the star trek

History [ ]

Originally, Star Trek was a product of Desilu Studios as created by Gene Roddenberry in a first draft series proposal " Star Trek is... ", dated 11 March 1964 .

Beginning with a single pilot episode, " The Cage ", filmed in 1964, Star Trek was not placed on the schedule of the NBC network until a second pilot episode, " Where No Man Has Gone Before ", was produced in 1965 .

Star Trek officially went into production on April 21, 1966 and ran for three seasons until it was canceled in 1969 . Four years later, the series returned to NBC as a Saturday morning animated series which ran from 1973 to 1974 .

No new production of Star Trek took place until 1979 , when Star Trek: The Motion Picture took the franchise into feature films , which have continued to be produced periodically since. Star Trek did not return to television until 1987 with the debut of Star Trek: The Next Generation .

Following three more spin-off productions, the 2005 – 2006 TV season was the first since 1987 without a new Star Trek series being broadcast, though all series remain in syndication.

As a result of a 2005 split between the former Viacom and CBS , Star Trek television productions fell under the umbrella of CBS Studios . During this period, films continued to be produced and distributed by Paramount Pictures under a licensing agreement. A thirteenth film was released in 2016 . CBS and Viacom were reunited and merged under the name ViacomCBS in late 2019 , reuniting the film and television branches of Star Trek . In 2022 ViacomCBS rebranded itself as Paramount Global , or simply Paramount.

After 12 years off the air, the franchise returned to the airwaves with its first streaming series, Star Trek: Discovery , which premiered in the fall of 2017 . This also saw the franchise expand into companion series, like the aftershow After Trek , which premiered right after the Discovery .

Currently, licensees of Star Trek products ( reference works , novels and collectibles ) include Art Asylum toys, Pocket Books , and IDW Publishing . Older licenses for previously produced material belong to numerous companies.

Conception and setting [ ]

"Star Trek was an attempt to say that Humanity will reach maturity and wisdom on the day that it begins not just to tolerate, but take a special delight in differences in ideas and differences in life forms."

"We believed that the often ridiculed mass audience is sick of this world's petty nationalism and all its old ways and old hatreds... and that people are not only willing but anxious to think beyond those petty beliefs that have for so long have kept mankind divided."

– Gene Roddenberry

The stories in Star Trek mostly revolve around the experiences and adventures of the Humans and aliens who serve under Starfleet Command , the space-borne peacekeeping, exploratory, and humanitarian armada of the United Federation of Planets .

Many of the conflicts and political dimensions of Star Trek are allegories of contemporary cultural realities. Star Trek: The Original Series addressed social-political issues of the 1960s, just as later spin-offs have confronted issues of their respective decades. [1] Issues depicted in the various series include war and peace , personal loyalty, authoritarianism, imperialism, economics, racism , religion , Human rights , sexism , and the role of technology . [2]

Roddenberry intended the show to have a progressive political agenda reflective of the emerging counter-culture and the civil rights movement of the 1960s, [3] though he was not fully forthcoming to the networks about this. He wanted Star Trek to show a future of what Humanity might evolve to become, if it would learn from the lessons of the past, most specifically by ending violence. An extreme example is the alien race known as the Vulcans , who suffered a violent history but learned to finally achieve peace by suppressing their emotions and by adopting the guiding principles of logic . Roddenberry also placed great emphasis on an anti-war message in Star Trek , depicting the United Federation of Planets, a vast interstellar alliance founded on the enlightened principles of liberty , equality , justice, progress, and peaceful co-existence, as an idealistic version of the United Nations . [4] (X) His efforts were opposed by the network because of concerns over marketability, as they opposed Roddenberry's insistence that the USS Enterprise have a racially diverse crew.

Production history [ ]

The original series [ ], spin-off series [ ].

Star Trek films

• Paramount, 1979–1991
• Producers: Gene Roddenberry, Robert Sallin , Harve Bennett , Steven-Charles Jaffe , Ralph Winter
• Directors: Robert Wise , Nicholas Meyer , Leonard Nimoy , William Shatner
• Paramount, 1994–2002
• Producers: Rick Berman
• Directors: David Carson , Jonathan Frakes , Stuart Baird
• Paramount, 2009–2016
• Producers: J.J. Abrams , Damon Lindelof
• Directors: J.J. Abrams, Justin Lin
• CBS Television Studios/Paramount+

Aftershows [ ]

• CBS Television Studios/CBS All Access, 2017–2018

The Ready Room

• CBS Television Studios/ Facebook Live , 2019–

Podcasts [ ]

Engage: The Official Star Trek Podcast

• CBS Television Studios, 2016–2018

Star Trek: The Pod Directive

• CBS Television Studios, 2020–

Unproduced projects [ ]

• See: Undeveloped Star Trek projects

Overseas adaptations [ ]

Star Trek has been aired around the world throughout its run of television and film series. Most often, it has been dubbed into the native language of the larger population countries in question, while other, smaller population countries subtitled the productions and kept the original language tracks. During this time, the titles, characters, and so forth have been changed as they move from language to language.

