How it all ended... the 3rd season cut short

[Gary7]

Season 1: 29 episodes, last aired mid April
Season 2: 26 episodes, last aired end of March (with 2 week gap on last episode)
Season 3: 24 episodes, last aired mid March (with 2.5 month gap on last episode)

I don't know how TV airings occurred back in the late 60's and certainly formats have changed quite a bit since then. I'd expect a series to usually end sometime in late April, with "summer shows" and repeats occurring later on up to September. The 1st season seemed to follow the norm. The 2nd season was cut short a bit, especially with the peculiar missed week (a 2 week gap between the last two episodes).

The 3rd season looked VERY strange. First, about a 1 month early shutdown (mid March, rather than mid April), and then the last episode being held back until June--a full 2.5 months from the previous episode. What possible production value would that last episode bring, being aired so far out? In June, the summer series and reruns are in full swing. In most people's minds, Star Trek is done... surely, many people missed this episode when it first aired.

If the production staff had issues and couldn't get the episode together in time, you figure their window would be no more than 4 weeks. After that, it would be locked out. I also wonder if that 'last botch' in production helped put the nail in the coffin for Star Trek. Maybe this contractual violation (providing a regular stream of 1 episode per week, no delays) didn't matter to the staff, as the jig was probably up by then anyway? They knew it wasn't being renewed so any contractual violation was moot?

Anybody have any details about this premature ending to Star Trek's 3rd season?

 

[JoeD80]

It's not that the Star Trek seasons were cut short for any reason; it's just that the length of television seasons was in flux right around this period of time. Take a look at shows like Bewitched which started with 36 episodes in a season in 1964 and ended with 26 in 1971. The number of Star Trek episodes was up to NBC when they ordered the show, and they picked 24 for the last season. The other remaining Desilu shows also had shorter seasons, Mannix being 24 episodes for the most part and Mission Impossible dropping from 28 to 22 episodes per season.

The final episode airing in June was marked as a new episode in TV Guide. I doubt it was a production issue; it was likely just NBC holding on to the last episode to help kick off the summer reruns.

 

[FarDreaming]

Reaching back into the dark recesses of my mind, I believe that it was during this time period that the networks were forced to give back an additional 1/2 hour of time to the local stations, so that somewhere between the 1st and 3rd seasons, there was a shift in programming. It's been a long time ago, so I may be wrong here, but we used to have network shows that started at 7:30 !

 

[QuasarVM]

40 score yarens ago, I remember thinking "Hey! I've never seen this one before" when Turnabout Intruder first aired...

Funny all the trivial shit I can remember from yarens ago...

My hot wife thinks I'm a freak of nay-cha because I can remember a lot of trivial shit going back to when I could crawl.

Hmmm...maybe I AM a freak of nay-cha! LOL!!!

 

[Gary7]

It's not that the Star Trek seasons were cut short for any reason; it's just that the length of television seasons was in flux right around this period of time. Take a look at shows like Bewitched which started with 36 episodes in a season in 1964 and ended with 26 in 1971. The number of Star Trek episodes was up to NBC when they ordered the show, and they picked 24 for the last season. The other remaining Desilu shows also had shorter seasons, Mannix being 24 episodes for the most part and Mission Impossible dropping from 28 to 22 episodes per season.

The final episode airing in June was marked as a new episode in TV Guide. I doubt it was a production issue; it was likely just NBC holding on to the last episode to help kick off the summer reruns.

That makes a lot of sense to me. So, a "regular" set of episodes per season is not a hard and fast number. It also seems logical that if NBC cut back on the number of episodes they'd air, having one that didn't make the cut, that they'd use that last new episode for the start of summer reruns.

Thanks for the explanation. OK, no interesting dirt here... business as usual.

 

[ToddPence]

According to the book "Star Trek Lives", NBC declined its option to pick up an additional two episodes for the third season which would have brought the season total to 26. That source also says that Shatner was slated to direct one of those episodes, had they been made.

