A Look at Star Trek Opening Titles

If there is one subject I covered to death here, it’s Star Trek. Nealy 55 years of TV shows and movies have created a franchise almost unique in its popularity. True, I react to the new shows with the same shrug of indifference my parents had to the Next Generation when it came around. But while I can’t embrace the way Trek is today I can respect that it’s still growing and thriving. However, despite over 150 articles there is one thing I never did. Discuss the opening titles for each series.

One reason may be that until recently there were only four, so it may not have seemed worth it. And I did do a run down of movie music so it’s only fair to go over the TV openings. I went back and forth on whether or not this should be a “Top 10” or not. I decided not to, and instead we’ll just go through them and discuss what I liked, and didn’t, about each.

Star Trek

It’s fantastic. What else can I say? A simple beauty pass of the Enterprise with great narration by William Shatnr. What makes the “Where no man” speech so great is how simple it is. It’s not a convluted backstory that we can’t grasp. No, it’s this is the name of the ship and what we’re out here looking for. Simple message statement. I do have on one gripe. I talked before about how in these days shows often listed one, maybe two, big stars of the shows and the rest are relegated to “co-starring” during the end credis. This is show is a prime example of that, with only Shatner and Nimoy listed. At least season two they added DeForest Kelly. I always wanted to see a an opening that had all the name and thnakfully the new series all did away with that nonesens. The haunting music is perfect too and makes this the iconic theme it is. Music by Alexander Courage, of course.





Actually there was a special in the 90’s hosted by William Shatner that presented the Star Trek intro the way I would have liked to see it. Sadly no clips could be found of that.





Star Trek-The Animated Series

Yeah I’ve made it no secret I have no good feelings for this show and that includes the opening. Not because it copies the original. That I like, since it shows that this show will still be essentially the same as the old just animated. But what in heaven’s name was up with that music? Filmation had its own style and theiur composer Ray Ellis did this one. And the Filmation score is awful.







Star Trek-The Next Generation (unused)

It was always kind of disappointing that the show recycled that music from Star Trek-The Motion Picture. Don’t get me wrong that music was epic. But why not something new? Turns out, they did have a new theme done up but it was rejected. And when you listen to it..wow!! It sounds like a theme to a cheap sci fi parody show. Good move there Gene Roddenberry. No offense to the great Dennis McCarthy.







Star Trek-The Next Generation (Season 1 & 2)

So they switched to a version of the movie theme written bv Jerry Goldsmith and it wasn’t perfect. The theme sounds, scratchy? I’m not sure but I never cared for that early version. The other change is the graphis beings so boring, just showing the solar system. The funny thing with this intro was re-doing the “where no man” speech. Yeah it’s great to hear “where no ONE” but at the same time it’s odd that at a time they wanted to say this was not a repeat of the classic series, they basically repoeat the original intro! Just with better graphics and all the names. I’m sure it seemed like a good idea but in hindsight I think it kept people from believing in the show.








Star Trek-The Next Generation (Season 3-7)

The big change here is the graphics during the opening. Just fantastic, for the time anyway. So much more effective. I mean even the original intro shows the Enterprise orbiting some strange new world. What’s exciting about Jupiter? The music gets a bit of an upgrade and I really prefer it to the first season which sounded clunky to me.







Star Trek Deep Space Nine

Dennis McCarthy made up for his terrible first Next Gen theme with this masterpiece. And yeah, it may be the best theme of the bunch. It’s different. It’s moody and yet triumphant. It just captures the feel of the series. And the shots of the station are great, you feel like its a working space station, leading up to that wormhole shot.  I’ll be honest while very often I will skip the TNG theme, if I watch an episode of DS9 I always have to listen to that opening fanfare. They changed a bit later to show off the Defiant but it was basically the same. I also loved how the pilot episode did not show the wormhold at the end. What a smart way to surprise your audience! On the downside, the last two seasons had a sped up version of the theme which most hate. And yeah, I can see why. They messed it up for sure.








Star Trek Voyager

Jerry Goldsmith is back for this one which I always loved to. I think DS9 is a little better, but this theme works too. While DS9’s music is better, Voyager tops them with the graphic department. The graphics were vastly improved here. I guess they realize beauty passes had been done to death so instead we seeing Voyager flying through strange phenomena, which is a nice idea conveying what the show would be about. Er, in theory anyway. I think this is what the Next Gen opening should have been like, rather than just rehashing the original one. DS9 wins on music alone but as a complete theme this is easily the best. This theme won and Emmy by the way.








Star Trek Enterprise

Ughhhhh. This one was almost universally hated by fans when it came along. Talk about getting your series off on the wrong foot. The pronblem wasn’t the visuals. In fact, I give them credit for that. Showing the advances of flight through the years up to our new Enterprise makes sense for a prequel series. The problem is in the song. For one thing, it’s a song! I actually like “Where My Heart Will Take Me” (by Russell Watson) but not here! It just blows whatever mood you were going for and doesn’t match at all. The creators also foolishly left of the “Star Trek” on the name at first. I never got that, it’s like they wanted this to be a Star Trek show..but not be a Star Trek show. Actutally that’s kind of how it felt that first year or two.


And for an example of what this could have been, check out the kick ass opening used for the two part mirror universe crossover!

Star Trek Discovery

It really feels like I am missing a show between this and Enterprise. Was it really that long? Putting my feelings for this idiotic show aside, how was the opening? I liked it at first, it felt like it captured the spirit of the original seres. But then it kind of morphss into it’s own thing and…it’s ok. The tune is a lot better than Enterprise, but is also a tad to somber, though it ends well. The graphis just plain suck. What am I looking at? Don’t tell me “well you have to see the show to get it”, a good opening give you an idea of what you’re in for even if you’ve never seen it before. This why a lot of shows will cut the images for their pilots. I do give the show credit for having an intro however. In this day and age when opening intro’s are becoming obsolete, the creators knew they had to keep tradition on a Star Trek show and I commend that. Composed by Jeff Russo (as was the next).







Star Trek Picard

Again, credit for having an opening. But sweet lord why is it so melancholy? The show is fine from what I have seen but I have heard funeral marches more upbeat than this opening. At least the others were triumphant this is depressing. Ok it’s not awful and I love the callbacks to Next Gen within the music rather than just being the same blatant theme over again. The images work too, for the most part, showing moments from Picard’s life forming him. I guess? Maybe because it’s not the epic space oddyseey that the other series are, it’s more of a character piece, the theme should be a little more somber. Maybe it’s that awful violin that comes in, it just ruins the mood. The idea is there, I don’t hate it but it’s not a favorite either.

There we go my friends, the Star Trek TV theme’s. Agree? Disagree? Comment and let me know. So after so many articles on this show, amd I finally done talking about it?