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Published Jun 22, 2026, 3:00 PM EDT
Faith Roswell is a Senior Writer on Screen Rant's Classic TV team. Since earning her degree in Creative Writing over a decade ago, Faith has written articles on film and TV from a variety of different angles. Faith now combines her knowledge of psychology with her love of monster movies to give more insight into what makes the best ones.
You may have read her Screen Rant lists and features covering horror, sci-fi, and fantasy, or read her Amazon Top 10 book, "Movie Monsters of the Deep."
Faith has had an extensive career as a writer, appearing on BBC live radio, researching true crime for Rotten Mango podcast, and writing for publications including Mental Floss, Atlas Obscura, and The Daily Jaws before beginning here at Screen Rant.
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Ever since its debut, Star Trek has pushed creative boundaries and promoted a better future, from its landmark kiss between Captain Kirk and Lieutenant Uhura, to exploring issues like race, religion, and social status from a utopian starting point. This innovative approach led to Star Trek becoming one of the biggest sci-fi franchises of all time, while also narrowly avoiding being canceled early. Of all the major TV shows rescued from cancellation, Star Trek was originally deemed too unusual to succeed, but fortunately, this was not the case.
The Star Trek TV series have all explored the possibilities of sci-fi in different ways, including moving away from the genre, with virtually all the Star Trek spinoff series featuring at least one episode that does not feel like sci-fi at all. This has not only kept the series fresh and interesting, but allowed viewers to see new sides to the main characters. With Star Trek officially changing genres in an upcoming project, it is likely we will see more of these creative twists.
A Piece Of The Action (The Original Series)
Star Trek: The Original Series was, in many ways, still finding its feet. This meant that the team could experiment with format, humor, and genre in a way that might not have been possible for a series with more seasons and a predictable format. Instead, episodes like "A Piece of the Action" worked as a precedent for Star Trek's many "genre holiday" episodes.
The Enterprise discovers a planet where the culture is modeled on 1920s gangster culture, complete with the slang and fashion sense. Hilariously, this was due to an earlier expedition leaving behind a book on the subject. The episode might have changed genres, but the main characters were still very much themselves, with Kirk using his problem-solving skills to find a solution to the turf war, with the crew acting as mob bosses, taking a cut of the money for the good of the planet.
Subspace Rhapsody (Strange New Worlds)
After Buffy the Vampire Slayer popularized the concept, Star Trek became one of many TV shows to feature a musical episode. Just like the Buffy episode, "One More, With Feeling," Strange New Worlds' characters sang original songs that moved the plot forward and revealed their thoughts in the episode "Subspace Rhapsody." The episode took the format of a four-act musical, with a final giant cast performance.
The bizarre effect was the result of an accident with an experimental quantum probability field, which then expanded, threatening enemy ships with the same fate. "Subspace Rhapsody" took itself surprisingly seriously, acting more as a love letter to musical theater rather than treating the idea as a joke or a parody, with audiences praising this approach. Strange New Worlds episodes regularly bend genres, and this was one of the most successful.
The Big Goodbye (The Next Generation)
When Picard, Whalen, and Data become trapped inside a 1940s detective novel via the holodeck, the crew race against time to get them out in time for an essential meeting. The episode follows two plotlines, with Picard trying to solve the mystery in his novel, which gets more dangerous by the minute, as the crew contend with malfunctioning electronics and an increasingly impatient alien race who will not speak to anyone other than the captain.
"The Big Goodbye" is the only single Star Trek episode to win a Peabody Award.
Star Trek's holodeck offered plenty of possibilities throughout the show, but "The Big Goodbye" was the franchise's first holodeck episode, establishing the potential for virtual reality and genre changes. While clearly remaining a work of sci-fi, the episode references famous film noir projects, with the title combining The Big Sleep with The Long Goodbye, and Patrick Stewart's performance was met with rave reviews.
Holo-Ween (Star Trek Comic)
Star Trek sometimes goes full-on horror, to great effect. The Original Series might have occasionally aged poorly due to outdated special effects, but the comics do not have this problem. The four-issue miniseries takes the crew of Star Trek: The Next Generation and places them in the roles of classic movie monsters as they prepare to fight the terrifying entity Redjac, based on the real-life serial killer, Jack the Ripper.
Despite having scary moments that feel straight out of a horror movie, Star Trek generally avoided typical genre tropes like ghosts and demons. It is a testament to the skill of the writers that "Holo-Ween" is the Star Trek franchise's darkest horror story yet, without featuring any of these. The story has been so well-received that in June 2026, Star Trek announced that a "Holo-Ween II" was in the works.
The Trouble With Tribbles (The Original Series)
Image via MovieStillsDBThe "mischievous pet" concept is so popular that it is almost a genre of its own, and The Original Series' "The Trouble With Tribbles" turns Star Trek into a pet-centered sitcom for an episode. When interstellar trader Cyrano Jones arrives with adorable purring balls of fluff for sale, many of the crew members make pets of them. What Jones fails to mention is that the creatures, called tribbles, breed incredibly fast, soon overwhelming the ship.
The scene in which Kirk opens a hatch and tribbles pour out, covering him, is one of the funniest scenes in the episode, and while there is a subplot involving poisoned grain, the unruly pets steal the show. The episode was nominated for a Hugo Award and the tribbles have such a legacy that they have appeared several times since, including the Deep Space Nine episode "Trials and Tribble-ations," which repeats the original gag, burying the crew in tribbles.
Crossover (Deep Space Nine)
Star Trek immediately stands out from other works of sci-fi for being based in a utopian world, so the dystopian Deep Space Nine episode "Crossover" is especially fascinating as it takes a genre more closely associated with sci-fi and applies it to a show that made the conscious decision not to take that path. "Crossover" introduces the Deep Space Nine version of Star Trek's Mirror Universe, in which The Federation has been replaced by authoritarian control, and characters play twisted versions of themselves.
