The special was hosted by Patrick Stewart and traced the history of Star Trek from its inception with "The Cage" through to Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home and the first season of Star Trek: The Next Generation. The special also showed brief previews of Star Trek V: The Final Frontier and TNG's second season. The special was principally a container for the premiere of a full color print of "The Cage" which had, according to the special, recently been recovered from Paramount's studio archives.