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Director Nicholas Meyer has always come across as a touch arrogant when talking about his "Star Trek" movies. Meyer famously took the outline of the script to "Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan" and banged out a final draft within 12 days, accepting no pay and no credit. He was brought in amidst some trouble behind-the-scenes, as "Star Trek" creator Gene Roddenberry had been locked out of the production after the box office underperformance of "Star Trek: The Motion Picture." Meyer not only saved "Star Trek II," but he also made a film that is, even today, considered one of the best "Star Trek" movies.

Meyer returned to the franchise in 1986 to co-write "Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home," which was the most financially successful "Star Trek" film for many years. He would later circle back to the property once...

Zack Snyder’s Man of Steel gave us a revamped version of the famed superhero served on a dark and brooding platter. His attempt to reinvent the Kryptonian Kal-El was a conscious decision to reposition the character for his planned shared universe known as the now-defunct Dceu. With this, the director knew what he was signing up for.

In the 2013 movie, we saw how Henry Cavill’s character grappled with his identity as he became Clark Kent. Snyder’s attempt to modernize the hero came with a very bold and creative resolution, one that conflicted with his morality and goodwill.

Zack Snyder explains Superman’s controversial scene in Man of Steel Henry Cavill in Man of Steel / Credits: Warner Bros.

Fans have always known Superman as a good hero—someone who saves people despite many of them struggling to accept who and what he is. He is the epitome of a classic superhero,...

Emotional dependency on artificial intelligence stemming from social isolation and loneliness is a recurrent theme in sci-fi narratives, highlighting the repressed psychological needs that people fear expressing otherwise. Robert Rippberger’s sci-fi thriller, Renner, adds a dysfunctional filial relationship to the mix, effectively trying to create a “Psycho” – like effect through the narrative device of AI. However, the movie itself doesn’t hold up to its promising potential as the narrative appears somewhat disjointed—caught between trying to formulate a doomed romance, mental degradation, and the usual sentient AI scare. In the end, none of the plot threads get developed properly, resulting in a half-baked mess that undermines the sci-fi dread the movie could have evoked with better writing.

Spoilers Ahead

Renner’s Troubling Past and the Creation of Selanus

The movie focuses on Renner, a genius techie who is renowned for developing advanced AI interfaces—and his best invention,...

With hindsight, she faced almost impossible odds. The kind that even might have daunted Han Solo.

How could there ever have been another “Star Wars,” following George Lucas’s hate-magnet prequels, that wouldn’t incur insensate fan wrath? Being angry about “Star Wars” had almost become the default emotion for fans of “Star Wars” when Lucas hand-picked Kathleen Kennedy — now reported by Puck to be retiring at the end of this year, which Lucasfilm denied to Variety — to run the company upon his own retirement in May 2012. The immediate expectation was that, with her three decades of experience producing some of the most beloved blockbusters of all time as Steven Spielberg’s producing partner, she would develop new theatrical films for the “Star Wars” franchise.

That came to fruition just five months later on October 30, 2012, when an announcement was made that rocked the galaxy: Lucas had negotiated the sale of...

When Robert Wise's "Star Trek: The Motion Picture" beamed into theaters on December 7, 1979, it was a gift to the fanbase that had grown up around "The Original Series" after NBC canceled it in 1969, and a cordial invitation to everyone else to join the voyages of the Starship Enterprise. When the $44 million film grossed a disappointing $83 million in the United States, the future of "Star Trek" was once again uncertain.

The issue with Wise's film is that it was too reverent in tone and, for newcomers, staid in comparison to the lightsabers-and-blasters derring-do of "Star Wars." Perhaps most damaging of all, it didn't naturally lead to a sequel. Where was "Star Trek" to boldly go from this tepidly received epic (which has found its vociferous defenders over the years)?

The unexpected answer was to blend Gene Roddenberry's socially conscious sci-fi saga with naval warfare yarns like Patrick O'Brian...

Star Trek (2009) set Lt. Nyota Uhura (Zoe Saldana) and Captain James T. Kirk (Chris Pine) on an altered career trajectory where they almost end up switching starships. Director J.J. Abrams' 2009 reboot successfully recast the iconic characters from Star Trek: The Original Series with younger actors. Set in the alternate Kelvin timeline, Star Trek (2009)'s characters lived different lives than in Star Trek's Prime timeline, including how they all met and became the crew of the USS Enterprise.

Star Trek (2009)'s Kelvin timeline was created by Nero (Eric Bana), a Romulan time traveler seeking revenge on Ambassador Spock (Leonard Nimoy) and the United Federation of Planets. Nero implemented his plan to annihilate the Federation in 2258, destroying a Klingon moon and armada with his massive 24th-century starship, the Narada. While a Cadet at Starfleet Academy, Uhura decoded a Klingon distress call. During James T. Kirk's hearing for cheating on the Kobayashi Maru no-win scenario,...

This article contains spoilers for "Star Trek: Lower Decks" season 5.

