The Controversial Star Trek Animated Series

At last the Star Trek animated series is out on DVD. Thomas Vinciguerra wrote a gushing review of it for the New York Times:

From 1973 to 1974, the inescapable science-fiction franchise spawnedan all-but-forgotten Saturday morning cartoon series that more closelyresembled its parent show than any of the prime-time spinoffs ortheatrical releases that followed . . . Here isthe old U.S.S. Enterprise, still plodding along on its first five-yearmission. Here are those trademark pajama-top uniforms, feyly flaredtrousers and black go-go boots. Most important, here is the familiarlineup of Captain Kirk, Mr. Spock, et al., their voices supplied by William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy and most of the show’s other original actors.

But there were some problems:

One of the perverse fascinations of “ST: TAS” is its use of limitedanimation. To save money and time Filmation repeatedly used the samestock shots of the characters, many of them involving a minimum ofmotion. When new movements were called for, the results were frequentlystiff or herky-jerky. In some cases, to avoid the bother ofsketching in lip movements, the characters were shown speaking whileholding a hand over their mouths.

Of course the big question is whether ST: TAS is truly canon. Gene Roddenberry later retracted it, and even the DVD liner notes raise questions about whether the series "counts."

ST:TAS Out on Video [New York Times]