The Star Trek timeline began with a small dream that Gene Roddenberry had. His ambition was to offer the world a TV series that featured characters who showcased humanity and integrity. Years later, Star Trek has become one of the most popular franchises in today’s pop culture.
The franchise now has over 50 years of films and TV shows (exactly 13 films and 9 shows). Each show and movie has been written to perfect and of course, the franchise has had its fair share of writers, directors, producers and cast members. Of course, with such a huge franchise, it’s easy to get confused and lost in the Star Trek timeline; however, we’ve handpicked all the shows and movies which you can watch online by following our Star Trek streaming guide.
Star Trek: Series & Films
Let’s look at the timeline in detail.
Star Trek: The Original Series
It is one of the best science fiction movies set in the twenty-third century and centered on the crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise, which represents the United Earth’s Federation of Planets, is on a five-year journey to discover new worlds, seek new life and societies, and fearlessly go where no one has gone before in the star trek timeline.
It premiered on C.B.S. in 1960. Admiral James Tiberius “Jim” Kirk is in charge of the Enterprise, attractive and outspoken (William Shatner). Chief Medical Officer Dr Leonard H. “Bones” McCoy is one of Kirk’s closest friends. Commander Spock, the ship’s half-human/half-Vulcan Science Officer and First/Executive Officer (i.e. second-in-command), is from Vulcan.
The series follows them as they come face to face with exotic alien cultures, both friendly and hostile, as they travel to and from the uncharted territory on their journey. This episode shows the Enterprise and her crew battling aliens, supercomputers, temporal paradoxes, crazed killers, and even Khan Noonien Singh.
Through the prism of the future, the series is notable for examining then-current hot themes such as sex and war and God, religion, politics, and racism, among other things, that contribute to our understanding of ourselves.
Characters and fans from all around the globe have become cult favorites of the 79-episode television series (eighty if one includes The Cage (1966), which ran from 1966 to 1969.
Star Trek: The Animated Series
Attempts to rehire just a few cast members were also made as part of the other cost-cutting measures implemented. N.B.C. initially intended to employ five cast members: William Shatner, DeForest Kelley, Leonard Nimoy, James Doohan, and Majel Barrett, with James Doohan and Majel Barrett serving as Sulu and Uhura, respectively.
However, the network ultimately decided to hire just four cast members. Leonard Nimoy stood up for his fellow crew members by stating that he would not join the programme until all of the original cast members were brought back to perform their voices in the show.
A deal was subsequently made with everyone, except for Walter Koenig, who was hauled aboard the Enterprise. The animated programme also provided additional opportunities for foreign aliens to join the crew, which was a welcome addition.
M’Ress, played by Majel Barret, had been a Caitian technical officer who served as a communications stand-in for Uhurua on several occasions. Alex, who James Doohan portrayed, took up Chekov’s position at the navigation panel on a few occasions.
Star Trek: The Motion Picture
A gigantic alien spaceship with great strength kills three formidable Klingon vessels as it approaches Federation space.
For the very first time during her historic five-year voyage, Admiral James T. Kirk is instructed to assume command of the U.S.S. Enterprise. However, the Epsilon IX space station and the alien ship are wiped out.
The only spacecraft in reach is the Enterprise, which has just returned from a long drydock stay in Earth’s orbit after completing a significant refurbishment. A new crew member joins Kirk as they prepare to intercept the extraterrestrial vessel.
But, after three years without a space mission, is Kirk still up to the duty of rescuing the Earth?
Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan
It’s the year 2304, Admiral James T. Kirk is a Starfleet Academy teacher who is beginning to feel his age; the idea of going on a two-week student tour aboard his ship, the U.S.S. Enterprise, now an instructional vessel, does nothing to help him feel any younger.
When Khan Noonien Singh, the famed conqueror from Earth’s late 20th century, reappears after years of exile, the training voyage becomes deadly serious. Khan subsequently reported that Ceti Alpha VI erupted, shifting the fifth planet’s orbit to create a haven similar to Mars.
A top-secret gadget with the capacity to create itself, Project Genesis lies at the heart of his plan to eradicate Kirk.
Star Trek III: The Search for Spock
Following Spock’s final act of self-sacrifice in the Star Trek series timeline, Admiral Kirk and the crew of the Enterprise go to Earth to make some necessary repairs to their spaceship.
After arriving at the spaceport and learning that the Enterprise is now to be decommissioned, they are astonished and disappointed. Dr. McCoy starts behaving suspiciously, and Scotty is transferred to another ship to make matters worse.
