apparently, the Klingons incorporated human augment DNA into their own genomes, andcuring the resulting virus removed their forehead ridges. Answering long-running questions like this is what makesStar Trek: Enterpriseseason 4 the show’s best. Even thoughEnterprisedidn’t last long, the prequel has proven to be seminal toStar Trek.
19Star Trek Returned To The Big Screen
J.J. Abrams Rebooted Captain Kirk & The Starship Enterprise
In 2009, J.J. Abrams welcomed a new generation ofStar Trekviewers in the 21st century by rebooting theStar Trekmovies with the simply namedStar Trek. Chris Pine starred as a new take on Captain James T. Kirk, alongside Zachary Quinto as Spock. What made this movie one of the greatest moments of the past 20 years is thatit re-introducedStar Trek’s core cast to new audiences, and re-launchedStar TrekmoviesthroughStar Trek’s Kelvin timeline, with two sequels following in 2013 and 2016.
18Star Trek: Discovery Brought Star Trek Back To TV After 12 Years
Discovery Kicked Off A New Era Of Star Trek
Star Trek: Discoveryrevived theStar TrekTV franchise when it first aired in 2017 and helped launch the CBS All-Access (now Paramount+) streaming platform.Discovery’s series premiere,“The Vulcan Hello,” brought backStar Trektelevisionfor the first time sinceEnterpriseended more than a decade earlier. AndDiscoverystarted with a bang in “The Vulcan Hello” and “Battle at the Binary Stars.”
Star Trek: Discoverywas a controversial show for all five seasons of its run, but beloved shows likeStar Trek: Lower DecksorStar Trek: Strange New Worldswould not exist withoutDiscovery’s trailblazing. All things considered, “The Vulcan Hello” was an iconicStar Trekseries premiere, andit sparked the modern-day renaissance ofStar Trek.
17Star Trek Got One Of Its Best Guest Stars
Rainn Wilson As Harry Mudd Blended Past And Present Trek
Joining Michelle Yeoh and Jason Isaacs, Rainn Wilson’s guest appearances inStar Trek:Discoveryseason 1 elevated the newStar Trekseries. Rainn Wilson guest stars as Harry Mudd in two episodes, “Choose Your Pain,” and"Magic to Make the Sanest Man Go Mad,“In both cases, Wilson stealsStar Trek: Discovery.Rainn Wilson’s edgy Harry Mudd successfully reinvented a fan-favoriteStar Trek: The Original Seriescharacter with a modern twist.
16Patrick Stewart Returned To Star Trek
Jean-Luc Picard Rose Again At Star Trek Las Vegas
AsCaptain Jean-Luc Picard, Patrick Stewart starred inStar Trek: The Next Generationand fourTNGmovies from 1994-2002 and was central to many of the bestStar Trekepisodes of all time. After 2002, it seemed like Stewart was done withStar Trek. When Sir Patrick announced atStar TrekLas Vegas in 2018 that he would be returning for a newStar Trekseries, it was an undeniably iconic moment.Star Trek: Picard’s 3 seasons reaffirmed Patrick Stewart as a giant ofStar Trek.
15Star Trek Introduced A New Animated Series
Lower Decks Proved Star Trek Can Be Funny
Star Trekhas always had the occasional funny episode, but whenStar Trek: Lower Deckspremiered in 2020, it proved thatStar Trekcan excel at comedy that celebrates the franchise. FromLower Decks’very first episode, “Second Contact,“Tawny Newsome and Jack Quaidplayed off one another as Ensigns Beckett Mariner and Brad Boimler with an iconic friendship reminiscent of Captain Kirk and Spock.
Star Trek: Lower Decks’heroes aboard the USS Cerritos loveStar Trekas much as fans do, because they’re fans of Starfleet themselves.
14Star Trek Shows The Lower Decks Of Other Starships
Starfleet & Alien Lower Deckers Have A Lot In Common
One of the greatest thingsStar Trek: Lower Decksseason 2, episode 9, “Wej Duj,” did isshow what life is like for Starfleet officers who aren’t stationed on the Federation flagshipor the most important space station in the Alpha quadrant. “Wej Duj” took that insight and showed what the awkward, difficult, and funny realities on the lower decks of other starships for Klingon and Vulcan crews. The groundbreaking “Wej Duj” also introducedT’Lyn (Gabrielle Ruiz), who became quickly beloved onStar Trek: Lower Decks.
13Star Trek: Prodigy Taught Star Trek To A New Generation
And Starfleet Returned To The Delta Quadrant
In late 2021,Star Trek: Prodigybrought 3D animation toStar Trek, with a new series aimed towards children and families. Appearing more like Star Wars at first glance,Star Trek: Prodigyquickly proved itself to beStar Trekto the core, as the ragtag young crew of the USS Protostar learned the values of Starfleet at the same time as the show’s young target audience.
With any luck, the children who grow up withProdigywill beStar Trek’s next generation of fans.
Originally set in the Delta Quadrant,Star Trek: Prodigyis also a sequel toStar Trek: Voyager,withKate Mulgrew returning in a dual role as Hologram Janeway and Admiral Kathryn Janeway.With any luck, the children who grow up withProdigywill beStar Trek’s next generation of fans.
12Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Brought Back The Feeling Of The Original Series
Strange New Worlds Restored Episodic Star Trek With Serialized Character Stories
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds’premiere on Paramount+ in 2022 was a breath of fresh air for the franchise.Anson Mount’s Captain Christopher Pikeand the USS Enterprise’s return inStar Trek: Discoveryprompted fans to demand their own spinoff.The episodic, character-driven storytelling ofStrange New Worldsis a return to the sorts of stories told in classic 1960sStar Trek,but with a modern flair and a bold willingness to defy genre.
11Star Trek Returned To Deep Space Nine
Colonel Kira & Quark Are Back
Star Trek: Deep Space Ninewas one of the greatestStar Trekshows of all time. In late 2022,Star Trek: Lower Decksseason 3brought that greatness to modernTrek.In “Hear All, Trust Nothing,” the USS Cerritos travels to Deep Space Nine, where Colonel Kira Nerys (Nana Visitor) and Quark (Armin Shimerman) are still running Ops and the Ferengi’s bar in the Promenade, respectively.
What makesStar Trek: Lower Decks’crossover withDS9so great is that it makes it clear thatclassic shows are still very important in the Paramount+ era ofStar Trek.Ensign Mariner served on Deep Space Nine, and, although both she andLower Decksmoved on after this episode, both were undeniably shaped byDS9.
