The Star Trek canon is usually defined as comprising the television series Star Trek, Star Trek: The Next Generation, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Star Trek: Voyager, Star Trek: Enterprise, and the ten motion pictures, and excluding everything else.^[1] However, the official Star Trek website acknowledges that this definition is not set in stone, but that the notion of what constitutes canon is fluid, open to interpretation and debate.^[1] The current Star Trek franchise logo Star Trek is an American science fiction entertainment series. ... The starship Enterprise as it appeared on Star Trek Star Trek is a culturally significant science fiction television series created by Gene Roddenberry in the 1960s. ... Star Trek: The Animated Series is an animated science fiction television series set in the Star Trek universe. ... List of Star Trek: The Animated Series episodes This is a list of episodes from the fictional animated television, Star Trek: The Animated Series, set in the Star Trek universe. ... The title as it appeared in most episodes opening credits. ... Space station Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (ST:DS9 or STDS9 or DS9 for short) is a science fiction television series produced by Paramount and set in the Star Trek universe. ... The starship Voyager (NCC-74656), an Intrepid-class starship. ... The starship Enterprise (NX-01) Star Trek: Enterprise is a science fiction television series set in the Star Trek universe. ... This list of Star Trek: Enterprise episodes is accompanied by each episodes original airdate on UPN in the United States, along with its Nielsen rating, and number of viewers. ... Star Trek: The Motion Picture (Paramount Pictures, 1979; see also 1979 in film) is the first feature film based on the popular Star Trek science fiction television series and is released on Friday, December 7. ... Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (Paramount Pictures, 1982; see also 1982 in film) is the second feature film based on the popular Star Trek science fiction television series. ... Star Trek III: The Search for Spock (Paramount Pictures, 1984; see also 1984 in film) is the third feature film based on the popular Star Trek science fiction television series. ... Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (Paramount Pictures, 1986; see also 1986 in film) is the fourth feature film based on the popular Star Trek science fiction television series. ... Star Trek V: The Final Frontier (Paramount Pictures, 1989; see also 1989 in film) is the fifth feature film based on the popular Star Trek science fiction television series. ... Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country (Paramount Pictures, 1991; see also 1991 in film) is the sixth feature film based on the popular Star Trek science fiction television series. ... Star Trek: Generations (Paramount Pictures, 1994, see also 1994 in film) is the seventh feature film based on the popular Star Trek science fiction television series. ... Star Trek: First Contact (Paramount Pictures, 1996; see also 1996 in film), is the eighth feature film based on the popular Star Trek science fiction television series. ... Star Trek: Insurrection (Paramount Pictures, 1998) is the ninth Star Trek feature film. ... Star Trek Nemesis (Paramount Pictures, 2002; see also 2002 in film) is the tenth feature film based on the popular Star Trek science fiction television series. ... Not to be confused with Star Trek: The Motion Picture. ... This is a list of species and races from the fictional universe of Star Trek. ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... In the Star Trek science fiction universe, Humans/Terrans (Homo sapiens sapiens) are one of the races undertaking interstellar travel. ... It has been suggested that Tplana-hath be merged into this article or section. ... Romulans are a fictional alien species in the Star Trek universe related to Vulcans. ... Q In the Star Trek fictional universe, the Q are a race of near-omnipotent, near-omniscient god-like beings from a parallel existence called the Q Continuum. ... This article is about the fictional race. ... Cardassians are a spacefaring race in the fictional Star Trek universe. ... Bajorans, a race of humanoids in the fictional Star Trek universe, were introduced in the Next Generation series and played an integral part in the Deep Space Nine series. ... This article or section cites very few or no references or sources. ... The Ferengi are a fictional extraterrestrial race from the Star Trek universe. ... In the fictional Star Trek universe, the Dominion is a ruthless and militaristic Gamma Quadrant state, consisting of many different races, with ultimate power held by the xenophobic Changelings. ... The Mirror Universe (MU) is a fictional parallel universe in which the plots of several Star Trek television episodes take place, named for Mirror, Mirror, the original series episode in which it first appeared. ... The Star Trek franchise has produced a large number of novels, comic books, video games, and other materials, which are generally considered non-canon. ... Star Trek: Phase II was a planned television series set to air in Spring 1978 on a proposed Paramount Television Service (which eventually became United Paramount Network) based on the characters of Gene Roddenberrys Star Trek. ... Star Trek novels have been a part of the Star Trek franchise since the beginning. ... Almost continuously since 1967, a number of companies have published comic book series based on Star Trek and its spin off series, including Gold Key, Marvel Comics, and DC Comics, with varying degrees of success. ... The Star Fleet Universe is the variant of the Star Trek fictional universe as detailed in the series of tactical and strategic interstellar wargames from Amarillo Design Bureau Inc. ... This article or section is in need of attention from an expert on the subject. ... // Video games Throughout the years, the influence of Star Trek has expanded sufficiently to warrant the creation of a long series of PC games. ... This article deals with fan-made productions using elements of the Star Trek franchise. ... The view from the outside of the Las Vegas Hilton Star Trek: The Experience is a theme park at the Las Vegas Hilton in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA, based on the fictional Star Trek universe. ... Starfleet Command symbol In the fictional universe of Star Trek, Starfleet is the paramilitary defense, research, diplomacy, and exploration force of the United Federation of Planets (UFP) with – as of the late 24th century – hundreds of starships and starbases at its disposal. ... This article is an attempt to list every Star Trek episode from every form of media in order by stardate. ... The below is an abridged timeline of events established in the group of television shows and feature films set in the fictional Star Trek universe. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... This is a list of the fictional Star Trek universes Earth and Federation Starfleet ships organized by ship class. ... This article is becoming very long. ... In the fictional Star Trek universe, the Planet Classification System is a system developed by the Federation to categorize planets by many factors, such as atmospheric composition, age, surface temperature, size, and presence of life. ... An editor has expressed a concern that the tone or style of this article or section may not be appropriate for an encyclopedia. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article may require cleanup. ... This article is being considered for deletion in accordance with Wikipedias deletion policy. ... Star Trek is one of the most culturally influential television shows[]. The original series, which aired in the late sixties, has since spawned five successor series, ten movies, a plethora of merchandise, and a multibillion dollar industry collectively known as the Star Trek franchise (owned by CBS Paramount Television). ... Gene Roddenberry was an ardent proponent of egalitarian politics, and frequently used the shows to showcase his vision of a future society based on those principles. ... Trekkie (or Trekker) is a term that in recent decades has been used to describe a fan of the Star Trek science fiction franchise. ... Where no man has gone before is a saying used in the introductory sequence of all but one of the episodes of the original Star Trek science fiction television series. ... The current Star Trek franchise logo Star Trek is an American science fiction entertainment series. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... The starship Enterprise as it appeared on Star Trek Star Trek is a culturally significant science fiction television series created by Gene Roddenberry in the 1960s. ... The title as it appeared in most episodes opening credits. ... Space station Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (ST:DS9 or STDS9 or DS9 for short) is a science fiction television series produced by Paramount and set in the Star Trek universe. ... The starship Voyager (NCC-74656), an Intrepid-class starship. ... The starship Enterprise (NX-01) Star Trek: Enterprise is a science fiction television series set in the Star Trek universe. ... The current Star Trek franchise logo Star Trek is an American science fiction entertainment series. ...

