gene roddenberry on star trek

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Gene Roddenberry at 100: The ‘Star Trek’ Creator Imagined a Glorious Future — and Our Fraught Present

Christian blauvelt.

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The 23rd Century feels like it’s further away than ever.

If you’re a “ Star Trek ” fan, the future it presents has always been part of its appeal: that humanity will unite as one while celebrating our differences, put war and hatred and discrimination and poverty behind us, and dedicate our lives to bettering ourselves through discovery among the stars. This has never been just another sci-fi franchise. “Star Trek” came with its own philosophy, and its particular optimism right now may feel less suited for sci-fi than fantasy.

But Gene Roddenberry, the late “Star Trek” creator who was born 100 years ago on August 19, imagined our terrible present, too. Before he died in 1991 at age 70, he went about diagnosing the ills of contemporary life with a candor uncommon to Hollywood franchise builders usually averse to courting controversy.

“‘Star Trek’ proves the much-maligned common man and common woman are ready for the 23rd century now,” Roddenberry once said. “And they are light years ahead of their petty governments and visionless leaders.”

Cue the PR department’s freakout. But that iconoclasm is what Rod Roddenberry , Gene’s son, celebrates over the course of this year with his new initiative thinkTREK, which aims to inspire people to incorporate the philosophy of his father into their lives. Rod loves that particular quote so much he finishes it for me verbatim when I start delivering it over the phone. And every day on social media, he’s presenting a different celebrity — Ming-Na Wen, Rosario Dawson, Whoopi Goldberg — reciting one of his dad’s quotes.

Here’s one of them: “I believe in humanity. We are an incredible species. We’re still just a child creature, we’re still being nasty to each other. And all children go through those phases. We’re growing up, we’re moving into adolescence now. When we grow up — man, we’re going to be something!”

Sometimes, it seems like our species is made up entirely of Peter Pans: we never want to grow up. To Roddenberry, having belief in what humanity can be didn’t mean being naïve about what humanity often is, and imagining a better future means addressing the wrongs of the present.

“Even coming from the optimistic Roddenberry family, sometimes, looking around, it’s hard to see the optimism,” Rod said. “People want the world to be a better place, but sadly, whether it’s government or large industry, people are not looking toward the future. They’re looking how to benefit right now.”

In fact, before the glorious future of Kirk, Picard, Starfleet, and the Federation, Rod’s father imagined an absolutely horrible 21st century, one even worse than our own, at least so far: It culminates with World War III in 2026, obliterating 600 million lives in a nuclear cataclysm. The global order devolves into a patchwork of warlords who mete out swift justice in kangaroo courts. One genocidal madman, a Col. Green — a character Gene created for “The Original Series” in 1969 — is hellbent on killing all those suffering from radiation poisoning following the fallout. On “The Next Generation,” Picard even says that Earth remained in chaos until the early 22nd century. The way things are going in our world, that seems about right.

The optimism that Gene Roddenberry then had for how humanity could become, well, more human — at least by the 23rd century — was no product of a sheltered life. Far from it. He flew 89 combat missions as the pilot of a B-17 bomber over Guadalcanal and the other Solomon Islands during World War II. As third officer of Pan Am Flight 121, journeying from Karachi to Istanbul, he had to take charge after the plane crashed in the Syrian desert, killing 15 of the 36 people onboard. With two broken ribs, he helped pull survivors from the wreckage. The last one died in his arms. Then, following in his father’s footsteps, he joined the LAPD — and got the idea that writing could be a full-time career. Selling stories from the beat to TV cop shows of the day, such as “Highway Patrol,” he got his foot in the door of Hollywood.

“I do think it shows that someone who traveled the world, met other cultures, fought in wars, had to deal with authority and chain of command, probably means he ran into a lot of ethical issues and situations where he probably didn’t agree with what he was forced to do,” Rod says. The moral dilemmas and issue-driven topics of “Star Trek” are a natural outgrowth of that life experience. “Then, he was able to look into the future and say, ‘Based on what I’ve seen in my life, I know what we can be and what we’re capable of, so let’s try to imagine a future where we are those people.’”

“Star Trek” has been many things throughout its 55 years, but it remains celebrated certainly for the anti-racism of its “Original Series” run from 1966 to 1969, which presented the first kiss on U.S. television between a white man (William Shatner) and Black woman (Nichelle Nichols). The very idea of Nichols’ Uhura being a senior bridge officer on the Enterprise was radical in 1966, and when the actress thought about leaving the show, Martin Luther King Jr. himself told her that her role was representation so valuable she should stay.

“I think the ideas my father presented in the ‘60s were significant then, and perhaps even more significant now,” Rod said.

It’s a sentiment shared by millions of “Star Trek” fans — and one that’s led to many debating for the past so many decades whether whatever “Star Trek” is being made at the moment lives up to Gene’s vision. We know he disliked the movies made, largely out of his control, after 1979’s “Star Trek: The Motion Picture,” which was his baby. “He’d write a scathing letter to the producers [of the subsequent films] and explain all the reasons why they were wrong,” Rod said, but he’s surprised by the story in Edward Gross and Mark A. Altman’s “The Fifty-Year Mission” that his father supposedly hated the idea of Spock’s death so much in “The Wrath of Khan” that he leaked the film’s script. That’s one Rod hadn’t heard before, but “I can’t for certain say he didn’t,” he said. And, despite Patrick Stewart’s feeling otherwise, Rod feels that his father did warm to the English actor as Capt. Picard on “The Next Generation,” and that that series was the purest expression of his “Trek” vision. “I think Next Gen was his chance to get it right. I think that that was the bookend to my father’s life. I think that that was his ‘Star Trek,’ at that point in his life.”

Rod recognizes that the “Star Trek” films have to appeal to a wider audience and be more action-oriented. But he shares with his father a belief that “these movies may have, arguably, missed the opportunity to talk about social issues or dig deeper into them,” while noting that if they had tried to be more issue-oriented “would they have appealed to a broader audience?” He’s careful to say that he believes “Star Trek” should never become “Star Wars,” a space opera. It should hold up a mirror to our own world, as much as it explores the 23rd and 24th centuries and beyond. (Though Rod does like “Star Wars” as its own thing, as did Gene, who bought his son “Star Wars” birthday cakes.)

Some fans will say they think “Deep Space Nine,” now a beloved cult hit within the larger “Trek” fandom, is a series Roddenberry would have disliked, because it wasn’t entirely about exploration, featured a multi-season war, and presented characters as likely to clash as deliver each other inspiration. But Rod is charitable on the subject.

“I’m almost done with all of ‘Deep Space Nine,’” he says. “We are flawed human beings. Therefore, when Kira lashes out because she fought in the war and brings her emotions to a boil, people can identify with that. Character redeems itself and shows the right way and acknowledges the errors of her way, or whatever, and people connect with that and they’re able to, maybe, forgive themselves when they lashed out. I see the value. I definitely see the value.” But he understands when fans quibble too: “I was doing that a little bit with ‘Discovery,’ until Season 2 and Season 3 of that show really brought ‘Star Trek’ back home to where it needs to be.”

That candor is impressive, considering that Rod is himself an executive producer on “Discovery” and the other shows currently streaming on Paramount+: “Picard” and “Lower Decks” as well as the upcoming “Strange New Worlds” and “Prodigy.” He’s quick to state that he’s not a writer and that his role is largely to serve as a guiding light for the series, helping the creative teams to keep in mind his father’s original philosophy. He rallies to the defense of these shows from accusations found in certain corners of the fandom online that they’re “too political” or “too woke”: “If they’re saying Star Trek’s woke, that’s fine. It needs to be woke, because they need to put things in your face so there is a discussion.”

Those decrying the new series as too woke will probably bristle at some of Rod’s other views. “No one’s doing it for nefarious purposes,” so he’s excited by Elon Musk and Richard Branson opening up a new era of privatized space travel — and thinks his father would support it too — but he “hates” the name Space Force for the U.S. military’s latest branch and opposes “the idea of militarizing space.” He acknowledges that Starfleet’s delta logo is something the Air Force has used in the past and that his father probably borrowed it himself, but suspects that the incorporation of a very Starfleet-like delta in the Space Force insignia is a tip of the hat to “Star Trek.” He also wishes that instead of Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin planting the U.S. flag on the moon, “we had taken the opportunity to put a flag that was more universal, to honor all of humanity.”

That’s the kind of all-embracing spirit you’d expect from the son of someone who dropped bombs on Japanese forces during World War II, then married his wife (and “Star Trek” actress) Majel Barrett in a Shinto ceremony in Japan. What horrible things had he seen during that war? How many lives did he take because of his actions? How much death had he himself seen?

Gene Roddenberry’s life is proof that you can experience traumatizing events and still find the capacity for hope. That in fact optimism may be the result of the maturity that comes from living a life like that. You can actually be a Peter Pan who grows up but still steers second star to the right and straight on ’til morning.

Here’s hoping all of us can do the same. Maybe then a better world will await.

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When gene roddenberry explained ‘star trek’ in 1966.

In 1966, 'Star Trek' creator Gene Roddenberry wrote a column explaining the scope of his ambitious space series — and why it aimed for much more "science" than "fiction."

By Gene Roddenberry

Gene Roddenberry

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Just over two months after Star Trek first beamed up to audiences on NBC during the 8:30 p.m. hour on Sept. 8, 1966, creator Gene Roddenberry wrote a column explaining the scope of his ambitious space series — and why it aimed for much more “science” than “fiction.” His original column in The Hollywood Reporter, “Science Fiction Thing of Past,” is below: 

Imagine a space vessel, larger than any naval vessel known, crossing our galaxy at a velocity surpassing the speed of light. Fourteen decks, a crew of over 430 persons. A whole city afloat in space.

Science fiction? Absolutely not. Rather, real adventure in tomorrow’s space. Based upon the best scientific knowledge and estimates of what our astronauts of the future may face when they move out of our own solar system and into the vastness of our galaxy. Other worlds like ours? Other peoples? What?

Our starship, designed with the help of space experts, is the United Space Ship Enterprise. The place — NBC-TV, Thursday nights. In full color, this new action-adventure format boasts flesh and blood stars like talented William Shatner playing Ship’s Captain Kirk; love Grace Lee Whitney playing Yeoman Janice Rand; and Leonard Nimoy in an unusual new role as the half-alien Mister Spock. Plus talents such as DeForest Kelley, George Takei , Jimmy Doohand and Nichelle Nichols.

My job? Produce this new series. I teethed, learned my trade on police shows, westerns — all the old familiar forms. Let me share some of the pangs, tortures and the too seldom minor victories of putting together a totally new type of show.

Why a journey into space? Because science is now learning that the infinite reaches of our universe probably teem with as much life and adventure as Earth’s own oceans and continents. Our galaxy along is so incredibly vast that the most conservative mathematical odds still add up to millions of planets almost identical to our own — capable of life, even intelligence and strange new civilizations. Alien beings that will range from the fiercely primitive to the incredibly exotic intelligence which will far surpass Mankind.

Star Trek aims to match the action-adventure of the best television westerns, the suspense-mystery of the finest detective tales. Authenticity and believability are maintained with the help of cooperative space scientists and technical advisors. As such, Star Trek may become the first fully believable space adventure. At the least, it is probably the most ambitious and difficult project of its type ever attempted.

Here are some reasons why.

For example, in our huge starship of the future, what will a bed look like? What kind of fabrics? What about a simple everyday thing like sheets? Obviously things are going to get different … but how different?

But bedding is simple. Try this for size — estimating how a lovely young lady several centuries from now will fix her hair.

And wardrobe? Try a simple experiment — sit down with pencil and paper, sketch what you think we’ll all wear a few hundred years hence. The design must be attractive (certainly we’ll want to appear our best even then). What fabric? Stretch cloth, metallic, plastic, some combination? Will it be something you can clean and re-use, or something you throw away when soiled?

And how about carpets? Draperies? What kind of food? Dehydrated things? Will man give up roast turkey and cranberry sauce for Thanksgiving? Or pizzas and tacos?

And why is all of this important? Star Trek started with the premise that the American television audience is a lot more intelligent and perceptive than the so-called “experts” insist. We feel you can short-change that audience only at your own peril. Thus our people, our vessel, everything seen and heard, must seem honest, real, and as totally believable as if we were watching detectives, cowboys, interns, or any other “accepted” TV entertainment.

As an example of scientific problems, our weaponry is called a “ phaser .” It is capable of anything from gently tranquilizing a victim to the explosive disintegration of matter. Why the term “ phaser ?” Simply because the more common “laser,” as scientifically advanced as it is, may become household knowledge before our series gets very far along.

Another example of Star Trek’s attempt to anticipate scientific advances is our “inventing” a language-converter which automatically translates English into any alien tongue, and vice versa. Much to our surprise, following our “invention,” a news item appeared announcing a current government project which is developing a similar device.

Still another example of our fighting to stay enough ahead of science is a hospital bed we used in the pilot film. This bed automatically and continually checks all body functions such as pulse, respiration, blood count, sedimentation rate, temperature and so on. Upon congratulating ourselves on our “genius” in “inventing” this, we discovered that Mayo Clinic is already planning this and is also working on further improvements. — Gene Roddenberry,   originally published on Nov. 15, 1966. 

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Gene Roddenberry

Gene Roddenberry ( 19 August 1921 – 24 October 1991 ; age 70), sometimes referred to as the " great bird of the galaxy ", was an American filmmaker and TV producer, best known as the creator of the science fiction television series Star Trek , beginning the long running Star Trek franchise . Roddenberry's remains (some of his ashes in a small capsule, about the size of a lipstick) were the first to be launched into Earth's orbit, where they orbited the Earth until they burned up while reentering the Earth's atmosphere.

