List of Star Trek: The Original Series episodes facts for kids
Welcome aboard the USS Enterprise! This is a list of episodes from the classic science fiction TV show, Star Trek. It was created by Gene Roddenberry. The show first aired from September 1966 to June 1969 on NBC.
The series stars William Shatner as Captain James T. Kirk, Leonard Nimoy as Mr. Spock, and DeForest Kelley as Dr. Leonard "Bones" McCoy. They explore strange new worlds and boldly go where no one has gone before! This was the very first TV series in the Star Trek universe. It has 79 regular episodes across three seasons. It also includes an original pilot episode called "The Cage".
The episodes are usually listed by their original air date. This order matches how they appear in most DVD and Blu-ray sets. After the show finished its original run, its popularity grew a lot. This led to many more Star Trek TV shows and movies over the years. In 2006, the original episodes were digitally improved. They got new and better visual effects for a clearer picture.
Contents
Exploring the Star Trek Universe
This table gives you a quick look at each season of Star Trek: The Original Series.
| Season | Episodes | Originally aired | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| First aired | Last aired | |||
| 1 | 29 | September 8, 1966 | April 13, 1967 | |
| 2 | 26 | September 15, 1967 | March 29, 1968 | |
| 3 | 24 | September 20, 1968 | June 3, 1969 | |
Exploring the Episodes
The First Adventures: Pilot Episodes
Before Star Trek officially began, two pilot episodes were made. The first was "The Cage," filmed in 1964-1965. It starred Jeffrey Hunter as Captain Pike and Leonard Nimoy as Spock. The TV network, NBC, decided it wanted a different feel for the show. So, a second pilot, "Where No Man Has Gone Before", was made.
"The Cage" was not shown on TV during the original series run. Fans finally got to see it in full color in 1988. The second pilot, "Where No Man Has Gone Before," was re-edited. It became the third episode of the first season. This pilot introduced William Shatner as Captain Kirk and many other famous crew members.
| Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date | Prod. code |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| "The Cage" | Robert Butler | Gene Roddenberry | October 4, 1988 | 01 |
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The Enterprise crew finds a distress signal. Captain Pike is captured by aliens on Talos IV. These aliens create very real illusions. Parts of this pilot are shown again in the Season 1 episode "The Menagerie".
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| "Where No Man Has Gone Before" (pilot version) | James Goldstone | Samuel A. Peeples | - | 02a |
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After crossing a strange barrier, crew members Gary Mitchell and Elizabeth Dehner gain amazing mental powers. These powers become a danger to the crew and everyone else. Note: A re-edited version of this episode aired as the third episode of the first season.
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Season 1: Kicking Off the Journey
After the second pilot was approved, Star Trek aired its first official episode, "The Man Trap", on September 8, 1966. This season introduced the main crew we all know and love. William Shatner joined as Captain James T. Kirk. James Doohan played chief engineer Scotty. George Takei was helmsman Sulu. DeForest Kelley became Dr. Leonard "Bones" McCoy. And Nichelle Nichols took on the role of communications officer Uhura.
Majel Barrett, who was in the first pilot, returned as Nurse Christine Chapel. Grace Lee Whitney also appeared as yeoman Janice Rand in several episodes.
The first season had 29 episodes. It included the two-part story "The Menagerie". This episode used much of the footage from the original "The Cage" pilot. Other exciting episodes introduced new alien races. "Balance of Terror" showed us the Romulans. "Errand of Mercy" was the first time we met the Klingons. "Space Seed" introduced the famous villain Khan Noonien Singh. This episode later inspired the movie Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan. The season also featured the award-winning time-travel episode "The City on the Edge of Forever".
