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This outline is a topical guide and overview of Star Trek:
Star Trek – Americanscience fictionentertainment franchise, created by Gene Roddenberry, which started in 1966 with the television series Star Trek now known as Star Trek: The Original Series). With spin-offs the franchise now includes seven TV series (six live action, and one animated) totaling 716 episodes across 30 TV seasons, as well as 12 feature films. The Star Trek franchise also includes a large number of novels, comic books, video games, and other materials, which are generally considered non-canon.
Star Trek
Star Trek can be described as all of the following:
Fiction – a form of narrative which deals, in part or in whole, with events that are not factual, but rather, imaginary and invented by its author(s). Although fiction often describes a major branch of literary work, it is also applied to theatrical, cinematic, and musical work.
Science fiction – a genre of fiction with imaginative but more or less plausible content such as settings in the future, futuristic science and technology, space travel, parallel universes, aliens, and paranormal abilities. Exploring the consequences of scientific innovations is one purpose of science fiction, making it a "literature of ideas".
Space opera – a subgenre of science fiction that emphasizes romantic, often melodramatic adventure, set mainly or entirely in outer space, usually involving conflict between opponents possessing advanced technologies and abilities. The term has no relation to music and it is analogous to "soap opera".
Space Western – a subgenre of science fiction, primarily grounded in film and television programming, that transposes themes of American Western books and film to a backdrop of futuristic space frontiers; it is the complement of the science fiction Western, which transposes science fiction themes onto an American Western setting.
Setting – setting includes the historical moment in time and geographic location in which a story takes place, and helps initiate the main backdrop and mood for a story. The setting has been referred to as story world] or milieu to include a context (especially society) beyond the immediate surroundings of the story. Elements of setting may include culture, historical period, geography, and hour. Along with plot, character, theme, and style, the setting is considered one of the fundamental components of fiction.
Fictional setting – a place that exists only in fiction and not in reality. Writers may create and describe such places to serve as the backdrop for their stories to take place in. The setting may be of any scope, from a specific spaceship or building to a neighborhood, city, country, world, galaxy, or universe.
Fictional universe – self-consistent fictional setting with elements that differ from the real world. It may also be called an imagined, constructed or fictional realm (or world).
Intellectual property – legal concept which refers to creations of the mind for which exclusive rights are recognized. Under intellectual property law, owners are granted certain exclusive rights to a variety of intangible assets, such as musical, literary, and artistic works; discoveries and inventions; and words, phrases, symbols, and designs. The typical intellectual property rights granted for fictional works are copyright and trademark.
Media franchise – licensing of intellectual property of an original work of media (usually a work of fiction), such as a film, a work of literature, a television program or a video game, to others. This licensing may involve trademarked characters and settings. Generally, a media franchise means that a whole series is made in a particular medium, along with licensing to others for merchandising and endorsements.
Star Trek: The Original Series – first TV series to follow the adventures of the Starship Enterprise and its crew. At the time, simply called "Star Trek".
Star Trek: The Next Generation – created by Gene Roddenberry twenty-one years after the original Star Trek series, with a new ship, new technology (such as the holodeck), a new crew, and a new cast.
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine – set in the Next Generation era, this spin-off series is about a space station on the edge of Federation space.
Star Trek: Voyager – another spin-off series set in the Next Generation era, about a starship and its crew trying to get home after getting transported and lost far away from Federation territory.
Star Trek: Enterprise – prequel series set in the nearby regions of the Milky Way galaxy around the year 2150, over a century before the original Star Trek series.
Star Trek film franchise – Paramount Pictures has produced twelve Star Trek feature films. The first six films continue the adventures of the cast of The Original Series; the seventh film, Generations, was designed as a transition from that cast to The Next Generation television series; the next three films, 8–10, focused completely on the Next Generation cast. The eleventh and twelfth films take place in an alternate timeline from rest of the franchise set with an almost entirely new cast playing the original series characters.
Films corresponding to the Original Series
Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979) – V-Ger, an advanced intelligence from another dimension, visits Earth seeking its Creator, and is about to eradicate the Earth's infestation of humans, but has to deal with Captain Kirk and his crew aboard the U.S.S. Enterprise first.
Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982) – Khan, a genetically enhanced renegade human exiled with his followers by Kirk on a desolate planet for decades, escapes and vows revenge. A cat and mouse contest ensues between them for the Genesis Device, a mechanism capable of destroying a planet and rebuilding its life matrix at the same time.
Star Trek III: The Search for Spock (1984) – Spock was killed in the previous movie. Or was he? And Dr. McCoy isn't behaving quite like himself. Kirk reassembles his crew and steals the Enterprise, to search for his lost friend and bring him back from beyond the grave.
Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (1986) – the crew returns home with a reincarnated Spock, in a captured Klingon vessel and certainly subject to facing court martial. When they arrive, they find the Earth apparently besieged by a powerful alien spacecraft broadcasting in whale. In order to save Earth from the craft's destructive signal, they attempt to travel back in time to find a humpback whale to communicate with the alien craft to tell it that all is well.
Star Trek V: The Final Frontier (1989) – in a newly commissioned Star Ship Enterprise, the crew travels to the center of the galaxy where they meet God, who wants their star ship.
Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country (1991) – Captain Kirk and Doctor McCoy are imprisoned for the murder of the Klingon Chancellor Gorkon. Spock takes command of the Enterprise and embarks on a rescue mission.
