10 Moments That Almost Killed Star Trek
8. Cancelled, But For Real This Time
After just one more season, of dubious quality, the show was cancelled. Star Trek was over. But it’s short, three-season run had been enough. Star Trek hadn’t made megabucks, but it had a lasting impact in the minds and hearts of its fans. More importantly, enough episodes had been made to allow the studio to sell Star Trek into syndication to local TV stations.
It was in syndicated re-runs where it found more and more fans, as families tuned in to see the ongoing mission of Captain Kirk and crew. Over the next decade those fans developed an unprecedented dedication to the show. Organising themselves into a community of ‘Trekkies’; fans founded conventions and fan clubs across the world. This was the beginning of what we now call fandom and we have Star Trek to thank for that.
Due to syndication and the fans, Star Trek never fully left the limelight, remaining in the popular consciousness while Gene Rodenberry plotted new voyages. It would be ten years before Star Trek did offer anything new, but in that time its fan base grew and grew, and though the franchise was essentially dormant, its influence was rocketing.