Star Trek: The Animated Series

Star Trek: The Animated Series is a short-lived 1973 animated science fiction series created by Gene Roddenberry. It lasted only two seasons and was meant to continue the Star Trek saga after the cancellation of the original show and its popularity through syndication. It was critically acclaimed and was the first Star Trek show to win an Emmy award. It features most of the original series cast (Except for Walter Koenig, however he did write one episode).

Why we should travel to space with them, once again?

 * 1) The show manages to continue the legacy of the original Star Trek series in an animated format, having the same tone and structure as the original series episodes while also using the freedom that it has in the animated format.
 * 2) Taking advantage of the animated format in this series, the show manages to have its own episodes and characters that would not have been possible to have in the original series, either due to budgetary reasons or if the technology didn't exist at the time. In this series, there are more and very unique alien creatures as both bridge crew and as secondary characters.
 * 3) Most of the cast of the original series returns in this show to voice their characters, and William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy play good performances as their Kirk and Spock characters.
 * 4) In relation to playing good performances as their characters, the characters themselves are still as likable and memorable as they were in the original series.
 * 5) The plots of the episodes are very memorable and very reminiscent of the original show, while also adding its own spin on things to make it more unique. In fact, some episodes such as "More Tribbles, More Troubles" and "Once Upon A Planet" act as sequels to episodes of the original series. Finally, some of the writers from the original series return to write episodes for this show, finally bringing home of feel of this show being a true successor to the original series.
 * 6) There are very memorable and great episodes in this show, such as:
 * 7) * More Tribbles, More Troubles: This episode brings back Cyrano Jones and the furry Tribble creatures from the original series episode "The Trouble With Tribbles". In this adventure, Cyrano is saved by the Enterprise crew from a Klingon ship and brings aboard a new breed of Tribbles that don't reproduce when feed. The crew also must find out why the Klingons are hunting down Jones.
 * 8) * Yesteryear: The Guardian of Forever from the episode "The City on the Edge of Forever" brings Spock and Kirk back from an expedition mission from another time, but no one recognizes Spock when he returns and he has to go back in time to find out way and fix the future.
 * 9) * The Slaver Weapon: This episode, written by science fiction writer Larry Niven, is the only episode of the Kirk-era Trek media that doesn't feature Kirk in the episode at all. This episode follows Spock, Uhura, and Sulu find a stasis box from the ancient race known as the Slavers, and are captured by the cat-like Kzin, who want the box for themselves.
 * 10) * The Jihad: Captain Kirk and Spock are summoned to learn about an object known as the "Soul of the Skorr", which its theft could lead to an inter-galactic holy war.
 * 11) * The Practical Joker: After traveling through an energy cloud, the computer of the Enterprise malfunctions and plays practical jokes on the crew, much to their dismay.
 * 12) There is a new soundtrack in the show that is quite good and has the same feel that the original music had. Good examples of this are the opening theme and the music when the plot turns.

Bad Qualities

 * 1) The animation for the series has not aged well. Due to the limited budget the show had left after hiring the actors, they could only do so much with the animation and many episodes reuse animation from other episodes, making some scenes very monotonous after a while.
 * 2) * While also being stiff, the color palette outside of the impressive space and land backgrounds is quite bland.
 * 3) Despite being originally aimed at younger audiences, this show doesn't really appeal to that audience that much and more so appeals to older ones. This isn't a bad thing, but it isn't to good when you overshot your target audience.
 * 4) Some of the new characters such as Arex and M'Ress don't feel to fleshed out compared to the rest of the cast, as they don't really have many of moments by themselves, making them feel more like filler than actual characters.
 * 5) Unfortunately, Walter Koenig, who played Chekov in the original series does not return, at least not playing a character in the show, and neither does his character. However, he did appear as writer for an episode of the show.
 * 6) There are a few bad episodes, including:
 * 7) * The Infinite Vulcan: The show's most infamous episode, which has the ridiculous storyline of a race of sentient plants who want to conquer the galaxy by creating an army of giant Spock clones.
 * 8) * The Ambergris Element: Kirk and Spock mysteriously become only able to breathe in water, and explore an ocean planet to find out what happened to them. Despite having a good story idea and setup, it's let down by the rest of the storyline mostly just being long scenes of the planet's native race of fish people arguing with one another.

Reception
Ratings wise, Star Trek: The Animated Series faced the opposite effect that the original series had. It received high viewership, but was more popular with adults and older audiences than it was with the younger viewers that the advertisers were trying to get to view. Critical reception was positive and the series even won an Emmy award for "Outstanding Entertainment – Children's Series". In recent years, the series has also gained more recognition. The Los Angeles Times ranked the animated series at #11 out of the nineteen shows and films. On IMDb.com, the series has a rating of 7.4/10.