Those Awesome Scientists

September 7, 2023 6:40 AM

The legacy of Star Trek: The Animated Series, 50 years on
posted by Artw (50 comments total)

I unapologetically and unironically loved this as a child, and... I still do as a 59-year-old man. There were some wonderful stories in there. And let's not forget that Kzinti -- from Larry Niven's universe, added to Star Trek with his TAS script (an adaptation of an originally non-ST short story) -- are also now canon as a result of LD.
posted by kikaider01 at 6:54 AM on September 7, 2023 [9 favorites]

Weren't the TAS stories novelized in the Log books by Foster? That has to count for something.
posted by Spike Glee at 6:57 AM on September 7, 2023 [5 favorites]

Once upon a planet... we did a rewatch on FanFare.
posted by Halloween Jack at 7:09 AM on September 7, 2023 [4 favorites]

Absolutely the best Star Trek to watch while stoned.
posted by Jon_Evil at 7:11 AM on September 7, 2023 [8 favorites]

I don't care what Paramount says, TAS is canon. The later shows starting with DS9 have all taken stuff from it.
posted by rhymedirective at 7:12 AM on September 7, 2023 [5 favorites]

Basically all of TAS is canon via LD, including the giant Spock clone!
posted by ChurchHatesTucker at 7:13 AM on September 7, 2023 [7 favorites]

Basically all of TAS is canon via LD, including the giant Spock clone!

I really want them to create a post-Undiscovered Country show solely to have Ethan Peck play giant Spock in an episode. I will be taking no questions at this time.
posted by rhymedirective at 7:16 AM on September 7, 2023 [9 favorites]

[ McCoy reacts, raises left eyebrow ]
posted by seanmpuckett at 7:16 AM on September 7, 2023 [9 favorites]

[bemused Kirk acts surprised]
posted by Halloween Jack at 7:32 AM on September 7, 2023 [7 favorites]

Basically all of TAS is canon via LD, including the giant Spock clone!

Point of pedantry: According to the folks in charge at Lower Decks, the correct abbreviation for the show is "LDS", as in this scene from ST IV: The One With The Whales.

posted by Strange Interlude at 7:50 AM on September 7, 2023 [3 favorites]

Memory Alpha uses "LD"
posted by ChurchHatesTucker at 8:25 AM on September 7, 2023 [2 favorites]

If you try to use "LDS" you're going to run into some namespace confusion.
posted by The Pluto Gangsta at 8:29 AM on September 7, 2023 [10 favorites]

Van Citters can use whatever he likes for the production code, but many folks are going to go with the Memory Alpha option. It does actually save a ton of time.
posted by zamboni at 8:29 AM on September 7, 2023

Yes, yes, we all know "LDS" stands for "Latter Day Spock".
posted by I EAT TAPAS at 8:38 AM on September 7, 2023 [10 favorites]

TAS was my introduction to Star Trek when I was 10 years old in 1973. I was not quite old enough to have watched the original series when it was first run on NBC, but even by 1973, Captain Kirk and Mr. Spock had seeped into pop culture enough that I knew what it was going in.

I did not join in the FanFare re-watch a few years ago, but I did rewatch the whole thing in the lead-up to the premiere of Strange New Worlds, and most (though not all) episodes were as good as any average TOS episode. The really good ones are better than some TOS episodes. I would *love* to see someone take all the vocal and SFX tracks and re-animate the whole thing with decent modern animation. I know the cheap-ass Filmation animation style is having a moment of retro popularity, but it is absolutely the worst part f the whole experience.

(RE: the Lower Decks abbreviation, I usually use "LDS" myself, but I see "LD" and even "LOW" used all the time. Like so many other bits of Trek culture, this particular argument is wholly trivial and speaks poorly of the fans)
posted by briank at 8:43 AM on September 7, 2023 [2 favorites]

The Animated Series and the Star Fleet Battles boardgame from Amarillo Design Bureau are canon. Everything from TNG and later happens in an alternate timeline.