• 1 Gene Roddenberry quotes
• 2.1 Early life
• 2.2 Television
• 2.3.1 The pilots
• 2.3.2 Season One
• 2.3.3 Season Two
• 2.3.4 Season Three and cancellation
• 2.3.5 Aftermath
• 2.4 Other works
• 2.5 The series that was and was not
• 2.6 The Motion Picture and feature films
• 2.7 The Next Generation
• 2.8 Deep Space Nine
• 2.9 "The End"
• 3.1 Roddenberry canon
• 6.1 Emmy Awards
• 6.2 Hugo Awards
• 6.3 Saturn Awards
• 6.4 Writers Guild of America Awards
• 7 Interviews
• 8 Further reading
• 9 External links

Gene Roddenberry quotes

" I have nothing but admiration for this silly race of ours. Even with the Hitlers in it and so on. Sometimes it goes into ugliness, but, in all though, it is a beauty. It's like a rose, which also has thorns. We're something. "

History [ ]

Early life [ ].

Roddenberry was born in El Paso, on 19 August 1921 to Caroline Glen Roddenberry and Eugene Edward Roddenberry ( 28 August 1896 – 4 December 1969 ; age 73), and spent his childhood in the city of Los Angeles. His father was a World War I veteran and a police officer, whom he described as a "bigoted Texan". ( Inside Star Trek: The Real Story , 1997, p 14) Still, he had a begrudging respect for his father who, self-taught and stemming from a dirt poor background, possessed a keen intellect and an uncanny ability to see things to come, and only shortly before his father's death, Roddenberry came to see his father in a new light, ironically through Star Trek , " Two elderly ladies wrote from Jacksonville, Florida when the original series was on NBC. They had watched Star Trek , saw my name, and wrote that they could have predicted that I would have done something like Star Trek because I talked of such futuristic things when they had met me on my way to Europe to fight in World War I. They thought they had discovered my father and what he was doing long after he came back from the Great War. They thought I was my father...To have them say about my father – that he held such thoughts when they knew him – was exiting ... It made me proud that, in spite of not being formally educated, he had dreamed such dreams. " ( The Humanists , Vol. 51, issue 2, March/April 1991, pp. 6-7) Nevertheless, Gene's son, Rod Roddenberry has later related a family story that his grandfather was less than enamored by his son's creation and how he, after Star Trek had aired on 8 September 1966, "(…) went up and down the block, knocking on everybody's door, apologizing for his crazy son, who would put on that ridiculous show. " ( Star Trek: The True Story )

His mother on the other hand, was a devout Baptist and dragged young Roddenberry and his younger siblings, Bob and Doris, to each and every religious gathering she was able to, with the consent of his father, who otherwise was anti-religious. Somewhat traumatized by the experiences, Roddenberry has cited this circumstance as the root cause for his Humanistic world views. ( The Humanists , Vol. 51, issue 2, March/April 1991, pp. 6-7)

In his high school days, a classmate lent him a copy of Astounding Stories , which was to be the start of Roddenberry's fascination with science fiction. ( The Making of Star Trek [ page number? • edit ] ) He studied three years of policemanship and then transferred his academic interest to aeronautical engineering and qualified for a pilot's license. He volunteered for the United States Army Air Forces, and was ordered into training as a flying cadet when the United States entered the Second World War in 1941.

Ordered to the South Pacific, Second Lieutenant Roddenberry flew missions against enemy strongholds. In all, he took part in approximately 89 missions and sorties, on one occasion surviving a serious crash upon take-off. He was decorated with the Distinguished Flying Cross and the Air Medal. His pilot days were a source of pride for Roddenberry and, with the exception of Harold Livingston , he famously got along well with others who shared a similar background. Other pilots among Star Trek personnel included James Doohan , Franz Bachelin , Michael Dorn , Matt and John Jefferies , Harold Livingston and Stephen Edward Poe .

It was in the South Pacific where he first began writing. He sold stories to flying magazines, and later poetry to publications, including The New York Times . When the war ended, he joined the Pan American World Airways as a commercial pilot. During this time, he also studied literature at Columbia University.

Roddenberry married his first wife, Eileen Anita Rexroat on 20 June 1942 in community of property, the latter of which to haunt Roddenberry for the remainder of his life. The marriage turned out to be a very unhappy one, in no small part due to Roddenberry's notorious philandering, both real and imagined.

He continued flying until he saw television for the first time. Correctly estimating television's future, he realized this new medium would need writers. He acted immediately, he went to Hollywood. He left his flying career behind, a decision aided by a 1947 incident, when Roddenberry's Pan Am airplane crashed in the Syrian Desert, leaving only him and seven others surviving. ( The Star Trek Compendium , p. 7) Although the accident really happened, [1] Roddenberry largely exaggerated it in later life, claiming that he single-handedly rescued the survivors from the wreckage, fought raiding Arab tribesmen, and walked across the desert to the nearest phone and called for help. The tale as recounted by Roddenberry was very reminiscent of the fictional events as depicted in the 1965 movie The Flight of the Phoenix . ( Inside Star Trek: The Real Story , 1997, p. 14)

Television [ ]

Roddenberry arrived in Hollywood only to find television industry still in its infancy, with few openings for inexperienced writers. He joined the Los Angeles Police Department. While working his way up the LAPD ranks, he wrote his first script in 1951 . Later he sold scripts to shows such as Goodyear Theater , The Kaiser Aluminum Hour , Four Star Theater , Dragnet , The Jane Wyman Theater , and Naked City . Established as a writer, Sergeant Roddenberry turned in his badge and became a full-time writer in 1956 , much against the wishes of his wife Eileen, who preferred the steady income of a public servant to support a family of four, as two daughters had entered into the fray by that time. ( Star Trek Creator: The Authorized Biography of Gene Roddenberry , p. 141)

Three years later, on 13 February 1959, Roddenberry established his production company Norway Corporation , through which he from here on end handled his business and legal dealings with the motion picture industry. [2] Roddenberry, hired young attorney Leonard Maizlish , to handle the legal aspects of his production company. From now on Roddenberry's life-long attorney, Maizlish was yet to have his presence felt on Star Trek . [3] At a later point in time Roddenberry also hired newly graduated Mort Kessler to handle the accountancy and taxation aspects for both himself as private person, as well as for his businesses. In the process Morton became a close family friend of Roddenberry and his second wife Majel , and their son Rod, for whom Kessler continued to provide his services after Roddenberry had passed away, until his own retirement. ( Trek Nation )

In 1963 , Roddenberry began producing his first television series, The Lieutenant at MGM . The Lieutenant co-starred Gary Lockwood , and included many future Star Trek -alumni in guest roles, such as Leonard Nimoy , future wife Majel Barrett, Nichelle Nichols , James Gregory , Leslie Parrish and Madlyn Rhue . However, the series lasted only one season, and was canceled in the spring of 1964 .

It was during this period in time that Roddenberry started his illicit affair with Majel Barret. ( Star Trek Memories , p. 14) Already known of having marital problems as well as having been a "ladies man" with the LAPD secretarial staff during his police days, which otherwise remained unsubstantiated ( Star Trek Creator: The Authorized Biography of Gene Roddenberry , pp. 123, 163), Roddenberry concurrently started a romantic affair with Nichols, who in her own words therefore became "the other woman to the other woman". Save for Barrett, the Nichols-Roddenberry pair kept their relationship a closely guarded secret (though not closely enough as rumors of his romantic dalliances, including the one he had with Nichols, abounded on the Original Series stages throughout the entire production run, as related in the reference book , Inside Star Trek: The Real Story [ page number? • edit ] ), because of the possible impact their interracial relationship could have had on Roddenberry's career. Ultimately, Nichols decided to break off the relationship at the start of the Original Series , in order to make room for Barrett as well as falling in love with another man herself, even though Roddenberry wanted to continue an "open" relationship with both women at the same time. Nichols remained close friends with Roddenberry, and out of respect for him, did not came forward with the particulars until after his death. ( Beyond Uhura , pp. 130-133)

Star Trek [ ]

When The Lieutenant ended, Roddenberry began planning for his next series, a science fiction-adventure show entitled Star Trek . He wrote his series proposal, Star Trek is... , in March 1964 . Initially proposed for MGM, the studio, although initially enthusiastic, refused to buy it. ( The Star Trek Compendium , p. 10) Finally Roddenberry sold his by now dubbed "Wagon Train To The Stars"-pitch idea to Oscar Katz and Herb Solow of Desilu in early April 1964 . The in lore later famed exact phrase was actually coined by Writer Samuel A. Peeples (an acquaintance from Roddenberry's earlier television days) shortly before the Desilu pitch occasion, not Roddenberry, who had called it "a "Wagon Train" concept", but typically, was by him appropriated as his own nevertheless. ( These Are the Voyages: TOS Season One , 1st ed, pp. 21-25, 28-32; Inside Star Trek: The Real Story , 1997, pp. 15-16) It was Katz who accompanied "mumbling exotic" Roddenberry, as Solow had typified him, in late April 1964 to the pitch he had arranged at television network CBS , Katz's former employer, shortly after Desilu had bought Roddenberry's premise. However, on that occasion, Katz took a backseat and an awkward and hopelessly unprepared Roddenberry, left to his own devices, seriously bumbled his presentation. " Somebody said you could dress Gene in a tailored suit and five minutes later he'd look like a saggy, baggy elephant. ", soon-to-be collaborator D.C. Fontana said of Roddenberry, not without affection. ( These Are the Voyages: TOS Season One , 1st ed, p. 28) Much later, Katz himself recalled the meeting as "frosty", " We were in a dining room with six or seven executives, one of whom questioned us rather closely about what we were going to do with the show. We answered his questions and it turned out that his interest was due to the fact that they were developing a science fiction show of their own. " ( Star Trek Creator: The Authorized Biography of Gene Roddenberry [ page number? • edit ] ) Much to the later chagrin of Roddenberry, who felt that his brain had been picked, this show turned out to be Irwin Allen 's Lost in Space . Unsurprisingly, CBS was not interested, as ABC had previously been due to the fact that they already had another Allen science fiction show, Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea , in development themselves.

The pilots [ ]

On the set of "The Cage" with Solow (r) and three extras, "lamenting" the absence of Katz

Dismayed, as CBS represented the best chance Star Trek had, due to the network's longstanding relationship with Desilu (CBS aired Ball's own I Love Lucy show), Solow subsequently took over after being informed of this. He thoroughly groomed, prepared, and coached Roddenberry for his next, very last-chance, meeting with NBC the following month, as well as taking an active part in the presentation. Additionally, Solow instructed Roddenberry to keep quiet when not required to speak (which, given Roddenberry's predilection to the contrary, was excruciating for him), as NBC was wary due to their previous dealings with Roddenberry on The Lieutenant , and, most notably, to drop the "Wagon Train To The Stars" pitch-line Roddenberry had used on the previous pitching occasions. This eventually resulted in success, but " (i)t was Herb's tenacity and Herb's presentation that sold the series. ", as NBC executive Jerry Stanley later conceded. Yet, the first pilot, " The Cage ", was rejected by NBC, pronounced "too cerebral" as famously coined by Roddenberry later on, even though he was not even allowed to attend the pilot's presentation (nor did he ever meet NBC management in person again after the original pitch). This should have been the end of Star Trek there and then, but, in a for the industry hitherto unprecedented move, the network ordered a second pilot, which eventually led to the series being picked up by them. ( Inside Star Trek: The Real Story , 1997, pp. 13-23)

In 1965, after "The Cage" and before he started on the second Star Trek pilot, Roddenberry also produced two other pilots for Desilu: The Long Hunt of April Savage , a western created by Sam Rolfe , starring Robert Lansing , and produced and co-wrote Police Story , featuring DeForest Kelley , Grace Lee Whitney , directed by Vincent McEveety , with music by Alexander Courage . However, neither of them were picked up to become a series, though April Savage came close as network ABC actually picked up the series, but decided to cancel the series after all, before regular series production was slated to begin.

Season One [ ]

After the second Star Trek pilot " Where No Man Has Gone Before " was picked up by NBC, Roddenberry entered into a formal contract with Desilu on 18 May 1965 where it was specified that he was entitled, besides his regular salary, to 26⅔% of the net profits derived from the series, which, as it turned, were not to materialize for him personally in the coming two decades. [4] However, neither Roddenberry nor Star Trek were out of the woods yet. Unexpectedly confronted with the production of three expensive television properties, which aside from Star Trek and April Savage also included Mission: Impossible , all of them brought in by Katz and Solow (who were specifically hired to do so, in order to safeguard the future existence of the ailing studio), where there had only been one before, the I Love Lucy show, the conservative board of directors feared, not unjustified, that the small studio would financially overstretch itself. Vigorously defended by Solow (who wisely had left Roddenberry out of the meeting as the latter had seriously bumbled his Star Trek pitch to network CBS two years earlier, but who firmly believed in the show), and despite the fact that Star Trek was ordered by NBC, the entire Desilu board virtually unanimously voted to cancel Star Trek in February 1966 nevertheless. Yet, as Chairwoman of the Board, Lucille Ball had the power to override her board, and this she did with a mere nod of her head towards Solow. " That was all Star Trek needed, " as author Marc Cushman had succinctly put it, " A nod of Lucille Ball. " ( These Are the Voyages: TOS Season One , 1st ed, pp. 32, 94) One of the nay-sayers on the board, studio accountant Edwin "Ed" Holly, later conceded, " If it were not for Lucy, there would be no 'Star Trek' today. " [5] Ironically, the fears of the board were somewhat allayed by the subsequent cancellation of April Savage . For all intents and purposes, and contrary to widely held beliefs in Star Trek -lore, this was factually the very first time that the Original Series came exceedingly close to cancellation. Once on the air however, Star Trek developed a loyal following. Much later, influenced by a fan write-in campaign, NASA even named its prototype space shuttle Enterprise , in recognition of the ship that Roddenberry conceived for the series.