Licensed media [ ]

Floor tile in the NBC gift shop at 30 Rock

• Blu-ray Discs
• Collectibles
• Reference works

Related topics [ ]

See also [ ].

• Star Trek parodies and pop culture references
• Star Trek documentaries and specials
• Star Trek corporate history
• Star Trek birthdays
• Star Trek deaths
• TOS directors
• TAS directors
• TNG directors
• DS9 directors
• VOY directors
• ENT directors
• DIS directors
• ST directors
• PIC directors
• LD directors
• PRO directors
• SNW directors
• SA directors
• Film directors
• Cast members who directed
• Guest performers
• Regular cast
• Performers considered for roles
• Performers whose scenes were cut
• Recurring characters
• Star Trek auctions
• Star Trek fonts

Other topics [ ]

• Bottle show
• Design patents filed for the Star Trek franchise
• I'm a doctor, not a...
• Shakespeare and Star Trek

External links [ ]

• StarTrek.com , the official Star Trek website
• The official Star Trek YouTube channel at YouTube
• Star Trek at Wikipedia
• Star Trek spin-off fiction at Wikipedia
• Star Trek at BBC.co.uk
• 2 Daniels (Crewman)

Star Trek movies in order: Chronological and release

Number One, show me a list of all the Star Trek movies in order — both chronological and release — engage!

• Chronological order
• Prime Timeline

The Original Series movies

The next generation movies.

• Kelvin Timeline
• Release order

Upcoming Star Trek movies

Raise shields, red alert — we’re going to try and put all the Star Trek movies in order. And we do mean try.

When they were focused on the Original Series era, the Star Trek movies were so easy to watch in order — the movies were numbered, everything was nice and simple. Then Picard comes in with his Next Generation buddies and suddenly numbers are out, subtitles are in. And that’s before we get all the time travel shenanigans that gave birth to the Kelvin timeline , an alternative timeline that splits off from the main canon.

It's been a long while since we've had a new Star Trek movie, with the last release — Star Trek Beyond — coming out back in 2016. Over eight years! Voyager got home from the Delta Quadrant in less time than that! Mercifully the drought is nearly over, with the Discovery spin-off movie Star Trek: Section 31 due to launch in early 2025.

So while we wait for Trek's silver screen return, we’re going to break down the various timelines and help you watch the Star Trek movies in either chronological or release order —- the Temporal Prime Directive be damned. Oh and we’re not making any judgements on the quality of the movies here, so head over to our Star Trek movies ranked list if you want to fight about whether the Kirk or Picard era movies are better.

All of the Star Trek movies are available to watch on Paramount+, along with almost all the shows — check our Star Trek streaming guide to find which nebulas the exceptions are hiding in. 

Star Trek movies: Chronological order

Below is the quick version of our list if you just need to check something to win an argument, but it comes with a lot of in-universe time travel-related caveats that we'll explain below.

• Star Trek: The Motion Picture
• Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan
• Star Trek III: The Search for Spock
• Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home
• Star Trek V: The Final Frontier
• Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country
• Star Trek: Generations
• Star Trek: First Contact
• Star Trek: Insurrection
• Star Trek: Nemesis
• Star Trek Into Darkness
• Star Trek Beyond

Star Trek: Prime Timeline

The first thing you need to know about the Star Trek films is that while they travel back and forth in time, they also diverge into two (for now) different timelines. The films of the original crew (well, the first iteration of them, anyway – more on that later) are all in what is known as the Prime Timeline. 

Within the Prime Timeline, the movies are then split between The Original Series movies and The Next Generation movies.

1. Star Trek: The Motion Picture

• Release date: December 8, 1979
• Cast: William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, DeForest Kelley

This is the film that brought the voyages of the U.S.S. Enterprise to the big screen. An energy cloud is making its way toward Earth, destroying everything in its path. Kirk and crew intercept it and discover an ancient NASA probe at the heart of the cloud. Voyager – known as V’ger now – encountered a planet of living machines, learned all it could, and returned home to report its findings, only to find no one who knew how to answer. It’s a slow-paced film, and the costumes are about as 70s as they come, but there’s classic Star Trek at the heart of this film.

2. Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan

• Release date: June 4, 1982
• Cast: William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, Ricardo Montalban

Ask a Star Trek fan what the best Star Trek movie is and more often than not, you’ll get Khan as your answer. A sequel to the events of the “Space Seed” episode of The Original Series, Khan is a retelling of Moby Dick with Khan throwing reason to the wind as he hunts his nemesis, James T. Kirk. Montalban delivers a pitch-perfect performance, giving us a Khan with charisma and obsession in equal parts.

3. Star Trek III: The Search for Spock

• Release date: June 1, 1984

Spock might have died in The Wrath of Khan, but this third entry set up the premise for his return, with the creation of the Genesis planet. Essentially a heist movie in reverse, Search for Spock has the crew defying orders from Starfleet in an attempt to reunite Spock’s consciousness with his newly-rejuvenated body. It’s not a great movie, but it does include two very important events: the rebirth of Spock and the death of Kirk’s son at the hands of the Klingons. That’ll be important a few flicks from now.   

4. Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home

• Release date: November 26, 1986
• Cast: William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, Catherine Hicks

If Star Trek fans don’t say Khan is the best Star Trek movie, odds are very high they say Voyage Home is. It’s a funny film where the mission isn’t destruction, but creation – or more accurately, repairing the devastating effects of humankind’s ecological short-sightedness. 

A probe arrives at Earth, knocking out the power of everything in its path as it looks for someone to respond to its message (yeah, it happens a lot). This time, however, the intended recipient is the long-extinct blue whale. To save Earth, Kirk and co. go back in time to 1980s San Francisco to snag some blue whales. The eco-messaging isn’t exactly subtle, but it doesn’t get in the way of a highly enjoyable movie.

5. Star Trek V: The Final Frontier

• Release date: June 9, 1989

A writers’ strike and Shatner’s directorial skills (or lack thereof) doomed this film before a single scene was shot. The core plot is actually pretty good: Spock’s half-brother hijacks the Enterprise so that he can meet God, which he believes to be… himself. Some Star Trek fans have an odd fondness for this movie, as it showcases the camaraderie of Kirk, Spock, and McCoy when they’re off-duty.

6. Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country

• Release date: December 6, 1991
• Cast: William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, Christopher Plummer

Right, so if that Star Trek fan you’ve been talking to doesn’t choose either Khan or Voyage Home as the best Star Trek movie ever, they almost certainly name Undiscovered Country (and if they don’t, they have highly questionable taste, frankly). The Klingon moon of Praxis explodes, putting the entire Klingon race at risk. The Enterprise hosts a diplomatic entourage of Klingons, much to Kirk’s discomfort. 

Remember how Klingons murdered Kirk’s son? Well, he certainly hasn’t forgotten. Kirk’s lingering rage makes him the perfect patsy for the murder of the Klingon Chancellor, sending him and McCoy to a prison planet and setting the stage for war. Christopher Plummer is perfection as a Shakespeare-quoting Klingon general with no taste for peace.

7. Star Trek: Generations

• Release date: November 18, 1994
• Cast: Patrick Stewart, Jonathan Frakes, Brent Spiner

And thus the torch is passed from the crew of The Original Series to that of The Next Generation. It’s a bit of a fumble, to be honest, but they all did their best to get Kirk and Picard into the same film and have it make sense. Malcolm McDowell plays Soran, a scientist who will stop at nothing to control the Nexus, a giant space rainbow that exists outside of space-time. 

Soran lost his family when his home world was destroyed and he wants to re-join them (or at least an illusion of them) in the Nexus. He’s not so much a villain as a tragic figure, but the Nexus makes a meeting between Kirk and Picard possible. Not all that sensible, but possible.

8. Star Trek: First Contact

• Release date: November 22, 1996
• Cast: Patrick Stewart, Brent Spiner, Alice Krige

Okay, no, for real, if your Star Trek pal didn’t pick Khan or Voyage Home or… oh, nevermind. Cueing off the iconic two-part episode “Best of Both Worlds,” in which Picard is assimilated by the Borg, First Contact sees the collective traveling back in time in order to disrupt First Contact, the day Earth’s first foray into space attracted the attention of the Vulcans, kicking off the events that would eventually lead to Starfleet’s victory over the Borg. The Borg Queen torments Picard with visions of the past and tempts Data with humanity, going so far as to give him some human skin. 

The fight with the Borg aboard the Enterprise is thrilling, and the work on the surface to get first contact back on track is fun. Plus, there’s just nothing like Patrick Stewart turning it up to 11 as he lashes out at the enemy that haunts his dreams.