And I will not accept the evil ravenous Gorn from TNW as anything except some tasteless joke; the Gorn Confederation was a democracy and (after the misunderstanding in TOS Arena) loyal friends to the Federation.
posted by mark k at 8:44 AM on September 7, 2023 [9 favorites]

And I will not accept the evil ravenous Gorn from TNW as anything except some tasteless joke; the Gorn Confederation was a democracy and (after the misunderstanding in TOS Arena) loyal friends to the Federation.

As someone who is playing a Gorn psychiatrist/ship's counselor in a Star Trek campaign I whole heartedly agree.
posted by charred husk at 8:59 AM on September 7, 2023 [10 favorites]

Like so many other bits of Trek culture, this particular argument is wholly trivial and speaks poorly of the fans)

A real LOW point?
posted by zamboni at 9:01 AM on September 7, 2023

The article references Lower Decks so often I feel like it's relevant to mention Season 3 is free on Youtube this month, at least in the US, in anticipation of Season 4, two episodes of which dropped today.

FWIW I recently (re)watched TAS. Setting aside the nostalgia for TOS and TAS, what I liked most about it as an adult were the surreal painted backgrounds, reminiscent of Richard Powers but more colorful, but there was some fun stuff there all around.
posted by Wobbuffet at 9:03 AM on September 7, 2023 [4 favorites]

A Filmation ST:TNG would have been kickass. As long as Worf got to play in the musical numbers.
posted by JoeZydeco at 9:05 AM on September 7, 2023 [3 favorites]

If you try to use "LDS" you're going to run into some namespace confusion.

Yes. LDS clearly stands for "Longitudinal Data System," programs in the US for states tracking health outcomes and then sharing them with other states.

Also, I cannot forgive ST:TAS for an episode called "The Infinte Vulcan" featuring a very large but still quite finite Spock clone. I'm sure Spock himself would agree with me.
posted by GenjiandProust at 9:06 AM on September 7, 2023

Star Trek is getting five new ‘very Short Treks’. The five animated shorts from the ‘Too Many Cooks’ guy feature voice actors from a bunch of Star Trek shows and are ‘anything but canon.’
posted by 1970s Antihero at 9:09 AM on September 7, 2023 [6 favorites]

So if I were going to watch just one TAS episode, which one should it be?
posted by Nelson at 9:09 AM on September 7, 2023

So if I were going to watch just one TAS episode, which one should it be?

Yesteryear.
posted by 1970s Antihero at 9:15 AM on September 7, 2023 [12 favorites]

So if I were going to watch just one TAS episode, which one should it be?

Yesteryear.

Without question. The best episode of the entire run.
posted by briank at 9:30 AM on September 7, 2023 [5 favorites]

And I will not accept the evil ravenous Gorn from TNW as anything except some tasteless joke

SNW Gorn are Xenomorphs with the serial numbers filed off. They're only called Gorn because they predate the Alien franchise and even Disney's lawyers would have some heavy lifting to do anything about that.
posted by ChurchHatesTucker at 9:52 AM on September 7, 2023 [1 favorite]

The ship has somewhat sailed on that one.
posted by Artw at 10:06 AM on September 7, 2023

I usually use "LDS" myself, but I see "LD" and even "LOW" used all the time. Like so many other bits of Trek culture, this particular argument is wholly trivial and speaks poorly of the fans

To be clear, my main reason for bringing it up was because it's the most amusing of the available abbreviations, if nothing else. Like most issues of Star Trek canon, I see most of it as sandcastles on a beach, waiting to get washed away by whatever the most recent space-time shenanigans happen to be.
posted by Strange Interlude at 10:10 AM on September 7, 2023

Stepping out of a time-tunnel to say: Hilarious, subtle post-title, well done!
posted by riverlife at 10:28 AM on September 7, 2023 [3 favorites]

TAS was my gateway drug to Star Trek as a child. My mother tells me that when I saw TOS for the first time, I was amazed they found actors who so closely resembled the cartoon.
posted by Gelatin at 11:28 AM on September 7, 2023 [6 favorites]

To be clear, my main reason for bringing it up was because it's the most amusing of the available abbreviations, if nothing else. Like most issues of Star Trek canon, I see most of it as sandcastles on a beach, waiting to get washed away by whatever the most recent space-time shenanigans happen to be.

