I’m like you as a kid I loved this animated series. Kids today don’t know the joy of Saturday morning cartoons and commercials showing the newest toy’s.
For those of you who never heard the pros and cons of the animated series, I went through it and heard both sides. Here are a few. Some saw the animated series as the completion of the 5-year mission. Others did not because it was animated and not live action. Roddenberry liked it due to the fact he said on many occasions that he could do episodes in animation that live action couldn't do for budget or the technique hadn't been achieved yet. It was dumbed down a bit due to the age viewing it. We got to see the true first ENTERPRISE captain, Robert April and his wife Sarah. The animated series was also mentioned in live action Star Trek to canonize it. The tempo was slow, the bridge and ships sound effects were those of the 1960s series. There are so many more pros and cons. I look at it like this: you have an opinion and it's how you feel. Right or wrong, it's YOUR opinion, and you are right in your beliefs. On anything. That's what makes us different. Live long and prosper.
This show was manna from Heaven for my brother and me, who were still mourning TOS’s cancellation. Of course, after only 22 episodes, we had to mourn again!
@@rimurutempest9937 You know what I love about it now? Not only the nostalgia of it, but the open mindedness of it, innocence of the time. Is there a Bigfoot? Maybe. I also love listening to the experts now and hearing what they believed then as opposed to what we know now. Not gonna lie. Part of me still wants to believe in Bigfoot.
@@PaulHFleming yes, the Foster stories were twice as long as the TOS short stories by James Blish and also part of a continuous narrative, which was great. 🖖
I have a very warm spot in my heart for Star Trek: The Animated Series. The summer before the show premiered the Science Fiction Book Club from my local LA Public Library arranged for D.C. Fontana and Bjo Trimble to give a presentation. They brought cells of Lt. M'Ress and Lt. Arex to show what could be done to show aliens that could not be done with live action. Sure, the animation was by Filmation, so the quality was spotty, but me and my buddies enjoyed it!
I don't remember people hating it --- most fans (via the big ST conventions) knew Roddenberry was still working on a live action return. Do remember how TVs used to warm up --- ours had a small bright dot, which would gradually explode into a full picture. Kind of like the Big Bang. Which makes me wonder...
Well done Dave. It still baffles me that NBC executives cancelled a show that would live forever in various forms. THE biggest TV series of all time and they didn’t bring it back with the original crew. The goose 🪿 that lays golden eggs 🥚, guaranteed money 💰 in the bank 🏦 and they didn’t bring it back 🤷🤦♂️
At the time it aired, _Star Trek_ did not have good ratings. It was only saved from cancellation by a write-in campaign. But the ratings still didn't improve. It wasn't the golden egg you believe it to be at the time. Syndication gave it a larger fan base in the 1970s, but if _Star Trek_ was the golden goose you believe it to be, _Star Trek: The Motion Picture_ would have easily outpaced _Star Wars_ ticket sales.
What garbage Star Trek cartoons? The only two recent / current animated Trek series are Star Trek: Lower Decks and Star Trek: Prodigy, and both are treasures. Are you talking about the two animated Short Treks? (If you mean the non-canon Very Short Treks released last year, then yeah, the first three of those at least are pretty damn dreadful…) Agreed TAS is a truly wonderful show, but one need not dump on the new shows to venerate the old one. I’d put all three shows above half of more of the various live-action Trek series, even ones I still think are good and/or like or even love, myself…
@@blondiewan3331 You have to forgive them for a knee jerk response. I’m not a fan of either show, but saying they are bad shows or garbage is silly and myopic. Both shows considering the target demographics are very well made and entertaining, while staying faithful to its parent source material.
Just few years after All good cartoons disappeared replaced by show really just 25 minutes of advertising for Toys like He-man, GI JOE, She-Ra and Mutant Ninja turtles
As a kid on Saturdays I would watch absolutely anything animated. By the time Fat Albert came on I knew after that it was time to go outside and spend the rest of the day there. I was already watching episodes of Star Trek on Sundays so the animated series was just a continuation of that, so I loved it. I actually don't remember talking to my friends a lot about Saturday morning cartoons, it was just something you watched and it wasn't really a topic of discussion. So I had no idea about the popularity of the show one way or another I just knew that when shows didn't return the next season I was disappointed
I remember watching TAS during its initial run with my brother when we were 5 and 6. When I found out about the original series, I thought the cartoon had become so popular they decided to make it into a live-action series.
I loved it. It was new Star Trek when new Star Trek was as scarce as hen's teeth, and it was made by the original people. It was the last Saturday morning cartoon show that I got out of bed for instead of sleeping late.
Watched the OS as a kid and the animated series as a teenager and I am a fan of both. I have to question the Fanhood of anyone who HATES this cartoon it stands firmly as a continuation of the iconic original AFAiC
I don't think it's odd at all that, way back in 1973, fans of Star Trek initially hated the idea of a cartoon. They wanted a live action TV series and they were worried that the animated version would be dumbed down for kids. However, once the cartoon version premiered, I think most fans appreciated it and recognized the incredible amount of effort that went into creating it.
I never saw the animated series as a kid, in fact I was in high school before I watched the reruns of the original star trek. My first encounter with Filmation was He-man, which I actually liked, especially because it had good writing and He-man's voice (John Erwin/Morris the cat) exuded strength and wisdom so well. Maybe 5 years ago I binge watched the animated series. I think they nailed it. The shows were about par, but I don't think they dumbed it down and took some liberties afforded them from the animation format. Also the characters looked like the real actors and had their voices. Nimoy wouldn't do it unless they hired more of the actors.
I'm a Gen X'er and a classic Star Trek enthusiast, But I'm only lukewarm on the animated series, Because it generally doesn't have the vibe of the original series to me.