As for "Turnabout Intruder", that episode was originally scheduled to air March 28. It appears in the television listings for that date. However, former President Dwight Eisenhower died that day and the episode was pre-empted for coverage of his death.

 

[Alrik]

40 score yarens ago, I remember thinking "Hey! I've never seen this one before" when Turnabout Intruder first aired...

Funny all the trivial shit I can remember from yarens ago...

My hot wife thinks I'm a freak of nay-cha because I can remember a lot of trivial shit going back to when I could crawl.

Hmmm...maybe I AM a freak of nay-cha! LOL!!!

That's funny, because I do the same thing.....and my hot wife gets quite the laugh out of it. But if there's a trivia game, she always makes sure I'm on her team.

 

[Gary7]

According to the book "Star Trek Lives", NBC declined its option to pick up an additional two episodes for the third season which would have brought the season total to 26. That source also says that Shatner was slated to direct one of those episodes, had they been made.

As for "Turnabout Intruder", that episode was originally scheduled to air March 28. It appears in the television listings for that date. However, former President Dwight Eisenhower died that day and the episode was pre-empted for coverage of his death.

Thanks! More light shed. Bummer about Ike passing on that day... after being bumped, there was probably no room to fit the episode in the short term line-up so they used it to start the summer rerun stretch.

I wonder what the two episodes would have been?

 

[Praetor]

According to the book "Star Trek Lives", NBC declined its option to pick up an additional two episodes for the third season which would have brought the season total to 26. That source also says that Shatner was slated to direct one of those episodes, had they been made.

As for "Turnabout Intruder", that episode was originally scheduled to air March 28. It appears in the television listings for that date. However, former President Dwight Eisenhower died that day and the episode was pre-empted for coverage of his death.

Thanks! More light shed. Bummer about Ike passing on that day... after being bumped, there was probably no room to fit the episode in the short term line-up so they used it to start the summer rerun stretch.

I wonder what the two episodes would have been?

I have a vague recollection of reading about their slated storylines somewhere, but I can't think where.

 

[QuasarVM]

40 score yarens ago, I remember thinking "Hey! I've never seen this one before" when Turnabout Intruder first aired...

Funny all the trivial shit I can remember from yarens ago...

My hot wife thinks I'm a freak of nay-cha because I can remember a lot of trivial shit going back to when I could crawl.

Hmmm...maybe I AM a freak of nay-cha! LOL!!!

That's funny, because I do the same thing.....and my hot wife gets quite the laugh out of it. But if there's a trivia game, she always makes sure I'm on her team.

Funny how that works, Alrik!

My hot wife, who is quite intelligent, always says to me "How can you remember all that?" Usually when we are talking about old TV shows from the 60s that I remember first run -- even though I was only 6 when the 60's ended.

She grew up basically during the same time, but doesn't remember much TV. I guess it didn't make as much of an impression on her...but I also recall when Beatles songs came out...that sort of thing as well.

I'm a freak of pop-cul-cha I guess...lol!!!

 

[plynch]

Thanks! More light shed. Bummer about Ike passing on that day... after being bumped, there was probably no room to fit the episode in the short term line-up so they used it to start the summer rerun stretch.

I wonder what the two episodes would have been?

The Shatner-directed ep. was to involve the Enterprise commandeered for a quest to find God, who turns out to be a powerful alien who needs a starship. With horses.

 

[Maurice]

The Shatner-directed ep. was to involve the Enterprise commandeered for a quest to find God, who turns out to be a powerful alien who needs a starship. With horses.

Right. And the second one was a follow-up to "Turnabout Intruder" where Spock and McCoy swapped bodies and was to be titled "Turnabout Is Fair Play".

 

[Therin of Andor]

Anybody have any details about this premature ending to Star Trek's 3rd season?