Oh boy, one of my favorite things to nerd out about.

So, abbreviations for Trek shows have always followed 1 rule:

If the subtitle has more than one word, use the initials. Otherwise, use the first three letters.

Star Trek (1966): TOS (The Original Series, retronym)
Star Trek (1973): TAS (The Animated Series, retronym)
Star Trek: The Next Generation: TNG
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine: DS9
Star Trek: Voyager: VOY
Star Trek: Enterprise: ENT
Star Trek: Discovery: DIS
Star Trek: Picard: PIC
Star Trek: Lower Decks: LD
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds SNW

You will have people insist that Lower Decks should be LDS, or that Discovery should be DSC or DISCO or (ugh, this one is a HUGE RED FLAG) STD.

These people are wrong.

Like so many other bits of Trek culture, this particular argument is wholly trivial and speaks poorly of the fans

Wholly trivial? Have you ever met another Trekkie?
posted by rhymedirective at 11:40 AM on September 7, 2023 [10 favorites]

Wholly trivial? Have you ever met another Trekkie?

You mean Trekker.

/s
posted by ChurchHatesTucker at 11:49 AM on September 7, 2023 [10 favorites]

I was glad to see the article mention Star Trek: Prodigy too: PRO

I binged it days before it was taken offline, and it was actually pretty good. It took a while to warm up past 'generic YA' motifs to get to some nice 'Trek' moments, but by the end, it had plenty of callbacks and warmth and fun of its own. To anyone catching up on recent Trek, SNW and Lower Decks are probably higher priorities, but I hope Prodigy finds a new home so more people can see it too.
posted by Wobbuffet at 11:53 AM on September 7, 2023 [3 favorites]

You mean Trekker.

/s


I meant what I said and I said what I meant!
posted by rhymedirective at 12:05 PM on September 7, 2023 [2 favorites]

I think that "Trekker" was temporarily (and probably not completely) in vogue during the seventies when Star Trek was not really taken seriously by the media, who would show up at Trek cons and gawk at people dressed as Andorians or wearing "I Grok Spock" buttons. Even though TOS was a runaway perennial hit in syndication, Them What Digs the Trek were considered to be some weird little offshoot of SF fandom, which was considered weird in and of itself. It was a while before more of us started coming out of the agony booth, as it were.
posted by Halloween Jack at 12:11 PM on September 7, 2023 [2 favorites]

I meant what I said and I said what I meant!

ancient_battle.wav
posted by zamboni at 12:43 PM on September 7, 2023 [2 favorites]

Gorn to be wild.
posted by kirkaracha at 2:04 PM on September 7, 2023 [2 favorites]

Same as kikaider01 . I loved TOS on tv as a kid, and then was amazed to see the animated show Saturday mornings in the local public library basement. Kzinti!
posted by doctornemo at 3:26 PM on September 7, 2023

I am incredibly happy that TAS is finally getting its day in the sun. I was 6 when it premiered and had already been watching TOS in syndication for a couple of years. My love for TAS is so deep that I ran the Fanfare rewatch Halloween Jack mentioned above. It's ingrained in my DNA to the point that it's my comfort TV on those nights that I struggle to sleep.

The animation is terrible. At times, the voice acting isn't great, either. But the stories they tell are _deeply_ Star Trek, as Trek as they can be in 22 minutes.

> So if I were going to watch just one TAS episode, which one should it be?

Yesteryear.

It's actually hard to pick one. "Yesteryear" is great, for sure, and you wouldn't go wrong picking it. "The Slaver Weapon", mentioned above, does an outstanding job repainting Niven's original story in Star Trek livery. But, also...

• "Beyond the Farthest Star", which highlights just what animation could bring to the series in terms of aliens and alien ships
• "The Time Trap", one of the Trekkiest of the stories
• "The Terratin Incident"
• "The Counter-Clock Incident"

posted by hanov3r at 3:52 PM on September 7, 2023 [3 favorites]

So if I were going to watch just one TAS episode, which one should it be?

