Star Trek: Ranking The Short Treks From Worst To Best

Props to Star Trek for venturing so far out into left field for this one. Not only is "The Girl Who Made The Stars" the rare animated installment, it tells a story so unrelated to the franchise that it's a commendable swing for the fences. But also, sadly, a miss.

Yes this is a bedtime story told by Mike Burnham (played by Sonequa Martin-Green's real life husband Kenric Green) to his daughter, young (future Commander) Michael Burnham, and yes the story is touched upon in Discovery's season 2 opener "Brother", but the content itself is the least Star Trek-y story yet.

That story is loosely based on an African myth about the origin of celestial bodies. In true Trek fashion, aliens are involved but only in the most abstract way (no matter how cool they look). And since this is a story told to little Burnham at bedtime, it has no impact on Trek's own mythology and fails to reveal anything new about Michael's character.

The animation here is attractive with a vibrant color palette, and the brief moments showing Michael's childhood on a Federation starbase are a tantalizing glimpse at Discovery's lead character's past. But "The Girl Who Made the Stars" isn't interested in telling us that story and that's a missed opportunity.

It's a cute tale, but there's just not enough Trek in this Short Trek.