9. Star Trek: Insurrection

• Release date: December 11, 1998
• Cast: Patrick Stewart, Jonathan Frakes, F. Murray Abraham

Essentially an episode inflated for the big screen, Insurrection is about the Federation conspiring to displace a planet’s population in order to harvest the planet’s unique resource – super healing metaphasic particles. In addition to the rejuvenating natural resource, the Ba’ku also have access to exceptional technology, which they shun in favor of a more simple lifestyle. 

Data malfunctions, the villains are Federation allies (and former Ba’ku!), Picard gets to knock boots with a local – Insurrection is the very definition of “fine.” Chronologically, Insurrection is relevant for rekindling the romance between Riker and Troi, but not much else.

10. Star Trek: Nemesis

• Release date: December 13, 2002
• Cast: Patrick Stewart, Brent Spiner, Tom Hardy

Before he mumbled his way into our hearts as Bane, Tom Hardy was Shinzon, a clone of Picard the Romulans created in an eventually abandoned attempt to infiltrate Starfleet. Shinzon is dying, and all that will save him is a transfusion of Picard’s blood. Unfortunately, Shinzon also happens to be a megalomaniac who happens to want to destroy all life on Earth and maybe a few other planets, too, if he’s feeling saucy. 

Nemesis is notable mostly for killing Data with a noble sacrifice, only to resurrect him moments later in a duplicate body found earlier by the Enterprise crew.

Star Trek: Kelvin Timeline

The last of the Prime Timeline movies failed to impress at the box office, so it was a few years before anyone tried to bring the Enterprise back to the big screen. Rather than lean on any of the TV crews, this new slate of movies would serve as a reboot, welcoming new audiences while honoring long-time fans. Welcome to the Kelvin Timeline. (For all the ins and outs, check out our Star Trek: Kelvin Timeline explained article).

11. Star Trek

• Release date: May 8, 2009
• Cast: Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Karl Urban

Back to the beginning! Star Trek introduces us to James T. Kirk, Spock, and “Bones” McCoy as they meet and join the crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise. Though the plot is a relatively straightforward affair of a Romulan named Nero trying to destroy the Earth. His anger borne out of grief, what matters most is how it all came to be. In the future, Spock – the Prime Timeline version – tries to save Romulus from being destroyed by a supernova, but fails. Both his ship and Nero’s are kicked back in time, setting off a chain of events that diverge from the original, “true” timeline. 

The name “Kelvin” refers to the U.S.S. Kelvin, the ship heroically captained by Kirk’s father, which is destroyed in the opening moments of the movie.

12. Star Trek Into Darkness

• Release date: May 16, 2013
• Cast: Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Benedict Cumberbatch

The benefit of the Kelvin Timeline is that it not only allows Star Trek to explore canon material – such as Khan (he of the Wrath) – but to do something completely new with it. Khan features heavily in Into Darkness, but he has no beef with Kirk. Instead, a Starfleet Admiral is threatening the lives of Khan’s crew, forcing them to craft weapons of mass destruction. 

Khan inevitably eludes captivity and strikes out against Starfleet, killing Captain Pike (and a bunch of others) in the process. Kirk and company eventually take Khan down, but not before Kirk sacrifices himself to save his crew. Don’t worry, these things don’t last in either Star Trek timeline, as Kirk gets better moments later thanks to *checks notes* Khan's super blood.

13. Star Trek Beyond

• Release date: July 22, 2016
• Cast: Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Idris Elba

Beyond leans into the camaraderie of Kirk, Spock, and McCoy now that they’ve had some time together, much to the movie’s benefit. The Enterprise is lured to Altamid under false pretenses, leading to much of the crew being marooned on the planet. The architect of the deception was Krall, who wants an opportunity to return to a galaxy where war is the order of the day. 

Beyond is a significant point in the timeline for two reasons. First, it sadly marked the death of Spock Prime due to the passing of Leonard Nimoy. Second, it culminates in the Enterprise embarking on the five-year-mission that started everything back in 1966.

Star Trek movies: Release order

If you can't be bothered remembering two different orders for the Star Trek movies then we've got good news for you — the release order is identical to the chronological order that we've shown above (accounting for the Kelvin timeline as it's own entity anyway).

Star Trek 4

The full run of Star Trek films currently tops out at 13 entries; the fate of the 14th was hidden within a nebula of conflicting information. “Star Trek 4” was slated for December 22, 2023, but given that filming had yet to begin as of July 2022, it seems inevitable that date will change. Back in February 2022, Paramount that the principal cast would be returning for the fourth installment of the Kelvin timeline, a claim quickly disputed by the agents of those selfsame actors. Awkward.

