Why TOS Never Got A Series Finale Until Star Trek VI

Star Trek: The Original Series was canceled without getting any kind of series finale, but with Star Trek VI, the cast got the ending they deserved.

Although Star Trek: The Original Series was canceled in 1969, the original cast wouldn’t get a ‘series finale’ until Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country in 1991. Star Trek ran for 3 seasons on NBC; although it gained a passionate following of sci-fi fans, it didn’t get strong ratings. Fans organized letter-writing campaigns to save the show from cancelation, and NBC brought Star Trek back for a third season, but in the 10pm Friday night “death” time slot. Predictably, Star Trek was canceled without fanfare or a proper ending.

It’s important to note, however, that TV series finales as audiences know them today were uncommon in the late 1960s when Star Trek originally aired, although some series like Howdy Doody, Leave It To Beaver, and The Prisoner received special finale episodes. The episodic nature of most TV shows of that era meant that there wasn’t a serialized storyline that required a finale to conclude. Star Trek did have the Starship Enterprise’s “five-year mission,” but NBC by no means felt committed to ensuring Gene Roddenberry’s show got five seasons. It wouldn’t be until Star Trek: The Next Generation that series finales became a requirement for Star Trek TV shows. Meanwhile, the cast of The Original Series blazed a different path entirely.

Related: Star Trek’s Original Movie Eliminated Every Spock Replacement

What Happened To Star Trek: TOS Instead Of A Series Finale

Multiple factors led to Star Trek‘s 1969 cancelation: low ratings, reduced budgets that diminished the show creatively, and the departure of Gene Roddenberry prior to season 3. The final episode of Star Trek that aired in June 1969 was “Turnabout Intruder,” a body swap episode that was by no means designed to wrap up the series. After “Turnabout Intruder,” Star Trek simply went off the air without fanfare or any kind of closure for the five-year mission of the Starship Enterprise. At first, Star Trek was simply another TV series that ended unceremoniously.

Then a funny thing happened: Star Trek found an even bigger audience through syndication. With episodes airing multiple times a week across the country, Star Trek became more popular than it was on NBC. By the mid-1970s, Paramount began exploring a sequel TV series, dubbed Star Trek: Phase II. But Paramount pivoted to turning Phase II into a movie, which became 1979’s Star Trek: The Motion Picture, after the success of Star Wars in 1977, Star Trek transitioned into a successful movie franchise, with the original cast making a total of 6 films. Meanwhile, Star Trek: The Next Generation restarted the TV franchise in 1987.

Star Trek VI Is The True Finale For The Original Cast

The Star Trek: TOS movies’ biggest financial success was 1986’s Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home, but after 1989’s Star Trek V: The Final Frontier disappointed, the original cast’s movies were nearly mothballed. A new prequel called Star Trek: The Academy Years about the young Kirk and Spock was considered, but Paramount shifted gears, deciding that the original actors needed one more movie as a sendoff before Star Trek: The Next Generation transitioned to the big screen. The end result was Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country, which gave Captain Kirk (William Shatner) and his original crew the ending they long deserved.

Star Trek VI is a rousing and satisfying final adventure that put Kirk and his crew in their best light. After saving the galaxy one last time, the Starship Enterprise sails off into the sunset, with Kirk’s voiceover passing the torch to “another crew.” The TOS actors also wrote their names into the stars, which was copied by Avengers: Endgame in 2019. Star Trek VI was such a worthy finale that most of the cast felt returning for cameos in Star Trek Generations would ruin their perfect ending. Star Trek VI was not only the proper finale the TOS cast waited 22 years for, but they also became the only Star Trek cast (so far) who got a finale to their movie franchise as well.

More: What Happened To Kirk’s Klingon Ship After Star Trek IV?