Star Trek

Even though NBC had canceled creator Gene Roddenberry's ambitious venture after three seasons of disappointingly low ratings, the show had gained a large and ...

Even the concept of an original Paramount network evolved into UPN, whose flagship series in 1995 was none other than [Star Trek: Voyager](https://collider.com/star-trek-prodigy-voyager-crew-tragic-fate/). The follow-up to a canceled series was risky, and despite the amount of time, effort, and (most importantly) money invested in Phase II, plans for a full series shifted into a made-for-TV movie version of "In Thy Image" less than two months after the studio had announced Phase II. He revised Phase II's pilot script for a third time, into the spectacle fans know as The Motion Picture. In retrospect, a continuation of TOS without the most enduring, integral, and representative character of the franchise is reason enough for fans to rejoice that Phase II never hit the airwaves. [The Original Series](https://collider.com/tag/star-trek-the-original-series/) left off, and in minor ways, not as much. Even though NBC had canceled creator [Gene Roddenberry](https://collider.com/tag/gene-roddenberry/)'s ambitious venture after three seasons of disappointingly low ratings, the show had gained a large and active cult following in the interim thanks to syndicated re-runs; Paramount executives knew an opportunity when they saw one.