As Patrick Stewart returns to Star Trek, we look back at the franchise’s highlights

Last week, Sir Patrick Stewart announced his return to Star Trek at the 2018 Official Star Trek Convention in Las Vegas.

“Jean-Luc Piccard is back”, Stewart told an excited audience, getting somewhat emotional about their reaction.

Stewart played Captain Piccard in Star Trek: The Next Generation back in the 1980s. The show went on to be a huge success, inspiring many popular memes in the 21st century.

Since the announcement of an expanding Star Trek universe and the return of one of its much loved characters, Google search trends showed a 150% increase in Star Trek related searches online.

If you’re one of those people who needs a little update on all things Star Trek, here’s a look back on the franchise.

Star dates in Star Trek History

Star Trek: The Original Series

Quite literally the original series in the franchise, Star Trek first aired in 1966 and continued for the three seasons before it was cancelled in 1969. The show introduced many popular themes and characters in the franchise, including Captain James T Kirk and his fellow crew members.

Star Trek: The Animated Series

The cartoon version of Star Trek aired in 1973 and followed from the original story line. Though the show only ran for a year, it did win an Emmy in 1975.

Star Trek: The Next Generation

The Next Generation series aired in 1987 and was based on a new story line, a century after the original Star Trek. This spin- off from the original was extremely popular and earned the show several more Emmy awards and nominations, among others.

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine

Airing in 1993, Deep Space Nine continued from the events in Next Generation and ran for seven years. It expanded the Star Trek universe even further by developing new story lines based on the ground, in space stations, rather than those of the crews in space.

Star Trek: Voyager

The Voyager spin-off aired in 1995 and featured the first female as Captain of a ship. Though it was also a standalone story line, it took place in the same timeline as Deep Space Nine and followed the lives of a crew stranded in space.

Star Trek: Enterprise

A prequel of the original series, Enterprise aired in 2001 and ran for five years before it was cancelled, which put an end to Star Trek for some years.

Stark Trek: Discovery

Discovery is the latest series in the Star Trek franchise and began airing in 2017. It’s another prequel of the original series but follows the journey of the ship Discovery. The second season of Discovery will be released in 2019.

There have also been numerous other productions in the Star Trek franchise besides the original TV series and its many spin offs. This includes 13 movies to date, the last three being a part of a 21st century reboot in an alternative timeline to the rest of the franchise.

With the return of Jean-Luc Piccard in a new series, and two more movies in the works, it seems that the Star Trek universe will continue to expand for some time.

Feature image: screenshot, Star Trek via YouTube