Soon after, however, Chris Pine eventually signed on the dotted line, and his shipmates reached their own agreements. As of right now, Kirk (Pine), Spock (Zachary Quinto), McCoy (Karl Urban, assuming he can make it work around filming of The Boys), Scotty (Simon Pegg), Uhura (Zoe Saldaña), and Sulu (John Cho) are all ready to beam up and get filming. Sadly, this will be the first of the Kelvin films to not feature Anton Yelchin as Pavel Chekov. Yelchin died in an accident at his home in 2016. It’s currently unclear if Chekov will be recast or if a different character will take his place on the bridge of the Enterprise.

Though the Kelvin timeline is often referred to as “J.J. Abrams Trek,” he won’t be directing Star Trek 4; Matt Shakman will take on that responsibility, leaving Abrams to produce. As for what it will be about, that’s anyone’s guess, but Chris Pine told Deadline he hopes this one tells a smaller story that appeals to the core Trek audience. “Let’s make the movie for the people that love this group of people, that love this story, that love Star Trek,” he said. “Let’s make it for them and then, if people want to come to the party, great.” It’s a strategy that makes sense; the disappointment with recent Trek films hasn’t been their content so much as their box office. A Trek film with a smaller scope (and budget) would almost certainly have a very healthy profit margin while also resonating with the fanbase.   

With no new announcements coming from San Diego Comic-Con 2022, it seems that we’ll have to wait for any more insight into the next Star Trek film. Sill, recent comments from Paramount CEO Brian Robbins have us cautiously optimistic: “We’re deep into [Star Trek 4] with J.J. Abrams, and it feels like we’re getting close to the starting line and excited about where we’re going creatively,” he told Variety . 

Still, recent comments from Paramount CEO Brian Robbins have us cautiously optimistic: “We’re deep into [Star Trek 4] with J.J. Abrams, and it feels like we’re getting close to the starting line and excited about where we’re going creatively,” he told Variety.

Since then, there hasn’t been much in the way of updates, which leaves us with the worrying prospect of Star Trek 4 being stuck in development hell. During a 2023 appearance at the 57-Year Mission convention in Las Vegas (reported by TrekMovie ), Zachary Quinto explained that creative differences were the cause of the numerous delays. 

“I think there’s a lot of other stuff, creative things. It’s complicated. The fact that anything good gets made is kind of a miracle. I think it’s about different people having different agendas and ideas about what it will be.“

Star Trek: Section 31

In the meantime, we are getting the Star Trek: Section 31 movie staring Academy Award-winning actress MichelIe Yeoh. She is reprising her role as Emperor Philip Georgiou, her character from Star Trek Discovery (well one of them anyway, mirror universes and all that). This spin-off from the TV series is coming out of warp in early 2025.

Check out our guide to Everything we know about Star trek Section 31 for more info on the upcoming movie.

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Susan Arendt is a freelance writer, editor, and consultant living in Burleson, TX. She's a huge sci-fi TV and movie buff, and will talk your Vulcan ears off about Star Trek. You can find more of her work at Wired, IGN, Polygon, or look for her on Twitter: @SusanArendt. Be prepared to see too many pictures of her dogs.

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Screen Rant

Two star trek captains can pull off spock's vulcan nerve pinch.

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Star Trek: Discovery’s Burnham Fight Makes Michael Even More Like Kirk

Star trek accidentally created 2 of hollywood's biggest current stars, star trek reveals the enterprise's new design as a full-fledged warship.

Introduced on Star Trek: The Original Series, Spock (Leonard Nimoy) could render a person unconscious with a Vulcan Nerve Pinch, but these two Star Trek captains could also perform the maneuver. First used in TOS season 1, episode 4, "The Enemy Within," the Vulcan Nerve (or Neck) Pinch involves applying pressure to a specific area at the base of the neck to render a person unconscious. The Vulcan Nerve Pinch has been used in over sixty episodes of Star Trek across the franchise and works on most humanoid species.

The idea for the Vulcan Nerve Pinch came from Leonard Nimoy himself. The original draft of "The Enemy Within" had Spock knock the evil duplicate of Captain James T. Kirk (William Shatner) unconscious by hitting him in the head, but Nimoy felt Spock would have a less violent way to render someone unconscious. Nimoy reasoned that Spock would have learned about human anatomy and known exactly how and where to apply pressure. Nimoy also posited that Vulcans emitted a kind of energy from their fingertips that aided in the process. Although many Vulcans could perform the Neck Pinch, a few non-Vulcans also utilized the technique.

