It is somewhat of a surprise that this cartoon isn’t better remembered. After all, it was based upon one of the most beloved science-fiction television series of all time. And when Star Trek: The Animated Series arrived on the Saturday morning lineup in 1973, it certainly didn’t skimp on quality. With the same compelling plots that fans had come to expect, and the entire crew from the Starship Enterprise present and accounted for, it had everything a Star Trek fan could hope for.

Debuting on NBC and produced by Filmation, Star Trek: The Animated Series continued the voyages of the Enterprise and her crew on a five-year mission to “ explore strange new worlds, to seek out new life and new civilizations, to boldly go where no man had gone before.” At the command was the formidable James T. Kirk (voiced by William Shatner,) his Science Officer and second mate Mr. Spock (Leonard Nimoy,) Chief Medical Officer Dr. Leonard “Bones” McCoy (DeForest Kelley,) Chief Engineer Montgomery Scott (James Doohan,) Helmsman Mr. Sulu (George Takei,) Communications Officer Lt. Ohura (Nichellle Nichols,) and Navigator Pavel Chekov (Walter Koenig from the original series was the only actor who didn’t provide his voice to the cartoon, although he was a contributing writer.)

Being that this was animation, the medium afforded a few advantages. The crew could travel to strange places without having to worry about a special effects budget and dressing up actors in big rubber suits. As a result, there were plenty of odd new creatures for the crew to encounter, as well as some familiar faces from the original series such as Harry Mudd and those rascally Tribbles. And, interestingly enough, the animated series was the first to use the “holodeck,” a technological advance that wouldn’t be seen on a live show until the debut of Star Trek: The New Generation many years later.

Star Trek: The Animated Series also achieved something that the original series had failed to do – earn an Emmy Award in 1975. Still, this ambitious animated series only managed to fulfill two-fifths of its stated mission length, being cancelled in 1974 after only 22 episodes. The reason was that, while it was popular with adults, it just didn’t catch the attention of the kids. The series would re-emerge in the 80s on Nickelodeon, and in the following decade on The Sci-Fi Channel. And for those longing for another spin around the universe with their animated friends, the entire series was released on DVD in 2006.