Walter Koenig's Star Trek VI pitch killed off several major characters

Thanks to their fictional captain, the original crew of the Starship Enterprise almost never got to say goodbye on the big screen.

Prior to 1989, the star-crossed “Star Trek” franchise was subject to network cancellation and box office/critical disappointment in “Star Trek: The Motion Picture.” So the brand was in unexpectedly great form, scoring three hits in a row in the 1980s with “Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan,” “Star Trek III: The Search for Spock,” and “Star Trek IV: The.” Voyage Home.” For once, it felt like the entire “Star Trek” team was playing with house money. Then it saw William Shatner take two turns at the helm of Leonard Nimoy, which earned him a majorly successful non-“Star Trek” directorial effort in “Three Men and a Baby” (the highest-grossing film of 1987). strutting his stuff behind the camera.

The result was “Star Trek V: The Final Frontier,” a film so poorly received critically and commercially that Paramount considered recasting the lead roles with a younger cast in a prequel set at Starfleet Academy.

The writing was on the wall at this point, and in the case of some actors, their advancing age was very much on screen. They were lucky to have one last adventure, and they knew it. They also took it personally. This led Walter Koenig, a latecomer to the franchise (his character, Chekhov, joined the Enterprise bridge in the second season of the original “Star Trek” TV show), to write a pitch for the sixth film. How did it work for him?

Walter Koenig's pitch is named “Star Trek VI: In Flanders Fields”. If you're familiar with the history of World War I, you might guess that this was an unusually bloody — or, at least, expensive — story of entitlement.

Koonig's story, which he reprinted in his memoir “Warped Factors: A Neurotic's Guide to the Universe,” involves the Federation aiding the Romulan civilization on the brink of collapse due to a mysterious natural disaster. This angers the Klingons, so everyone goes to war. The Federation requires fitness ratings before operating ships that knock out all but Spock in this conflict. As the Federation mounted a successful campaign, the old Enterprise crew members scattered to the winds. They struggle to rebuild a world ready to move on without them.

Just as their Starfleet days seem over, the Enterprise goes missing while returning home from a battle with the Klingons. They are trapped by a race of worm-like monsters that feed on the life force of humans. Because Kirk, Uhura, Sulu, Chekov, and Scotty are old, the worms don't have much interest in them. Instead, they head to the worm planet to rescue Spock and the new crew of the Enterprise.

It was their last mission. They each give their lives trying to free Spock from a dungeon. According to Koenig's pitch, Kirk will be the last to fall. Or so we think.

McCoy unexpectedly resurfaces and manages to reach Spock, even though there is nothing left in the tank. For Koenig's pitch:

“Slowly, Spock raises his hand and McCoy reaches for it, helping him to his feet. In these loneliest, most desolate moments, Spock allows an expression of friendship he has never acknowledged: his needy Leonard McCoy turns to the Doctor for Spock's support, and the two men – through a thousand arguments over the years – walk together.”

Apparently, the “Star Trek” works went in a different direction with “Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country,” It cleverly allowed “Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan” director Nicholas Meyer to guide the Enterprise back to safe harbor one last time (although they borrowed the idea of ​​a necessary enemy, choosing the Klingons instead of the Romulans). Although Shatner found a way to attach himself to one more film, the baton for four films was passed to the “Next Generation” crew. Yes, Nimoy appeared in 2009's “Star Trek” and its sequel “Star Trek Into Darkness,” but that's one of the few unforced elements of a highly entertaining yet oddly-stakes movie.