Where to Find a Guide to Essential Star Trek Episodes on startrek.com
Updated
startrek.com features a guide titled "A Guide To 11 Essential Star Trek Episodes Across The Franchise," listed in the homepage content area. It is the site's own curated entry point for viewers who want a short, cross-series starting list rather than a full episode order. Use it if you are new to the franchise or returning after a long break and want a small set of representative episodes to sample.
What the guide is
The title itself sets the scope: 11 episodes, drawn from across the franchise rather than from a single series. That means the list is designed as a sampler, not a completionist watch order. You will not get every episode of any one show, and you should not expect it to function as a chronological timeline.
The homepage presents it alongside other editorial features, including:
- "Star Trek Boldly Celebrates 60 Years: Everything You Need To Know for September 8"
- "Strange New Worlds Season 4: Everything You Need To Know"
- "Starfleet Academy Season 1: Everything You Need To Know"
So the guide sits in the same content block as anniversary, season-preview, and new-series material — it is editorial content, not a streaming catalog page.
How to reach it
- Go to startrek.com.
- Look in the homepage content area, where the site lists its featured articles and guides.
- Select "A Guide To 11 Essential Star Trek Episodes Across The Franchise."
Expected result: you land on the guide article and can read the episode selections. If the homepage has rotated its featured items, the article may sit further down the page or be reachable through the site's own search or article index.
Why this guide is useful for new viewers
The franchise spans many series and films, and the homepage alone lists a large set of them:
| Series listed on the site | Films listed on the site |
|---|---|
| Star Trek: Strange New Worlds | Star Trek: Section 31 |
| Star Trek: Starfleet Academy | Star Trek Nemesis |
| Star Trek: The Original Series | Star Trek V: The Final Frontier |
| Star Trek: Discovery | Star Trek III: The Search for Spock |
| Star Trek: Prodigy | Star Trek: First Contact |
| Star Trek: Lower Decks | Star Trek: The Motion Picture |
| Star Trek: Picard | Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country |
| Star Trek: Deep Space Nine | Star Trek: Insurrection |
| Star Trek: The Animated Series | Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan |
| Star Trek: Voyager | Star Trek Into Darkness |
| Star Trek: The Next Generation | Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home |
| Star Trek: Enterprise | Star Trek Beyond |
| Star Trek (2009) | |
| Star Trek Generations |
Faced with that many entries, a newcomer has no obvious place to begin. A cross-franchise list of 11 episodes reduces the decision to a manageable size and lets you test the tone of different eras before committing to a full series.
Practical notes
- The guide is a starting point, not a substitute for a series order. Once an episode lands for you, follow that series rather than trying to watch the 11 in sequence as a story.
- Episode availability depends on where you stream. The site points to Paramount+ for watching the Star Trek universe, so check there for the specific episodes the guide names.
- The homepage also carries a "Start Here" section under "Get to Know Star Trek," which serves a similar onboarding purpose if you want a second entry point.
- The site's shop listings (anniversary shirts, tumblers, and similar items) are merchandise, not viewing guidance — ignore them when planning what to watch.
If your goal is simply to stop scrolling and start watching, open the guide first, pick one episode, and treat the rest of the list as a fallback for the next evening.