The recent release of Star Trek tradition alive by delivering an epic main title theme. Throughout the entire Trek franchise, the main theme has been used to get the viewer ready for each week's stunning space adventure.
Whether it is the classic theme from Discovery, every show in the Trek franchise has had its own unique main title theme song. Even though they are all great in their own way, some Trek themes have lived on and become permanent fixtures in popular culture.
Enterprise (2001-2005)
Enterprise was Star Trek's most ambitious show up to that point, and with its main title theme, they also went out on a limb. Eschewing the usual orchestral score, Enterprise greeted viewers each week with a main theme that included lyrics, and modern instrumentation.
"Where My Heart Will Take Me" was a power ballad that wreaked of 1980s cheese, even though the show was airing at the turn of the new millennium. Trek fans weren't sure what to make of the head-scratching song, and many downright despised it. Though the creators were going for an uplifting mood with the song, most viewers would have preferred a straightforward orchestral theme.
Discovery (2017-Present)
As a reboot of the Star Trek TV universe, Discovery had big shoes to fill in almost every aspect of production. For its theme, Discovery went for a more subdued orchestral score, that is marked with peaks and crescendos as opposed to an epic and bombastic tune.
Though it harkens back to TOS with the familiar four-note sting, Discovery's theme lacks the adventurous tone of most other shows. It has a dark and brooding atmosphere that matches the mood of the show but makes it stick out from its contemporaries. Many of the fan complaints about the show are mirrored in the theme song, and despite its attempts to call back to the original theme, it nevertheless feels very un-Trek.
The Animated Series (1973-1974)
As a consolation prize to fans who had seen their favorite show canceled so quickly, Star Trek returned briefly in the 1970s as an animated children's show. Musically speaking, The Animated Series matched its theme to the jaunty and adventurous feel of the show, and delivered a surprisingly jazzy song.
Though it is an homage to the familiar theme of TOS, the cartoon's song stands on its own and is actually quite catchy. The bright and vibrant journeys shown on-screen are matched perfectly by the theme song, and it is a toe-tapper even outside of its context of a Star Trek series. The Animated Series' two seasons were some of the best of the franchise, and the theme went a long way to help make it popular.
Deep Space Nine (1993-1999)
As far as tone went, Deep Space Nine took the Trek franchise into some of the darkest places it would ever go. Musically speaking, DS9 was matched perfectly by its slow and almost militaristic theme song, complete with rolling bass drum sounds for added emphasis.
Though the show didn't start out as dark as it would eventually end up, its theme was consistent throughout and almost acted like a distant early warning for the Dominion War plot line. Though it matches its show well, the song isn't the most memorable theme, and it gets somewhat muddled by its own dark and forbidding sound. Ultimately what hurts the DS9 theme is that it gets somewhat repetitive over time.
Prodigy (2021-Present)
The world of animation has generally been kind to the Star Trek franchise, and Prodigy was an attempt to speak to a younger audience. Even with that goal, the theme of the series is everything that a Trek theme is expected to be, complete with soaring strings and an adventurous air.
The theme succeeds two-fold because it not only imparts the epic nature of the show, but it also hints at some of the immense mysteries of space. The refrain in the middle of the track is a unique piece of Trek music, and gives the song alternating levels as opposed to an all-out auditory assault on the senses.
Lower Decks (2020-Present)
Lower Decks. Despite its silliness, Lower Decks received one of the strongest musical treatments in modern Trek, and featured a sweeping theme that would gel with any of the franchise's live-action shows.
The familiar instrumentation harkens back to The Next Generation, without resorting to a copy-cat approach. The song also succeeds because it maintains a playful air that lets the audience know that they are in for a fun, and funny ride with each week's episode. Even though it is Trek's goofiest show by far, Lower Decks received one of its best main themes.
Voyager (1995-2001)
Set in the furthest reaches of the galaxy, Voyager truly took Trek fan where no-one had gone before. Musically speaking, Voyager featured a main theme that encapsulated all of what was great about previous themes into one epic song.
Beginning with its own isolated note stinger, the song features an open and brassy sound that harkens back to the militarism of DS9, but with an adventurous air. Hinting at the unlimited possibilities of the Delta Quadrant, the theme song is also somewhat mysterious and builds up with new instruments as it finds its climax.
Strange New Worlds (2022-Present)
Since the birth of the franchise, shows have been attempting to capture a little of the magic that made many fans consider The Original Series as the best Trek show, and Strange New Worlds has arguably come the closest. Though the theme teases viewers with the original hook from TOS, the song quickly jumps into its own thing with surprising finesse.
Throughout Pike's monologue, the song builds until, like a rollercoaster ride, the audience is thrown into the sweeping massiveness of space with music to match. Mimicking the original theme, but in a different key, the song sounds like it would fit right in amongst the supplemental music of TOS.
The Next Generation (1987-1994)
Bringing Trek back to TV after decades away was an ambitious choice, and The Next Generation used its music to immediately set itself apart. The theme is quick and bouncy, with blaring horns and swinging strings that give the song a buoyant and adventurous feeling.
Grandiose compared to its predecessor, TNG's main theme has a theatrical vibe that lends importance to the episodes that it scores. Though it sounds totally different from TOS's main theme, that is perhaps its strongest asset. The song captured the mood of the show perfectly, and became just as instantly recognizable as the song that came before it.
The Original Series (1966-1969)
Very few shows in TV history are as indelibly linked to their theme song as Star Trek: The Original Series is. From the tinkling note opening under Shatner's monologue, to the almost operatic voices overtop the music, everything about the main title song is iconic.
At its heart, Star Trek is about the future, and TOS is the only show that used its theme to imply a futuristic vibe. Harkening back to the best Science Fiction films of the 1950s, the show's theme has a ghostlike quality that is as haunting as it is beautiful, and it implies the many mysteries of space. The best episodes of TOS were made all the better by a theme song that never failed to match the tone of whatever episode it played before.