10 Star Trek: The Original Series Episodes That Were Almost Made

When Gene L. Coon was given an early release from his contract during season two, he agreed to write for Star Trek on a freelance basis, subject to his availability. For the third season, he was given six story assignments. Coon, who made his reputation as a lightning-fast writer, managed to turn in four story outlines.

For two, he handled the script as well, and all four became episodes that season (“Spock’s Brain,” “Spectre of the Gun,” “Wink of an Eye,” and “Let That Be Your Last Battlefield”). However, due to a commitment to produce the series It Takes A Thief, his availability ran out before he could write the remaining two (“One Million, B.C.” and “Japan Triumphant”) and they were abandoned.

No record has emerged to date regarding “One Million, BC,” but we know more about “Japan Triumphant,” which was considered as a potential story idea as far back as the first season. Roddenberry included a short “springboard” for the story as part of a memo written to Coon on December 5, 1966:

This is another parallel Earth story we might consider...quite briefly it's the story of USA 1967 with Japan having quickly won the war in 1943. A sort of comedy show, emphasizing George Takei, with the Japanese “running” America but now hating every moment of it, feeling ashamed, and a “defeated” America enjoying every moment of having these “imported victors” actually doing all the hard work for everyone.

Happily, at least in this writer’s estimation, this one never made it to the screen.