Star Trek Continues Number of Episodes
Over the five decades since its inception, the Star Trekuniverse continues to inspire new generations of Trekkies. The original series that began in the mid-1960s has spawned countless spin-offs in television shows, animation and feature films.
Someone who is new to this massive franchise may be wondering just how long will it take to watchallof Star Trek. With so many series and films in the catalog, catching up on everything Star Trek may seem like a daunting task. This list will divide the franchise into different categories to show just how long it takes to watch them. This way, consuming the entire Star Trek saga won't seem so intimidating after all.
The Original Series
This is the one that started it all. For a series with so much significance in television and pop culture history, it's surprising to find out thatStar Trek: The Original Serieslasted for just 79 episodes over three seasons. Each episode lasts 50 minutes for a total of 3,950 minutes, meaning it will take just under 66 hours to watch them all uninterrupted. In other words,The Original Series can be finished in less than a week.
The Next Generation
Star Trek: The Next Generationwas so successful during its seven season run that it's arguably more popular today thanThe Original Series. The Next Generation'sepisode count topped its predecessor by almost a hundred for a total of 178 episodes, each with a 44 minute run time. That adds up to a series total of 7,832 minutes, or 130.5 hours and just under five and half days. If the viewer is free from work for about two weeks,The Next Generationseries can be completed.
Completed Spinoffs
This category will cover every live-action series followingThe Next Generationthat's no longer in production. Those series consist of Star Trek:Deep Space Nine, Star Trek: VoyagerandStar Trek: Enterprise. Deep Space Nineis nearly as long asThe Next Generationwith 176 episodes each running 45 minutes. The 7,920-minute run-time equals approximately 132 hours or five and a half days.Voyagerhas 172 episodes that also run for 45 minutes for a total of 7,740 minutes, or 129 hours. Enterprisegot the short end of the stick compared to its predecessors with only 98 episodes in just four seasons. Every episode was 42 minutes long which translates to 4,116, or just under 69 hours. Those three completed spin-offs combined are 19,776 minutes long, which equals 329 hours and 36 minutes.
Animated Series
Star Trek: The Animated Series only lasted for two seasons in the early 1970s, releasing 22 episodes that were each 24 minutes long. SoThe Animated Seriesis only 528 minutes long, or just under 9 hours. The who series can be watched in just a single day.Star Trek: Lower Decksjust premiered its first season in 2020 with 10 episodes. Each episode is 25 minutes long totaling 250 minutes, meaning that the entire first season can be watched in just over four hours. Both animated series take just 13 hours to watch in their entirety.
Currently Active Live-Action Series
This category consists of the Star Trek series that are still running as of now which are Star Trek:Discovery, Star Trek: P icardand Star Trek:Short Treks. The CBS All Access showDiscoveryhas 42 episodes in three seasons with each episode averaging around 45 minutes each, meaning it will take just under 78 hours and 45 minutes to catch up on. So far,Picardhas just one season with 10 episodes, each of which runs around 45 minutes to an hour, so it will take just under 10 hours to finish the first season. There are 10 episodes ofShort Treks on CBS All Access and each are around 15 minutes, meaning it will take just two and a half hours to finish. Overall, the active live-action Star Trek series will take a combined 92 hours to finish, requiring a week or two of viewing under a regular schedule.
The Original Series Films
Ten years followed the end of The Original Series, the adventures of Captain Kirk, Spock and friends continued on the big screen in the filmStar Trek: The Motion Picture, which has a run time of 132 minutes.Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, universally considered the best film in the franchise, is 113 minutes. The Leonard Nimoy directedStar Trek III: The Search for Spockis 105 minutes andStar Trek IV: The Voyage Homeis 122 minutes. Finally, William Shatner'sStar Trek V: The Final Frontier is 106 minutes and Nicholas Meyer'sThe Undiscovered Countryhas a 110-minute running time. Overall, the original film series clocks in at a total of 688 minutes which equals 11 hours and 28 minutes long. It will take most people multiple days to watch all six films.
The Next Generation Movie Series
The Next Generationdid not have the same big screen success as the original series but made four films including two that were released following the end of the show. The first film,Star Trek Generations, featured both Picard and Kirk and is 118 minutes, the best-reviewed of the films,Star Trek: First Contact,clocks in at 111 minutes long,Star Trek: Insurrection isshorter at 103 minutes and the last filmStar Trek: Nemesisis 116 minutes. The fourNext Generationfilms combined run at a total of 448 minutes, equaling 7 hours and 28 minutes. While the original film series may take multiple days, you could watchThe Next Generation film in just one day.
Kelvin Timeline Movie Series
The most recent movie series, known as The Kelvin Timeline films, take place in an alternate reality featuring the crew fromThe Original Series.The Kelvin movie franchise consists of three films, with each film varying in length. 2009'sStar Trekruns 127 minutes, the 2013 sequelStar Trek Into Darknessis just five minutes longer at 132, and the latest filmStar Trek Beyondis actually the shortest at 122 minutes. The film trilogy totals 381 minutes, or 6 hours and 21 minutes. New Trekkies can finish this trilogy in just a day.
All 13 Star Trek films have a combined total of 25 hours and 17 minutes, or just over a full day. Every single television series, both currently airing and retired, total up to 626 hours and 31 minutes, or just over 26 days. Every series and movie combined totals to 651 hours and 48 minutes, meaning it will take over 27 days to watch them all uninterrupted. Obviously watching them all consecutively is impossible, but realistically watching everything Star Trek could take less than half a year. For those who believe this beloved universe is worth investing over 39,000 minutes of life, it's time to boldly go where only true diehard Trekkies have gone before.
Source: https://www.cbr.com/star-trek-every-tv-episode-movie/