Dateline -- Paramount Pictures announces the formation of its own television network, with a new Star Trek program as its cornerstone. The year is not 1994, but 1977 and the new series titled Star Trek Phase II would have reunited almost all of The Original Series cast members. A footnote in Star Trek history, few people realize how close Star Trek Phase II came to full-scale production.
All of the actors were signed except Leonard Nimoy, whose Spock character would have been replaced by a young Vulcan, Xon. Sets and props were designed and constructed. New models, including a never seen model of the U.S.S. Enterprise, were built. A special effects company was hired, and scripts were written, including a two-hour teleplay that would have been the pilot for the series. But, the plans for the network were canceled, and Paramount decided to shift gears to feature film production, shutting down the television series -- less than two weeks before the beginning of principal photography. The result of this decision was Star Trek: The Motion Picture.
This is the story of the lost Star Trek series. Including full behind-the-series information on the show that almost-but didn't-happen. Full of never-before-seen color artwork, storyboards, blueprints, technical information and photos: Star Trek Phase II reveals the vision behind Gene Roddenberry's lost glimpse of the future.
Customer Reviews: You don't need to worry, Gene.April 4, 2004 Wes Huntington 2 out of 2 found this review helpful
Rewind to 1977, when Star Trek was entering its seventh year of syndication, creator of the Original Series and the 22-episode Star Trek animated series, Gene Roddenberry, conceived of a new live Star Trek series. The show was called Star Trek Phase II, and Paramount decided to have the show on their new network. Sets and props and costumes were designed and tested. The writers also wrote a two-hour teleplay which is the pilot for Phase II. The cast almost reunited, but without Leonard Nimoy.
When principal photography almost started, Paramount decided to cancel the network and the series. Instead of having Star Wars cancel them out, they decided to have a movie instead of a pilot... thus begins the story of the lost Star Trek series. They made the first episode of Phase II, which was "In Thy Image, Parts I and II" into the first movie, "Star Trek: The Motion Picture." Several Phase II stories are in this book and the design of the never-seen-before U.S.S. Enterprise are shown. The book is 360 pages of information on the almost-but-didn't happen Star Trek series.
Hold on, Gene, there is some way to salvage the pieces of the Phase II sets. Now, fast forward to 2001-2004 where Star Trek movies are made more better on DVD. Watch the text commentary by Michael and Denise Okuda on the Original cast films, where they reveal stuff about Phase II, like what pieces were used in the six Trek films and "Nemesis." This great pair is more than you need for a Star Trek series.
The Missing Link!October 28, 2001 Kendal B. Hunter(Provo, UT United States) 4 out of 4 found this review helpful
"Star Trek: Phase II" was a planned series that would pick up where The Original Series left off. This project never materialized, but the ideas and concepts were later used in The Motion Picture and The Next Generation.
This book is an interesting slice of the life of the Star Trek Saga, and you are given a peep-hole into the mind of Gene Rodenberry: what he wanted to do and where he was going.
The illustrations are superb and well worth the pice.
Personally, it is refreshing to see the gap between the Original Series and the later spin-offs filled. You sense that something severe has happened between "Turnabout Intruder" and "Encounter at Farpoint." The movies and the novels try to bridge the gap, but this book makes the link seamless.
This book is Sci-Fi's "Lucy," the missing link!
Good infoJune 20, 2001 6 out of 6 found this review helpful
This book contained information about the transformation from TOS to the making of "phase II", a TV series that eventually was scrapped and the pilot was morphed into ST:TMP. I found the information to be interesting, and would recommend it to any Star Trek fan, especially those of TOS.
Most interesting to me was the analyses of how the scrapped Phase II produced characters and scripts that were eventually seen on ST:TNG. Xon "became" Data, Ilia "became" Troi, and Decker=Riker is fairly obvious. Additionally, scripts like "The Child" that were written for Phase II, were later filmed for ST:TNG.
Also included is the full first draft script of the pilot for Phase II, which again morphed int ST:TMP. It's interesting to see how the drafts change and (mostly) become stronger. Furthermore,are 4-8 page descriptions of all each story that would have been in Phase IIs first season.
I do recommend this book for any Trek fan. The background information is limited, as the majority of the book is the scripts, but it is still an interesting piece of ST history.
Star Trek Phase II: The Lost SeriesFebruary 13, 2001 Noel Ombrog(Makati, Philippines) 8 out of 9 found this review helpful
Books like these seldom hit the bookshelves here so I bought it the first time I saw it and was not disappointed. The content is interesting specially for Original Series fans. It gives you an insight into Roddenberry's vision after the first three seasons. It even includes sketches, scripts, plots, behind-the-scene info. The story-telling is a little dull. Then again, this is not a novel, so I believe an exception is in order. All-in-all, an exceptional piece of literature.
A lot of interesting information, though a little dryJune 14, 1999 4 out of 6 found this review helpful
A fascinating look behind-the-scenes of the Trek that never was. Much of this information has been revealed before, but there is still plenty of information that will be new to even the seasoned Trek veteran. The scripts are a nice addition to the book as well. My only complaint is that the writing style tends to be a bit dry. This may have made a better documentary than a book.