A lot of Star Trek fans are especially fond of the first Star Trek series they ever saw. This one was my first. There was never any question to me that it was an integral part of Star Trek. Before VCR tapes were a thing, I only got an hour (and a half) of Star Trek on TV per week, but I spent hours reading Bjo Trimbles Star Trek concordance over and over again, and that first great Star Trek reference work treated the animated series as just as legitimate as the live action one. For me, it defined how the Star Trek universe worked even more than the original series did, probably because the format allowed for more realistic looking aliens and more elaborate sets.
Even though it was made for children it's one of the best ways to get one more year of Star Trek. And I remember when I was a kid and I ate all of the marshmallows out of the Lucky Charms and then my Dad poured a bowl I can still remember his voice yelling my name lol. TC
I guess I was too young to really hear the outrage over the animated series. I loved it and was definitely in their demographic. I was more upset with the first season of TNG. I hated the uniforms, the relatively low production value, I hated Riker and Troi. I even wrote a fairly detailed episode treatment addressing my annoyance with these two characters. In my time in LA, TNG was still in production and, al least, still paying some lip service to "accepting open submissions" for scripts but were overwhelmed with the amount of them.
A lot of fans felt as you did, and interestingly enough, the writers listened and wrote an episode to take care of those exact problems by introducing Captain Jellico, who ordered the fish taken off set (which was hard to maintain), and for Troi to wear a standard uniform, which she did the rest of the series.
The animated Star Trek was the next best thing to the live action show! Same characters, a lot of the same voices, a lot of the same writers ... plus an unlimited special effects budget so they could do things they couldn't do in live action! I'm happy to own it on DVD! The show was not really dumbed down ... but it was sped up!
I did not watch the animated series, sadly. I became a huge Trekkie in about 1977 but I thought the cartoon might be a little too adult and dry for me when it aired in 73. Now I can appreciate it for what it was; a real attempt to do mature and meaningful stories that both kids and adults could enjoy. I learned more about the show from Bjo Trimble's GREAT Star Trek Concordance. Great video,, as always, Dave! Makes me remember a better, simpler time.
In 1974 I had just moved from Northern Virginia to San Antonio Texas. At my new school there was a kid who was big into Star Trek and another kid who was big into Lost In Space, although he liked Star Trek as well. I had watched Lost In Space when I was younger but never watched Star Trek until then. I do however have a vague memory of coming home one night in the late '60s and turning on the TV and I think I saw the Spectre Of The Gun episode airing. In 1974 the reruns were on in the afternoons and I really enjoyed the more mature Sci-Fi show. I so wanted to watch the animated series but it was always on sooo very early that I would wind up waking up usually when it was almost over or was already over. I remember that was very frustrating. I do remember seeing the episode where they shrunk and someone used a toothpick to activate the eye-beam to open the door to the turbo lift. I remember wondering why the heck there were toothpicks just laying around in this futuristic spaceship. By the way maybe you ought to do an episode on the animated Lost In Space episode. "Oh the pain!"
As a big fan of the original (and best) Star Trek show, I looked forward to the animated show when it came on in reruns. (It was rare to find it in reruns, though). The cool thing now is that I can watch the animated via Paramount+, which I'm subscribed to here on TH-cam...as well as the live-action show.
I first remember seeing the animated series in the early 80s when my local CBS station reran the animated series on Saturday mornings for one year. I guess the animated series was getting rerun in its syndication run then. I recall Nickelodeon reran the animated series in the 80s. I liked it. While the animation had that cartoon look, it worked.
I immediately LOVED the animated “Star Trek,” because I grew up watching “Star Trek: The Original Series” and “Star Trek: The Animated Series” side-by-side, while simultaneously playing with Mego’s original “Star Trek” action figures on the original Starship Enterprise Bridge Playset, while I wore the original, all-cloth Halloween costume for Mr. Spock, a Starfleet uniform that I wore year-round. It was an awesome time to be a Trekkie!
I was in high school when the animated Star Trek came out. I thought of myself as a cartoon connoisseur back then who took animation very seriously as an artform, had favorite directors and artists + could not stand anything that looked slapped together without love, genius and devotion to craftsmanship (anything from Jay Ward being the exception, the humor was so sidesplitting, so self-aware I didn't care it was done on the cheap.). It took me over a half a century to get over the poor quality animation and try to watch The animated series last year. I realized that if I thought of it as a radio show with pictures I could stomach the rigidness of it all. Hearing Shatner, Nimoy, Kelly, Nichols and the rest in what for me were ALL NEW EPISODES was a lot of fun. And the writing credits were all names I knew from the live action series, so I was hooked. Some episodes were crap, but the every Star Trek show has been like that. And I loved the cat lieutenant from the catpeople planet. A silly cartoonish concept but why not? It's a cartoon.
The fact alone that they brought it back, really shows that the network made a mistake in cancelling the original Star Trek in the first place. There were fans writing to keep it going people like Bjo Tremble leading it. Then TOS got a third season. If fans want something to keep going don't just give it one more seasons, give it multiple more seasons.
The passion of the fans is what kept the original show alive beyond NBC's horrendous cancellation decision. It’s a testament to how impactful the original Star Trek was and still is!
I remember watching the cartoon version. It was good but had potential for better but the Network decided otherwise because of ratings I think.. It was only a season or two in when it was cancelled.
I have it on DVD and while it has it's moments but I'm not a big fan. I am glad they brought back most of the original cast and even guest stars to voice the characters.
Good evening, Dave! I loved the animated Star Trek when i was a kid, and still do. It was a great continuation of the 'Five Year Mission' [along with 'Star Trek Continues' brings the mission full circle] Great animation, and just as intelligent stories as with the live version. It was the 'Crown Jewel' in Filmation's catalog and they reached their animation peak with this series and anything they produced after that just wasn't as stylish. My favorite episode was 'Yesteryear', where Spock travels through the Guardian of Forever and visits himself as a child. I used to have the 3D Talking View Master reels of that episode. Thanks for the memory and take care of yourself.