TV series

Not everything seen in the episodes is canon. For example, this biographical file was consulted by characters in the episode "In a Mirror, Darkly", but the computer screen was illegible for viewers. It was later stated that the information displayed was not intended to be "hard canon".^[2]

As a rule, all live action Star Trek TV series that aired are considered canon, while the cartoon Star Trek: The Animated Series and the planned but cancelled live action Star Trek: Phase II are not canon.^[1] However, this policy does not make clear which version of the live action shows is the canon one. Indeed, there exist longer and shorter versions of several episodes. For example, in the 1960s during the original run of TOS, an hour-long show was actually 51 minutes excluding commercials. As of 2007, an hour-long show is only about 42 minutes long. The canonicity of the missing nine minutes of material in modern airings of TOS episodes has never been addressed. Likewise, when special two-hour-long episodes are aired as two one-hour-long episodes in syndication, several minutes of material have to be cut to make time for the duplication of the opening and closing credits. The canonicity of this cut material has also never been addressed. Finally, the remastered TOS episodes released in 2006 present several visual differences from the episodes originally aired.^[3] Once again, no official statements have been made regarding the question of which version of these episodes is canon. ImageMetadata File history File links Download high resolution version (1350x1000, 116 KB) Summary screen shot from Enterprise TV show dealing with USS Enterprise NCC-1701 Captain April Licensing File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... ImageMetadata File history File links Download high resolution version (1350x1000, 116 KB) Summary screen shot from Enterprise TV show dealing with USS Enterprise NCC-1701 Captain April Licensing File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... In a Mirror, Darkly is a two-part episode of Star Trek: Enterprise. ... In film and video, live action refers to works that are acted out by flesh-and-blood actors, as opposed to animation. ... Star Trek: The Animated Series is an animated science fiction television series set in the Star Trek universe. ... Star Trek: Phase II was a planned television series set to air in Spring 1978 on a proposed Paramount Television Service (which eventually became United Paramount Network) based on the characters of Gene Roddenberrys Star Trek. ... A television advertisement or commercial (often called an advert in the United Kingdom) is a form of advertising in which goods, services, organizations, ideas, etc. ... 2007 is a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar. ... In the television industry (as in radio), syndication is the sale of the right to broadcast programs to multiple stations, without going through a broadcast network. ...