Bridge between the Original Series and Next Generation
Star Trek Generations (1994) – Captain Picard races against time to stop a mad man from destroying an entire star system. In the process he ends up meeting an unlikely ally: Captian Kirk.
Films corresponding to the Next Generation era
Star Trek: First Contact (1996) – Captain Picard and crew battle the Borg in the past to save humanity in the present.
Star Trek: Insurrection (1998) – The crew of the Enterprise battles a rogue Starfleet operation who plans to destroy a planet in the name of science.
Star Trek: Nemesis (2002) – Captain Picard and the crew battle a clone of himself who has taken control of Romulan space and intends to invade Federation space.
Films in the rebooted non-canon franchise
Star Trek (2009) – in the 25th century, Spock and a Romulan warlord are sent back to the 23rd century through a black hole, disrupting the timeline and forcing the young crew of the NCC-1701 to come together earlier, despite their differences, after the warlord destroys Vulcan.
Star Trek Into Darkness (2013) – a Starfleet agent who isn't what he seems turns terrorist and destroys a Starfleet base on Earth and the newly reinstated Captain Kirk is ordered to take the Enterprise to the Klingon homeworld to dispose of him.
Star Trek: The Animated Series – set in the Star Trek universe following the events of Star Trek: The Original Series, with the voices of the original cast.
Human – aka Terran, are one of the races undertaking interstellar travel. Human beings were instrumental in the founding of the United Federation of Planets. Although politically fragmented at the end of the 20th century, Humans underwent political unification, and made first contact with the Vulcan race in 2063.
Vulcan – extraterrestrial humanoid species who originate from the planet Vulcan. They are noted for their attempt to live by reason and logic with no interference from emotion.
Klingon – extraterrestrial humanoid warrior species. An antagonist in the original series, turned ally and member of the Federation in the Next Generation era.
Romulan – extraterrestrial humanoid species generally depicted as antagonists, and are usually at war or in an uneasy truce with the United Federation of Planets.
Borg – collection of species that have been turned into cybernetic organisms functioning as drones of the Collective, or the hive. An enemy of all species, seeking to absorb them all. Introduced during the Next Generation era.
Cardassian – extraterrestrial species originating from the fictional Alpha Quadrant planet, Cardassia Prime. Introduced during the Next Generation era, and located in the vicinity of Deep Space Nine.
Ferengi – extraterrestrial species whose culture is characterized by a mercantile obsession with profit and trade, and their constant efforts to swindle unwary customers into unfair deals. They are also known for their business acumen and for rampant misogyny.Introduced during the Next Generation era, and located in the vicinity of Deep Space Nine.
Galactic quadrant – in Star Trek, the Milky Way galaxy is divided into four galactic quadrants: Alpha, Beta, Delta, and Gamma.
Galactic Core – central area of the Milky Way galaxy, lying partially in each of the four galactic quadrants.
Sector – a sector was a volume of space approximately twenty light years across. A typical sector in Federation space would contain about six to ten star systems, although sectors toward the galactic core would often contain many more.
The Rift – A subspace rift is a rupture of a region of subspace instability where subspace extrudes into normal space due to excessive exposure to warp field energy.
Subspace – Subspace is an integral part of the space-time continuum, distinct, yet coexistent with normal space. Subspace and normal space are confluenced together.
Mirror Universe – The "mirror universe" is an informal name for a parallel universe first recorded as visited by James T. Kirk and several officers from the USS Enterprise in 2267.
The Nexus – The Nexus was an extra-dimensional realm in which one's thoughts and desires shape reality. Inside the Nexus, time and space had no meaning, allowing one to visit any time and any place that one could imagine.
Q Continuum – extradimensional plane of existence inhabited by a race of extremely powerful, hyper-intelligent pan-dimensional beings known as the Q.
Interstellar powers in Star Trek
United Federation of Planets – interstellar federal polity with, as of the year 2373, more than 150 member planets and thousands of colonies spread across 8,000 light years in the Alpha and Beta Quadrants of the Milky Way Galaxy, taking the form of a post-capitalist liberal democracy and constitutional republic.
Klingon Empire – home of the warrior race known as the Klingons, located primarily in the Alpha Quadrant.
Romulan Star Empire – interstellar power very similar to that of the Roman Republic before it became the Roman Empire. Romulans share a common ancestry with Vulcans, but are passionate, cunning, and opportunistic — in every way the opposite of the logical Vulcans. Star Trek Star Charts place the Romulan Empire into the Beta Quadrant of the galaxy, however, in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, they are referred to as an Alpha Quadrant power.
Borg Collective – also referred to as the "hive mind" or "collective consciousness", the Borg Collective is a civilization with a group mind. Each Borg individual, or drone, is linked to the collective by a sophisticated subspace network that ensures each member is given constant supervision and guidance. The Borg inhabit a vast region of space in the Delta Quadrant of the galaxy, possessing thousands of vessels. They operate toward the fulfilment of one purpose: to "add the biological and technological distinctiveness of other species to own... perfection".
Ferengi Alliance – located in the Alpha Quadrant, what the Ferengi Alliance consisted of was never revealed; it may simply encompass the Ferengi home world Ferenginar and any uninhabited planets that the Ferengi have colonized, since there was little indication that the Ferengi government exercised authority over any species other than its own.
Cardassian Union – Orwellian-like power located in the Alpha Quadrant, characterized by strict government control over information and violent force. Its denizens have unquestioning obedience to authority due to the general lack of human rights, which provides a contrast to the personal protections of the Federation.