I dearly love all three of Star Trek’s animated shows; all three are really good, for various different reasons. TAS in particular is surely one of the brightest spots of early-to-mid ‘70s American television animation.
I’ve always thought of the Animated Series as a fourth season of Star Trek: The Original Series. I didn’t watch it during its original run, but I’ve bought it on DVD as part of my collection. I was born in 1968 and had other cartoons I liked to watch when TAS first aired.
I'm 60 and was around in 1973. I was a member of a local _Star Trek_ fan club. _Everyone_ loved the show. I know of no one disliked it. I think this may have just been a "you thing."
It certainly wasn't a "me thing". I loved it as well. However, while doing research for the video, I encountered a number of newspaper articles that referenced die-hard Trekkies vocally speaking out against a Saturday morning cartoon version of the show. End of the day, they wanted a new live action version.
@jdsundstrom I'd caution against believing what you see in the press. Since I was 15 years old and had a journalist botch a human interest piece on me, I've made a masochistic hobby of debunking the press. My methods are w so ingrained that within 30 minutes of reading a news report, I can prove one of three things: 1. The event being reported never happened. 2. The event didn't happen as reported. 3. If you remove emotionally-loaded language, opinion, and filler, you're left with maybe a few sentences of fact. I can do this with any news story from any source anywhere in the world. On live streams, I have occasionally invited viewers to provide a news story and I debunk it cold. I once debunked a shooting in Russia. I've even debunked _weather reports_ . The press can't get right a story about the fire department getting a cat out of a tree. Nothing you see in the press is real. _Nothing_ . I invite you to consider the implications of this. It means that you and I know absolutely nothing about the world beyond what we experience with our five senses. Nothing you see in the press is real. _Nothing_ .
I think we're going to have to just agree to disagree about the press, my friend. My life experiences have taught me that MOST journalists do their very best to report accurately on whatever topic they are tackling.🙂
@jdsundstrom we're both old enough to agree to disagree in a civilized fashion. We owe it as an example to younger viewers who tend to be overly-emotional. Agree to disagree we shall, my friend. I'm sure we agree more than disagree. I'm sure we both love "The Slaver Weapon." 🖖
Personally, I loved the series. I was happy to get my _Star Trek_ fix in. I didn't hear about the hatred of it until years later. I couldn't understand why they had this mad hate for it because I enjoyed it. Granted, there were a couple of episodes I wasn't a fan of, but that's true of the original series, too. And there are plenty of episodes I really enjoyed ( _The Slaver Weapon_ being one of them). All-in-all, a good time.
Oh, I vividly remember animated series of Star Trek. In 1074 I spend weekends with Aunt Hannah (one Grandma Sisters) She lived at place The Commons. This was community dining hall at Catholic Seminary. I get up 7am going down stairs Hugh kitchen make breakfast tray. I be ready watch Star Trek @ about 8:30am CBS network. Great memories
I'm a huge Trek fan and I grew up watching TOS and TAS, and aside maybe two episodes I never really cared for TAS. I think if they would have kept the original soundtracks it would have been much more enjoyable
I watched every episode. I thought it was great. Not perfect, but it was a respectable continuation after the show was cancelled. The greater scope of aliens and "special effects" made up for weaknesses in the animation. For me, it was generally better than a lot of the third season episodes. (No offense meant, personal opinion only) The Kzin episode especially. It blew my mind years later to read the Larry Niven story he adapted for it. Very interesting to compare the two versions.
The Animated Series was AWESOME! Considering the limited budgets, they did a great job. Star Trek (TOS) was centered on great stories. The Animated Series totally emphasized this. Bjo Trimble included it as canon in her book, the Star Trek Concordance. She was right.
I've never been much of a scifi fan, so I didn't watch this show, but I was aware that it was on Saturday mornings. I've read about the high quality of the animated series, so I gave a DVD set from that series to a friend who was a scifi fan.
I loved this animated series Dave has no problem with it I watched it backed on Netflix when it was on there loved this show loved super friends too have the super friends on dvd collection Dave thanks for explaining Dave love this star trek animated series
I was only about two months old when the Animated Series initially aired on NBC. I only got to see it when it aired on Nickelodeon back in the mid 1980s. I became a fan from watching reruns of the original series back in the late 1970s and 1980s. As for Lucky Charms, I remember I started eating them when the blue diamonds were introduced. I don't know what year that was.
Hey Dave. I'm wondering if you remember something the same as me, Lucky Charms when it didn't have Blue Diamonds. I've been told that I have the Mandela Effect.
I have to admit that I didn't watch the animated version of Star Trek when it was on, as there were other shows I wanted to see at the time, but I think I managed somehow to see at least one episode, when a show I liked wasn't on that particular Saturday.
It's working on my PC, Dave. I'll check the phone app again shortly. Thanks. I wanted to add that when I initially read your intro, I was thinking you were going to talk about ST:TNG. You may remember that there was a huge backlash against that at first too. People didn't care for Picard and the new re-imagining of the series. I was indifferent, but now I think it's the best one of all (generally, anyway) AND EVERYTHING is better than Deep Space Nine. LOLOL
I first saw Star Trek the Animated Series when I was 5 years old. It's what got me introduced to Star Trek. I have loved it since. I own the whole series on DVD. Star Trek the Animated Series even won an award for best children's show and it was NOT a dumbed down version of Star Trek. I also had Star Trek Logs 1 - 10.
I don't remember the animated series when it originally aired and didn't finally watch it until decades later. I'm glad it's getting more respect now than when it was new. Also, it does give TOS it's full 5 year mission which is cool.
