'Star Trek' (NBC, 1966-1969)

Ratings when canceled: Not available

Axed! Three seasons ought to be enough to figure out whether a series is going to fly, yet in 1969, mere weeks before the first actual moon landing, NBC decided that the low-rated "Star Trek" had reached its final frontier.

But as "Firefly" proved decades later, never ignore your demographics: "Trek" was hugely popular with the network's much-desired young male viewers. An animated series ran from 1973-1975, but it wasn't until "Star Wars" rewrote Hollywood — and sci-fi entertainment — history in 1977 that anyone decided to give "Star Trek" a second chance with a series of films.

"Star Trek" films have been released with regularity since 1980, and new versions of "Trek" series have been on- and off-air since 1987. "Trek" has proved to be the one franchise no Vulcan nerve pinch — or network — will ever be able to silence for long.

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The fact that Star Trek eventually became a huge hit in syndication and spawned a movie series, as well as several spinoffs is testament to the fact that indeed, it was cancelled too soon.

I think I remember reading that they realized after the cancellation that several viewers were unaccounted for because groups of fans would watch together in college dorms, etc. And this was before demographics was factored into the mix. I think if they'd relied on demographics, Star Trek might have been renewed for a fourth season, because they had a very desirable youth demographic.

I think “Star Trek” was an early example of a series whose influence derived from who was watching it rather than how many. I think it appealed to an intellectual audience.

Its sad the original was ended so soon.... It was the best star trek ever!!!

Agree. It should have picked up 1-2 more seasons though.

I agree on the original Star Trek having one or two more seasons (for a total of five, ultimately) if NBC hadn't screwed it over by putting it on Fridays.

Were there any other timeslots on the NBC schedule besides the Friday ones that would have been suitable for a young-skewing show like Star Trek? NBC wanted to put it on Tuesdays at 7:30 pm before the start of its second season. Do you think the timeslot after Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In would have worked better for Star Trek starting in season three? If you were to alter the real-life NBC schedule to make room for an additional two seasons of the original Star Trek, which shows would you take out?

Given that it's still so popular I was surprised that it only ran for three seasons.

Given that it's still so popular I was surprised that it only ran for three seasons.

Apparently no one with clout at NBC went out of their way to support the show.

Agree. It should have picked up 1-2 more seasons though.

I wonder why they didnt wanna do it??

It should be noted that if the original Star Trek series has continued for two seasons, and came to a proper conclusion in 1971, that hypothetical end would, ironically, coincide with the real-life "Rural Purge" that occurred that year, with all the old-skewing rural comedies on CBS were cancelled.

Also, what would a five-year run for the original Star Trek have meant for the entire franchise it started (with the subsequent TV serieses, like The Next Generation, Voyager, and Discovery, and the subsequent movies that starred The Original Series's cast)?

I wonder why they didnt wanna do it??

Alien makeups, visual and audio special effects, and the science fiction sets are all rather expensive to produce and build. And the ratings were low meaning not that many people were watching the show so they just decided it wasn't worth it financially. And they were right, there's no sense in producing a show that nobody's watching and that you're losing money on.

Ed.