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It very, very rarely happened during the Rick Berman era of Star Trek, which encompassed The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, Voyager, and Enterprise, as well as the four Next Generation features, that an episode title was provided to the media and then changed. Many episodes changed titles from draft to draft, of course, or even had working titles on the cover of the shooting script, but the publicity department normally sent journalists air schedules and episode synopses that included a final title.

Such was not the case in the fall of 1996 when the season 3 Voyager episode fans know as “Warlord” was titled “The Art of War.” After sending information about “The Art of War,” Upn informed the media that the new title was “Warlord.”

It’s an obscure bit of Star Trek trivia, but fans love such things. In the episode, a powerful Ilari Autarch named Tieran (Leigh J. McCloskey) transfers his mind,...

The villain who everyone remembers from "Star Trek Into Darkness" is Khan "John Harrison" Noonien Singh (Benedict Cumberbatch). In the Kelvin timeline film, Khan's wrath is focused not on James T. Kirk, but on Admiral Marcus (Peter Weller).

Marcus, who's a warhawk and head of intelligence division Section 31, wants Starfleet to bring the Klingon Empire to heel. In the original "Star Trek" timeline, it was the Enterprise crew (in the classic episode "Space Seed") who discovered Khan and his other human "augment" followers. These superhumans had tried to conquer Earth in the 20th century, but were driven out and escaped Earth aboard the SS Botany Bay, going into cryosleep to weather the passing of time.

In the Kelvin timeline, Marcus reawakens Khan and puts him to work designing weapons, holding his other augment followers hostage. Khan escapes and wages a one-man war against Starfleet before fleeing to the Klingon homeworld Qo'noS.

Several Star Trek aliens made their debut on Star Trek: The Next Generation before playing more significant roles on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, and a couple were even portrayed by the same actors. Tng set the stage for a new golden era of Star Trek, influencing almost everything that came after. Some of Star Trek's most famous aliens - like the Vulcans, Klingons, and Romulans - were introduced on Star Trek: The Original Series, but others did not appear until Tng. Several actors have portrayed multiple roles in the Star Trek franchise, and some have even played different characters within the same alien species.

Star Trek: The Next Generation took a season or two to find its footing as it worked to figure out what kind of show it was going to be. Even as Tng progressed, there were many elements it was still figuring out, including the...

Gene Roddenberry’s sci-fi series Star Trek boldly went where no other show in the genre went. While the show explored multiple philosophical questions and featured multiple alien worlds, it differed from the usual dystopian sci-fi franchises in providing a positive outlook on the future of humankind.

Roddenberry was known to have many rules in the characterization of the show’s many crews, which usually drove writers crazy. However, one rule from Roddenberry on Jonathan Frakes’ William Riker reportedly did not last past the first season. Frakes mentioned that Roddenberry told him that Riker would not smile as much.

Star Trek Creator Gene Roddenberry Instructed Tng Actor To Not Smile So Much In The Show Jonathan Frakes in Star Trek: The Next Generation | Credits: Paramount

Jonathan Frakes’ William Riker is known for his flamboyant personality. The first officer of the USS Enterprise was depicted as a ladies’ man, who grows...

Alien species in Star Trek have evolved in appearance and culture over the franchise's 58-year history. Not all changes have been well-received by fans, as some retroactively added depth to alien species. Characters like Quark, Seven of Nine, and Saru have revolutionized our understanding of traditional Trek aliens.

Star Trek has introduced numerous alien species that have changed throughout the franchise's 58-year existence. After all, Star Trek: The Original Series in the 1960s simply did not have the same level of prosthetic magic that makeup artists have today. The aliens of Tos were much simpler in design, but as prosthetics, make-up, and CGI improved, many alien species got significant upgrades regarding their appearance. Star Trek has not always offered an in-universe explanation for these changes, and some have been met with more positive reactions than others.

Many Star Trek aliens have changed in more than just appearance, as elements of...