I was a little older when this was on. I didn't love it, but it was OK. What rubbed me the wrong way was that same bad background music playing over and over and over. It's still stuck in my brain.😮
Oooh! I used to get the books out of the library too. Didn't put Foster with them when I actually (well my Mom did) BOUGHT the first SW book " Splinter in ..." 🤓😎🖖🏻
I was 10 when the show went on the air, so I didn't notice the not quite top-notch quality. Now, I don't care about the quality. I think the show's fun, and some of the stories are interesting.
I watched the animated series for the first time earlier this year. (I also watched the original series when it first aired, and all Trek since). I was pleased to see that the animated episodes were in many ways similar to the live action show -- serious writing and performing, same actors, etc. I encourage all dyed in the wool Trekkies to watch the ST animated series.
It was really hard to find on tv in the 70s. They'd put it in weird time slots . I think i may have caught it first run once . After that it was syndication. The stories were a little wilder but with animation they had more freedom. But still very intelligent stories and in the spirit of TOS.
I was excited the animated series was coming on. It was the next best thing to the original show. It’s ironic that the original series was billed as an “adult” science fiction show, yet wound up becoming a Saturday morning cartoon for us kids.😊 It’s almost like R-rated Alien putting toys for kids on the market, after its release.😂
I was a kid who had just started watching the TOS reruns. So this was perfect for me. The animation is terrible but having the oriignal cast and sequels to many of the live shows episodes really make it worth while.
Hmm, I was a huge Star Trek fan, but the animated series wasn't one of my Saturday morning shows. I wonder what I watched instead? I definitely watched Super Friends, but I did not watch Lassie. Scooby-Doo? Fat Albert? Bugs Bunny & Roadrunner?
I did like one of kickoffs replacements lieutenant walking bear who was a Native American Indian And the alien guy wasn't bad either but I don't remember his name....
I'm a Star Trek Fan and I saw the Filmation Star Trek Animated series as a kid. Frankly the Animated series was better than the third season of Star Trek the Original Series. I haven't come across any Trekkers ( not trekkies) at a conventions I have been at or in my Sci Fi Club who expressed any hate or dislike for the show I'm sure there was dislike from some about the show. There is always some controversy in Trek circles.
I'm in my 60s, and one of the first Trekkies as a young teenager. And I HATED the animated series. I still don't care for it. The wooden animation and the equally wooden performances by most of the cast (who had apparently never voice acted before and put zero energy into their performances) were very off-putting.
I’m like you as a kid I loved this animated series. Kids today don’t know the joy of Saturday morning cartoons and commercials showing the newest toy’s.
I feel bad for kids today. They have too much available...and, because of that, aren't able to appreciate anything as much as we did.
@@dhurt8955 👍 I agree with you 💯
100%
I've always considered it as the 4th season. Loved the series as a kid, and still do.
I, too.@rimurutempest9937
@@jdsundstrom
They had wacky FCC rules about Saturday morning cartoons towards the end of the Saturday morning cartoon era that destroyed the genre
Loved it. I don't recall hearing about any Trek fans hating it.
I don't like it. I think it's bad.
I watched a few episodes and couldn't get into it.
Made you click didn’t it?
@@IAMCAVE You got it, I ckicked and posted. lol
For those of you who never heard the pros and cons of the animated series, I went through it and heard both sides. Here are a few. Some saw the animated series as the completion of the 5-year mission. Others did not because it was animated and not live action. Roddenberry liked it due to the fact he said on many occasions that he could do episodes in animation that live action couldn't do for budget or the technique hadn't been achieved yet. It was dumbed down a bit due to the age viewing it. We got to see the true first ENTERPRISE captain, Robert April and his wife Sarah. The animated series was also mentioned in live action Star Trek to canonize it. The tempo was slow, the bridge and ships sound effects were those of the 1960s series. There are so many more pros and cons. I look at it like this: you have an opinion and it's how you feel. Right or wrong, it's YOUR opinion, and you are right in your beliefs. On anything. That's what makes us different. Live long and prosper.
That Lucky Charms commercial brought back memories. I remember how exciting it was when they added Blue Diamonds!
I'm glad you enjoyed it!
This show was manna from Heaven for my brother and me, who were still mourning TOS’s cancellation. Of course, after only 22 episodes, we had to mourn again!
Never missed an episode.
Ran home from school to watch “In Search Of….” too.
Why?
If Spock was involved I was there!
Loved "in Search Of..."!
@@jdsundstrom
Just bought the entire series on DVD.
What a great Time Capsule of a more simpler time.
Absolutely! Nimoy's narration made that show what it was as far as I'm concerned.
@@rimurutempest9937
You know what I love about it now?
Not only the nostalgia of it, but the open mindedness of it, innocence of the time.
Is there a Bigfoot?
Maybe.
I also love listening to the experts now and hearing what they believed then as opposed to what we know now.
Not gonna lie.
Part of me still wants to believe in Bigfoot.
@@Runner2000 Yes! It was like a cozy, even if sometimes a little creepy campfire story every week.
I clearly remember being utterly delighted when it was first transmitted. And I devoured the Alan Dean Foster books. 🖖
Thanks for sharing!
So did I his Dean Allan Foster reprinted all Star Trek animated stories
@@PaulHFleming yes, the Foster stories were twice as long as the TOS short stories by James Blish and also part of a continuous narrative, which was great. 🖖
As a kid growing up in the 70s, I would get up at 7 am to watch Sigmund the Sea monster, and HR PuffnStuff. Great times.
I have a very warm spot in my heart for Star Trek: The Animated Series. The summer before the show premiered the Science Fiction Book Club from my local LA Public Library arranged for D.C. Fontana and Bjo Trimble to give a presentation. They brought cells of Lt. M'Ress and Lt. Arex to show what could be done to show aliens that could not be done with live action.
Sure, the animation was by Filmation, so the quality was spotty, but me and my buddies enjoyed it!
