13-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Geek Girl Authority
STAR TREK: THE ANIMATED SERIES: 5 Characters and Species Introduced by the Show
For many years, Star Trek: The Animated Series was overlooked by many Trekkies. However, in more recent years, interest in the show has been renewed. This is thanks in part to Star Trek: Lower Decks, which has included many characters and species originally introduced by The Animated Series in modern continuity.
For this week's Trek Tuesday, we're sharing five characters and species that were originally introduced by The Animated Series. Did we include your favorite? Caitians Photo Cr: Best Possible Screen Grab CBS ©2020 CBS Interactive, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Perhaps the most well-known of the species introduced by Star Trek: The Animated Series is the Caitians. Originally, these catlike people were introduced through The Animated Series' M'Ress (Majel Barrett Roddenberry). While M'Ress spoke in a soft and purring voice, later examples proved that this was not the only demeanor possessed by Caitians.
RELATED: Star Trek : Answering Your Questions About Caitians
In the intervening years, many Caitians have appeared onscreen. First, we saw a few in the background in Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home. And then in Star Trek: Prodigy Season 1, a young Caitian character appeared multiple times in the first half of the season. But perhaps the biggest role for a Caitian yet is Doctor T'Ana (Gillian Vigman), the Chief Medical Officer of the U.S.S. Cerritos on Lower Decks. Plus, Caitians have also appeared in Star Trek Into Darkness and were mentioned in dialogue in Star Trek: Discovery Season 2. Edosians Photo: PARAMOUNT+ ©2022 CBS Interactive, Inc. All Rights Reserved
The Edosians are a three-armed species of aliens. They were first introduced through Arex (James Doohan). In The Animated Series, Arex is a helmsman for the U.S.S. Enterprise. This seems like a suitable role, since a third arm is probably helpful for steering a starship. And as you'll see, many Edosians have jobs that make sense with their third limb.
Since Arex, several Edosians have appeared on Lower Decks. In Season 1's 'Much Ado About Boimler,' we meet an Edosian medical specialist (Fred Tatasciore). He is the commanding officer of the Division 14 ship the U.S.S. Osler. And in Lower Decks Season 3's 'Room for Growth,' we meet Toz (Mary Holland). She is the commanding officer of the 'spa ship' the Dove. Finally, the trailer for Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Season 3 suggests we'll get to see an Edosian bartender in live action in the show's third season. Kzinti Photo: PARAMOUNT+ ©2021 CBS Interactive, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Another particularly interesting species introduction from The Animated Series is the Kzinti. Notably, these catlike creatures are unique because they originally came from outside Star Trek. As far as the Franchise goes, they first appeared in The Animated Series episode 'The Slaver Weapon,' written by Larry Niven. But the Kzinti had previously appeared in Niven's non-franchise sci-fi prose stories.
RELATED: Star Trek : The Curious Case of the Kzinti
However, for many years, the Kzinti were discussed, but not utilized. In fact one writer, Jimmy Diggs, repeatedly lobbied for their return. But the Kizinti never appeared in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine , Star Trek: Voyager or Star Trek: Enterprise . Plus, the movie Diggs pitched featuring the Kzinti sadly never took off. Finally, in Star Trek: Picard Season 1's 'Nepenthe,' the Kzinti are briefly mentioned in dialogue. And on Lower Decks, a recurring crewmember, Ensign Taylor (Tatasciore), is Kzinti. Robert April Photo Cr: Marni Grossman/Paramount+
Robert April has a long history with the Franchise, his name having been taken from the original pitch for Star Trek. And in keeping with that pitch, April is recognized as the previous captain of the Enterprise before Christopher Pike. But he made his first onscreen appearance in The Animated Series' final episode, 'The Counter-Clock Incident.' Like many other characters on the show, in that episode, he was voiced by Doohan.
In recent years, April became a live-action recurring character on Strange New Worlds. In this ongoing series, he is portrayed by Adrian Holmes. Pandronians Photo: PARAMOUNT+ ©2021 CBS Interactive, Inc. All Rights Reserved **Best Possible Screen Grab**
The Pandronians are a species of humanoid colony creatures. And thanks to this biological characteristic, they can effortlessly divide their bodies into multiple pieces. On The Animated Series, they were first introduced in the episode 'Bem,' through the titular Ari bn Bem (Doohan). Bem was an 'independent observer' aboard the Enterprise. However, he clandestinely made the situation harder for the Starfleet crew in order to observe how they coped.
RELATED: Watchlist: Celebrating 50 Years of Star Trek: The Animated Series
And then, decades later, a Pandronian drill instructor visited the Cerritos in the Season 2 episode 'I, Excretus.' Shari yn Yem (Lennon Parham) was a Starfleet drill instructor sent to test the mettle of the California class crew. However, just like Bem, Shari rigged the tests to make them harder for the crew than they might have been otherwise. But Shari got her comeuppance when the Cerritos crew figured out her plan and thwarted it.
Most of the Star Trek episodes discussed above are currently available for streaming on Paramount+. However, Star Trek: Prodigy is currently available for streaming on Netflix.
5 STAR TREK Meme Source Episodes Avery Kaplan is the author of several books and the Features Editor at Comics Beat. She was honored to serve as a judge for the 2021 Cartoonist Studio Prize Award and the 2021 Prism Awards. She lives in the mountains of Southern California with her partner and a pile of cats, and her favorite place to visit is the cemetery. You can also find her writing on Comics Bookcase, NeoText, Shelfdust, the Mary Sue, in many issues of PanelxPanel, and in the margins of the books in her personal library.
