Summary
It’s surprisingly rare for all four founding members of the United Federation of Planets to appear on-screen together, but they did so inStar Trek: The Original Seriesseason 2, episode 15, “Journey to Babel”. Founded in 2161, the Federation was an interstellar union of planets based on shared principles and sought to further the universal rights of sentient life.Four planets foundedStar Trek’s Federation;Earth, Vulcan, Tellar, and Andoria. These four worlds previously formed a coalition during the Babel Crisis, which ultimately led to the Earth-Romulan War and the eventual founding of the United Federation of Planets.
A century later, the four Federation founders were once again en-route to the very system in which the Coalition of Planets was first formed. InStar Trek: The Original Series, season 2, episode 15, “Journey to Babel”, Captain James T. Kirk (William Shatner) is tasked with transporting diplomats to a conference about the potential admission of Coridan to the United Federation of Planets. “Journey to Babel” is most notable for introducingSpock’s mother and father, but it also introduced the Federation’s four founding member species.
Every Star Trek Federation President (& Who Was The Best)
Presiding over the whole of Star Trek’s United Federation of Planets, the President had the weight of a quadrant on their shoulders. But who was best?
Star Trek: TOS Introduced All 4 Federation Founders
Star Trek: The Original Seriesseason 2, episode 15, “Journey to Babel” introduced the Andorians and Tellarites into the canon, while confirming that the Vulcans played a diplomatic role within the Federation.Spock’s father Ambassador Sarek (Mark Lenard), is introduced as an influential and important diplomat within the United Federation of Planets. While"Journey to Babel" never confirms that Earth, Vulcan, Tellar and Andoria founded the Federation, one particular scene does establish the importance of each species.
“Journey to Babel” is notable for being the first episode ofStar Trekto feature multiple different aliens interacting with each other.
At a diplomatic dinner, Captain Kirk and Ambassador Sarek become engaged in conversation with the Tellarite Ambassador, Gav (John Wheeler), and Andorian Ambassador Shras (Reggie Nalder). The way in which all four representatives of these Federation worlds interact with each other implies their importance to diplomatic affairs. For example, Sarek and Gav are old political sparring partners, meaning that they must regularly debate with each other on Federation matters. Most tellingly, the Orion Syndicate’s assassin specifically targets the Tellarite Ambassador and Captain Kirk, emphasizing that their influence makes them prime targets.
Andorians & Tellarites Didn’t Become Important Until Later Star Trek
Decades later,Star Trek: Enterprisebuilt on “Journey to Babel” to establish that the Tellarites, Andorians, Vulcans, and Humans were the original founders of the United Federation of Planets. This gave the Tellarites and Andorians a level of importance in theStar Trekuniverse that had previously been denied to them.While the Tellarites and Andorians continued to appear inStar Trekafter “Journey to Babel”, they were always relegated to minor roles.By introducing Thy’lek Shran (Jeffrey Combs) inStar Trek: Enterprise, there was a chance to explore Andorian society and lay the groundwork for their co-founding of the Federation.
As well as the Tellarites and Andorians,Star Trek: Enterpriseshowrunner Manny Coto also wanted to include the gold-skinned aliens from “Journey to Babel” in his fledgling Federation, but the budget wouldn’t stretch to another alien race.
More recently, the Tellarites have had a huge renaissance courtesy ofStar Trek: Prodigyon Netflix. One ofProdigy’s lead characters, Jankom Pog (Jason Mantzoukas) is a Tellarite,the first member of the species to be a regular character in aStar Trekshow. Also inProdigy, the USS Voyager-A, commanded by Admiral Kathryn Janeway (Kate Mulgrew) has a Tellarite medical officer, Lt. Noum (Jason Alexander), an Andorian Number One, Commander Tysess (Daveed Diggs), and Vulcan cadet, Maj’el (Michaela Dietz). Decades afterStar Trek: The Original Seriesintroduced them, all four founding Federation members finally have key roles on a Starfleet ship.
