Fantastic!

it is the rare 'crazy' movie that actually has something to say.

Blending excellent reporting and strong storytelling, this is a disturbing film truly stranger than fiction

It's a movie as timely as it is provocative and amazingly, for much of its running time, it is weirdly funny.

This was a sort of follow-up to the original Trek series, which ended in '69, using, to a large extent, the same characters and time frame of the original 5-year mission; in fact, this is the closest we got to a 4th season of the original show. It's somewhat of a shame that this batch of 22 episodes is largely considered non-canon in the Trek mythos (there are exceptions: Capt.April, introduced/depicted in the last episode, is now regarded as the actual 1st captain of Enterprise NCC-1701 and Kirk supposedly acquired his middle name 'Tiberius' in the episode "Bem"). I suppose this may stem from an attitude of regarding animation as a different universe from the live action stuff - a less realistic universe, maybe. But, in spite of many comments dismissing this series as aimed for children, there's no degradation in script quality or thought-provoking ideas. In fact, the main difference, for me, was less use of violence or brute force to get the ideas across as the stories progressed. So, in some ways, this series adhered even more to Roddenberry's concept - the use of our minds and powers of speech to address various problems, cosmic or otherwise. Indeed, some of the episodes ("The Time Trap") fairly preached a sense of higher morality that humanity should follow. All the regular actors of the original (except Walter Koenig) returned to voice their characters, so, even in the acting dept., there was very little reduction in quality. The show also utilized the talents of many of the same writers, such as David Gerrold and DC Fontana. Koenig even had a script produced (the episode "The Infinite Vulcan").Of course, many point to the limited animation (by Filmation) as the reason for the lack of action. Filmation was clever in reusing the same stock poses and movements of characters, placed over some impressive background paintings. The obvious advantage to the show was in depicting landscapes and giant creatures which were not possible on the original series, as well as ideas such as shrinking the crew ("The Terratin Incident"). The actor James Doohan voiced a multitude of other characters besides Scotty (Doohan was close to being overused), as did Majel Barrett, and Nichelle Nichols & George Takei also got into the act; you heard Takei as a Klingon in one episode and Nichols as a god in another. But, they did bring back a few key actors for guest roles - Mark Lenard as Sarek, for example, Stanley Adams as Cyrano Jones and, of course, Carmel as the conman Harry Mudd, in episodes which functioned as sequels or follow-ups to original series episodes ("More Tribbles, More Troubles" and "Mudd's Passion"), but these actors were not credited (stock credits at the end of each episode). We also revisited the "Shore Leave" planet in "Once Upon a Planet." Chekov (and Koenig) seemed to be away on leave in these episodes (budget cuts!); instead, we saw the feline M'Ress and the extra-limbed Arex as part of the bridge crew. One bit of progressive evolution involved a more aggressive approach by the female characters: Uhura took command in one episode ("The Lorelei Signal") without so much as a by your leave and Nurse Chapel even karate chops the scoundrel Mudd in "Mudd's Passion" - so much for non-violence. What a difference just 4 years makes - clear evidence of the female liberation movement - right here in Trek! But, the most eye-popping sequence of scenes for me was something I'd forgotten, until viewing "The Practical Joker" episode again: here we see the first use of a holodeck, in the Enterprise's 'recreation room.' So, this was not invented for the TNG show over a dozen years later! The TNG creators took the idea from an earlier Trek series! Many of the episodes were suffused with humor, usually very subtle for a supposed children's show, and main actors Shatner, Nimoy and Kelley were probably attracted to the material because of this adult approach. No, this certainly was not just a kid's show. The best episodes: "Yesteryear" - re-utilized the Guardian of Forever from "The City on the Edge of Forever" original episode, including another mind-bending time travel paradox and an expanded look at the planet Vulcan; "The Slaver Weapon" - a reworked Larry Niven science fiction story of stasis boxes containing ancient items, involving an ultimate weapon, and a great new villainous race in the Romulan/Klingon mold (but taking advantage of animation), with only Spock, Uhura and Sulu appearing as the regulars; "The Jihad" - exciting 'quest' action epic, which, despite the limits of the animation, was still as tense and suspenseful as many of the live action episodes; and "The Eye of the Beholder" - a unique perspective on zoos and intelligence, in that order; that title was also used on a Twilight Zone episode. I also liked "The Survivor," which used similar story ideas to "The Man Trap," but, as usual, without any death scenes and resulted in a more poignant version. Yes, maybe this animated series reused too many story ideas from the original, but it was still darn good Trekking. We had to wait another 5 years for the next new Trek vision - "Star Trek the Motion Picture" in '79.

