Star Trek

What happened next?   
The series became even more popular in syndicated reruns and fans began to hold conventions, write fan fiction and make their own costumes and collectibles.
An animated version of the show ran for 22 episodes and two seasons starting in 1973. Some of the episodes were written by writers of the series and the original cast returned to voice their characters.
In 1976, a massive letter-writing campaign convinced NASA to name the first orbitting shuttle after the fictional starship Enterprise. Most of the series castmembers and series creator Gene Roddenberry attended the dedication ceremony.
In 1978, Paramount started preparing to do a second television series that would reunite the original cast (with the exception of Nimoy) for a second five-year mission. With the success of Star Wars, the studio decided to make a movie instead.
Star Trek: The Motion Picture featured the original cast but is quite different from the television series. It is far more cerebral in nature, downplayed the relationships of the characters, and featured lots of lumbering special effects shots. It was very expensive to make but was still a financial success.
The studio okayed a second picture but with a much smaller budget. This film is much closer to the original series in style and features the return of one of the series’ most memorable “villains” — Khan Noonien Singh (played by Ricardo Montalban). Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan also features the heroic death of Mr. Spock. This film was even more successful at the box office and the studio wanted to make another.
The next film, Star Trek III: The Search for Spock, was directed by Nimoy and was similarly budgeted. The movie was also very successful and paved the way for a fourth movie (also directed by Nimoy) called Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home. The fourth film combined action with lighthearted humor, like one of the most popular episodes of the original series “The Trouble with Tribbles.” Voyage Home became the film series’ most successful installment.
In 1989, Shatner took the directing reins for the fifth movie called Star Trek V: The Final Frontier. The film attempted to include some of the same elements as the previous movies but the script and special effects were lacking. It was a box-office disappointment and stalled the franchise.
With the series’ 25th anniversary fast approaching, Paramount decided they wanted another Star Trek feature film for 1995. Reuniting the aging cast and Star Trek II director Nicholas Meyer, Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country was a moderate success at the box office and provided a proper send-off for the original cast.
After the success of Star Trek IV, the spin-off series Star Trek: The Next Generation was launched in 1987 and it ran for seven successful seasons in first-run syndication. Set 80 years after the original series, some original series characters made guest appearances, including a very elderly McCoy (in the pilot), Spock, and Scott. Three other Star Trek series followed though they are technically spin-offs of Next Generation.
Next Generation ended in 1994 and paved the way for films featuring that cast. Star Trek: Generations featured Kirk teaming up with Next Generation’s Captain Picard (Patrick Stewart) in the future and Kirk died heroically. Scott and Chekov also appeared in the opening of the film.
A new prequel feature film, based on the original series, was released in 2009. Nimoy played a senior Mr. Spock. Barrett-Roddenberry reprised her role as the voice of the Enterprise’s computer. It was recorded shortly before her death in December 2008.
Adventures of the original series characters continue to be produced in novel and comic book form. A television or movie reunion of the original crewmembers is unlikely since Kelley and Doohan have passed away, in 1999 and 2005 respectively.