Star Trek is one of the classic science fiction franchises of our time. It's spawned a long-running movie series, five shows, and plenty of spin-off materials for fans to devour. Star Trek didn't just come from nowhere, however. Much like anything before and since, it was built upon the foundations of classic works to form a compelling and immersive setting. Star Trek Online is merely the latest iteration in this franchise, with plenty of games, books, movies, shows, and comics to come before.

The original Star Trek built upon a classic science fiction foundation with its first show, and continued this tradition as the show became shows. The first series is rooted heavily in utopian retro-futurism, with its depiction of highly advanced technology and (mostly) harmonious internal governmental politics. It is only in the other races of the galaxy, known and unknown, that the crew of the Enterprise find their conflict. This theme of exploration and hostility is a common one in science fiction, with stories by luminaries such as Robert Heinlein or Arthur C. Clarke. The famous Clarke quotation "Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic" is put to good use in the Star Trek universe, and the Heinlein story Have Spacesuit, Will Travel bears many similarities to Star Trek.

As the series went on, the producers and writers drew from more serious sources to craft an engaging setting that pushed beyond the campiness inherent in the first series. The Next Generation is the epitome of this, as it marked the transition from near-comedy into a mixture of comedy, drama, and adventure. While the first season was not all that good, the rest of the series is fantastic, and several episodes serve as classic television. The impact The Next Generation would leave on the franchise would be immeasurable, with the designs of sets and starships for Deep Space Nine, Voyager, Enterprise, and the new Star Trek movie all following the mixture of sleek and functional engineering of The Next Generation. It's a great show, and if you enjoy shows such as Babylon 5, you will not be disappointed.

The cinematography of battles shown so far relies heavily upon the standard cinematography of science fiction media today. It shows a lot of influence from sources such as Firefly and the new Star Trek movie, both in combat and out of combat. It's interesting to note how much the display of interstellar ship combat has changed since The Original Series, and Star Trek Online almost epitomizes this change. While some might not be pleased with it, it does lend itself well to a much more dynamic, action-packed feel than standard fighting.

The gameplay of Star Trek Online appears to draw inspiration from a few sources. Interestingly enough, there have been both ground-based games and space-based games for the Star Trek franchise. The ground-based games include classics such as Elite Force, whereas the space-based games have great strategy titles such as Starfleet Command. There's even a tabletop wargame called Starfleet Battles which served as the inspiration for Starfleet Command. It is from these excellent titles and Cryptic's own previous games that Star Trek Online appears to be drawing influence, which is fine by us! If done correctly, Start Trek Online could definitely blow everyone away.