Updated: August 29, 2023

The original Star Trek adventure that started the enduring sci-fi pop culture phenomenon. The classic series focuses on the 23rd century adventures of Captain James T. Kirk, Mr. Spock, and the crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise, a powerful interstellar spacecraft dispatched by Earth-based Starfleet Command to explore the galaxy. Kirk commands a large crew of men and women aboard the starship, which can travel at speeds surpassing the speed of light. Their five-year mission - with a mandate from Starfleet - is to seek out new life and new civilizations, and to boldly go where no man has gone before. Fan favorite episodes from Season 1 include the iconic "Where No Man Has Gone Before," the epic Gorn fight in "Arena," "The City on the Edge of Forever," and "Space Seed" which introduces the ruthless villain Khan.

In 1966, Star Trek set out to boldly go where no series had gone before, beginning a three-year mission that led to a franchise that would last decades. That means starting with "The Man Trap," and soon followed by "Where No Man Has Gone Before," the second pilot filmed and the first one starring William Shatner as Captain Kirk. The many highlight episodes include "Balance of Terror" and "Errand of Mercy" ( introducing, respectively, the Romulans and the Klingons ), the two-part "The Menagerie" ( which recycled footage from the original pilot, "The Cage," which featured Christopher Pike as the captain of the Enterprise and is not included in this set ), "Space Seed" ( introducing Ricardo Montalban's Khan character ), and "The City of the Edge of Forever" ( written by sci-fi giant Harlan Ellison and considered by many the best-ever episode of the series ).