Star Trek : Phase II Star Trek : Phase II , also known by its official title Star Trek II ( not to be confused with the earlier 1975 - 1976 revitalization attempts bearing the same title ) , was planned to be the first live - action spin - off television series of . While ultimately not realized , it did serve , in more ways than one , as the starting point for its immediate successor . History . In , Paramount Pictures President Barry Diller began working on the idea of launching a new , fourth television network , officially announced on as " Paramount Television Service " ( PTVS ) . Following the rapid growth of " Star Trek " fandom , and a general growing interest in science fiction programming , Diller , who had just pulled the plug on the " " movie project , revived the property by drawing up plans to launch a new " Star Trek " television series as the network ' s flagship program , covering a second five - year mission . Having been passed over for " Planet of the Titans " , Gene Roddenberry was brought back to serve as writer and executive producer for the new series . The " Enterprise " was to be refit , and new characters were to be introduced . By August , construction on the sets had begun , and the " Star Trek II Writer ' s / Director ' s Guide " was published on , with the premiere expected in spring of . Unfortunately , with pre - production in full swing and filming of the feature - length pilot , " In Thy Image " scheduled to begin on 28 November 1977 , the network deal already fell through in late July 1977 as Gulf + Western head , Charles Bluhdorn , thought the project would lose too much money due to lack of advertiser interest ( though the studio did contribute programming to the syndicated programming service Operation Prime Time , and used the intended PTVS logo for some OPT programs , and , with a new beginning added on , as a logo for their home video division ) . Something of a pet project of Bluhdorn , who had become enamored with " Star Trek " due to the unexpected success of " The Original Series " in syndication , he allowed subsidiary Paramount to continue working on the pilot in order to recoup the costs already underwritten as it was furthest in development , while scrapping every other production concept for the abandoned network , including ' s proposed " War of the Worlds " television series , based on his classic 1953 movie of the same title , that was to serve as back - up for " Phase II " . However , the " Star Trek " project was now to be limited to a medium - sized stand - alone television movie only . Yet , influenced by the huge success of " Star Wars " , which studio executives had at first thought to be a fluke , the decision was made on 21 October 1977 to upgrade the project to a full - fledged major theatrical feature , which quickly became known as " Star Trek : The Motion Picture " . ( " " , pp . 21 - 22 , 34 , 49 , 69 ; " Star Trek Movie Memories " , pp . 59 , 77 - 78 ) Several scripts already completed were later used as episodes of . In fact , many of the series concepts from " Phase II " became the basis of " The Next Generation " , such as the " lost love " relationship between new first officer Decker and Ilia , which led to similar scenes in TNG ' s first season between Riker and Troi . In , the book " " , written by Judith and Garfield Reeves - Stevens , was published , containing the original scripts for " In Thy Image " and , and synopses of the original story treatments for the other commissioned stories . In , in the It ' s A Wrap ! sale and auction , an assortment of " Phase II " costumes were auctioned off . A large portion of these costumes were purchased by James Cawley for the fan - made series " Star Trek : New Voyages " ( which has since been re - named " Star Trek : Phase II " ) . Another costume which was sold off on IAW was previously used in the television series . An olive - colored costume from the series was included in the displays at " " , in Blackpool . Production . The refit of the original " Enterprise " formed an integral part of the plot of " In Thy Image " . Originally , designer Ralph McQuarrie – best known to the public for his production designs for the " Star Wars " films – was invited to England to work under Ken Adam to help develop the designs for the " Star Trek : Planet of the Titans " movie project , ultimately abandoned to make way for " Phase II " , the television series . Their " Enterprise " design , however , was abandoned , and Gene Roddenberry asked " Original Series " veteran Matt Jefferies , who only agreed to work on " Phase II " on a temporary basis ( and who had actually already worked on PTVS ' s " The War of the Worlds " back - up