I don't remember people hating it --- most fans (via the big ST conventions) knew Roddenberry was still working on a live action return. Do remember how TVs used to warm up --- ours had a small bright dot, which would gradually explode into a full picture. Kind of like the Big Bang. Which makes me wonder...
Thanks for sharing!
Well done Dave. It still baffles me that NBC executives cancelled a show that would live forever in various forms. THE biggest TV series of all time and they didn’t bring it back with the original crew. The goose 🪿 that lays golden eggs 🥚, guaranteed money 💰 in the bank 🏦 and they didn’t bring it back 🤷🤦♂️
Those network execs weren't the sharpest knives in the drawer.
At the time it aired, _Star Trek_ did not have good ratings. It was only saved from cancellation by a write-in campaign. But the ratings still didn't improve. It wasn't the golden egg you believe it to be at the time. Syndication gave it a larger fan base in the 1970s, but if _Star Trek_ was the golden goose you believe it to be, _Star Trek: The Motion Picture_ would have easily outpaced _Star Wars_ ticket sales.
Compared to today's garbage Star Trek cartoons, it's pure beauty and brilliant.
What garbage Star Trek cartoons? The only two recent / current animated Trek series are Star Trek: Lower Decks and Star Trek: Prodigy, and both are treasures. Are you talking about the two animated Short Treks? (If you mean the non-canon Very Short Treks released last year, then yeah, the first three of those at least are pretty damn dreadful…)
Agreed TAS is a truly wonderful show, but one need not dump on the new shows to venerate the old one. I’d put all three shows above half of more of the various live-action Trek series, even ones I still think are good and/or like or even love, myself…
@@blondiewan3331 You have to forgive them for a knee jerk response. I’m not a fan of either show, but saying they are bad shows or garbage is silly and myopic. Both shows considering the target demographics are very well made and entertaining, while staying faithful to its parent source material.
Just few years after All good cartoons disappeared replaced by show really just 25 minutes of advertising for Toys like He-man, GI JOE, She-Ra and Mutant Ninja turtles
As a kid on Saturdays I would watch absolutely anything animated. By the time Fat Albert came on I knew after that it was time to go outside and spend the rest of the day there. I was already watching episodes of Star Trek on Sundays so the animated series was just a continuation of that, so I loved it. I actually don't remember talking to my friends a lot about Saturday morning cartoons, it was just something you watched and it wasn't really a topic of discussion. So I had no idea about the popularity of the show one way or another I just knew that when shows didn't return the next season I was disappointed
Thanks for sharing your memories, Gary!
I was bummed when they cancelled it! Felt I lost ST again!
Had to reply here as I can't find a comment text box. If you read this, what's going on Dave? Am I blocked?
Thanks for all your support, Bob!
Of course not. I would never block you!
I remember watching TAS during its initial run with my brother when we were 5 and 6. When I found out about the original series, I thought the cartoon had become so popular they decided to make it into a live-action series.
Respectfully, Dave , is we the viewers who “consider“ you to be a pop culture historian therefore… You are in fact, a pop culture historian!
Thank you so much!
I loved it. It was new Star Trek when new Star Trek was as scarce as hen's teeth, and it was made by the original people. It was the last Saturday morning cartoon show that I got out of bed for instead of sleeping late.
I read all the novelization versions written by Alan Dean Foster - were actually pretty good reads!
Watched the OS as a kid and the animated series as a teenager and I am a fan of both.
I have to question the Fanhood of anyone who HATES this cartoon it stands firmly as a continuation of the iconic original AFAiC
I don't think it's odd at all that, way back in 1973, fans of Star Trek initially hated the idea of a cartoon. They wanted a live action TV series and they were worried that the animated version would be dumbed down for kids. However, once the cartoon version premiered, I think most fans appreciated it and recognized the incredible amount of effort that went into creating it.
I never saw the animated series as a kid, in fact I was in high school before I watched the reruns of the original star trek. My first encounter with Filmation was He-man, which I actually liked, especially because it had good writing and He-man's voice (John Erwin/Morris the cat) exuded strength and wisdom so well. Maybe 5 years ago I binge watched the animated series. I think they nailed it. The shows were about par, but I don't think they dumbed it down and took some liberties afforded them from the animation format. Also the characters looked like the real actors and had their voices. Nimoy wouldn't do it unless they hired more of the actors.
LOVED this show! And this is in the Star Trek Concordance, so it IS canon!
I enjoyed the animated series as a kid and I am glad I have both seasons in my Star Trek: TOS 50th anniversary Blu-Ray box set
I'm a Gen X'er and a classic Star Trek enthusiast, But I'm only lukewarm on the animated series, Because it generally doesn't have the vibe of the original series to me.
Well back in the 70s my sister was a Star Trek fan & was very excited about the cartoon version. She was upset when it was cancelled in 1975.
Thanks for sharing!
A lot of Star Trek fans are especially fond of the first Star Trek series they ever saw. This one was my first. There was never any question to me that it was an integral part of Star Trek. Before VCR tapes were a thing, I only got an hour (and a half) of Star Trek on TV per week, but I spent hours reading Bjo Trimbles Star Trek concordance over and over again, and that first great Star Trek reference work treated the animated series as just as legitimate as the live action one. For me, it defined how the Star Trek universe worked even more than the original series did, probably because the format allowed for more realistic looking aliens and more elaborate sets.
Even though it was made for children it's one of the best ways to get one more year of Star Trek. And I remember when I was a kid and I ate all of the marshmallows out of the Lucky Charms and then my Dad poured a bowl I can still remember his voice yelling my name lol. TC
Too funny!