There is no shortage of great dystopian sci-fi TV shows, but they are largely predictable, sharing many of the same tropes and villains. On the other hand, seeing Star Trek in this way is both unpredictable and extremely unsettling. As Kira and Bashir escape the Mirror Universe, "Crossover" ends where most dystopian sci-fi series begin, with the stage set for an uprising.
A Fistful Of Datas (The Next Generation)
Western fans might have already guessed what was to come when seeing the title for the Star Trek: The Next Generation episode, "A Fistful of Datas," as it is a clear reference to the iconic Western, A Fistful of Dollars. When a power surge traps Worf, Alexander, and Troi in the holodeck in a Western world populated with many versions of Data, they must find a way to protect themselves from the villainous characters, who possess Data's skills.
"A Fistful of Datas" leans into the classic Western aesthetic, with a frontier town and dangerous gunslingers, while also being a comedy. As one of the Star Trek episodes directed by Patrick Stewart, Captain Picard had much less of a role, with the episode instead highlighting Brent Spiner, who is excellent as the different Datas, and also developing both Worf and Alexander as characters.
The City On The Edge Of Forever (The Original Series)
Even after decades of groundbreaking moments and characters, The Original Series episode "The City on the Edge of Forever" is often considered one of the masterpiece episodes that defined Star Trek. The episode is set up with a time travel plot that takes Kirk to Depression-era New York, where he falls in love with Edith, who dreams of a future like his own. In a devastating twist, their love story becomes a tragedy when Kirk discovers that McCoy saving her from a car crash altered the course of history.
Edith Keeler was played by Joan Collins, already a megastar at the time Star Trek aired.
With no choice but to allow Edith to die once more, saving millions of lives, the episode's focus is less on the time travel aspect but on Kirk and Edith's doomed romance. Kirk has several major love interests in Star Trek, but few have been as significant as this, and much of the episode is dedicated to their growing connection, making "The City on the Edge of Forever" feel more like a tragic romance than a sci-fi story.
Qpid (The Next Generation)
Many of Star Trek's best "genre holidays" work as comedies, with the often-serious Starfleet officers behaving as drastically different versions of themselves. "Qpid" offers a take on the fantasy genre that is hilarious for its familiarity, with Picard and the crew being transformed into alternate versions of the characters in Robin Hood. Star Trek has its lighthearted moments, but "Qpid" is one of the show's most whimsical episodes by far.
Of all the omnipotent Q's best Star Trek episodes, "Qpid" shows a different side to the character, who could range from being mildly annoying to extremely menacing. The absurdity of Q meddling in Picard's love life makes the episode even funnier, as the entire set-up is his creative attempt to get Picard and Vash back together, before she leaves to explore the galaxy with Q instead.
Moist Vessel (Lower Decks)
Star Trek: Lower Decks has a well-deserved 93% positive critics' rating on Rotten Tomatoes, with the show being a masterclass in genre bending. Lower Decks is unmistakably a Star Trek TV show, but the episodes blend office satire with sci-fi to varying degrees, with "Moist Vessel" being one of the best examples, leaning into the workplace comedy genre and turning office tropes upside down.
"Moist Vessel" begins with the crew being assigned jobs, with Mariner doing everything possible to avoid a promotion, which is being used as a threat. Preferring instead to take on the worst tasks, she rallies the crew before saving the ship by being demoted. The concept echoes Lister's story in Red Dwarf, but feels more like The Office meets Star Trek, while also being very funny.
Created by Gene Roddenberry
First Film Star Trek: The Motion Picture
First TV Show Star Trek: The Original Series
First Episode Air Date September 8, 1966
Cast William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, George Takei, Nichelle Nichols, Deforest Kelley, James Doohan, Walter Koenig, Jonathan Frakes, Patrick Stewart, Michael Dorn, Marina Sirtis, Gates McFadden, Brent Spiner, LeVar Burton, Wil Wheaton, Avery Brooks, Nana Visitor, Rene Auberjonois, Alexander Siddig, Cirroc Lofton, Armin Shimerman, Colm Meaney, Terry Farrell, Kate Mulgrew, Robert Beltran, Roxann Dawson, Jeri Ryan, Robert Duncan McNeill, Robert Picardo, Ethan Phillips, Garrett Wang, Jolene Blalock, Connor Trinneer, Dominic Keating, Scott Bakula, Linda Park, John Billingsley, Anthony Montgomery, Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Simon Pegg, Zoe Saldana, Karl Urban, John Cho, Chris Hemsworth, Benedict Cumberbatch, Anton Yelchin, Idris Elba, Sonequa Martin-Green, Mary Wiseman, Doug Jones, Anthony Rapp, Wilson Cruz, Oyin Oladejo, Emily Coutts, Jess Bush, Christina Chong, Anson Mount, Ethan Peck, Rebecca Romijn, Michelle Yeoh
TV Show(s) Star Trek: The Original Series, Star Trek: The Animated Series, Star Trek: The Next Generation, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Star Trek: Voyager, Star Trek: Enterprise, Star Trek: Discovery, Star Trek: Short Treks, Star Trek: Picard, Star Trek Lower Decks, Star Trek: Prodigy, Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, Star Trek: Starfleet Academy
Star Trek is one of pop culture's biggest multimedia franchises, spanning multiple movies, TV shows, books, comics, video games, and various other media. The franchise was created by Gene Roddenberry and started with the 1960s TV series starring William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy. Over the decades, several equally popular series have come out since as Star Trek: The Next Generation and Star Trek: Discovery.
English (US) ·