production ) , to update the famous starship to reflect the refit that the ship had undergone . Jefferies ' redesign changed the engine nacelle s from tubes to thin , flat - sided modules , and tapered their supports . He also added the distinctive photon torpedo ports on the saucer connector . " " Basically , " " Jefferies said , " " what I did to it was change the power units , and make a slight change in the struts that supported them . I gave the main hull a taper , then I went flat - sided and thin with the power units , rather than keeping the cylindrical shape . Trying to work out the logic of the refit , I knew a lot of the equipment inside would change , but I didn ' t see that there would be any need to change the exterior of the saucer . Certainly , though , the engines would be a primary thing to change . Part of the theory of the ship ' s design in the first place was that we didn ' t know what these powerful things were or how devastating it would be if anything went awry , so that ' s why we kept them away from the crew . And that meant they could be easily changed if you had to replace one . " " ( " " , p . 27 ) Unlike the first redesign of the " Enterprise " , Jefferies ' new version was built this time by Don Loos , supervised by Brick Price of Brick Price Movie Miniatures , to whom Magicam , Inc , the company contracted at the start of to provide all the ( VFX ) for the upcoming television project , had subcontracted the construction of the " hero " model . ( " " , issue 27 , p . 26 ) But when Paramount abandoned its plans to create a fourth television network and subsequently began in transforming the third " Star Trek " series into the first movie , that " Enterprise " , along with other " Phase II " studio models Magicam had already built or was in the process of building , were scrapped as a new art director – Richard Taylor of Robert Abel & Associates , the company contracted the subsequent month to do the VFX for the feature film – was brought in and who assigned Andrew Probert to do a second ( co - ) redesign with him of the ship , essentially keeping with Jefferies ' new lines , while adding the extensive detail that was necessary for motion picture big screen requirements . ( " " , p . 46 ) Magicam , a Paramount subsidiary , was however retained to rebuild most of the studio models for the feature film , including the new , larger eight - foot refit - " Enterprise " studio model . Mike Minor ' s designs for the interior sets for the new " Star Trek " series are clearly an evolutionary step between the original series and " The Motion Picture " . The bridge set built for " Phase II " survived almost intact , though partially redesigned , to the film , while the transporter room was essentially a recreation of the original set with more streamlined console and new wall displays . Other areas that received upgrade were the recreation deck and sickbay . On Minor ' s drawings , crewmembers can be seen playing three - dimensional chess and some kind of anti - gravitational game in the ship ' s recreation room , while others engage in intimate conversation . Several fans were consulted for props and set pieces for " Phase II " , one being NASA Engineer and Shuttle Manager Roger D . Manley of Huntsville , Alabama . Manley played a huge part in adding factual descriptions of space travel and propulsion systems that was used in the later series . The first thirteen episodes . Work on developing installments of " Phase II " began . Alan Dean Foster noted , " " A number of writers were called in to submit treatments for hour - long episodes . " " ( " " , p . 321 ) As story editor , Jon Povill " " had the responsibility of listening to literally hundreds of pitches from a stream of writers , to select those stories he felt were worthy of being considered by the producers . " " ( , p . 235 ) Story work on potential episodes continued even after it was announced that the series would be aborted in favor of a theatrically released feature film . " " As I was under contract as story editor , I continued working with writers and bringing in commissioned scripts until my contract ran out , " " said Povill , " " even though we were told that they were going to feature sometime in the middle of my story - editor tenure . " " ( " " , pp . 