10 Times Star Trek Hit The Reset Button
8. Star Trek: The Spin-Off Series
This entry encompasses all of the spin-off series up to Enterprise, as it was the very notion of creating spin-off series that again saved Star Trek and spurred it on. The movie franchise had been enjoying several highs along the way, most notably with Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, but by the release of Star Trek V, the series was again in danger of getting stale.
Star Trek: The Next Generation arrived in 1987, drawing both excitement and ire (much like every succeeding show) from the fans and, in fact, from members of the Original Crew. Both George Takei and James Doohan were outspoken in their criticisms of the show, though they eventually softened.
The Next Generation took the cerebral style of the Original Series and ran with it, with Captain Picard vying for the position of greatest Captain in Star Trek. Deep Space Nine would take a different path almost from the beginning, centering the action in one location rather than in the Alpha Quadrant as a whole. Voyager saw Star Trek banished to a distant corner of the galaxy so that it could explore strange new worlds in peace.
Enterprise fell victim to franchise fatigue, even as it attempted to reinvigorate the show. The idea of making a prequel to the Original Series had been bandied about for years, though the audience of the day was not quite as receptive as the showrunners and studio had hoped. When Enterprise was cancelled after the fourth season, Star Trek was, in a word, dead.