| No. overall |
No. in season |
Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date | Prod. code |
U.S. households (in millions) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | "The Man Trap" | Marc Daniels | George Clayton Johnson | September 8, 1966 | 06 | 11.36 |
| 2 | 2 | "Charlie X" | Lawrence Dobkin | Story by : Gene Roddenberry Teleplay by : D. C. Fontana |
September 15, 1966 | 08 | 10.10 |
| 3 | 3 | "Where No Man Has Gone Before" | James Goldstone | Samuel A. Peeples | September 22, 1966 | 02b | 10.38 |
| 4 | 4 | "The Naked Time" | Marc Daniels | John D. F. Black | September 29, 1966 | 07 | 10.05 |
| 5 | 5 | "The Enemy Within" | Leo Penn | Richard Matheson | October 6, 1966 | 05 | 9.06 |
| 6 | 6 | "Mudd's Women" | Harvey Hart | Story by : Gene Roddenberry Teleplay by : Stephen Kandel |
October 13, 1966 | 04 | 9.83 |
| 7 | 7 | "What Are Little Girls Made Of?" | James Goldstone | Robert Bloch | October 20, 1966 | 10 | 9.39 |
| 8 | 8 | "Miri" | Vincent McEveety | Adrian Spies | October 27, 1966 | 12 | 8.95 |
| 9 | 9 | "Dagger of the Mind" | Vincent McEveety | Shimon Wincelberg | November 3, 1966 | 11 | 9.94 |
| 10 | 10 | "The Corbomite Maneuver" | Joseph Sargent | Jerry Sohl | November 10, 1966 | 03 | 9.55 |
| 11 | 11 | "The Menagerie" | Marc Daniels | Gene Roddenberry | November 17, 1966 | 16 | 9.50 |
| 12 | 12 | Robert Butler | November 24, 1966 | 10.21 | |||
| 13 | 13 | "The Conscience of the King" | Gerd Oswald | Barry Trivers | December 8, 1966 | 13 | 8.62 |
| 14 | 14 | "Balance of Terror" | Vincent McEveety | Paul Schneider | December 15, 1966 | 09 | 8.51 |
| 15 | 15 | "Shore Leave" | Robert Sparr | Theodore Sturgeon | December 29, 1966 | 17 | 10.10 |
| 16 | 16 | "The Galileo Seven" | Robert Gist | Story by : Oliver Crawford Teleplay by : Oliver Crawford and Shimon Wincelberg |
January 5, 1967 | 14 | 8.89 |
| 17 | 17 | "The Squire of Gothos" | Don McDougall | Paul Schneider | January 12, 1967 | 18 | 10.82 |
| 18 | 18 | "Arena" | Joseph Pevney | Story by : Fredric Brown Teleplay by : Gene L. Coon |
January 19, 1967 | 19 | 10.54 |
| 19 | 19 | "Tomorrow Is Yesterday" | Michael O'Herlihy | D. C. Fontana | January 26, 1967 | 21 | 10.98 |
| 20 | 20 | "Court Martial" | Marc Daniels | Story by : Don M. Mankiewicz Teleplay by : Don M. Mankiewicz and Steven W. Carabatsos |
February 2, 1967 | 15 | 10.05 |
| 21 | 21 | "The Return of the Archons" | Joseph Pevney | Story by : Gene Roddenberry Teleplay by : Boris Sobelman |
February 9, 1967 | 22 | 10.93 |
| 22 | 22 | "Space Seed" | Marc Daniels | Story by : Carey Wilber Teleplay by : Gene L. Coon and Carey Wilber |
February 16, 1967 | 24 | 9.94 |
| 23 | 23 | "A Taste of Armageddon" | Joseph Pevney | Story by : Robert Hamner Teleplay by : Robert Hamner and Gene L. Coon |
February 23, 1967 | 23 | 10.98 |
| 24 | 24 | "This Side of Paradise" | Ralph Senensky | Story by : Jerry Sohl and D. C. Fontana Teleplay by : D. C. Fontana |
March 2, 1967 | 25 | 10.10 |
| 25 | 25 | "The Devil in the Dark" | Joseph Pevney | Gene L. Coon | March 9, 1967 | 26 | 10.38 |
| 26 | 26 | "Errand of Mercy" | John Newland | Gene L. Coon | March 23, 1967 | 27 | 9.50 |
| 27 | 27 | "The Alternative Factor" | Gerd Oswald | Don Ingalls | March 30, 1967 | 20 | 9.33 |
| 28 | 28 | "The City on the Edge of Forever" | Joseph Pevney | Harlan Ellison | April 6, 1967 | 28 | 9.39 |
| 29 | 29 | "Operation – Annihilate!" | Herschel Daugherty | Steven W. Carabatsos | April 13, 1967 | 29 | 9.72 |
Season 2: New Faces and Famous Stories
The second season had 26 episodes and started in September 1967. It brought new adventures and characters. Walter Koenig joined the crew as the Russian navigator Pavel Chekov in "Amok Time". This episode also gave us our first look at Spock's home planet, Vulcan.
This season had many memorable episodes. "Mirror, Mirror" showed us a dark "mirror universe" version of the crew. "Journey to Babel" introduced Spock's parents, Sarek and Amanda. And who could forget the funny episode "The Trouble with Tribbles"? This story was so popular it was revisited in later Star Trek shows. The season ended with "Assignment: Earth", which was an idea for a new show set in the 1960s.