One of the many wonderful things about the "Star Trek" franchise is that there are plenty of different little sub-fandoms to dig into. There are Trekkies who can tell you everything there is to know about all of the most important Starfleet ships and the difference between their warp cores and nacelles. Elsewhere, there are fans who not only have a deep love of the Federation and its many captains, but who can also argue about how Kirk really "beat" the Kobayashi Maru all day. And then there are fans like me, who really freaking love the Alpha Quadrant's most violent and drunken alien species: the Klingons. 

The Klingons have undergone some serious changes in the "Star Trek" universe over the years, both in appearance and characterization, but have consistently been a civilization bound by a number of antiquated rules...

Star Trek's famed Starfleet Academy has been seen many times, but J.J. Abrams' Star Trek (2009) had the most widely seen version. Starfleet Academy is about to become the setting and basis of Star Trek's next TV series on Paramount+. Star Trek: Starfleet Academy is in production in Toronto starring Academy Award-winner Holly Hunter and Academy Award nominee Paul Giamatti, with Star Trek executive producer Alex Kurtzman and Noga Landau as showrunners and a cast including Star Trek legacy characters.

Starfleet Academy is the breeding ground for future Star Trek Captains and starship crews. Young adults from every member world of the United Federation of Planets study at Starfleet Academy for the chance to live their dream of exploring strange new worlds and seeking out new life and new civilizations. Starfleet Academy is traditionally located in San Francisco, although the school reopened in outer space a century after...

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Fun trivia: "Star Trek" didn't have a full-blooded Vulcan character in its main cast until the introduction of Tuvok (Tim Russ) on "Star Trek: Voyager" in 1995. Until that point, most of the central Vulcan characters were partially non-Vulcan. Spock (Leonard Nimoy), of course, was half-Vulcan and half-human, with a Vulcan father (played by Mark Lenard in the original series) and a human mother (played by Jane Wyatt). Spock was raised on Vulcan, however, and had devoted himself to the Vulcan ethos of emotionlessness and logic. 

Saavik (Kirstie Alley) from 1982's "Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan," one might find, was also not fully Vulcan, although only deep-cut Trekkies might know about her true heritage. Saavik, for the uninitiated, was a Starfleet cadet who was serving on board the U.S.S. Enterprise as Spock's protégé. "Star Trek II" opened...

In Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 3, Captain Christopher Pike (Anson Mount) attempts a USS Enterprise maneuver that usually means suicide. Strange New Worlds season 2 ended with a cliffhanger as the Enterprise faced off against multiple Gorn ships, including a destroyer. As Captain Pike contemplates his next move, Admiral Robert April (Adrian Holmes) orders the Enterprise to withdraw, even if that means leaving several crew members trapped on the Gorn ship. Pike stops, unwilling to leave his people behind, but unsure how to proceed, just before the words "to be continued" appear on the screen.

With the life of Captain Marie Batel (Melanie Scrofano) hanging in the balance, Captain Pike faces his very own version of the Kobayashi Maru, but he's not facing it alone. At New York Comic-Con 2024, Paramount+ debuted a new clip from Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 3 that reveals how Pike and his Starship Enterprise crew...

Star Trek is a worldwide franchise that is beloved by millions if not hundreds of millions of people. Its influence is well-known and the fandom is diverse. Scattered across races, religions, economic situations, and the like. So it's not surprising or shocking that some would embrace the franchise in their everyday walk of life.

Enter social media, where this week we saw one very specific cargo ship go viral on Twitter/X. That ship bore a name that many fans should be familiar with, the Kobayashi Maru. Of course that was the name of the stranded ship that Starfleet Cadets had to try and rescue. Dubbed the "no-win scenario" by many, the ship was the foundation of an important test that prospective captains had to take.

It put the students in a situation where they had to rescue the Kobayashi Maru from a nasty situation, while not engaging in a...

Giving a whole new meaning to the phrase, “we took a pregnancy test,” Fleur Fortuné’s debut feature, The Assessment, is a saturated, button-pushing provocation on parental anxiety. It is a Kobayashi Maru wrapped in a Voight-Kampff test inside the Stanford Prison experiment. It even comes with its very own computer simulated Schrödinger's cat. Sometime in the future climate change has wreaked havoc on the planet. Nearly all the biomass has been wiped out to an unforgiving desert. In the madness of the apocalypse, for the survival of the human race, even the pets had to be culled. Now, the small number of Earth's educated elites who survived have build artificial domes, with hydroponic gardens, and live in minimalist-abundant luxury, nearly immortal. The latter is...

[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...

The Star Trek franchise reached an interesting juncture when J.J. Abrams took over the director’s chair to helm a reboot of Star Trek: The Original Series. Abrams’ 2009 film was a massive success at the box office and spawned two sequels to constitute the reboot trilogy. However, it is interesting to note that despite being commercially and critically successful, many hardcore Trekkies believe that the director could not handle the reboot very well.

A still from 2009’s Star Trek | Paramount Pictures

J.J. Abrams is among the rarest directors who got to try his hands on both Star Trek and Star Wars. But the Trekkies assert that the director’s reboot lacked the signature Star Trek flavor, that was present in the earlier series and films. A Redditor took the example of a particular scene from the 2009 Chris Pine film to explain how the director never cared enough about the franchise’s lore.

