Axiom’s Edge Science Fiction and Fantasy

(Continuing our Summer of Star Trek series)

By John J. Joex

Rating: 3 out of 5 Stars

Star Trek: The Animated Series has long been the red-headed step-child of that iconic franchise. The series came into existence in response to the phenomena that developed around the original series when it blossomed in syndication after its initial cancellation by NBC. The animated version continued directly from the original series with most of the same characters and cast in place and even used the same series “bible” as a guideline for writers. And though NBC wanted to do a more Saturday Morning friendly version with kids taking active roles on the bridge of the Enterprise, Gene Rodenberry dug in his heals and insisted on following generally the same path as the live action version. Despite this, many Star Trek fans simply dismiss the series and consider the twenty two episodes that it produced as apocryphal.

That is of course unfortunate, because the series is really not that bad. It brought back the majority of the original actors to voice their characters, it continued the basic premise of the original series, and it carried over several of the writers from the original series such as David Gerrold, D.C. Fontana, and Samuel A. Peeples. And even though it ran on Saturday mornings, it still attempted to present intelligent stories that did not pander or talk down to its audience.

That said, the series still had several hurdles to overcome. Filmation, the company that produced it, was known for cutting corners which often resulted in sub-standard animation (though the artwork at times was quite impressive). The scripts often seemed more like story-sketches, that hurried through their premise, contained plot holes or leaps of logic, and did not always provide a sufficient build-up to the episode’s ending. And some scripts were just plain bad, hardly distinguishing themselves from the kiddie-fare that the series aired next to.

Still, the show gave fans the chance to return to the “Shore Leave” planet, catch up with Harry Mud and Cyrano Jones (and his tribbles), and the chance to look back at Spock’s childhood. Fans of the original series jonesing for more adventures from their favorite Starfleet officers in the early seventies got at least a small fix from this show. And going back and revisiting the episodes on DVD reveals that they have held up much better than I would have thought. Among the stand-out episodes we have “Yesteryear” in which Spock visits himself as a child, “The Slaver Weapon” written by noted Science Fiction author Larry Niven, “More Tribbles, More Troubles” in which the furry creatures return, and “The Infinite Vulcan” (written by Walter Koenig) which gives as a more credible take on the original series episode “Spock’s Brain”.

Most of the original cast voiced their characters, though Walter Koenig (Chekov) did not make the cut because Filmation had to keep casting costs down (as mentioned, though, he did get the chance to pen an episode). In addition to their own characters, James Doohan (Scotty) and Majel Barrett (Christine Chapel) also voiced many of the other characters that appeared in the episodes. The familiar voices, of course, helped with the continuity between the original series and its animated follow-up and the usually well-written stories kept the show a notch or two above its Saturday Morning competition.

At less than $20 on Amazon.com and including a decent “Making Of” documentary, this one is worth a second look from diehard Trek fans and/or should provide a nice bit of nostalgia for those who have fond memories of watching the show back in the 70’s.

Star Trek Sculpture from Collectibles Today