From September 1966 through September 1969 Star Trek trotted out its themes and stories about topical issues confronting America through the critically disregarded science fiction genre. As it struggled with poor ratings, changing advertisers and contentious relations among its production and creative staff, the series drew to a close after three seasons but not after having developed a remarkably devoted cult audience.

With the series proving a successful re-run in syndication, Paramount quickly became interested in making a Star Trek movie some ten years later. Important science fiction writers of the day were requested to contribute ideas and scripts so from 1975-77 Gene Roddenberry, Jon Povill, Robert Silverberg, John D.F. Black, Harlan Ellison, Theodore Sturgeon, and Ray Bradbury submitted their take on the idea of a Star Trek movie.

From this effort a story developed called "Star Trek: Planet of Titans" and a script was written by Chris Bryant and Allan Scott that was then rewritten by writer/director Philip Kaufman. Just then Star Wars burst into movie theaters in the summer of 1977. In a pique of shortsightedness Paramount cancelled the movie before pre-production started while believing there wasn't a sufficient market for another successful science-fiction film so soon on the heels of George Lucas's space opera.

Paramount then announced they would create a new TV network, initially operating one night a week to show Paramount TV-movies along with a new Star Trek series centering on the Enterprise's second 5-year mission. Under the working title "Star Trek Phase II" the second series quickly became embroiled in Paramount's corporate hubris to develop a TV network alongside ABC, CBS and NBC. After scaling down their plans, however, Paramount continued supporting the new Star Trek TV series with the hope of selling it to one of the existing networks.

Asking him to return to the basic idea of a previously unproduced TV series called Genesis II, Roddenberry patched together a new story called "Robot's Return." Alan Dean Foster wrote the script under the title "In Thy Image" and the property was proposed as a 2-hour premiere episode of "Star Trek Phase II."

Paramount executive Michael Eisner then made a fateful decision to forget the new series and produce Foster's script as a movie for theatrical release. His decision was passed down in August 1977 but in order to keep the creative staff and production team together during the negotiation of contracts the studio kept the decision secret until March 1978. Meanwhile, they pretended the TV series was still going to happen, even soliciting scripts for episodes that would never be made. Sets built for the TV series were later used in the movie, but model work had to be redone after the changeover was made public due to the need for finer details in the larger screen medium.

TV director Robert Collins had already been hired to direct the 2-hour TV premiere but once the changeover to film a movie was introduced Paramount replaced him with Robert Wise. At the same time Roddenberry wanted Foster to re-write the script with Harold Livingston completing the job. Among other parties asked to participate in the re-write were Steven Bochco who was unavailable, Michael Cimino who wasn't interested and William Norton who initially accepted but found the project's needs beyond his capabilities.

Because Paramount was concerned about William Shatner asking for too much money to continue playing Kirk, three new characters were created. One of them, Commander Will Decker who was the son of Commodore Matthew Decker from the original TV-series, was specifically in place to become the new lead if Shatner proved too difficult to keep on Star Trek's payroll. In the end, though, the original cast was retained in whole, along with newly integrated characters, all of them set to the service of a $35 million budget, just then among the largest budgets in Hollywood history.

Released with the tagline, "The human adventure is just beginning," Star Trek: The Motion Picture tells the story of an unprecedented alien phenomenon rapidly approaching Earth and destroying everything in its path. The only starship in range to engage it is the U.S.S. Enterprise, although it is still in dry dock after a major overhaul from its original 5-year mission to "boldly go where no man has gone before."

As Captain Decker (Stephen Collins), the new commander of the Enterprise, readies his crew to face the menace, the legendary Admiral James T. Kirk arrives with orders to re-take command and intercept the intruder. Because it has been three years since his last command his skills are immediately put to the test with the challenge of unknown dangers.

Following Star Wars and the debut of TV's mythically inspired Battlestar Galactica, Star Trek: The Motion Picture is a ponderous adventure into the vastness of space with special effects that are impressive though not wholly original. Partly this was due to the quick proliferation of Industrial Light and Magic and Lucasfilm's model for technical greatness to enliven typically discounted plot and story materials. It's also because Star Trek's story is about three central characters bound to a future existence that includes spacecraft and new technologies and not a future existence where characters happen to live among spacecraft and new technologies as the centerpiece of the story.

The movie's pacing is laborious and despite its wonderful score by Jerry Goldsmith much of the screen time is spent watching and waiting for something to happen. As befits a three-man central character the best thrills are almost totally character driven from relationships built within the Enterprise's original cast but also in the tensions uncovered with the new, and younger, crewmembers vying for their moment in the sun.

Though its tone is decidedly self-important for those among us who count themselves as fans of the original series and/or its numerous progeny, this first movie is basic viewing for any fan. Audiences in 1979 agreed with this sentiment and supported the film to the tune of some $56 million in domestic box office thereby ensuring the validity of Eisner's risky foray into movie making with a cultish franchise of unknown commercial value.