Kirk & Burnham Can Do Spock’s Vulcan Nerve Pinch

Michael burnham & an alternate-universe james kirk both learned the technique.

A handful of humans have been shown performing a Vulcan Nerve Pinch, including Captain Michael Burnham (Sonequa Martin-Green) and an alternate-universe version of Captain James T. Kirk (Paul Wesley). After Klingons killed Michael's parents, she was raised by Ambassador Sarek (James Frain) and his human wife, Amanda Grayson (Mia Kirshner), on Vulcan alongside their biological son, Spock (Ethan Peck). Burnham embraced Vulcan logic, eventually becoming the first human to attend the Vulcan Learning Center. Michael presumably learned how to perform a Vulcan Nerve Pinch while on Vulcan. In Star Trek: Discovery season 1, Commander Burnham nerve pinched Captain Philippa Georgiou (Michaelle Yeoh), although Georgiou recovered quickly.

Captain Burnham fought herself in Star Trek: Discovery season 5, which is an experience Captain James T. Kirk is very familiar with in Star Trek: TOS.

In Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 2, episode 3, "Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow," Lt. La'an Noonien-Singh (Christina Chong) encountered an alternate-universe version of James Kirk as Captain of the United Earth Fleet Enterprise. La'an and Kirk embarked on a mission to 21st century Toronto where the duo restored the proper version of Star Trek' s Prime timeline . Kirk used a Vulcan Nerve Pinch on a civilian to steal a car. When La'an asked where he learned how to do that, Kirk said he learned it from his Vulcan cellmate in a Denobulan prison.

Should Humans Be Able To Do Spock’s Vulcan Nerve Pinch?

Vulcans & humans have many differences, after all.

Although fans have speculated about how exactly the Vulcan Nerve Pinch works , it has never been fully explained on screen. While it may look like someone simply pinching the neck of their opponent, there is clearly a level of skill and technique required to perfect the Nerve Pinch. This raises the question of whether non-Vulcans should even be able to learn how to do it properly. Although a handful of humans have been seen performing a Vulcan Nerve Pinch, it was usually in situations where they had either mind-melded with a Vulcan or were carrying a Vulcan's katra.

On Star Trek: The Original Series, Spock once remarked that he had unsuccessfully tried to teach Captain Kirk how to perform the Nerve Pinch, suggesting not all humans could learn how to do it.

It appears that a human can learn how to perform a Vulcan Nerve Pinch, but can only do it effectively when connected to a Vulcan in some way. Vulcans are not only physically stronger than humans, but they are also telepathic. Both of these traits likely contribute to the effectiveness of the Nerve Pinch. Michael's use of the technique on Georgiou only rendered the Captain unconscious for a couple of minutes. This suggests that while humans can learn where and how to apply the correct pressure to perform Star Trek's Vulcan Nerve Pinch, it will never be as effective as when a Vulcan does it.

Star Trek: Discovery

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Star Trek: Strange New Worlds

Sam Richardson's Star Trek: Section 31 Role Has A Connection To The Undiscovered Country

As of this writing, Trekkies haven't been given too many details about the upcoming TV movie "Star Trek: Section 31." A recent teaser trailer revealed a lot, however . As was known, Section 31 is the shady, black ops division of Starfleet, tasked with infiltrating dangerous crime lairs or manipulating local politics to their own ends. They're the morally compromised arm of "Star Trek." In the upcoming film, the division is led by Empress Philippa Georgiou (Michelle Yeoh), who was previously a recurring character on "Star Trek: Discovery." Georgiou, to recap, was rescued from the evil "mirror" universe where she was a vicious tyrant who murdered millions. Now, after a slight redemption arc, she's been put in charge of a cadre of spies.

Said characters are a ragtag group of freelance badasses. The "Section 31" cast includes Omari Hardwick, Kacey Rohl, Sven Ruygrok, Robert Kazinsky, Humberly Gonzalez, and James Hiroyuki Liao.

Sam Richardson also appears in the movie as a member of Georgiou's team. The "I Think You Should Leave" and "Hocus Pocus 2" actor talked about his "Star Trek" role  on Dax Shepard's "Armchair Expert" podcast (via Trek Movie) , disclosing that he is playing a Chameloid — a shape-shifting species not seen in the sci-fi franchise since the 1991 film "Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country." One might not recall the species' name, but one will almost certainly recall the character of Martia, played by supermodel Iman. Martia was a character James Kirk (William Shatner) and Dr. McCoy (DeForest Kelley) encountered when they had been thrown into a Klingon prison located on a distant, arctic planet. She used her shape-shifting abilities to help Kirk and McCoy escape prison, before ultimately revealing herself to be in league with the film's evil conspirators.

