Fourteen months ago, I introduced this new category (The Big TV Binge-Watch) with a review of STAR TREK: TOS. Since then, I have watched every episode of what I believed to be nearly every STAR TREK series (TOS, TNG, DS9, Voyager, Picard) and all the major movies made during the original franchise in sequential order, for the most part. Lately, it has been my refuge against the madness of the real world of 2025 and now, 2026. Every time one series came to an end, I was hungry for more!
I’ve been a fan of STAR TREK since its beginning in September 1966. My late father and I bonded over the original series, watching and discussing each weekly episode. Dad and I had already established a mutual passion for sci-fi in general—books, television shows, and movies, going back to the mid-1950s.
In the STAR TREK Universe, Good always TRUMPS Evil, even though it means the improbable death and rebirth of starship crew members as they time-warp their way through exploration of galaxies far, far away as well as those in our own galactic neighborhood. But, more importantly, this fictional universe explores what it means to be human—the range of emotions, relationships, beliefs, dreams, goals, fears, desires, strengths, and weaknesses that define us as a species. We humans go so far as to expect the alien species we encounter to be human as well—both physically (faces with eyes, ears, noses, mouths, teeth, and hair) and, to varying degrees, emotionally!
It’s not just the characters and their adventures that have drawn me in; it’s also the different configurations of the television network that produced the shows (CBS, UPN, CBS All Access, and Paramount+) along with production values—series creators and writers, theme songs, actors, directors (many of whom were also the actors)—and their crossovers between series that bring a consistency and continuity to the entire franchise. Every series has begun with a strong Captain in command of an idealistic, energetic, proud crew, embarking on the same mission: “To seek out new life forms…” and “To boldly go where no man [later, no one] has gone before.” In almost every series, the theme song is initially played in a slow, grand, brass- and drum-filled manner. Over the course of the series, the theme’s tempo quickens to match the changing focus of the show—more action, more conflict, a final climax, and a denouement.
As filming, makeup, and other techniques evolved, so did the quality and variety of characters—both human and alien. Notably, the physiology of the so-called Warrior race of Klingons changed radically, with larger, ridged heads and noses, variations in skin tone, and amazingly beautiful long, silky hair. Other species, like the Ferengi, had oversized, sensitive ears. The Xindis comprised five distinct sentient species: Insectivores, Reptilians, Primates, Arboreals, and Aquatics. The Andorians—the blue-skinned humanoids with antennae, introduced in TOS, are later discovered to have albino counterparts in their northernmost outposts. The pointy-eared Vulcans and Romulans descended from a single race.
Just when I thought I’d seen every series, I recently (re)discovered STAR TREK: Enterprise, the UPN prequel series about the first star ship Enterprise in the mid-22nd century! When I first started watching this four-season series that first aired from 2001 to 2005, the 1980s-rock-style theme song—the only one with lyrics—was unfamiliar. (It’s an adaptation of a Rod Stewart song!!) But I immediately recognized every character and storyline! (Or, so I thought; keep reading.) Watching it now is like getting a STAR TREK history lesson—in this case, the first Wild-West era of space exploration. (Hasn’t every crew been accused of using Wild-West tactics?) Having already learned from Wesley Crusher’s by-then-illegal maneuvers as a Starfleet Cadet (during TNG) that the slingshot turn away from Saturn is the springboard to all the new worlds to be explored, it’s fun to see how dependent the Enterprise crew is on that “landmark” in their stellar travels.
But the biggest surprise is that the Vulcans are responsible for Earth ever embarking on space travel in the first place! During the first two seasons of Enterprise, several stories show that the Vulcans had been observing and infiltrating human history for centuries. The first Vulcan (and female) Science Officer, Subcommander T’Pol, tells a story about her great-great-grandmother’s crew getting stuck in a small Pennsylvania mining town in the 1950s. Of course, the crew had to hide their ears and steal appropriate clothing to blend in, just as Spock did in TOS and later series. But the 1950s crew went above and beyond, getting jobs in the town and the mine for several months. In the end, one of the crew members decided to remain on Earth for the rest of his life, traveling across the United States and eventually working in secret with the Vulcan High Counsel to help shape the course of Earth’s space program.
Now, as I’ve just finished watching the 4th and final season of Enterprise, I’ve learned how the Vulcans are reckoning with their skepticism of time-space travel as they are drawn into Captain Archer’s frequent forays into the past and future to maintain the History and Destiny of the Universe as we know it, lest entire worlds and species disappear from the expected timeline. But I wasn’t prepared for the series finale: the fate of Archer’s Enterprise crew did not play out in a blaze of glory. Instead, the story is resolved through the eyes of Commander William Riker and Ship’s Counselor Deanna Troi—as flashbacks they’re replaying through the holodeck program on one of the decks of their soon-to-be-launched starship! If I had not already been a fan of TNG, I might never have watched what I now consider to be one of the best series in the franchise. I did say earlier, though, that there’s a pattern to every series: a guiding, hope-filled premise, followed by more action, more conflict, a final climax, and a denouement—from the sublime to the ridiculous.
Much as I hate to admit it, I expect my next TV Binge-Watch voyage will be the new Paramount+ series, STAR TREK ACADEMY. And in this age of social media, I can continue my explorations via podcasts by STAR TREK actors, including Jonathan Frakes, Michael Dorn, and Richard Picardo ( ); The Planetary Society, a group co-founded by Bill Nye The Science Guy and actors representing every iteration of STAR TREK ( https://www.instagram.com/startrek?igsh=cTNwcW9lbzRqdGNm); The Planetary Society https://share.google/o0ra8VWVQvSRS1Pgt); and the official STAR TREK website (https://share.google/z7keNczqtTqmaxvo4).
Live Long and Prosper.
Jackie Oldham, Out!
| STAR TREK Series | Original Air Dates |
| STAR TREK: The Original Series | 1966-1969 |
| STAR TREK: The Next Generation | 1987-1994 |
| STAR TREK: Deep Space Nine | 1993-1999 |
| STAR TREK: Voyager | 1995-2001 |
| STAR TREK: Enterprise | 2001-2005 |
| STAR TREK: Discovery | 2017-2024* |
| Picard | 2020-2023 |
*Newly discovered series I just started watching.
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