Commander Riker almost dated a female Ferengi in a Tng episode that would reflect Roddenberry's misogynistic vision for the species. Tng unmade episode "Profit Margin" explored Ferengi gender roles, adapted in DS9 with Quark and Pel's business partnership. DS9's "Rules of Acquisition" replaced Riker with Quark in the Ferengi love story, showcasing societal views on Ferengi women.

Commander William T. Riker (Jonathan Frakes) almost had a Ferengi girlfriend during Star Trek: The Next Generation. The Ferengi were introduced as Tng's main antagonists in the season 1 episode "The Last Outpost", but failed to make the same impact as the Klingons did on Star Trek: The Original Series. While the profit-obsessed villains would recur through every season of Star Trek: The Next Generation it wasn't until the arrival of Quark (Armin Shimerman) in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine that the Ferengi would finally achieve their potential.

As well as the...

Quark's character development in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine showcased the complexity and depth of Ferengi characters, breaking away from their comedic portrayal in Star Trek: The Next Generation. The episode "Move Along Home" marked a turning point for Quark, as he displayed care and concern for others rather than solely focusing on profit and self-interest. Quark's actions reflected his secret compassion, proving that he had a heart despite his adherence to Ferengi values and the pursuit of profit.

Quark actor Armin Shimerman remembers the Star Trek: Deep Space Nine episode that made Quark different from the way Ferengi had been portrayed on Star Trek: The Next Generation. First seen in Tng season 1, episode 5, "The Last Outpost," The Ferengi were initially intended to be a major enemy of the Federation that rivaled the Romulans in power. Lacking a truly threatening demeanor, the narrative function of the Ferengi shifted from...

This Star Trek: Lower Decks article contains spoilers.

Remember when we first met the Ferengi, way back in “The Last Outpost,” episode five of Star Trek: The Next Generation‘s first season? Gene Roddenberry and co. wanted so badly to make the Ferengi menacing, with their laser whips and hunched appearance. But despite Roddenberry’s plans, the Ferengi proved to be a terrible replacement for the Klingons as the Federation’s new big bads, and quickly found themselves reduced to occasional appearances throughout the rest of the series.

But instead of letting the Ferengi go to waste, Michael Piller and the producers of Deep Space Nine followed Rule of Acquisition #292: “Only a fool passes up a business opportunity.” They added Quark to the main cast, bringing back “The Last Outpost” actor Armin Shimerman to play him, and added his brother Rom (Max Grodénchik) and nephew Nog (Aron Eisenberg).

Over seven seasons,...

Armin Shimerman, known for playing Quark on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, has appeared as various characters throughout the Star Trek franchise, showcasing his versatility as a character actor. In his earlier appearances as a Ferengi in Star Trek: The Next Generation, Shimerman's performances were considered less serious and more ridiculous, but he later redeemed himself with his portrayal of Quark in DS9. Shimerman's role as Quark on DS9 allowed him to bring depth and complexity to the Ferengi character, earning respect from both his fellow characters and the audience, highlighting his range as an actor.

Armin Shimerman most famously played Ferengi bartender Quark on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, but he has also appeared as four other characters throughout the Star Trek franchise. A prolific character actor, Shimerman has worked on over 200 different projects, including television shows, movies, and video games, since he began acting in 1979. Outside of Star Trek,...

Armin Shimerman apologized for his performance as a Ferengi in an early episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation, taking responsibility for not meeting the expectations of the character. The Ferengi were originally intended to be threatening and menacing like the Klingons but ended up becoming comedic relief on Tng. Shimerman's portrayal of Quark on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine allowed him to completely change the perception of the Ferengi and established his legacy as a Star Trek great.

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine's Armin Shimerman apologized for the way he portrayed a Ferengi in an early episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation. Shimerman is best known for playing Ferengi entrepreneur Quark in all seven seasons of DS9, but Quark was not the only Ferengi Shimerman portrayed. The season one Tng episode "The Last Outpost" introduces the Ferengi as antagonists for Captain Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) and the USS Enterprise-d,...

