The Trek Files: A Roddenberry Star Trek Podcast

The title says it all. David Gerrold shared his parting words with Gene Roddenberry upon leaving production of Star Trek: The Next Generation. It was a bittersweet moment preceded by conflict. David joins The Trek Files to talk about the state of TNG's production at the time, his frustrations with backstage politics, and the desire to leave on a high note. Don't miss our deep look into the tumult...

Between Star Trek the Motion Picture and The Next Generation, Gene Roddenberry was still at work crafting new TV show concepts. In 1981, he turned his attention to a melding of real world science and speculative futurism with "Breakthrough." We welcome producer/documentarian Jeff Stepp (The UnXplained: Mysteries of the Universe with William Shatner) to the Trek Files to help determine where Gene w...

Laurence Luckinbill continues his conversation with The Trek Files, reminiscing about Star Trek V and sharing a passage from his new book, "Affective Memories." Hear about his friendship with William Shatner and DeForest Kelley, the trouble with alien horses, and why "The Final Frontier" is one of the great Star Trek movies. Document and additional references: Star Trek V call sheets - 1988 part 2...

The Trek Files gets a look inside the production of Star Trek V: The Final Frontier with none other than the man who brought Sybok to life, Laurence Luckinbill. The multi-award winning actor shares his insights into his spiritual connection with Sybok, competing angles on the character, and the difference between Star Trek and Star Wars. Document and additional references: Star Trek V call sheets...

Celebrating 40 years since the release of "The Search for Spock," The Trek Files goes deep behind-the-scenes with someone who spent as much time on Star Trek movie sets as any of the stars. Special guest Phil Weyland was a stand-in for DeForest Kelley and William Shatner and had a front-row seat for all the challenges and triumphs of the TOS movies. Hear about everything from deflated budgets to i...

Kicking off the 12th season of The Trek Files, we're taking a look back at planning Star Trek's third season in 1968. Bob Justman sent a memo in February of that year to Gene Roddenberry with his suggestions of which cast members should be kept and at what rate. Joining us to discuss the memo is someone from that very cast: Walter Koenig who you know as "Chekov!" Document and additional references...

Wrapping up our 11th season, The Trek Files is proud to welcome Walter Koenig to the show to look back at his own involvement in Star Trek TAS as a writer. Stay tuned for the revelations about Walter's pitch (and subsequent rejection) from TNG, shared here for the first time! See the documents : Star Trek premise (TAS) - 1973 Visit the Trekland site for behind-the-scenes access and exclusive merch...

Ben Robinson returns to The Trek Files for another look at some of the roads not taken when Star Trek: The Next Generation was in development. This time, the complexities of bringing Wesley/Lesley Crusher to life and how TNG could have broken new ground in 1987. See the documents: TNG Character Relationships - 1986 The Trek Files Season 11 on Memory Alpha All episodes and documents: The Trek Files...

The Trek Files revisits an early document from Star Trek: The Next Generation's development. David Gerrold sketched out a guide to how the main characters would relate to each other, and in this excerpt, focuses on Deanna Troi's special talent as a telepath. Ben Robinson joins us to look back at the Trek that might have been! See the documents: TNG Character Relationships - 1986   The Trek Files S...

Continuing our conversation about Gene's Star Trek III memo, we are thrilled to welcome Eugene Roddenberry to share his insights into his father's notes! Examining Vulcan mysticism and how those "small feathers" make a big difference in Star Trek storytelling on a can't miss episode of The Trek Files! See the documents: Star Trek III final draft notes - 1983 The Trek Files Season 11 on Memory Alph...

While developing "The Next Generation," Gene Roddenberry was also fielding notes on the next Star Trek feature film "The Final Frontier." Our featured document highlights some of the strong misgivings Gene had about the script and story, and we pick apart the areas where he may have missed the mark or was right on target. See the documents: Star Trek V story memo The Trek Files Season 11 on Memory...

With Gene Roddenberry relegated to a consultant role on the Star Trek feature films, the "Great Bird" still had strong opinions about the shape of each sequel. In the first part of our look at a memo from 1983, Gene lays out his concerns around keeping Trek's format intact and his problems with destroying the Enterprise. See the documents: Star Trek III final draft notes - 1983 The Trek Files Seas...

The faster Star Trek: The Next Generation ramped up production for its first season, a very real crisis loomed: they didn't have enough scripts. Bob Justman wrote to Gene Roddenberry in no uncertain terms about the production's needs, and we've got Mike DeMeritt to help us pick apart the details. See the documents: New Writers memo - 1987 The Trek Files Season 11 on Memory Alpha All episodes and d...

