Not too long ago, we saw an amazing fan video where they took the classic Star Trek: The Next Generation episode “The Best of Both Worlds,” and gave it a Star Trek: The Animated Series makeoverOpens in a new tab. They took the audio from that TNG classic, and added in the kitschy animationOpens in a new tab and sound effects from the ’70s cartoon.
Now, those same folks are back. Only this time they added their retro magic to perhaps the most maligned and mocked episode of Star Trek: VoyagerOpens in a new tab ever. You can watch the full video from Gazelle Automations (via Comic BookOpens in a new tab) right here:
The episode in question is “Threshold,Opens in a new tab” from Voyager’s second season. When Lt. Tom Paris crosses the transwarp threshold, traveling at infinite velocities evolves Paris millions of years in a matter of hours. He becomes a salamander-type creature, kidnaps Captain JanewayOpens in a new tab, and put her through the same process. They wind up on a distant planet where they mate and have little tadpoles together. And then, once restored to human form, they never mention the incidentOpens in a new tab, or the fact that they procreated together, ever again. So in many ways, this episode was so bonkers it’s perfectly suited for a Saturday morning cartoon.
From the visuals to the score to the sound effects, this parody perfectly evokes the style of the Filmation cartoons. Although largely aimed at kids, many of these old episodes were often solid Star Trek adventures. But they definitely took things to wild extremes sometimes. A whole episode about a giant Spock clone called “The Infinite VulcanOpens in a new tab” actually happened. We’d love it if Gazelle Automations animated other Star Trek shows in The Animated Series format. There are definitely some ridiculous early episodes of Deep Space Nine and Enterprise that deserve a little retro-flavored throwback. Heck, Strange New WorldsOpens in a new tab and Prodigy might look perfect in this format too.
