The Trek Files: A Roddenberry Star Trek Podcast

We welcome back TNG second season producer Robert McCullough to talk about the production staff during his ten-week run on the show. Who wrote scripts from the ending first? Where did Klingon pain sticks come from? What was his very first convention like? A little more chaos on the bridge plus a peek back into life on set at the end of TOS. See the original document: The Icarus Factor distribution...

Season two of The Next Generation gets the focus on The Trek Files. Producer Robert McCulough joins us to discuss the decision to introduce audiences to Riker's dad and Pakleds as well as the personalities behind the show like a thrown script and a boozy lunch with Gene Roddenberry. See the original document: The Icarus Factor first draft - November 7, 1988 The Trek Files  Season 3 on Memory Alpha...

San Diego Comic Con organizer Shel Dorf sent Gene Roddenberry the 1973 program book along with an invitation to appear at the next event he'd host, King Kon. On this, the 50th anniversary of SDCC, The Trek Files is proud to welcome someone who was there from the beginning: the original Comic Con Star Trek liaison, Jean Graham. See the original document: Shel Dorf letter to Gene Roddenberry - Comic...

Concerned about encroaching sexual content on Star Trek: The Next Generation, Rick Berman instructed Michael Piller to send out a memo to the writers with guidelines on what was acceptable and what was not. Were the Trois going too far? Was it Picard's relationships? "Dr. Trek" Larry Nemecek and John Champion pick apart TNG's "sex policy." See the original document: Michael Piller TNG sex memo - F...

With Dorothy Fontana working as Associate Producer on Star Trek The Animated Series, she was in the in-house Trek expert when it came to story, continuity and detail. In this letter to Gene Roddenberry, she spells out some of them items that need correction in "One of Our Planets is Missing" and further notes the difficulty of catching problems early with the Filmation workflow. Special guest Doro...

Who was Paramount executive Dick Sylbert, and why was Gene Roddenberry anxious to set the tone of their partnership? This week, a fascinating letter from the development of "The God Thing" in which Gene sets the record straight about what made Trek successful and who's really running the show. See the original document: Gene Roddenberry to Dick Sylbert - November 1975 The Trek Files  Season 3 on M...

Before The Next Generation had premiered, the Star Trek production office was outlining the traits of TNG's chief adversary: the Ferengi. In a memo from Jun 1987, Dorothy Fontana outlines to Gene Roddenberry how some of those storylines might play out and what the Ferengi hierarchy may look like. Here to discuss the memo on this week's show, Dorothy Fontana herself! See the original document: Furt...

Before TNG's premiere, Herb Wright sends a memo in praise of the first draft script of "Code of Honor" to Gene Roddenberry. Here to discuss the pressure cooker of production schedules and just how "bad" episodes get made, Paramount exec Dave Rossi sits in with Larry on this week's Trek Files. See the original document: Code of Honor first draft script notes - April 30, 1987 The Trek Files  Season...

From the very first Star Trek convention in 1972, the prospect of commercial exploitation rubbed some fans the wrong way. In an exchange between Gene Roddenberry and one fan, Cole Whiteman, the economic realities take center stage. See the original document: Convention Profits Letter to Gene Roddenberry - 1972 The Trek Files  Season 3 on Memory Alpha All episodes and documents:  The Trek Files on...

If Star Trek had its battles with NBC standards over content in a prime-time show, it stands to reason there would be just as much concern over a Saturday-morning cartoon. This week, a look at Standards comments on an episode that was never produced along with social guest and TAS insider Fred Bronson. See the original document: A Hole in the Universe - NBC Standards - 1973 The Trek Files  Season...

After NBC rejected Star Trek's first pilot "The Cage," Gene Roddenberry reached out to his friend (and later Trek contributor) Sam Peeples for notes that could possibly salvage the show. Sam offers up his ideas, and we have a TOS insider and friend of both, Dorothy Fontana, this week to discuss Peeples and Trek's early years. See the original document: Sam Peeples notes on The Cage - April 1965 Th...

In the 1970s, Star Trek fans anxiously awaited news about the return of Trek, whether as a feature film or a revived series. Some fans even called for a boycott of Paramount until such time that an announcement was made. What did Gene Roddenberry make of this? Find out on this week's Trek Files. See the original document: STAB Paramount letter - July 1973 The Trek Files  Season 3 on Memory Alpha A...