Having already vigorously worked the press for months to raise awareness for the new series, Roddenberry, one week before the regular series started its run on television, in person presented his creation to the general public at the 1–5 September 1966 " Tricon World Science Fiction Convention " in Cleveland, Ohio, promoting the new Star Trek series, as well as presenting the audiences the first two pilot episodes for the series, "The Cage" (uncut original version) and "Where No Man Has Gone Before" (revised version, as this episode was already slated to air). It was there that Roddenberry discovered his knack for showmanship, as he – in complete contradiction to his dealings with studio and network "suits" – , quickly established a rapport with audiences, not few of them (such as Allan Asherman , Isaac Asimov (famously shushed-up by Roddenberry when the former turned out to be a bit too rambunctious at the presentation), as well as John and Bjo Trimble , the latter two yet to play a role of note later on) becoming " Trekkies " soon thereafter. Much later Roddenberry had admitted to stage fright, " I was nervous, particularly when I saw them watching other films that were shown before, and stomping and laughing. " However, there was no laughing and stomping during his showing, and Asherman recalled being whispered to by one of the attendees, " He did say this was for television, didn't he? " Met with a stunned silence, Roddenberry continued, " I finally got to my feet and said, "Is anybody going to say whether they like it or not?", and it was only afterward that the applause began. " However, Roddenberry did also add, " I remember calling up the studio and saying, "I really think we may have something here," and the studio's reaction was, "Well, so a thousand goofs who go to science fiction convention like it? That means nothing in television. " The only person he could have possibly called at the time was his boss Herb Solow (Katz was already fired by Desilu), the very same person who had saved his creation from cancellation in the first place, only a half year previously. Having made his recollections in 1988 and exemplary for his predilection to "embellish" events to his own advantage, Roddenberry's parting remark was an intentional slight of Solow, who, understandably, was not amused when informed. ( The Star Trek Interview Book ; The Star Trek Compendium , 1993, pp. 1-3)

Nevertheless, Roddenberry's ability to establish a, to most accounts, genuine, warm rapport with fans served him well in the years to come. Having attended multiple Star Trek conventions in his boyhood, Raphael Sbarge later recalled having witnessed Roddenberry give a lecture at one such event; " During his speech he said something like, 'One day we'll be able to go out, get any movie we want, put it in our television and watch it at will.' I remember thinking, 'My God, how does he know these things? He's so amazing.' Here was this man who conceived all this and is someone who touched people's imaginations in a very profound way. " ( TV Zone , Special #29, pp. 26-27)

By late November 1966, when the first season production was nearing its end, studio and Roddenberry were led to believe that Star Trek was not doing well in the ratings by a chagrined NBC, and Roddenberry sensed the possibility of a cancellation in the air. He discussed the matter with Harlan Ellison (with whom he was still on good terms at that time) and together, both men decided upon a campaign to save Star Trek . Ellison organized "The Committee", an advisory group of the foremost science fiction writers of the time through which a letter-campaign was organized. Science fiction fans (general, not specifically Trekkies alone) started to write in, and a veritable contemporary who's who of science fiction made their favorable opinions known in numerous publications, chief amongst them, renowned author Isaac Asimov, with whom Roddenberry would strike up an enduring friendship, stemming from this period. On 9 March 1967, a NBC announcer broadcast over the closing titles of " The Devil in the Dark " that, " Star Trek will be back in the fall. And please don't write any more letters. " Thus was born the myth in Star Trek -lore that a letter campaign had saved the series for the first time. Actually, NBC had already decided to continue with the series before the campaign had even gathered steam, and Herb Solow had always been doubtful that the letter campaign had anything to do with this. He was informed by his former NBC colleagues that the network was fully aware that the relatively modest campaign was organized and artificial, and was merely considered a nuisance as the network had a standing policy to answer each and every letter sent to them. Reassured by some of his former colleagues, sincerely or not, that NBC was proud to air Star Trek , Solow could not get his suspicion confirmed that the decision was inspired by NBC's holding company RCA, which was selling color television sets at the time and who had commissioned the A. C. Nielsen Company (the rating company) to investigate the popularity of these sets among the public. Star Trek was still one of the few full color television series being aired at the time. ( Inside Star Trek: The Real Story , 1997, pp. 299-307) The networks policy of answering each and every letter however, was to come back in full force to bite them in the behind not too long afterwards.

Initially, Roddenberry served as the sole line producer on Star Trek , working with associate producers Robert H. Justman and John D.F. Black . Aside from producing the series, Roddenberry was responsible for most of the rewriting done on scripts, which was necessary for getting stories into shape and merging them into the Star Trek format, as most writers weren't familiar with the series and its unique concept at the beginning. Justman described Roddenberry as actually being a much better re-writer than writer. Yet, many writers and even Black, whose script for " The Naked Time " got rewritten without asking for his permit, got awry with Roddenberry for what they considered to be a butchering of their work. However, most famous became his decades long feud with Harlan Ellison, who only months earlier had helped Roddenberry with the first "Save Star Trek " campaign, over the rewrites of his episode " The City on the Edge of Forever ", arguably the most famous Star Trek episode of them all. ( These Are the Voyages: TOS Season One , Inside Star Trek: The Real Story [ page number? • edit ] )

After Black's departure from the series in August 1966 , Roddenberry, unable to cope with the demands of serving as sole producer and re-writer, hired Gene L. Coon to serve as line producer and stepped back to the position of executive producer. While still largely overseeing production and occasionally doing re-writes, most of the re-writing was now Coon's responsibility. Under Coon's watch, the series developed into what is now considered the classic Star Trek formula (including the introduction of such concepts as the United Federation of Planets , the Prime Directive and, most notably, the Klingons ), and also diverged into more light-hearted action-adventure than Roddenberry's dramatic approach. ( These Are the Voyages: TOS Season One , These Are the Voyages: TOS Season Two , Inside Star Trek: The Real Story [ page number? • edit ] ) In mid- season two , Coon left the series, mainly because of his dispute with Roddenberry (but equally due to his impending burnout), who disliked his new, more comical approach to the series, and was replaced by John Meredyth Lucas .

Season Two [ ]

On 27 July 1967, the acquirement of Desilu by Gulf+Western was formalized, and the studio was absorbed into Paramount Pictures to become Paramount Television . The new owners considered cancellation of Star Trek , which was in the pre-production stage of season two, but decided to push ahead as the season was already ordered by NBC. Still, near the conclusion of that season, cancellation was made definitive by NBC nevertheless. However, and much to the dismay of NBC, it found itself subsequently and suddenly confronted with a public outcry in the form of the famed, massive letter campaign, complemented by a deluge of phone-ins and unusually large picket-lines at both the New York City headquarters, and the Burbank, California, location, the likes of which, no network or studio had ever been confronted with before (years later, it turned out that the cancellation was an East Coast decision, the West Coast actually wanted to continue with Star Trek ). The ultimate saving of Star Trek constituted the by Roddenberry secretly funded and coordinated letter-writing campaign, initiated by Bjo Trimble and her husband in late- 1967 and early- 1968 , which succeeded in making a shell-shocked NBC buckle and to renew, albeit reluctantly, Star Trek for a third season . Ironically, the funding Roddenberry provided, was not even his own; He managed to claim the money as business expenses from the studio. For decades, network and public were led to believe that it was a spontaneous action organized by Trekkies, but Justman and Solow debunked the "spontaneous" nature of the campaign in their book Inside Star Trek: The Real Story .

Roddenberry – with Trimble and his future wife Majel Barrett – also founded Lincoln Enterprises in 1967, which specialized in selling Star Trek memorabilia to fans. Years later, in 2004, Bjo Trimble has stated, " Actually, John & Bjo Trimble set up the original Lincoln Enterprises. Neither Gene nor Majel had any idea how to set up a mail-order business, while the Trimbles have put together several such businesses. At Creation Grand Slam, Eugene Roddenberry acknowledged our efforts with a big hug & thanks. He is very like his father, who also believed in big bear hugs. " [6] (X) , having added to Herb Solow that Roddenberry founded the company in order to "give Majel something to do . " ( Inside Star Trek: The Real Story , 1997, p. 400) One such memorabilia was unused, spliced up clips from the series' original 35mm film trims, which was taken by Roddenberry from the Desilu vaults. Solow was especially angered by this, accusing Roddenberry with stealing studio property for his own gain. ( Inside Star Trek: The Real Story , 1997, pp. 400-401) Majel Barret later hinted in a 1993 interview, " Lincoln has been in existence for probably almost a hundred years. It was originally Lincoln Publishing and it was owned by another gentleman many, many years before. His attorney was Leonard Maislich [sic.] . For some reason or another he gave the incorporation to Leonard. I don’t know how it basically happened, but it really belonged to Leonard Maislich until he gave it to me in the early eighties. It [Lincoln] was merely set up for Gene to handle fan mail for Star Trek. " ( Strange New Worlds magazine, issue 10, Oct/Nov 1993 [ page number? • edit ] )

No records of a "hundred years" old "Lincoln Publishing" are known to exist and the "gentleman" in question was actually Roddenberry himself as Maizlish had been his life-long attorney. By transferring title to his attorney (who had somehow managed to antedate the company's establishing date to 6 April 1962 through proxy Mort Kessler – hence Barrett's "has been in existence for probably almost a hundred years" remark [7] ), Roddenberry had thrown up a smokescreen if the studio ever decided to pursue the matter legally, which however, they never did. As already implied by Trimble and Barrett themselves, there was another, personal reason as well to proceed in this matter, as it was also meant to hide the Lincoln revenues from Roddenberry's soon-to-be ex-wife Eileen as well. It was for these reasons why Lincoln Enterprises was not established as a subsidiary of Roddenberry's official production company Norway Corporation, but as a separate entity, and also explaining why the early, original short-lived company name " Star Trek Enterprises " was changed to " Lincoln Enterprises ". Unsurprisingly, and not entirely unjustified, as the original Roddenberry couple was still legally married at the time of the incorporation of Lincoln Enterprises, Eileen later found out, and sued all involved parties for damages, resulting in that Maizlish was actually found guilty of "conspiracy to commit fraud" for his part in the deception, though it assessed no punitive damages against him. Kessler, incidentally, settled out-of-court with Eileen. [8] Even staunch Roddenberry supporter Trimble could not refrain herself from calling Roddenberry a "conniver" at one point, though she had been quick to add that connivers succeed in Hollywood, and that she had always found him charming. [9] Testament to Roddenberry's renowned amiable side of his character, the latter sentiment was shared by countless others.

Season Three and cancellation [ ]

After Star Trek was saved from cancellation and the third season was commenced, Roddenberry promised to return to the show as line producer, if NBC promised him a new, more family-oriented timeslot of Mondays 7:30PM, but threatened to pull out if the network did not do so. Roddenberry grossly overestimated his value as perceived by network and studio, and since he did not possess the political and diplomatic skills – nor would he ever have – to deal with upper network or studio echelons (Herb Solow had always ran interference for Roddenberry and the network and studio, but the former had left the production by now), the network was only too happy to call his bluff. When the network finally doomed Star Trek to the "graveyard slot" of Fridays 10PM, Roddenberry, having stated at the time to a newspaper, " If the network wants to kill us, it couldn't make a better move. " ( Toledo Blade , 15 August 1968) and his bluff gone awry, felt that he had no choice but to back out from the series. With Fred Freiberger serving as line producer, Roddenberry – while keeping his title and salary of executive producer – relocated his office to the far side of the former Desilu lot (as it was now the Paramount lot), and, despite the written promise he had made to the cast and production staff on 28 March 1968 to the contrary, recused himself entirely from managing the show in its third and last year, having completely lost heart according to Solow and Justman. ( Inside Star Trek: The Real Story [ page number? • edit ] )

Justman said that the decline of script quality was mainly due to the fact that "the Roddenberry touch" was gone. Exemplary of this was that Roddenberry could no longer be bothered to read or revise scripts, which he had done so vigorously in the previous two seasons, often to the chagrin of writers. He did made half-hearted efforts to make himself available, but only when Freiberger and the other producers specifically sought out his advise. However, sensing his non-commitment, even that little decreased significantly as the season progressed. Justman in particular felt deeply disappointed by Roddenberry, feeling that he was one of the few staffers left, alongside Gregg Peters , Edward K. Milkis and, to a lesser degree, Leonard Nimoy and Gene Coon (who had returned on an occasional basis as writer only), to continue being the "keepers of the flame". Unlike so many others, including, somewhat hypocritically, Roddenberry himself, Justman has never faulted Freiberger or his writing staff, as they were entirely new to Star Trek , genuinely doing what they could under difficult circumstances (arguably in retaliation for the letter campaign, the studio and network had considerably slashed the production budget to a level Solow felt the series could no longer be produced at, leaving the production in protest because of it), but has cited Roddenberry's defection, as the direct cause for him leaving the series exhausted himself, shortly before the end of the production. ( Inside Star Trek: The Real Story [ page number? • edit ] )

NBC canceled Star Trek in February 1969 definitely. [10] Production on the series ceased in June of that year, leaving the entire production at US$4.7 million in debt. ( Star Trek Creator: The Authorized Biography of Gene Roddenberry , p. 399) This time around there was no letter campaign of any significance, no picketing, no anything of the kind, not even a wrap party, only a small subdued get-together when the very last episode, " Turnabout Intruder ", wrapped, after which cast and crew simply faded away. Charged with the post-production editing of the last episodes, Ed Milkis was the very last senior production staffer left on the otherwise empty lot. ( Inside Star Trek: The Real Story , 1997, pp. 413-414)

Aftermath [ ]

By the time the Original Series was definitively cancelled, Roddenberry had in effect already deserted Star Trek completely. Contracted previously in July 1968, he had left months earlier and was already fully engaged in writing the scripts for two proposed Tarzan movies for production company National General Pictures , even having gone for an extended stay in Mexico to scout for locations, though he was still on the payroll of Paramount Television. ( Inside Star Trek: The Real Story , 1997, p. 406) His 168-page Tarzan script would have seen a return to the original source material by having the story take place in the Victorian era, but also featuring "tasteful" nudity and sex, which he felt were "important to the mythos". The project was canceled before casting was even considered. [11] Still his notion for the Victorian age setting was later adopted for the acclaimed, multi-award nominated 1984 movie Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan, Lord of the Apes .