To further complicate matters, it has been noted that Gene Roddenberry was something of a revisionist when it came to canon. People who worked with Roddenberry remember that he used to handle canon not on a series-by-series basis nor an episode-by-episode basis, but point by point. If he changed his mind on something, or if a fact in one episode contradicted what he considered to be a more important fact in another episode, he had no problem declaring that specific point non-canon. Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Gene Roddenberry Eugene Wesley Roddenberry (August 19, 1921 – October 24, 1991) was an American scriptwriter and producer. ...

See, people can easily catch us, and say "well, wait a minute, in 'Balance of Terror', they knew that the Romulans had a cloaking device, and then in 'The Enterprise Incident', they don't know anything about cloaking devices, but they're gonna steal this one because it's obviously just been developed, so how the hell do you explain that?" We can't. There are some things we just can't explain, especially when it comes from the third season. So, yes, third season is canon up to the point of contradiction, or where it's just so bad... you know, we kind of cringe when people ask us, "well, what happened in 'Plato's Stepchildren', and 'And the Children Shall Lead', and 'Spock's Brain', and so on — it's like, please, he wasn't even producing it at that point. But, generally, [canon is] the original series, not really the animated, the first movie to a certain extent, the rest of the films in certain aspects but not in all... I know that it's very difficult to understand. It literally is point by point. I sometimes do not know how he's going to answer a question when I go into his office, I really do not always know, and — and I know it better probably than anybody, what it is that Gene likes and doesn't like.^[4]

— Richard Arnold, 1991

Another thing that makes canon a little confusing. Gene R. himself had a habit of decanonizing things. He didn't like the way the animated series turned out, so he proclaimed that it was not canon. He also didn't like a lot of the movies. So he didn't much consider them canon either. And – okay, I'm really going to scare you with this one – after he got TNG going, he... well... he sort of decided that some of The Original Series wasn't canon either. I had a discussion with him once, where I cited a couple things that were very clearly canon in The Original Series, and he told me he didn't think that way anymore, and that he now thought of TNG as canon wherever there was conflict between the two. He admitted it was revisionist thinking, but so be it.^[5]

— Paula Block, 2005

Another factor that contributes to blur the line between canon and non-canon is the fact that some writers like to include elements from popular non-canon works into canon episodes.^[6] Such is the case, for instance, of several concepts that first appeared in the Animated Series' episode "Yesteryear", including The Forge and the city of ShiKahr, and which were later included in the Enterprise three-part story that started with The Forge.^[7] However, despite the fact that elements borrowed from the Animated Series are considered canon, the series itself remains decidedly non-canon.^[8] Yesteryear is an episode of Star Trek: The Animated Series. ...

One final issue comes from text that appears on props such as computer displays, but is not legible during the episode. The transcript of the text can often be obtained through behind-the-scenes pictures and interviews. This leads to the question of whether material that is in the episodes but cannot be seen clearly should be considered canon. Although there is no answer valid for all this material, some of it at least, such as the biographical information seen on a computer display in "In a Mirror, Darkly" , has been clearly declared not to be "hard canon".^[2]

Movies

All live action Star Trek movies are considered canon.^[1] However, much like for TV series, this policy fails to note which version of the movies is canon. This leaves unknown the canonicity of scenes missing from the theatrical version of a movie but included in home releases or director's cuts. Such is the case, for instance, of a scene revealing that the character of Peter Preston was the nephew of Scotty in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan.^[9] A directors cut is a specially edited version of a film, and less often TV series, music video or video games, that is supposed to represent the directors own approved edit. ... Scotty redirects here. ... Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (Paramount Pictures, 1982; see also 1982 in film) is the second feature film based on the popular Star Trek science fiction television series. ...