Seek out a copy of Marshak, Lichtenberg & Winston's "Star Trek Lives!" (Bantam Books). The late Joan Winston spent the whole week on the set watching "Turnabout Intruder" being made, and did a whole chapter on the experience. Shatner was extremely ill with the flu, and the cast was fairly convinced it would be their last episode.

 

[trevanian]

They KNEW it was over at that point, didn't they? Isn't there a bit in Winston where Nimoy tosses the ears on the floor for the last time and everybody dives for them? That would indicate some knowledge that this was all passing into history.

 

[QuasarVM]

Thanks! More light shed. Bummer about Ike passing on that day... after being bumped, there was probably no room to fit the episode in the short term line-up so they used it to start the summer rerun stretch.

I wonder what the two episodes would have been?

The Shatner-directed ep. was to involve the Enterprise commandeered for a quest to find God, who turns out to be a powerful alien who needs a starship. With horses.

Or the one where the Enterprise is attacked by a giant space spider.

Yes, he -- The Shat -- actually/alledgedly had this idea on paper. It exists on paper. Now whether or not it's authentic is subject to debate...as indicated in the link below.

As Emperor Palpatine would say "Look Boy...see for yourself. Behold the all-powerful space spider!" Hey, maybe this is how Shatner came up with idea of doing the film Kingdom of the Spiders!

http://www.fastcopyinc.com/orionpress/articles/web_of_death.htm

 

[Therin of Andor]

They KNEW it was over at that point, didn't they?

Yes, but there was still a push for a possible Season Four. The cast weren't believing it would happen, though. And Nimoy may have already been in negotiations to move across to "Mission: Impossible"?

 

[QuasarVM]

Thanks! More light shed. Bummer about Ike passing on that day... after being bumped, there was probably no room to fit the episode in the short term line-up so they used it to start the summer rerun stretch.

I wonder what the two episodes would have been?

The Shatner-directed ep. was to involve the Enterprise commandeered for a quest to find God, who turns out to be a powerful alien who needs a starship. With horses.

Or the one where the Enterprise is attacked by a giant space spider.

Yes, he -- The Shat -- actually/alledgedly had this idea on paper. It exists on paper. Now whether or not it's authentic is subject to debate...as indicated in the link below.

As Emperor Palpatine would say "Look Boy...see for yourself. Behold the all-powerful space spider!" Hey, maybe this is how Shatner came up with idea of doing the film Kingdom of the Spiders!

http://www.fastcopyinc.com/orionpress/articles/web_of_death.htm

So, um...nobody has anything to say about the giant cosmic spider?

What's...the...matter with you people?!

How could anyone NOT have something to say about that?

::shakes head:: I dunno...I just...dunno....

Tough crowd.

 

[plynch]

Kirk exchanges bodies with SHE-lob. "Turnhobbit Intruder." So there.

 

[Myasishchev]

The Shatner-directed ep. was to involve the Enterprise commandeered for a quest to find God, who turns out to be a powerful alien who needs a starship. With horses.

Or the one where the Enterprise is attacked by a giant space spider.

Yes, he -- The Shat -- actually/alledgedly had this idea on paper. It exists on paper. Now whether or not it's authentic is subject to debate...as indicated in the link below.

As Emperor Palpatine would say "Look Boy...see for yourself. Behold the all-powerful space spider!" Hey, maybe this is how Shatner came up with idea of doing the film Kingdom of the Spiders!

http://www.fastcopyinc.com/orionpress/articles/web_of_death.htm

So, um...nobody has anything to say about the giant cosmic spider?

What's...the...matter with you people?!

How could anyone NOT have something to say about that?

::shakes head:: I dunno...I just...dunno....

Tough crowd.

It's actually not that bad, if you replace "giant space spider" with some other sort of cosmic life form.

Immunity Syndrome is similar in concept (okay, it's retarded, but enjoyable). That TNG episode where La Forge is sexually harassing Leah Brahams is pretty close, as well.

 

[Saga]

Shatner must have saw the episode of Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea where Seaview faced a giant sea spider. he though, 'hey, we can do this....in space!'