Though Star Trek -lore has it that Roddenberry staunchly held on to his complete faith in his creation, this was, aside from him deserting the third season, further contradicted during the divorce proceedings from his wife, as it showcased the despondency he felt over the apparent failure of his creation. The considerable level of his despondency was evidenced by the fact that he, during the proceedings, offered to sell Eileen his share of Star Trek for US$1,000 in exchange for waiving the rights of any and all revenues from future projects Roddenberry might embark on. Eileen declined, astonishingly perhaps in hindsight, but understandable at the time as the Original Series was not to turn in a profit for the coming decades, that is, for Roddenberry at least. Even as late as 1972, Roddenberry reiterated the offer to his by now ex-wife in a subsequent alimony hearing, but again she declined. Represented by Maizlish, Roddenberry's divorce was finalized in July 1969. [12] Roddenberry actually had already left the couple's house the year previously, on 9 August 1968, a mere two weeks after the first marriage of their daughter Darleen . In effect, he had planned to divorce his wife even earlier, but postponed that action as he felt that he would not have enough time and energy to deal with both the divorce and the production of Star Trek , which had been renewed for a second season. ( Star Trek Creator: The Authorized Biography of Gene Roddenberry , pp. 352-353)

After Star Trek was canceled, Paramount Television wanted to sell Roddenberry all rights and title to the series for US$100,000-$150,000 in 1970, but he, knee-deep steeped in the fallout of his bitter and costly divorce from Eileen, was nowhere near able to raise this amount on his own. It was around that time that Paramount discovered that Roddenberry was selling Star Trek merchandise through Lincoln Enterprises, which was formally an illegal endeavor, as he simply did not own the brand. Yet, both parties struck a deal, which allowed Roddenberry to continue in return of a percentage of the sales, as Paramount also started to realize that their Star Trek property was not a too bad one to have after all. Not yet having a well oiled Star Trek marketing machine of their own, Lincoln Enterprises suited the studio well in raising the awareness of their increasingly profitable Star Trek brand. ( Star Trek: The Next Generation - The Continuing Mission , p. 2; NBC: America's Network , p. 220)

For Star Trek 's 25th anniversary , two months before his death, Roddenberry gave TV Guide a list of his top ten favorite episodes. One might assume that these most clearly represented his vision of what Star Trek should be:

• " Amok Time "
• " Balance of Terror "
• " The City on the Edge of Forever "
• " The Devil in the Dark "
• " The Enemy Within "
• " The Menagerie, Part I " and " The Menagerie, Part II "
• " The Naked Time "
• " The Return of the Archons "
• " Where No Man Has Gone Before "
• " The Trouble with Tribbles "

Other works [ ]

After the original Star Trek had ended, and the Tarzan project had failed, Roddenberry ventured on numerous subsequent projects, virtually all of them turning out to be failures. Hired by his former Desilu boss Herb Solow (who was fond of Roddenberry, but could not abide with his antics when it interfered with production), he produced and wrote the screenplay for Roger Vadim 's, lukewarmly received, 1971 MGM film, Pretty Maids All in a Row , which featured James Doohan , William Campbell , and his daughter Dawn Roddenberry in the cast. Solow arranged for Roddenberry a hitherto unheard-of writer's fee of US$100,000. However, as producer, Roddenberry was woefully inept in controlling the antics of director Vadim, causing the production to run both over-time and over-budget. It further marred his reputation as producer, and it came back later to haunt him. Pretty Maids was the first of only two major theatrical motion pictures Roddenberry ever worked on. ( Inside Star Trek: The Real Story , 2nd ed, p 420) The favor Solow provided Roddenberry, by arranging his, for the times, substantial writer's fee, came as a godsend for the Roddenberry/Barrett couple, as they were now down on their luck, eking out a meager existence through the Lincoln Enterprises memorabilia sales, supplemented by Star Trek conventions attendance fees only, and also explaining why Roddenberry made the second offer to sell his ex-wife his share in Star Trek . At the time Roddenberry faced a US$2,000 monthly alimony obligation, as well as a mortgage. ( Gene Roddenberry: The Myth and the Man Behind Star Trek , p. 140) Roddenberry had himself stated in an interview, " For a couple of years our only income was lecture fees I got from colleges where kids still loved Star Trek , even though it was not a commercial success. " [13]

In 1973, he wrote and produced a science fiction pilot entitled Genesis II , which featured Mariette Hartley , Ted Cassidy , Percy Rodriguez and his now-wife, Majel in the cast, costumes by William Ware Theiss , and was photographed by Jerry Finnerman . It was not picked up as a series, and a year later Roddenberry made another pilot out of the same idea, titled Planet Earth . This time Robert Justman served as producer, Marc Daniels as director, and the cast included Diana Muldaur , Ted Cassidy, Majel Barrett, Craig Huxley , Patricia Smith , and again costumes by Theiss. However, this pilot wasn't picked up by the network either, nor was its final variant, the 1975 pilot Strange New World .

Concurrently in 1973, Roddenberry made another failed sci-fi pilot, The Questor Tapes , which starred Robert Foxworth as an android, Questor, searching for his origins and creator. The pilot was directed by Richard Colla and also featured Majel Barrett and Walter Koenig . It was co-written by fellow Star Trek producer Gene L. Coon. The Questor Tapes was not picked up as a series, although its basic concept was reworked into the character of Data in Star Trek: The Next Generation . Actually, Foxworth's lead role was promised by Roddenberry to Leonard Nimoy, but overruled by the studio, Roddenberry failed to inform Nimoy of this, who had to learn this from a third party. Nimoy, already preparing for the role, never forgave Roddenberry for this and the already strained relationship between the two men, which had started amicably enough at the beginning of The Original Series , accelerated its decent in animosity. It was an example of Roddenberry's recurrent character flaw of being unable to be the bearer of bad news, which Robert Justman and David Gerrold , among others, were to be confronted with as well. ( Inside Star Trek: The Real Story , 1997, p 420) Before returning to Trek , Roddenberry made a fourth unsuccessful TV pilot, Spectre in 1977, about a detective involved in witchcraft and other occult phenomena. This pilot was co-written by Samuel A. Peeples, again featuring Majel Barrett, and which again demonstrated that Roddenberry has never shied away from nepotism.

Despite the failure of Genesis II and The Questor Tapes , both productions earned its creator a 1974 and 1975 Hugo Award nomination in the category Best Dramatic Presentation respectively nevertheless, the latter shared with Coon and Colla.

The series that was and was not [ ]

Roddenberry in his Paramount office in the early 1970s

Former Original Series writer D.C. Fontana reported in the fanzine Star-Borne of 22 June 1972 that " Paramount ... [is] enormously impressed by the quantity (and quality) of fan mail they continue to receive. The possibility seems to be slowly developing of a Star Trek feature movie for theatrical release, aimed at becoming the new Star Trek television pilot ... on the network front, NBC still expresses great interest in doing Star Trek in some form. Both NBC and Paramount continue to receive a great deal of mail and have had to assign secretaries for the sole job of answering it. " [14]

NBC's surprising complete turnaround (as it were they who had canceled the live-action precursor in 1969, purportedly for poor ratings performance) not only stemmed from the spectacular resurgence of the Original Series in syndication , but also from its own accounting department. Shortly before Fontana's report, NBC had replaced its old Nielsen rating system with a new and updated one. When they ran the original Original Series figures through their new system they found out much to their surprise that it had not only reached full penetration into their most coveted target audience, the male population between 18 and 45, but also that the series had been one of the most successful series, the network had ever aired. The sickening realization hit upon the dismayed network executives, that they had slaughtered the goose that laid the golden eggs, something that every Star Trek fan at the time could have told them, and which they actually had done in the first place. Hurriedly approaching Roddenberry to see if the series could be revitalized, turned out to be unfeasible, as Paramount had only a few months earlier cleared out their warehouses from the vast majority of the remaining Star Trek production assets, they either being scrapped, given away or simply stolen. Recreating them, calculated at US$750,000, was deemed far too cost-prohibitive. It did however, lead to NBC ordering the creation of Star Trek: The Animated Series in 1973. ( Star Trek - Where No One Has Gone Before , pp. 51-52)

On that series Roddenberry officially served as "Executive Consultant" with Fontana as "Executive Producer", but in practice both fulfilled the latter function. The series was however lukewarmly received at best by the fans, the animated format considered too far off the beaten track of its live-action progenitor as far as they were concerned. Even though the series received an Emmy Award , which its precursor had not, and due to the fact that NBC marketed the series as a children's program, it was already canceled after a one and a half seasons. Roddenberry came to agree with the fans and "officially" declared the series apocryphal, to be removed from canon at his own request in 1988. [15] (X)

Earlier that year, Roddenberry had already approached Paramount with the idea for a Star Trek (live-action) feature film, and in the following years the concept went through several revisions and various incarnations (see: Star Trek: The Motion Picture : Production history ), from feature film to television movie to series, and back again.

Yet, in 1976, Star Trek creator Roddenberry was for the very first time purposely left out by the studio as an executive producer for a proposed movie project called, Star Trek: Planet of the Titans . This marked the first time that Roddenberry was effectively cut out in a creative role for a Star Trek production entirely, though Jon Povill kept him continuously abreast of the production by consulting with him. ( Star Trek Phase II: The Lost Series , p. 17; The Making of Star Trek: The Motion Picture , p. 27) Even though that project did not come to fruition, it nevertheless, for Roddenberry at least, did foreshadow things to come. It turned out that it had been studio head Barry Diller who had insisted on leaving Roddenberry out; two years previously, newly appointed Diller had approached Roddenberry for what turned out to be The God Thing movie project. Grossly overestimating his self importance, Roddenberry decided to play studio politics by holding out on him for the better part of six months, as he had become aware of the renewed interest in Star Trek of Diller's boss, Charles Bluhdorn , the highest executive of holding conglomerate Gulf+Western. Diller, newly appointed and not willing to affront his boss and his new found infatuation, played along – for the time being. However, by playing games with Diller, by all accounts a formidable executive himself, Roddenberry had arguably made the biggest assessment error in his career. Endowed with a long memory, a thoroughly antagonized Diller was not done with Roddenberry yet, not by a long shot. ( The Keys to the Kingdom , Chapters 2, 5; Return to Tomorrow - The Filming of Star Trek: The Motion Picture , pp. 9, 48)

By June 1977 , Star Trek was to become a television series again. Paramount attempted to launch a new series, tentatively titled Star Trek: Phase II , to be the "flagship" program for their planned television network. This time around, construction on the sets, costumes and studio models was actually started, beginning in July, and the writers' and directors' guide was published in August. The original cast, except for Leonard Nimoy (officially for reasons of not willing to commit to the strains of a weekly show, but in reality because of his strained relationship with Roddenberry), returned to reprise their roles, along with several new characters, such as Lt. Xon , who would be taking Spock 's place, first officer Willard Decker , and navigator Lt. Ilia .

As work was being finished on the sets and costumes, Paramount abandoned the plans for the new network, and eventually the new Star Trek series. Reportedly influenced by the success of Star Wars and Close Encounters of the Third Kind , they decided to turn the television series into Star Trek: The Motion Picture .

The Motion Picture and feature films [ ]

With Jesco von Puttkamer on the set as scientific consultant

The Motion Picture began production in 1978 , on which Roddenberry served as producer with director Robert Wise as uncredited executive producer. Production time and costs went highly over the expected, largely exceeding the pre-calculated budget, ending up with the final number of US$44-$45 million, which made The Motion Picture the second most expensive film at the time, after Superman: The Movie . Former Paramount studio executive Jeffrey Katzenberg described the project as "a runaway train". ( William Shatner Presents: Chaos on the Bridge )

Despite earning US$82 million in domestic gross revenue, the total gross came as a disappointment to the studio, considering the over-budget costs incurred. In one respect Gene Roddenberry was undoubtedly responsible for the over-budget expenditures, which largely stemmed from his incessant and increasingly vicious battles with the aforementioned Harold Livingston, together with Robert Goodwin the by Barry Diller appointed line-producers (already for Phase II with the express intent to keep Roddenberry on a tight leash, and over the by him preferred Robert Justman), made responsible for the script. Unable to let go of his vision of Star Trek – of which he was now zealously protective – and stubbornly adhering to storylines he himself, and nobody else , had conceived, Roddenberry was almost from the start at loggerheads with Livingston, resulting in a continuous series of increasingly vicious battles over story outline and script rewrites and re-rewrites, often performed surreptitiously by Roddenberry. The ongoing creative battle lasted for almost two years and proved to be particularly detrimental to the production, aside from entirely destroying the relationship between the two men. Having resigned no less than three times from the production, Livingston had later tersely stated on the occasion of his first departure, " By the time I left, Gene and I were ready to kill one another. I couldn't stand the son of a bitch, so I left. " However, by early October 1978, Wise (thoroughly fed up with the production delays due to Roddenberry's inability to turn in a completed script), Shatner, Nimoy, and Katzenberg staged, what can only be described as a coup, and effectively removed Roddenberry from creative control, which was entirely handed over to the recently reappointed Livingston. From there on end, Roddenberry was executive producer in name only. ( Star Trek Movie Memories , 1995, pp. 67, 97, 105-111)

While many other and more prominent factors interplayed with the overexeeded costs as well, publicly, the studio solely blamed Roddenberry – considered a thorn in their side since the days of The Original Series – for the failure, which provided a good opportunity for them to remove him from creative (film) control once and for all. The studio publicity tactics, effectively deflecting any costs responsibility from themselves and Director Wise, worked like a charm; For the remainder of his life, the US$45 million Motion Picture price-tag stuck to Roddenberry's name like glue, as no sentence mentioning both him and the film was ever published without having the figure also quoted in the very same sentence. Yet, not everyone bought into the studio line, as Roddenberry was not without his staunch supporters of his own, like the author couple Judith and Garfield Reeves-Stevens , who have claimed in their reference book The Art of Star Trek (p. 156) that, " (T)o be fair, the movie itself cost only $25 million to make. The extra $20 million or so represented all the cost Paramount had occurred over the years on all the other STAR TREK projects that were not made. " As Reeves-Stevens' "25 million" were already taken up by the visual effects production and set construction alone , their statements were as equally manipulative as those of the studio, albeit on the opposite end of the spectrum. (see: Star Trek: The Motion Picture : Costs and revenues )

In what can be described as a ploy to tie-in the fan base as well as to defang Roddenberry, the studio gave him a contract, his own office and the formal title of "Executive Consultant" for the subsequent five Star Trek films , which meant that directors and creative staff could ask for his opinion on the projects, but his advice was not needed to be taken. Whether or not Roddenberry realized it at the time, by signing this contract, his creation was effectively taken away from him; Barry Diller finally had his pound of flesh. From the start, Roddenberry spent his time by incessantly writing unsolicited story outlines (over time he became increasingly single-minded, fixated on a time travel story involving the Kennedy assassination, obsessing over it until his dying day), script drafts, annotations, memos and the like, no one ever really read (but inundating the offices of subsequent production teams nevertheless), and continuously trying to reintegrate himself with the creative development of the subsequent five Star Trek films, only to be ignored by the studio and production staff alike. David Gerrold typified his new position as "an emeritus status", but added that he was concurrently from now on considered by the industry as "a has-been". ( William Shatner Presents: Chaos on the Bridge ) And indeed, none of the directors and producers actually consulted for real with Roddenberry regarding their projects, especially Producer Harve Bennett (who loathed Roddenberry with a passion [16] , but who became quite adept at routinely answering Roddenberry's memo tsunamis with noncommittal replies on auto-pilot) and Director Nicholas Meyer (with whom Roddenberry had a vicious run-in shortly before his death, over perceived racism in regard to the Klingons in Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country . [17] (X) ), both responsible for the three most successful outings of the Original Crew films, Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan , Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home and The Undiscovered Country , which were the ones, somewhat unsurprisingly, that were most vehemently, but unsuccessfully, resisted by Roddenberry.