Warning: Contains Spoilers for Star Trek: Discovery's Series Finale, "Life, Itself"

Cleveland Booker regains a piece of Kwejian's World Root in Star Trek: Discovery's finale, symbolizing his lost planet's connection to him. Sanctuary Four, home to Book and Burnham 30 years later, thrives with Kwejian's World Root, reviving Kwejian's traditions and memories. Kwejian's significance lies in its people's connection to the World Root, symbolizing unity and heritage for Book's renewed homeworld on Sanctuary Four.

Cleveland Booker (David Ajala) subtly gets his dead planet of Kwejian back in the series finale of Star Trek: Discovery. Book lost his home planet in Star Trek: Discovery season 4, episode 1, "Kobayashi Maru", when Kwejian fell in the path of the Dark Matter Anomaly. Book had only recently reconciled with his estranged family, and found peace in reconnecting with his brother, Kyheem (Ache Hernandez) and nephew, Leto (Luca Doulgeris). Before Book's eyes, the Dma tore apart Kwejian,...

In the Star Trek: Discovery episode “Labyrinths,” Captain Michael Burnham finds herself trapped in a puzzle inside her mind, all part of a test to uncover the location of a powerful artifact. Realizing that the labyrinth reflects her personality, Burnham confesses a fear of failure that has been plaguing her. The cathartic sharing unlocks the puzzle, giving her the last bit of information that she needs to find the artifact.

For Discovery‘s critics, the solution to “Labyrinths” represents the show at its worst. Instead of using logic or maneuvers to solve the problem, Burnham gets in touch with her feelings. These sort of weepy moments have been a mainstay of Discovery, and often carry over into other modern Star Trek shows, including Picard and Strange New Worlds.

Some have argued that Discovery tries, with mixed success, to position emotional intelligence as a viable problem-solving technique. It’s all part...

Black alert! This article discusses spoilers for the latest episode of "Star Trek: Discovery."

There are two undeniable givens in the "Star Trek" universe: all Starfleet captains must accept the inevitability of encountering a no-win situation (aka the Kobayashi Maru test), and you never, ever violate General Order 1, aka the Prime Directive. While both are entrenched parts of franchise lore, the latter has always added a unique moral dilemma that transcends each captain and crew. For the technologically advanced societies that make up the backbone of the United Federation of Planets, there's nothing more detrimental than meddling with the development and evolution of pre-warp civilizations. Despite expectations for officers to treat this directive with the utmost seriousness, however, time and again "Trek" writers have sought to bend and even break the property's most unbreakable rule.

This week, "Star Trek: Discovery" all but jumped at the chance to completely upend established tradition in episode 6, titled "Whistlespeak.

Zack Snyder is traveling around to talk about his new movie, ‘Rebel Moon – Part 2: The Scargiver’, and he’s been discussing his old movies along the way, both the good and the bad.

Recently, Snyder surprised fans when he said that Batman is dull if he doesn’t kill. However, many disagree because Batman’s character isn’t about killing, and that’s a widely accepted fact.

Snyder recently talked with GQ about his top movies, including ‘Man of Steel,’ which had a mixed reception, with some critics finding it “exceptionally unpleasant.” One major criticism was the fight scene between Zod and Superman, which some fans felt was out of character. Snyder even stated that if Superman couldn’t kill Zod, he would be fake. Yes, he actually said that.

Zod’s not wrong from his point of view, but also, there’s no really room for humans in...

Zack Snyder is currently on a tour promoting his latest movie, ‘Rebel Moon – Part 2: The Scargiver’ and he often takes a moment to address his former iconic movies – for better or worse.

Recently, Snyder shocked fans by telling the world that Batman is boring if he can’t kill, and no matter whether you agree with him or not, killing is not the point of Batman’s character and that’s a fact.

Snyder recently sat down with GQ and reflected on his most iconic movies, on the list was ‘Man of Steel,’ a movie that had mixed reactions at best, some critics calling it an “exceptionally unpleasant experience.” One of the most criticized points of the movie is the fight scene between Zod and Superman, with fans pointing out that the fight was completely out of Superman’s character, well according to Snyder if Superman can’t kill Zod he is fake.

Warning: Contains Spoilers for Star Trek: Discovery season 5, episode 1, "Red Directive"

Star Trek: Discovery Season 5 bids farewell to the spore drive, as USS Voyager's pathway drive takes over in the 32nd century. Commander Stamets reveals Starfleet's decision to halt spore drive development, making Discovery unique in the Star Trek franchise. The USS Voyager-j's pathway drive paves the way for safer and sustainable warp travel in Star Trek's future.

The 32nd century's version of the USS Voyager is the reason that Star Trek: Discovery season 5 is abandoning Starfleet's revolutionary spore drive technology. Since they arrived in the 32nd century in season 3, the USS Discovery crew's one-of-a-kind spore drive has represented a potential replacement for dilithium-reliant warp travel in Star Trek's future. However, various obstacles, most notably rogue Risan scientist Dr. Ruon Tarka (Shawn Doyle) and his theft of the only working prototype have prevented the spore drive from being rolled out.

