"Star Trek" TV Shows Ranked Worst to Best
A Trekkie's Ranking of Star Trek Shows
There are plenty of articles out there that run down the best Star Trek TV series to the worst. However, those are either made by journalists or those who don't really appear to be fans, just those that cover TV in general.
I have been a Trekkie for over 30 years, starting with Star Trek: The Original Series. If it's Star Trek, I have watched it. That being said, I never saw a listing of the different Star Trek TV series that I agreed with.
So from one fan to another, or, to someone who is looking to become a fan, I wanted to provide a listing of every Star Trek TV series. This listing will start out with the worst and work its way up to the best, just to save the best for last.
This article will contain spoilers! You have been warned.
9. Star Trek: Picard (2020–current)
I was so excited when Star Trek: Picard was announced. I watched the trailers for it a dozen times, read anything I could about it, and absorbed all I could. I sat down and watched the first episode with glee. I planned my week around it. Jean-Luc Picard was back!
However, as I watched each episode, I found myself more disappointed. Star Trek: Picard doesn't follow the episodic format of other Star Trek shows. The entire season had its own plot, which picked up from the previous episode. By the end of the first season, I realized I didn't like it at all.
There were warnings it wasn't going to be like other Star Trek TV shows, which was okay, but in the end, the plot was just all over the place. The exciting moments were the cameos or references to things we already knew.
Anything new that was added, for the most part, felt out of place. It was almost too much sci-fi in Star Trek. I had no reason to go back and re-watch the first season, and it's the first Star Trek show that I have ever had that happen.
Best Episode: "Remembrance"
The reason why the first episode is the best episode is that it brought back Picard. It also caught us up on what was happening with the Federation and the entire Alpha Quadrant.
Worst Episode: "Et in Arcadia Ego"
This was the finale of the first season. It's just bad. The conclusion felt lackluster except for a few action scenes. How they dealt with Picard was all wrong. I'll watch season two, but in the end, I'm not excited for it.
8. Star Trek: The Animated Series (1973–74)
Star Trek: The Animated Series was at one point the only animated Star Trek series. Though that's not the case now though. What's unusual about TAS is that it's usually up in the air if it's canon. Gene Roddenberry, the creator of Star Trek, didn't consider TAS to be canon. Yet, he accepted money for the show to be made. Recent showrunners also accepted TAS to be canon.
Recommended
TAS is actually a decent Star Trek TV series. What bogs it down is that the voice acting is off, as most of the actors and actresses recorded their lines separately. Additionally, it's not hard to see animation errors or the reuse of material. So it's rough around the edges. Though it was great they were able to secure most of the actors and actresses from Star Trek: The Original Series for TAS.
TAS shares similarities with TOS. There was some sexual content and adult themes in TOS. Most of that was toned down in TAS so it would appeal to children, however, it was still kept serious enough for adults to enjoy. Admittedly, I enjoyed the show a lot more as a child than I have as an adult.
Best Episode: "Yesteryear"
If you liked TOS, Discovery, the Star Trek movies, etc., then this is the episode to watch, as it touches on the past of Spock. You'd be surprised how much is shown here about Spock that appears in the movies and other Star Trek TV shows.
Worst Episode: "The Magicks of Megas-Tu"
This episode is just bizarre. There is magic involved. Kirk uses magic. While it has a happy ending, it's just a weird episode that felt completely out of place in the Star Trek universe.
7. Star Trek: The Original Series (1966–69)
The series that started it all, Star Trek: The Original Series. Just because it started Star Trek, doesn't mean it's that great of a series. It faltered because it wasn't given that much of a chance to succeed. While it had a decent budget, it was cut each season until cancellation.
TOS was considered to be ahead of its time in many areas. While it was on TV, there was much racial and political strife in the United States. TOS dropped those racial barriers to show everyone as equals. It also showed that humans could move beyond their pettiness to join an interstellar community.
