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Real world article
(written from a production point of view)

The following is a list of various documentaries and television specials related to Star Trek. One distinction that can be made between the two is that "documentaries" tend to be of a purely informative nature, mostly providing (behind-the-scenes) background information on the live-action productions, whereas "television specials" often tend to be of a celebratory nature with emphasis on entertainment (habitually featuring guests and entertainers who have otherwise no formal affiliation with the official Star Trek franchise), even if background information is incorporated.

This list generally encompasses "unofficial" and "stand-alone" productions (when produced by the official franchise, predominantly of a promotional nature), mainly made by third parties outside Paramount Global's usual franchise home media/video format framework, typically intended for television broadcasts and, more recently, for streaming through the various streaming services and/or postings on social media outlets such as StarTrek.com, Facebook Live or YouTube, as well.

Most "official" documentaries and specials that were specifically created for inclusion on the individual home video format releases of the actual corresponding series and/or film productions as companion pieces, otherwise known as "special/bonus features" or "Value Added Material" ("VAM"), are not listed here and are detailed with their originating home video products and/or their own individual entries.

French productions

Home video formats[]

Several productions, both "unofficial" and "official", which were first broadcast/streamed on television received a VHS/LaserDisc (in the early days), DVD, digital or, more rarely, Blu-ray Disc home video format release afterwards, either in full or in part and as such are specified below.

The early VHS/LaserDisc documentary/special releases were predominantly official franchise productions as means for promotional purposes, and were, save for a handful of curtailed excerpts, never included on the later home video formats as special features afterwards, despite the (sometimes rare) production background information oftentimes contained therein. This has since made these releases actually collectible for "Trekkies", the 1994 Star Trek: Deep Space Nine VHS-only documentary in particular. Remarkably and with the single exception of Inside Star Trek - The Real Story, all official home video formats saw a release in Europe first, before a home market release followed suit, typically with an one-year delay.

Third-party home video format documentary/special releases started to take off shortly after the turn of the millennium, in the wake of the advent of the DVD format.

VHS []

Note: For all tables applies,

  • † = official franchise production
Release Cover Release date
NTSC[1] PAL/Secam
Star Trek 25th Anniversary Special Star Trek 25th Anniversary Special (VHS)
US NTSC cover
1 July 1992 (US) 1991 (UK)
1993 (Germany)
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine - Behind the Scenes DS9 Behind the Scenes tape
US NTSC cover
Emissary Collectors Edition cover
UK PAL cover
20 July 1994 (US) 3 November 1993 (UK, combo release with DS9: "Emissary")
The Twenty-Five Year Mission Tour The 25-Year Mission VHS covers
US NTSC, UK PAL, and convention covers
13 March 1996 (US) 26 September 1994 (UK)
Your Guide To ... Star Trek Generations Guide to Generations
UK PAL cover
- 1994 (UK)
1995 (Australia/Germany/Benelux/Spain)
Journey's End: The Saga of Star Trek: The Next Generation Journeys End-The Saga of ST-TNG video cover
US NTSC cover
AGT Collectors Edition cover
UK PAL cover
3 October 1995 (US) 5 December 1994 (UK, combo release with TNG: "All Good Things...")
Jonathan Ross' Essential Guide To Star Trek: First Contact Ross Guide to FC, Dutch VHS
Dutch PAL cover
- 1996 (UK)
1997 (Germany/Benelux)
Star Trek: 30 Years and Beyond 30 & Beyond VHS
US NTSC cover
3 November 1998 (US) 20 October 1997 (UK, as part of the Star Trek - The Movies set)
1997 (Benelux, as part of the Star Trek - The Movies set)
Inside Star Trek - The Real Story Inside Star Trek - The Real Story US VHS cover
US NTSC cover
Greatest Battles Dutch Volume 1 VHS cover
Dutch PAL cover
3 November 1998 (US) 13 November 1998 (UK, as part of the Star Trek - Greatest Battles set)
1998 (Benelux, as part of the Star Trek - Greatest Battles set)
10 February 2000 (Germany, as part of the Star Trek - Greatest Battles set)
Trekkies Trekkies VHS cover
US NTSC cover
9 November 1999 (US) 8 June 2000 (Germany)
28 July 2000 (Japan)
2000 (Australia)
Mind Meld: Secrets Behind the Voyage of a Lifetime Mind Meld US VHS cover
US NTSC cover
6 November 2001 (US) 12 September 2002 (Germany)

