Star Trek: Ranking The Series Intros Worst To Best
5. #5: The Animated Series
The Animated Series doesn’t get as much as love as it should. The Saturday morning cartoon adhered faithfully to Gene Roddenberry’s vision and was in essence a sequel series to the original, complete with many of the same writers and most of the cast as well.
Regarding the intro, it would be fair to call it a retread of The Original Series’ opening, but only in the sense that it’s presenting again Star Trek’s core premise of exploration and adventure. William Shatner even re-recorded Captain Kirk’s monologue for the beginning. That makes sense.
So why does it rank so highly on this list? It’s a second serving of the intro from The Original Series, which itself was absolutely wonderful. The animation is very much of its time (the early 1970s), but it’s bright, colorful, and engaging all the same. The Enterprise is at the fore, circling planets and swooshing around.
The score is a faster and less exotic version of The Original Series theme. It appeals to viewers of all ages, both fans and casual viewers, without pandering to any of them.