Kirk is compelled to retake control of the Enterprise and go beyond the galaxy towards the Genesis Planet to rescue Spock and return him to Vulcan for a second time. Unfortunately, despite their ignorance, the Klingons are plotting to acquire the Genesis Device’s secrets to use them for their terminal ends.
Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home
The most celebrated Star Trek voyager timeline experience of all time, with a powerful message to share with the world. Earth has been threatened by an unknown extraterrestrial probe in the 23rd century, melting the seas and ruining the atmosphere as it approaches.
To preserve humanity, Admiral Kirk and his team must journey back in time to 1986 San Francisco, where they discover a world of punk, pizza, and exact-change buses that are as foreign to them as everything they have ever met in the great depths of space. Kirk and Spock and the rest of the Star Trek crew return in their respective roles as William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy.
Star Trek V: The Final Frontier
Following a disastrous shakedown trip aboard the newly named spaceship Enterprise, Captain Kirk and his crew decide to land her at Spacedock for repairs.
However, a vital assignment forces them to interrupt their Earthbound beach vacation. Three ambassadors from the planet Nimbus III, the Planet of Galactic Peace, have been kidnapped by a rogue Vulcan called Sybok.
This incident also captures the notice of a Klingon captain looking to make a reputation for himself and sets out to track down the Enterprise and her crew. Unfortunately, Sybok’s motley army grabs the Enterprise and leads her on a trek to the galaxy’s core to pursue the Supreme Being, whom they call the Supreme Being.
Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country
The Klingons have had an estimated 50 years until their ozone layer is destroyed, and they all perish after an explosion on their moon. Peace with the Union is their sole option, which would end the 70-year battle. Because of their previous dealings with the Klingons, Captain James T. Kirk and the rest of the crew are enlisted to assist in the discussions.
Kirk and McCoy are detained on Rura Penthe, a frigid hard-labour prison camp, for the attempted assassination of the Klingon High Chancellor. Will they be able to make it out alive? A negotiated settlement with the Klingons seems unlikely.
Star Trek Generations
Star Trek shows timeline legends such as Captain James T. Kirk, Pavel Chekov, and Montgomery Scott, who are among the guests on the inaugural voyage of the Enterprise NCC-1701-B in the late twenty-third century.
A bizarre energy ribbon traps two cargo spacecraft, forcing the unprepared spaceship to rescue them. Although just a few of the ship’s passengers were saved, Captain Kirk was killed in saving them.
One hundred and eighty years later, the NCC-1701-D crew and Captain Jean-Luc Picard have a conflict with the rogue scientist Dr. Tolian Soran, who is responsible for destroying whole star systems. Unfortunately, only one person can help Picard thwart Soran’s plan, and he’s been dead for 78 years now.
Star Trek: The Next Generation Series & Films
The Star Trek timeline Next Generation is a sci-fi television series set in the 24th century that follows Captain Jean-Luc Picard aboard the USS Enterprise.
This version of the legendary starship, which is significantly larger than the one piloted by James T. Kirk a century ago, has 1,012 men, women, and children on board, and it carries a larger crew complement as a result.
Men and women are more likely to volunteer for long-term exploration missions if they perceive their ship to be their home, according to Starfleet Command at the time. Picard’s crew may now enjoy a variety of leisure activities, “replicated” cuisine specialties to suit every palette, and quarters large enough to accommodate couples and children together, something they would have had to forego before.
It also has a children’s school as well as an adult-only bar where clients may relax while sipping synthetic alcohol or synthetic alcoholic cocktails. The ultimate purpose, which is no longer confined to five years, is nearly identical to Kirk’s: to search out new life and new cultures while boldly going into previously unknown territory.
Star Trek: First Contact
The year is 2374, and the Borg (cybernetic lifeforms) have taken over the galaxy, intent on assimilation and conquering all life forms. The Borg are on their way to Earth, where they seek to use time travel to change the course of history.
To prevent humanity from being assimilated, Captain Jean-Luc Picard and the crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise (NCC-1701-E) is forced to go back in time to fight the Borg Queen before she can complete her mission.
Meanwhile, Picard and his crew must ensure that Zefram Cochrane completes his legendary warp flight and establishes the first contact between Earth and an extraterrestrial civilization (the Vulcans).
Star Trek: Insurrections
Jean-Luc Picard and his Next Generation crew have returned. Prime Directive: No Starfleet expeditions may interfere with the normal evolution of other societies from the beginning of the Federation Orders have been sent to Picard, however, which calls into question that decision.
More than 600 peaceful Ba’ku inhabitants will be forcefully taken from their magnificent planet if he follows orders. This is all for millions of others who would purportedly profit from Ba’ku’s Fountain of Youth-like qualities.