Star Trek: Discovery reveals Nog's impact on the future of Starfleet, with more Ferengi officers present in the 32nd century. Nog's influence extends beyond Ferengi, with a starship named after him and a Cardassian captain in Starfleet, showing his lasting legacy. Rom, inspired by Nog, made it easier for Ferengi to join Starfleet, ultimately leading to a more diverse and progressive organization.

Star Trek: Discovery has proved the important role that Star Trek: Deep Space Nine's Nog (Aron Eisenberg) has played in shaping the future of Starfleet. Set 800 years after DS9's 24th century, Star Trek: Discovery reveals how much, and how little, has changed when it comes to the Federation and Starfleet. In the 32nd century, the Federation is still at threat from aliens like the Breen, who made a game-changing impact on DS9's Dominion War, while also revealing that positive changes made by Star Trek: Deep Space Nine...

Lt. Kirk's rise to Commander in Snw could spark resentment among fellow officers like Lt. Sam Kirk and Benjamin Finney. Snw has the chance to explore Finney's grudge against Kirk, setting up his role in Kirk's future court-martial in Tos. Finney's revenge plot against Kirk due to a past incident could play out in Snw season 3, impacting Kirk's career.

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 3 has an opportunity to set up the court-martial of Captain James T. Kirk (William Shatner) in Star Trek: The Original Series. Lt. James T. Kirk (Paul Wesley) is just about to become Commander aboard the USS Farragut, as part of his meteoric rise to the USS Enterprise's center seat. While Kirk's ambition and determination may impress his superiors, it does also create some resentment among his fellow officers. Even Lt. Sam Kirk (Dan Jeannotte) clearly harbored some resentment toward his brother's rise, rooted in his...

"Star Trek" has never been the most popular show on television and the films, while generally successful, have only cracked the yearly box office top 10 five times (out of 13 total releases), but the major characters and tropes of the long-running franchise are instantly identifiable to most people around the world. Just about everyone knows Kirk and Spock, and they've probably heard of at least Bones, Sulu, and Uhura. They know what the Enterprise and Klingons are, and have surely heard the phrase "Beam me up, Scotty" a multitude of times. If someone couldn't tell you what a phaser is, you'd probably consider them sheltered.

Beyond these elements, however, people might be a tad hazy on the particulars. Romulans? Maybe. The highly intoxicating properties of Romulan ale? Not so much. The Kobayashi Maru? That's the hot dog eating dude, right?

Still, there are those who, through no fault of their own,...

James T. Kirk was the youngest Captain in Starfleet, rising fast in both timelines. Kirk went from Cadet to Lieutenant to full Captain in Star Trek 2009's Kelvin Timeline. Chris Pine's Kirk became Captain of the Enterprise at just 25 years old.

Star Trek's James T. Kirk was a young man when he became Captain of the USS Enterprise, but in the Kelvin Timeline of J.J. Abrams' Star Trek movies, Kirk gets his promotion a lot faster than he does in Star Trek's Prime Timeline. Introduced in Star Trek: The Original Series in 1966, William Shatner portrayed the original Captain James T. Kirk, who was the hero of Star Trek: Tos for 3 seasons before he starred in 7 Star Trek movies from 1979-1994. Chris Pine took over the role of Captain Kirk in Abrams' reboot films, which resulted in a successful Star Trek trilogy from 2009-2016.

In the annals of Starfleet,...

James T. Kirk's crimes include seizing command of the USS Enterprise and altering the Kobayashi Maru simulation. Kirk disobeys orders, breaks the Prime Directive, and steals the USS Enterprise in Star Trek III: The Search For Spock. In Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country, Kirk is falsely convicted of murder and sentenced to life imprisonment before helping expose a conspiracy.

Legendary Star Trek icon Captain James T. Kirk (William Shatner) demonstrates aspects of a darker side through a pattern of crimes and disregarded orders in the space-faring franchise’s movies. Promoted to Admiral for Star Trek: The Motion Picture, the saga’s first movie in 1979, Kirk instantly sets about getting back his command of the Starship Enterprise. Kirk’s disillusionment with his desk job is revealed over the next few movies, culminating in blatant insurrection in Star Trek III: The Search For Spock. Famously rejecting the ‘no-win scenario,’ the...

Star Trek: Prodigy claims to have introduced the Gorn in the 24th century, but Star Trek: Lower Decks has already shown them in that era. Both Prodigy and Lower Decks are set in the post-Star Trek: The Next Generation era of the 2380s. Despite the contradiction, the creators of both shows humorously acknowledge the discrepancy and celebrate Gorn canon together.

Star Trek: Prodigy executive producer Aaron J. Waltke's claim that his show introduced the Gorn in the 24th century is contradicted by Star Trek: Lower Decks creator Mike McMahan, resulting in a funny tug-of-Gorn. Both Star Trek: Lower Decks and Star Trek: Prodigy are set in the post-Star Trek: The Next Generation era of the 2380s, with Prodigy happening just a couple of years after the voyages of Lower Decks' USS Cerritos. Both animated series have shown the Gorn in the 24th century, but which show was...

Picard's school test turns into a real-life challenge, testing his mettle and showcasing his potential as a better captain than Kirk. Unlike Kirk, Picard seeks to graduate early and prove himself as a captain, but his arrogance and avoidance of teamwork hinder his progress. Picard is forced to unite a team of misfits and face an actual Romulan attack during his final exam, testing his leadership skills and ability to work with others.