While acknowledging this state of affairs as "speculation", an opposing view was again proffered by the Reeves-Stevens' author couple, who have stated in their book Star Trek: The Next Generation - The Continuing Mission (p. 3) that, " (t)he real reason for Paramount's concern about keeping Roddenberry tied to each Star Trek film was that every executive involved with the productions shared the maddening knowledge that no one had the slightest idea why Star Trek was a success…except Gene Roddenberry. Without his input, there was always the chance that the next movie wouldn't capture whatever it was that made Star Trek so enticing. " While Roddenberry supporters Reeves-Stevens' certainly did have a point where the studio executives themselves were concerned, their assertion was by he time of their writings already proven wrong by the directors, producers and screenwriters (most notably Performer/Writer/Director/Producer Nimoy, who most definitely had a thorough understanding of what made Star Trek "tick", arguably even more so than Roddenberry himself did) of the subsequent five films, all of them, save the by William Shatner co-written/directed, Star Trek V: The Final Frontier , highly successful and produced without any creative input from Roddenberry, and each of them actually opposed by him in varying degrees of vehemence. Roddenberry being put out to pasture, it effectively was the Nimoy-Bennet-Meyer triumvirate that became the keeper of the Star Trek film flame in the decade following The Motion Picture . ( Cinefantastique , Vol 22 #5, pp. 39-42)

Roddenberry however, was in particular opposed to the militaristic tone Meyer introduced in his Star Trek universe, and it was only posthumously revealed by Susan Sackett that it had been her late boss who intentionally tried to torpedo The Wrath of Khan by surreptitionally leaking the news to press and fandom that Spock was to die in the yet-to-be released film, hoping the backlash (which indeed ensued) would convince the studio to cancel the film and reconsider his own Kennedy assassination time-travel film pet obsession he tried to peddle to the studio – vainly as it ultimately turned out. It went a long way in explaining the very adversarial relationship Meyer and Roddenberry henceforth had until the latter's death in 1991. The Wrath of Khan went on to arguably become the most beloved and best known outing of the entire film franchise, as well as becoming a pop-culture phenomenon in its own right. Roddenberry's attempt to sabotage the film only served to further strenghten the studio brass' conviction of their "wisdom" to put Roddenberry out to pasture. ( Star Trek: The Journey to the Silver Screen – Chapter 3: "The Genesis Effect: Engineering The Wrath of Khan" )

Most ironically, it was the least successful one, Shatner's much reviled fifth film, The Final Frontier , which approximated Roddenberry's atheistic world view the most and which was very reminiscent of his own 1975 original The God Thing film script, heavily reworked later on to become In Thy Image , ultimately the basis for The Motion Picture . However, not being written by him personally, the film was vehemently resisted by Roddenberry nonetheless, going even as far as having his attorney Maizlish prepare legal procedures against co-writer Shatner. Legal procedures did not materialize however – his films deal stipulations simply did not allow for them – , but a thoroughly chagrined Roddenberry ordained the film as being "apocryphal", readily accepted by the more puritanical elements of Star Trek fandom. ( Star Trek FAQ 2.0 , chapter 13; Star Trek Movie Memories , 1995, pp. 283-284) Richard Arnold , who was working at Roddenberry's office at the time, was present when the first story outline was delivered to Roddenberry as a FYI, later explaining to Shatner why Roddenberry reacted as he did, " So when you came along, though it was years later, with very similar themes, Gene was really hurt. I think it hurt Gene's ego that you finally going to tell the story that he wanted to tell ten years earlier. You were about to succeed where he had failed. At the time, Gene's secretary, Susan was making matters worse by walking around the office stating things like "I can't believe it! He stole your idea. Bill's an asshole. Bill's a bastard." So that did not help, and additionally, I know there was a fairly legitimate concern on Gene's part that your sense of humor [remark: in regard to the way the secondary cast was eventually portrayed in the film] was a little different than had ever been visualized before. " While Susan Sackett's reaction might be construed as personally motivated, she actually had, in all fairness, a point; Shatner himself has related how he had stumbled upon Roddenberry ten years earlier when the latter was busy writing The God Thing , and was on that occasion given a beat for beat expose on the story. Arguably, some of that may have had nestled in Shatner's subconscious. ( Star Trek Movie Memories , 1995, pp. 46-49, 289-291) Though Shatner had already implied as much in his memoirs, Arnold's remarks confirmed that Shatner had not communicated with Roddenberry even once, during the entire production of the film.

By the time The Undiscovered Country went into production, Roddenberry's stature within the film franchise had whithered considerably, being only provided lip-service at best – that is, if people could be even bothered to make the effort at all – and was all-around considered a nuisance, to be lived with as an unfortunate fact of life, or as Richard Arnold has put the prevalent studio attitude at the time, " We're happy to use your name and your creation, but don't call us, we'll call you. " ( Star Trek Movie Memories , 1995, p. 367) Exemplary of this was, when Roddenberry expressed concerns about turning Saavik in to a traitor in the film, feeling that she had become a too beloved character in his universe. When informed of this, Director Meyer (who had no love lost for Roddenberry ever since he came aboard for Wrath of Khan , which was so obtusely opposed by the former) derisively remarked, " I wrote the character of Saavik in STAR TREK II . That wasn't a Gene Roddenberry character. If he doesn't like what I'm doing, maybe he should give the money he's [making off my films] back. Then maybe I'll care what he has to say. " Without bothering to get back to Roddenberry, Meyer pushed ahead, but eventually changed the character after all, for reasons entirely unrelated to Roddenberry's concerns. ( Cinefantastique , Vol 22 #5, p. 31)

Essentially "bumped upstairs" to become stuck in the studio's equivalent of the "Bermuda Triangle", Roddenberry as Star Trek creator, was still compensated handsomely by the studio though, having profited little, if any, from The Original Series previously, save for the revenues stemming from memorabilia sales through Lincoln Enterprises and his Star Trek conventions attendance fees. ( William Shatner Presents: Chaos on the Bridge ) Actually, around the time Roddenberry entered into the subsequent films deal with Paramount (a different one than his 1978 Motion Picture net profit sharing contract, itself revised from the 1965 Original Series contract, allowing for a possible new television series, that however never materialized), he was at loggerheads with the studio over the Original Series net profit sharing agreement. Previously, he had surrendered any and all legal title to The Original Series , save for his "Created By"-credit, in return for a full third of the profit made by that series through syndication , according to author James Van Hise . But by 1981, Roddenberry was still led to believe by the studio that the Original Series was still deeply in the red by as much as US$1 million – or US$500,000 by 1982, again according to Van Hise ( The Man Who Created Star Trek: Gene Roddenberry , p. 58) – as supposedly "proven" by doctored account statements handed over to him. Roddenberry instructed his attorney Maizlish to start legal proceedings in order to be given access to Paramount's records, seemingly to no avail at the time. " The greatest science fiction in show biz is in the accounting ", Roddenberry declared chagrined, referring to the infamous " Hollywood accounting " industry phenomenon. ( Starlog , issue 43, p. 14) Roddenberry had justified reasons to be suspicious, as it seemed unlikely that the by Variety magazine of 2 December 1991 reported net syndication profit of US$78 million in early 1987 was only realized in the intervening six years. While it was at the time unknown what the outcome of the legal proceedings were, it was very much conceivable that Roddenberry and the studio settled their Original Series accounts on that occasion, since it marked the first time that Roddenberry actually became affluent because of Star Trek (or at all for that matter, as it also ended his hitherto tenuous personal financial situation), as was evidenced by the substantial estate that his wife Majel left upon her death in 2009.

That this had actually been the case, became apparent in the California Court of Appeal transcripts of 30 September 1994, docket number B074848, chronicling the ongoing battles between Roddenberry (after his death, wife Majel and son Rod) and his first wife Eileen, who for decades fought tooth and nail to claim half of all the Star Trek revenues. The document specified that Roddenberry received his very first Original Series US$850,000 profit distribution from Paramount in June 1984, followed by disbursements of US$1,842,000 in February 1986, US$780,000 in June 1986, US$924,000 in January 1987 and US$945,000 in July 1987. Of this amount Roddenberry transferred close to $$2 million to his ex-wife, withholding $750,000, ostentatiously on behalf of their two daughters. Unsurprisingly, Eileen sued him for more; to paraphrase Spock, the court transcripts made for "fascinating" reading. [18] (X)

Incidentally, Eileen's case was decided on 16 April 1996, when it was ruled that she was, and always had been, only entitled to half the revenues stemming from The Original Series , not those of any later Star Trek productions, and the court concluding that the decades-long proceedings had been a waste of time, by scathingly stating that "(t)his is a case that should never have been" . Norway Corporation was given a punitive award, payable to Eileen, as they only transfered the shortfall of the Original Series revenues a mere few days before the trial's start. However, before the ruling, the studio had from June 1988 until then, on the basis of previous lawsuits, split Roddenberry's profit share, including those for the films and The Next Generation and transferred a full third directly to Eileen when making profit share disbursements (having received a total of US$7.8 million by January 1993), and it has not become clear whether or not she had to restitute those pertaining to the films and Next Generation , or that they were to be settled with the shortfall of those from the Original Series , of which she had only received a third. [19] Roddenberry had already been dead for almost five years by the time of the final ruling.

The Next Generation [ ]

Roddenberry with his former Original Series Sound Effects Editor Douglas Grindstaff at a 20th anniversary celebration

In 1986 , with Star Trek 's 20th anniversary coming soon, and Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home hitting the theaters, then Paramount Television Group President Mel Harris decided it would be profitable to launch a brand new Star Trek series. Originally and obviously, studio executives wanted to create the series without Roddenberry's involvement, but eventually agreed that Star Trek creator Roddenberry should be on board for the project.

There were two overriding reasons for resurrecting Roddenberry from the studio's "Bermuda Triangle"; Firstly, long before the official announcement was made that a new Star Trek reincarnation was to be aired, word had already leaked out that this reincarnation was to feature an entirely new crew, and outraged "Trekkies" actually picketed the studio for what they perceived as blasphemy for even considering a Star Trek without the Original Crew , attracting media attention. Having Roddenberry aboard in an official capacity would at least allay some of their concerns. But secondly, and even more importantly, there were also legal issues to consider. While Roddenberry had surrendered all legal title to the original Star Trek , there was that one notable exception: his "created by" credit. No new Star Trek incarnation could ever be created without his consent in his lifetime. Not having him involved would have most assuredly resulted in his veto, and, contrary to the movies, this time he did indeed had a very strong legal base to block any and all development of a new Star Trek production. Simply put, the studio actually needed Roddenberry this time around. ( William Shatner Presents: Chaos on the Bridge )

Roddenberry and his lawyer, Leonard Maizlish agreed on a deal with the studio, which included a "handsome share" for Roddenberry, according to Paramount Network Television President John S. Pike . Pike's "handsome share" consisted of a US$1 million sign-on bonus, besides a considerable regular salary, which consisted of US$9,000 per episode, multiplied for eight syndication runs, augmented with US$5,000 legal/administrative fee per episode for Norway Corporation. This amounted to US$77,000 per episode or over US$2 million per season. Additionally Roddenberry arranged a profit sharing deal, where it was stipulated that he was to receive 35% of the adjusted gross (not net as back in 1965, thereby avoiding the "Hollywood accounting" trap) profits derived from the series. Roddenberry celebrated his return to Star Trek by purchasing a new, US$100,000 Rolls-Royce. Incidentally, the studio declared The Next Generation "in the profit" on 21 January 1993, after his death, and announced the start of profit distribution, followed by a US$6.8 million disbursement (nicely conforming to the by Paramount President Brandon Tartikoff reported gross Next Generation profit of US$25 million in 1992) to Norway and Eileen Roddenberry the following month. ( William Shatner Presents: Chaos on the Bridge ; Gene Roddenberry: The Myth and the Man Behind Star Trek , p. 220; Star Trek: The Next Generation - The Continuing Mission , p. 155; [20] (X) )

Roddenberry publicity shot on set of The Next Generation

Noted for his loyalty to co-workers he implicitly trusted (already evidenced by his time and again hiring of actors he had worked with before, for his numerous projects over the past decades), Roddenberry, back again at the helm, was determined to bring back as many production staff members from The Original Series as possible to develop and produce the new show, which he had actually already intended to do, and partially did, on the Phase II television series, started ten years earlier, but ultimately abandoned. These included producers Robert Justman, Edward Milkis, as well as writers David Gerrold and D. C. Fontana, all of them brought in first by Roddenberry in October 1986 to form the original production nucleus for the new series, to be followed by several others at later times. ( Star Trek: The Next Generation - The Continuing Mission , pp. 9–11) Star Trek: The Next Generation premiered in September 1987 in first-run syndication with the two-hour pilot " Encounter at Farpoint ". For all his Human fallacies and/or creative, political and interpersonal shortcomings, Roddenberry has also been renowned throughout his life for his more likable character traits as well as for his good-natured practical jokes, which occasionally back-fired on him. Affable and amiable to persons he himself liked and trusted, Roddenberry had an uncanny knack of endearing himself to people. This was exemplified by his glee to be reunited with his Original Series veteran friends, when he walked into the offices of Fontana, Milkis, Gerrold and Justman one day, early in the production of The Next Generation , and handed them a US$5,000 bonus each. [21] To Justman, Roddenberry said on the occasion, " I want you to have it because you deserve it–even more. " Though Justman left after the first season on the account of Maizlish, he had nothing but praise for Roddenberry himself, when he, also referring to the bonus incident, added, " It was wonderful working with Gene again, though. He was affectionate like he had never been before. Gene was really, really affectionate, almost as if — no, I think it was because he sensed that his end wasn't that far off, and he had a second chance at a relationship with me that never could have happened otherwise, and he wanted to make up for some of the disappointments he had caused me. " Aside from Roddenberry "deserting" the Original Series in its third season, Justman was also referring to him not being invited back to Phase II – The Motion Picture , though Roddenberry had actually intended to do so. He was however, overruled by the studio, but, typically, Roddenberry could not bear to inform Justman of this himself, not returning his phone-calls when the latter reported for work. ( Starlog , issue 228, p. 59; Inside Star Trek: The Real Story , 1997, pp. 432-433)

Roddenberry interviewed by Entertainment Tonight in 1991.

