AfterStar Trek: The Original Serieswas cancelled, but before the crew of theUSS Enterprisereturned to the big screen inStar Trek: The Motion Picture, there wasStar Trek: Phase II. Intended as a new TV series, the project was ultimately cancelled before it began production, but its legacy would find its way into many futureStar Trekprojects. You can learn all about it now in a new documentary from the Roddenberry Archives,Lost Voyages: Phase II and the Rebirth of Star Trek. The half-hour documentary is now streaming for free on YouTube.
After it was cancelled in 1969,Star Trekfound a second life in syndication, prompting Paramount to explore reviving the show withGene Roddenberryat the helm. At the same time, the studio was also looking to start its own TV network, and saw a new Trek as its flagship program. As detailed in the documentary, which features interviews with cast membersGeorge TakeiandWalter Koenig, the original cast was reassembled, with one exception:Leonard Nimoywas involved in a financial dispute with Paramount over licensing, and was replaced with a new character, Vulcan science officer Xon (David Gautreaux). In addition to Xon, the show also planned to add two more members to the Enterprise crew: empathic Deltan alien Ilia (Persis Khambatta) and her ex-lover, new first officer Willard Decker (Stephen Collins). Sets were built and scripts were written, but when the Paramount TV network project fell through, so too didPhase II, a month after it was announced; the documentary notes that the show was essentially doomed from the start. However, the new cast and premise would be reconfigured forStar Trek: The Motion Picture, which would be released (with Nimoy in tow) in 1979.
What is the Legacy of ‘Star Trek: Phase II’?
Although cameras never rolled onPhase II, it would influence the franchise for decades to come. The new characters of Ilia, Decker, and Xon were revised to become Deanna Troi (Martina Sirtis), Will Riker (Jonathan Frakes), and Data (Brent Spiner) onStar Trek: The Next Generationa decade later. The already-built sets were revised to become the sets ofThe Next Generation. The sets weren’t the only things that got recycled: scripts forPhase IIwere actually recycled forThe Next Generation: “The Child,” in which Troi was mysteriously impregnated by an alien force, and “Devil’s Due,” in which theEnterprisecrew faced off against a being claiming to be a supernatural force of evil.
Paramount eventually did launch their own network in 1997 with UPN, the United Paramount Network. In an echo of Phase II, it launched with its own flagshipStar Trekseries,Star Trek: Voyager. It would air the entirety ofVoyagerand its successor,Star Trek: Enterprise, before merging with The WB into The CW in 2006.
Lost Voyages: Phase II and the Rebirth of Star Trekis now streaming for free on YouTube. Stay tuned to Collider for future updates.
Star Trek: The Motion Picture
