Star Trek: The Original Series
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"Space, The Final Frontier. These are the Voyages of the Starship Enterprise. It's Five Year Mission: To Explore strange new worlds, to seek out new life and new civilizations, to boldly go where no one has gone before."
Gene Roddenberry brought the idea of Star Trek to Desilu Productions. The First Pilot " The Man Trap" received mix reviews, leading to an overhaul of the series. Only actor Leonard Nimoy as the Vulcan Spock was kept on. The network remarkably asked for a second pilot. The second pilot was good enough for NBC to greenlight the rest of the series. Two of the pilots "Mudd's Women" and the "Omega Glory" would become episodes in their own right. The theme song, on Roddenberry's suggestion, was done by Jerry Goldsmith(OTL, he did not but did write the theme song for the Motion Picture and
The Next Generation, which means his version of the theme song likely sounds like that). The cast included William Shatner as Captain James T.Kirk, Leonard Nimoy as Lieutenant Commander Spock, DeForrest Kelley as Dr.McCoy, James Doohan as Chief Engineer Montgomery "Scotty" Scott, Nichelle Nicholas as Communications officer Uhura, and Grace Lee Whitney as Yoeman Janice Rand(who was cut half way through the season for unknown reasons with the explanation that she'd been transferred).
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Season One(1966-1967)
"Where No Man has one Before" was the series premiere, and involved Kirk's friend Gary Mitchell, gaining gradually growing Godlike powers and needing to be killed, ultimately being shot in the back by his love Elizabeth Dehner. Spock makes an interesting case about reality warpers that "They are so concerned with warping the world around them, that they never bother change themselves." explaining how a surprise shot killed Mitchell". Mitchell was later retconned as nearly becoming a member of the Q Continuum(OTL this was the third pilot. It benefits a bit more from being the first episode as Gary Mitchell is a new character like Kirk so it doesn't come off so much as "Remember the new guy. My best friend who I never mentioned before this episode" but more of a case of being an origin story for Kirk where he loses his best friend).
Most Episodes are same as OTL(I owe a lot to Brainbin and
That Wacky Redhead, including the Doctor Who Crossover and finale. I honestly couldn't find anything I really wanted to commit to changing and so much of it stayed in).
There is a two parter in "The Naked Time" and "Tomorrow is Yesterday" the former episode ending with the Enterprise stuck in the past, and the latter episode beginning with the Enterprise stuck in the past.
The Episode "The Enemy Within" is written differently, rather than Kirk splitting between good and evil, it is later retconned that this was the first appearance of the Kirk of the Mirror Universe. The Episode is titled "Enemy in the Mirror" as a result.
"The Menagerie" introduces Pike as alive and well before an accident occurs and he is then revealed to be bound to an electronic wheelchair and badly burned, making his appearance more shocking.
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Harlan Ellison wrote the Episode "The City on the Edge of Forever" which was heavily edited. Ellison complained and the rewrites led to the City on the Edge of Forever becoming the finale of Season One.
Season Two(1967-1968)
The Show weathered its first actor conflict when Leonard Nimoy requested(and received a pay raise). By this time the show had firmly established the main trio of Kirk, Spock and McCoy. The trio represented the Freudian Psyche. Walter Koenig as Navigator Pavel Chekhov was introduced, originally his character intended to be British. Allegedly this was changed due to comments from viewers in the Russia about their contribution to Space travel being ignored(OTL this is debated as Star Trek did not air at the time, ITTL Star Trek did air in Russia and the OTL Soviet Union countries). Nichelle Nichols nearly left the show until a chance meeting with fan Dr.Martin Luther King Jr, convinced her of the importance of her role and she remained on. This also included most of the original writing staff, who were planning on leaving at the time, including Gene Coon and Rolland Brooks. Due to having a film role in
"The Green Berets" , George Takei as Sulu missed several episodes. It was explained that he was carrying out covert operations for Starfleet, chosen as he was one of the best fighters on the ship. Due to an increased budget, John Winston would make more appearances as the Transporter Operater.
