The world of Star Trek is pretty varied. A wide array of shows, films, books, comics, and more tell a remarkable and compelling narrative. Not all of it is canon, but it offers something for everyone. So because of its depth and versatility, there are going to be Star Trek properties that are more for someone and less for someone else.
There are also going to be shows and films of better quality as well. No longer are ships being flung around an empty studio on a wire. Production values have gone up significantly. So much so that some of the past Star Trek properties seem downright trite in comparison, after all, watch an episode of The Original Serie and compare it to it's timeline-contemporary, Strange New Worlds.
While they're both state-of-the-art, of their time, they're nowhere near comparable. Despite that, the original series thrives still, 60 years later, because of the stories told. Stories that were emboldened by phenomenal acting. A series of episodes that could rival the story-telling quality of any series in any decade.
It holds up, even if the special effects are rudimentary.
Still, not every show holds up. The follow-up series to the original, Star Trek: The Animated Series, is a show that has nostalgia on its side but little else. It was a show that continued on the adventures of James Kirk and company but aimed at kids. Not only that, it was an animated series. Meaning what could be done was going to be rather limited.
Unlike now, animated shows in the 1960s and 70s were rather static enterprises. Little more than singular images with the barest amount of detail and animation. Reused assets riddled across the episode and season lend the notion that these were cheap and low-budgeted affairs.
That's because they were. While the original show had to be creative with how they produced their show, as money was limited, the human mind is an endless vessel of creativity. There are hundreds of thousands of ways to make things work. Yet, with animation at the time, there was only one way to make it work; draw. That was an expensive endeavor and so many of the animated shows of the era were truly hard to watch.
You had bigger budgeted affairs like the Flinstones and Scooby-Doo, but Star Trek: The Animated Series didn't have audiences for those shows. So they didn't have those show's budgets. So the animation was rough. That didn't stop some Star Trek fans from really enjoying it, but compared to other shows in the franchise like Lower Decks and Prodigy, it's clear The Animated Series (even for its time) was lacking.
So we're left a bit flabbergasted that Rotten Tomatoes' critics gave it a 94. Clearly, these "critics" are living off of nostalgia, and little else, as anyone, even the most diehard fans, will tell you the show is truly flawed. Somehow, according to Rotten Tomatoes, The Animated Series is not only better than the actual Original Series (94% to 80%), but it's better than the series many claim to be the best; The Next Generation (94% to 92%).
No one in their right mind would think an animated series, that was so bad people have tried to remove it from the franchise's canon, would be considered better than the fan's favorite for all-time best series.
So why is the Animated Series so much higher than everyone else? Well, the curve is off. There were only 18 people who qualified as critics to watch and grade the show. That's why it has the obtuse curve it has and why it topples nearly every other show. It's not a sign that the show is dramatically underappreciated, it's a sign that Rotten Tomatoes' entire gimmick is inherently flawed.
No on in their right mind would put this show near the top of the franchise. So why is it that it will forever baffle many? Rotten Tomatoes critics' scores are clearly not to be trusted. Not if they're going to put this dreck as the third-highest series ever in Star Trek history.
That's why we trust the fans, who give the animated series an 80%. Still way too high, but at least no where near the top of the franchise's pecking order.