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“Space… the Final Frontier.” Those words have a certain sound to them, and not just because you hear the voice of William Shatner or Patrick Stewart saying them. They have a sound to them because they’re associated with music, specifically some of the most iconic themes in television history.
Even more so than the cold opens that accompany most episodes of Star Trek, the themes need to capture the franchise’s sense of wonder, optimism, and discovery. They need to evoke in the mind of the watcher an endless horizon just waiting for a Starfleet crew to find.
Every Star Trek TV theme achieves this goal, albeit some better than others. So here’s our ranking of every theme song from the most pedestrian to the most inspiring.
11. Star Trek: The Animated Series
It’s so much easier to admire Star Trek: The Animated Series than it is to enjoy it. As much as the show manages to evoke the spirit and feel part of the Original Series on a cheap TV animation budget, one has to look past a lot of clunkiness to get to the good stuff.
The same is true of the new theme music by Filmation composer Ray Ellis, under the pseudonym Yvette Blais and Jeff Michael. At times, the TAS theme captures the sense of wonder found in the Original Series theme. But too often it’s thin and tinny, hampered by flat orchestration and poorly-recorded horns. The composition itself isn’t too bad, but it feels quintessentially 1970s, dated in a way the best themes do not. Instead of boldly going, The Animated Series theme keeps things stuck in the world of Filmation.
10. Star Trek: Picard
Star Trek: Picard wanted to move the main character away from the respected captain we knew from The Next Generation. This was an older, more contemplative man, living in disgrace from even the organization through which he built his legend. The Picard theme by Jeff Russo reflects those intentions, a soft, almost discordant piece of music that eschews the stirring confidence of the other themes.
Russo works in elements of previous Star Trek music, namely the march of the TNG theme and the tune from “The Inner Light.” But no part connects with the other, feeling like a series of fragments more than a complete whole. Although one appreciates the daring in Russo’s composition for Picard, it’s much less enjoyable than most of the other themes. A good idea in theory, but not in execution, like much of Picard itself.
9. Star Trek: Strange New Worlds
So much of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds is about making something new with the familiar. Spun off from the very different Discovery, Strange New Worlds puts viewers back on the Enterprise, filled with familiar characters, including Uhura, Spock, and James T. Kirk himself. The theme by Jeff Russo tries to do the same, right down to the traditional spoken word intro, this time delivered by Anson Mount as Captain Pike.
Except, unlike the rest of SNW, the theme feels like a retread of glory days instead of a new interpretation of classic ideas. The song isn’t bad, combining the marching cadence of the TOS theme with the wistful hope of the modern themes. It’s a pleasing composition, but also unsurprising. It sounds more like an update of the classic Trek theme, which isn’t bad, but is a bit underwhelming.
8. Star Trek: Lower Decks
Almost every complaint lodged against the theme for Strange New Worlds also applies to Star Trek: Lower Decks. Although far more irreverent, Lower Decks goes back to a fan-favorite point in time, during the 1990s series, and its theme reflects that setting. Chris Westlake, who worked with showrunner Mike McMahan on Solar Opposites, emulates the tone of ’90s Trek shows, especially TNG.
The propulsive tune has the sense of adventure that one wants for a good Trek theme, threaded with notes of wonder and whimsey. Some might complain that the tune doesn’t indicate the show’s comedic elements, but that’s part of the Lower Decks charm. The show pokes loving fun at Star Trek, coming from a place of deep knowledge and respect for the franchise, which the theme song reflects.
7. Star Trek: Discovery
The farther we get from the show’s first few seasons, the easier it is to see Star Trek: Discovery as the experimental, off-beat franchise entry that it is. That experimental aspect is reflected in the way the theme song from composer Jeff Russo integrates elements of the classic TOS theme, but then moves in its own direction.
Instead of just launching forward, the theme holds back. A bed of soft bass holds the theme together, giving space for playful strings. But the theme plays out in loosely connected pieces, never really coming together, even when it returns to notes of the TOS theme at the end. All of these elements signal an evolving series, one that has no one single identity—fitting for Discovery.
