- Created by Casper Kelly
- Based on Star Trek: The Animated Series created by Gene Roddenberry
- September 8, 2023
- YouTube
Voice Cast
- William T. Riker-Jonathan Frakes
- Dr. Beverly Crusher-Gates McFadden
- Quark-Armin Shimerman
- Saru-Doug Jones
- Spock-Ethan Peck
- Nyota Uhura-Celia Rose Gooding
- Trip Tucker-Connor Trinneer
- Hemmer-Bruce Horak
- D’Vana Tendi-Noël Wells
- Hikaru Sulu-George Takei
- T’Pring-Gia Sandhu
- M’Ress-Cristina Milizia
- Captain-Pete Holmes
- Bragu-Dana Snyder
- Mucara-Sarah Sherman
Non-canonical animated shorts in the visual style of Star Trek: TAS.
In celebration of the 50th anniversary of Star Trek: The Animated Series Paramount released to YouTube very Short Treks which are a series of very brief animated shorts done in the style of the classic series. This is quite possibly the worst thing Paramount has ever released with a Star Trek name on it. Whoever said this was a good idea should lose their job or at the minimum never be allowed near Star Trek again.
I looked into Casper Kelly and I have absolutely no idea what qualifies him for Star Trek. His television work is largely with Adult Swim and it shows in this. very Short Treks is not a loving homage or a loving poke at Star Trek: The Animated Series or even Star Trek in general. It’s an outright mockery of everything Star Trek done with the lowest of the low brow humor under a veneer of celebrating the animated series. It is a mean spirited parody done by somebody that hates it. Or looks like it.
Worse these purportedly funny short films are anything but funny. There is nothing presented that will make you laugh as either a Star Trek fan or as a general viewer. The jokes do not even get far enough to fall flat. There is not setup followed by a punchline but rather one dumb or ludicrous element after another. They are crafted with all the skill of a kid in elementary school.
Aside from unfunny humor, the voice work is generally poor and it’s often done by the current actors that the animation represents. The only high point is Jonathan Frakes. He knows what to do when voicing animation, but the rest of the people involved in this just give a standard acting a performance and just don’t know how to handle voice work. I’m curious if they even rehearsed before recording. It’s just bland and lifeless.
To be honest, this is not a complete travesty. Holograms All the Way Down is quite possibly what this should’ve been from the start. It is not a mean spirited or unfunny parody of Star Trek. Rather it takes an absurd situation which your mind could almost see happening and runs with it to an even more absurd conclusion. It uses the well-worn technique of taking a funny joke and running it into the ground to the point it’s funny again. And by the time it’s all over you’re not only entertained but maybe a little confused and that makes things just a little bit better. But that’s one oasis in a bleak desert. One thing done well when all else is done wrong does not make this good.
This goes to a deeper issue. Star Trek today is handled by people that either don’t like Star Trek or just don’t get it. Their view is very surface and unlike Nicholas Myer for example they never took the time to understand the fictional universe they were asked to work in. They see the elements that are examples of the time in which whatever they are viewing was made such as the bright colors or limited effects of the original series and think THAT is Star Trek and not that it was trying to intelligently handle timely topics in a science fiction setting.
The Animated Series which supposedly inspired these was not a goof or simplistic superficial children’s programming but rather an attempt to continue Star Trek in animation. There was no attempt to mock or make silly. Right or wrong, it played more heavily into science fiction as allowed by the freedom of animation.
How could anybody see these shorts as humorous takes on what would occur? They are just stupid. Star Trek has done humor in the past. A humorous episode here or there though. TOS. TNG. DS9. VOY. ENT. All did humorous episodes, but this isn’t that. It’s a juvenile and superficial parody of Star Trek done by people who look at the surface and think that’s all it is.
I think it’s a safe bet to say that these animated shorts will appeal to the core fans of the current crop of Star Trek, but not to the longer-term fans who are after something of substance. Those people can pass on this travesty.
Warren Watched A Movie 