1976: Space Shuttle Enterprise and Star Trek: Phase II

As animated Star Trek went back to television, Paramount is planning for a Star Trek movie for Christmas 1975, then delayed to Spring 1976, then July...

When the new space shuttle program was announced by NASA, Star Trek fans united, and petitions poured into NASA's Washington offices. By September there are over 400,000 letters counted, and NASA relented. In the ceremony in September 1976, shuttle _Enterprise_ was unveiled with all the original Star Trek cast in attendance.

Paramount was so overwhelmed by the response that they took out a full page ad in the New York Times on September 21st, 1976, that promised a new movie to be shooting in 1977.

By June 1977, Star Trek became a television series again, as Paramount attempted to launch the fourth TV network. The new series, tentatively titled Star Trek -- Phase II, will be the mainstay for the new network, along with other programming. Construction of the sets started in July, and writers'/directors' guide was published in August. The original cast, except Leonard Nimoy (Spock) returned to reprised their roles, along with many several new characters, such as Lt. Xon, who will be taking place of Spock, first office Will Decker, and Lt.Ilia, the Navigator. The first script was "In Thy Image", written by Alan Dean Foster.

As work was being finished on the sets and costumes, Paramount abandoned the plans for the fourth network. Perhaps influenced by the success of Star Wars, Paramount decided to turn the television series into "Star Trek: The Motion Picture".

Many scripts were written for the new series that never was. Several were re-written and ended up in Star Trek: The Next Generation.

 

Unfortunately, there are no sites dedicated to the concepts of this Star Trek series that never was.

 

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