20 Things You Didn't Know About Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country

10. Star Trek: The Academy Script And Harve Bennett

Gene Roddenberry with Harve Bennett on Star Trek film set
Paramount

Harve Bennett successfully guided the franchise from Star Trek II to Star Trek IV, and perhaps less successfully, through Star Trek V. He wrote a treatment for a potential sixth film that has never truly died. This idea was Star Trek: The Academy Years.

It was set at a time when the Federation was less enlightened than it would become. Spock would be the victim of racial bullying at the Academy, an idea anathema to the established depiction of Star Trek. James Doohan recalled that after negative reception from the core cast, Gene Roddenberry, and the fans, Bennett's script was scrapped.

This would be the end of his involvement with the franchise. Bennett claimed that he was offered a lot of money to rewrite the script and change it up, but he was committed to his idea about Star Trek: The Academy Years. He would go on to re-pitch it over the years, though he conceded that when Star Trek 09 was released, the franchise had truly moved beyond his vision.

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Seán is the host and head writer/presenter for TrekCulture, as well as a writer/presenter on WhoCulture and WhatCulture Horror. He has authored two novels, dozens of short stories, and hundreds of articles for WhatCulture. He holds a Master of Arts in Creative Writing from University College Dublin. As part of his work with TrekCulture, Seán has been invited to participate in collaborations with Roddenberry Entertainment, as well as contributing to several Star Trek community projects. An avid fan of Star Trek, Doctor Who, and the horror genre at large, Seán's expertise has helped develop these channels to the successes they are today. As host of the Ups & Downs series on TrekCulture, Seán has become internationally recognised for his positive yet critically informed approach to reviewing every episode of modern Star Trek, ensuring he is one of the go-to voices in the Trek community. Favourite Quote to describe himself: "I'm serious about what I do, just not always about the way that I do it"