SHORT TREKS
Beginner’s Guide: The Top Five Episodes
Star Trek in Bite-Sized Pieces
Short Treks is an anthology of ten short films that ran on CBS All Access between 2018 and 2020, in two seasons. Most run between seven and eighteen minutes, and each one stands alone, with a different cast, a different tone and often a different style of animation. Some connect to Discovery or Picard, and some do not connect to anything at all. Several were written or directed by well-known creators from outside the franchise, and they gave the series room to experiment.
This makes Short Treks the lowest-commitment way to try Star Trek there is. You can watch a whole one on your lunch break, and if it does not click, the next one will be nothing like it. The five below range from a wistful science fiction story to a storybook myth and a joyous animated cartoon.
Crew advisory: Total viewing time for the five episodes below is under an hour. This is the shortest away mission on the list.
1. Calypso
Written by the novelist Michael Chabon, this short follows a lone man named Craft, played by Aldis Hodge, who wakes up aboard an abandoned starship in the far future and finds that its artificial intelligence, Zora, has been waiting for him. The story plays out almost entirely between the two of them, and it is a tender tale about loneliness, loyalty and what we leave behind. It ranks first because it is a perfect, self-contained science fiction story that you can enjoy without knowing anything about Star Trek.
2. The Girl Who Made the Stars
A young Michael Burnham is frightened by a lightning storm in space, and her father tells her a myth drawn from the /Xam people of southern Africa. In the story, a brave girl faces a terrifying Night Beast and ends up creating the stars. The animated short has the warm look of a bedtime story, and it is a moving portrait of a father and daughter. It makes the list because it is a beautiful piece of storytelling and shows how Star Trek can draw on stories from around the world.
3. Q&A
The young Spock, newly assigned to the Enterprise, gets stuck in a turbolift with Number One, who uses the time to ask him probing questions. Written by Michael Chabon, it is a charming comedy that gives Ethan Peck and Rebecca Romijn a chance to build the chemistry they later bring to Strange New Worlds. It earns its place because it is both funny and warm, and it is the best introduction to the Pike-era Enterprise.
4. Ephraim and Dot
A tardigrade looking for a place to lay her eggs crosses paths with the USS Enterprise, and a cleaning drone named Dot ends up helping to protect them. The short is animated in the style of an old-fashioned cartoon, directed and scored by Michael Giacchino, and it is packed with classic Star Trek cameos. It makes the list because it is delightful, a joyful love letter to the franchise, and one that anyone can enjoy.
5. Runaway
Ensign Tilly encounters a young alien princess who has hidden aboard the Discovery, and Tilly finds herself in the role of mentor and friend. The short is a gentle story about fear, growing up and being brave enough to ask for help. It earns its place because it is the clearest example of what the series' sense of kindness looks like, and it shows why Tilly became such a beloved character.
← Strange New Worlds Starfleet Academy →
More of the beginner’s guide: The Original Series • The Animated Series • The Next Generation • Deep Space Nine • Voyager • Enterprise • Discovery • Picard • Lower Decks • Prodigy • Strange New Worlds • Starfleet Academy.
Not sure what order to watch in? Try our chronological watch order or the Star Trek timeline. Want people to talk Trek with? Enlist and join the crew at one of our Star Trek events around Atlanta.
