Trek Throwback Thursday: Star Trek in the 1990s

Trek Throwback Thursday

Star Trek in the 1990s

The 1990s.  Arguably Star Trek's golden age.  Many would call it the peak of the franchise.  The Next Generation hit it's stride, Deep Space Nine ran it's entire seven seasons, Voyager ran it's first five, Kirk and company made their final motion picture appearances, and The Next Generation cast starred in three motion pictures of their own.  Whether you watched reruns or new episodes of TNG or DS9 on whichever channel had the first run syndication rights in your area or caught Voyager on UPN (remember UPN?), you saw some of Trek's finest hours: TNGs "The Best of Both Worlds", "The Inner Light" and "Chain of Command", DS9s "Duet", "The Visitor", "In the Pale Moonlight and "Far Beyond the Stars" and Voyagers "Scorpion", not to mention some of the franchises greatest movies, Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country and Star Trek First Contact.  The hardcore trekkies collected Playmates phaser and tricorder toys and copius action figures, read the many licensed tie-in books: The Star Trek Encyclopedia by Michael and Denise Okuda, Star Trek The Next Generation Technical Manual by Rick Sternback and Michael Okuda, and many more, and played the interactive FMV-filled PC games such as Simon & Schuster Interactives Star Trek: Borg, Star Trek: Klingon and Starship Creator among others, or Interplays Starfleet Academy and Starfleet Command games.  You may have even played console games like Absolutes "Star Trek The Next Generation" for NES and Gameboy and Star Trek Generations: Beyond the Nexus for Gameboy, or Playmates Interactive's Star Trek Deep Space Nine: Crossroads of Time for the SNES and Genesis.  The 1990s were indeed a good time for Star Trek.  A decade with ample new shows and movies, well-written original fresh stories and iconic characters like Locutus of Borg, the assimilated Jean-Luc Picard "Resistance is Futile", Captain Benjamin Sisko, the commander of Deep Space Nine and the Emissary of the Prophets "The Sisko is of Bajor", and Captain Kathryn Janeway of the intrepid starship Voyager "there's coffee in that nebula".  Characters like the holographic doctor (the EMH) on Voyager played to perfection by Robert Picardo, Deep Space Nine's "Plain, Simple" former spy turned tailor Garak (Andrew J. Robinson), General Martok, the Klingon commander during the Dominion War who becomes chancellor (J.G. Hertzler), and Voyager's Seven of Nine, the former Borg drone liberated from the collective now on a journey to rediscover her humanity, played by Jeri Ryan.  Let's take a trip down memory lane and look back at Star Trek at its peak of popularity in the 1990s year by year. 

1990

Star Trek The Next Generation ended its third season with the wildly popular "The Best of Both Worlds, Part 1" cliffhanger, which saw Jean-Luc Picard captured and assimilated by the Borg, becoming Locutus of Borg. The fan excitement and speculation over the summer hiatus reached a fever pitch, only alleviated when The Next Generation season 4 premiered in September of 1990 with "The Best of Both Worlds, part 2". Other top episodes this year include Season 3's "Yesterday's Enterprise" featuring the return of Denise Crosby as Lt. Tasha Yar, "Sarek" featuring the return of Mark Lenard as Ambassador Sarek of Vulcan, father of Spock, and the Klingon-centric "Sins of the Father" which introduced Kurn brother of Worf and Worfs conflict with the house of Duras, as well as season 4's Reunion which introduced Gowron.  Season 4 also saw the departure of Wil Wheaton from the show, with Wesley Crusher leaving the Enterprise to join Starfleet Academy.  Joining the franchise this year behind the camera were intern writer and later executive producer Brannon Braga and associate producer and later executive producer and Star Trek Voyager cocreator Jeri Taylor.

1991

Star Trek's 25th anniversary year.  The silver anniversary year saw the Original Series casts final feature film outing in Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country, as well as TNG's "Unification" two-parter featuring the first (and only) appearance of Leonard Nimoy as Spock on The Next Generation as well as the death of fan favorite character Sarek (played by Mark Lenard).  Sadly, this year also saw the death of Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry on October 24 1991 at the age of 70.  Also in 1991 Paramount Home Video began releasing episodes of Star Trek The Next Generation on VHS and began reissuing the Original series episodes on VHS.

1992

While The Next Generation finished it's fifth season and began it's sixth with memorable episodes such as season 5's "The Inner Light" and season 6's "Relics" featuring the return of James Doohan as Scotty and the powerful two-parter "Chain of Command", production began on the next Star Trek series (and the first produced without involvement from Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry), the station based Star Trek Deep Space Nine. With his attention on the new series longtime TNG head writer and executive producer and DS9 Co-creator Michael Pillar left TNG to join the DS9 production staff full time.  Jeri Taylor became executive producer and head writer on The Next Generation. Also this year Playmates acquired the license for Star Trek tie-in toys, leading to the release of toy phasers, interactive miniature playsets, light up ship models and a myriad of action figures that would be released throughout the decade.

