Star Trek’s Presence In Stranger Things Timeline

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It was easy to understand references to Star Trek while watching Stranger Things because there weren’t many Star Trek shows or movies available at the time. Stranger Things takes place in the 1980s, starting with season 1 premiering on November 6, 1983, and continuing with season 5 beginning on November 3, 1987.

The popular Netflix series Stranger Things, created by the Duffer Brothers, is heavily inspired by 1980s pop culture. However, the show’s young stars – including Winn Wolfhard, Gaten Matarazzo, Caleb McLaughlin, Noah Schnapp, Sadie Sink, and Millie Bobby Brown – don’t appear to be fans of, or even watch, Star Trek.

Rather than being directly inspired by it, Stranger Things owes a spiritual debt to Star Trek. The reason Star Trek and Star Wars – two of the most popular science fiction series ever – aren’t featured is because their owners, Paramount and Disney, control the rights to characters like Captain Kirk and Luke Skywalker, and everything related to their worlds.

Only Star Trek: The Original Series Exists During Stranger Things Seasons 1-4

As a huge movie and TV fan, I’ve noticed something about Stranger Things. While those kids in Hawkins, Indiana, probably don’t sit around discussing it, the Star Trek they’d know – at least in the first four seasons – would definitely be the original series. It’s not like they’re referencing Voyager or Discovery! They just know it as Star Trek – the adventures of Kirk and the Enterprise are all that exist in their world, and that makes total sense given the show’s timeframe.

Growing up during the first four seasons of Stranger Things, it felt like the original Star Trek was always on somewhere in syndication! I remember you could pretty much count on seeing it. And, if you were really lucky, you might even catch some Star Trek: The Animated Series reruns on a channel if you were flipping around!

The first Star Trek movies, including Star Trek: The Motion Picture and Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (which famously featured Spock’s death), were released before Stranger Things even started in November 1983. Star Trek transitioned to the big screen in 1979.

Between the release of the first four seasons of Stranger Things, two Star Trek movies directed by Leonard Nimoy were released in theaters. Star Trek III: The Search for Spock came out on June 1, 1984, and famously brought Spock back to life. Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home followed on November 26, 1986, roughly a year before the planned release of Stranger Things season 5.

Star Trek: The Next Generation Premiered Before Stranger Things Season 5

A major moment for Star Trek fans happened on September 28, 1987, with the debut of Star Trek: The Next Generation. This new series arrived just weeks before the premiere of Stranger Things season 5 on November 3, 1987.

It’s a shame that Stranger Things doesn’t mention how fans reacted when a new Star Trek series came out with a different cast. The characters – like Mike, Dustin, Will, and Max – would have had great debates about it! Back then, many Star Trek fans felt it was wrong to replace the original Captain Kirk and Mr. Spock with new actors.

Before the fifth season of Stranger Things arrives, six episodes of Star Trek: The Next Generation will have aired. These include a reimagining of a classic Star Trek: The Original Series episode, “The Naked Now” (originally “The Naked Time”), and “Code of Honor,” which is widely considered one of the worst episodes of TNG.

Although Stranger Things is full of references to classic 1980s properties like Ghostbusters, Mad Max, and Dungeons & Dragons, it’s a bit disappointing that the Hellfire Club never debated Star Trek – specifically, who was the better captain, Kirk or Picard (Patrick Stewart).

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2025-12-04 01:48