Every Star Trek Series Ranked Worst To Best

Groundbreaking. Pioneering. Era and genre defining. Star Trek beamed onto screens in 1966, offering two pilots, two captains. three seasons and one iconic Vulcan first officer. It is the only entry not to have a terrible first season, as Balance of Terror, The City on the Edge of Forever and Space Seed all fall in that first batch of episodes. It is another entry that lies lower in the ranking because it was the catalyst to some truly fantastic television to follow.

While there simply isn't enough time to properly discuss the impact that this series has had on science fiction in general, suffice it to say that many of the developments in technology can attribute their genesis to this show. While many of the cast have sadly passed away in the intervening years, their legacy can be felt to this day. James Doohan will be remembered forever whenever someone cries 'Beam me up, Scotty!'.

Deforest Kelley is the quintessential doctor, who is a doctor and nothing else, dammit. Spock is logic incarnate, played to perfection by Leonard Nimoy - the only actor to reprise his role in the Kelvin universe films. Perhaps even more widely remembered than Spock is Captain Kirk, played by the still very much alive William Shatner. Generations of fans have grown to love his dramatic delivery, his quiet command and his gung-ho attitude.

This was television at its best when the world was still learning what that meant.