I guess I was too young to really hear the outrage over the animated series. I loved it and was definitely in their demographic. I was more upset with the first season of TNG. I hated the uniforms, the relatively low production value, I hated Riker and Troi. I even wrote a fairly detailed episode treatment addressing my annoyance with these two characters. In my time in LA, TNG was still in production and, al least, still paying some lip service to "accepting open submissions" for scripts but were overwhelmed with the amount of them.
Thanks so much for sharing, Sean. You've got some great stories, my friend!
A lot of fans felt as you did, and interestingly enough, the writers listened and wrote an episode to take care of those exact problems by introducing Captain Jellico, who ordered the fish taken off set (which was hard to maintain), and for Troi to wear a standard uniform, which she did the rest of the series.
@@paul16451 And thus people like you is what lead to toxicity in every fandom since then.
The animated Star Trek was the next best thing to the live action show! Same characters, a lot of the same voices, a lot of the same writers ... plus an unlimited special effects budget so they could do things they couldn't do in live action! I'm happy to own it on DVD! The show was not really dumbed down ... but it was sped up!
Exactly!
I did not watch the animated series, sadly. I became a huge Trekkie in about 1977 but I thought the cartoon might be a little too adult and dry for me when it aired in 73. Now I can appreciate it for what it was; a real attempt to do mature and meaningful stories that both kids and adults could enjoy. I learned more about the show from Bjo Trimble's GREAT Star Trek Concordance. Great video,, as always, Dave! Makes me remember a better, simpler time.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts!
In 1974 I had just moved from Northern Virginia to San Antonio Texas. At my new school there was a kid who was big into Star Trek and another kid who was big into Lost In Space, although he liked Star Trek as well. I had watched Lost In Space when I was younger but never watched Star Trek until then. I do however have a vague memory of coming home one night in the late '60s and turning on the TV and I think I saw the Spectre Of The Gun episode airing. In 1974 the reruns were on in the afternoons and I really enjoyed the more mature Sci-Fi show.
I so wanted to watch the animated series but it was always on sooo very early that I would wind up waking up usually when it was almost over or was already over. I remember that was very frustrating. I do remember seeing the episode where they shrunk and someone used a toothpick to activate the eye-beam to open the door to the turbo lift. I remember wondering why the heck there were toothpicks just laying around in this futuristic spaceship.
By the way maybe you ought to do an episode on the animated Lost In Space episode. "Oh the pain!"
Thank you for sharing your memories. I've watched the animated episode. "Oh the pain!" is right. 🙂
As a big fan of the original (and best) Star Trek show, I looked forward to the animated show when it came on in reruns. (It was rare to find it in reruns, though).
The cool thing now is that I can watch the animated via Paramount+, which I'm subscribed to here on TH-cam...as well as the live-action show.
I first remember seeing the animated series in the early 80s when my local CBS station reran the animated series on Saturday mornings for one year. I guess the animated series was getting rerun in its syndication run then.
I recall Nickelodeon reran the animated series in the 80s.
I liked it. While the animation had that cartoon look, it worked.
Thanks for sharing your memories!
I immediately LOVED the animated “Star Trek,” because I grew up watching “Star Trek: The Original Series” and “Star Trek: The Animated Series” side-by-side, while simultaneously playing with Mego’s original “Star Trek” action figures on the original Starship Enterprise Bridge Playset, while I wore the original, all-cloth Halloween costume for Mr. Spock, a Starfleet uniform that I wore year-round. It was an awesome time to be a Trekkie!
Loved the series! Proudly display the DVD set on my Star Trek shelf. Yes, I watch them often too.
I was in high school when the animated Star Trek came out. I thought of myself as a cartoon connoisseur back then who took animation very seriously as an artform, had favorite directors and artists + could not stand anything that looked slapped together without love, genius and devotion to craftsmanship (anything from Jay Ward being the exception, the humor was so sidesplitting, so self-aware I didn't care it was done on the cheap.). It took me over a half a century to get over the poor quality animation and try to watch The animated series last year. I realized that if I thought of it as a radio show with pictures I could stomach the rigidness of it all. Hearing Shatner, Nimoy, Kelly, Nichols and the rest in what for me were ALL NEW EPISODES was a lot of fun. And the writing credits were all names I knew from the live action series, so I was hooked. Some episodes were crap, but the every Star Trek show has been like that. And I loved the cat lieutenant from the catpeople planet. A silly cartoonish concept but why not? It's a cartoon.
Thanks for sharing your memories. 🙂
Loved the animated series. Watched it recently on paramount plus and ...I did enjoy it but not as much as when I was a kid. Still glad they did it.
I was a kid in the seventies the show was dropped and they made a cartoon for me. What was not to like?
Trek Animated was a pretty darn good series! 👍
Totally agree!
I have the bluray set of that animated series 😎
Nice!
The fact alone that they brought it back, really shows that the network made a mistake in cancelling the original Star Trek in the first place. There were fans writing to keep it going people like Bjo Tremble leading it. Then TOS got a third season. If fans want something to keep going don't just give it one more seasons, give it multiple more seasons.
The passion of the fans is what kept the original show alive beyond NBC's horrendous cancellation decision. It’s a testament to how impactful the original Star Trek was and still is!
We loved it. And it was easier to sit through 30 minutes. But we hated that Chekov wasn't there.
The crew was interviewed on Batman's Podcast recently and it was just like old times
As a Kid , This was Good TV
I watched the show as a kid in the 70's. I never knew of the Star Trek Log books. Thanks Dave for sharing!
You're most welcome, Corey!
* OFGS the animated Star Trek was aimed at the Saturday morning kiddy viewers. And it was actually pretty good. 😇
I loved it!🖖🏻🤓
I remember watching the cartoon version. It was good but had potential for better but the Network decided otherwise because of ratings I think..
It was only a season or two in when it was cancelled.
I have it on DVD and while it has it's moments but I'm not a big fan. I am glad they brought back most of the original cast and even guest stars to voice the characters.
