History WesternAnimation / StarTrekTheAnimatedSeries

* CrossOver: One episode was a nearly 1:1 adaptation of a ''Literature/KnownSpace'' short story, [[FusionFic save for Kirk and the gang as the heroes]]; specifically "The Soft Weapon," called here "The Slaver Weapon." The belligerent, [[CatFolk lynx-like Kzinti]] find a ShapeShifterWeapon that looks like a watermellon on a pistol grip, and try to use it to start a fifth man/kzin war.

* SwissArmyWeapon: "The Slaver Weapon" has the titular device. It can function as a communicator, a laser, an energy-absorber, a ballistic weapon, a monosword, and has a total conversion setting.

* WitchSpecies: "The Magicks of Megas-Tu" features aliens who are able to practice magic.

* ItIsPronouncedTroPAY: In "The Pirates of Orion", Orion is pronounced "OH-ree-on".

* EnthrallingSiren: "The Lorelei Signal". A group of alien women send out a song over subspace radio once every 27 years to lure a starship to their planet. They must do this so they can drain the male crew members of their LifeForce in order to survive.

* ComicBookAdaptation: Creator/IDW's ''ComicBook/StarTrekVsTransformers'' used the character designs from the Animated Series, to bettter blend in with the animated characters from ''[[Franchise/TransformersGeneration1 The Transformers.]]'' It was a good choice, and the characters look surprisingly natural standing next to each other.

* CanonImmigrant: The Kzinti, never mentioned or referenced again in the series, from Creator/LarryNiven, starting with the CBS re-canonization of the series. They have been major features in TabletopGame/StarFleetBattles, since its license included all elements of the original and animated series.

Given the reality that it was produced by Creator/{{Filmation}}, the animation is typically the studio's ultra-cheap style. However, they more than made up for that with the presence of all of the original cast except Walter Koenig (Chekhov), and the writers as well. The result is a show that might not have had the best animation, but still boasts spectacular imagery and believably non-human aliens that the original show could never depict, while still reasonably keeping to its artistic spirit. As a result, this series is the best example of the AnimatedAdaptation concept in UsefulNotes/TheDarkAgeOfAnimation, and was so good that it won the franchise's first ever Emmy Award.

The title used here and on the DVD release is a back-formation, as the show originally aired as simply ''Star Trek''. It's also known by the more ponderous title of ''[[LongTitle The Animated Adventures of Gene Roddenberry's Star Trek]]''.

* GettingCrapPastTheRadar: Somehow they got away with having Kirk and co. befriend Satan--yes, ''that'' Satan--in "The Magics of Megas-Tu", in the guise of "Lucien." He's presented as a TricksterArchetype.

''The Animated Series'' remains the shortest-lived series of the ''Franchise/StarTrek'' franchise, with just 22 episodes airing over a 13-month period in 1973-74 on Creator/{{NBC}}. It was also the last ''Trek'' series to air in first-run on network television until ''Series/StarTrekVoyager'' debuted in 1995 on Creator/{{UPN}}.

* BarefootCartoonAnimal: Lt. M'Ress, who wears a full Starfleet uniform, except for footwear. {{Justified}} because she has digigrade paws (meaning she walks on her toes).

* {{Fainting}}: Kirk does something akin to the exhaustion- or anemia-based variety in "Albatross" when ThePlague kicks in. Luckily, Spock is there to catch him.

* BeingWatched: Episode "Beyond the Farthest Star". While the Enterprise away team is on board the alien ship, Dr. McCoy says being on the ship gives him the creeps and that he feels like something's watching them. He's right: there's an intangible alien being on the ship that's trying to return to the Enterprise with the team.

* ExtremeCloseUp: Used frequently, often with the speaking character's mouth out of frame (presumably to save on animation costs)

* PettingZooPeople: Lieutenant M'Ress is a Caitian, an anthropomorphic cat.

