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My girlfriend and I have been watching (and very much enjoying) Star Trek: The Original Series recently, resulting in us deciding to try to watch the whole lot in the order it was released.

The problem is that we have no idea what that order actually is. As far as I know, none of the films were released until a long time after Star Trek: The Original Series was aired, and some of them were released throughout the lifetime of Star Trek: The Next Generation and afterwards. A quick glance at the later TV shows would seem to indicate that Star Trek: Deep Space Nine overlapped with at least one other show. And what about Star Trek: The Animated Series?

In short, I'm looking for a simple, easy to read list of all the TV series/seasons/movies in the Star Trek franchise in release date order, including special mention of any crossover episodes (if there are any). I am not interested in the films in the new timeline, as I have seen those already.

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    What is the recommended viewing order for young first-timers to watch Star Trek TV episodes and movies? – The second answer lists both the release order and the continuity order
    – Arcane
    Commented Sep 19, 2016 at 8:48
  • @Mithrandir Believe me, I'm not asking for a full episode list - only when it is important that specific episodes from different shows are watched in a particular order, which for all I know may never actually happen in Star Trek.
    – Dr R Dizzle
    Commented Sep 19, 2016 at 8:50
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    startreklist.blogspot.be/2011/04/…
    – BCdotWEB
    Commented Sep 19, 2016 at 8:51
  • @BCdotWEB This is exactly the kind of thing I was looking for. If you want to put this link as an answer with a very brief summary of when to look out for the overlaps, I'll accept it.
    – Dr R Dizzle
    Commented Sep 19, 2016 at 8:56
  • This question is quite confusing. It seems you want to stick to release date order on the one hand for some reason, but on the other hand recognize it is precisely not what you want as it disrupts in-universe chronological order ("some of [the films] were released throughout the lifetime of Star Trek: The Next Generation and afterwards").
    – O. R. Mapper
    Commented Aug 18, 2019 at 6:28

4 Answers 4

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There is a list of all Star Trek episodes ordered by first broadcast date, but in general there isn't that much overlap between the series. There are a few exceptions, for instance

  • characters from one series visiting another or even transferring from one to the other
  • VOY is started by events related to DS9 (e.g. the Maquis)
  • DS9 re-visits an old TOS episode
  • ENT's fourth season has plenty of references to TOS

.... etc.

There is a Wikipedia page which details various crossovers, in case you want to read up on this subject. Beware of spoilers, though.

In general I don't think you're missing much if you simply watch the series one after another — i.e. TOS → TAS → TNG → DS9 → VOY → ENT — without bothering to exactly follow this "by air date" guide.

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    DS9 starts with Sisko on the Enterprise, also.
    – Mithical
    Commented Sep 19, 2016 at 9:22
  • @Mithrandir True, and Sisko's past is tied to Picard etc. But these links are nowhere close to for instance the Buffy*/*Angel crossovers.
    – BCdotWEB
    Commented Sep 19, 2016 at 9:40
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    The inclusion of the movies in this answer would make it a really great summary of everything I've asked for.
    – Dr R Dizzle
    Commented Sep 19, 2016 at 10:45
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    @DrRDizzle The six TOS movies, as you said, came many years after TOS was at an end. They can be watched independently of any of the sequel series, but for point of reference, IV came out the year before TNG premiered, V came out in the middle of TNG's second season, and VI came out in the middle of TNGs fifth season. The four TNG movies all came out after TNG ended. Only one crossover that matters - the first of them came prior to DS9's fourth season. The three reboot movies came out after all six series had ended.
    – Paul L
    Commented Sep 21, 2016 at 13:01
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Here is a complete timeline of every Star Trek show and movie released to date:

1964-1967: [TOS] Season 1
1967-1968: [TOS] Season 2
1968-1969: [TOS] Season 3
1973-1974: [TAS] Season 1
1974: [TAS] Season 2
1979: [MOVIE] ST I: The Motion Picture
1982: [MOVIE] ST II: The Wrath of Khan
1984: [MOVIE] ST III: The Search for Spock
1986: [MOVIE] ST IV: The Voyage Home
1987-1988: [TNG] Season 1
1988-1989: [TNG] Season 2 — [MOVIE] ST V: The Final Frontier
1989-1990: [TNG] Season 3
1990-1991: [TNG] Season 4
1991-1992: [TNG] Season 5 — [MOVIE] ST VI: The Undiscovered Country
1992-1993: [TNG] Season 6 — [DS9] Season 1
1993-1994: [TNG] Season 7 — [DS9] Season 2
1994-1995: [VOY] Season 1 — [DS9] Season 3 — [MOVIE] ST VII: Generations
1995-1996: [VOY] Season 2 — [DS9] Season 4
1996-1997: [VOY] Season 3 — [DS9] Season 5 — [MOVIE] ST VIII: First Contact
1997-1998: [VOY] Season 4 — [DS9] Season 6
1998-1999: [VOY] Season 5 — [DS9] Season 7 — [MOVIE] ST IX: Insurrection
1999-2000: [VOY] Season 6
2000-2001: [VOY] Season 7
2001-2002: [ENT] Season 1
2002-2003: [ENT] Season 2 — [MOVIE] ST X: Nemesis
2003-2004: [ENT] Season 3
2004-2005: [ENT] Season 4
2009: [MOVIE] ST XI: Star Trek
2013: [MOVIE] ST XII: Star Trek Into Darkness
2016: [MOVIE] ST XIII: Star Trek Beyond
2017-2018: [DIS] Season 1
2018-2019: [DIS] Season 2
2020-2021: [PIC] Season 1 — [LD] Season 1 — [DIS] Season 3
2021-2022: [PIC] Season 2 — [LD] Season 2 — [PRO] Season 1 — [DIS] Season 4 — [SNW] Season 1
2022-2023: [PIC] Season 3 — [LD] Season 3 — [SNW] Season 2
2023-2024: [LD] Season 4

