Favorite Star Trek TV Shows

Every Trekie has their favorite Star Trek Series. I’m no exeption.

6. Star Trek: The Animated Series (1973-1974)

Voices of William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, DeForest Kelley, James Doohan, Nichelle Nichols, George Takei, Majel Barrett

This is my least favorite although it did win Star Trek it’s first Emmy. In my opinion, Star Trek was never meant to be animated.

5. Enterprize (2001-2005)

Captain Jonathan Archer – Scott Bakula

T’Pol – Jolene Blalock

Charles Tripp Tucker III – Conner Trinneer

Malcolm Reed – Dominic Keating

I never was able to get into this series and finally stopped trying. It just didn’t work for me.

4. Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (1993-1999)

Captain Benjamin Sisco – Avery Brooks

Kira Nerys – Nana Visitor

Odo – Rene Auberjonois

Julian Bishar - Alexander Siddig

Deep Space Nine was the first Star Trek to have a black captain. The premise was having a Star Trek Station that stayed on one planet. Without the exploration, it lost some of the adventure. It substituted by added politics and religion of the planet where they were stationed. In my opinion, Star Trek doesn’t work without the exploration.

3. Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987-1994)

Captain Jean-Luc Piccard – Patrick Stewart

Commander William Riker – Jonathan Frikes

Geordi LaForge - Lavar Burton

Tasha Yar - Deniese Crosby

Worf – Michael Dorn

Dr. Beverly Crusher – Gates McFadden

Deanna Troi - Marena Sirtis

Data - Brent Spiner

Wesley Crusher – Will Wheaton

I loved this version of Star Trek. It didn’t try to copy the original. Instead it came up with characters who reacted differently and fit the generation of the 80s. At the same time, the adventure and relationships that made Star Trek great were explored in a new way. I loved Picard and Riker.

2. Star Trek: Voyager (1995-2001)

Captain Kathryn Janeway - Kate Mulgrew

Chakatay – Robert Beltran

B’Elanna Torres – Roxann Dawson

Tom Paris -  Robert Duncan McNeil

Neelix – Ethan Phillips

The Doctor – Robert Picardo

Tuvoc – Tim Russ

Harry Kim – Garrett Wang

Voyager is my second favorite Star Trek series. The premise is to have their space ship hopelessly lost and trying to find its way home. This Star Trek had the first woman captain. The best thing about Captain Janeway was she led the ship in the same style a woman would lead. This was at a time where too many shows on TV had women leading like men. It was a refreshing change. I also loved the character, Tom Paris, who through this difficult situation had a chance to redeem himself from a lurid past and grow into a person of integrity.

1. Star Trek: The Original Series (1966-1969)

Captain James T. Kirk – William Shatner

Mr. Spock – Leonard Nimoy

Dr. McCoy (Bones) – DeForrest Kelley

Uhura - Nichelle Nichols

Scott – James Doohan

Sulu – George Takei

Chekov – Walter Koenig

To this day, this is my favorite. I remember watching it with my family as a little girl. Not only did it take on issues of the day in a futuristic way, but the relationships between Captain Kirk, Spock, and Bones made the show great. Captain Kirk was the original captain who explored where no man has gone before in the same vein as adventurers and cowboys or the past. Nobody will ever take his place.

So leave a comment and let me know if you agree. Which are your favorites?

Top 10 Sci-fi TV Shows of All Time

I didn’t include anthologies such as Twilight Zone or Outer Limits in this list. I also didn’t include SteamPunk like Wild Wild West. All of these are great shows. I combined all the Star Treks into one because if I’d included them separately, there wouldn’t have been room for most of the others. I’ll include my Star Trek list in order of favorites next week.

Honorable Mentions: Max Headroom, Buck Rogers and the 25th Century, Six Million Dollar Man, Star Gate Series, X Factor, and Alien Nation

10. Mork and Mindy

1978-1982

Starring Robin Williams and Pam Dawber

Let’s be honest. This was one of the silliest shows ever on TV. It proved the genius of Robin Williams in the silliest of scripts and launched his career. NaNoo NaNoo!

9. Alf

1986-1990

Starring Mihaly ’Michu’ Meszaros, Paul Fusco, and Max Wright

What can I say? I love silly sci-fi shows when they’re done right. This one was.