6. Star Trek: The Original Series
Alright, let’s just get this out of the way. The theme to Star Trek: The Original Series is iconic. There’s a reason that so many modern Trek themes quote the original. That said, there’s a reason that these themes only quote the start, the tinkling chimes that accompany the “Final Frontier” speech or the confident strings that follow.
No one quotes the rest of the theme, and there’s a reason for that. While the melody itself is pleasing and fits the exploration ideas of the show, nothing else in the song from Alexander Courage works. The vocals are cheesy and irritating, the bongos are too busy, drawing attention from the best parts of the song. Courage’s composition deserves credit for setting the standard, but no one is upset that the themes moved on from there.
5. Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
Many (including folks at Den of Geek) put Star Trek: Deep Space Nine at the top of franchise rankings. The show’s moral complexity, its vision of different people and groups trying to come together, and its embrace of concepts such as large-scale war and religion make it hard to beat as the greatest entry in Star Trek history.
However, the theme by Dennis McCarthy doesn’t really hint at these titanic stakes—even after it was revamped in later seasons. Instead, the slow, contemplative theme evokes loneliness and even stagnation. A solo trumpet drives the theme, playing over the warm strings that rise and fall away. It makes for a beautiful work, but not one that stays in the mind like others.
4. Star Trek: Prodigy
Star Trek: Prodigy is easily the most unique of the Star Trek shows. Directed at kids with an animation style that recalls the Star Wars series on Disney+, yet still a sequel to Star Trek: Voyager, Prodigy doesn’t necessarily sound like an idea that would succeed. And yet, with its team of plucky kids and fantastic stories about established characters like Janeway, Chakotay, and Wesley Crusher, Prodigy embodies the Trek ethos better than any other current show.
That unique approach is highlighted in the show’s theme, which comes from none other than Michael Giacchino. The tune owes a debt to Voyager, unsurprisingly, but there’s also a lot of his work from the Kelvin universe movies in there, too. A warm, confident melody pushes the song forward, giving way for occasional moments of reflective calm and explosive propulsion. The song reflects the excitement of the show, in which a bunch of rowdy kids follow in the footsteps of respected travelers.
3. Star Trek: Enterprise
Yes. Really. Of course, we all recoiled in disgust the first time that we heard the lyrics “faith of the heart” greeting us to Enterprise’s premiere “Broken Bow.” Why abandon the orchestral themes that have always been part of the series? And why abandon them for a terrible adult contemporary number, one written by Diane Warren for the awful Robin Williams vehicle Patch Adams?
But something strange happens by the time you get to episode 8. You start singing along. The radio-friendly licks and obvious hooks sink in and feel, somehow, right. And when the more up-tempo version kicks in with season three, we’re all channeling our inner Russell Watson to belt out our feelings. I guess you could say it’s a long road to loving “Where My Heart Will Take Me,” but we all get there eventually.
2. Star Trek: The Next Generation
Yes, this is a cheat. The music used in Star Trek: The Next Generation first came from Jerry Goldsmith’s score for Star Trek: The Motion Picture. But, honestly, do you associate that stirring march with Kirk in his pajamas, staring at the viewscreen? Or do you picture Jean-Luc Picard and Data and Q? Of course, it’s the latter, even if we’re watching a way-too-long sequence of the saucer section of the Enterprise-D separating.
The theme is a better fit for TNG than TMP anyway because it’s all about moving forward. Goldsmith’s composition strides forward, not even pausing for a second to second guess itself. Even when it softens for a reflective middle section, the theme keeps marching ahead, boldly going, all the way to its final triumphant flourish, keeping Trek alive for the next generation and beyond.
1. Star Trek: Voyager
Star Trek: Voyager may be the least loved among the first five series, but it has the most perfect theme of the entire franchise. Jerry Goldsmith nails it, combining the forward march of TNG with the sense of wonder from TOS and the loneliness of DS9. This is a show about a ship lost in a distant quadrant, holding to their exploration ideals while remaining confident that they’ll get home.
Those aspects combine in the central tension of the theme, with the brass punching out its main melody and soft strings rising up, adding hints of sadness. Throughout the song come occasional chimes, highlighting the hopeful moments in Voyager‘s journey, while never forgetting the danger and sadness in their plight. It’s everything wonderful about Star Trek, all presented in one minute and 40 seconds.
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