Infamous Sci Fi TV Cancellations: This ongoing series looks back at some of the most notorious cancellations of sci fi and fantasy TV shows by the broadcast networks, cable channels, and streaming services.
What Is It?
This series followed the crew of the USS Enterprise on their five-year mission to explore new worlds, make contact with alien civilizations, and also patrol the area of the galaxy that is governed by the United Federation of Planets. (Read more about the show at this link.)
Aired: NBC, 1966-69, 3 Seasons Totaling 79 Episodes (Plus the Unaired Pilot)
Staring: William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, DeForest Kelley, Nichelle Nichols, James Doohan, George Takei, Walter Koenig
Created By: Gene Roddenberry
Why Was It Cancelled?
Star Trek arrived on NBC’s schedule in the Fall of 1966, delivering an intelligent science fiction series that diverged from the for-kids-only approach of the TV space operas of the 1950s and that piqued the interest of many viewers at that time. But it did not prove to be a ratings success in its initial run, never rising above the Top 50 shows for the seasons it aired. NBC might have cancelled it before it completed its first year based on its overall numbers, but the network was one of the first to begin tracking the demographics of its viewers (age, income, gender, etc.) and discovered that Trek attracted what they considered a higher-quality audience (upper-income, well-educated, etc.), so they decided to green-light a second season of the series based on that. The show also received a large amount of fan mail—higher than the network’s other programming—and that may have influenced their decision as well.
Star Trek still struggled in its second year (it actually dropped in the ratings), and rumors began to circulate that NBC would cancel it. At that point, Bjo Trimble and her husband John stepped in and decided to make an effort to save the show. Bjo had previously been a prominent figure in science fiction fandom, having been involved with several early conventions and fan societies in the ’50s and ’60s. When she heard of Trek‘s struggles, she organized a letter-writing campaign (one of the first of its kind), which ultimately generated over one hundred thousand pieces of mail supporting the show. And these were not gushing letters sent by younger viewers; they came from doctors, scientists, professors, and even New York Governor Nelson Rockefeller.
This was quite a feat considering that science fiction fandom was not as well organized at that time, and the Trimbles didn’t have something like the internet (or even the old Usenet groups) to easily reach others who followed the show. Ultimately, NBC decided to keep the show running for another season (and rumors are that they didn’t necessarily have it pegged for cancellation in the first place). However, the network did tinker with Trek in what would be its final season, bringing in a new executive producer (the notorious Fred Freiberger), dropping the budget, and moving it to the Friday night “death slot” (10 PM EST). Not surprisingly, the show’s ratings did not improve, resulting in its eventual cancellation after its third season.
Star Trek gives us the classic example of how ratings alone may not sufficiently gauge the popularity of a show or its chances of generating a profit in the long term. NBC at least looked beyond the base numbers at demographics—a pioneering step at that point—but even that didn’t give them the full story. Trek had broad appeal, from children to older professionals, and notable staying power, as proven by the many letters the show received as well as its later syndication run and the film franchise and TV sequels it spawned. But the show didn’t score well in the Nielsens, and it didn’t fit within the standard model for a prime-time television series that demanded short-term ratings success to attract sponsors. Thus, the original series was truncated after three seasons, but it ultimately spun itself into a long-running institution that still continues to this day, and it is considered one of the greatest sci fi TV shows of all time.
From Star Trek to forgotten cult classics, John J. Joex’s Why Were They Cancelled? 2nd Ed. reveals the behind-the-scenes stories of why so many sci fi and fantasy shows have been cancelled throughout television’s history. Buy now: Print | eBook.
How Did The Fans React?
As already mentioned above, the threat of cancellation during the second season generated an unprecedented write-in campaign, and that certainly swayed network execs, even though they claimed they already planned to renew the series. So many letters were received by the network that they ran an announcement during the end credits of “The Devil in the Dark,” which aired on March 9, 1967, hoping that would cause the onslaught of mail to subside. When the show was eventually cancelled after its third season—in large part due to network tinkering—that generated another round of letters, but the momentum had subsided by that point. The third season proved disappointing, and it’s likely that some of the fans had bowed out by then. There was not a sufficient show of support to convince NBC to allow Trek to voyage into a fourth season, and the original series came to an end without completing its five-year mission.
Should It Have Continued?
Many fans of the original series (myself included) would have loved to have seen more adventures of Kirk, Spock, McCoy, and the rest of the crew of the Enterprise in the show’s original form, but perhaps this one actually ended at the right time. The third season definitely saw a drop in quality and delivered some notoriously bad episodes such as “Spock’s Brain,” “Turnabout Intruder,” and “The Paradise Syndrome.” (No, I’m not going to include “The Way to Eden” in that group because I like that episode.) If it had continued to a fourth season, would it have delivered more turkeys like that and turned into a campfest rivaling Lost in Space and Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea? It’s hard to tell, but another bad season could have hurt its reputation and impacted the show’s longevity in syndication.
If Star Trek had been cancelled after its second season, that could have proven the real travesty. With only 55 episodes, it may not have drawn as much interest from the syndication market and may have had much more limited exposure. Instead of finding a new life on the UHF channels and turning into a phenomenon after its cancellation, it may have just become that curious science fiction show that was cancelled after two seasons and perhaps would have been fondly remembered but developed less of a legacy, like The Invaders and UFO.
The producers did have some interesting ideas on where to go in a fourth season, and perhaps the show could have continued to expand on the Trek universe. If Fred Freiberger had stayed onboard, he wanted to continue expanding the Klingons beyond what he considered one-dimensional villains, and Gene Roddenberry wanted to focus more on character-driven stories. But there is no guarantee that the show’s creator would have returned, as he and the network were already at odds by that point. I have read some of the scripts that were planned for a possible fourth season, and they were okay, but not up to the quality of the best Trek episodes. So the show may have ended at just the right time to position itself for the rebirth it would have in the 1970s and beyond.
Where Does the Property Stand Now?
I could write volumes on this, and any sci-fi fan knows that this has become one of the most enduring and influential franchises of the genre. As mentioned above, Star Trek performed very well in reruns in the syndication market, which led to the explosion of its fan following and eventually a continuation of the voyages of the USS Enterprise. That began with Star Trek: The Animated Series, which premiered in 1973 and ran for two seasons on Saturday morning television. That was followed by Star Trek: The Motion Picture in 1979, which revived the property on the big screen and led to more films focused on the original characters coming out into the 1990s. Then the first spin-off series—Star Trek: The Next Generation—arrived in 1987, boldly leading the charge for Trek‘s return to the small screen, and that has continued to the present day with a bit of a break during the 2000s. The status of the franchise on television and on the big screen is in question at this point, with Star Trek: Strange New Worlds and Starfleet Academy coming to an end and no concrete movie plans on the table at the moment. But this property has endured and met every challenge since it first premiered in 1966, and it will certainly return for more adventures at some point.
Did you watch the original Star Trek and do you think it should have continued to a fourth season? Chime in with your thoughts in the comments below.
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