Jean-Luc Picard wasn't always the level-headed Starfleet captain that Star Trek fans love. Star Trek: Picard's Academy takes readers back to his school days and shows how the boy became the man. In an upcoming issue, what was supposed to just be a stressful school test turns into something that tests Picard's real mettle - and shows why even in his youth, he would become a better captain than James T. Kirk.

Kirk is famously the only...

This article contains spoilers for "The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes."

"The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes" takes the "Star Wars" approach in following a massively successful series of movies by going back in time and telling the story of the villain. Except, where Darth Vader was a fascinating and prominent threat in the original "Star Wars" trilogy, Coriolanus Snow wasn't exactly a force to be reckoned with in the "Hunger Games" series (nor a cool and layered character that begged to have their backstory revealed).

Yet, somehow, the "Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes" film adaptation manages to be an exciting return to this PG-13 battle royale, complete with a plot that's almost unpredictable. It's not that it does something vastly different and fresh, but because it stays so close to retelling the original story, it makes what comes after more impactful and inevitable.

Star Trek: Prodigy is the series designed to create a new generation of Trekkies. However, the stories are equally enjoyable to adults who already fans. Finally on Blu-ray, Star Trek: Prodigy Season 1, Part 2 includes the last 10 episodes and reminds audiences why this is the best current series in Gene Roddenberry’s universe.

While Paramount+ pulled Star Trek: Prodigy as part of a content pare-down, the Season 1, Part 2 Blu-ray is a physical media release that can never be taken away from fans. It delivers the episodes in brilliant, high-definition resolution and highlights the show's strengths as it prepares to move to Netflix. The streamer has acquired Season 1 and will release Season 2 in 2024.

Review: Star Trek: Lower Decks Season 4 Episode 9 Sets Up a Character-Centric Finale

While Prodigy is heartwarming to longtime fans, the characters who crew the USS Protostar are also the kinds of heroes young kids need in their pop culture diet.

Starfleet Academy is the gateway to a career as a Starfleet Officer, and graduating from the academy signifies that you are among the best of the best. Notable graduates include Una Chin-Riley, the first Illyrian to graduate, Saru, the first Kelpien to join Starfleet, and James T. Kirk, the first cadet to beat the Kobayashi Maru. Other notable graduates include Valeris, the first Vulcan to graduate at the top of her class, Data, the first android to graduate, and Worf, the first Klingon to join Starfleet.

The gateway to a career as a Starfleet Officer in Star Trek is to graduate Starfleet Academy, and a number of beloved characters in the franchise were students who made Starfleet Academy history. Starfleet is the goal of thousands of young humans and extraterrestrials who dream of exploring the galaxy or perhaps becoming captain of their own starship one day. While it's possible to...

Warning: Contains Spoilers for Star Trek: Lower Decks, season 4, episode 7, "A Few Badgeys More."

Star Trek: DS9 characters have made appearances in various Star Trek shows, indicating their continued relevance and impact on the franchise. DS9's legacy includes Odo's honorary position as a Starfleet officer, Quark's successful intergalactic business empire, and conspiracy theories surrounding Sisko's disappearance. Other significant updates include Changeling revenge, Worf becoming a captain, DS9's status as a tourist hotspot, and ongoing connections between characters like Kira, Quark, Worf, and Odo.

Although Star Trek: Deep Space Nine is yet to get a proper sequel series, the wider Star Trek franchise has provided numerous updates to the stories of the titular space station and its crew. There are multiple reasons for the lack of a DS9 follow-up to sit alongside Star Trek: Picard and Star Trek: Prodigy. Alongside Avery Brooks' apparent disinterest in returning to...

Two decades ago, :a[Quentin Tarantino]{href='https://www.empireonline.com/movies/features/quentin-tarantino-movies-ranked/' target='blank' rel='noreferrer noopener'} unfolded an odyssey. In the six years since :a[Jackie Brown]{href='https://www.empireonline.com/movies/features/jackie-brown-original-empire-feature/' target='blank' rel='noreferrer noopener'} hit the screen, the filmmaker best known for his devotion to dialogue had been working on something completely different – a four-hour action epic, swirling his love of old kung fu movies, revenge westerns, anime flicks, and his ongoing fascination with pop cultural ephemera into his most experimental and adrenaline-pumping work. And it all came under a title that wasn’t just a neat name, but a directive – its own two-word narrative pitch: Kill Bill.

With his :a[Pulp Fiction]{href='https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/pulp-fiction-review/' target='_blank' rel='noreferrer noopener'} star Uma Thurman, Tarantino went big – so big that the studio demand his...

A classic element of UFO lore exists within the Star Trek universe, as revealed in 1998’s Star Trek: The Untold Voyages #5, which featured Kirk and the crew of the Enterprise, near the end of their second five-year mission, encountering an alien species which bore a direct resemblance to the mysterious Greys of UFO culture.