However, despite them being members of the same species, Richardson was a little baffled as to why his character didn't choose to look like Iman.

Chameloids are coming back to Star Trek

Apart from their appearance in "Star Trek VI," little is known about Chameloids. All we know is they can shapeshift into other humanoids and perfectly imitate their voices. In "The Undiscovered Country," for example, Martia transforms into Kirk at one point, resulting in a scene where Shatner has a fistfight with himself. Chameloids are also one of many shapeshifting species in "Star Trek," a list that includes the Founders (the Changelings from "Deep Space Nine"), Allassomorphs (like the one Wesley Crusher fell in love with on "The Next Generation"), Vendorians (the squid monster from "Star Trek: The Animated Series"), and Devidians (the ones from the "Next Generation" episode "Time's Arrow"). There are also multiple species who alter their appearance using psychic manipulation or holograms. On "Star Trek," you can never really be sure you know who you're talking to.

Sam Richardson is aware he's playing the first Chameloid to appear on "Star Trek" since 1991, and his character shares one common feature with Martia: they both have bright yellow eyes. As he put it:

"So I play a physicist shapeshifter, what's called a Chameloid. This is the second time there's ever been a Chameloid in 'Star Trek.' The first time was Iman in ' Star Trek VI' [...]  It's actually very funny. With Iman, it's like this is a shapeshifter, you want to look good, [so you say] 'Yeah, I'll make myself Iman.' And then for me, it's like, 'Oh good, I'm going to make myself Sam Richardson.' I'm going to accept it."

It hasn't been revealed in print yet, but Richardson noted that his character's name sounds like "Quasi." The fact that his character is a physicist also reveals that "Section 31" may boast a typical "Star Trek" style crew with a scientist, an engineer, a doctor, a diplomat, a pilot, a security officer, and a command officer. The movie isn't due until 2025, however, so this must remain in the realm of speculation for the time being.

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Hands-On: Nubeo Magellan Chronograph Star Trek Enterprise-D Limited-Edition Watch

The watch industry is currently living through a golden age of pop culture-inspired timepieces. Nearly every major entertainment franchise has some sort of horological tie-in these days, from film series to sports teams, and even musicians. However, despite being a sci-fi stalwart for almost 60 years, the “Star Trek” franchise has never had much of an impact in the enthusiast watch world. Offbeat brand Nubeo aims to change that, with a Trek-themed brand partnership that combines ultra-modern Richard Mille-esque styling with a remarkably in-depth tribute to the franchise’s favorite ship. The new Nubeo Magellan Chronograph Star Trek Enterprise-D Limited Edition is a bold, unapologetic love letter to ‘90s-era Trek aesthetics, paired with a dependable mecha-quartz powerplant and a beefy, aggressive case design.

First things first: the Nubeo Magellan Chronograph Star Trek Enterprise-D Limited Edition is an imposingly large watch on the wrist. At 48mm wide, 51mm lug-to-lug, and a hefty 17mm in overall thickness, the navy blue and black PVD stainless steel case cuts a deliberately bold figure on the wrist that no amount of slimming dark colors can mask. Our “Medical Blue” hands-on sample is arguably the most restrained and balanced of the bunch, but even so, this is not a watch that disappears effortlessly under a cuff or blends seamlessly into its environment. In short, the Nubeo is a watch that one has to plan an outfit around, which can make for fun if infrequent pairings. The overall form here bears a passing resemblance to Richard Mille’s signature curved tonneau design, but Nubeo makes an important handful of tweaks that help to make this shape its own. The flared black case sides, for example, give the Magellan Chronograph Star Trek Enterprise-D Limited Edition a broad, commanding stance on the wrist, while the mix of polished chamfers and vertically brushed case sides lend the design some much-needed visual depth. A set of protruding polished hex bolts running along both the 3 o’clock and 9 o’clock case sides adds even more visual detail here, and the broad oblong pushers along with the oversized, color-accented screw-down crown further extend the already considerable diameter. The “Star Trek” side isn’t neglected in this case, as the crown is signed with the classic Starfleet delta emblem and the 9 o’clock features an engraved panel with the “Star Trek” logo. Like other designs of this ilk, the real star of the case is its bezel, which blends a dramatically arcing matte navy blue upper surface with a quartet of raised, polished “claws,” and decorative three-pronged screws at the hooded lugs. The interplay between matte blasted, brushed, polished, and differently coated surfaces adds some dynamism to what could easily have been a simplistic novelty design. Even more impressively, the raised mineral crystal (the lack of sapphire at this price point is admittedly regrettable) matches the compound curves of the bezel with virtually no visual distortion of the dial below. Around back, Nubeo fits the watch with an engraved caseback sporting the Starfleet emblem and a limited edition serial number. While in concept, this watch might be designed for exploring strange new worlds, it’s not prepared for prolonged underwater exploration thanks to an underwhelming 50 meters of water resistance.