| No. overall |
No. in season |
Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date | Prod. code |
U.S. households (in millions) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 30 | 1 | "Amok Time" | Joseph Pevney | Theodore Sturgeon | September 15, 1967 | 34 | 7.17 |
| 31 | 2 | "Who Mourns for Adonais?" | Marc Daniels | Gilbert Ralston | September 22, 1967 | 33 | 8.18 |
| 32 | 3 | "The Changeling" | Marc Daniels | John Meredyth Lucas | September 29, 1967 | 37 | 8.46 |
| 33 | 4 | "Mirror, Mirror" | Marc Daniels | Jerome Bixby | October 6, 1967 | 39 | 7.62 |
| 34 | 5 | "The Apple" | Joseph Pevney | Story by : Max Ehrlich Teleplay by : Max Ehrlich and Gene L. Coon |
October 13, 1967 | 38 | 7.90 |
| 35 | 6 | "The Doomsday Machine" | Marc Daniels | Norman Spinrad | October 20, 1967 | 35 | 7.73 |
| 36 | 7 | "Catspaw" | Joseph Pevney | Robert Bloch | October 27, 1967 | 30 | 8.85 |
| 37 | 8 | "I, Mudd" | Marc Daniels | Stephen Kandel | November 3, 1967 | 41 | 8.23 |
| 38 | 9 | "Metamorphosis" | Ralph Senensky | Gene L. Coon | November 10, 1967 | 31 | 7.11 |
| 39 | 10 | "Journey to Babel" | Joseph Pevney | D. C. Fontana | November 17, 1967 | 44 | 7.28 |
| 40 | 11 | "Friday's Child" | Joseph Pevney | D. C. Fontana | December 1, 1967 | 32 | 8.74 |
| 41 | 12 | "The Deadly Years" | Joseph Pevney | David P. Harmon | December 8, 1967 | 40 | 9.91 |
| 42 | 13 | "Obsession" | Ralph Senensky | Art Wallace | December 15, 1967 | 47 | 9.18 |
| 43 | 14 | "Wolf in the Fold" | Joseph Pevney | Robert Bloch | December 22, 1967 | 36 | N/A |
| 44 | 15 | "The Trouble with Tribbles" | Joseph Pevney | David Gerrold | December 29, 1967 | 42 | 8.85 |
| 45 | 16 | "The Gamesters of Triskelion" | Gene Nelson | Margaret Armen | January 5, 1968 | 46 | 10.92 |
| 46 | 17 | "A Piece of the Action" | James Komack | Story by : David P. Harmon Teleplay by : David P. Harmon and Gene L. Coon |
January 12, 1968 | 49 | 9.97 |
| 47 | 18 | "The Immunity Syndrome" | Joseph Pevney | Robert Sabaroff | January 19, 1968 | 48 | 9.46 |
| 48 | 19 | "A Private Little War" | Marc Daniels | Story by : Don Ingalls Teleplay by : Gene Roddenberry |
February 2, 1968 | 45 | 9.52 |
| 49 | 20 | "Return to Tomorrow" | Ralph Senensky | John T. Dugan | February 9, 1968 | 51 | 10.14 |
| 50 | 21 | "Patterns of Force" | Vincent McEveety | John Meredyth Lucas | February 16, 1968 | 52 | 8.34 |
| 51 | 22 | "By Any Other Name" | Marc Daniels | Story by : Jerome Bixby Teleplay by : D. C. Fontana and Jerome Bixby |
February 23, 1968 | 50 | 8.79 |
| 52 | 23 | "The Omega Glory" | Vincent McEveety | Gene Roddenberry | March 1, 1968 | 54 | 8.79 |
| 53 | 24 | "The Ultimate Computer" | John Meredyth Lucas | Story by : Laurence N. Wolfe Teleplay by : D. C. Fontana |
March 8, 1968 | 53 | 8.74 |
| 54 | 25 | "Bread and Circuses" | Ralph Senensky | Gene Roddenberry and Gene L. Coon | March 15, 1968 | 43 | 12.10 |
| 55 | 26 | "Assignment: Earth" | Marc Daniels | Story by : Gene Roddenberry and Art Wallace Teleplay by : Art Wallace |
March 29, 1968 | 55 | 8.79 |
Season 3: The Final Missions
After the second season, many fans worried Star Trek might be canceled. Fans like Bjo and John Trimble sent thousands of letters to NBC asking them to keep the show. NBC decided to renew it for one more year. However, the show was moved to a less popular time slot on Friday nights. The budget for the show was also reduced.
The final season had 24 episodes. It began in September 1968 with "Spock's Brain". Another notable episode was "The Tholian Web", where Captain Kirk gets stuck between universes. This story was later explored again in the series Star Trek: Enterprise. The very last episode of the original series, "Turnabout Intruder", aired on June 3, 1969. But this wasn't the end for Star Trek! It returned a few years later as an animated show in 1973.