In mid- Season 1 , Roddenberry appointed Maurice Hurley as showrunner, and, while still being active overseeing the series, with his failing health, he eventually largely retired from daily production business. Hurley was responsible for keeping Roddenberry's "vision of the future" and his dictums for the show intact, and at first he did so, which however, led to conflicts with the writing staff, most notably Herbert J. Wright . " That's just the way it is. Star Trek is not like any other show because it is one unique vision, and if you agree with Gene Roddenberry's vision for the future, you should be locked up somewhere, " Hurley declared at the time, " It's wacky doodle, but it's his wacky doodle. If you can't deal with that, you can't do the show. There are rules on top of rules on top of rules. There are some people who have a deep history with Gene, whose eggs are bruised easily. People get confused about who really is Star Trek , and that messes people's heads up. Star Trek is Gene Roddenberry and nobody else. " ( Starlog , issue 152, p. 29) Aggravated by the 1988 Writers Guild of America strike , the tail end of the first season and most of the second season was marred by infighting among the writing staff, in which Hurley had center stage. Mel Harris, who unlike all of his (preceding) studio executive colleagues, was a Roddenberry supporter (in public at least), had been on record stating, " [W]e had a hard time keeping writers on the show…[A] lot of the writers that were available [in 1986] were coming off of cop shows and ... wanted to do bang-bang, shoot-tern-ups or car chases, let's have the space ship run around and…shoot the bad guys, and Gene had to go back in and rewrite many, many of the early scripts because they simply didn't fit the premises that were outlined in this bible. " [22] (X)

The first season could be described as a huge turmoil and struggle for power, which were in no small part due to Roddenberry's ill health, aggravated by alcohol and substance abuse (when starting his work on the new series, Roddenberry had to be admitted for months on a weekend basis in October 1986 into a La Costa, San Diego, rehab center to kick his habits). Maizlish, arguably overzealously protecting his client's interests, convinced an ailing and increasingly paranoid Roddenberry that others were lurking to stab him in the back, and managed to get rid of all the Original Series veterans who initially worked on the show. Going as far as rewriting scripts without any Writers Guild of America license or permit, and secretly lurking into other people's offices, Maizlish was considered a main destructive force behind the scenes, and eventually got banned from the Paramount lot. ( William Shatner Presents: Chaos on the Bridge , Inside Star Trek: The Real Story ) Whether or not Maizlish had his client's interests truly at heart, he had done him a great disfavor as the departure of the Original Series veterans had a profound effect on Roddenberry according to Gerrold, " Gene was crying because all of his friends were gone. It was because Maizlish chased them away. " [23] Considering the deep emotional attachment Roddenberry had for his Original Series friends, who were the very first staffers he had brought in to form the original October 1986 production nucleus for The Next Generation , has made Maizlish's attitude towards Gerrold, Fontana, Justman and Milkis all the more inexplicable. The now friendless Roddenberry was subsequently left dangerously exposed to studio politics at which he was notoriously inept. Already during the first two seasons of The Original Series , it had been Herb Solow who ran interference for Roddenberry and the studio, but once the former was gone, so was Roddenberry, and during the production of Phase II – The Motion Picture , Roddenberry again had his share of run-ins with the studio. ( Inside Star Trek: The Real Story , 1997, pp. 371-375) " Gene didn't like Rick [Berman] , at all. But Rick was installed on the show by the studio as a way to keep a control on the show ... to keep the budgets in line, make sure that the scripts were done. Ultimately, Berman ended up in control rather than Maizlish because Berman played the politics of the studio more effectively. ", Gerrold elaborated further. [24]

And indeed, "keeper of the flame" Hurley too, came to revise his stance, as he increasingly found Roddenberry's dictums too "wacky doodle" himself – especially after he caught Roddenberry violating his own dictums during one of his script rewrites – coming to perceive them as lacking in dramatic story-telling potential. Inevitably, this led to vicious clashes between Roddenberry and Hurley himself during the second season. ( William Shatner Presents: Chaos on the Bridge ) Roddenberry, undoubtedly experiencing a severe case of déjà vu from his previous dealings with Harold Livingston during the production of Phase II: The Motion Picture , became deeply embroiled with Hurley as well as with other writers, who wrote stories he felt were not in concordance with his vision on Star Trek . From the third season onward, Berman (originally appointed as "Supervising Producer" by the studio, who, besides Harris, had all but forgotten Roddenberry's behavior during the production of The Motion Picture , to "watch over" Roddenberry's antics) and Michael Piller were made executive producers, and became responsible for running the series, and eventually the entire franchise.

Deep Space Nine [ ]

Gene Roddenberry lived long enough to become aware that a second spin-off series was in the making, but did not live long enough to see the series, eventually dubbed Star Trek: Deep Space Nine , premiere. As realized the new series spawned criticism from purist fans for its far darker and grittier setting, arguing that it was not in line with Roddenberry's vision for his Star Trek universe. Nevertheless, series creator Rick Berman has stated on numerous occasions that he had done so with Roddenberry's full blessing:

"I was asked to create and develop a series that would serve as a companion piece to The Next Generation for about a year and a half, and then TNG would go off the air and this new show would continue. So I asked Michael Piller to get involved, and we put our heads together. I really never had the opportunity to discuss any ideas with Gene. This was very close to the end of Gene's life, and he was quite ill at the time. But he knew that we were working on something, and I definitely had his blessing to develop it." ( Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Companion , p. ? )

Yet, on one occasion for a January 1993 Los Angeles Times interview, Berman did slip that Roddenberry had never known what the series exactly entailed, when he conceded, " He was not well at the time. He was quite ill, and I never got a chance to tell him what the ideas were, what they were about. But I definitely discussed things with him enough to know that he trusted me and had given me his blessings, " hastening to add that, " Our Starfleet officers are still Starfleet officers in the true Roddenberry spirit. There is no conflict between them, " but by " twisting the location of the show a little bit to this strange uncomfortable place, by adding a back story where we have alien characters who are not at all that crazy about having our people there, it allows us numerous new vehicles of conflict that make the stories a lot more compelling. " [25] Considering Roddenberry's history with Star Trek , fans did have a point that, had he lived in good health, Deep Space Nine would arguably have been featured differently, if at all.

Still, Bjo Trimble, herself an influential first hour fan (aside from being a close personal acquaintance of Roddenberry in the late 1960s because of Star Trek ), and while conceding that wife Majel was of the same critical mind, proffered an opposing view in August 1999: " I feel that Gene might have come to like DS9, had he lived to see it. There might have been some changes. Majel recently said that GR would have hated the war in DS9, but frankly I am amazed that she cannot see the same theme in much of what Gene did, including his recent "discovery" of Earth: Final Conflict . The only reason there were not full battles in early Trek is lack of funds to pull it off, and lack of technology to show it. Otherwise, GR would certainly have added it; he knew what audiences liked, " but somewhat contradicted herself when she concurrently added, " I don't know about Voyager ; I can't see where it's going, and I don't feel GR would have liked that. I don't think he would have liked the last couple of movies [note: which included the battle heavy, but highly successful Star Trek: First Contact ] ; they were very far removed from the Trek Gene came up with. " [26]

"The End" [ ]

Having already suffered a series of minor strokes, Roddenberry was struck by the severest yet in September 1989 upon the conclusion of the second season of The Next Generation , leaving him incapacitated in a wheelchair, and effectively ending his operational involvement with The Next Generation . It necessitated Roddenberry to hire Ernie Over as a personal assistant, in addition to Susan Sackett, to help him move around.

On 6 June 1991 shortly before celebrating the 100th episode of The Next Generation the Producers Building at the former Desilu studio lot was renamed "Gene Roddenberry Building". Paramount Television president Mel Harris held a speech and during the ceremony William Shatner and Patrick Stewart said a few words about Roddenberry.

On 22 October 1991, Roddenberry was present at the avant-premiere screening of the nearly finished The Undiscovered Country movie, giving the assembly a thumbs up when he was wheeled back to his office. Once there he immediately instructed Maizlish to start legal actions against Leonard Nimoy and Nicholas Meyer in order to have fifteen minutes of the more militaristic aspects cut from the movie. ( Star Trek Movie Memories , 1995, p. 394)

Two days later Gene Roddenberry passed away, succumbing to cardiac arrest. At the time of his passing, Roddenberry was survived by his wife Majel, their son Eugene "Rod" Roddenberry, Jr., his two grown daughters, Dawn and Darleen, from his previous marriage to Eileen (who never remarried), two grandchildren by Darleen, his mother Caroline, and his sister Doris. Darleen tragically perished four years later, almost to the day, in a car accident. Dawn seemed to have inherited her mother's predilection for litigation as she attempted in June 1996 to sue her stepmother, Majel Barrett, for mismanaging her father's affairs in his ailing days, yet withdrew the suit the day before it was set to go to court, as she stood to lose any and all inheritance as specifically stipulated in her father's will in case of contesting. [27] (X)

Roddenberry had also served, alongside his friend Isaac Asimov, on the initial advisory board of a project that eventually became the SyFy Channel . Both men however, had already died when the broadcaster was launched on 24 September 1992. [28]

Memoriam credit for Gene Roddenberry during the opening of TNG : " Unification I " and TNG : " Unification II "

Roddenberry's star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame

The launch of the Columbia carrying the ashes of Roddenberry

Roddenberry served as a member of the Writers Guild Executive Council and as a Governor of the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences. He held three honorary doctorate degrees: Doctor of Humane Letters from Emerson College (1977), Doctor of Literature from Union College in Los Angeles, and Doctor of Science from Clarkson University in Potsdam, New York (1981).

In 1985, Roddenberry became the very first television production staffer to be honored with his own star on the famed "Hollywood Walk of Fame". ( Star Trek and American Television , p. 35)

The legacy of Star Trek , as created by Gene Roddenberry, continues to grow as the newest series, Star Trek: Lower Decks , has joined Star Trek: Deep Space Nine , Star Trek: Voyager , Star Trek: Enterprise , Star Trek: Discovery and Star Trek: Picard . The Next Generation evolved into a feature film series, debuting in 1994 with Star Trek Generations and closing in 2002 with Star Trek Nemesis . A new, alternate reality was created with the newest installments, Star Trek , Star Trek Into Darkness , and Star Trek Beyond .

Other shows of Roddenberry's design include Earth: Final Conflict and Andromeda , the latter of which based on the aforementioned television pilots Genesis II of 1973, and its 1974 and 1975 reworked versions, Planet Earth and Strange New World , respectively.

The ashes of Roddenberry were aboard the space shuttle Columbia during its start from the Kennedy Space Center on 22 October 1992 .

Roddenberry had the Gene Roddenberry Award named after him, the most pretigious of the FantastiCon Awards , founded by Koloth and Trelane performer William Campbell , and the award so christened by Campbell to express the fondness he always had for the Star Trek franchise. Ironically, one of its recepients became Michael Piller in 2000, who along with Rick Berman had usurped Roddenberry's position on The Next Genereration . The award however, went defunct upon the failing health and ultimate death of FantastiCon founder Campbell.

Roddenberry's native city, El Paso, Texas, has (re-)named its planetarium after him in 2001.

Eugene Roddenberry, Jr. currently heads the Roddenberry.com website which is also the main site for Lincoln Enterprises, and is "Consulting Producer" for the fan film series Star Trek: New Voyages .

Roddenberry canon [ ]

A minority of purist fans advocate a " Roddenberry canon " to denote what episodes Star Trek 's creator approved of as "official." Defining such a concept is elusive, as Roddenberry was known to change his views over the years. The Original Series would seem to be part of this canon, comprising 80 episodes, including the un-aired first pilot "The Cage". He rejected The Animated Series as apocryphal, along with elements of two films, The Final Frontier , and The Undiscovered Country . At the time of his death, 110 episodes of The Next Generation had completed production, from "Encounter at Farpoint" through " New Ground ". This leaves roughly 196 episodes of Star Trek , including the first four films and most of films five and six, as part of the supposed Roddenberry canon. Adhering to this view would mean rejecting 722 episodes, including roughly 7 films, as there have been 905 episodes of Star Trek produced to date, and 13 films.

Gene Roddenberry had a second cousin twice removed named Mary Sue Roddenberry . Ironically, and probably by sheer coincidence, the widespread fan fiction term " Mary Sue ", which is used to describe overly perfect original female characters, has its origins in the person of Lt. Mary Sue, a character in the satirical 1974 short Star Trek story by Paula Smith called "A Trekkie's Tale".

Roddenberry gave his middle name to one of the characters of Star Trek: The Next Generation – Wesley Crusher . ( Star Trek: The Next Generation Companion , 1st ed., p. 14) His middle name was also used as the last name of the TOS character Robert Wesley , which was also a pseudonym Roddenberry used in his early writing career. ( Star Trek Encyclopedia , 1st ed., p. 374) In addition, after his death, the creators of Voyager used Roddenberry's full first name as the middle name of reformed renegade officer Thomas Eugene Paris . ( Star Trek Encyclopedia , 3rd ed., p. 348)

In " The Big Goodbye ", an illustration of Gene Roddenberry was seen when Data was assimilating the Dixon Hill novels. This illustration was the copy of a photo of Gene Roddenberry.