Regarding the show's tone, it was decided not to go too campy, unless the situation called for it(Butterflying away several of the intentionally campy Bad episodes such as the infamous Spock's brain), The 1966' Batman series starring Adam West was campy at the time but gradually progressed into some dark stories including Harlan Ellison's "Two Face" Episode. This in turn unknowingly, saved the Man from U.N.C.L.E. as the producers were preparing to increase the humor to slapstick levels only for Batman 66' to suddenly get more serious, killing that idea. U.N.C.L.E. ended and ironically Batman took its timeslot on NBC, who bought the show from ABC, which was fortunate as they were about to destroy the sets. This posed a problem as there were few timeslots available, leading to a war between Roddenberry's Star Trek and George Schlatter's "Rowan and Martin's Laugh In".
Laugh in would become a hit. Since Roddenberry had been promised the prized 7:30 slot, Laugh In was pushed back, which angered Schlatter. He was seen as being unreasonable for such a small change and Star Trek received more fan mail than any other show in the network's history. Schlatter left for ABC with his
Laugh In idea. The rivalry between the two shows would escalate in coming years, reaching its height when Richard Nixon guest starred on
Laugh In, while John F.Kennedy would cameo on
Star Trek at around the same time.
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The First Episode of the second season "Amok Time" followed up quite nicely from the much loved "The City on the Edge of Forever", considered two of the show's best episodes back to back.
Among the guest stars of the series was Jon Voight in the role of Apollo in "Who Mourns for Adonais?". The episode made history for its depiction of a birth as sanitized as it was. Carolyn Palamas gives birth to the son of Apollo with McCoy's quip of "My medical training didn't cover being a pediatrician for a God."
The Episode "The Changeling" depicted the Enterprise making contact with an alien probe that believes humanity is its creator, revealed to be an advanced Voyager 6 probe(OTL this episode served as the basis for Star Trek: The Motion Picture, Here the episode is in essence a combination of the two versions of the story).
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"Mirror Mirror" introduced the Mirror Universe. A transporter malfunction leads to Kirk, Scotty, Uhura and McCoy switching places with their alternate universe selves from a Universe where the Federation is instead the Terran Empire and most importantly Spock has a beard. The episode is then split in two, one story following the Mirror crew trying to escape and sabotage the Enterprise when Spock identifies them as imposters immediately("It's easier for civilized men to act like savages then savages to act like civilized men "). While the main universe crew members fight to get back. Mirror Kirk sees the Federation as weak and too soft. While the main crew are able to return with Mirror Spock's help, Kirk has one last talk to convince Spock to change the Empire for the better. Mirror Spock saying "He shall consider it." Mirror Kirk is revealed to not been returned, instead Sulu brought him to his commanders in the mysterious Section 13, to be interrogated for information should the Mirror Universe become a threat. Mirror Kirk begins to laugh maniacally, exclaiming "There's hope for you yet!"(This actually comes from"Earth's Alien History". I liked it enough to throw it in). Barbara Luna was cast as the love interest to the Mirror Universe Captain Kirk. Roddenberry did not like this ending as it clashed with the idea of his Perfect Federation, but the rest of the crew and the viewers enjoyed it. Mirror Spock is shown becoming Captain of the Enterprise.
Robert Ryan guest starred as Matt Decker in "The Doomsday Machine", playing a Captain obsessed with tracking down the alien device that destroyed his ship, leaving him the sole survivor.
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Harry Mudd, played by Roger C.Carmel, would appear once a season. In Season Two, he appeared in "I, Mudd ".
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Kor, a Klingon captain nemesis to Kirk introduced in "Errand of Mercy" was brought back for the more comedic "The Trouble with Tribbles". Accompanied by his second in command Koloth, played by William Campbell, who is revealed to be the secret villain of the episode.
Sulu was given a focus in an episode "The Gamesters of Triskelion" where he was forced to compete in a fighting tournament after he and several others were abducted. Though the episode was pushed back due to Takei's role in
The Green Berets.
The "Gangster Planet" Episode is instead "The Syndicate" instead of "A Piece of the Action", and is about travelling to an alternate universe and time where Al Capone has become President of the United States. This episode is far more dramatic than OTL, something that changed when it was rewritten.