Adding confusion to the issue is the fact that Roddenberry is quoted as saying he didn't like the movies, and "didn't much consider them canon".^[5] Unfortunately, there exists no definitive list of which movies in particular Roddenberry disliked, or what elements in them he didn't consider canon. For example, the reference book Star Trek Chronology states that Roddenberry considered elements of Star Trek V and Star Trek VI to be apocryphal, but it does not specify which particular elements in the movies Roddenberry objected to.^[10] Star Trek V: The Final Frontier (Paramount Pictures, 1989; see also 1989 in film) is the fifth feature film based on the popular Star Trek science fiction television series. ... Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country (Paramount Pictures, 1991; see also 1991 in film) is the sixth feature film based on the popular Star Trek science fiction television series. ... Apocrypha (from the Greek word απόκρυφα meaning those having been hidden away[1]) are texts of uncertain authenticity or writings where the authorship is questioned. ...

The canonicity of extra features found on home DVD releases, such as deleted scenes, has never been explicitly addressed. The DVD-Video format logo. ... Deleted scene is a commonly-used term in the entertainment industry, especially the film and television industry, which usually refers specifically to scenes removed from or replaced by another scene in the final cut, or version, of a film (including television serials). ...

Publications

Although books are not considered canon as a rule of thumb, some ambiguity remains. For instance, the status of reference books, such as the TNG Technical Manual pictured here, remains uncertain.^[11]

Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ...

Fictional novels

The original novels published by Pocket Books are not considered part of the canon.^[1] This was a guideline set early on by Gene Roddenberry, and repeated many times by people who worked with him. Pocket Books is the name of a subdivision of Simon & Schuster publishers. ...

And as long as Gene Roddenberry is involved in it, he is the final word on what is Star Trek. So, for us here – Ron Moore, Jeri Taylor, everybody who works on the show – Gene is the authority. And when he says that the books, and the games, and the comics and everything else, are not gospel, but are only additional Star Trek based on his Star Trek but not part of the actual Star Trek universe that he created... they're just, you know, kinda fun to keep you occupied between episodes and between movies, whatever... but he does not want that to be considered to be sources of information for writers, working on this show, he doesn't want it to be considered part of the canon by anybody working on any other projects.^[4]

— Richard Arnold, 1991

However, even this rule is not without its exception. Two Voyager novels written by Jeri Taylor, Mosaic and Pathways, were written early on in Voyager's run and detailed the background of the show's main characters.^[1] These were meant to be canon, and to be used as references by the show's writers when fleshing out the characters. These two novels are sometimes named as exceptions to the "no book is canon" rule.^[12] However, as some of the background information mentioned in those books was never referenced in an episode of Voyager, their status as canon is still open to debate.^[1] Jeri Taylor (born June 30, 1946) is a television scriptwriter and producer who is known for her contributions to the Star Trek series. ...

Novelizations

The novelizations of episodes and movies are not considered canon. This is a tradition that goes back to Gene Roddenberry himself. Roddenberry wrote a novelization of Star Trek: The Motion Picture, which included many tangents and new material that were not part of the movie, such as revealing that the woman who dies in the transporter accident was Kirk's lover.^[13] While this novel filled in many gaps left in the movie, Roddenberry is quoted as saying it should not be considered canon.^[14] A novelization (or novelisation in British English) is a work of fiction that is written based on some other media story form rather than as an original work. ... Star Trek: The Motion Picture (Paramount Pictures, 1979; see also 1979 in film) is the first feature film based on the popular Star Trek science fiction television series and is released on Friday, December 7. ...

Reference books

A special case is made for non-fiction reference books such as The Star Trek Encyclopedia, Star Trek Chronology, TNG Technical Manual and DS9 Technical Manual. Unlike the novels and novelizations, these reference manuals have never been explicitly named as non-canon, and the fact that they were officially sanctioned by Paramount and given to episode writers as guides serves to give them an aura of credibility. Roddenberry himself considered it part of the "background" of Star Trek.^[15] Meanwhile, Michael Okuda and Rick Sternbach, two art and technical consultants since Star Trek: The Next Generation and the authors of several of these reference books, considered their work "pretty official".^[11] However, they stop short of naming the books canon, leaving the debate open. The Star Trek Encyclopedia: A Reference Guide to the Future is an encyclopedia of all things related to Star Trek. ... The Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Technical Manual is a description of the space station Deep Space Nine, the main setting of the television series Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, in the Star Trek fictional universe. ... Michael Okuda is an graphic designer who is best known for his work on Star Trek. ... Richard Michael Sternbach (born in 1951 in Bridgeport Connecticut) is an illustrator who is best known for his space illustrations and his work on the Star Trek television series. ...

