In Another Reality...Star Trek Phase II
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| The refit Enterprise for Phase II (Eaglemoss model) |
Star Trek: Phase II was a TV series that went into preproduction in 1977 but was quickly shut down in favor of making a movie, Star Trek: The Motion Picture, instead. But learning about plans for this unproduced show got me wondering: what if it had been made? How would it have been received? And what effect would it have had on the future of Star Trek?
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| Lt. Xon, played by David Gautreaux |
In Phase II, Spock would have been replaced by a young, full-blooded Vulcan named Xon. This was reportedly due to Leonard Nimoy being either unavailable to play Spock, too expensive, or shut out because Gene Roddenberry was mad at him - take your pick. Could Star Trek succeed without Spock? It's hard for me to imagine the show having as strong a chemistry without him. But maybe Xon would have proven wildly popular. Sure, maybe. From my research, it's apparent that the writers and producers planned to have Xon go on a journey opposite Spock's but similar to Data's from Next Generation. Xon would reason that in order to perform well with a crew of emotional humans, he would need to get in touch with his repressed emotions. How would that play with Dr. McCoy? I suspect it might really throw the good doctor for a loop. And what about that old Kirk-Spock-McCoy friendship? It seems like Xon would have a difficult time filling in for the former Science Officer. But this could make for some nice friction between the characters and open up new story directions.
The show would have also introduced two more new crew members, Commander Will Decker and Lieutenant Ilia. Yes, both of these characters appeared in Star Trek: The Motion Picture. Clearly, they were also prototypes for Will Riker and Deanna Troi in the Next Generation. Would a new triumvirate of Decker, Ilia, and Xon replace the old one of Kirk, Spock, and McCoy? These newcomers might help tell stories that the audience of the late 1970s could connect with in a way that the older characters might not.
Although the films as we know them would never have occurred, we can imagine an initial Star Trek film, maybe a few years into Phase II's run, where Spock rejoins his former crewmates on board a redesigned Enterprise. Would Spock be able to fit in after so many years apart? And good grief, how would they balance so many crew members? It almost calls out for somebody to be killed off. Who would it be? Could we see Captain Kirk make a brave sacrifice?
While it would be great fun to be able to pull back the veil on some alternate reality where Phase II was the path Star Trek took, I think that Trek was ultimately better off with the way things worked out in our reality.
While it would be great fun to be able to pull back the veil on some alternate reality where Phase II was the path Star Trek took, I think that Trek was ultimately better off with the way things worked out in our reality.
It does open up the question of What to do with Old Characters and New Ones? Could you have a show with young handsome people like Decker, Xon and Ilia, and still have an older Captain Kirk and Doctor McCoy as major characters? Plus, what of the others like Uhura, Chekov, Sulu and Scotty? Way too much...and cost too much.
ReplyDeleteGiven how Battlestar Galactica and Buck Rogers played out, I can imagine that budgets would have again been tight. We could have gotten more classic klingons and romulans though, and given the times, some Disco costumes and some environmental themes, or even a sci-fi twist to Three Mile Island and the Iranian Hostage Crisis.
All things considered, it's probably for the best we didn't get Phase II. Like you said, the budget would likely have suffered. Going into it, they were already concerned about how much Shatner would want, and Decker was apparently being installed as a failsafe, to replace Kirk if Shatner's demands became too much. I don't really see the need for Decker. Wouldn't it have been cool to see Sulu as Kirk's first officer? Then you have a nice progression for him towards his own captaincy.
DeleteI shudder to think of Star Trek visiting the Studio 54 planet...
I too love STTMP, I have the book star trek phase 2 and the script that were developed are really good. I guess one of the big questions is if phase 2 the TV series actually went into production and broadcast would it have premiered on the Paramount network? As was the plan, if that was the case what would the budgets and contracts look like? Would there be a seven-year commitment for the series as we saw later on the UPN network with next Gen, DS9 etc? If it premiered on NBC like the original series did would it be limited to a three-year or less commitment by the network? Keep in mind back and 79 Nielsen ratings were huge and there was very little else on TV unlike today. One of the fun things would’ve been to see how the original characters interacted with the new characters.Another question I had is if the series was a success would have eventually turned into a movie? Ultimately it’s really fun to watch and read all of the things out there with regards to the motion picture and phase 2 and then dream and imagine what might have been… Another question I had is if the series was a success wouldn’t have eventually turned into a movie? Ultimately it’s really fun to watch and read all of the things out there with regards to the motion picture and phase 2 and then dream in imagine what might have been…#LLAP 🖖🏼
ReplyDeleteOne thing that is surprising when you think about it now is how few options there were for TV shows -like you say, we had three networks and then whatever local stations one might have access to, but they were not showing original programming. And science fiction content was minimal - although we did have more to choose form after Star Wars.
DeleteYeah, ever since I learned about Phase II and the fact that considerable work had been done on production, I've also often speculated about what could have been. Part of me regrets that it never happened, but then again, I think Jeff makes a good point about Galactica, which required tons of money to produce so that it kind of fizzled out. And if that happened to Star Trek, would we have then gotten the mostly awesome movies? (And yeah, TMP is a fine movie, so there!) So I guess I'm agreeing with your overall conclusion that things ultimately worked out better.
ReplyDeleteBy the way, any time Phase II is mentioned, I have feel compelled to mention the fan films from the early '00s initially made under that title. They're now called Star Trek New Voyages - and they're really worth watching. Ditto for Star Trek Continues. For those who may not know, they're both basically like 'fourth seasons' of the original series, with lovingly and meticulously recreated sets and costumes.
If I boil it down to its essence , I think it's really as simple as Star Trek with the original cast minus Spock is not Star Trek at all. It's like making a cake and leaving the flour out. It's not going to work. The chemistry is all off. You're better off starting over, which is what they did with Next Generation. Although I'm still curious what we would have gotten. I just don't think it would have been that good.
DeleteI have watched some of those fan-produced shows. I'll agree that the amount of work put into reproducing the sets and costumes is incredible. However, I find the acting a bit rough and it's a little hard for me to enjoy it completely. But I'm amazed at their efforts.