Credits [ ]

Roddenberry receives a "Created by" credit on episodes of The Original Series and The Next Generation . In addition he is credited on all episodes of Deep Space Nine , Voyager , Enterprise , and Discovery , all the movies, and many Star Trek computer games such as the Elite Force series and Star Trek: Bridge Commander , via the phrase "Based upon Star Trek , created by Gene Roddenberry".

The first two Next Generation episodes aired after his death, " Unification I " and " Unification II " begin with the title card "Gene Roddenberry 1921 – 1991". Also, the film The Undiscovered Country begins with the credit, "For Gene Roddenberry". The credits for Star Trek end with "In memory of Gene Roddenberry and Majel Barrett Roddenberry". Several other Trek related products, including the video game Star Trek: 25th Anniversary include special thanks credits in honor of Roddenberry.

Roddenberry also receives credit for writing lyrics to the Original Series main title theme, although these lyrics were never recorded in connection with the series. In the reference book Inside Star Trek: The Real Story (1997, p. 185), Herb Solow and Robert Justman allege that Roddenberry, who had no musical experience of any kind, wrote words to Alexander Courage 's theme for the show solely to accrue royalties that were required to be paid to the lyricist. In doing so, he effectively cut Courage's royalties in half, as the composer would otherwise have received all royalties accruing from the theme. Courage was outraged on this, and left the production, only to return to score two episodes in the third season as a courtesy to Robert Justman. However, Courage, mellowed over the years, has stated in his twilight years, " There wasn't any rift, really, with Gene. What happened with Gene was a I got a phone call once...it was Gene's lawyer, [Leonard] Maizlish. He said, "I'm calling you to tell you that since you signed a piece of paper back there saying that if Gene ever wrote a lyric to your theme that he would split your royalties on the theme." Gene and I weren’t enemies in any sort of way. It was just one of those things...I think it was Maizlish, probably, who put him up to doing it that way, and it's a shame, because actually if he'd written a decent lyric we could have both made more money. " [29] Having corresponded with Courage at a later point in time, this was another example of Roddenberry's more amiable character traits; whenever he felt that he had aggrieved someone, he often felt the need to make amends afterwards, like he had done with Robert Justman as described above.

The Roddenberry/Maizlish duo had actually tried to do something similar with Leonard Nimoy's first vinyl album recording, Mr. Spock's Music From Outer Space , which marked the beginning of the descent into animosity of the relationship between Roddenberry and Nimoy. With Nimoy however, Roddenberry was not able to mend fences, due to a continuous series of subsequent incidents (such as in the instance of The Questor Tapes , mentioned above), which kept bedeviling any possible chance of reconciliation. After The Motion Picture , were he finally had his pound of flesh by "conspiring" against Roddenberry, Nimoy broke off any communication between them, and both were not seen together afterwards, save for the official studio press presentations for the subsequent five Original Crew films, which Nimoy was contractually obligated to do. Nimoy has attended the "Gene Roddenberry Building" commemorative event, though not speaking to, or of him, but avoided conventions where Roddenberry was present. In one of his last live interviews before his own death, the 2013 documentary Star Trek: The True Story , Nimoy exhibited the deep disdain he still felt for Roddenberry by scoffingly laughing aloud at the statement that Roddenberry was "the creator of Star Trek ".

According to Cinefantastique , Nimoy issued, through his spokesperson, a very terse one-sentence platitude, making himself unavailable to the press for commentary the subsequent months and did not attend Roddenberry's funeral. Multiple other sources, including Herb Solow in Inside Star Trek , relate stories of Nimoy being in attendance. ( Cinefantastique , Vol 22 #5, p. 42; Inside Star Trek , p. 237; [30] )

Roddenberry also credited himself as the co-author of the 1968 reference book The Making of Star Trek , receiving half the royalties, which was written by Stephen E. Whitfield , and given to Roddenberry to make his corrections and edits, though he had never the time to do so, because of production deadlines. While virtually every other person (like the above-mentioned Courage), before or after, who had been cajoled out of their royalty shares in a similar way by Roddenberry, became livid with him, Whitfield ( aka Stephen Edward Poe ), was the proverbial exception. Not minding surrendering half the book royalties, Whitfield got along very well with Roddenberry, not in the least due to their shared aviation background, and was grateful for the chance he was given to start his writing career as a book author. The fact that he had written the very first Star Trek reference book (and a very successful one at that) had been a source of immense pride for him for the remainder of his life. ( Inside Star Trek: The Real Story , 1997, pp. 401-402) A similar situation has applied to Susan Sacket's 1980 reference book The Making of Star Trek: The Motion Picture . Sackett had actually also written the 1991 reference book Star Trek: The First 25 Years , for which Roddenberry was this time slated as the primary author, though, again, he did not write a single syllable for this work either. However, this time around, Leonard Nimoy successfully torpedoed the publication for the book, as he purposely refused permission of the use of his imagery for the book – yet another stage in the ongoing battle between the two men.

While without a shadow of a doubt conceived by him, Roddenberry had in the convention circuit of the late 1970s also tried to lay claim of being the "real" designer of the starship Enterprise . He backed up his claim in the early 1980s by selling reproductions of early color concept art of the ship through Lincoln Enterprises as the twelve-piece "The Evolution" poster set. [31] This color art he had acquired in late 1964 by begging for it from the actual designer of the Enterprise , Matt Jefferies , who had gifted it to him. ( Star Trek Memories , 1995, p. 48) Astonishingly, in an effort to lend credence to his claim, Roddenberry (of whom not a single verified piece of artwork is known to exist) had even been brazen enough to forge a "Eugene W. Roddenberry" signature in Jefferies' writing style onto several pieces of the art. [32] Unfortunately for Roddenberry, this did not fly, as Jefferies was already too well known as the ship's designer even by then, but fortunately for him, Jefferies has never seemed to mind. The sale of the poster set ceased shortly after its original offering.

• " The Cage "
• " Mudd's Women " (Story) ( Season 1 )
• " Charlie X " (Story)
• " The Menagerie, Part I "
• " The Menagerie, Part II "
• " The Return of the Archons " (Story)
• " Bread and Circuses " (with Gene L. Coon ) ( Season 2 )
• " A Private Little War " (Teleplay with Gene L. Coon)
• " The Omega Glory "
• " Assignment: Earth " (Story with Art Wallace )
• " The Savage Curtain " (Teleplay with Arthur Heinemann , Story) ( Season 3 )
• " Turnabout Intruder " (Story)
• Star Trek: The Motion Picture (story, uncredited)
• " Encounter at Farpoint " (with D.C. Fontana ) ( Season 1 )
• " Hide And Q " (Teleplay with C.J. Holland )
• " Datalore " (Teleplay with Robert Lewin )
• " The Cage " to " The Enemy Within " (producer)
• " The Man Trap " (credited as executive producer and producer)
• " Charlie X " to " Dagger of the Mind " (producer)
• " Miri " to " The Menagerie, Part I " (executive producer)
• " The Menagerie, Part II " (producer – credit for "The Cage")
• " Shore Leave " to " The Omega Glory " (executive producer)
• " Assignment: Earth " (producer)
• " Spectre of the Gun " to " Turnabout Intruder " (executive producer)
• TAS (executive producer)
• Star Trek: The Motion Picture (producer)
• (posthumous credit only from " Violations " to " Time's Arrow ")
• TAS all episodes
• Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan
• Star Trek III: The Search for Spock
• Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home
• Star Trek V: The Final Frontier
• " Charlie X " as the voice of the galley chef (uncredited) ( Star Trek Encyclopedia , 2nd ed., p. 73)
• In addition, Roddenberry hosted the video release of " The Cage " and an image of him appeared as Captain Robert April in the Star Trek Encyclopedia ,  ? ed., vol. ? , p. ? . He can also be heard (along with Majel Barrett and other production people) in the background intercom chatter in " Where No Man Has Gone Before " (and subsequent episodes reusing the same sound tracks).

Star Trek awards [ ]

During his career Gene Roddenberry received the following awards and nominations for his work on Star trek ,

Emmy Awards [ ]

As Producer, Roddenberry received the following Emmy Award nominations in the category Outstanding Dramatic Series:

• 1967 for Star Trek: The Original Series , shared with Gene L. Coon
• 1968 for Star Trek: The Original Series , sole nominee

Hugo Awards [ ]

As Writer, Roddenberry received the following Hugo Award nominations and wins:

• 1967 Hugo Award win in the category Best Dramatic Presentation for TOS : " The Menagerie, Part I " and " The Menagerie, Part II ", shared with Marc Daniels
• 1968 Hugo Award win in the category Special Award for Star Trek: The Original Series , sole nominee
• 1980 Hugo Award nomination in the category Best Dramatic Presentation for Star Trek: The Motion Picture , shared with Harold Livingston , Alan Dean Foster and Robert Wise
• 1988 Hugo Award nomination in the category Best Dramatic Presentation for TNG : " Encounter at Farpoint ", shared with D.C. Fontana and Corey Allen

Saturn Awards [ ]

As Writer and Producer, Roddenberry received the following Saturn Awards:

• 1977 in the category Executive Achievement Award for Star Trek: The Original Series , sole nominee
• 1980 in the category Life Career Award for Star Trek: The Motion Picture , sole nominee
• 1992 in the category George Pal Memorial Award for Star Trek , sole nominee

Writers Guild of America Awards [ ]

As Writer, Roddenberry received the following Writers Guild of America Award nomination in the category Best Written Dramatic Episode:

• 1967 for TOS : " The Return of the Archons ", shared with Boris Sobelman

Interviews [ ]

Interviews of Roddenberry were part of the following specials:

• The Star Trek Saga: From One Generation To The Next , interviewed on 20 September 1988
• TNG Season 1 DVD special feature "The Beginning"
• TNG Season 1 DVD special feature "Memorable Missions"
• TNG Season 2 DVD special feature "Mission Overview Year Two" (" Diana Muldaur ", " Whoopi Goldberg "), footage taken from The Star Trek Saga...
• TNG Season 2 DVD special feature "Selected Crew Analysis Year Two", footage taken from The Star Trek Saga...
• TNG Season 4 DVD special feature "Mission Overview Year Four" ("Celebrating 100 Episodes"), interviewed by Entertainment Tonight in 1991
• TNG Season 5 DVD special feature "A Tribute to Gene Roddenberry" ("Gene Roddenberry Building Dedicated to Star Trek's Creator", "Gene's Final Voyage"), interviewed on 6 June 1991 and footage taken from The Star Trek Saga...
• To Boldly Go
• "Gene Roddenberry – The Creator of Star Trek: The Next Generation ", The Official Star Trek: The Next Generation Magazine  issue 1 , pp. 4-9, interviewed by Dan Madsen , John S. Davis and Dan Dickholtz
• "Eternal Questions", The Official Star Trek: The Next Generation Magazine  issue 11 , p. 15

Further reading [ ]

• The Man Who Created Star Trek: Gene Roddenberry , 1992
• Gene Roddenberry: The Last Conversation , 1994
• Gene Roddenberry: The Myth and the Man Behind Star Trek , 1994
• Star Trek Creator: The Authorized Biography of Gene Roddenberry , 1994
• Inside Trek: My Secret Life with Star Trek Creator Gene Roddenberry , 2002
• These Are the Voyages: Gene Roddenberry and Star Trek in the 1970s, Volume 1 (1970-75) , 2019

External links [ ]

• Gene Roddenberry at the Internet Movie Database
• Gene Roddenberry: What Might Have Been..., Parts 1 , 2 , 3 and 4 at TVparty.com (detailed career overview for the period 1969-1977)
• Gene Roddenberry Biography and Stories (X) at TV.com (X)
• Gene Roddenberry at Wikipedia
• Gene Roddenberry at Memory Beta , the wiki for licensed Star Trek works
• Gene Roddenberry at SF-Encyclopedia.com
• 1 Daniels (Crewman)

• More to Explore
• Series & Movies

Published Aug 19, 2022

The Many Roles of Gene Roddenberry

Today, we're looking at the legend in his role as Creative Consultant.

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The 50th anniversary of Star Trek in 2016 marked a celebration of what began in the imagination of a single man — Eugene Wesley Roddenberry .

There have been articles, documentaries, and biographies that have tried to understand Trek ’s enigmatic creator. Somehow, though, there is something most satisfying when we are able to hear directly from Roddenberry himself — through his own writings or interviews — when trying to gain an understanding of who he was as a person and artist at a given time of his life.

One source that sheds light on Roddenberry’s thoughts and feelings were his memos written during the time in his career when he became an executive consultant to Star Trek — the era between The Motion Picture and The Next Generation , from The Wrath of Khan to The Final Frontier .

Star Trek Shows Muslim Fans an Inclusive Future

It is easy to presume that Roddenberry’s title as “Executive Consultant” was somehow merely honorific; it wasn’t. He had served a similar role on The Animated Series , which was under the daily stewardship of Dorothy "D.C." Fontana .

Roddenberry took his role seriously, as the amount of writings and memos he drafted and sent to the producers, writers, and directors of the Star Trek movie sequels attest. While his opinions and thoughts were not always taken, they were always seriously considered — often resulting in line by line responses to his points. By exploring these Roddenberry memos and notes, it is apparent that Roddenberry cared about the future world he originated even if he wasn’t in charge of its day-to-day creation anymore.

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A case in point is Roddenberry’s thoughts about the character of David Marcus from The Wrath of Khan . Following some memos about what Roddenberry considered less-important concerns (suggestions about jargon, for example), he crafted a 7-page, single-spaced memo dated September 30, 1981, to the attention of executive producer Harve Bennett, called, “SCRIPT COMMENTS — Items Considered Important.”

He began the memo by praising the script version created by Nicholas Meyer earlier that month, “First, let me say again how pleased I am with the number and quality of script improvements.” Among his comments about other characters like Lt. Saavik and Khan , and his concerns about the over-militarization of Starfleet , there are recommendations about the character of David Marcus.