Similarly, The "Nazi Planet" episode is "Tomorrow, the Universe" instead of "Patterns of Force"(working title OTL) instead occurs in an alternate universe where the Nazis won World War II, leading the Enterprise to battle an aged Hitler and aid the resistance in defeating the Nazis just as they are undergoing their version of the Moon Landing.
Milton Berle as a sociologist playing God in a primitive civilization in the episode "He Walked Among Us", written by Norman Spinrad. This episode serves as the Season Finale(OTL this episode was dropped after being rewritten into a comedy. Roddenberry's "Assignment: Earth does not exist ITTL as it was created as a backdoor pilot should Star Trek be cancelled. Star trek is doing just fine ITTL).
At the Emmy's, the following year Star Trek won Outstanding Drama Series and Leonard Nimoy received an Emmy for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Dramatic Series.
Season Three(1968-1969)
During the third season, several outside events occurred that would change the show. ABC was enjoying the most popular show on Television in Laugh In. Then Schlatter flew too close to the sun. Schlatter asked the 1968 Presidential Candidates of Spiro Agnew and John. F.Kennedy to appear on the show. Agnew was the most popular member of Nixon's administration but he refused. President Nixon agreed to appear on his behalf. John F.Kennedy declined and instead asked to appear on Star Trek. Nixon joked on the show about Kennedy coming in Second place again. Kennedy loved Star Trek and was excited to appear. In the end Kennedy won, he was more charismatic, played a significant role as the President of the Federation, and Agnew's refusal to appear harmed his chances.
While Laugh In was still the highest rated show on Television, Schlatter saw the Nixon-Kennedy TV Wars as a wound to him, especially with Kennedy going onto win the Election. He rushed to premiere his new show which he promised would be an even bigger blast than Laugh in. The Show was called Turn on. It aired on February 5th, 1969, once and only once. It was cancelled 15 minutes into its first broadcast. Considered one of the biggest TV flops in history. Many blamed its reliance on computer graphics, quick cuts that cause nausea and surprisingly vulgar sex jokes. Channels refused to air it, cutting to black for the first time in 20 years. Turned off was derided as "Turn Off". The failure led to ABC rejecting another show by Norman Lear out of fear which was picked up by CBS as "Justice for All"(OTL's All in the Family). Star Trek was in many ways, vindicated. It's popularity soaring to new heights with the Moon Landing in 1969, finally reaching "Where No Man has Gone Before."
Season three itself was rising to the top 30, surpassing Gunsmoke on CBS. The show received a bigger budget, maintaining its staff of writers. Gene Roddenberry now focused on new shows, allowing Gene Coon to takeover. Season 3 focused on addressing political issues more than any other season before.
The new Season Premiered with "The Enterprise Incident"(rather than the infamous Spock's Brain as OTL), which was a thriller like the previous "Balance of Terror", likely based on a real life Incident in which a US Ship was taken hostage in hostile waters.
"Day of the Dove" features the return of Kor. The crew's of his ship and the Enterprise do battle over a planet, only for members of both crew to discover that a mysterious entity is fueling their aggression.
"The Tholian Web" is another notable episode, with repercussions later in the franchise, though plotwise its a simple episode about Kirk trapped on his own and the Enterprise unable to move in space.
"Deep Mudd" marks the return of Harry Mudd as per tradition. Mudd had been left on the planet of the androids by the crew at the end of the last episode, having hitched a ride with some Space Pirates and bribed them with a cache of weapons he found on a planet, only for the pirates to turn on him when they get the weapons and need to be rescued by the Enterprise.
"The Beast" is an episode where the crew find a planet rich in "Summium" guarded by a terrible Beast.
"The Root of Evil" was Theodore Sturgeon's once a season contribution. A Federation Colony becomes addicted to a device known as "The Joy Machine" which stimulates the brain's pleasure centers. The Colony promised more hours in the machine in exchange for more work hours. The episode lacked any action and adventure, being highly cerebral. Spock became addicted to the machine to raise stakes. It was also the directorial debut of William Shatner.
The Episode "Bem" introduced the titular character, whose initials were a common acronym for "Bug Eyed Monster", even if Bem himself was not one himself. The crew go down to a planet joined by a new crew member Bem, a Pandronian who wishes to test Kirk and Spock and see if they can solve a problem with a tribe and not resort to violence. Uhura is briefly put in command of the ship, a first in the series, something uncommented on in the episode.
