The Center Seat: 55 Years of Star Trek: Season 1, Episode 3

1 - 3: Trekking Through the '70s - Phase II and The Motion Picture

Paramount wanted to launch a fourth network with the new Star Trek series Phase II as its flagship. When the network proved unworkable, Phase II appeared doomed--until Star Wars and Close Encounters Of The Third Kind proved box office hits. Phase II became the 1979 blockbuster Star Trek: The Motion Picture.