So: it has been a bit of a shock (to me, anyway) that Star Trek is celebrating it’s 60th anniversary of the first television season this year. The first episode, Where No Man Has Gone Before was first shown on September 6, 1966, on Canada’s CTV network, and then NBC from September 8th.
Of course, this may be due to the fact that it wasn’t shown here in the UK until the series had been cancelled in the US – the BBC first showed Where No Man Has Gone Before on July 12th 1969.
It is amazing to see how the series has grown in stature and global importance over that time. For me it has been, like for many others I suspect, an important part of my science fiction education from a very young age – . I was reading of Star Trek in comic book form before the TV series had even appeared here in the UK, and vividly remember watching the first episode in black and white on a Saturday night in the usual Doctor Who timeslot.
Since then, there have been many iterations of the Original Series: the Animated series, Next Generation, Deep Space Nine (DS9), Voyager, Discovery, Strange New Worlds, Below Decks, Starfleet Academy… despite everything, it keeps going.
Which made this book interesting to me. Given those 60 years, what are the iconic props that define the series for you? Here Ben Robinson, with the help of many of the prop masters has gone through, in generally chronological order, the various props from the films and television, from the Original Series to Starfleet Academy and picked out 100 objects and stories that give a flavour of the franchises’ evolution.
Putting it another way: what 100 things would you choose to signify Star Trek?
Well, my list doesn’t match the list here (nor should it); but there’s enough here to raise interest and generate debate.
It’s great fun.
There’s some pretty obvious ones – the Starship Enterprise and Spock’s ears, for example:
But also some less obvious ones. Enterprise Jumpsuits? Kira’s Bajoran nose from Deep Space Nine, anyone?
Ben adds to the images interviews and comments by many of the actors and especially the backroom staff that have brought the films and series to life often whilst facing significant challenges, usually around budget. There’s some interesting concept art too, of such things as the Chah-Mooz-Ee stone (Voyager) and the USS Protostar (Star Trek Prodigy).
I found myself looking at old favourites and some I had forgotten. Of course, there was some debate over some choices, but that was part of the fun. (Would I have included this? If not, what else?)
As per usual from Titan Books, the book is printed on nice glossy stock with generally sharp photography to match. I liked the Visual Index at the back which showed all 100 things in an easy-to-read index, with pictures.
All in all though, this is a lovely coffee-table book that serves as a reminder of how much the franchise has become interwoven into my life over the past 60 years – or 57, in my case.
Recommended for Star Trek fans who want to remember, or indeed for newer fans who want to see where Strange New Worlds, Below Decks and Starfleet Academy has come from.
The first of a number of books to celebrate Star Trek this year, I look forward to seeing what else will appear.
© 2026 Mark Yon
Hardback | Titan Books
THE STAR TREK ARCHIVE: 100 OBJECTS AND STORIES FROM THE FINAL FRONTIER by Ben Robinson
August 2026 | 192 pages
ISBN: 978-1835418741