Good evening, Dave! I loved the animated Star Trek when i was a kid, and still do. It was a great continuation of the 'Five Year Mission' [along with 'Star Trek Continues' brings the mission full circle] Great animation, and just as intelligent stories as with the live version. It was the 'Crown Jewel' in Filmation's catalog and they reached their animation peak with this series and anything they produced after that just wasn't as stylish. My favorite episode was 'Yesteryear', where Spock travels through the Guardian of Forever and visits himself as a child. I used to have the 3D Talking View Master reels of that episode. Thanks for the memory and take care of yourself.
Thanks for sharing! I loved "Yesteryear" as well.
I dearly love all three of Star Trek’s animated shows; all three are really good, for various different reasons. TAS in particular is surely one of the brightest spots of early-to-mid ‘70s American television animation.
TAS was a gem for its time, and it still holds up today. Live long and prosper, my friend!
I’ve always thought of the Animated Series as a fourth season of Star Trek: The Original Series. I didn’t watch it during its original run, but I’ve bought it on DVD as part of my collection. I was born in 1968 and had other cartoons I liked to watch when TAS first aired.
That's awesome! TAS definitely feels like a cool bonus season. Hope you enjoy watching it!
I'm 60 and was around in 1973. I was a member of a local _Star Trek_ fan club.
_Everyone_ loved the show. I know of no one disliked it. I think this may have just been a "you thing."
It certainly wasn't a "me thing". I loved it as well. However, while doing research for the video, I encountered a number of newspaper articles that referenced die-hard Trekkies vocally speaking out against a Saturday morning cartoon version of the show. End of the day, they wanted a new live action version.
@jdsundstrom I'd caution against believing what you see in the press.
Since I was 15 years old and had a journalist botch a human interest piece on me, I've made a masochistic hobby of debunking the press. My methods are w so ingrained that within 30 minutes of reading a news report, I can prove one of three things:
1. The event being reported never happened.
2. The event didn't happen as reported.
3. If you remove emotionally-loaded language, opinion, and filler, you're left with maybe a few sentences of fact.
I can do this with any news story from any source anywhere in the world.
On live streams, I have occasionally invited viewers to provide a news story and I debunk it cold. I once debunked a shooting in Russia. I've even debunked _weather reports_ .
The press can't get right a story about the fire department getting a cat out of a tree.
Nothing you see in the press is real. _Nothing_ .
I invite you to consider the implications of this. It means that you and I know absolutely nothing about the world beyond what we experience with our five senses.
Nothing you see in the press is real. _Nothing_ .
I think we're going to have to just agree to disagree about the press, my friend. My life experiences have taught me that MOST journalists do their very best to report accurately on whatever topic they are tackling.🙂
@jdsundstrom we're both old enough to agree to disagree in a civilized fashion. We owe it as an example to younger viewers who tend to be overly-emotional.
Agree to disagree we shall, my friend. I'm sure we agree more than disagree.
I'm sure we both love "The Slaver Weapon." 🖖
"Yesteryear" is one of the best episodes in all of Star Trek.
Agreed
Personally, I loved the series. I was happy to get my _Star Trek_ fix in. I didn't hear about the hatred of it until years later. I couldn't understand why they had this mad hate for it because I enjoyed it. Granted, there were a couple of episodes I wasn't a fan of, but that's true of the original series, too. And there are plenty of episodes I really enjoyed ( _The Slaver Weapon_ being one of them). All-in-all, a good time.
Bah! You just reminded me that my parents still banned most TV watching in 1973.
My parents wouldn't allow us to watch TV on Sundays and certain shows were off-limits...but, clearly, you had it worse. Sorry 'bout that!
Oh, I vividly remember animated series of Star Trek. In 1074 I spend weekends with Aunt Hannah (one Grandma Sisters) She lived at place The Commons. This was community dining hall at Catholic Seminary. I get up 7am going down stairs Hugh kitchen make breakfast tray. I be ready watch Star Trek @ about 8:30am CBS network. Great memories
Thanks for sharing those memories, Paul!
I remember watching this on a 9 inch black and white TV with fuzzy reception.
Sounds awesome! BTW, I had a 9-inch B&W TV as well. 🙂
I'm a huge Trek fan and I grew up watching TOS and TAS, and aside maybe two episodes I never really cared for TAS. I think if they would have kept the original soundtracks it would have been much more enjoyable
I had no problem with The Cartoons of Star Trek.
I remember as kid .
I never watched this show as a child. Great thing is it will all be new.
I watched every episode. I thought it was great. Not perfect, but it was a respectable continuation after the show was cancelled. The greater scope of aliens and "special effects" made up for weaknesses in the animation.
For me, it was generally better than a lot of the third season episodes. (No offense meant, personal opinion only)
The Kzin episode especially. It blew my mind years later to read the Larry Niven story he adapted for it. Very interesting to compare the two versions.
Thanks for sharing, Keith!
The Animated Series was AWESOME! Considering the limited budgets, they did a great job. Star Trek (TOS) was centered on great stories. The Animated Series totally emphasized this.
Bjo Trimble included it as canon in her book, the Star Trek Concordance. She was right.
I have never heard from anyone that the Animated Series was hated. It was considered by the people involved the 4th season
Thanks for sharing your memories, Andrew!
I've never been much of a scifi fan, so I didn't watch this show, but I was aware that it was on Saturday mornings. I've read about the high quality of the animated series, so I gave a DVD set from that series to a friend who was a scifi fan.
I never liked the animated series even as a kid, but I loved the novel versions by Allen Dean Foster. I actually read all of them.
I remember watching it on Nickelodeon back in 1986-1987.
I just never could take what should be a live visual/film product in any other medium like cartoons or books seriously.