8. Time Tunnel

1966-1967

Starring Robert Colbert, Lee Meriwether, and James Darren

The science part and the special effects were laughable, but this was the first time travel TV Series. I learned a lot of history when I was a kid by watching this show. Besides it was fun to watch James Darren.

7. My Favorite Martian

1963-1966

Starring Ray Walston and Bill Bixby

This is the first TV show Bill Bixby starred in. When an alien lands, a reporter decides to shield him by introducing him as his uncle. This is one of the first comedy sci-fi TV shows.

6. Quantum Leap

1989-1993

Starring Scott Bakula and Dean Stockwell

Who didn’t root for Sam to make things right that had gone wrong?

5. V The Original

1983

Starring Mark Singer and Faye Grant

I didn’t miss one episode of this show even though I didn’t own a VCR. I was on the edge of my seat to see what happened next.

4. Lost In Space

1965-1968

Starring Guy Williams, June Lockhart, Mark Goddard, Marta Kristen, Angela Cartwright, Billy Mumy, and Jonathan Harris

You either loved this campy show or you hated it. I loved it.

3. Battlestar Gallactica

1980

Starring Lorne Green, Dirk Benedict, and Herb Jefferson Jr.

2004-2009

Starring Edward James Olmos, Mary McDonnell, and Jamie Bamber

You might ask me which one. Both deserve the number 3 spot, but I liked the earlier one with Lorne Greene. I listed the dates and actors for both.

2. Dr. Who

1963-2012

StarringWilliam Hartnell, Patrick Troughton, John Pertwee, Tom Baker, Peter Davidson, Colin Baker, Sylvester McCoy, Paul McGann, Christopher Eccleston, David Tennant, and Matt Smith

I’ll be honest. Although I lumped all the Star Treks together, only the original Star Trek Series nudges out Dr. Who for the number 1 spot, and that’s just barely. Dr. Who is awesome. Every doctor brought something different to the part, yet they were all The Doctor.

1. Star Trek Series

1966-1967

Starring William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, and DeForrest Kelley

Since the original series is my favorite, I only listed the dates and actors for it. I remember watching it as a little girl when it was first on. I practiced holding in my emotions like Spock. You’ll have to wait a week to see which Star Trek gets my number 2 and number 3 spots. Neither one beats Dr. Who, but they would be number 3 & 4 on this list. I have always loved James T. Kirk. Star Trek is an icon of sci-fi series.

So do you think I got it right. What were your favorites?

Top 10 TV Shows from the Andy Griffith Genre

These were some of the best shows from when I was growing up. Clean humor, small town values, farming communities – great TV. To be on this list, the TV show had to be around in the 60s, was set in a small town or rural area, and had clean humor and family values from a different era. I excluded shows set in the past.

10. Mr. Deeds Goes to Town

1969-1970

Starring Monte Markham

Short-lived TV show about a man who inherits money and moves to the big city.

9. The Real McCoys

1957-1963

Starring Richard Creena, Lydia Reed, and Walter Brennon

This show is about a hillbilly family that moves to California.

8. Mayberry RFD

1968-1971

Starring Ken Berry, George Lindsey, Jack Dodson, Arlene Golonka, and Frances Bavier (Aunt Bea)

This spin-off of the Andy Griffith Show is about the town folks of Mayberry after Sheriff Taylor and his family moved away. Not as good as the original, but it kept us going after Andy Griffith went off the air.

7. Mr. Ed

1961-1966

Starring Alan Young

A young architect and his wife move to the country and buy a farm that comes with a horse that can talk. Of course.

6. Green Acres

1965-1971

Starring Eddie Albert and Ava Gabor

Nothing is funnier than placing Eddie Albert and Ava Gabor in farm country in the middle of crazy characters and watching their reactions. This is loosely related to Beverly Hillbillies and Petticoat Junction.

5. Beverly Hillbillies

1962-1971

Starring Buddy Epson, Irene Ryan, Max Baer Jr., Donna Douglas, and Raymond Bailey

Jed Clampett, a down and out hillbilly, strikes oil on his farm and becomes rich. Of course, the thing to do is to move to Beverly Hills. Another show loosely related to Petticoat Junction and Green Acres.

