Star Trek has been with us for 59 years now. In that time, this little television show has spawned a mind-boggling number of films, television series, novels, comics, toys, and more that offer both escape and inspiration to countless people around the world. None of this would have happened, however, if the original series weren’t so lastingly good, mixing charm and pathos to this day.
Integral to the original Star Trek’s staying power, of course, are its quotes. They have permeated our culture, running the gamut from wry humor to touching insights into the Human Condition, not to mention some phrases that are simply iconic.
We could probably make a list for every episode of the original series, if we wanted to, but let’s focus on some of the best of the best here.
“Space: the final frontier. These are the voyages of the starship Enterprise. Its five-year mission: to explore strange new worlds, to seek out new life and new civilizations, to boldly go where no man has gone before.”
Beyond establishing Star Trek as a science fiction series, the opening narration emphasizes that the Enterprise is not on a mission of conquest but of science. It emphasizes the importance of embracing the new and the unknown, and celebrates the value of learning about others, rather than judging them.
Is there any better way to encapsulate what Star Trek is? The words have been tweaked a bit over the decades, both to keep up with the times and to offer a more ambiguous timeframe than five years. All the same, this narration, heard in the opening for every episode of TOS, succinctly explains the premise of not only that series but the entire Star Trek franchise.
“Medical men are trained in logic, Mr. Spock.” “Really, Doctor? I had no idea they were trained. Watching you, I assumed it was trial and error.”
An important staple of Star Trek is the trading of barbs between Mr. Spock and Dr. McCoy. While both characters serve serious roles in the series, often providing some of the most touching pieces of wisdom found in all of Star Trek, their bickering brings an appropriate levity to situations that could otherwise become melodramatic.
While there are plenty of excellent exchanges to choose from, this quote from “Bread and Circuses” has always been a particular favorite of mine. It perfectly captures how Spock endures McCoy’s playful teasing but can get a few zingers of his own in, too. On top of that, Leonard Nimoy’s calm delivery of Spock’s retort lands the humor in a coolly logical fashion.
“In this galaxy, there’s a mathematical probability of three million Earth-type planets…and in all the universe, three million-million galaxies like this one. And in all of that, and perhaps more, only one of each of us. Don’t destroy the one named Kirk.”
Much is often said of Kirk and Spock’s friendship. A significant portion of this could likely be that William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy were originally the only two leads on the show. Even so, Star Trek would not work without Dr. McCoy. The triad balances the drama, and Kirk’s friendship with Bones is at least as strong as his friendship with Spock.
No place is this more clearly shown than in “Balance of Terror,” an episode produced early in the first season that establishes Bones’ deep compassion and understanding. Yes, we are each very small in this massive universe of ours, but we are also each uniquely important. We can’t let the enormity of cosmic forces extinguish us.
“They called the Enterprise a garbage scow!”
It must be noted that “The Trouble with Tribbles” is quite possibly the most quotable installment of not only the original series but all of Star Trek. (A close second could possibly be Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home.) Firmly situated as a comedy, this episode is hilarious, even in 2025, because of its clear understanding of the characters and how they would react in situations this absurd.
Really, the entire exchange between Captain Kirk and Mr. Scott about who threw the first punch with the Klingons will have you laughing out loud as Kirk becomes increasingly impatient and Scotty remains so genuinely earnest. Honestly, if Star Trek was all profound words of wisdom all the time, I’m not sure it would have stayed relevant this long. We need shenanigans like this, too.
“We’re Human beings with the blood of a million savage years on our hands, but we can stop it. We can admit that we’re killers, but we’re not going to kill today. That’s all it takes! Knowing that we’re not going to kill…today.”
Something fascinating about Star Trek is that it is deeply Humanist, yet it does not shy away from the pitfalls of Humanity. Rather, the series (and its successors) will frequently acknowledge the evils that lie within us while emphasizing that we can choose whether or not to give in to them.
This quote, in particular, comes from a longer monologue that Captain Kirk gives in “A Taste of Armageddon,” where he outlines the dangers of making war “safe.” Protection and abstraction from violence can often make people complacent to the point of accepting distant violence rather than ending violence entirely, because it has been wrapped up in a veneer of tidy sophistication.
Kirk’s words eviscerate such attitudes. While it may seem like he is promoting warfare, he is actually making a hardline stance against it. The original impetus of the episode and Kirk’s monologue was almost certainly rooted in a mixture of the Vietnam War and general Cold War anxieties. Unfortunately, it all feels just as relevant and relatable to our current world.
Iconic catchphrases
Many of the characters in the originalStar Trekhave recurring catchphrases and themes in their dialogue that don’t really need to be discussed in great detail, but which certainly add to the flavor of the show. This list is some of the most endearing catchphrases fromStar Trek:
- “Fascinating.” –Spock
- “I’m a doctor, not a…” –Dr. McCoy
- Chekov claiming that everything originated in Russia.
- Captain Kirk talking a computer to death.
- “Live long and prosper.” –Spock
- “Captain’s Log: Stardate…” –Captain Kirk
“His brain is gone!”
What I love about the “bad” episodes of the original Star Trek is that they are still made with sincerity. Even if the idea and execution are a bit out there, there is a sense that everyone involved was trying to maintain some integrity. It’s just hard to crank out over 20 hours of television every year, especially when the network is trying its hardest to take the show off the air.
Granted, this Dr. McCoy quote from “Spock’s Brain” is not insightful, intentionally funny, or quintessentially Star Trek in any way. Nonetheless, it captures a certain kind of episode that has a peculiar charm that more recent iterations of Star Trek have not quite been able to recapture.
“And the men that reach out into space will be able to find ways to feed the hungry millions of the world and to cure their diseases. They will be able to find a way to give each man hope and a common future…and those are the days worth living for.”
Edith Keeler’s vision of the future is perhaps a bit on the nose, but much like the opening narration for the series, these words from “The City on the Edge of Forever” are an outline of what Star Trek is about and what it wants you to come away with when you watch it.
At its core, Star Trek is a hopeful show, but its optimism is not rooted in wistfully wishing for a better world. Instead, it is about striving for a better world, taking actions, and making choices that could one day lead to a utopia. As Edith Keeler frequently emphasizes in the episode, a better world takes work, but we can start that work now and strive to live with those attitudes today.
“After a time, you may find that having is not so pleasing a thing after all as wanting. It is not logical, but it is often true.”
One of the wonderful things about Star Trek is how deftly it explores life on different scales. As inspirational as grandiose visions for the future may be, few (if any) of us live our lives on a societal or planetary level. We have our small, personal dramas that will never matter to the history books, yet they are often the most important parts of our worlds.
Spock’s comments here, spoken at the end of the iconic episode, “Amok Time,” touch on how we can often wreak havoc in the pursuit of something we yearn for, with little regard for what achieving that goal will actually do for us, or the collateral damage we will impose on others. It is, after all, important to remember that Spock says this while believing that he has just killed his best friend.
Despite Spock’s sage advice, however, I have found that having the original Star Trek in my life is a truly pleasing thing in itself. While subsequent series all have their strengths that help keep the spirit of Star Trek alive, the original series is in a league of its own and provides the framework on which all other Treks are built. That’s not to say later shows don’t have some pretty great quotes as well!