Imagine the dilemma faced by the producers of this "cartoon show": A series that would entertain and perhaps even educate, without offending the sensitivities of children and their parents, while very closely watched by older viewers with near-eidetic memories.At its broadcast premiere TAS was compulsory viewing for any college-age Trekker if only because there was no other reason for anyone that age to publicly admit their Saturday morning viewing habits. All the same I missed perhaps a third of the episodes broadcast. Years later I passed on buying the series on videotape save for the first two episodes. I couldn't resist the DVD set. Fast forward some decades from its premiere and I can only report how quietly pleased I remain whenever I revisit TAS.Mass-produced animation in the Seventies was what it was, but Filmation had a good track record as an animation studio, showing suitable respect in adapting radio or older TV shows as well as The Cosby Kids.Yet this was anything but standard toonfare, not with the direct participation of Gene Roddenberry and Dorothy Fontana, most of the TOS regulars, and a studio committed to illustrate, storyboard and animate crowded story lines set in a consistent Trek universe, not practically constrained by an effects budget but limited to a general budget and production deadline, utilizing "library" shots and continuity at every opportunity, and fitting each story into 25 minutes or less with two commercial breaks.Shatner, Nimoy, Kelley, Doohan, Takei, Nichols and Barrett voiced their TOS characters' animated counterparts and gracefully remained in character throughout. The radio-trained Doohan displayed remarkable versatility for other characters and made Commander Scott quite literally sing, while Barrett, Nichols and Takei deftly joined the hidden chorus. Uncredited voice artists included Stanley "Cyrano Jones" Adams, Ed "U.F.O." Bishop, Roger C. "Harry Mudd" Carmel, sci-fi author David Gerrold, Ted "Caddyshack" Knight, Mark "Sarek" Lenard, and the producers themselves.A writer's strike allowed some TOS scriptwriters to contribute to TAS. Gerrold adapted two scripts he had originally written for TOS. Fellow award-winning author Larry Niven adapted a short story involving his catlike Kzinti to the Trek universe. And even though the budget couldn't add Ensign Pavel Chekov the series got a decent first-time script from the character's actor Walter Koenig.We again met tribbles and Jones, and rollicked with Mudd. Spock got cloned, Kirk breathed water, and giant slugs outsmarted both of them. We first stepped onto a holodeck and visited the center of the galaxy. We revisited Ted Sturgeon's "Shore Leave" planet and the Guardian of Forever, the latter in a moving story that quite literally gave me pause. At least two episodes would turn today's conservative heads halfway round, one episode bears a remarkably prescient title, and another episode carries as much "hard science" as you would expect from a Richard Feynman lecture.TAS appears made out of respect, with love, and displaying no small amount of fun. (Is that a portrait of the producers and Gerrold as Enterprise crewmen in one episode?) It could very well have been the TOS season that wasn't and should have been. Trekkers of any generation should add TAS to their Trek canon and sit back to observe artists at work and play.

This is like some lost series of Star Trek.Carrying on from the fourth year of their five year mission this is 22 more episodes with Kirk and crew. Some episodes serve as excellent sequels to original episodes, others are absolute gems of creativity in their own right.There is a real passion behind this series. Everything from the creative writing to the efforts put in by James Doohan doing several voices at once really gives this show it's charm.Officially it's not part of the Star Trek time-line but that aside it does have key Star Trek elements shown for the first time.Much like how we appreciate The Original Series today with its low-grade effects (by todays standards) - you can appreciate it for its creative value, effort and shear brilliance.

Many fans have looked negatively on this series. That is too bad, and they do not give it the attention and credit it fully deserves. Sure there is an episode or two that was simply okay, but overall, I enjoyed all of it.Gene Roddenberry, the creator of "Star Trek", was paid money for this series. He said that it was not part of "official" Star Trek. I think that is ridiculous, since he had the final approval of all of the scripts, and there were some great ones.If anyone faulted the animation of this show, it must be remembered of what the state of animated films was in 1973. Even Disney had cut back considerably by that time; look at Disney's "Robin Hood" to see what I mean.Because "Star Trek - The Animated Series" had a limited budget, there was not enough money to bring back Walter Koenig to play Chekov. But the show is a fine example of how "Trek" could work in animation.And that is its finest accomplishment of all.