Star Trek writer and co-producer Ronald D. Moore dismisses such official material as "speculation", and says that the writing staff did not consider it canon.^[16][17] However, Viacom, the parent company of Paramount, seems to believe differently. In a series of posts to the official Star Trek website's forums, Viacom Senior Director Harry Lang left no doubt that he considers the reference books as canon.^[12][18] Ronald Dowl Moore (born 1964 in Chowchilla, California) is an American screenwriter and television producer who is known for his work on Star Trek and the re-imagined Battlestar Galactica television series, which he created and runs. ... Viacom (NYSE: VIA) (NYSE: VIAb) is an American media conglomerate with various worldwide interests in cable and satellite television networks (MTV Networks and BET), and movie production and distribution (the Paramount Pictures and DreamWorks movie studios). ...

Other publications

The Star Trek comic books and Star Trek magazines are not considered canon.^[1][4] Almost continuously since 1967, a number of companies have published comic book series based on Star Trek and its spin off series, including Gold Key, Marvel Comics, and DC Comics, with varying degrees of success. ...

Other material

Nothing that takes place in Star Trek games, the Star Trek: The Experience attraction, Star Trek fan productions or Trekdom is considered canon.^[1][4] // Video games Throughout the years, the influence of Star Trek has expanded sufficiently to warrant the creation of a long series of PC games. ... The view from the outside of the Las Vegas Hilton Star Trek: The Experience is a theme park at the Las Vegas Hilton in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA, based on the fictional Star Trek universe. ... This article deals with fan-made productions using elements of the Star Trek franchise. ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ...

Roddenberry-approved material

Based on the amount of creative control Roddenberry exerted over the first seasons of Star Trek, some people argue that only Roddenberry-approved material should be considered canon.^[19] Such an approach would eliminate from canon anything Roddenberry didn't like, as well as everything made after his death, including five movies and three TV series.

However, Roddenberry himself pre-emptively rebuked such an attitude. He had hoped that Star Trek would go on after his death.^[20] As Star Trek was constantly improved by each following generation, he expected people to look back upon its humble beginnings as just that, the simple beginnings of something much bigger and better.^[21] Roddenberry clearly never intended Star Trek to be limited to his work, but to include all the hopefully superior work of future generations.

Klingon language

The Klingon language was first conceived by James Doohan for the movie Star Trek: The Motion Picture, and consisted only of a few words. Later, Marc Okrand proceeded to flesh out the sparse vocabulary into a real language, complete with grammar rules and phonology, and went so far as to publish The Klingon Dictionary and to create the Klingon Language Institute.^[22] Okrand's Klingon language was used to write the Klingon dialogues heard in several Star Trek movies and episodes.^[23] However, despite these facts, there is no exception to canon rules on record for this complete Klingon language. Therefore, only the Klingon words spoken on-screen qualify as canon. The Klingon language (tlhIngan Hol in Klingon) is the constructed language spoken by Klingons in the fictional Star Trek universe. ... This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ... Marc Okrand is the creator of the Klingon language. ... Phonology (Greek phonē = voice/sound and logos = word/speech), is a subfield of linguistics which studies the sound system of a specific language (or languages). ... The Klingon Dictionary is a book by Marc Okrand describing the Klingon language. ... The Klingon Language Institute is an organization devoted to studying and teaching the human-made Klingon language from the Star Trek science fiction universe. ...

References

Pocket Books is the name of a subdivision of Simon & Schuster publishers. ... Pocket Books is the name of a subdivision of Simon & Schuster publishers. ...

See also

• Timeline of Star Trek

The below is an abridged timeline of events established in the group of television shows and feature films set in the fictional Star Trek universe. ...

External links

• What is considered Star Trek "canon"? article at StarTrek.com, the official Star Trek website.
• Canon article at Memory Alpha, a Star Trek wiki
• Memory Alpha:Canon policy article at Memory Alpha, a Star Trek wiki