The success of Star Trek is due in part to the clever crafting of the show's stories, many of which come from medieval epics and romances. This is a literary and sociological criticism of Star Trek. The first chapter shows how the specifically literary tradition of science fiction led to the creation of Star Trek. The second chapter deals with the social history of the Federation and how it was developed to reflect actual world history, whilst the third chapter reviews how Star Trek treats the classical anthropological situation of first contact with other cultures. The fourth chapter reviews the structure of the stories from the series and the final chapter looks at how Star Trek appeals to the sense of religion by using specific literary forms for narrating tales of wonders, marvels and miracles.