"The Lights of Zetar" an episode written by Lampchop puppeteer Shari Lewis, had her star in the role of Romaine in the episode, having written the part for herself.
The Episode "Joanna" featured Joanna McCoy, daughter of Leonard McCoy, who becomes disturbed when Joanna comes aboard the Enterprise and develops feelings for Kirk(OTL this became the controversial" Space Hippie episode "The Way to Eden" was made OTL instead).
Among the most controversial episodes was "Bondage and Freedom" which centered on the Enterprise visiting a planet in which a Dark Skinned people hold white skinned slaves. Kirk is captured after being sent down. Uhura and McCoy infiltrate the society with McCoy posing as Uhura's Slave to rescue them. The episode featured the first interracial kiss between Uhura and Kirk(OTL it was Plato's Step Children). The Staff wanted to make the episode but hesitated. The film was praised for the message alone despite being far from subtle in its message. The title comes from Frederick Douglas's autobiography.
(The Worst Episodes of the series are not made ITTL, being supplanted by the unmade concepts and the fact that OTL they were made due to being easier to make on a budget, including "Spock's Brain", "And the Children Shall Lead", "Plato's Stepchildren" and "Turnabout Intruder").
The Season Finale was "the Godhead", which revolved around aliens creating a being capable of storing all the Universe's knowledge only for such a being to threaten the Enterprise, turning into another "Kirk vs Godlike being" storyline.
Star Trek won the Emmy for Outstanding Dramatic series while Nimoy once more took the award for best supporting actor
Season Four(1969-1970)
For Season Four, the supporting cast requested higher salaries and more credit. A deal was reached to the cast outside of "The Big Three" of Kirk, Spock and McCoy, as they were paid less despite appearing in almost every episode, with Doohan's McCoy appearing in every episode alongside the big three. This was settled easily with their names appearing on the title cards together. However, there were other problems, most of the show staff was not truly committed to the show. Most of the cast hated William Shatner, who's already big ego had only inflated with the mega success of Star Trek. Nimoy's alcohol had worsened with the increased pressure from the role. This contributed to the decision to end Star Trek after Season 5, completing the Five Year Mission.
Several characters were promoted in the new season. Scotty became a Commander, Sulu and Uhura both became Lieutenant Commanders, Chekov and Nurse Chapel became Lieutenant . Several new characters also appeared in smaller roles such as female Vulcan doctor M'benga and Security member Tamura.
The Episode began with "Yesteryear", an episode which features the return of the Guardian of Forever, which is being used by the Federation to examine the past. Upon returning to the present, the crew has no memories of who Spock is, his role being replaced by an Andorian named Thelin. The crew lear nthat Spock died as a child. Spock uses the Guardian of Forever to travel back in time to save his young self from death, meeting and staying with his past self in the process(Animated Series Episode OTL, intended to have been a Season 4 episode).
The "Lorelei Signal" involves most of the men except for Kirk and Spock, being seduced and abducted by a Siren like being, leading to the women of the Enterprise to lead a mission to rescue them led by Uhura and Chapel(Animated Series Episode. The Enterprise has far more established female crew members ITTL due to the larger budget and cast).
"Mudd's Passion" featuring the once a season return of Harry Mudd.
"More tribble, More Troubles" the return of Cyrano Jones and his tribbles, along with Kirk's nemesis Captain Kor.
"The Protracted Man" begins with the Enterprise waiting at the end point of an experimental warp drive test. The test goes wrong and the shuttle disappears except for the pilot, who becomes the titular "Protracted Man" being split into three beings of red, yellow and blue colors. I tis discovered the Pilot is pulling energy from the Enterprise to keep himself alive. An experiment is conducted with the transporter to merge the three parts together and cure the Pilot's peculiar condition. This is among the most surreal episodes in the series.
Theodore Sturgeon returned for his once a season episode. A Sequel to "Shore Leave" with the Enterprise returning to that bizarre planet.
"The Stars of Stargasso" featured the return of McCoy's daughter Joanna, who becomes a Doctor like her father and moves away from her crush on Kirk.
