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Star Trek is an American science fiction franchise. In addition to six television programs including the original 1966 Star Trek, the same fictional universe created by Gene Roddenberry is the setting for ten feature films, dozens of computer and video games, hundreds of novels and other fan stories, as well as a themed attraction in Las Vegas. In Star Trek's fictional universe, humans developed faster-than-light space travel after barely surviving a 21st-century World War III. Later, humans united with other sentient species of the galaxy to form the United Federation of Planets. As a result of alien intervention and science, humanity has largely overcome many Earth-bound frailties and vices by the 23rd century. Star Trek stories usually depict the adventures of humans and aliens who serve in the Federation Starfleet. The protagonists are essentially altruistic whose ideals are sometimes only imperfectly applied to the dilemas presented in the series. The conflicts and political dimensions of Star Trek form allegories for contemporary cultural realities; The Original Series addressed issues of the 1960s, just as more recent spin-offs reflect more modern topics. Issues depicted in the various series include imperialism, class warfare, racism, human rights, and the role of technology. Television series For a complete list of episodes, see List of Star Trek episodes Star Trek originated as a television series in 1966, although it had been in the planning stages for at least six years prior to that. Although The Original Series was cancelled in its third season due to low ratings, it served as the foundation for five additional Star Trek television series. Altogether, the six series comprise a total of 726 episodes across twenty-two different television seasons (twenty-nine, if one separately counts seasons running concurrently), making it the second most prolific science-fiction franchise in history after Doctor Who. Star Trek: The Original Series
Star Trek: The Animated Series Star Trek: The Animated Series was produced by Filmation and ran for two seasons. It featured most of the original cast performing the voices of their characters from The Original Series with the exception of Walter Koenig, who was not asked to return due to budgetary limitations. While the freedom of animation afforded large alien landscapes and exotic life forms, budget constraints were a major concern and animation was of moderate quality. Although originally sanctioned by Paramount (the current owners of the Star Trek franchise since its acquisition of Desilu Productions), the series is no longer considered to be canon, which has caused controversy among some fans . Even so, elements of the animated series have worked their way into official canon, such as Kirk's middle name, Tiberius, first revealed in TAS and made official in . Star Trek: Enterprise also incorporates several TAS concepts into canon. TAS came back to television in the mid 1980s on the children's cable network Nickelodeon, and in the early 1990s on cable network Sci-Fi Channel. Star Trek: Phase II Star Trek: Phase II was set to air in 1978 as the flagship series of a proposed Paramount television network, and 12 episode scripts were written before production was due to begin. Sets were constructed and several minutes of test footage were filmed. However, the risks of launching a fourth network and the popularity of the then-recently released film Star Wars led Paramount to make a Star Trek film instead of a weekly television series. The first script of this aborted series formed the basis of Star Trek: The Motion Picture, while three others were eventually adapted as episodes of Star Trek: The Next Generation. Star Trek: The Next Generation Star Trek: The Next Generation is set nearly a century after The Original Series and features a new starship, the ''Enterprise''-D, and a new crew led by Captain Jean-Luc Picard, played by Patrick Stewart. The show premiered on September 28, 1987 and ran for seven seasons, ending on May 23, 1994. The Next Generation had the highest ratings of all the Star Trek series and was the Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
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