At the time of Roddenberry's memos, the name “Marcus” had not yet been officially determined to be the last name for Carol and David; in fact, he used the original last name of “Manning” from earlier script drafts in his September memo. Roddenberry was concerned about several aspects of the David character. His primary concern was that he thought that a 23rd Century character as educated as David, raised by Carol and possessing “Kirk’s genes,” would not have a negative view of Starfleet as he does in the film. Roddenberry stated that David’s attitude towards Starfleet “causes me major concern.” To Roddenberry’s estimation, David “would not be capable of foolish and unsupported anti-military bias against Starfleet. There hasn’t been such a thing as a 'military mentality' around for over a century!”

Roddenberry crafted a lengthy suggestion around this problem by recommending that David start the film, instead, with conventional, pro-Starfleet attitudes. He could think that Starfleet’s “wanderer” nature wasn’t the only way to explore the universe, thereby setting up some contrast with Kirk’s more “boldly go” exploratory personality. But he should recognize the importance of Starfleet's humanitarian and exploratory mission. David could become angry at Starfleet, however, seeing it as not protecting him, his mother and friends, and his research after Khan’s attack. Where was Starfleet to stop Khan? This arc, Roddenberry suggested, has more verisimilitude to the universe he created. Roddenberry's view on that was not necessarily adhered to. However, another one of his concerns regarding David, specifically his dialogue and tendency to speak too much like a 20th Century person, even using common 20th Century swear-words, did have an effect — and much of that was removed from the film's script.

The September 30th memo was followed by another 10 pages on October 2nd, which demonstrated Roddenberry’s commitment to his role as a consultant. His comments showed how his thinking had evolved regarding Starfleet from the original show, and how that evolution would eventually affect his 24th Century creation, The Next Generation .

It is perhaps no surprise that Roddenberry, a writer his entire life, long before he sold his first professional script, would focus so much of his recommendations on the characters and their motivations. What it does show is that one of the reasons that Star Trek has endured over the past 50 years is that those who created it — beginning with Roddenberry and continuing with those who carried on his legacy, including Harve Bennett and Nicholas Meyer — cared very much about the characters and worlds of the future we love so much.

This article was originally published on December 5, 2016.

Maria Jose and John Tenuto are both sociology professors at the College of Lake County in Grayslake, Illinois, specializing in popular culture and subculture studies. The Tenutos have conducted extensive research on the history of Star Trek , and have presented at venues such as Creation Conventions and the St. Louis Science Center. They have written for the official Star Trek Magazine and their extensive collection of Star Trek items has been featured in SFX Magazine . Their theory about the “20-Year Nostalgia Cycle” and research on Star Trek fans has been featured on WGN News, BBC Radio and in the documentary The Force Among Us . They recently researched all known paperwork from the making of the classic episode "Space Seed" and are excited to be sharing some previously unreported information about Khan's first adventure with fellow fans. Contact the Tenutos at [email protected] or [email protected].

Stay tuned to StarTrek.com for more details! And be sure to follow @StarTrek on Facebook , Twitter , and Instagram .

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• A Bold Vision: How <i>Star Trek</i> First Made It to the Screen

A Bold Vision: How Star Trek First Made It to the Screen

L ike one of those primitive planets the Enterprise crew would occasionally stumble upon (and where they would have to make sure, thanks to the Prime Directive, not to use their futuristic knowledge and gear to alter the civilization’s normal course of development), the birth of Star Trek seems now to date from an almost prehistoric television era. Creator Gene Roddenberry pitched his space-adventure series to the networks as a “Wagon Train to the Stars,” a nod to the westerns that were still the gold standard in popular TV drama in the 1960s. The special effects were almost comically low-tech—all those toy-chest phaser guns, tin-foil headpieces for the aliens and stock shots of crew members getting jostled in the corridor whenever an explosion rocked the ship. (Seatbelts weren’t required in cars yet, much less spaceships.) The Enterprise never actually landed on any of the planets it visited—crew members were “beamed” there instead—for the simple reason that the special effects would have been too costly.

“Space: the final frontier,” intoned William Shatner in the show’s famous opening, announcing the U.S.S. Enterprise ’s five-year mission to explore new worlds, to seek out new civilizations, to “boldly go where no man has gone before.” But the mission ended in 1969 after just three seasons, when NBC canceled the series because of low ratings that today, in the fragmented cable world, would have been hailed as a smash success.

Yet Star Trek had an unlikely rebirth and journeyed on to become the most durable cult hit in TV history. The series got a second wind in syndicated reruns; then came a Saturday-morning cartoon series (with the voices of most of the original cast); then, in 1979, the first of six feature films reuniting the TV crew on the big screen. A sequel to the original series, Star Trek: The Next Generation , debuted in 1987 and became the highest-rated series in syndicated (off-network) television. That was followed by three more TV series and six more movies, featuring both the Next Generation cast and a new set of actors portraying the original Enterprise crew in their younger days. Yet another feature film—the 13th, Star Trek Beyond —will hit theaters in July 2016.

The show was a merchandising bonanza, spawning such items as paperback novelizations of Trek episodes, T-shirts, action figures, models of the starship Enterprise , commemorative coins, video games and Star Trek chess sets. The first Star Trek convention, held at New York’s Statler Hilton hotel in January 1972, drew 3,000 fans; within two years, attendance at the annual get-together had quadrupled. Familiar lines—“Beam me up, Scotty” (which was never actually spoken in precisely those words on the show); “Live long and prosper,” Mr. Spock’s Vulcan valedictory—became national catchphrases. Enthusiasts wrote books analyzing the show’s episodes and ethos; cast members turned out memoirs of their days on the series. The show’s futuristic gadgetry anticipated real-life innovations, such as cellphones and medical scanning technology. NASA originally intended to name its first shuttle craft the Constitution . After Trek fans launched a letter-writing campaign in 1976, the space agency switched to the more popular choice: Enterprise .

But Star Trek was always more than just a sci-fi nerd’s love object. The series was born in the midst of the turbulent 1960s, and its outer-space adventures often reflected and commented on the issues of that divisive decade: the Vietnam War, civil rights, Cold War politics, the budding environmental movement. The show had an idealistic, ’60s counterculture mind-set, imagining a 23rd-century world in which humans had outgrown war and prejudice. “We must learn to live together, or most certainly we will soon all die together” was how Roddenberry, who died in 1991, expressed the show’s message. “Although Star Trek had to entertain or go off the air, we believed our format was unique enough to allow us to challenge and stimulate the audience.” Star Trek proved that an outer-space action show could appeal to our intelligence, tackle serious issues—and, in a troubled time, offer some hope for the future.

Roddenberry, a Texas-born former Pan Am pilot and press officer for the Los Angeles Police Department, began writing scripts in the 1950s for TV shows like Dragnet , Dr. Kildare and Have Gun, Will Travel . A science-fiction buff since junior high school, he had the idea for a series that would mix the anthology format of sci-fi shows like The Twilight Zone and The Outer Limits with a cast of continuing characters—a kind of Gulliver’s Travels of the future, as he once described it.

He took the idea first to program executives at CBS, who quizzed him for two hours about his plans for the show and then told him goodbye and bought Lost in Space instead. He had better luck at NBC, which ordered up a pilot episode. Titled “The Cage,” the show starred Jeffrey Hunter (a feature-film star who had appeared with John Wayne in The Searchers and played Jesus Christ in King of Kings ) as a starship captain named Pike who is taken captive on a planet whose inhabitants want to use him to breed a new race. The network rejected the show as “too cerebral” but liked the concept enough to give Roddenberry another chance with a second pilot.

The second go-round featured an almost entirely new cast. Replacing Hunter (who decided that starring in a science-fiction series would be a bad career move), Roddenberry cast William Shatner, a Canadian actor with substantial stage and screen experience, as Capt. James T. Kirk. Joining him on the bridge was a conspicuously international crew: a Scottish chief engineer (James Doohan), a Japanese helmsman (George Takei) and an African-American communications chief (Nichelle Nichols), as well as a nondenominational ship’s doctor, played in the pilot by Paul Fix and later by DeForest Kelley.

Only one cast member remained from the original pilot: Leonard Nimoy, as the half-Vulcan, half-human Mr. Spock. NBC wanted to drop him too, complaining that Nimoy’s pointy ears and sinister eyebrows made him look “satanic.” But Roddenberry insisted on keeping him. “I felt we couldn’t do a space show without at least one person on board who constantly reminded you that you are out in space and in a world of the future,” he said. “NBC finally agreed to do the second pilot with Spock in it, saying, ʻWell, kind of keep him in the background.’” Spock, with his scrupulously logical mind and exotic Vulcan powers, soon became the show’s most popular character.

Unlike most TV shows of the day, which could reuse props and sets from other cop shows or westerns or sitcoms, Star Trek had to create virtually an entire new world from scratch. The layout of the Enterprise was mapped out in detail. Roddenberry obsessed over the verisimilitude of the gadgets, costumes and terminology. Keeping ahead of real-life technology proved to be a challenge. The hand weapons carried by the crew were originally called lasers. When Roddenberry realized that real-life lasers might become commonplace within a few years, he made a last-minute switch and called them “phasers.” “We didn’t want people saying to us three years from now, ʻOh, come on now, lasers can’t do that,’” he explained.

Roddenberry delivered his second pilot in January 1966, and this time NBC picked it up for the fall schedule. Star Trek made its network debut on Thursday night, September 8, opposite My Three Sons and Bewitched . (The first episode was not the pilot but another episode, called “The Man Trap,” in which the crew encounter a vampire-like alien that sucks its victims dry of body salt. NBC wanted a monster.) Initial reaction was not encouraging. “ Star Trek obviously solicits all-out suspension of disbelief, but it won’t work,” wrote Variety . “Even within its sci-fi frame of reference it was an incredible and dreary mess of confusion and complexities.”

Ratings were just good enough to win the series a renewal, but by the middle of its second season, NBC was ready to cancel it. A fervent letter-writing campaign from fans persuaded the network to reverse itself—the first recorded instance of an audience campaign saving a doomed TV show. But it was only a temporary reprieve. For its third season, the show’s budget was cut, Roddenberry stepped away from day-to-day involvement, and by most lights the show’s quality declined drastically. By the end of season three, cancellation was a foregone conclusion.

In its three seasons, Star Trek had produced just 79 episodes, but that was enough to sell the reruns in syndication. There they proved amazingly popular, and pressure started to build to bring the series back. Instead, prompted by the success of Star Wars , Paramount (which had acquired the rights to the series from Desilu, the studio that originally produced it) decided to give the Star Trek crew a shot at the big screen. The 1979 feature Star Trek: The Motion Picture was only a middling success, but its 1982 follow-up, Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (with Ricardo Montalbán re-creating a villain he had played in a Trek episode from season one), was a hit both with critics and at the box office. The franchise began expanding at warp speed.

The new iterations surpassed the rather crude original series in many ways. Star Trek: The Next Generation , with an entirely new crew and cast headed by Royal Shakespeare Company actor Patrick Stewart (and with Roddenberry back in charge), boasted higher production values and more sophisticated sci-fi plots, not to mention better ratings than the original ever got. And the fourth series, Star Trek: Voyager , which debuted in 1995, rectified one major shortcoming of the earlier versions: for the first time, a woman (Kate Mulgrew) was in command of the ship.

Still, the original series boldly went where few TV shows of its day were going. Its multicultural, multiracial cast was itself a statement on diversity. “Intolerance in the 23rd century? Improbable!” said Roddenberry. “If man survives that long, he will have learned to take a delight in the essential differences between men and between cultures.” When Pravda complained that the international space crew included no representative of the Soviet Union, Roddenberry added Walter Koenig to the cast in season two, as the Russian navigator Chekov.

The space adventures, moreover, were often thinly disguised allegories for very current social problems. In one episode, “Let That Be Your Last Battlefield,” the Enterprise crew encounter a planet, all of whose inhabitants are black on one side, white on the other. Yet they are riven by racial hatred between those who are black on the right half and those black on the left—a stark, if hardly subtle, condemnation of racial prejudice. In the Cold War–themed “A Private Little War,” Kirk faces a dilemma over whether to supply arms to a primitive people engaged in a guerrilla war, to match the guns the Romulans have given to their enemies. In another episode, Kirk is taken captive by the Romulans and held as a spy after the Enterprise strays into the neutral zone—a story inspired by the then-recent North Korean capture of the U.S.S. Pueblo .

“Television was so tightly censored that science fiction was the only way to escape the taboos in politics, religion or anything else that was controversial,” Roddenberry said. “I really don’t consider myself a science-fiction writer, but I’m interested in what’s happening on this planet and what may happen. In our society, we’re treating man less and less like an individual and more like a social organism.”

Roddenberry’s utopian vision was not always reflected behind the scenes. Several writers for the show, among them the prominent sci-fi author Harlan Ellison (who wrote the classic time-travel episode “City on the Edge of Forever”), fumed at Roddenberry’s habit of rewriting scripts so they would conform to his strict conception of the show’s characters and message. Some cast members complained in later years about Shatner’s camera-hogging ego and his jealousy of any co-star (especially Nimoy) who upstaged him with more lines.

Nor did the actors always welcome being typecast for an entire career, forced to reprise their characters for years in front of Trek nerds whose obsessive devotion to the show had its creepy side. Shatner himself expressed it memorably in a Saturday Night Live sketch from 1986. Appearing at a Star Trek convention, TV’s Capt. Kirk gets testy after too many trivia-obsessed questions from fans. “Get a life!” he finally blurts out to the shocked fans—before being chastised by a convention organizer and returning to the microphone to claim that he was, of course, just playing the “evil Capt. Kirk” from the episode “The Enemy Within.”

The fans were relieved. Shatner, in the sketch and real life, seemed resigned to his Kirkian destiny. And Star Trek —the show, the movies, the franchise, the cult—achieved a feat that even a Vulcan mind meld couldn’t have foreseen. It lived long and prospered.

Richard Zoglin is TIME ’s theater critic and the author of Hope: Entertainer of the Century . Read more in TIME’s special Star Trek: Inside The Most Influential Science Fiction Series Ever . Available at retailers and at Amazon.com.

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