331 - 332 ) Two of the first thirteen stories were rewritten to appear as episodes of " The Next Generation " – becoming ( by Jaron Summers & Jon Povill , and Maurice Hurley ) and ( by Philip LaZebnik , story by Philip LaZebnik and William Douglas Lansford ) in the second and fourth seasons of TNG , respectively . " In Thy Image " . This script , written by Harold Livingston , from a story by Alan Dean Foster , ultimately evolved into " Star Trek : The Motion Picture " . " Tomorrow and the Stars " . Written by Larry Alexander , " Tomorrow and the Stars " was a time - travel story that was reminiscent of , with Kirk falling in love with a woman on Earth at the time of the attack on Pearl Harbor . However , this time , Kirk ' s passion was for a married woman , giving the romantic angle of the story a slightly edgier approach . At the start of the tale , the " Enterprise " returned to Earth after a devastating Klingon attack . When Kirk beamed down to Earth , a transporter malfunction turned him essentially see - through and transported him back in time to Pearl Harbor . There , Kirk faced a similar dilemma of knowing he must not take action to save the lives of thousands of people – including the woman he loved – or he would forever alter history . The writing of the script for " Tomorrow and the Stars " began when Gene Roddenberry gave Larry Alexander a copy of " The Apartment " , an undeveloped story Roddenberry had written for the aborted TV series " Genesis II " . It was Roddenberry ' s idea that Kirk would travel back to Earth ' s past ; Roddenberry also selected Pearl Harbor as the time and place . " " It seemed a very obvious choice , " " Alexander observed . He was pleased , though , that setting the episode in Pearl Harbor would allow for the inclusion of footage from various relevant war films . On the other hand , Alexander was disappointed that the setting of the story allowed for very little historical irony in the script . He therefore didn ' t want the responsibility of writing it . ( " " , p . 101 ) An unrevised final draft of " Tomorrow and the Stars " was issued on . In that script , Kirk responded to the transporter malfunction by crying out , " " Xon ! What have you done with me ? ? " " That line was an attempt to allude to Kirk ' s bitterness that Xon wasn ' t Spock . Larry Alexander felt similar resentment over the fact that he wasn ' t able to write for Spock in the script , although he did consider Xon to be a Spock substitute " from a character point - of - view . " Given his irritation with not being allowed to write for Spock himself , Alexander thought devising the line " seemed the ' logical ' thing to do . " ( " " , p . 101 ) " The Child " . " The Child " was written by Jaron Summers and Jon Povill . In the story , Lieutenant Ilia was mysteriously impregnated , and , within days , gave birth to a baby girl , Irska , who appeared to be fully Deltan . A curious alien lifeform wished to study the crew , but her presence threatened the ship . This plot was likely based on " Infection " , one of multiple suggested story ideas proffered by Gene Roddenberry in his 1964 series proposal " Star Trek is . . . " . Jon Povill was tasked with writing " The Child " in one week , as a condition of becoming story editor on " Phase II " . " " I had Jaron Summers do a first draft and then I had to do a pretty complete rewrite , " " Povill recalled . " " It had to get into shape for shooting , and the way that script came out would determine whether or not I could be the story editor . " " The teleplay Povill wrote was sufficiently satisfactory that he got the job . ( " " , p . 100 ) An unrevised final draft script of " The Child " was issued on . When this premise was ultimately used for , Ilia ' s role was allocated to Deanna Troi . The original " Phase II " version of the story has been produced as an episode of the " Phase II " fan - film series , with Povill himself directing . " Cassandra " . Written by Theodore Sturgeon , " Cassandra " was about a clumsy yeoman and a tiny , trouble - causing creature , intended to have joined the ranks among such comedy episodes as and . " Kitumba " . Written by John Meredyth Lucas , this two - part episode provided a glimpse at an alternate Klingon Empire , a culture that had never been examined in detail in " The Original Series " , and that later developed along substantially different lines in " The Next Generation " . With a complex plot , cloak - and - dagger action , and political maneuverings , the " Kitumba " scripts contained many of the elements that later showed up in " The Next Generation " episodes involving Klingon and Romulan politics . Like " The Child , " " Kitumba " was made into an episode of the " Phase II " fan - film series . " Practice in Waking " . Written by Richard Bach , " Practice in Waking " anticipated " The Next Generation " s penchant for placing stories in virtual - reality recreations of historical settings , though here the mechanism was directed dreaming , and not the holodeck . In this tale , the " Enterprise " found a sleeper ship