Coming to a Blu-Ray player near you is the third installment of Star Trek: The Original Series. When season three of Gene Roddenberry‘s successful tales of space bound explorers hits stores on December 15th, Trek fans will finally be able to view the digitally remastered, HD quality version of the lost pilot titled Where No Man Has Gone Before. According to rumors, this is in fact the pilot that was shown to NBC Executives all of those years ago that enabled Star Trek to become a series. Although many fans out there are aware of the existence of two pilots, this third, “lost” pilot contains a few extended scenes and…

A different opening monologue by Captain James T. Kirk (played by William Shatner).

Along with some extended hallway scenes and a different look to the original titles, the lost pilot actually broke the episode into three definitive acts. But the biggest and probably most notable change was the opening monologue. Here is what aired on television:

“Space: The final frontier. These are the voyages of the Starship, Enterprise. Its 5 year mission to explore strange new worlds, to seek out new life and new civilizations, to boldly go where no man has gone before”

And here is what Roddenberry’s lost pilot contained:

“The question, what is out there in the black void beyond? Until now our mission has been that of space law regulation, contact with Earth colonies and investigation of alien life. … But now, a new task. A probe out into where no man has gone before.”

The lost pilot was actually found by a Star Trek collector in Germany who purchased the original film strip many years ago. After finally getting in contact with the people over at CBS Home Entertainment, the collector submitted the film so CBS could remaster it for all to see. The process isn’t as easy as it sounds as CBS had to remaster the entire pilot frame-by-frame in order to get rid of the dirt the film had collected over the years. But after a few months (years maybe) the lost pilot is ready for people to enjoy.

The third season of Star Trek: The Original Series comes equipped with a bevy of special features beyond the lost pilot; but this is the one that everyone is talking about.

Who would have guessed that “To boldly go where no man has gone before,” originated from “A new task. A probe out into where no man has gone before”?