Finally there is the "The Sleepers of Selene", an episode made to capitalize on the moon landing, involving Klingons infiltrating a base on the Moon.
Star Trek won the Emmy for Outstanding Drama Series and Nimoy won for best supporting actor once more.
Season Five(1970-1971)
Everyone was committed to the end, which helped to ease tensions. Shatner released another album "Man of the Future". Nimoy, still struggling with Alcoholism, had developed an interest in directing after seeing Shatner's contribution and believing he could do it too, possibly better, thinking he may transition behind the camera rather than in front of it.
"The Borderland of Sol" was submitted by Science fiction writer Larry Niven. The plot concerns ships disappearing through black holes and is fairly complex. While expensive, though it does win Niven the Hugo award, the third won by Star Trek.
"Cassandra" is the seasonal and final episode by Theodore Sturgeon, in which Tamura discovers an creature which an alien race is seeking.
"To Obtain the All" was the return of writer Norman Spinrad. The episode has the entity battling a race seeking to assimilate everyone in the universe into one collective mind.
"Mudd Trouble, Mudd Tribbles". The inevitably and unholy alliance of Cyrano Jones and Harry Mudd. Together at least to pull off on last scam and infest the Enterprise with Tribbles.
"The Savage Syndrome" is a fairly generic episode in which members of the crew is infected with radiation that causes them to go savage with Spock being immune and needing to free Kirk.
"Lord Bobby's Obsession" has the Enterprise encounter an alien being obsessed with Victorian Era clothing that tries to force the Enterprise to take it back to Earth and then the past. Placing a bomb on the Enterprise that must be discovered before he can destroy the ship. This is another episode with a recycled premise from previous episodes, hinting at a decline.
"Time Lord" was the first part of a Doctor Who crossover. A deal made with Desilu led to Doctor Who airing in the US and the crossover was seen as a great chance at cross promotion. The Crossover began with the Enterprise following a strange object(The Tardis) that travels through time, taking the Enterprise with it. The Enterprise are also followed by Kor's Klingon ship to the past of Earth in the 1970's teaming up with the Doctor to defeat the Klingons, the Doctor's nemesis the Master and a handful of his enemies. The line "Dammit Jim. I'm a Doctor. Not the Doctor" is uttered and the tricorder picks up the Doctor as not being human. The Second part was titled "Starship from the Future" and was a Doctor Who Episode, though it aired after "Time Lord". At the end of the crossover, the Doctor warns Kirk and Spock that the end of the Enterprise was coming.
Then there was the two part Series Finale "These were the Voyages", which aired as a two hour special. The Finale would surpass the Finale of The Fugitive as the most watched television event at the time. The Finale began with the Enterprise engaging Kor's ship in the most intense combat in the series history, leaving both ships damaged and several crewmembers dead(All major cast members of the crew returned for the finale). The Romulans launch an attack on both weakened ships and the Enterprise is certain to be destroyed until Kor, the sole survivor on his ship, ends up saving the Enterprise by ramming the Romulan ship, exclaiming that no one kills Kirk but him. This allows the Enterprise to escape at the cost of Kirk's life. The Enterprise meets up with Admiral Komack, in person for the first time in the show rather than on a monitor, and Spock's father Sarek. The Enterprise along with the Federation join forces with the Klingons and together push back the Romulans and ultimately defeat them(This is seen as symbolic of the at the time thawing tensions between the US and the Soviet Union, both of which were becoming distanced from China. In this situation the US is represented by the Federation, the Soviet Union by the Klingons and China by the Romulans). With the Romulans defeated, the Klingon and Federation now allies, the crew of the Enterprise receive promotions. Due to the state of the Enterprise it is to be decommissioned. Spock and Sulu become Captains while Kirk becomes an Admiral. McCoy goes to spend time with his daughter. Kirk asks for one last flight and the crew venture off for a final time with Kirk's narration.
"Captain's Log. Final Entry. Space. The Final Frontier. These were the Voyages of the Starship Enterprise. Throughout her five year mission. She explored. Strange New Worlds. She found new life and new civilizations, and she boldly went where no one had gone before."