with only one passenger ; upon beaming over to investigate , Decker , Scotty and Sulu discovered a woman in suspended animation . Scotty inadvertently touched a control panel and the three officers collapsed to the deck , only to reawaken in ancient Scotland without any memory of their lives aboard the starship . They met the same woman and protected her from mobs who accused her of being a witch . On the " Enterprise " , McCoy determined that the landing party ' s life signs were becoming progressively weaker . His prognosis was that the longer the trio remained in their dreaming state , the closer they came to dying , so Kirk and his crew had to somehow awaken them before they drifted off into final sleep . The staff of " Phase II " expected this narrative would be extremely well received , owing to the fact that Richard Bach had written a couple of best - selling novels in the 1970s . Harold Livingston , for example , noted at the time , " " His story should make one hell of an episode . " " " Practice in Waking " never made it to script form , but was one of the most popular story ideas among the " Phase II " staff . ( " " , p . 100 ) " Deadlock " . Written by David Ambrose , " Deadlock " ( which had the working title " All Done with Mirrors " ) built a portrait of a Starfleet gone mad – practicing mind - control techniques on its personnel , lying to them , and experimenting upon them by altering their perceptions of reality . However , there was another explanation for what Kirk and his crew experienced , leading to a scene in which Kirk defended Humanity to a group of aliens . An earlier story treatment that was written by David Ambrose and was called " All Done with Mirrors " had the same story as " Deadlock " but a different conclusion . Instead of Starfleet personnel turning out to actually be the aliens in disguise , that early version of the story featured faux Starfleet officers who were part of an underground organization of " dedicated fanatics " who wanted to overthrow the Federation and had pledged to sacrifice their own lives for the cause . ( " " , p . 102 ) Harold Livingston expected " Deadlock " would be " an extremely exciting story . " ( " " , p . 102 ) An unrevised final draft script of " Deadlock " was dated . " The Savage Syndrome " . Written by Margaret Armen and Alfred Harris , " The Savage Syndrome " featured a technology that unleashed dark urges repressed in Humans . Originally , Armen and Harris pitched the story to Gene Roddenberry , who approved of it because , in Armen ' s words , " he was looking for something different . " ( " " , p . 100 ) An unrevised final draft script of " The Savage Syndrome " was issued on . " Are Unheard Melodies Sweet ? " . Written by Worley Thorne , " Are Unheard Melodies Sweet ? " ( aka " Home " and " Id ' s Delight " ) called for nudity and suggestive situations that probably would not have been filmed , let alone allowed to air . Yet , the story was a standard " Star Trek " adventure , with the " Enterprise " once again being trapped in a failing orbit without dilithium , while an alien race attempted to capture the crew . By the time of " The Next Generation " , damaged or missing dilithium was recognized as an overused plot element , and the bible for that series specifically stated that the new " Enterprise " s dilithium could easily be replaced . Regarding " Are Unheard Melodies Sweet ? " , Thorne noted , " " This was an opportunity to do something I had always wanted to do , " " referring to a long - held desire to work on " Star Trek " . ( " " , p . 103 ) " Devil ' s Due " . In its " Phase II " format , " Devil ' s Due " was written by William Douglas Lansford . In the story , the " Enterprise " made first contact with the planet Naterra , just as a mythical creature , who had sold the planet in exchange for peace millennia earlier , appeared . In Jon Povill ' s opinion , this story could " " work very well . It had all the elements necessary for a very exciting , involving episode . " " Harold Livingston likened the plot to " The Devil and Daniel Webster " , then went on to say , " " The story has been developed to a point where we all feel it will be a most exciting " Star Trek . " ( " " , p . 