Star Trek: The Untold Voyages #5 – written by Glenn Greenberg and drawn by Michael Collins – finds the Enterprise coming into contact with a massive mothership hanging over the planet Lycos IV, abducting its people on board saucer-shaped vehicles.

Kirk, Spock and an away team beam over to the ship; the aliens make contact with Mister Spock, who explain their history, offering a Trek explanation for UFO visitations and alien abductions on Earth.

Related: Star Trek Confirms the Dark Side of the Kobayashi Maru

Star Trek Has Not Leaned Into UFO Lore As Much As It Could

The...

Warning: contains spoilers for Star Trek #11!

The Kobayashi Maru test, administered to cadets at Starfleet Academy, is the most iconic aspects of Starfleet training in Star Trek lore, depicted as a test of character and command ability – and a rite of passage for all cadets. In Idw's Star Trek #11 Starfleet washout Ro Laren argues against the Kobayashi Maru, raising salient points about its nature – even if she is misguided.

Star Trek #11 – written by Jackson Lanzing and Collin Kelly, drawn by Angel Unzueta, colored by Marissa Louise and lettered by Clayton Cowles – features a heated exchange between Ro Laren and Ensign Sato, during which Laren criticizes Starfleet, accusing them of “indoctrination,” with the Kobayashi Maru an important part of molding new officers.

Related: Star Trek: Picard's Academy Review

Ro Laren's Criticisms Of The Kobayashi Maru Have Some Merit

The issue opens with the crews of the Defiant and the Theseus stranded on the Klingon homeworld,...

Warning: Spoilers for Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Season 2 Finale - "Hegemony"

Captain Pike disobeys Starfleet's orders in "Hegemony," risking his own crew to save stranded survivors on Parnassus Beta. The season 2 finale of Strange New Worlds ends with a cliffhanger, leaving Captain Pike in an impossible situation against the Gorn. To overcome his Kobayashi Maru, Pike will rely on his crew's help and trust his instincts, finding a solution without leaving anyone behind or directly fighting the Gorn.

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds finally gave Captain Christopher Pike (Anson Mount) his Kobayashi Maru, as he faces an impossible choice in the season 2 finale. In "Hegemony," Captain Pike answers a distress call from Captain Marie Batel (Melanie Scrofano) and the USS Cayuga. When Pike arrives with the USS Enterprise, they find that the Gorn destroyed the Cayuga and invaded the colony planet, Parnassus Beta. Pike and a landing party then...

The following article contains spoilers for Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, Season 2, Episode 10, "Hegemony," now streaming on Paramount+.

For two seasons on Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, Captain Christopher Pike has had to make many life and death decisions. In typical Star Trek fashion, he's often chosen the riskier course of action on moral grounds. As is also the case with the franchise, these gambles usually pay off in the end -- allowing Pike to have his metaphorical cake and eat it, too. The Season 2 finale, however, may not permit him that victory.

In Star Trek, there is an idea that one day a starship captain may face a "no-win scenario." It's the idea that there is no choice they can make that will end in any way other than the destruction of their ship and/or the loss of their crew. While his successor has famously stated that he...

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Warning: Spoilers for Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Season 2 Finale - "Hegemony"

Captain Pike faces an impossible decision as he must choose between following orders and leaving his crew as prisoners of the Gorn or ignoring orders and risking their lives. Captain Batel has been infected by the Gorn, and there are baby reptiles growing inside her. Nurse Chapel is working to find a cure and save Batel's life. The Enterprise landing party, except for Lt. Sam Kirk, has been captured by the Gorn. Lt. Scotty and Commander Pelia work to duplicate a Gorn transponder to save their friends.

Captain Christopher Pike (Anson Mount) faces an impossible decision in Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 2's finale about which members of the USS Enterprise crew to save from the Gorn. Directed by Maja Vrvilo and written by executive producer and co-showrunner Henry Alonso Myers, Strange New Worlds season 2, episode 10, "Hegemony,...

Warning: Contains Spoilers for Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 2, episode 6, "Lost in Translation."

Kirk and Spock's meeting in Star Trek: Strange New Worlds is understated and realistic, highlighting the gradual formation of their friendship. The meeting in J.J. Abrams' Star Trek movie is filled with tension and clashes, portraying Kirk and Spock as opposites rather than close friends. Strange New Worlds prioritizes the importance of Kirk and Spock's friendship and shared interests, setting the stage for their legendary Starfleet partnership to develop over time.

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds has finally revealed how Lt. James T. Kirk (Paul Wesley) and Lt. Spock (Ethan Peck) met in the Prime timeline, prompting discussion over whether it's better or worse than the meeting depicted in J.J. Abrams' Star Trek (2009). William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy's Kirk and Spock are the most iconic pairing in Star Trek history, which is...

Warning: Spoilers for Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Season 2, Episode 6 - "Lost in Translation"Star Trek: Strange New Worlds cleverly set up the first scene between Captain James T. Kirk (William Shatner) and Mr. Spock (Leonard Nimoy) in Star Trek: The Original Series. Strange New Worlds season 2, episode 6, "Lost in Translation" not only features the first meeting of Lt. James T. Kirk (Paul Wesley) and Ensign Nyota Uhura (Celia Rose Gooding) in Star Trek's Prime Timeline, but the episode also concludes with Uhura introducing Kirk to Lt. Spock (Ethan Peck). All three will become legendary for their voyages aboard the USS Enterprise in Star Trek: Tos.