LaserDisc []

Release Cover Release date
NTSC PAL/Secam
Star Trek 25th Anniversary Special Star Trek 25th Anniversary Special (LaserDisc)
US NTSC cover
16 July 1992 (US)
10 February 1993 (Japan, as part of the Star Trek: The Complete Collection set)
-
Movie Magic Movie Magic Japanese LD cover
Japan NTSC cover
21 December 1994 (Japan, as part of a three-volume set) -
Inside Star Trek - The Real Story Inside Star Trek LD
Japan NTSC cover
26 November 1999 (Japan) -
Trekkies Trekkies LD cover
US NTSC cover
11 January 2000 (US) -
Journey's End: The Saga of Star Trek: The Next Generation TNG Journey's End LD
Japan NTSC cover
24 March 2000 (Japan) -
Star Trek: 30 Years and Beyond 30 & Beyond LD
Japan NTSC cover
24 March 2000 (Japan) -

DVD []

After the advent of the DVD, the official franchise opted to waive the production of their standalone (promotional) documentaries/specials on home video formats, and leave that field henceforth to outside producers. Some of the more independent ones, 455 Films (through their home video format licensees) in particular, choose to release their productions as "region free", undoubtedly as a means to increase their chances of achieving a positive financial result.

The more institutionalized parties who were reliant on close cooperation with the franchise, such as The History Channel, The Smithsonian (Building Star Trek, 50 Years of Star Trek, Star Trek: The Real Story) and the parties behind both Trekkies and What We Left Behind (which in the latter case included 455 Films as well), erred on the side of caution by continuing to adhere to the (mandatory) region encoding.

