legend whose remains now rest in space), dissuaded the series’ writers from inventing new civilizations.
This is especially surprising when you reflect on the numerous Star Trek episodes and narrative threads that center around new civilizations, particularly in the original series. Although they may not encompass the entire galaxy like the Federation or the Klingon Empire, there are numerous new civilizations scattered throughout the original series: think of Balok and the First Federation from “The Corbomite Maneuver,” the Eminian Union featured in “A Taste of Armageddon,” or the notorious Nazi planet from “Patterns of Force.” The examples are plentiful, and this only pertains to the three seasons of TOS.
However, as noted by story editor D.C. Fontana, for Roddenberry, the tales were centered on individuals, not civilizations. Roddenberry believed the essential world-building had already been accomplished; he had enough civilizations to support his vision of “Wagon Train to the stars,” which served as the initial pitch for the series. Instead, he urged writers to concentrate on how the narrative’s events would impact the crew of the Enterprise and the resulting repercussions.