* FreudianTrio: Just like the live-action version, we have [[TheKirk Kirk]], [[TheSpock Spock]], and [[TheMcCoy Mccoy]].

* MrExposition: Ensign Walking Bear, a character never seen before or since, just happens to be on duty on the bridge at the proper moment to explain how Kukulcan is important in the history of his people, in "How Sharper than a Serpent's Tooth".
** Dawson Walking Bear (Comanche) was originally supposed to be in "The Patient Parasites". Fontana didn't really know what to do with him, but Russell Bates (Kiowa) included him in "How Sharper". He appears in three ''Star Trek: Phase Two'' fan film episodes. He is played by [[http://www.imdb.com/name/nm3900115/ Wayne W. Johnson]], who says he actually has no Native heritage.

* OffModel: In addition to ''incredibly'' LimitedAnimation, one of the producers was colorblind, so everyone but Sulu and Uhura was absolutely ''chalk white.'' Colors of things established in the [[Series/StarTrekTheOriginalSeries live-action series]] would be altered so you'd wind up saying "what do you mean that episode had [[GreenSkinnedSpaceBabe Orions]]?" The Kzinti - a warlike enemy race who'd supposedly plagued mankind for a hundred years or more - dressed in very {{Narm}}ful ''hot pink uniforms.'' A lot of notorious animation errors require the pause button, but this ain't that. The animation was ''farcically'' bad throughout every episode ever. Yeah, it's good that ''Franchise/StarTrek'' didn't die after all, but dude. Can we at least ''leave the color decisions to the guys who can see colors?''

** One shot of Scotty operating the transporter switched to an over-the-shoulder shot of the mustached Mr Kyle, making it look like Mr Scott had a mustache. [[HilariousInHindsight Fast foward to 1979 in which James Doohan actually does have one]].
*** There is also a shot of Scotty, in; Beyond The Farthest Star, in which he is a floating torso!?

* RetGone: Spock in "Yesteryear" is temporarily Ret Gone until he creates a StableTimeLoop preventing his death as a child..

* RoleReprisal:
** The entire cast, minus Creator/WalterKoenig, reprise the roles they played on the original series—Creator/WilliamShatner as Kirk, Creator/LeonardNimoy as Spock, Creator/DeForestKelley as [=McCoy=], Creator/JamesDoohan as Scotty, Creator/GeorgeTakei as Sulu, Creator/NichelleNichols as Uhura, and Creator/MajelBarrett-Roddenberry as Nurse Chapel.
** Instead of providing Chekov [[TheOtherDarrin another voice actor]], they instead replace him with two new characters: Arex (voiced by James Doohan) and M'Ress (voiced by Majel Barrett). Koenig would wind up contributing to the series by writing the episode "The Infinite Vulcan".
** For guest stars, Mark Lenard reprises his role of Sarek in "Yesteryear", Stanley Adams reprises his role of Cyrano Jones in "More Tribbles, More Troubles", and Roger C. Carmel returns as Harry Mudd in "Mudd's Passion".
* {{Rotoscoping}}: How the animation of the ''Enterprise'' was created.

Given the reality that it was produced by Creator/{{Filmation}}, the animation is typically the studio's ultra-cheap style. However, they more than made up for that with the presence of most of the original cast--in fact, all of the original cast except Walter Koenig (Chekhov)--and the writers as well. The result is a show that might not have had the best animation, but still boasts spectacular imagery and believably non-human aliens that the original show could never depict, while still reasonably keeping to its artistic spirit. As a result, this series is the best example of the AnimatedAdaptation concept in UsefulNotes/TheDarkAgeOfAnimation, and was so good that it won the franchise's first ever Emmy Award.

** One shot of Scotty operating the transporter switched to an over-the-shoulder shot of the mustached Mr Kyle, making it look like Mr Scott had a mustache. [[HilariousInHindsight Fast foward to 1979 in which James Doothan actually does have one]].