TOS laid the foundation of what Star Trek is today. Even though TOS was short lived, it hung on long enough to spawn movies and made way for the revitalization of the multiple of TV series that have been developed. It also did a decent job of predicting technology we use today.
Best Episode: "The City on the Edge of Forever"
This was a hard decision to make, because "Mirror, Mirror" is a great episode. What I love about this episode is that it's one of the few time travel episodes of any Star Trek show that does time travel right. Plus it presents a great ethical dilemma.
Worst Episode: "Spock's Brain"
Spock's brain is stolen. Literally stolen. It's not in his skull, yet, he doesn't die because of it. The episode is just plain bad. The worst part is that this opened the third and last season of TOS. This could have led to the cancellation of the series if there was a huge drop off in viewers after this episode.
6. Star Trek: Lower Decks (2020–current)
I'll admit outright that I love Star Trek: Lower Decks. It's the second animated Star Trek series, which doesn't take itself seriously. The reason why it's ranked low on this list is that it's a comedy show instead of a true Star Trek series. It feels like a good add-on that is not required watching, but something I would watch nonetheless.
Star Trek: Lower Decks revolves around lower-ranked officers doing the drudge work on a starship. The show is really good at making fun of itself, but also making great Star Trek references. A few episodes had me laughing almost the entire time. But, it wasn't overly funny all of the time either. Sometimes it was just a mediocre Star Trek show.
I will be watching the next season of the show, no doubt. I'm a lot more excited about it than Star Trek: Picard, but I will never consider it mandatory viewing. It's a decent Star Trek show if you don't mind it making fun of itself or Star Trek in general.
Best Episode: "No Small Parts"
The last episode of the first season proved to have the best balance of action, comedy, and cameos. I hope that the balance achieved in this episode carries on to the next season.
Worst Episode: "Second Contact"
It's not really a bad episode, it's just the first episode introducing the characters. This was rough since it was a different type of Star Trek, so it wasn't that solid. The series really picks up starting from the second episode.
5. Star Trek: Enterprise (2001–05)
In my opinion, Star Trek: Enterprise is underrated. In fact, a long time ago, I considered this to be the worst Star Trek series. I watched the first episode, hated it, and didn't watch it at all until years after it was no longer on TV. I considered that to be a mistake in the end.
Star Trek: Enterprise tells the story of the first warp five starship Earth has ever had. This was before the Federation, so it should have been a show of exploration and human discovery. It didn't quite play out in that way, but it wasn't that bad either.
The series did focus way too much on the captain, and relied on time travel way too much. It also seems like the technology used in Enterprise was better than Star Trek: The Original Series. They tried to explain that throughout the series, but, you can tell they gave up on that eventually. In the end, the third and fourth seasons were great.
Best Episode: "Demons/Terra Prime"
These two episodes, which are part of the same storyline, are what some fans consider to be the series finale of Enterprise. It touches on issues we are still experiencing in the world and shows what Enterprise really could have been.
Worst Episode: "These Are the Voyages..."
This is the worst Star Trek episode, ever. You can even call it a lame Star Trek: The Next Generation episode. The decision to mix TNG characters with the finale doesn't work, and the time spent with the Enterprise cast is wasted and downright offensive. Most fans don't even consider this to be the true finale of Enterprise.
4. Star Trek: Voyager (1995–2001)
Star Trek: Voyager had a great premise. Throw a starship into another part of the galaxy to fend for itself as the crew tries to find their way home. It was a great premise, and while it had some memorable episodes, the show was a missed opportunity.
The problem with Voyager is that there should have been a major issue with supplies, keeping the ship repaired, and losing out on crew. While that was a focus in the earlier seasons, eventually that was dropped. For the most part, the ship looked the same at the beginning of the first season as compared to the end of the last season.
However, the series produced some great characters, which were the main focus in the later seasons. Some characters were simply brushed aside and were there to support the characters that were given focus. Even though it lasted seven seasons, some characters didn't seem to grow at all.
Best Episode: "Night"