A creative Star Trek fan wants nothing more than to celebrate the show with his own film version. Paramount's legal team has different ideas, though. Ripped from the headlines, or tale as old as time? This week we're pulling a series of letters from 1968 that show the more things change, the more they stay the same. See the original document: Jeffrey Ferguson fan film letters - December 1968 The T...

The Trek Files welcomes back special guest Fred Bronson who worked as a publicist for a number of shows in the 1970s including Gene Roddenberry's "The Questor Tapes." Fred talks about the high hopes for Questor and its many links to Trek plus his own storied career in network television. See the original document: Questor  publicity - 1974 The Trek Files  Season 3 on Memory Alpha All episodes and...

With the third season of Star Trek starting in a few months, new producer Fred Freiberger updates Gene Roddenberry on the status of developing scripts. Paramount exec and friend of the show Dave Rossi joins us this week to explore the many pitfalls (and triumphs) of TOS's final season. See the original document: Writers memo - May 2, 1968 The Trek Files  Season 3 on Memory Alpha All episodes and d...

Rick Sternbach comes back to The Trek Files to discuss his first TNG technical memo. How would the shields on the new Enterprise work? Rick lets us know how he balanced science and science fiction in the early days with plausible explanations for complex ideas. See the original document: TNG Weapons and Tactics - January 30, 1987 The Trek Files  Season 3 on Memory Alpha All episodes and documents:...

Bob Justman sends a memo to Gene Roddenberry just before TNG's "Encounter at Farpoint" goes in front of the camera. Director Corey Allen has his own approach which Bob reminds Gene may need some oversight. Talking more about director quirks with us this week, returning guest Dave Rossi! See the original document: Corey Allen - Farpoint director notes - April 26, 1987 The Trek Files  Season 3 on Me...

Ever want to know what all the buttons on the bridge of the Enterprise actually do? When Star Trek The Motion Picture was in production, the art department came up with a manual to explain exactly that. This week, meet Rick Sternbach and learn how to fire photon torpedoes! See the original document: Enterprise  Flight Manual - 1978 The Trek Files  Season 3 on Memory Alpha All episodes and document...

The Trek Files welcomes back Fred Bronson this week to tell tales of writing for Star Trek: The Animated Series with his draft for "The Counter-Clock Incident" under then pen-name John Culver. Stick around for stories of visiting Nichelle Nichols' home plus crashing the TOS set! See the original document: The Counter-Clock Incident revised draft - July 31, 1974 The Trek Files  Season 3 on Memory A...

The episode that would become "Menage a Troi" started as a pitch called "Piece of Mind" from Fred Bronson to Gene Roddenberry. Having already scripted one episode of The Animated Series, Fred had an "in" with the TNG production staff and knew that a Lwaxana story would be needed. Our special guest this week is Fred Bronson himself with tales of rewrites, rejected ideas and the importance of work l...

This week, The Trek Files solves a mystery 50 years in the making. Ever since Gary Seven's cat "Isis" took human form in the episode "Assignment Earth," fans have wondered who it was on screen for just a few seconds. Rumors swirled, and as is often the case, they were wrong. Meet the newest member of the Trek family, April Tatro. See the original document: Assignment Earth extras casting - January...

Diversity has always been a hallmark of Star Trek from the written concept to casting to production. In a pair of documents this week, we see notes from Susan Sackett to Gene Roddenberry about audience requests for hispanic crew on the Enterprise followed by Gene's note to Michael Piller about avoiding any "parochial hooray for humans." See the original document: Hispanics on the  Enterprise  - 19...

It wasn't always rosy between Gene Roddenberry and John and Bjo Trimble, even after their mail campaign famously helped "Save Star Trek." Their friendly relationship with the production made them the "go to" source of information for Trek fans everywhere and helped propel Gene's merchandise company, Lincoln Enterprises. Things soured soon after, though, and the Trimbles found themselves closing up...

An early story pitch for Star Trek: The Next Generation gets examined by Larry and special guest Rene Echevarria to start our third season. What makes a story compelling and produceable? What are the compelling hooks that get a writer's attention? Looking at "Winter's End" and Trek that might have been... See the original document: Winter's End story pitch - December 1986 The Trek Files  Season 3...

The letter-writing campaign that saved Star Trek for a third season kicked into high gear in late 1967. What was the best way to approach the network, and how many letters were really sent? And what role did vodka play in getting Star Trek to pass its syndication threshold? Find out when John and Bjo Trimble join Larry again this week for a deep dive into 1960s fandom! See the original document: S...