102 ) The original script of " Devil ' s Due " was issued in 1978 . " Lord Bobby ' s Obsession " . " Lord Bobby ' s Obsession " was written by Shimon Wincelberg . In the narrative , the " Enterprise " came across a derelict Klingon cruiser with one lifeform aboard : one Lord Bobby from Earth ' s 18th century . A step outline of " Lord Bobby ' s Obsession " was written , a revised draft of which was issued on . " To Attain the All " . " To Attain the All " was written by Norman Spinrad . In the story , the " Enterprise " became caught in a solar system - sized logic game where the prize was attaining " the All , " a huge repository of knowledge . Elements from this story are similar to such episodes as and . Another similar story is , as " To Attain the All " also involved the " Enterprise " crew discovering a race of disembodied aliens who had highly powerful mental powers but who tried to occupy the bodies of the crew . " The War to End All Wars " . Written by Arthur Bernard Lewis , " The War to End All Wars " was derived from a discarded script treatment about warring androids on the planet Shadir ( " A War to End Wars " by Richard Bach ) . In the story , Kirk rescued a female android , Yra , whose planet ' s successful philosophy of " peace through war " had been corrupted by a humanoid leader named Plateous III . Non - commissioned episodes . There were several episodes that were devised for " Star Trek : Phase II " but were neither commissioned nor produced . For instance , Margaret Armen and Alf Harris pitched three stories to Gene Roddenberry , despite only " The Savage Syndrome " ultimately being selected . ( " " , p . 100 ) Likewise , prior to working on " In Thy Image " , Alan Dean Foster pitched three story concepts , neither of which was accepted for the series . ( " " , p . 321 ) " Ghost Story " . " Ghost Story " was a story outline by Larry Alexander . The plot was a precursor of " Tomorrow and the Stars " ( also by Alexander ) and was heavily influenced by the science fiction film " Forbidden Planet " . In " Ghost Story " , Kirk and a landing party arrived on a planet lying in ruins . They discovered highly advanced technology on the planet , but no sign of a living civilization . Kirk entered a science lab and was projected backwards in time . In the past , he encountered a pair of scientists who had developed a machine to scan the mind , though it operated quite differently on a Human . Hooked up to Kirk ' s mind , the device caused him extreme agony . Demons from within his mind , the Id , materialized and destroyed all life on the planet , resulting in the destruction witnessed at the beginning of the tale . Larry Alexander was careful to point out , in the course of the narrative , that Kirk wasn ' t technically responsible for the planet ' s destruction . " " He asked them not to do it . I was very strict about that , " " the writer clarified . " " He didn ' t volunteer to do this , and when he realized what was going on , he did everything possible to stop it . All of that , I think , holds up on that basis . I was thinking very strictly about what happened to Kirk in many episodes where things didn ' t turn out the way he hoped . " " One such example was Kirk ' s inability to prevent the death of Edith Keeler at the end of . " " It ' s like that when the people of this planet find that it ' s his demons which have destroyed their world , not theirs , " " the writer added . " " It makes it that much more ironic . " " Indeed , Larry Alexander was very proud of " Ghost Story " , commenting , " " I thought it was a wonderful story idea to have Captain Kirk responsible for the death of a planet , and it ' s the one step beyond " Forbidden Planet " that had never been dealt with . It makes it much more Human and , to me , much more of an interesting irony . That ' s the kind of material I think is interesting and I was shocked when Gene Roddenberry said he didn ' t want to go with it . " " Whereas Roddenberry opted for Alexander to instead write " Tomorrow and the Stars " , Alexander was more appreciative of the irony in " Ghost Story " than what little irony could be written into a tale about Kirk going back in time to Pearl Harbor . ( " " , p . 101 ) " Merlin ' s Magic " . " Merlin ' s Magic " was a story outline by Steve Kelly . " Paradise Lost " . " Paradise Lost " was a story outline by Arthur Heinemann . " The Prisoner " . " The Prisoner " was a story treatment written by James Menzies . In the story , Albert Einstein suddenly appeared on the " Enterprise " s main viewscreen , startling the bridge officers . He appealed for their help , and explained that he and many other scientists from Earth had been abducted and kept alive by a " storage battery " on an alien planet . Kirk was skeptical that he was talking with the real Einstein , but his curiosity was piqued , so he ordered the " Enterprise " to the planet where , purportedly , Einstein was . While the ship orbited that world , six scientists from Earth ' s past ( circa the 20th century ) appeared in the transporter room . Xon quickly discerned that they were not actually living beings , but rather highly realistic illusions . Realizing the trap they had been caught in , Kirk ordered the " Enterprise " to break orbit , though that turned out to be impossible . He himself then beamed down to the planet ' s surface , where he encountered Logos , an alien who was the culprit behind the charade . His goal was to assume all Human life , starting with Kirk and his crew . Logos felt this was only fair , given the extreme savageness of the Human race , constantly living under the threat of nuclear annihilation . Kirk argued that the Earth which Logos spoke of was ancient history , but the alien refused to accept that , insisting that man would never change . A battle of wills ensued between Logos and the " Enterprise " crew , with the future of humanity at stake . ( " " , p . 101 ) Characters . The original cast returned to reprise their roles ( with the notable exception of Leonard Nimoy ) , alongside several new characters : Xon ( replacing Spock as science officer ) , navigator Ilia , and first officer Willard " Will " Decker . James T . Kirk . William Shatner returned to " Star Trek " to reprise the role of Captain James T . Kirk . The writers / directors guide , written , among others , by Gene Roddenberry and Jon Povill between May and August of 1977 , described Kirk as follows : Xon . Leonard Nimoy was offered a role as Spock in only two of the projected thirteen episodes , an offer that he thought was insulting to both himself and the character of Spock . Once he had declined this offer , a new actor , David Gautreaux , was cast to fulfill the role of the Vulcan science officer aboard the " Enterprise " . Xon , however , did not make it into the final script of " The Motion Picture " due to Nimoy ' s return in the role of Spock . The actor made a cameo appearance as Commander Branch of Epsilon IX station . Elements of the character of Xon , such as his search to understand Humans , were transferred later into TNG ' s character of Data . Also , the concept of a full - blooded Vulcan having to deal with " barbaric " Humans was explored with T ' Pol aboard . The writers / directors guide , written , among others , by Gene Roddenberry and Jon Povill between May and August of 1977 , described Xon as followed : Will Decker . Willard " Will " Decker was another of the new characters among the cast , supposed to fulfill the role of ship ' s first officer . The role had not been cast at the time of the series shutdown ; Stephen Collins played the character in " The Motion Picture " . Much of what had been laid down for the character of Decker formed the basis for First Officer William " Will " Riker of " The Next Generation " , as is apparent from how the character is described in the writers / directors guide , written , among others , by Gene Roddenberry and Jon Povill between May and August of 1977 . Ilia . The third new character to " Star Trek " came in the form of Lieutenant Ilia ( pronounced " Il - ee - ah " ) , performed by Persis Khambatta . Gene Roddenberry ' s and Jon Povill ' s 1977 writers / directors guide described her as : Certain characteristics of Lieutenant Ilia , such as her relationship to the young first officer and empathic abilities later formed the basis for the character of Counselor Deanna Troi of " The Next Generation " . Leonard McCoy . DeForest Kelley was to reprise his role of Dr . Leonard " Bones " McCoy on " Phase II " . Gene Roddenberry ' s and Jon Povill ' s 1977 writers / directors guide described him as : Montgomery Scott . James Doohan was to reprise his role of Chief Engineer " Scotty " on " Phase II " . Gene Roddenberry ' s and Jon Povill ' s 1977 writers / directors guide described him as having : Chekov . Walter Koenig was to reprise his role of Pavel Chekov on " Phase II " . Gene Roddenberry ' s and Jon Povill ' s 1977 writers / directors guide described him as follows : Christine Chapel . Majel Barrett was to reprise her role of Christine Chapel on " Phase II " . Originally a nurse on the original " Star Trek " , she returned as a full doctor to serve as McCoy ' s associate . Gene Roddenberry ' s and Jon Povill ' s 1977 writers / directors guide described her as being : Yeoman . " Phase II " would have featured Rand herself in " In Thy Image " , and a Yeoman Jennifer York – an exo - linguist – in " Lord Bobby ' s Obsession " , with the rank of yeoman also to have been mentioned in " Kitumba , Part I " . Credits . Aside from the cast , a production staff end credit roll was already foreseen and was , tentatively , projected to read as follows ( " " , pp . 354 - 355 ) : Uncredited production staff . Extensive though this might have seen , there were more than enough production staffers that went without credit , including ,