One year before the American bicentennial celebration, Gene Roddenberry and Wilton Dillon from the Smithsonian Institution shred a friendly correspondence. We welcome back Margaret Weitekamp - almost 50 years to the day since the "Big E" was shipped from LA to DC - to further discuss the importance of pop-culture in the country's preeminent collection of historical artifacts. See the documents: Le...

We are thrilled to welcome Margaret Weitekamp, Curator and Department Chair of the Smithsonian National Air & Space Museum, to discuss science fiction's role in the story of space flight. A 1972 letter from Gene Roddenberry to Fred Durant, Assistant Director of NASM, underlines the cultural impact of shows like Star Trek and the importance of heroic stories in garnering public support. See the doc...

As The Trek Files continues to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Star Trek: The Animated series, we look back at a rather pointed letter from Dorothy Fontana about the draft for "Eye of the Beholder." Aaron Harvey joins us again as we reveal a newly discovered detail about the episode's development! See the documents: Eye of the Beholder - September 21, 1973 The Trek Files Season 11 on Memory Alph...

It might seem like a given that a TV series must be written to fit a budget. In the early days of "Star Trek: The Next Generation," a serious concern between Gene Roddenberry and Bob Justman was to keep the scripts under control. Returning guest Mike DeMeritt joins The Trek Files to help parse the intersection of creativity and commerce. See the documents: Writing to Series Budget memo - 1987 The...

What exactly is the internal physiology of a Klingon, or a Horta, or a Tholian? In 1975, an enterprising undergrad wrote to Gene Roddenberry to get some answers. Today, we've got educator and Star Trek science consultant Mohamed Noor with us to talk about the intersection of fact and fiction. See the documents: College of the Pacific letter - 1974 The Trek Files Season 11 on Memory Alpha All episo...

We're joined again by Luanne Fortier to share her stories about fandom in the 1970s. This time, the Star Trek stars come to town when William Shatner goes LIVE with an album of his college tour, and Luanne reminisces about Gene Roddenberry himself on stage. See the documents: William Shatner LIVE - 1977 The Trek Files Season 11 on Memory Alpha All episodes and documents: The Trek Files on Memory A...

As Star Trek was getting ready for a return to television, Dorothy Fontana was teaching a class to aspiring writers. One of those students, Robert Coyle, pitched his own animated Trek adventure and got multiple lessons along the way in writing for television and the hash business of production. Paul joins The Trek Files to tell his story! See the documents: Point of Extinction story pitch - 1973 T...

It's time for another look into Gene Roddenberry's mail bag! This episode, we've got a range from 1971 - 1975, everything from an up-and-coming student writer to a pilot who claims to have unlocked the secrets to Star Trek tech! See the documents: Fan letters to Gene Roddenberry - 1971-1975 The Trek Files Season 11 on Memory Alpha All episodes and documents: The Trek Files on Memory Alpha Visit th...

Star Trek may have broken a lot of ground on television, but the marketing of the show went boldly into new frontiers as well. A document aimed at fanzine publishers marks the transition to an "official" newsletter in what we might today call a bit of viral marketing. Tim Gaskill joins us again to discuss the ways Star Trek reaches its fans. See the documents: Star Trek Enterprise fanzine letter -...

Our 250th episode deserves a special guest, and we've got Star Trek: Lower Decks creator Mike McMahan for a bonus-length chat! We cover the history of animated Star Trek to the threads that connect TAS to modern stories, and we may get to the bottom of why there are no Tellarites in Lower Decks. Don't miss this highly animated conversation! See the documents: Star Trek Animated Fan Club Newsletter...

David Gerrold visits The Trek Files again, this time to discuss the development of a story that didn't make it to TNG but found new life as a fan film, "Blood and Fire." Along the way, we revisit the personalities and controversies that led to the real chaos on the bridge. See the documents: Blood and Fire story by David Gerrold The Trek Files  Season 11 on Memory Alpha All episodes and documents:...

Continuing our look at the creative process that brought Star Trek: The Animated Series to life, we welcome back Aaron Harvey for another dive into unproduced story pitches. Gene Roddenberry himself gets into the mix with one (and a half) pitches that apparently don't pass Dorothy Fontana's scrutiny. See the documents: Unroduced Star Trek Animated pitches - 1973 The Trek Files Season 11 on Memory...