|
Late in 1972, NBC was anxious to capitalise on the rapidly growing interest in Star Trek. Thus, the animated series, (sometimes known as the forgotten Star Trek) closely linked to the Original Series, debuted on NBC, Saturday. April 8, 1973. Being animated, the series could boldly go where the original series could not: It was able to show more exotic planetscapes, spaceships, and aliens than was possible with the live action series. Roddenberry was given control, and most of the originals cast were recruited to provide their characters' voices. When Nimoy discovered that George Takei (Mr.
Sulu) and Nichelle Nichols (Lieutenant Uhura) were left out of the crew he refused to participate unless they were reinstated, pointing out that the ethnic mix of Star Trek should never be compromised, so they were duly brought in. It broke much new ground, and all of the 22 episodes of the animated series were highly praised by the critics for its "imaginative skill and literary flair". Despite that, it was cancelled after two seasons, the last episode to be produced on October 12th 1974, ironically winning an Emmy award long after the last episode had been televised, and left a lasting impression on the Star Trek universe.
|
