Star Trek's Presence In Stranger Things Timeline

Only 1 Star Trek Exists Until Stranger Things Season 5 By  John Orquiola Published 6 minutes ago John Orquiola is a New & Classic TV Editor, Senior Writer, and Interviewer with a special focus on Star Trek. John has over 4,000 published articles at SR, and he has interviewed the biggest names in Star Trek on the red carpet and VIP events, among other beloved shows, movies, and franchises. Sign in to your ScreenRant account Summary Generate a summary of this story follow Follow followed Followed Like Like Thread Log in Here is a fact-based summary of the story contents: Try something different: Show me the facts Explain it like I’m 5 Give me a lighthearted recap

Star Trek was very simple to follow during Stranger Things, as only one TV series and a handful of movies from Gene Roddenberry's sci-fi franchise existed. Stranger Things is set during the 1980s; season 1 kicked off on November 6, 1983, and season 5 begins on November 3, 1987.

Although Netflix's global phenomenon created by the Duffer Brothers is steeped in the pop culture of the 1980s, the young cast of Stranger Things, including Mike (Winn Wolfhard), Dustin (Gaten Matarazzo), Lucas (Caleb McLaughlin), Will (Noah Schnapp), Max (Sadie Sink), and Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown), don't reference or seem to watch Star Trek.

Star Trek is, instead, a spiritual influence on Stranger Things. The absence of Star Trek and Star Wars, the two biggest sci-fi franchises, is due to their parent companies, Paramount and Disney, owning the rights to Captain Kirk (William Shatner), Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill), and their respective universes.

Only Star Trek: The Original Series Exists During Stranger Things Seasons 1-4

Even if the teenage nerds of Hawkins, Indiana, don't talk about Star Trek, the final frontier would only consist of Star Trek: The Original Series in Stranger Things seasons 1-4. Further, Star Trek would only be known as 'Star Trek,' as the franchise has yet to expand beyond the voyages of Captain Kirk's Starship Enterprise.

In Stranger Things' first four seasons, the original 78 episodes of Star Trek would be continuously airing in syndication. There may also be an outside chance that Star Trek: The Animated Series reruns could be airing on a TV channel somewhere.

Star Trek became a movie franchise in 1979, but Star Trek: The Motion Picture and Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan — which ended with Spock's (Leonard Nimoy) death — hit movie theaters before Stranger Things season 1 begins in November 1983.

In the timeline of Stranger Things seasons 1-4, two more Star Trek movies hit multiplexes, both directed by Leonard Nimoy. Star Trek III: The Search for Spock premiered on June 1, 1984, and ended with Spock's resurrection. Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home landed in movie theaters on November 26, 1986, about a year before Stranger Things season 5.

Star Trek: The Next Generation Premiered Before Stranger Things Season 5

Star Trek's most monumental event of the 1980s happens on September 28, 1987, when Star Trek: The Next Generation premieres in syndication. TNG beams into TV screens just weeks before Stranger Things season 5 begins on November 3, 1987.

One of the unfortunate things about Stranger Things not acknowledging Star Trek is that Mike, Dustin, Will, Caleb, and Max don't debate the arrival of a new Star Trek that isn't about Captain Kirk and Mr. Spock. At the time, most Trekkies felt a new cast replacing the originals was sacrilegious.

Six episodes of Star Trek: The Next Generation aired before Stranger Things season 5 begins, including "The Naked Now," a remake of Star Trek: The Original Series' "The Naked Time," and the infamous "Code of Honor," perhaps TNG's worst episode.

For as much as Stranger Things indulges iconic 1980s franchises like Ghostbusters, Mad Max, and Dungeons & Dragons, it's a shame we never hear the Hellfire Club argue about Star Trek and whether Captain Kirk is better than Captain Picard (Patrick Stewart).

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  Like Follow Followed Star Trek: The Original Series TV-PG Drama Action Adventure Sci-Fi 8/10 287 9.0/10 Release Date 1966 - 1969-00-00 Network NBC

  Cast

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  • William Shatner James T. Kirk
  • Leonard Nimoy Spock
  Showrunner Gene Roddenberry Writers D.C. Fontana, Jerome Bixby, Arthur Heinemann, David Gerrold, Jerry Sohl, Oliver Crawford, Robert Bloch, David P. Harmon, Don Ingalls, Paul Schneider, Shimon Wincelberg, Steven W. Carabatsos, Theodore Sturgeon, Jean Lisette Aroeste, Art Wallace, Adrian Spies, Barry Trivers, Don Mankiewicz, Edward J. Lakso, Fredric Brown, George Clayton Johnson, George F. Slavin, Gilbert Ralston, Harlan Ellison Genres Drama, Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi Executive Producer(s) Gene Roddenberry Streaming Service(s) Paramount Plus Powered by Expand Collapse
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  Like Follow Followed Stranger Things TV-14 Drama Mystery Horror Science Fiction 8/10 542 9.1/10 Release Date 2016 - 2025-00-00 Network Netflix

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  • Millie Bobby Brown Jane 'Eleven' Hopper
  • Finn Wolfhard Mike Wheeler
  Showrunner Matt Duffer, Ross Duffer Writers Kate Trefry, Jessie Nickson-Lopez, Jessica Mecklenburg, Alison Tatlock Genres Drama, Mystery, Horror, Science Fiction Executive Producer(s) Shawn Levy, Dan Cohen, Curtis Gwinn, Cindy Holland, Karl Gajdusek, Iain Paterson, Matt Duffer, Ross Duffer Streaming Service(s) Netflix Powered by Expand Collapse

• Star Trek: The Original Series
• Star Trek
• Stranger Things

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