In Strange New Worlds season 2, episode 6, Lt. Kirk beams aboard the Starship Enterprise to see his brother, Lt. Sam Kirk (Dan Jeannotte). But the Kirk brothers' reunion quickly goes south, and James is left alone until his curiosity is piqued by Uhura, who is in emotional distress.

The following contains spoilers for Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Season 2, Episode 6, "Lost in Translation," now streaming on Paramount+.

After the Season 1 finale of Strange New Worlds, highlighting the differences between Captains Christopher Pike and James T. Kirk feels like belaboring the point. "Lost in Translation," however, does exactly that -- minus a galactic war with the Romulans. After his latest experience with time travel, Pike finally meets the real Kirk when the latter is about to assume the position of First Officer on the Farragut. However, some other introductions are far more important to the episode and Star Trek history.

This episode reveals -- in the Prime Timeline anyway -- the first time Kirk and Spock meet. But Spock wasn't Kirk's first friend on the Enterprise; that was Ensign Nyota Uhura. In The Original Series Season 3 episode "Plato's Stepchildren," Kirk and Uhura shared their infamous kiss. And right before that,...

The following contains spoilers for Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Season 2, Episode 6, "Lost in Translation," now streaming on Paramount+.

While it's not explicitly stated, Paul Wesley's James T. Kirk is expected to appear multiple times in Strange New Worlds Season 2. His second comes during "Lost in Translation," giving fans the best Kirk and Uhura adventure they've ever had. Also, possibly, the only one. Kirk meets another of his future bridge officers, and the fandom may care more about that. Nonetheless, this episode helps explain why Lieutenant Uhura was one of the most loyal members of Captain Kirk's crew.

While Uhura was in all but 11 episodes of Star Trek: The Original Series, she and Kirk were never paired together. Like Melissa Navia's Erica Ortegas, she rarely gets to go on away missions. Her duties on the ship as communications officer can be just as crucial to the crew's...

Warning: Spoilers for Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Season 2, Episode 6 - "Lost In Translation"Ensign Nyota Uhura (Celia Rose Gooding) meets Lieutenant James T. Kirk (Paul Wesley) in Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 2 for the first time in Prime Timeline canon, but their historic get-together is even better by the episode's end. Of course, Lt. Uhura (Nichelle Nichols) serves on Captain James T. Kirk's (William Shatner) USS Enterprise for 3 decades, and Strange New Worlds season 2, episode 6, "Lost in Translation," lays the foundation of their friendship while also engineering another pleasant surprise.

In Strange New Worlds season 2, episode 6, Lt. James T. Kirk beams aboard the Starship Enterprise during a joint mission in Bannon's Nebula with the USS Farragut. James is visiting his older brother, Lt. Sam Kirk (Dan Jeannotte), but the Kirk boys' reunion quickly goes south. Meanwhile, a distressed Ensign Uhura piques Kirk's interest. Uhura suffers from horrific waking...

One great thing about Star Trek's longevity is that themes and concepts can reoccur in stories and be studied from multiple angles. One of the franchise's most important philosophical examinations is its study of the "no-win scenario." However, the famous Star Trek captains' test, called the Kobayashi Maru crew, only exists as it does because of a screenwriter's neighbor and a plot leak for the second movie.

Perhaps the best example of the Kobayashi Maru test can't actually be found at the moment. Star Trek: Prodigy was recently pulled from Paramount+, but the series' sixth episode was titled "Kobayashi." The premise of the canceled Prodigy is that a group of non-Starfleet refugees end up possessing an experimental Federation ship. Dal, who names himself captain, tried to pass the test in which a captain is required to rescue the USS Kobayashi Maru vessel from three Klingon warships. The test is designed to fail,...

In a shocking move, Paramount canceled Star Trek: Prodigy, the animated series whose first season aired on Nickelodeon and Paramount+ simultaneously. Like any good Star Trek, there is still hope. Season 2 of Prodigy will be completed, and the series could find another home. Yet, Paramount should keep Prodigy, double down on animation and remake Star Trek: The Animated Series.

Star Trek is Paramount's oldest franchise, beating Mission: Impossible to TV in 1966 by two weeks. Star Trek: Prodigy is a series that does a wonderful job incorporating elements from every franchise era. It's also a must-watch for Star Trek: Voyager fans, with Kate Mulgrew back as Kathryn Janeway. The stories are quintessential Star Trek -- anything adults fans love about the other series are present in these cartoons. Sometimes, literally. The only problem with The Animated Series' longevity is the classic stock-shot style of Filmation. Kids who grew up with those...

Star Trek, J.J. Abrams' 2009 reboot of Gene Roddenberry's fictional universe created some significant changes, and here are the biggest differences between the Prime and Kelvin timelines. Following the devastating destruction of Romulus, an embittered miner named Nero (Eric Bana) traveled back in time, attacking the USS Kelvin and creating an alternate Star Trek reality. The consequences of this event continued to ripple throughout the so-called Kelvin timeline for decades, meaning that history progressed similarly to established Star Trek canon, but with some major changes.

