Gene Roddenberry's vision for a hopeful future. Star Trek has 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 throughout Star Trek history when no new shows were being produced. After Star Trek: Enterprise ended in 2005, it was unclear when, if ever, Star Trek would return. With the benefit of hindsight, however, it’s possible to look back at the past 20 years of Star Trek and 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 of Star Trek.
20 Star Trek: Enterprise Finally Solved A Long-Lasting Klingon Mystery
Why Don't Klingons In TOS Have Forehead Ridges?
Ever since Klingons were redesigned in Star Trek: The Motion Picture, there was an unspoken question among Star Trek fans about why Klingons in Star Trek: The Original Series look more human than the Klingons in Star Trek: The Next Generation. In 2005, Star Trek: Enterprise finally answered that question in the season 4 episodes "Affliction" and "Divergence."
What Happened To Captain Archer After Star Trek: Enterprise Ended
Captain Jonathan Archer commanded the first Starship Enterprise in the 22nd century. Here's what happened to Archer after Star Trek: Enterprise.
Apparently, the Klingons incorporated human augment DNA into their own genomes, and curing the resulting virus removed their forehead ridges. Answering long-running questions like this is what makes Star Trek: Enterprise season 4 the show's best. Even though Enterprise didn’t last long, the prequel has proven to be seminal to Star Trek.
19 Star Trek Returned To The Big Screen
J.J. Abrams Rebooted Captain Kirk & The Starship Enterprise
In 2009, J.J. Abrams welcomed a new generation of Star Trek viewers in the 21st century by rebooting the Star Trek movies with the simply named Star 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 that it re-introduced Star Trek's core cast to new audiences, and re-launched Star Trek movies through Star Trek's Kelvin timeline, with two sequels following in 2013 and 2016.
18 Star Trek: Discovery Brought Star Trek Back To TV After 12 Years
Discovery Kicked Off A New Era Of Star Trek
Star Trek: Discovery revived the Star Trek TV 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 back Star Trek television for the first time since Enterprise ended more than a decade earlier. And Discovery started with a bang in “The Vulcan Hello” and "Battle at the Binary Stars."
Star Trek: Discovery was a controversial show for all five seasons of its run, but beloved shows like Star Trek: Lower Decks or Star Trek: Strange New Worlds would not exist without Discovery's trailblazing. All things considered, "The Vulcan Hello" was an iconic Star Trek series premiere, and it sparked the modern-day renaissance of Star Trek.
17 Star Trek Got One Of Its Best Guest Stars
Rainn Wilson As Harry Mudd Blended Past And Present Trek
ing Michelle Yeoh and Jason Isaacs, Rainn Wilson's guest appearances in Star Trek: Discovery season 1 elevated the new Star Trek series. 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 steals Star Trek: Discovery. Rainn Wilson's edgy Harry Mudd successfully reinvented a fan-favorite Star Trek: The Original Series character with a modern twist.
16 Patrick Stewart Returned To Star Trek
Jean-Luc Picard Rose Again At Star Trek Las Vegas
As Captain Jean-Luc Picard, Patrick Stewart starred in Star Trek: The Next Generation and four TNG movies from 1994-2002 and was central to many of the best Star Trek episodes of all time. After 2002, it seemed like Stewart was done with Star Trek. When Sir Patrick announced at Star Trek Las Vegas in 2018 that he would be returning for a new Star Trek series, it was an undeniably iconic moment. Star Trek: Picard's 3 seasons reaffirmed Patrick Stewart as a giant of Star Trek.
15 Star Trek Introduced A New Animated Series
Lower Decks Proved Star Trek Can Be Funny
Star Trek has always had the occasional funny episode, but when Star Trek: Lower Decks premiered in 2020, it proved that Star Trek can excel at comedy that celebrates the franchise. From Lower Decks' very first episode, "Second ," Tawny Newsome and Jack Quaid played 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 love Star Trek as much as fans do, because they're fans of Starfleet themselves.
14 Star Trek Shows The Lower Decks Of Other Starships
Starfleet & Alien Lower Deckers Have A Lot In Common
One of the greatest things Star Trek: Lower Decks season 2, episode 9, "Wej Duj," did is show what life is like for Starfleet officers who aren't stationed on the Federation flagship or 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 introduced T'Lyn (Gabrielle Ruiz), who became quickly beloved on Star Trek: Lower Decks.
13 Star Trek: Prodigy Taught Star Trek To A New Generation
And Starfleet Returned To The Delta Quadrant
In late 2021, Star Trek: Prodigy brought 3D animation to Star Trek, with a new series aimed towards children and families. Appearing more like Star Wars at first glance, Star Trek: Prodigy quickly proved itself to be Star Trek to 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 with Prodigy will be Star Trek's next generation of fans.
Originally set in the Delta Quadrant, Star Trek: Prodigy is also a sequel to Star Trek: Voyager, with Kate Mulgrew returning in a dual role as Hologram Janeway and iral Kathryn Janeway. With any luck, the children who grow up with Prodigy will be Star Trek's next generation of fans.
12 Star 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 Pike and the USS Enterprise's return in Star Trek: Discovery prompted fans to demand their own spinoff. The episodic, character-driven storytelling of Strange New Worlds is a return to the sorts of stories told in classic 1960s Star Trek, but with a modern flair and a bold willingness to defy genre.
11 Star Trek Returned To Deep Space Nine
Colonel Kira & Quark Are Back
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine was one of the greatest Star Trek shows of all time. In late 2022, Star Trek: Lower Decks season 3 brought that greatness to modern Trek. 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.
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Did Its Own Lower Decks Episode 27 Years Ago
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine followed Star Trek: The Next Generation with its own episode focusing on the space station's Starfleet lower deckers.
What makes Star Trek: Lower Decks' crossover with DS9 so great is that it makes it clear that classic shows are still very important in the Paramount+ era of Star Trek. Ensign Mariner served on Deep Space Nine, and, although both she and Lower Decks moved on after this episode, both were undeniably shaped by DS9.