Star Trek: Resurgence gains a major Star Trek: The Next Generation icon as Captain Will Riker joins the upcoming video game. Developed by Dramatic Labs and released by Epic Games, Star Trek: Resurgence is a single-player narrative adventure game that lets players play as two new Starfleet Officers in the 24th century. Releasing on May 23, 2023, Star Trek: Resurgence is playable on Xbox, PlayStation, and in an Epic Games Store exclusive on PC.

StarTrek.com announced that Jonathan Frakes is voicing Captain Will Riker in Star Trek: Resurgence. Speaking to StarTrek.com, Resurgence's writer Dan Martin praised Frakes' performance as Riker. Read his quote below:

We weren’t going to include Riker if we couldn’t have Jonathan Frakes return to the role. It was an absolute joy to work with him as he brought his classic Riker charm and command to our game.

As for why Riker is part of Star Trek: Resurgence,...

It was a key scene in the second episode of what has become a triumphant final season for Paramount+’s science fiction series “Star Trek: Picard.”

A corrupt crime boss named Sneed — from a hyper-capitalistic alien race called the Ferengi — has a cat-and-mouse-style conversation with a woman pretending to be an addict who is actually an undercover intelligence operative. Played by Aaron Stanford, Sneed is streetwise, confident and relishes the game he’s playing, dumping the decapitated head of a former associate on a table to prove the operative is lying.

And when Armin Shimerman, one of the first actors to play a Ferengi on TV, saw Stanford’s work as Sneed, he admits it brought one feeling above all.

Envy.

“I turned to my wife and said, ‘That’s the way I should have played the Ferengi from the first,’” said Shimerman, who played one of the aliens in their first TV appearance,...

Star Trek has featured a plethora of intriguing villain species over its seven-decade run, as well as a few that haven't quite worked. As humans sought out new life and new civilizations in Star Trek's future, they were bound to run into some that weren't exactly friendly. The antagonistic species the crew of the USS Enterprise and other Starfleet vessels encountered were often reflections of humanity's own past failings, with fascist regimes and violent dictatorships in full swing across the galaxy.

Not every Star Trek story features a cut-and-dry alien villain; sometimes Starfleet officers face aliens with whom they simply have a misunderstanding in good faith, like Captain Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) and an unintelligible Tamarian captain in the classic Star Trek: The Next Generation episode "Darmok," or the misunderstood creature called the Horta encountered by Captain James T. Kirk (William Shatner) in the Star Trek: The Original Series...

Warning: Spoilers for Star Trek: Picard season 3, episode 2 - "Disengage"Star Trek: Picard season 3 has corrected a mistake Star Trek: Discovery season 4 made to the beloved ultra-capitalist aliens the Ferengi. Originally intended to be the main antagonists on Star Trek: The Next Generation, their first episode "The Last Outpost" underwhelmed. The Ferengi came across as foolish and unimposing in their first appearance and were largely only used by Tng for comic relief after season 1.

The Ferengi eventually found their footing on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, where they were reimagined as profit-obsessed traders and businessmen. The space station's bartender Quark (Armin Shimerman) and his extended family would go on to define the species, including his brother Rom (Max Grodenchik) and his nephew Nog (Aron Eisenberg), the first Ferengi in Starfleet. After a long absence from the franchise, a Ferengi Starfleet officer made a brief appearance in Star Trek: Discovery season 4, but something wasn't quite right.

This Star Trek: Picard article contains spoilers.

The 21st Rule of Acquisition teaches us “Never place friendship above profit.” By that measure, no one has proven to be less Ferengi than Terry Matalas. The Star Trek: Picard showrunner has always made a point of including his friends in his series, even if only in fun cameos. Take season two of Picard, which saw Impractical Joker Brian Quinn drop by as a dog walker in Guinan’s bar, or the addition of 12 Monkeys star Todd Stashwick to the Picard cast as USS Titan Captain Liam Shaw (Matalas co-created the Syfy series). It’s clear the showrunner likes inside jokes, even if the audience doesn’t always get it.

That tendency is on full display in the latest episode of Picard season 3, “Disengage.” While investigating the terrorist attack from the last episode, Raffi’s now-unofficial Starfleet intelligence mission leads her to a Ferengi criminal called Sneed.