Two of the biggest changes was how Nero's attack on the USS Kelvin impacted a young James T. Kirk (William Shatner), and how it considerably changed the character of Spock (Zachary Quinto). However, there are other huge changes to the timeline that go much further than just the original 2009 film. Here are the 12 biggest ways that Star Trek differs in the three J.J. Abrams movies.

Jack Crusher (Ed Speleers) was right about his unfair advantage at Starfleet Academy at the end of Star Trek: Picard season 3. Picard season 3 wrapped up the series, bringing the cast of Star Trek: The Next Generation back for a final farewell and introducing Jack as the son of Dr. Beverly Crusher (Gates McFadden) and Admiral Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart). Although Beverly keeping Jack from Jean-Luc led to a fair amount of tension between the three for most of the season, the last few scenes of the finale showed the family enjoying a new-found amicable relationship with each other a year after saving the Starfleet from the Borg.

Star Trek: Picard's finale also revealed that Jack had completed an accelerated course of study at Starfleet Academy during the one-year time jump, earning the rank of Ensign and his first posting extremely quickly. While this fast-tracking meant that he could be...

Star Trek regularly relies on the recreational simulator to explore genres outside the sci-fi constraints of the franchise, and here are 20 of the very best holodeck episodes. During Star Trek: The Original Series, if the writers wanted to tell a gangster story or restage the gunfight at the Ok Corral, there had to be a convoluted sci-fi explanation. The introduction of the holodeck changed all that, allowing various Star Trek shows to put a sci-fi spin on sports movies, spy thrillers, and World War 2 movies.

First introduced in Star Trek: The Next Generation, the holodeck has provided Star Trek with some of the most enjoyable and emotional episodes of all time. While holodeck episodes are often an excuse to cut loose, they can also be a means to explore mental health or the existential concept of reality itself. Here are 20 of the best holodeck episodes from across the entire Star Trek franchise.

Origami Angel have announced a new mixtape, My Brightest Days, which is due on June 16th. The Washington, D.C.-based two-piece also unveiled their latest single from the project, a pop-punk tune titled “My PG County Summer.” Listen to the song below.

My Brightest Days was written throughout the summer of 2020, during the initial, stay-at-home period of the Covid-19 pandemic. The songs were then recorded during August 2022, and capture the feelings of lost innocence that Origami Angel’s Ryland Heagy and Pat Doherty were musing on.

“My PG County Summer” specifically calls out the juxtaposing cultures that color the atmosphere of America’s capital — Heagy recalls the teachers who once taught him to be grateful to be near such rich history, and then turns his observational flow in the direction of hate-stoking, abortion-protesting “travelers,” who come from all corners of the country to assert their political agendas… sometimes violently,...

In the "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine" episode "Trials and Tribble-ations", Captain Sisko (Avery Brooks) and several other members of the "DS9" crew had to travel back in time to avert a crisis. It seems a time-traveling assassin had inserted himself into the events of the original series "Star Trek" episode "The Trouble with Tribbles" and Sisko had to go undercover next to Captain Kirk (William Shatner) to prevent a bomb from blowing up. Using revolutionary special effects technology, Sisko, Dax (Terry Farrell), Dr. Bashir (Alexander Siddig), and others were inserted rather seamlessly into an episode that was shot 30 years prior. It was a novelty for "Star Trek," and one of the few times the franchise revisited its past in such a manner.

Many years later, "Star Trek: Prodigy" would do something similar in the episode "Kobayashi". The teenage Dal (Brett Gray) wanted to take a holographic version of Trek's...

In the lore of "Star Trek," Starfleet Academy is located on Earth, just on the other side of the still-standing Golden Gate Bridge on San Francisco Bay. Any Starfleet officer on any "Star Trek" show has attended Starfleet Academy for several years, learning everything there is to know about diplomacy, tactics, xenolinguistics, starship engineering, history, and piloting. By the franchise's description, it's the most rigorous and intense college the future has to offer. Starfleet Academy is open to anyone aged over 16 years (or their home planet's equivalent) and not everyone makes it all the way through. Numerous stories in "Star Trek: The Next Generation" and "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine" centered specifically on Starfleet Academy..

Non-Trekkies may recall Starfleet Academy being mentioned in "Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan," and the school's notoriously unwinnable Kobayashi Maru test. Cadets are meant to fail to gauge their character and their command skills.

This Star Trek: Picard article contains spoilers.

When Star Trek: Picard’s first few episodes came out, it looked like we were in for yet another round of repeated references to The Wrath of Khan. The opening text “In the 25th century…” was a follow-up to Khan’s “In the 23rd century,” Dr. Crusher wears a jacket that looks very much like the away mission jackets from that film, and, of course, the whole season is following the story of Picard’s meeting with his estranged son. The reference to Kirk and the Kobayashi Maru in the title of episode 4, “No Win Scenario,” has our Wrath of Khan bingo card completely filled out.

However, as this year’s adventure has progressed, it’s become clear that season 3 is – thank goodness – more than just another re-tread of the best but also most over-referenced Star Trek movie. We’ve already talked about...