Hello! To mark and honor the 50th anniversary of Star Trek I am watching in production order every episode of (in this order) The Original Series, The Animated Series, Star Trek Continues, Star Trek Phase II, the first six films, the 23rd Century segments of Star Trek: Generations, Star Trek: Of Gods and Men and finally watching The Cage before seeing Star Trek Beyond.
Of an interesting note to myself and perhaps to others regarding the dating of the various series: while seeing these episodes I have kept track of attempting a timeline of the Five Year Mission, knowing it occurs during the Trek years 2265-2270. I treat each season as approximately nine months of each Year, starting around 1 October and running until 30 June. The exception for this calendar is the second pilot, Where No Man Has Gone Before, which I set at the very beginning of the Five Year Mission, on or slightly after 1 July, 2265.
This briefly earlier era setting allows for a minor refit of the Enterprise from Pike's era to Kirk's era, with regular episodes, starting with The Corbomite Maneuver, beginning on 1 October, which timing is supported by Kirk's quarterly physical at the start of the episode, as well as the Thanksgiving setting of Charlie X and the recent Christmas celebrations of Dagger of the Mind, as well as the Halloween themes of Catspaw, the first produced story of Year Two.
By my timeline calculations, a month passes for the Enterprise crew per three episodes of the program and the timeline runs this way:
Year One
Where No Man Has Gone Before: on or around 1July, 2265
The Corbomite Maneuver - Operation -- Annihilate!: 1 October, 2265 - 30 June, 2266
STC: Mind-Sifter: 1 July, 2266 - late September, 2266
Year Two
Catspaw - Assignment: Earth: 1 October, 2266 - 30 June, 2267
STC: Fairest of Them All, Mirror Universe early January, 2267
Year Three
Spectre of the Gun - Turnabout Intruder: 1 October, 2267 - 30 June, 2268
Year Four (The Animated Series)
More Troubles, More Tribbles: 1 October, 2268 - 30 June, 2269
Year Five (Professional Fan Productions)
STC: Pilgrim of Eternity - Come Not Between Dragons: 1 July, 2269 - 30 September, 2269
STP2: Come What May - Kitumba: 1 October, 2269 - 31 December, 2269
STP2: The Holiest Thing, Torment of Destiny: 1 January 2270 - 30 June, 2270
I place the Phase II episodes generally after the Continues stories as the most recent Phase II stories (The Holiest Thing) have redesigned the Enterprise to match partially the film-era refit.
I started watching the episodes on 1 May (Where No Man Has Gone Before) and have watched as of today, 29 May, the episode Operation -- Annihilate! Tomorrow I will take a series detour and watch the Phase II episode Mind-Sifter, as it is thought to occur between Year One and Two of the Five Year Mission. I have been pleasantly amazed by the sheer golden quality of these early Star Trek adventures and I hope to enjoy the rest, as I have largely not seen the third season and am soon to discover the Animated Series. I recommend any to all to watch watch or re-watch Star Trek to commemorate the 50th anniversary!
Of an interesting note to myself and perhaps to others regarding the dating of the various series: while seeing these episodes I have kept track of attempting a timeline of the Five Year Mission, knowing it occurs during the Trek years 2265-2270. I treat each season as approximately nine months of each Year, starting around 1 October and running until 30 June. The exception for this calendar is the second pilot, Where No Man Has Gone Before, which I set at the very beginning of the Five Year Mission, on or slightly after 1 July, 2265.
This briefly earlier era setting allows for a minor refit of the Enterprise from Pike's era to Kirk's era, with regular episodes, starting with The Corbomite Maneuver, beginning on 1 October, which timing is supported by Kirk's quarterly physical at the start of the episode, as well as the Thanksgiving setting of Charlie X and the recent Christmas celebrations of Dagger of the Mind, as well as the Halloween themes of Catspaw, the first produced story of Year Two.
By my timeline calculations, a month passes for the Enterprise crew per three episodes of the program and the timeline runs this way:
Year One
Where No Man Has Gone Before: on or around 1July, 2265
The Corbomite Maneuver - Operation -- Annihilate!: 1 October, 2265 - 30 June, 2266
STC: Mind-Sifter: 1 July, 2266 - late September, 2266
Year Two
Catspaw - Assignment: Earth: 1 October, 2266 - 30 June, 2267
STC: Fairest of Them All, Mirror Universe early January, 2267
Year Three
Spectre of the Gun - Turnabout Intruder: 1 October, 2267 - 30 June, 2268
Year Four (The Animated Series)
More Troubles, More Tribbles: 1 October, 2268 - 30 June, 2269
Year Five (Professional Fan Productions)
STC: Pilgrim of Eternity - Come Not Between Dragons: 1 July, 2269 - 30 September, 2269
STP2: Come What May - Kitumba: 1 October, 2269 - 31 December, 2269
STP2: The Holiest Thing, Torment of Destiny: 1 January 2270 - 30 June, 2270
I place the Phase II episodes generally after the Continues stories as the most recent Phase II stories (The Holiest Thing) have redesigned the Enterprise to match partially the film-era refit.
I started watching the episodes on 1 May (Where No Man Has Gone Before) and have watched as of today, 29 May, the episode Operation -- Annihilate! Tomorrow I will take a series detour and watch the Phase II episode Mind-Sifter, as it is thought to occur between Year One and Two of the Five Year Mission. I have been pleasantly amazed by the sheer golden quality of these early Star Trek adventures and I hope to enjoy the rest, as I have largely not seen the third season and am soon to discover the Animated Series. I recommend any to all to watch watch or re-watch Star Trek to commemorate the 50th anniversary!