1993

On January 3, 1993 Star Trek Deep Space Nine premiered in first run syndication with the two-part pilot "Emissary" which establishes not only the crew and titular space station but the nearby Bajoran Wormhole leading to the distant Gamma Quadrant. In September 1993 The Next Generation began its seventh and final season with "Descent, Part 2", while Deep Space Nine began its second season with Star Trek's first ever three part episode.

 

1994

A busy year for Star Trek: The Next Generation ended with the two part finale "All Good Things...", Deep Space Nine began a new chapter having introduced the Dominion as a new threat at the end of season 2 and the USS Defiant in the opening of season 3, the next show in the franchise, Star Trek Voyager, co-created by Michael Pillar, Jeri Taylor and Rick Berman was announced, and Star Trek Generations, the TNG casts first movie premiered.  Generations also saw the final on screen appearances of Captain Kirk, Scotty, and Chekov, as well as the death of Captain Kirk after a legendary team up with Captain Picard.  With Michael Pillars attention now on Voyager Ira Steven Behr became executive producer on DS9. In May 1994 Star Trek scenic artists Michael and Denise Okuda released the first edition of the Star Trek Encyclopedia.

1995

 

The United Paramount Network (UPN) launched in January 1995 with Star Trek Voyagers two part pilot "Caretaker", stranding the Intrepid class USS Voyager and crew 75 years travel away from home in the Delta Quadrant and forcing them to work with the equally stranded crew of the Maquis ship which they were pursuing. Deep Space Nine's 4th season kicked off with the two part episode "The Way of the Warrior" putting the Federation in conflict with the Klingons and introducing fan favorite character General Martok.  Deep Space Nine's 4th season premiere also saw Michael Dorn joining the cast as Lt. Commander Worf.  Also in 1995, Star Trek: The Official Fan Club Magazine, in print since 1982 rebranded as Star Trek: Communicator.

1996

The franchise celebrated its 30th anniversary this year, with Deep Space Nine and Voyager both doing special episodes (DS9s "Trials and Tribble-ations" which sees the DS9 crew travel back in time to Kirk's enterprise during the events of TOS "The Trouble with Tribbles" and Voyagers "Flashback" revisiting the events of Star Trek VI from the USS Excelsiors perspective). This year also saw the Next Generation casts second movie outing, Star Trek First Contact, featuring the return of the Borg and the introduction of the Borg Queen. First Contact also introduced a new USS Enterprise, the Sovereign class USS Enterprise-E ,replacing TNGs USS Enterprise-D which met it's end in Generations. This year saw the passing of legendary actor Mark Lenard, who first portrayed the Romulan commander in TOS "Balance of Terror" before playing his most famous role, Ambassador Sarek. His portrayal of the Klingon captain in the opening scene of Star Trek: The Motion Picture made him the first actor to play three different alien species on Star Trek. Paramount Home Video began releasing episodes of Star Trek Deep Space Nine on VHS this year.

1997

Deep Space Nine's 5th season ended this year with the Federation at war with the Dominion, a storyline which would open the 6th season with a 6-episode arc. Voyagers two part season 3/4 cliffhanger "Scorpion" saw the ship and crew crossing Borg Space and fighting the interdimensional Species 8472, the franchises first completely CGI species. Season 4 also saw some cast changes, with Jeri Ryan joining the cast as Seven of Nine and Jennifer Lien (Kes) leaving the show.

1998

Deep Space Nine saw a major cast change this year, with Terry Farrell leaving following disagreements with the producers. Season 6 ended with fan favorite character Jadzia Dax killed by a pah wraith possessed Gul Dukat. Season 7's opening 3-parter would introduce the next Dax host, Ezri Dax played by Nicole DeBoer.  Following the end of Voyager's 4th season, longtime Star Trek executive producer and head writer and Voyager co-creator Jeri Taylor retired.  She would be replaced as executive producer on Voyager for the next two years by Brannon Braga.  Voyager's 5th season introduced the Delta Flyer to the series as well as Susanna Thompson as the Borg Queen in the double length epsiode "Dark Frontier".  The Next Generation's third movie, Star Trek Insurrection also premiered this year.

1999

While Voyager soldiered on into its 5th and 6th seasons Deep Space Nine ended its run with a 10-episode Dominion war arc, culminating in the series finale "What You Leave Behind" in May 1999.  Voyager ended it's 5th season and began its 6th with the two parter "Equinox", in which Voyager crosses paths with another wayward Starfleet ship, the titular USS Equinox, whose crew, unlike Voyagers, have abandoned their principles and morals in their quest to return home.  Sadly, this year saw the first death of a main Star Trek cast member, DeForest Kelley (Dr. Leonard "Bones" McCoy) passed away in June 1999 at the age of 79.