Star Trek: The Animated Series Trivia Facts

Star Trek: The Animated Series

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Originally the show was not going to include Nichelle Nichols, George Takei, and Walter Koenig (I) due to budget considerations. However, when Leonard Nimoy learned about this, he refused to join the cast unless his friends were included. Rather than lose the most popular cast member, Filmation agreed to sign on Nichols and Takei. While Koenig could not be included because of the budget, he wrote one episode, "The Infinite Vulcan."
The episode "The Practical Joker" is essentially the origin of the holodeck.
When story editor D.C. Fontana was writing her episode "Yesteryear," she ran into opposition from the network executives when they learned her story would have Spock's beloved pet mortally wounded and requiring euthanasia. The executives were concerned that it would upset young viewers and insisted that the pet be allowed to live. Gene Roddenberry supported Fontana and reassured the management that she would handle the story appropriately. As it turns out, there were never any complaints about the episode and the story is considered the finest of the series.
The show's final episode, "Counter-Clock Incident," introduced the very first captain of the Enterprise, Robert April. Due to Gene Roddenberry's later request that the animated series not be considered canon, however, it has never been made part of official Star Trek continuity that Capt. April was the first captain of the USS Enterprise.
Many of the episodes were written by veterans of the original live-action TV series.
The life-support belts came about simply because the bulky spacesuits created for "Star Trek" (1966) were too complex to draw. The concept of the transporter came about the same way: it got the crew to the planet without the expense of filming a landing sequence every week. (Ironically, the belts were never adapted for the later live-action movies and TV series because making the actors "glow" via special effects would have cost more than making spacesuits!)
Sci-fi author Peter David (I) later integrated the characters of M'Ress and Arex into his book series "Star Trek: New Frontier," starting with the novel "Gateways #5: Cold Wars."
One episode of this series revealed that Kirk's middle name is Tiberius.
Between "Star Trek" (1966), "Star Trek" (1973) (this series) and the six original series 'Star Trek' movies, the Season One episode "Star Trek" (1973) {The Slaver Weapon (#1.14)} is the only time after his character was first introduced that William Shatner (Captain James Tiberius Kirk) does not appear. He also did not appear in the first "Star Trek" (1966) pilot, 'The Cage'.
Walter Koenig (I) (Ensign Pavel Chekov) was the only original "Star Trek" (1966) cast member to never appear on the series.
The events of the animated series are said to take place during the final year of the Enterprise's five-year mission.
In the episode, "Star Trek" (1973) {The Slaver Weapon (#1.14)}, writer Larry Niven introduced the cat-like alien race, the Kzinti, from his "Known Space" novels into the "Star Trek" universe.
Walter Koenig (I), who wrote the episode "The Infinite Vulcan," became the first "Star Trek" (1966) actor to ever write a Star Trek story. Over the following decades, many Trek actors would write films, novels and comic books based upon Star Trek, and many more would direct TV episodes and movies.
Gene Roddenberry decided that this animated series was not "canon" (as the live-action series movies are) because he did the show for the money, and he wouldn't have let the writers do some of things they did if he knew Star Trek would return in live-action.
The "Star Trek Crews" from all the Star Trek series were ranked #2 in TV Guide's list of the "25 Greatest Sci-Fi Legends" (1 August 2004 issue).
When the animated Star Trek premiered on September 8, 1973, stations in Southern California ran a different first episode than that seen in the rest of the country. Actor George Takei (Sulu) was running for a local political office and area stations were afraid that running an episode in which Sulu appeared would require them to give "equal" air time to Takei's opponents under the "fairness" doctrine then enforced by the FCC. Instead, they ran an episode in which Sulu did not appear.
Because of the series' low budget, Nichelle Nichols (Uhura), James Doohan (Mr. Scott), and Majel Barrett (Nurse Chapel) all voiced many of the extra crewmen, aliens, and "guest" characters that appeared on the series.
Filmation rotoscoped three live action USS Enterprise shots from the original show to use as stock animation. The shots rotoscoped were the ones where the Enterprise is coming toward camera in orbit (used in most of the original shows), the shot where the camera zooms in on the top of the Enterprise (where the bridge is) seen in full on "Star Trek" The Cage (1966) and a shot of the Enterprise zooming toward camera which also came from "The Cage" and was used rarely as stock footage.
Leonard Nimoy (Spock) and James Doohan (Scotty) are the only actors to appear in all 22 episodes of the series. However, one of the episodes did not feature Scotty, although James Doohan did voice three other characters in the episode. Thus, Leonard Nimoy is the only actor to play his original series character in every episode. The episode in question was "Star Trek" (1973) {The Slaver Weapon (#1.14)}, ironically the only episode William Shatner or his character Captain Kirk doesn't appear.
The selat, the saber toothed bear-like creature that is Spock's pet, was first mentioned in the original series episode "Journey To Babel". On that episode, Dr. McCoy asked Spock's mother, Amanda, what Spock was like as a child and she mentioned the pet.
This episode features the one and only time in all of the Star Trek series and films that Captain Kirk says, "Beam us up, Scotty!" It has long been thought of as one of those made up phrases connected to the franchise (in the original series, Kirk and others always said something like "Scotty, three to beam up." or "Enterprise, beam us up."). But Kirk does say it in this episode.
The thin ensign which Kirk orders to "seal off the area" in the transporter room is based on Author David Gerrold. Gerrold wanted to be in the live action Tribbles episode as an ensign but was judged to be too thin.
The "Retlaw" plant that attacked Lieutenant Sulu was named after the writer, (spelled backwards) Walter Koenig (I).
Marks the first appearance of something many Star Trek fans have said the bridge crew need: seatbelts! They wouldn't appear in live-action until a deleted scene in Star Trek: Nemesis (2002)... more than 30 years later.
This is the only episode of either the original series (TOS) or the animated series (TAS) not to have Capt. Kirk in it. (The original pilot "Star Trek" (1966) {The Cage (#1.0)} - which also didn't feature Kirk - doesn't count because it never aired until years after cancellation.)
In this episode, writer Larry Niven introduced the cat-like alien race, the Kzinti, from his "Known Space" novels into the "Star Trek" universe.
Hard-core Star Trek fans are quick to point out that Markel and Bryce - not Enterprise crew - shouldn't be wearing the "arrowhead" Enterprise insignia. However, since the Star Trek movies and later TV series show all of Starfleet using the symbol, some fans postulate that perhaps its use indicates it had already been adapted as the universal Starfleet emblem. (Of course, since the animated series is not considered "canon", it's a fairly pointless argument anyway.)
First time that Captain Kirk's middle name of Tiberius is revealed.
BEM is a long standing science fiction acronym for Bug Eyed Monster.
This is the first appearance of a holodeck - called a Recreation Deck - in the "Star Trek" universe.

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