Because of his actions, he might lose all he has worked so hard for. Picard, on the other hand, has just one option. To save Paradise, he must organize an uprising against Starfleet.
Star Trek: Nemesis
The Star Trek timeline Enterprise takes up a prototype of the android Data as it passes through the Romulan Neutral Zone to William Riker and Deanna Troi’s honeymoon destination of Betazed.
Romulans’ new ruler, Praetor Shinzon (a human clone of Captain Picard who resides on the slave planet Remus), pretends to seek peace with the Federation and is immediately diverted to Remus.
Because Shinzon requires Picard as his lone match for genetic material to continue his research, he kidnaps the crew and takes Picard hostage. A veiled Warbird pursues the destruction of Earth, and Picard and the Enterprise crew are forced to flee.
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Series
The Celestial Temple of their Prophets is the Bajoran name for the stable wormhole that the Deep Space Nine crew found. This is because Sisko discovered the wormhole and its occupants, making him the Emissary of Bajoran prophecy.
The opposite end of the wormhole may be found in the Gamma Quadrant, almost halfway across the galaxy from Bajor’s location in the Alpha Quadrant. The nefarious Dominion holds sway over this region of space.
A race of shapeshifters, including Odo, is in charge at the Dominion. Cardassia has joined the Dominion, and they’re waging war against the Federation and its Klingon allies in the sixth season. As the conflict rages on, the crew of Deep Space Nine must struggle to defend their way of life from extinction.
Learn everything in details about Star Trek quadrants in our comprehensive guide.
Star Trek: Voyager Series
Entering a nebulous known as “the Badlands” is a frightening situation for the U.S.S. Voyager. The Delta Quadrant, 75,000 light-years away from Federation space, is the destination for both ships, thanks to a space probe from a distance.
The powerful, dying Caretaker, the man who built the probe, kidnaps crew members from both Voyager and the Maquis. The two ships’ crews strike an uneasy truce to free the hostages.
A conflict with the warlike Kazons destroys the Maquis ship. Voyager destroys the space probe to avoid a Kazon attack on a hapless planet. Voyager’s return to Federation space will take 75 years if the probe is not used.
Because of the gulf in time and space, the crews of the Federation and Maquis are forced to work together on Voyager. They set off on their new task as a team.
Star Trek: Enterprise Series
In this Star Trek enterprise timeline, they must free themselves from the Vulcans’ yoke, which had held them, hostage, for one hundred years when the Vulcans first discovered the warp drive and made contact with them. Unfortunately, the Taliban event in the first episode gives Captain Jonathan Archer’s Enterprise its maiden journey at warp speed.
A series of trials await Captain Archer following this maiden expedition, setting the stage for his further explorations.
When they fight with alien warships and humanoid superhuman opponents in battle, he displays exemplary leadership, and the crew of the Enterprise, including Hoshi, Trip, Malcolm, and Travis, as well as alien doctor Phlox and Vulcan Sub Commander T’Pol, who was brought aboard to keep an eye on the captain, are enamoured with him.
We recommend you watch the Star Trek movies in order to grasp the sprawling story of this amazing franchise!
Star Trek: Reboot Films
Star Trek (film)
A Romulan mining ship on the hunt for Ambassador Spock kills James T. Kirk’s father on the day of James T. Kirk’s birth, who had grown up on Vulcan and been despised by his neighbours for his half-human ancestry. A youthful rebellious troublemaker, James T. Kirk has matured into a 25-year-old James T. Kirk.
Captain Christopher Pike pushes him to reach his full ability in Starfleet, and he soon becomes a source of irritation for both him and his other students, including Commander Spock. On Vulcan suddenly, the U.S.S. Enterprise is crewed by talented cadets like Hikaru Sulu, Nyota Uhura, Pavel Chekov, and even Kirk, courtesy of Leonard McCoy’s medical trickery.
This crew will go on a journey to the furthest reaches of the universe, where the old tale is permanently changed, and a new one starts.
Star Trek Into Darkness
In a shocking turn of events, the crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise returns home to discover that an unstoppable force of terror from within their organization has exploded the fleet and all it stands for, putting the whole Earth in a state of emergency.
Captain Kirk searches a war-torn Earth to apprehend a one-person weapon of mass devastation, which has a personal vendetta against the captain.
A chess game of life and death will be played out between our space heroes as they are catapulted into an epic battle for their own lives. Love will be tested, relationships tested, and sacrifices must be made for the only family Kirk has left: his crew.
Star Trek Beyond
U.S.S. Enterprise Captain Kirk and his crew have completed the first part of their five-year mission and are now preparing to enter the previously unexplored territory in this Star Trek timeline.
