What do we mean by “Classic Trek?” That’s a good question!
For the purposes of dividing things up here on the website, I’m using the term “Classic Trek” to refer to the five Star Trek shows that have already finished their broadcast runs: The Original Series, The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, Voyager, and Enterprise.
On this page you can find an archive of essays, articles, columns, lists, and more all about those five shows! In the long run I’d love to do more episode re-watches and give each of the “Classic” shows their own permanent page. But for now, this archive will have to suffice!
The Original Series
Remembering Nichelle Nichols
“What can be said about Nichelle Nichols that hasn’t already been said over the last few days?”
Ten Star Trek episodes to watch before Strange New Worlds Season 1
“If it’s been a while since you last saw some of these episodes, watching them will provide some additional background and backstory heading into Strange New Worlds…”
Ten “comfort episodes” of Star Trek for difficult days
“Jumping head-first into a future that looks safer and better than anything we could imagine today feels pretty great!”
Five planets that Star Trek probably won’t revisit any time soon!
“There are some planets that, for one reason or another, are best left behind in the franchise’s past…”
The classic Star Trek dilemma: Kirk or Picard?
“When it comes to the franchise’s first two captains, there seems to be a major clash of personalities…”
A handful of older films, games, and TV shows that I enjoyed in 2021
“I have long and seemingly ever-growing lists of films, games, and TV shows that I keep meaning to get around to…”
Star Trek: The Original Series + Star Trek: Lower Decks crossover theory: Lost human colonies
“Have you ever wondered why Captain Kirk and his crew seemed to encounter a lot of ‘aliens’ who were indistinguishable from modern humans?”
King of Kings (1961) – an Easter film with a Star Trek connection
“[King of Kings is] the kind of film I’d never choose to watch but for the combination of its Star Trek connection and the holiday we’re celebrating today…”
Five main characters from Star Trek’s past that I’d bring back
“With so many ongoing and upcoming Star Trek projects occupying different places in the timeline, there really is scope to bring back almost any major character…”
Five Star Trek episodes for Valentine’s Day!
“Love is in the air! Happy Valentine’s Day!”
Great Star Trek villains: General Chang
“A complex villain, whose motives were to continue a conflict that he could simply see no way of bringing to a peaceful end, General Chang is absolutely one of the most interesting and entertaining antagonists in all of Star Trek…”
Aliens of Star Trek: The M-113 Creature
“It’s moments like this, across The Original Series’ early episodes, that set up Star Trek as being something special. There was more to the story of the M-113 Creature than just a horrible monster for our heroes to outsmart…”
Ten great Star Trek episodes – Part 1: The Original Series
“This is the series that spawned all the others, but as the fanbase has grown over time, many self-proclaimed Trekkies aren’t as familiar with The Original Series as they are with the Star Trek shows of the 1990s…”
“Old” versus “New” Star Trek
“I wanted to take a look at the phenomenon for myself and give my thoughts on how the franchise is split, some of the possible causes, and what that split could mean for the franchise going forward into the 2020s and beyond…”
The Next Generation
Building the “ultimate” Star Trek crew!
“There are plenty of wonderful characters to choose from when making a list like this one…”
Star Trek: Picard Season 3 theory – the “rogues’ gallery”
“Like Marvel’s HYDRA or DC Comics’ Legion of Doom, perhaps [spoiler] has managed to create their very own rogues’ gallery!”
Star Trek: Lower Decks theory – evil Boimler
“Are we in for some Boimler-on-Boimler action?”
Star Trek: The Next Generation re-watch – Season 7, Episode 17: Masks
“[Masks is] one of those solid standalone stories that Star Trek does far fewer of since the move to serialised story arcs and shorter seasons…”
Star Trek theory: Q the saviour
“What I like about this theory is that everything feels like it fits together…”
What If…? Star Trek edition!
“There are more than 800 Star Trek stories at time of writing, meaning that there are literally hundreds of potential scenarios where a different decision or different outcome could have radically changed the Star Trek galaxy…”
Star Trek Day roundup!