Even with the attention-grabbing shape and dimensions of its case, there’s no doubt that the Nubeo Magellan Chronograph Star Trek Enterprise-D Limited Edition’s dial steals the spotlight. Naturally, the amazingly detailed, 3D sculpted rendition of the USS Enterprise-D from “Star Trek: The Next Generation” is the real centerpiece here. Some of the raised detailing and “Aztec” paint variations border on microscopic, but show amazing attention to detail under high magnification. The unfortunate exception is the slightly blurry ship’s registry text near 12 o’clock, but overall it’s clear the Nubeo team spent considerable time and effort designing this element. This is far from the only direct “Star Trek” visual reference on this dial, however. The turquoise and slate blue base dial layer, along with the lumed red and blue segment around 6 o’clock, use asymmetrical geometric patterning heavily inspired by the LCARS computer screens used aboard the Enterprise-D and many other ships in the “Star Trek” franchise.

For the timekeeping elements of the watch’s dial, Nubeo continues this heavily stylized, spectacle-driven approach – for better or worse. The ultra-tall, faceted outer chapter ring combines an outer chronograph seconds scale with a sculptural minutes track on its inner edge, and is flanked by a mix of applied circular and wedge-shaped hour indices. The main handset is a pair of blunted, heavily brushed, futuristic dauphine-esque hands, complete with a striking asymmetric lume fill. For the hour hand, the lume plots are more or less conventionally placed away from the outer edges of the hand, whereas the minute hand uses a continuous strip of lume along its outermost edge. A Starfleet delta counterweight for the yellow-tipped skeleton central chronograph seconds hand dramatically reinforces the theming, but the real attention-grabbing handset belongs to the subdials. For the 3 o’clock 24-hour subdial, 6 o’clock running seconds, and 9 o’clock chronograph minutes, the brand abandons a standard subdial layout in favor of rotating disks. This makes the high-visibility, red and yellow indices at 3 o’clock, 6 o’clock, and 9 o’clock into de facto subdial pointers as well. On paper, this is a playfully unorthodox and suitably sci-fi alternative to a conventional chronograph, and for both the 24-hour disk and the vivid red-hued running seconds, it’s reasonably easy to read. For the 9 o’clock chronograph register, though, this design decision has a serious impact on legibility. In short, Nubeo avoids having a full minutes scale on this subdial for a cleaner, more graphic look, which in practice means it’s nigh-on impossible to get an at-a-glance chronograph reading much more precise than two and a half minutes from the currently recorded time. Coupled with a love-it-or-hate-it, theatrical dial design, it’s bound to be a divisive layout overall.

Inside the Nubeo Magellan Chronograph Star Trek Enterprise-D Limited Edition beats the dependable, familiar Seiko VK63 mechaquartz chronograph movement. The VK63, along with its sister movement the VK64, has become ubiquitous in entry-level chronographs across the industry in recent years, and it’s easy to see why. With quartz-level accuracy coupled with firm, snappy pusher feel akin to a classic mechanical chrono, as well as a mechanical chronograph-style sweeping seconds hand, it’s a hybrid approach that truly takes the best of both worlds (“Star Trek” pun very much intended). Stated accuracy stands at +20/-20 seconds per month, with a respectable three years of battery life. Nubeo completes the watch with a dial-matching turquoise rubber strap. Nicely sculpted, with a pair of raised central ridges and beveled edges, this strap is satisfyingly soft, breathable, and flexible right out of the box, while further tying into the Starfleet uniform color scheme of the rest of the design.

There has never been more enthusiast-focused pop culture watch tie-ins across the industry than there are right now, and it’s long past time that the venerable, long-running “Star Trek” franchise delved into this growing market segment in earnest. With the new Nubeo Magellan Chronograph Star Trek Enterprise-D Limited Edition, the sci-fi mainstay takes its place among its rivals in dynamic, modernist, and willfully over-the-top fashion. Only 200 examples of each colorway in the Nubeo Magellan Chronograph Star Trek Enterprise-D Limited Edition series will be made, for a total production run of 600 watches. The watch is available now through authorized dealers and the brand’s e-commerce platform. MSRP for this watch stands at $1,100 USD as of press time. For more information, please visit the brand’s website .

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