But that season’s not enough to save the show’s legacy as a whole. It didn’t really even feel like a true Star Trek prequel until the show’s wonderful fourth and final season. Despite a winning cast lead by Scott Bakula as Captain Jonathan Archer, this prequel show to the original Trek felt stuck in the television tropes of the prior decade. The show ran on UPN for four seasons, making it the shortest run of the modern Trek series (so far). This is the fourth Star Trek series of the Rick Berman era. If only because there’s simply not enough of it. It gets points for keeping the Star Trek flames burning in the long decade between the original series and Star Trek: The Motion Picture, but it still ranks second to last. But the animation was really limited due to budget constraints, and the voice actors didn’t even record together (and it shows). There are some smart sci-fi scripts spread throughout the show’s two-season run, notably the time-travel episode “Yesteryear,” which gives us a glimpse into Spock’s childhood. Yes, it’s near the bottom, but I’d never say this is a bad series. Star Trek: The Animated Series (1973 – 75) It’s also very faithful to Star Trek lore (if not Star Trek storytelling sensibilities.) But because there is only one season that has aired, it’s impossible to place this one any higher.

So far, it’s pretty funny, although not outright hilarious. So there is only one season of episodes to go by. Centered around a second tier starship’s junior crew, this one premiered on Paramount+ Access only recently. This first animated Trek show since the ’70s, Lower Decks is also the first overtly comedic show in the franchise’s history. Here’s our ranking of every Star Trek series, from worst to best. But of all these series, and the many to come before, which one is the cream of the crop? It’s time to evaluate each of the nine series set in the Final Frontier from the past 55 years. Not to mention, animated children’s series called Star Trek: Prodigy. On top of all that, there are still several new Trek series coming our way, including a series focusing on Captain Pike and a young Spock called Strange New Worlds. Star Trek: Discovery recently concluded its third season, and Star Trek: Picard and Star Trek: Lower Decks will be debuting their new seasons within the year.

Star trek the first federation