“Star Trek Day shone with passion and positivity, and that’s just what the franchise needed as it marked its fifty-fifth birthday…”
Great Star Trek villains: Dr Tolian Soran
“One of Dr Soran’s lines has stuck with me ever since I first watched Generations in the cinema…”
Dr Pulaski – a character study
“I found Dr Pulaski an interesting character and a welcome addition to The Next Generation, even though not every aspect of her characterisation succeeded or achieved its intended objectives…”
Five of my favourite Starfleet uniforms
“Aesthetic, colour, and costume style are very much subject to personal taste, and I know there can be a range of opinions on all of these things…”
Star Trek: Discovery – eight “gravitational anomaly” theories
“Star Trek’s past didn’t provide the key to understanding [spoiler] last season. Will something we’ve seen before come into play in Season 4?”
Here’s why Shades of Gray is the best episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation
Gotcha! This one was an April Fool’s Day joke!
Five secondary characters from Star Trek’s past that I’d bring back
“With so many different Star Trek projects on the go, practically anyone from the past could come back in some capacity…”
Star Trek: Picard + Star Trek: The Next Generation crossover theory: Lore
“In short, this theory connects Data’s brother Lore to the Zhat Vash, the faction introduced in Star Trek: Picard…”
Star Trek: The Next Generation re-watch – Season 4, Episode 12: The Wounded
“The Wounded is incredibly important within the history of Star Trek…”
Star Trek: Picard Season 1 – one year later
“As we hit the first anniversary, I thought it could be a good moment to look back on my remembrances (ha! get it?) of the show as well as what the first season achieved, what it did well, and where it came up short…”
Five things to watch at New Year (instead of fireworks)
“Many of these parties and countdowns were scheduled to be televised, which leaves us with a gaping hole in our New Year’s Eve viewing…”
Ten games that I’d remaster (if I could)
“This list is just a fantasy. Some of the games may one day be remastered, but others are so obscure that I may be one of only a handful of people who knew they existed even when they were new!”
Star Trek: The Next Generation re-watch – Lower Decks
“On the 7th of February 1994, Star Trek: The Next Generation aired the fifteenth episode of its seventh and final season. The episode was titled Lower Decks…”
First impressions of Star Trek: Bridge Crew… three years late
“Bridge Crew is, as far I can tell, the first game I’ve played that started life in VR. I wasn’t sure what to expect, and the controls certainly take a little bit of getting used to…”
Ten great Star Trek episodes – Part 2: The Next Generation
“Buoyed by the success of The Original Series in syndication and of the first three films, Gene Roddenberry began working on a Star Trek spin-off in the mid-1980s…”
Star Trek: The Next Generation re-watch – The Measure of a Man
“I enjoyed going back to The Measure of a Man. I wouldn’t like to guess how many times I’ve seen it already; as with most of the rest of The Next Generation and its spin-offs I’ve watched and re-watched it on a number of occasions…”
What to watch to be ready for Star Trek: Picard
“If you’re new to Star Trek, or haven’t watched any of the older series for a long time, it might be worthwhile to go back and take a look at some of the classics in anticipation of Star Trek: Picard…”
Deep Space Nine
Star Trek: Picard Season 3 theories – finale
“So this is it, then!”
Star Trek: Picard Season 3 theories – week 9
“As we head into the final episode, the theory list has been slimmed down…”
Star Trek: Picard Season 3 theories – week 8
“This week marks the definitive end for a whole host of theories…”
Star Trek: Picard Season 3 theories – week 7
“After last week’s theory massacre, Dominion didn’t actually move the needle very much…”
Star Trek: Picard Season 3 theories – week 6
“I think this could be a big week for the story…”
Star Trek: Picard Season 3 theories – week 5
“There are several big changes to the theory list this week…”
Star Trek: Picard Season 3 theories – week 4
“In terms of mysteries, the story is just getting started!”
Star Trek: Picard Episode Review – Season 3, Episode 4: No Win Scenario
“After Seventeen Seconds had been fantastic across the board last week, I felt the quality dip slightly this time…”
Star Trek: Picard Season 3 theories – week 3
“We’ve netted several theory wins already!”
Star Trek: Picard Episode Review – Season 3, Episode 3: Seventeen Seconds
“Practically every moment was tense, exciting, and thoroughly enjoyable…”
Star Trek: Picard Season 3 theories – week 2
“Despite a retirement and two confirmations, the theory list continues to grow…”
Star Trek: Picard Season 3 theories – week 1
“Everything technically remains in play…”
Star Trek: Picard Season 3 theories – week 0
“I’ve already concocted a handful of theories about Picard Season 3…”
Five more episodes to watch before Star Trek: Picard Season 3
“On this occasion we’re going to add five more Star Trek episodes to the list!”