| No. overall |
No. in season |
Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date | Prod. code |
U.S. households (in millions) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 56 | 1 | "Spock's Brain" | Marc Daniels | Gene L. Coon | September 20, 1968 | 61 | 9.18 |
| 57 | 2 | "The Enterprise Incident" | John Meredyth Lucas | D. C. Fontana | September 27, 1968 | 59 | 6.67 |
| 58 | 3 | "The Paradise Syndrome" | Jud Taylor | Margaret Armen | October 4, 1968 | 58 | 7.58 |
| 59 | 4 | "And the Children Shall Lead" | Marvin Chomsky | Edward J. Lakso | October 11, 1968 | 60 | 7.98 |
| 60 | 5 | "Is There in Truth No Beauty?" | Ralph Senensky | Jean Lisette Aroeste | October 18, 1968 | 62 | 7.35 |
| 61 | 6 | "Spectre of the Gun" | Vincent McEveety | Gene L. Coon | October 25, 1968 | 56 | 7.70 |
| 62 | 7 | "Day of the Dove" | Marvin Chomsky | Jerome Bixby | November 1, 1968 | 66 | 7.98 |
| 63 | 8 | "For the World Is Hollow and I Have Touched the Sky" | Tony Leader | Hendrik Vollaerts | November 8, 1968 | 65 | 7.52 |
| 64 | 9 | "The Tholian Web" | Herb Wallerstein | Judy Burns and Chet Richards | November 15, 1968 | 64 | 7.64 |
| 65 | 10 | "Plato's Stepchildren" | David Alexander | Meyer Dolinsky | November 22, 1968 | 67 | 7.41 |
| 66 | 11 | "Wink of an Eye" | Jud Taylor | Story by : Gene L. Coon Teleplay by : Arthur Heinemann |
November 29, 1968 | 68 | 8.72 |
| 67 | 12 | "The Empath" | John Erman | Joyce Muskat | December 6, 1968 | 63 | 9.86 |
| 68 | 13 | "Elaan of Troyius" | John Meredyth Lucas | John Meredyth Lucas | December 20, 1968 | 57 | 7.81 |
| 69 | 14 | "Whom Gods Destroy" | Herb Wallerstein | Story by : Lee Erwin and Jerry Sohl Teleplay by : Lee Erwin |
January 3, 1969 | 71 | 6.84 |
| 70 | 15 | "Let That Be Your Last Battlefield" | Jud Taylor | Story by : Gene L. Coon Teleplay by : Oliver Crawford |
January 10, 1969 | 70 | 7.92 |
| 71 | 16 | "The Mark of Gideon" | Jud Taylor | George F. Slavin and Stanley Adams | January 17, 1969 | 72 | 6.78 |
| 72 | 17 | "That Which Survives" | Herb Wallerstein | Story by : D. C. Fontana Teleplay by : John Meredyth Lucas |
January 24, 1969 | 69 | 7.81 |
| 73 | 18 | "The Lights of Zetar" | Herb Kenwith | Jeremy Tarcher and Shari Lewis | January 31, 1969 | 73 | 8.09 |
| 74 | 19 | "Requiem for Methuselah" | Murray Golden | Jerome Bixby | February 14, 1969 | 76 | 6.95 |
| 75 | 20 | "The Way to Eden" | David Alexander | Story by : D. C. Fontana and Arthur Heinemann Teleplay by : Arthur Heinemann |
February 21, 1969 | 75 | 7.07 |
| 76 | 21 | "The Cloud Minders" | Jud Taylor | Story by : David Gerrold and Oliver Crawford Teleplay by : Margaret Armen |
February 28, 1969 | 74 | 7.58 |
| 77 | 22 | "The Savage Curtain" | Herschel Daugherty | Story by : Gene Roddenberry Teleplay by : Gene Roddenberry and Arthur Heinemann |
March 7, 1969 | 77 | 6.73 |
| 78 | 23 | "All Our Yesterdays" | Marvin Chomsky | Jean Lisette Aroeste | March 14, 1969 | 78 | 7.41 |
| 79 | 24 | "Turnabout Intruder" | Herb Wallerstein | Story by : Gene Roddenberry Teleplay by : Arthur Singer |
June 3, 1969 | 79 | 5.02 |
How Episodes Were Made and Shown
Production Order Explained
Sometimes, the order in which episodes are filmed (called "production order") is different from when they are shown on TV (called "original air date"). For Star Trek: The Original Series, the very first DVD releases listed episodes by their production order. However, most modern releases, like the "complete season" DVD and Blu-ray sets, follow the original air date order. This helps viewers watch the story unfold as it was first presented.
Star Trek Across the Globe
Broadcasting in the United Kingdom
Star Trek first aired in the United Kingdom on BBC One starting July 12, 1969. The show was broadcast in color from the very beginning. The episodes were shown in a different order compared to the United States. The BBC also edited the episodes slightly for their broadcasts. For example, they showed the title sequence before the short teaser segment. Some episodes, like "Plato's Stepchildren", "The Empath", and "Whom Gods Destroy", were broadcast later in the UK, first appearing on Sky One in 1990 before being shown on the BBC in 1994.
More Star Trek to Explore
- Lists of Star Trek episodes