4. Gilligan’s Island

1964-1967

Starring Bob Denver, Alan Hale Jr., Natalie Schafer, Jim Backus, Dawn Wells, Tina Louise, and Russell Johnson

In case you’re wondering why I included this show, what’s more rural than a secluded island?

3. Gomer Pyle USMC

1964-1969

Starring Jim Nabors and Frank Sutton

The best spin-off of the Andy Griffith Show. Take a goofy, likable, backwoods mechanic and put him in the Marines under the toughest drill sergeant in the world, and you have this show. Too funny. I still remember how flustered Gomer Pyle would make Sergeant Carter. 

2. Petticoat Junction

1965-1970

Starring Bea Benaderet, Edgar Buchanan, Jeannine Riley, Gunilla Hutton, Meredith MacRae, Pat Woodell, Lori Saunders, Linda Henning

This little remembered TV show about three girls coming of age in rural America is one of my favorites. I wanted to be Betty Jo.

1. Andy Griffith Show

1960-1968

Starring Andy Griffith, Don Knotts, Ron Howard, Frances Bavier

This is the show that defined the genre. Andy Griffith will always be remembered for small town values in Mayberry, USA.

Top 10 Father TV Shows

 

Leave It to Beaver

1957-1963

Starring: Barbara Billingsley, Hugh Beaumont, Tony Dow, Jerry Mathers

My Three Sons

1960-1972

Starring: Fred MacMurray, William Demarest, Don Grady, Stanley Livingston, Barry Livingston, Tim Considine, William Frawley, Meredith MacRae, Tina Cole, Beverly Garland, Dawn Lyn, Ronne Troup, Daniel, Joseph, and Michael Todd

The Bill Cosby Show

1984-1992

Starring: Bill Cosby, Fred Pinkard, Joyce Buifant, Lee Weaver, Olga James, Sid McCoy

Andy Griffith Show

1960-1968

Starring: Andy Griffith, Ronnie Howard, Don Knotts

Family Affair

1966-1971

Starring: Brian Keith, Sebastian Cabot, Kathy Garver, Johnny Whittaker, Anissa Jones

Bonanza

1959-1973

Starring: Lorne Greene, Michael Landon, Dan Blocker, Pernell Roberts

Home Improvement

1991-1999

Starring: Tim Allen, Patricia Richardson, Earl Hindman, Zachery Ty Bryan, Richard Karn, Jonathan Taylor Thomas

Courtship of Eddie’s Father

1969-1972

Starring: Bill Bixby, Brandon Cruz

Rifleman

1958-1963

Starring: Chuck Conners, Johnny Crawford, Paul Fix

Father Knows Best

1954-1960

Starring: Robert Young, Jane Wyatt, Elinor Donahue, Billy Grey, Lauren Chappin

10 Best Classic Western TV Shows

10. The Lone Ranger

(1949 – 1957)

Starring Clayton Moore and Jay Silverheels

9. Death Valley Days

(1952-1975)

Hosted by Stanley Andrews, Ronald Reagan, Dale Robertson, and Merle Haggard

8. Wild Wild West

(1965-1969)

Starring Robert Conrad and Ross Marten

7. The Rifleman

(1958-1963)

Starring Chuck Conners and Johnny Crawford

6. Big Valley

(1965-1969)

Starring Barbara Stanwich, Robert Long, Lee Majors, Linda Evans, and Peter Breck

5. The Virginian

(1972-1971)

Starring James Drury, Doug McClure, Lee J. Cobb, John MacIntire, Charles Bickford, Stewart Granger, and Roberta Shore

4. Gunsmoke

(1952-1975)

Staring: James Arness, Milburne Stone, Amanda Blake, Dennis Weaver, and Ken Curtis

3. Maverick

(1957-1962)

Starring: James Garner, Jack Kelly, Rodger Moore, and Robert Colbert

2. Bonanza

(1959-1973)

Staring: Lorne Greene, Micheal Landon, Dan Blocker, Pernell Roberts, David Canary, and Mitch Vogel

1. Alias Smith and Jones

(1971-1973)

Starring: Pete Duel, Ben Murphy, and Roger Davis