Source: Kethinov's Star Trek Reviews and Memory Alpha

Acronyms:
TOS: The Original Series - TAS: The Animated Series - TNG: The Next Generation - DS9: Deep Space Nine - VOY: Voyager - ENT: Enterprise - DIS: Discovery - PIC: Picard - LD: Lower Decks - PRO: Prodigy - SNW: Strange New Worlds - MOVIE: The Movies

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  • Why are the dates for TOS S1 64-67? Memory Alpha says 66-67 memory-alpha.fandom.com/wiki/… (Unless you're counting The Cage somehow? Which was filmed in 64, but delivered in 65 and not aired)
    – Azor Ahai -him-
    Commented Jun 28, 2021 at 19:45
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  1. Star Trek: The Original Series: Season One
  2. Star Trek: The Original Series: Season Two
  3. Star Trek: The Original Series: Season Three
  4. Star Trek: The Animated Series: Season One
  5. Star Trek: The Animated Series: Season Two
  6. Star Trek: The Motion Picture.
  7. Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan.
  8. Star Trek III: The Search for Spock.
  9. Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home.
  10. Star Trek The Next Generation: Season One
  11. Star Trek The Next Generation: Season Two.
  12. Star Trek V: The Final Frontier
  13. Star Trek: The Next Generation: Season Three
  14. Star Trek: The Next Generation: Season Four.
  15. Star Trek: The Next Generation: Season Five
  16. Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country. (overlaps with Star Trek The Next Generation Season Five between Episodes 9 and 10).
  17. Star Trek: The Next Generation : Season Six
  18. Star Trek: Deep Space Nine: Season One (overlaps with Star Trek The Next Generation Season Six).
  19. Star Trek: The Next Generation: Season Seven.
  20. Star Trek: Deep Space Nine: Season Two (overlaps with Star Trek The Next Generation Season Seven).
  21. Star Trek: Deep Space Nine: Season Three.
  22. Star Trek Generations. (overlaps with Star Trek Deep Space Nine between Episodes 8 and 9).
  23. Star Trek: Voyager: Season One (overlaps with Star Trek Deep Space Nine Season Three).
  24. Star Trek: Voyager: Season Two.
  25. Star Trek: Deep Space Nine: Season Four. (overlaps with Star Trek Voyager Season Two).
  26. Star Trek: Voyager: Season Three.
  27. Star Trek: Deep Space Nine: Season Five (overlaps with Star Trek Voyager Season Three).
  28. Star Trek: First Contact (overlaps between Episodes 8 and 9 of Deep Space Nine and 10 and 11 of Voyager).
  29. Star Trek: Voyager: Season Four.
  30. Star Trek: Deep Space Nine: Season Six (overlaps with Star Trek Voyager Season Four).
  31. Star Trek: Deep Space Nine: Season Seven.
  32. Star Trek: Voyager: Season Five (overlaps with Star Trek Deep Space Nine Season Seven).
  33. Star Trek: Insurrection (overlaps between Episodes 9 and 10 of Deep Space Nine Season Seven and Episodes 9 and 10 of Voyager).
  34. Star Trek: Voyager: Season Six.
  35. Star Trek: Voyager: Season Seven.
  36. Star Trek: Enterprise: Season One.
  37. Star Trek: Enterprise: Season Two.
  38. Star Trek: Nemesis (overlaps between episodes 10 and 11 of Star Trek Enterprise Season Two).
  39. Star Trek: Enterprise: Season Three.
  40. Star Trek: Enterprise: Season Four.
  41. Star Trek: Discovery: Season One.
  42. Star Trek: Short Treks: Season One.
  43. Star Trek: Discovery: Season Two.
  44. Star Trek: Short Treks: Season Two.
  45. Star Trek: Picard: Season One.
  46. Star Trek: Lower Decks: Season One.
  47. Star Trek: Discovery: Season Three.
  48. Star Trek: Lower Decks: Season Two.
  49. Star Trek: Prodigy: Season One Part One.
  50. Star Trek: Discovery: Season Four (overlaps with Star Trek Prodigy Season One Part One).
  51. Star Trek: Picard: Season Two (overlaps with Star Trek Discovery Season Four).
  52. Star Trek: Strange New Worlds: Season One.
  53. Star Trek: Lower Decks: Season Three.
  54. Star Trek: Prodigy: Season One Part Two.
  55. Star Trek: Picard: Season Three.
  56. Star Trek: Strange New Worlds: Season Two.
  57. Star Trek: Lower Decks: Season Four.
  58. Star Trek: Very Short Treks (overlaps with Star Trek Lower Decks Season Four).
  59. Star Trek: Discovery: Season Five.
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Between IMDB and/or Wikipedia, it should be relatively easy to work out a release/first broadcast timeline of all Star Trek series episodes and movies.

Bear in mind that TOS episode-by-episode broadcast sequence differs somewhat from its production sequence. If you watch in production sequence, you can see a more logical progression/evolution in sets, costumes, character development and canon, especially with regard to the first half-dozen or so episodes produced for the first season. Later into the first season, things become more consistent, although there are noticeable changes between seasons. If you watch in broadcast sequence, it's a bit idiosyncratic. Wikipedia lists production numbers as well as broadcast dates, so you can reconstruct either order. Note also that the original pilot "The Cage" was never aired during the initial run; much of it was incorporated into the two-part "The Menagerie", so although most, if not all of "The Cage" made it to air in the initial run, it wasn't as its own episode/story.

TNG episodes weren't all broadcast in production order either, but it's far less noticeable, if at all. The same can probably be said of all the other series in the franchise.

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