Star Trek quiz questions for the franchise's 60th anniversary

September 2026 marks 60 years since Star Trek first beamed onto television screens. What started as a low-rated NBC show that got cancelled after three seasons has turned into one of the biggest franchises in science fiction, spanning multiple TV series, over a dozen films, and six decades of devoted fans. These 23 questions cover the original series, The Next Generation, the movies, and a few pieces of trivia that even casual viewers will recognise. Run them as a standalone round, or use a handful of the easier ones inside a wider entertainment quiz.

The Original Series

1What year did the original Star Trek series first air on NBC?

Answer:1966 - it premiered on 8 September, which is why the franchise is celebrating its 60th anniversary in 2026 (source).(click to reveal)

2Which actor played Captain James T. Kirk in the original series?

Answer:William Shatner(click to reveal)

3What is the name of the starship commanded by Kirk in the original series?

Answer:The USS Enterprise (registry NCC-1701)(click to reveal)

4Which actor played the half-Vulcan, half-human science officer Mr. Spock?

Answer:Leonard Nimoy(click to reveal)

5Which crew member serves as the Enterprise's chief engineer, known for pulling off technical miracles under pressure?

Answer:Montgomery Scott, better known as Scotty(click to reveal)

6The original series was cancelled due to poor ratings. How many seasons did it run for before NBC pulled the plug?

Answer:Three seasons (79 episodes in total, ending in 1969). Reruns and a growing fanbase kept the show alive long enough for it to expand into films and spin-offs a decade later.(click to reveal)

The Next Generation and Beyond

7In what year did Star Trek: The Next Generation premiere?

Answer:1987 - it debuted on 28 September, almost exactly 21 years after the original series (source).(click to reveal)

8Which actor played Captain Jean-Luc Picard?

Answer:Patrick Stewart(click to reveal)

9The Next Generation's Enterprise carries the same name as Kirk's ship, but with a different letter added. What's the ship's full designation?

Answer:The USS Enterprise-D(click to reveal)

10What is the name of the android officer who serves on the Enterprise-D and spends much of the series trying to understand what it means to be human?

Answer:Data(click to reveal)

11Which actress played Captain Kathryn Janeway on Star Trek: Voyager, becoming the first woman to lead a Star Trek series as its captain?

Answer:Kate Mulgrew(click to reveal)

12Which Star Trek series is set aboard a space station near a wormhole rather than on a starship?

Answer:Star Trek: Deep Space Nine(click to reveal)

The Movies

13What was the name of the first Star Trek movie, released in 1979?

Answer:Star Trek: The Motion Picture(click to reveal)

14The 1982 sequel, often ranked as fans' favourite Star Trek film, pits Kirk against a genetically engineered adversary he'd already clashed with in a 1967 episode. What's the film called?

Answer:Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan(click to reveal)

15Which actor reprised the role of Khan for that film, having played the character in the original series episode "Space Seed"?

Answer:Ricardo Montalban(click to reveal)

16In 1986's Star Trek IV, the crew travels back in time to save Earth from a probe by bringing back which animal, extinct in their own era?

Answer:Humpback whales(click to reveal)

17Who directed the 2009 film that rebooted the franchise with a new, younger cast?

Answer:J.J. Abrams(click to reveal)

18Which actor played a young Kirk in that 2009 reboot?

Answer:Chris Pine(click to reveal)

Star Trek Trivia

19Who created Star Trek, reportedly pitching it to network executives as "Wagon Train to the stars"?

Answer:Gene Roddenberry(click to reveal)

20What's the name of the raised-hand Vulcan greeting that goes with the phrase "Live long and prosper"? It was reportedly inspired by a Jewish blessing the actor remembered from synagogue as a child.

Answer:The Vulcan salute (source)(click to reveal)

21Which famous line, closely associated with the original series, was actually never spoken word-for-word on screen?

Answer:"Beam me up, Scotty" - characters came close with lines like "beam us up" and "beam me up", but that exact phrase was never said in the original series (source).(click to reveal)

22A kiss between two crew members in the 1968 episode "Plato's Stepchildren" is often cited as one of the earliest scripted interracial kisses on American television. Who played the female half of that pairing?

Answer:Nichelle Nichols, who played communications officer Uhura (source)(click to reveal)

23Which Star Trek actor became the oldest person ever to travel to space, at age 90, aboard a Blue Origin flight in October 2021?

Answer:William Shatner (source)(click to reveal)

Tips for Running a Star Trek Round

Mind the generation gap. Some players grew up on Kirk and Spock, others on Picard, and others only know the recent films. Spread the easy questions across eras so nobody's shut out.

Don't let one franchise expert run away with it. If you've got a table with a Trekkie on it, consider capping how many points come from a single specialist round, or split Star Trek questions across a wider science fiction or general knowledge round instead.

Pair it with a film round. If your quiz night has a movie section, borrow a couple of questions from our film quiz questions to fill out the evening.