Why Today Is A Dark Day in ‘Star Trek’ History
1969 was the year we put a man on the moon, but it’s also the year that NBC no longer wanted “to boldly go where no one has gone before.”
Star Trek, now referred to as The Original Series, debuted on September 8, 1966, and has since become one of the most beloved shows of all time. The sci-fi show explored brave new worlds, taking audiences on faraway adventures with Captain James T. Kirk (William Shatner), Commander Spock (a.k.a. Mr. Spock) (Leonard Nimoy), Lt. Uhura (Nichelle Nichols), Dr. McCoy (DeForest Kelley), Lt. Cmdr. Scott, a.k.a. “Scotty” the Engineer (James Doohan), Lt. Sulu (George Takei), and Ensign Chekov (Walter Koenig).
But, on September 2, 1969, the USS Enterprise‘s five-year mission ended prematurely when Star Trek went off the air.
©Paramount. Courtesy: Everett Collection
How did this happen? Well, the success of the Star Trek franchise in recent decades has hidden the fact that when it first aired, audiences weren’t that into it.
TV Obscurities notes that Star Trek did well enough in its debut to earn a second season, but in that sophomore outing, NBC began to move it around the schedule. When the network put Star Trek on Fridays, ratings began to fall faster than a Tribble’s opinion of a Klingon (which is very, very low).
Rumors began to circulate in 1968 that NBC was going to cancel Star Trek, prompting fans to write in, begging the network to save the show. NBC reportedly received over 100,000 letters from fans. Though NBC never really stated that Star Trek would get the ax, the fan reaction was so strong that they publicly committed to a third season.
Sadly, this would be Star Trek‘s last. NBC moved the show to Mondays at 10 p.m., a dismal time slot if any. Plus, some of NBC’s affiliates just chose not to air the show, reducing its ratings even further.
NBC shut down Star Trek in February 1969, when it announced the schedule for the 1969-70 season. Star Trek was not on it. Paramount Television announced that it would put the series into syndication.
After putting it on hiatus in mid-April, NBC resumed airing the rest of Star Trek‘s final season. Repeats aired until September 2, 1969.
Paramount/Everett Collection
Syndication gave Star Trek new life. Fans who may have missed it in its first run watched it during the ‘70s. Soon, fans held Star Trek conventions, giving birth to the nerd culture that we know and love today. In 1979, a decade after its journey ended on NBC, Star Trek returned to the big screen with Star Trek: The Motion Picture.
And since then, the franchise continues to live long and prosper.
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