Warning: contains spoilers for Star Trek #4!Star Trek has confirmed the most powerful empire in its history–and it is not the Federation. While the Federation has been an influential body in the franchise, a text piece in Star Trek #4 has revealed that the T’Kon Empire might be even more so. This empire, which has found itself at the heart of Star Trek’s god war, was so powerful they could rearrange star systems and whole sectors of space.

The issue, written by Jackson Lanzing and Collin Kelly, illustrated by Ramon Rosanas and Oleg Chudakov, colored by Lee Loughridge and lettered by Clayton Cowles, opens with a text piece, made up to resemble a Starfleet briefing, about the T’Kon Empire. It reveals the T’Kon Empire was large, and its size is “undefeated in the annals of intergalactic history.”

Much of what is known about the T’Kon is conjecture and hearsay,...

The "Star Trek" shows from the Paramount+ era clearly have a lot of affection for the original 1966 "Star Trek" pilot and the 1990s Trek shows "Star Trek: The Next Generation" and "Star Trek: Voyager." Of the newer programs, both "Star Trek: Discovery" and "Star Trek: Strange New Worlds" rely heavily on characters and events from "The Cage." Meanwhile, "Star Trek: Lower Decks" seems to be drawing from the attitudes and iconography from NextGen. "Star Trek: Picard" is, obviously, about Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart), but also "Voyager" character Seven of Nine (Jeri Ryan). And "Star Trek: Prodigy" features a hologram of the U.S.S. Voyager's Capt. Janeway (Kate Mulgrew) as one of its central characters. 

Curiously, there haven't been many overt references devoted to events and characters from "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine". To date, there have been a few cute winks to DS9 in "Lower Decks," and an episode...

Marc Buxton Sep 9, 2016

From Tribble to Andorians, we run down the 50 best alien life forms explored in the Star Trek universe.

The crews of the various iterations of Star Trek boldly went where no one has gone before — and then boldly met a whole lot of alien species.

Star Trek may be the human adventure, but there have been countless non-human beings, critters, menaces, gods, and blobs that have been introduced in the Star Trek universe. From The Original Series to The Animated Series, to The Next Generation, to Deep Space Nine, the Delta Quadrant and Voyager, to the early adventures of Enterprise, to the modern day films, Star Trek has gifted fans with many unforgettable species as the five-year mission slowly turned into five decades of first contact.

There have been vile races bred for combat, omnipotent races that use humankind as puppets, and even a bunch of cute little furry things.

The release of M Night Shyamalan's The Last Airbender has reminded me that, with few notable exceptions, most movies with 'last' in the title are really bad

M Night Shyamalan's latest release is always aggressively advertised as "An M Night Shyamalan Film" – perhaps to preclude the public's confusing it with "An F Night Shyamalan Film" or "A Film by Tilda Night Shyamalan". This is a generous, conscientious act on the part of the producers, but it is also a cunning ploy from the consumer protection standpoint, because it means that moviegoers who have voluntarily paid to see daft offal such as The Village or The Happening or Unbreakable or Lady in the Water can't turn around and say: "Hey! Why didn't someone warn me that The Last Airbender was an M Night Shyamalan film?" The minatory phrase "An M Night Shyamalan Film" is like a brightly lit road sign reading: "Serious Accident Ahead.

(A.C. Lyles, below)

by Jon Zelazny

Editor’s note: This article originally appeared at EightMillionStories.com on February 27, 2009

There’s an A.C. Lyles Building at the Paramount Pictures main lot, but you won’t find A.C. Lyles there; his office is on the fourth floor of the William S. Hart Building.

When I arrived for our interview, Mr. Lyles was chatting with some visitors in his outer office. He bid me into his main office, and asked his assistant Pam to put in a video… a short promo reel that opens with a six minute tribute by then-President Ronald Reagan, who warmly recalls his and Nancy’s many years of friendship with A.C. and his wife Martha, and congratulates A.C. on his fifty years at the studio. The President’s intro is followed by taped congratulations from President Carter, President Ford, and Vice President Bush, then assorted clips celebrating Mr.