What to watch to get ready for Star Trek: Picard Season 3
“If nothing else, all of these stories are good fun, and worth re-watching for any Trekkie who may not have seen them in a while!”
Six Star Trek “hot takes”
“Today I thought we could have a bit of fun!”
Twelve Star Trek episodes to watch before Picard Season 2 arrives!
“I thought it could be fun to pull out twelve stories from Star Trek’s past that might just be useful background viewing for Season 2 of Picard…”
Ten great Star Trek starship designs
“Over more than half a century, Star Trek has featured many different designs of starship…”
Star Trek 2023: what could it be?
“No information was provided by Paramount Pictures or ViacomCBS about the film other than its June 2023 release date. So it would be foolish to speculate, wouldn’t it?”
Could AI be the key to a Deep Space Nine and Voyager remaster?
“Remaster the shows, stick them on Paramount+, and enjoy a nice subscriber boost…”
Ten great Star Trek episodes – Part 3: Deep Space Nine
“Deep Space Nine represented the biggest change in the Star Trek franchise so far, and even in 2020 remains unique as a series not set on a moving starship…”
It’s time for Deep Space Nine and Voyager to get the HD treatment
“Unfortunately, though, the lack of interest in The Next Generation on Blu-ray has meant that Deep Space Nine and Voyager never made it to the remastering suite. They remain in their original format, in what we’d call “standard definition” or DVD quality…”
Voyager
Ten 25th Century Star Trek concepts
“If it were up to me, the early 25th Century would probably be the main setting that I’d want to use for the majority of new Star Trek projects…”
Captain Proton? No thanks…
“Out of everything in Star Trek, is Captain Proton the one thing you want more of?”
Five underappreciated television series
“Some failed to make much of an impact when they were first broadcast and simply fizzled out, others have been eclipsed by other productions made in the years since they went off the air…”
Did Admiral Janeway do the right thing in Endgame?
“It seems like a great opportunity to finally dig into these issues and consider some pretty deep points from an in-universe point of view…”
Star Trek: Discovery Season 3 – my worst theory failures!
“All of these theories seemed plausible at the time – for one reason or another – yet ultimately proved to be way off base…”
Star Trek: Voyager – The torpedo and shuttle “problem”
“A simple count of the number of torpedoes shown on screen or the number of shuttlecraft mentioned early in the show’s run is only one part of a bigger picture…”
Star Trek: Voyager re-watch – The Haunting of Deck Twelve
“I thought it could be fun to delve into Star Trek’s spooky side for a change! The Haunting of Deck Twelve was the penultimate episode of Voyager’s sixth season, and premiered in the United States on the 17th of May 2000. It’s framed as a campfire ghost story…”
Star Trek: Voyager – Elite Force twenty years later
“Most Star Trek games really only appealed to existing fans, and failed to either cross over and win support among a wider gaming audience, or to bring in any new fans. Elite Force was – for a time, at least – an exception to that…”
Could Voyager’s Doctor appear in Star Trek: Discovery?
“As a hologram who doesn’t age, we could definitely argue that The Doctor might have survived this long. But that isn’t the angle I’m taking…”
Ten great Star Trek episodes – Part 4: Voyager
“We’d seen Starfleet ships taken a long way from home before, in episodes like Where No One Has Gone Before, but by the end of the episode they’d always manage to make it home again. Voyager took that storyline but changed it up – leaving the ship and crew stranded on the far side of…
Enterprise
There are two unannounced Star Trek projects being worked on. What could they be?
“These are the Star Trek projects that seem to be the most likely based on what we’ve heard through official and unofficial channels…”
Five television shows that ended too soon
“I find it better for a show to end too soon, while it’s still good, rather than run and run until storylines are exhausted…”
Will we ever see the Suliban or Xindi return?
“One area where I feel the ‘prequel problem’ is noticeable is in terms of two of the main antagonist factions the show introduced: the Suliban and the Xindi…”
Ten great Star Trek episodes – Part 5: Enterprise
“When Broken Bow premiered in late 2001 I did tune in, but for much of the rest of Enterprise’s original broadcast run I didn’t…”
Trekking with Dennis 