The very first Star Trek spinoff, before any movies or anything else, was Star Trek: The Animated Series. It aired for two seasons in 1973-75, and it kept the Trek fires burning in the decade between the original series and the first movie. Produced by Filmation, the stories were actually pretty decent. And most of the original cast returned. But let’s just say the animation, music, and sound effects were very of their time.
Now, YouTube channel Gazelle Automations have created a scene of The Next Generation crew, in the distinct style of the ’70s animated show. And it brings to life the Star Trek: TAS sequel series that never was. You can watch the video right here:
Gazelle Automations has perfectly recreated the very crude animation style used by the original cartoon. Not only that, but they lifted the score of the Saturday morning cartoon, as well as all the sound effects. As for where the audio from this episode comes from, hardcore Trekkers will recognize it instantly. They lifted the entire scene from “The Best of Both Worlds” Pt. I, the third season TNG cliffhanger. That episode famously had the Enterprise crew face off against the Borg. The Borg collective kidnapped Captain Picard, and turned him into Locutus.
A fun detail of this video is that the navigator isn’t Wesley Crusher, but a Kzinti. These cat-like aliens were introduced in the original animated series. In fact, a three-armed alien named Lt. Arex replaced Lt. Chekov in the animated show. So replacing Wes with an alien is only keeping with tradition. As fun as this goofy video is, we actually would love a TNG animated series. With the whole cast reuniting for Picard season 3, why not have everyone voice their original characters for a new cartoon? Perhaps a “lost” season of TNG, between the end of the series and their first movie, Generations. We guarantee, Trekkers everywhere would eat it up. Make it so, Paramount!
