It's hard to even begin to imagine a world without Star Trek. But it's a closer reality than you might think. Here's how the original series was cut short — and saved thanks to reruns.
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00:00It's hard to even begin to imagine a world without Star Trek, but it's a closer reality
00:05than you might think.
00:06The original Star Trek series actually only lasted three seasons, and that's after it
00:11was almost canceled after two.
00:13It only survived because of a letter-writing campaign organized by fans.
00:18NBC renewed Trek for a third season, with a show-killing caveat.
00:22It would air on Friday nights at 10 p.m., at the worst time possible when its mostly
00:27young audience was out and about.
00:29They cut the budget.
00:30Fans unsuccessfully tried to keep it alive again, but the show's ratings just weren't
00:34high enough to justify its cost.
00:37That could have been the end of the story, until reruns saved the day.
00:41Yep, yep, raw.
00:45In fact, Star Trek almost never even made it off the ground.
00:48When series creator Gene Roddenberry went around pitching the concept in the mid-'60s,
00:53he was met with indifference from nearly everyone, except for comedy legend Lucille Ball and
00:58her Desilu Productions.
00:59It was Ball that was interested in the idea and helped produce the show's pilot, and it's
01:04because of her that Star Trek got anywhere at all.
01:07At the time, westerns like Bonanza and Gunsmoke dominated popular TV.
01:11One western, Wagon Train, featured a westward-bound post-Civil War caravan.
01:15It was that type of adventure that was one of Roddenberry's templates for Star Trek,
01:20except set in space.
01:21The timing was perfect considering the public's increased interest in space exploration due
01:26to the Cold War-era space race between the United States and the Soviet Union.
01:30Star Trek ended up being nothing like a western.
01:33It was expensive, featuring elaborate sets, fancy effects, and complicated aliens.
01:39After seeing the original pilot, The Cage, featuring Captain Christopher Pike and a strange
01:43version of Spock, NBC didn't want to move forward.
01:46But thanks to Ball's continued support, a new pilot was filmed.
01:50The second pilot, and the first regular series episode, The Man-Trap, featured an adjusted
01:55cast, including Captain James T. Kirk and a more familiar Spock.
01:59By now, we know that the Star Trek story still hasn't ended.
02:03Star Trek's original 79 episodes went into syndication shortly after the show went off
02:07the air, and its popularity ballooned.
02:10The first Trek movie hit theaters in 1979, and by 1986, one year before Star Trek The
02:16Next Generation launched, the original series was the highest-rated syndicated show on TV.
02:22The original show eventually grew into 12 TV series, 13 movies, dozens of video games,
02:28hundreds of action figures, sets of decorative plates, a line of yo-yos.
02:33The list never ends.
02:34But even more impressive than an infinite list of weird collectibles, Star Trek created
02:39a vision of humanity's future that inspired countless physicists, engineers, creators,
02:44and real-life astronauts to boldly go where no one had gone before.
02:49And you people, you're all astronauts on some kind of Star Trek.
02:56It's inspired tons of other sci-fi properties, and was also integral to fostering the imaginations
03:01of generations of NASA employees.
03:04NASA has a decades-long, close-knit relationship with the Star Trek community and the show's
03:09alums, particularly Nichelle Nichols, who played Lieutenant Uhura in the original series.
03:14Trek fans even successfully petitioned the agency to change the name of its first space
03:18shuttle to Enterprise in 1976.
03:21In a 2021 Collider interview with Trek treasurer William Shatner, he recalled that he and his
03:26fellow actors were devastated when their show had been canceled.
03:29We all really loved the show, and many of the scripts.
03:33People talk about the third season not being as good.
03:36I enjoyed doing it right up until the very end.