"WI: The Enterprise completes its five year mission" Topic

…(Star Trek survives for 5 seasons)

"One of the worst decisions ever made by a television network was NBC's cancellation of Star Trek (the Original Series) after its third season in 1969. After two years of middling ratings placed Star Trek in the Friday Night death time slot, at 10:00 PM, so fewer fans would be able to watch the series. In our timeline, NBC killed off Star Trek, but it went to syndication where it became more popular than ever in the 1970s. NBC knew of the depth of Star Trek fandom but had no idea how deep it ran until they no longer made the show. So here we go…the divergence point.

NBC, having finished a distant second in the ratings battle with CBS, was forced to reevaluate its primetime lineup to see where they could find potential strength for the fall 1968 television season. Two shows which faced the chopping block this season were The Man From U.N.C.L.E., on Mondays from 8:00 to 9:00 PM, and Star Trek, on Fridays from 8:30 PM to 9:30 PM. The Man From U.N.C.L.E faced a lot of turbulence when showrunners decided to turn the spy show into a comedy. Its ratings, formerly very competitive with CBS, dropped dramatically in the 1967-68 season; NBC is pondering what direction the show can turn to next. Star Trek was rumored to be cancelled because it rated poorly with an audience of older Americans, but its largely young fanbase swarmed NBC with tens of thousands of letters demanding its renewal. NBC is undecided at this point about U.N.C.L.E.'s fate but is bringing Star Trek back for a third season. However, the suits at the Peacock Network are uncertain about which timeslot to place Star Trek in. Could it replace U.N.C.L.E. on Monday or will NBC try to move it later to Friday night, where its chances of survival are slim?…"

From this thread
link

Armand

I hesitate to use the word "Fascinating" but I can see this being a distinct possibility. Nielsen's ratings have always been questioned, ever since the decision to only put boxes in urban areas and avoid the "flyover states" in the late 1960s, which led to the death of the "Country comedy" show like "Petticoat Junction" and "The Beverley Hillbillies" ( An effect that still occurs today with the Tivo/"The Good Wide" fiasco), so an early reassessment makes sense.

Making "the Man From UNCLE" more comedic was a mistake; Already having a light touch, turning it into the night-time "Get Smart" was foolish, given how both the Bond Franchise and "Smart" had corned that market, and the Harry Palmer films did solid box office with the more gritty approach to espionage. In deed, the perfect balance of humour and action was reached in both the reboot and the later telemovie with the original cast "The Fifteen Years Later Affair" which came out alongside other Coda films to popular shows in the 80s and was one of the more successful of them.

I can see this counter-factual being a solid one; Though the idea of pay-to-view TV was not unheard of at the time, it would not have been popular with all but the die-hard fans, and it might well have saved the show. But think on this; the paid services in our time are seen as a divisive and elitist things today – How would SF have been served by being seen in that light in the 1960s, an age of social revolution, where that revolution was not just limited to keyboards and screens?

Thanks!

Armand