SamBOB Beyond the Final Frontier: Lost Trek Tales Revealed

During its original network run in the 1960s, Star Trek was famously saved from cancellation twice by fan letter-writing campaigns—an unprecedented show of audience loyalty. With interest at a peak, rights holder Paramount Pictures began developing a television revival titled Star Trek: Phase II. Although the project was ultimately reworked into Star Trek: The Motion Picture, numerous scripts and story treatments were written to continue the voyages of the U.S.S. Enterprise.

Phase II aimed to retain the spirit of the original series while addressing ideas suited to a 1970s audience. Returning characters included Captain Kirk, Dr. McCoy, Scotty, Sulu, Chekov, Uhura, and Christine Chapel, while Spock was written out as having returned to Vulcan. New characters included Vulcan science officer Xon, first officer Will Decker, and Deltan navigator Ilia.

The project produced several episodes that were never filmed, including “In Thy Image,’ which told the story of a mysterious entity that had evolved into a godlike intelligence seeking its creator and judging humanity as a flawed, parasitic species. The episode explores themes of understanding, growth, and self-awareness, ultimately culminating in an appeal to reason and compassion.

Another lost episode, “The Child,’ found Ilia impregnated with a rapidly developing life-form that aged at an accelerated rate, repeatedly saving the ship from catastrophic failures. The story reveals that Ilia and the Enterprise had served as successive “wombs” for this being, allowing it to absorb human emotion, attachment, and sacrifice before evolving into a higher life-form.

The lost episodes also included “The Savage Syndrome,’ which placed the Enterprise in peril when Decker, McCoy, and Ilia investigated a derelict ship orbiting a dead world. The crew soon discovered that an energy wave had disrupted their neural impulses, reducing them to violent, primitive behavior. As order aboard the ship collapsed, the away team raced to identify the cause and reverse the effects before the starship—and everyone on it—was destroyed by the very madness they were struggling to contain.

Other lost episodes explored themes of time travel and responsibility, as seen in “Tomorrow and the Stars,’ where Kirk was sent back in time to Pearl Harbor to prevent a catastrophic event. The episode delves into the moral dilemma of altering historical events and raises questions about the consequences of such actions.

Furthermore, “Practice in Waking’ centered on a derelict sleeper ship carrying a single passenger in suspended animation. When Scotty, Decker, and Sulu beamed aboard to investigate, an accidental activation of the vessel’s controls plunged them into a shared dream state, where they awakened in ancient Scotland with no memory of their lives aboard the Enterprise.

The lost episodes also touched on philosophical debates, as seen in “The Prisoner,’ which began when the image of Albert Einstein appeared on the Enterprise’s viewscreen, claiming that he and other early-20th-century Earth scientists were abducted and preserved by an alien ‘storage battery.’ The crew soon discovered that this was a trap, and Kirk had to confront the alien intelligence responsible for absorbing human identity and experience.

Lastly, “Devil’s Due” began when the Enterprise responded to a distress signal from Neuterra, a solar system that theoretically should not exist. Beaming down, Kirk and his team discovered a serene, idyllic world shadowed by deep sadness, where they had to navigate a complex web of morality and responsibility.

These lost episodes from Star Trek: Phase II offer valuable insights into the creative vision of Gene Roddenberry and the writers behind the series. They explore themes of growth, understanding, self-awareness, time travel, responsibility, and philosophical debates, shedding new light on the Star Trek universe and its enduring legacy.