While on beach leave at Starbase Yorktown, Kirk plans to continue as Vice Admiral and recommends Spock for the ship’s captaincy. However, Kirk and his crew are left on an unknown planet with no means of communication with the Federation or each other after a violent alien invasion.
An ancient weapon known as the Abronath is sought by Krall, an extraterrestrial warlord, following a failed diplomatic trip. Starfleet Captain Kirk and his crew face an enemy with deep hate for the Federation when they are reunited with the alien warrior Jaylah. How soon will they be able to put out the new threat?
Star Trek: Discovery Series
In this Star Trek discovery series, Michael Burnham took the crew of the Discovery into the future to battle the evil A.I. Control. The gang would not allow their buddy to depart on her alone, so they decided to accompany her. They thought so, at least.
Unfortunately, Michael’s crew was unable to be discovered when she arrived in 3188. The wormhole sent Michael in a different direction than she had intended, and her mother, Gabrielle, would never see her again. When she met Cleveland “Book” Booker, on a mission to save endangered creatures, she soon became friends with him.
This century, the 32nd, is dismal. One hundred years ago, an event known as The Burn occurred when the bulk of Starfleet’s ships and the United Federation of Planets’ resources were destroyed by an explosion of dilithium.
Travel to other planets grew difficult, frequent environmental catastrophes, and the Federation was all but gone. The Emerald Chain, a violent crime gang that ascended to power in the wake of the apocalypse, turned formerly close races like the Andorians and Orions into bitter rivals.
Star Trek: Lower Deck Series
While taking risks and venturing into unknown territory, the Star Trek tv series timeline continues to follow the underdogs of Starfleet on their crazy adventures across the universe, assisting civilizations and bringing new life to the surface while maintaining their professional appearances and avoiding total humiliation along the way. Although it is based on the Star Trek history timeline, it is much more irreverent than anything you’ve seen previously.
Check out some other titles from our list of best-animated movies of all time that you must not miss!
Star Trek: Prodigy Series
In contrast to past Star Trek shows, the double-sized debut of Prodigy seems to be totally in its lane, remaining pleasantly uninterested in them until two minutes before the final credits.
On the mining colony asteroid Tars Lamora, the first episode, “Lost and Found,” takes place on the eponymous asteroid, where juvenile prisoner Dal R’El is attempting his hundredth attempted escape. This episode’s first hour shows Dal assembling a motley crew of other enslaved labourers to seize a sophisticated derelict spacecraft buried beneath a crack of an asteroid.
Anyone somewhat acquainted with Star Trek would immediately identify this ship, the U.S.S. Protostar possesses all of the visual hallmarks of a Starfleet starship in its design and construction.
Dal and his comrades, on the other hand, are completely unfamiliar with Starfleet and the United Federation of Planets that it serves. To them, it’s just a means of escaping from slavery.
The fact that it is also their entry point into a diversified space paradise adds to the allure of the situation. While amid their space journey, they find that they’ve stumbled onto Star Trek at the last minute.
Star Trek: Picard Series
A short time after the devastation of Romulus, Starfleet failed to follow through on a previous agreement to assist in the departure of Romulus. Culminating With the invasion of the Mars Colonies by a battalion of “Rogue” Starfleet Synthetics (Short Trek: Children of Mars), a chain of unusual events began to unfold, leading to the Discovery of a Galactic Conspiracy.
After 10 years in retirement, Jean Luc Picard receives a request for assistance from an unknown source. This raises unsettling concerns that no one will be able to address. So it is now up to Picard to rise to the occasion and meet these difficulties straight on.
Star Trek: Strange New Words Series
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds is a television series that is both a spinoff of Star Trek: Discovery and a prequel series to the original Star Trek television series. It takes 10 years before Captain Kirk takes over as captain of the U.S.S. Enterprise, Strange New Worlds recounts the exploits of Captain Pike and his crew onboard the ship.
Wrapping Up
It all started with a simple idea: a guy called Gene Roddenberry wanted to create a television program set in the future, with characters who would symbolize the best of humanity and who would take risks that no one had taken before.
As a result, the Star Trek timeline has now established itself as one of pop culture’s most lasting touchstones, always adapting to meet the needs of the times.
It is not a simple task to put together a logical chronology for a franchise that spans more than 50 years of films and television productions (9 series and 13 films, to be exact).
However, when you break that down, the Star Trek timeline does a fairly good job of holding together a story that has been developed by dozens of writers and filmmakers over many decades. This is particularly astounding given the amount of time travel included in the plot and the fact that certain dates are in contradiction.
