Animated Trek

Whenever you mention there had been a Star Trek Animated series, the person is likely to say, “I didn’t know there was one.”

It’s not a well-known thing in the chronicles of science fiction fandom, buried beneath other layers of useless information, news and what not.

But for one thrilling year in 1973 to 1974, the series boldly went where no man has gone before: the animator’s storyboard.

Filmation Co. was responsible for the care-taking of the animated series which is very much like a missing fourth season for Star Trek. There’s the carry-over of several writers such as D.C. Fontana and David Gerrold from the original series who wanted to continue exploring the frontier days of Kirk, Spock and the rest of the enterprising crew.

You can get it now as a four-disc set hitting the shelves in most marketing stores. It was released on Nov. 21 which made for a nice precursor gift for the upcoming Christmas holidays. You can’t miss it with its vibrant white cover. Though I almost did when I checked out the nearest Wal-Mart store here in Oshkosh.

But there’s the continuing debate. Should the animated series be considered part of the forty-year mythos? Or should it be buried in the midst of a forgotten past? Should anyone care?

I think so.

It’s up to you whether you find the animated series part of the long legacy or not. But you’re missing chunks full of good stuff when you overlook this extremely well-written Saturday morning cartoon that’s more of a dramatic TV show. The ideas, concepts, everything was given a broader sense when not defined by a near string-budget on the original series.

That means we get to see cities in a more flamboyant views carved with alien beauty, foreign landscapes were given a more friendly-audience view and several more creatures were portrayed throughout the series such as B.E.M. whose biological frame could break into three different pieces.

The writers come up with a string of imagination and there are even a few sequels which tie in nicely with the original three-year run. The very excellent “Yesteryear” chronicles Spock as a young child lavishly penned by Fontana herself. We also get to revisit the City on the Edge of Forever once again.

There’s a cleverly written episode called “The Magicks of Megus-Tu” which offers a different and interesting view of the devil… but he’s a good guy in this episode. It’s very creative stuff for a minor cartoon series. Which won its Emmy award in 1973. And deservedly so.

Equally important were the voices for the animate series done by the original cast of the Star Trek crew. William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy and DeForest Kelly provided their golden throats for the series followed by James Doohan, a man with a thousand voices, who gave life to many of the alien characters.

I wouldn’t watch this animated series if none of the actors were involved in it.

With the exception of Walter Koenig, all of the actors contributed. But even Koenig penned the episode “The Infinite Vulcan.” So the entire cast had been involved in some shape or form. Behind the typewriter or the microphone.

There’s a good run of episodes that are noteworthy, filled with very good writing. Some of my favorites include “How Sharper than a Serpent’s Tooth,” “The Pirates of Orion” which gives us an idea of what a brutal and war-like race the Orions are and “Yesteryear” remains a pinnacle example of how an animated series can be an excellent alternative form of storytelling.

The stories are short, surprisingly compelling and never dull. Filmation wasn’t known for its stellar animated, reusing cut-scenes very often. But if you’re looking for good stories, you might get drawn to the cartoon final frontier.