Leonard Nimoy Ensured His Star Trek Co-Stars Were Hired For This Fan Favorite Side-Project

For many years, "Star Trek: The Animated Series" remained obscure. Produced by Filmation, the show was considered something of the black sheep of the "Star Trek" franchise, as it wasn't widely available on home media and didn't get as many reruns as "Star Trek: The Original Series." It wouldn't be until the 1980s, when episodes were passed around on VHS cassettes at "Star Trek" conventions, that it would increase in popularity. A complete DVD set of "The Animated Series" didn't even hit shelves until 2006, one year after "Star Trek: Enterprise" was canceled.

By then, the show had slowly increased in popularity to the point of familiarity. Many Trekkies began to realize the quality of the series and the elements it lent to "Star Trek" lore. "The Animated Series" was the first time we learned that James T. Kirk's middle name was Tiberius, saw a holodeck, and met Robert April, the very first captain of the Enterprise. It was also seen as legit because of its pedigree. "Star Trek" creator Gene Roddenberry oversaw production on the show, and many of the "Original Series" writers returned to pen episodes of the animated spin-off. On top of that, almost the entire "Original Series" cast came back to reprise their roles (the only exception being Walter Koenig as Chekov, who was unfairly left out for financial reasons). 

Indeed, the original cast was only able to return thanks to the insistence of Spock actor Leonard Nimoy. George Takei, who played Sulu on both shows, talked with the Archive of American Television a while back, and he recalled the way that Nimoy advocated for him and Uhura actor Nichelle Nichols to work on "The Animated Series." As it turns out, the show's producers initially considered giving the pair's roles to their co-stars.

It's certainly noticeable that the makers of "Star Trek: The Animated Series" tried to retain all their white actors and exclude their two non-white actors. Takei is, of course, Japanese-American, while Nichols was a Black woman. According to Takei, the show's producers, to save money, wanted James Doohan to play Sulu and Majel Barrett to play Uhura. Nimoy seems to have noticed right away that a show celebrated for its diversity was about to get a lot less diverse. In Takei's words: 

"Originally, Nichelle and I were not supposed to be a part of it. When they structured that show, they claimed that they had strict budgetary limitations. So, they hired only Bill Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, DeForest Kelley, and Jimmy Doohan to play Scotty, but also to do Sulu's voice. And they hired Majel Barrett to play the computer voice and Uhura's voice. But when Leonard Nimoy learned that Nichelle and I were not going to be — Nichelle and I and Walter — were not going to be doing the voices of our characters, Leonard said, 'This is not right, this is not 'Star Trek.”"

Nimoy continued to school the producers and gave an ultimatum. As Takei recalled:

"[Nimoy said], 'What 'Star Trek' stood for was diversity. Working in concert. And the two people that most represented that diversity are Nichelle and George. And if they're not going to be a part of this, I'm not going to be a part.'"

It seems that was enough to force the "Animated Series" producers to re-hire Takei and Nichols.

Takei was impressed with Nimoy's stance. He didn't have to do that. But then, Nimoy understood that he played the most popular character on "Star Trek," so he knew he had the clout to force the producers' hand. He was too famous to exclude from the series. As Takei put it: 

"It was extraordinary that an actor would give up his job for a principle. For the idea of diversity, and for Nichelle and me to be a part of that animated series. And because Leonard was so essential to the success of the animated version, they relented, and they brought Nichelle and me back. Alas, they did not bring Walter on board because they said they had very, very difficult budgetary considerations. But because of Leonard Nimoy's principle and strong stand, Nichelle and I can claim to be the voice of 'Star Trek.'"

Koenig, sadly, was still left out. He's commented in the past on his exclusion, and while he understood that he didn't have the star power of Nimoy, he still felt like "Star Trek: The Animated Series" stiffed him. At the very least, Koenig was hired to write the 1973 episode "The Infinite Vulcan," which involved the creation of a 50-foot Spock clone (an incident that was later jokingly referenced on another animated "Star Trek" show, "Lower Decks"). It's one of the more memorable episodes of the series. Koenig didn't like the mandates that Roddenberry put on him (he was forced to make the show more outlandish), but he still has his name on the series. It's just a pity he never got to perform on it.