Release Cover Release date
Region 1 Region 2 Region 4
Trekkies Trekkies DVD cover
US Region 1 cover
9 November 1999 (US)
24 September 2013 (US reissue)
8 September 2003 (Germany)
26 September 2003 (Japan)
6 October 2003 (UK)
10 October 2005 (Japan reissue)
1 July 2009 (Japan reissue)
8 September 2003 (Australia)
1 August 2012 (Australia reissue)
Mind Meld: Secrets Behind the Voyage of a Lifetime Mind Meld DVD cover
US cover
Region free
6 November 2000 (US)
15 May 2002 (Germany)
25 October 2002 (Japan)
25 April 2005 (UK)
23 April 2012 (UK reissue)
2 October 2013 (Australasia)
Star Wars vs. Star Trek: The Rivalry Continues Star Wars vs. Star Trek The Rivalry Continues DVD cover
US Region 1 cover
18 December 2001 (US) - -
Trekkies 2 Trekkies 2 Poster
US Region 1 cover
Trekkies 2 German Region 2 DVD cover
German Region 2 cover
31 August 2004 (US) 20 January 2005 (Germany)
7 March 2005 (UK)
21 September 2017 (Japan)
-
Gene Roddenberry: Up Close And Personal Gene Roddenberry Up Close and Personal
US Region 1 cover
23 October 2006 (US) - -
The Twenty-Five Year Mission Tour The 25 Year Mission DVD
US cover
Region free
2006 (US)
How William Shatner Changed the World How William Shatner Changed the World DVD cover
US Region 1 cover
How William Shatner Changed the World Region 4 DVD cover
Australian Region 4 cover
10 April 2007 (US) - 1 October 2007 (Australia)
The Captains The Captains DVD cover
US Region 1 cover
The Captains German Region 2 DVD cover
German Region 2 cover
Region free
18 October 2011 (US)
4 March 2014 (Canada)
18 July 2016 (Germany)
The Captains of The Final Frontier The Captains of The Final Frontier DVD cover
UK cover
Region free
1 May 2012 (UK)
3 April 2013 (Australia)
Sense of Scale Sense of Scale DVD cover
US cover
Region free
2012 (US)
Trek Nation Trek Nation DVD cover
US Region 1 cover
Trek Nation German DVD cover
German Region 2 cover
9 July 2013 (US) - 25 October 2013 (Germany)
The Captains Close Up The Captains Close Up DVD cover
US Region 1 cover
Region free
13 August 2013 (US)
William Shatner Presents: Chaos on the Bridge Chaos on the Bridge poster
US cover
William Shatner's Chaos on the Bridge German DVD cover
German Region 2 cover
Region free
1 September 2015 (US)
18 July 2016 (Germany)
William Shatner's Get A Life! Get A Life (documentary)
US Region 1 cover
Region free
1 July 2016 (US)
The Captains: A Journey Through Time The Captains A Journey Through Time Australia DVD cover
Australian cover
The Captains A Journey Through Time UK DVD cover
UK cover
Region free
18 July 2016 (Germany)
7 September 2016 (Australia)
3 October 2016 (UK)
50 Years of Star Trek 50 Years of Star Trek
US Region 1 cover
1 November 2016 (US) - -
Building Star Trek Building Star Trek
US Region 1 cover
For the Love of Spock For the Love of Spock DVD disc cover
US cover
For the Love of Spock German Region 2 DVD disc cover
German cover
Region free
6 December 2016 (US)
21 July 2017 (Germany)
Star Trek: The Real Story Star Trek The Real Story DVD cover
US Region 1 cover
13 March 2018 (US) - -
What We Left Behind What We Left Behind DVD cover
US Region 1 cover
6 August 2019 (US) - -
The Center Seat: 55 Years of Star Trek The Center Seat 55 Years of Star Trek DVD sleeve
US Region 1 cover
25 April 2023 (US) - -

Blu-ray Disc []

In the US home market Star Trek documentary releases in the HD Blu-ray Disc format are quite rare, the – unofficial – What We Left Behind documentary having been one of the very rare exceptions. The German New KSM production company on the other hand, had already exhibited more zeal in the mid-2010s by remastering several older productions into HD standards for Blu-ray disc home video releases in German-speaking Europe.

Release Cover Release date
Region A Region B
The Captains Collection: Explorations by William Shatner The Captains Collection Blu-ray cover
US Region A cover
The Captains Collection German Region B Blu-ray cover
German Region B cover
20 October 2020 18 July 2016 (Germany)
The Captains, William Shatner Presents: Chaos on the Bridge The Captains German Blu-ray cover
William Shatner's Chaos on the Bridge German Blu-ray cover
-
For the Love of Spock For the Love of Spock Blu-ray disc
US cover
For the Love of Spock German Region B Blu-ray disc cover
German cover
Region free
6 December 2016 (US)
21 July 2017 (Germany)
What We Left Behind What We Left Behind Blu-ray cover 6 August 2019 -
Trekkies Trekkies Blu-ray cover 24 May 2022 -
  1. Contrary to the optical DVD and Blu-ray disc formats, a form of geo-restricting region encoding did not exist for the VHS and LaserDisc home video formats. Instead, the format releases were dependent on the television system employed by the region of release, which in broad strokes consisted of NTSC for the Americas and Japan, PAL for Europe, Asia and Oceania, and SECAM for the Francophone world and Russia. Most of the contemporary high-end players were able to play all system releases at the time, legally as a matter of fact – and again in contrast to the DVD/Blu-ray players (formally that is at least, as many manufacturers surreptitiously provided their clientele with means to crack the region encoding on their players)
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