Yes, Yesteryear, of course, but How Sharper Than a Serpent's Tooth is a variation on the "Enterprise meets a god" story that kinda blew my mind as a kid.

In fact, I remember randomly seeing it on television when I was very young, living on a farm with very few TV channels available, unaware of what Star Trek was, and that at the time I thought it was some sort of fever dream burned in my mind.

To further add to my Star Trek fever dream, I had my own record player and got the book-record of Passage to Moauv, which used charactrers from the cartoon, but the illustrators had not seen the cartoon and only vaguely knew who the characters were, resulting in weird interpretations of characters. Worst M'ress ever.
posted by AzraelBrown at 4:31 PM on September 7, 2023

I binged it days before it was taken offline, and it was actually pretty good. It took a while to warm up past 'generic YA' motifs to get to some nice 'Trek' moments, but by the end, it had plenty of callbacks and warmth and fun of its own.

I like that one a lot. It is a little bit “what if we did Clone Wars/Rebels but for Trek?” In feel, but that’s no bad thing. And it’s got Janeway, who totally murdered a dude.
posted by Artw at 4:45 PM on September 7, 2023 [2 favorites]

My recollection is that they tried to make “trekker” happen in the 90s because marketing people* thought Trekkie sounded too gay

*possibly Rick Berman
posted by Jon_Evil at 6:05 PM on September 7, 2023 [1 favorite]

I am just going to leave the TOS crew in Futurama link here I am going to say that Shatner doing a spoken version of Slim Shady is choice.
posted by jadepearl at 7:06 PM on September 7, 2023

Wikipedia: Trekkie
posted by ChurchHatesTucker at 7:13 PM on September 7, 2023

And I will not accept the evil ravenous Gorn from TNW as anything except some tasteless joke

Yeah. I mostly liked Strange New Worlds, at least the half-season I've seen so far, because it seemed to be a turn away from "the Federation is evil and always has been" that the Discovery-era stuff had been, but the Gorn thing was extremely irritating.
posted by tavella at 7:36 PM on September 7, 2023 [1 favorite]

How Sharper Than a Serpent's Tooth

HSTaST is the only Star Trek episode in history to win a "major" Emmy award, taking home 1975's "Outstanding Entertainment Children's Series" statue.
posted by hanov3r at 9:20 PM on September 7, 2023 [1 favorite]

The many many double and triple-up performances by Doohan, Nichols, and Barrett add a lot to the feel of the series. Cozy Trek.

Doohan reprised the role of Robert April on the audiobook Final Frontier, which I listened to approximately one zillion times on cassette as a kid.
posted by StarkRoads at 11:47 PM on September 7, 2023 [1 favorite]

(RE: the Lower Decks abbreviation, I usually use "LDS" myself, but I see "LD" and even "LOW" used all the time. Like so many other bits of Trek culture, this particular argument is wholly trivial and speaks poorly of the fans)

If earnestly arguing about supposedly "trivial" points of Star Trek speaks poorly of me, I don't wanna be spoken well of.
posted by Flunkie at 6:26 PM on September 8, 2023 [1 favorite]

My recollection is that they tried to make “trekker” happen in the 90s because marketing people* thought Trekkie sounded too gay

I've never heard of this, but even if it happened, it wasn't the actual origin of the trekkie/trekker conflict. I distinctly remember discussing it with a friend who was very emphatic about "trekkie" being perceived by self-styled "trekkers" as demeaning, in that it (as opposed to "trekker") carried a connotation of nerdliness. I am 100% sure that we were either in high school or middle school at the time of this discussion, and that was... let's see... oh goddammit why did you have to make me explicitly remember that I was in high school before the 1990s
posted by Flunkie at 6:45 PM on September 8, 2023 [3 favorites]

My recollection is that they tried to make “trekker” happen in the 90s because marketing people* thought Trekkie sounded too gay

The Trekkie/Trekker schism dates back to the '70s, when "Trekkie" was already starting to take on the patina of the unwashed basement-dweller. It really took off after Shatner's "Get a Life" sketch on SNL in 1986.
posted by hanov3r at 10:15 AM on September 9, 2023 [3 favorites]