as Enterprise Captain Christopher Pike

Roddenberry intended the show to have a highly progressive political agenda reflective of the emerging counter-culture of the youth movement, though he was not fully forthcoming to the networks about this. He wanted Star Trek to show humanity what it might develop into, if only it would learn from the lessons of the past, most specifically by ending violence. An extreme example is the alien species, the Vulcans, who had a very violent past but learned to control their emotions. Roddenberry also gave Star Trek an anti-war message and depicted the United Federation of Planets as an ideal, optimistic version of the United Nations.[7] His efforts were opposed by the network because of concerns over marketability, e.g., they opposed Roddenberry's insistence that the Enterprise have a racially diverse crew
In 1964, Roddenberry proposed the original Star Trek TV series to Desilu Studios as "like Wagon Train, a Wagon Train to the stars."[9] The network rejected the show's first pilot, "The Cage", starring Jeffrey Hunter as Enterprise Captain Christopher Pike; however, NBC executives, still impressed with the concept, made the unusual decision to commission a second pilot: "Where No Man Has Gone Before". The first regular episode of Star Trek aired on Thursday, September 8, 1966.[10] While the show initially enjoyed high ratings, the average rating of the show at the end of its first season dropped to 52nd (out of 94 programs).

Unhappy with the show's ratings, NBC threatened to cancel the show during its second season.[11] The show's fan base, led by Bjo Trimble, conducted an unprecedented letter-writing campaign, petitioning the network to keep the show on the air.[12][13] NBC renewed the show, but moved it from primetime to the "Friday night death slot", and substantially reduced its budget.[14] In protest Roddenberry resigned as producer and reduced his direct involvement in Star Trek which led to Fred Freiberger becoming producer for the show's third and final season.[Note 4] Despite the protests of a renewed letter-writing campaign, NBC cancelled the series.