"These are the voyages of the Starship Enterprise ... Its five year mission ..."

This Animated Series reprised many of the characters from the original Star Trek show. The scripts came from veteran science fiction and Star Trek writers, including D.C. Fontana, Walter Koenig, David Gerrold, Samuel A. Peeples, and many others. With the freedom provided by the animated medium, new and bizarre alien species and exotic locales could be seen for the first time.

The Emmy-winning Animated Series ran for 22 episodes starting in September 1973 on NBC, with production by veteran animation house Filmation. Most of the Star Trek cast provided voices for their original series characters, including Captain James T. Kirk (William Shatner), first officer Commander Spock (Leonard Nimoy), and Dr. Leonard H. "Bones" McCoy (DeForest Kelley).

Chief engineer Montgomery "Scotty" Scott was again portrayed by James Doohan, who exercised his versatile talent by also providing voices for countless alien creatures, Starfleet crew members, and robots. Lieutenant Sulu (George Takei) was there to steer the ship, but his young friend Ensign Chekov was conspicuously absent (Walter Koenig did stay creatively involved, though). Nichelle Nichols as Uhura and Majel Barrett as Nurse Chapel were present in many episodes and both of these talented women also voiced several other characters.

Although the Animated Series had an undeniable Star Trek-ness to them, the show, historically, hasn't enjoyed the luxury of being considered part of the Star Trek "canon," or accepted Trek storyline. Almost without exception, it has been the live-action series and movies that are considered canon. However, some Star Trek "facts" are actually borrowed from the animated show, i.e. the name of the original U.S.S. Enterprise NCC-1701 captain, Robert April; the surname for Spock's mother, Amanda "Grayson"; etc. Without a doubt, the Animated Series certainly has its charm and is remembered fondly by Star Trek aficionados. And now that the series is available on DVD, perhaps it is time to re-examine the "facts" and weave some more of these interesting storylines into the tapestry of Star Trek!

NEXT: Star Trek: The Next Generation