I loved this animated series Dave has no problem with it I watched it backed on Netflix when it was on there loved this show loved super friends too have the super friends on dvd collection Dave thanks for explaining Dave love this star trek animated series
I was only about two months old when the Animated Series initially aired on NBC. I only got to see it when it aired on Nickelodeon back in the mid 1980s. I became a fan from watching reruns of the original series back in the late 1970s and 1980s. As for Lucky Charms, I remember I started eating them when the blue diamonds were introduced. I don't know what year that was.
I believe we are the same age. The only thing I hated about it was having to wake up so early to watch it. Now I have them all on DVD.
This is a great channel!
Hey Dave. I'm wondering if you remember something the same as me, Lucky Charms when it didn't have Blue Diamonds. I've been told that I have the Mandela Effect.
Blue Diamonds were added to the cereal later on. Not in the original.
I loved it as a youngster and still think it's pretty good.
I have to admit that I didn't watch the animated version of Star Trek when it was on, as there were other shows I wanted to see at the time, but I think I managed somehow to see at least one episode, when a show I liked wasn't on that particular Saturday.
It's working on my PC, Dave. I'll check the phone app again shortly. Thanks. I wanted to add that when I initially read your intro, I was thinking you were going to talk about ST:TNG. You may remember that there was a huge backlash against that at first too. People didn't care for Picard and the new re-imagining of the series. I was indifferent, but now I think it's the best one of all (generally, anyway) AND EVERYTHING is better than Deep Space Nine. LOLOL
Thanks for sharing, Jstn! I'm glad you were able to figure things out with your tech issues.
@@jdsundstromWorking on my phone too, now. Glad you didn't block me Dave. Though maybe I insulted your favorite show or something. LOLOL
Hi, Dave. I loved this show, too. I really miss Saturday morning cartoons.
I first saw Star Trek the Animated Series when I was 5 years old. It's what got me introduced to Star Trek. I have loved it since. I own the whole series on DVD. Star Trek the Animated Series even won an award for best children's show and it was NOT a dumbed down version of Star Trek. I also had Star Trek Logs 1 - 10.
I don't remember the animated series when it originally aired and didn't finally watch it until decades later. I'm glad it's getting more respect now than when it was new. Also, it does give TOS it's full 5 year mission which is cool.
Actually it’s the 4th year. STAR TREK CONTINUES gives the 5th year. It’s pretty good.
Love Star Trek Continues!
I was a little older when this was on. I didn't love it, but it was OK. What rubbed me the wrong way was that same bad background music playing over and over and over. It's still stuck in my brain.😮
I hated it at first because I wanted more TOS. But after a while, I took it for what it was and accepted it, even liked it.
We also had one of those TV's that needed to warm up. Did you also need a pair of pliers to change the channel Dave? We did. Ah, the memories...
Growing up I couldn't get enough of star trek and I loved tas.
It's awesome to hear that you loved BOTH Star Trek and TAS!
It was a wonderful series.
Good video Dave
Thanks!
Oooh! I used to get the books out of the library too. Didn't put Foster with them when I actually (well my Mom did) BOUGHT the first SW book " Splinter in ..." 🤓😎🖖🏻
I was 10 when the show went on the air, so I didn't notice the not quite top-notch quality. Now, I don't care about the quality. I think the show's fun, and some of the stories are interesting.
I loved Lt. M’Ress
You Had the Hots 🔥 for a Female Feline Alien .
🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
I watched the animated series for the first time earlier this year. (I also watched the original series when it first aired, and all Trek since). I was pleased to see that the animated episodes were in many ways similar to the live action show -- serious writing and performing, same actors, etc. I encourage all dyed in the wool Trekkies to watch the ST animated series.
It was really hard to find on tv in the 70s. They'd put it in weird time slots . I think i may have caught it first run once . After that it was syndication. The stories were a little wilder but with animation they had more freedom. But still very intelligent stories and in the spirit of TOS.
I was excited the animated series was coming on. It was the next best thing to the original show. It’s ironic that the original series was billed as an “adult” science fiction show, yet wound up becoming a Saturday morning cartoon for us kids.😊
It’s almost like R-rated Alien putting toys for kids on the market, after its release.😂
I was a kid who had just started watching the TOS reruns. So this was perfect for me. The animation is terrible but having the oriignal cast and sequels to many of the live shows episodes really make it worth while.
Thanks for sharing!
I would have watched the animation if they had also children, TOO! It would be more believable.
On a Saturday morning show!
I would have taken it high levels.
Loved it. This was NEW Star Trek. I didn't know anyone who didn't love it.
I remember being very excited when I saw the first trailer for Animated Star Trek ..loved that cartoon
I loved animated Star Trek!
Hmm, I was a huge Star Trek fan, but the animated series wasn't one of my Saturday morning shows. I wonder what I watched instead? I definitely watched Super Friends, but I did not watch Lassie. Scooby-Doo? Fat Albert? Bugs Bunny & Roadrunner?
I loved Scooby and Fat Albert as well.
TOS or nothing!
STAS was a kids' show, and fans hated it. As a kid I thought it was stupid, and wondered why they didn't do another live action series.
I did like one of kickoffs replacements
lieutenant walking bear who was a
Native American Indian
And the alien guy wasn't bad either
but I don't remember his name....
I'm a Star Trek Fan and I saw the Filmation Star Trek Animated series as a kid.
Frankly the Animated series was better than the third season of Star Trek the Original Series.
I haven't come across any Trekkers ( not trekkies) at a conventions I have been at or in my Sci Fi Club who expressed any hate or dislike for the show
I'm sure there was dislike from some about the show. There is always some controversy in Trek circles.
I'm in my 60s, and one of the first Trekkies as a young teenager. And I HATED the animated series. I still don't care for it. The wooden animation and the equally wooden performances by most of the cast (who had apparently never voice acted before and put zero energy into their performances) were very off-putting.