It is quite appropriate that in the same yearStar Trekcreator Gene Roddenberry would have celebrated his 100th birthday, and the franchise itself celebrates its 55th anniversary, theStar Trek Universehas reached another milestone - and it is one that very rarely reached by non-continuing dramas. Just weeks before the 55th anniversary is celebrated by Paramount’s Star Trek Day on Paramount+, Thursday’s episode ofStar Trek: Lower Decks, entitled “We’ll Always Have Tom Paris” became the 800th overallStar Trekepisode to have aired on TV since the original series began in the 1960s.
When looking across the TV series fromStar Trek: The Original Seriesthrough toStar Trek: Lower Decks, that is certainly some feat for a show that at a couple of points in its history appeared to have run out of stream and ideas for the future. In fact, there was a point around the time of Roddenberry’s death that there were no plans at all for more output from the franchise.
In celebration of the 800th episode airing, StarTrek.com released a video in celebration of the milestone and a commemorative plate making the occasion. For anyone who likes a good bit of facts and figures, the breakdown of episodes looks a little like this.
Of course the story doesn’t end there, as there are still more episodes ofLower Decksto come, along with a new series ofStar Trek: Picard, a return ofStar Trek: Discovery, new animationStar Trek: ProdigyandStar Trek: Strange New Worldsall to come in the near future, meaning there is not one going to bet against the show boldly going for another milestone in a relatively short time.
Gene Roddenberry’s son, Rod, who is still involved in allStar Trekoutput as a producer, recently talked about how even when it seemed like there was nowhere for the show to go, he was always confident that it would not be away for long.
“I 100% had no doubt it would come back, but that’s not because I’m some great thinker or knew something people didn’t,” Rod said in an interview with ComicBook.com. “The only thing I knew, which is what I think most fans knew, which isStar Trekhas way too important of a message for it to ever go away. It had a lot to say in the ’60s when it came out, and sadly, it has a lot to say today still.”
Star Trek: Lower Decksis currently releasing new episodes of its second season each Thursday, and if you are looking to relive the entire 800 episodes, then all episodes of everyStar Trekseries made are available onParamount+.
