The Trek Files: A Roddenberry Star Trek Podcast

We continue to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Star Trek: The Animated Series, this week with a look at some of the stories that did not make it into production! Joining us to speculate on what could have been for the animated Enterprise crew is Aaron Harvey, co-author of "Star Trek: The Official Guide to the Animated Series." See the documents: Unproduced Star Trek Animated pitches - 1973 The T...

Longtime Star Trek journalist and promotions writer Tim Gaskill drops by as we revisit a letter from the Nimoyan Fellowship to Gene's attorney. It's another story of a fan who had a run in with the business side of things on this week's episode of The Trek Files. See the documents: Nimoyan Fellowship letter - June 1968 The Trek Files Season 11 on Memory Alpha All episodes and documents: The Trek F...

We're glad to welcome Luanne Fortier back to The Trek Files to continue her stories about the William Shatner Letter Exchange. This conversation kicks off with Star Trek's transition to an animated series and all of Shatner's anticipated appearances in a post-Star Trek world. See the documents: Letter from Dorothy Fontana - 1973 The Trek Files Season 11 on Memory Alpha All episodes and documents:...

In the "letters and stamps" days of Star Trek fandom, between the original series and the Motion Picture, industrious fans connected with each other as "pen friends" through organizations like the William Shatner Letter Exchange. Luanne Fortier, a WSLE founder, joins The Trek Files to look back at those early days of celebrating their favorite series. See the documents: William Shatner Letter Exch...

In 1968, David Gerrold pitched a story to Star Trek called "Bem," and while it went unproduced for TOS, the story would find new life in animated form. Hear the full story from David himself, our special guest to kick off the 11th season of The Trek Files! See the documents: "Bem" Contract Request - 1968 The Trek Files Season 11 on Memory Alpha All episodes and documents: The Trek Files on Memory...

While Star Trek: The Animated Series was winding down, Gene Roddenberry was developing what might have been his next animated sci-fi series (with a healthy dose of Star Trek influence). In our season finale, Aaron Waltke joins The Trek Files again to discuss Gene's vision for "Starship" and the many parallels to getting an animated to fly today. See the documents: Starship (Animated) - September 1...

When Star Trek premiered as an animated series in 1973, Gene Roddenberry and Dorothy Fontana assured fans that the new medium wouldn't affect the importance of the storytelling. A half century later, we are joined by Star Trek: Prodigy co-producer Aaron Waltke to discuss what has changed in the animation process and what has stayed the same in bringing Trek's core values to a whole new audience. R...

From humanist philosophy to religion to our future with technology. Gene Roddenberry covered a lot of ground in the days of his college lecture tours. We're joined again by Star Trek motion graphics director Tim Peel to examine the deep side of Gene's thoughts in the years between Trek on TV and at the movies. See the documents: Hastings College speech - 1979 The Trek Files Season 10 on Memory Alp...

Office politics have a certain timeless quality. In 1967, Leonard Nimoy found himself battling the higher-ups for the simple necessities to fulfill his fan mail obligations. On this week's The Trek Files, we explore the battle of memos with return guest Daren Dochterman and a very special reading! See the documents: Leonard Nimoy fan mail memos - 1967 The Trek Files Season 10 on Memory Alpha All e...

A document from 1985 written by Mike Okuda addresses no less than the entire look and feel of Star Trek's graphics and the logic of starship display design. This week, we examine a portion of that pitch with the talented Tim Peel, heir apparent to Okuda's work as the director of motion graphics for all Star Trek since Discovery took flight in 2017! See the documents: Star Trek graphics, instrument...

A memo from 1989 illustrates a core concern in Star Trek's past and present: representation in the future. We're thrilled to welcome back Cirroc Lofton to discuss the ways Star Trek broke ground and ways the production process can best evolve. See the documents: Hispanics on the E - 1989 The Trek Files Season 10 on Memory Alpha All episodes and documents: The Trek Files on Memory Alpha Visit the T...

In the midst of a writer's strike, production on Star Trek shut down. Sound familiar? That was in 1988, delaying the second year of TNG and causing the season to be shortened. Cirroc Lofton joins The Trek Files to discuss big changes in Trek, changing technology, and the desired outcome of strikes! See the documents: The Child call sheet - 1988 The Trek Files Season 10 on Memory Alpha All episodes...

Does the Enterprise need a helmsman? What about a navigator? In the "blue sky" phase of developing TNG, David Gerrold again raised the big questions about computers, A.I., and the future. Joining us again to look back at the ideas that took root and those that didn't, Thomas Marrone from Star Trek: Online returns to The Trek Files. See the documents:  Enterprise D bridge roles memo - 1986 The Trek...

You can't always risk the life of the Captain of the Enterprise. That was the thought that inspired the "contact team" when playing the concept for "Star Trek: The Next Generation." What was envisioned as a kind of SWAT for Starfleet didn't materialize then, but they may have had a life by the time "Enterprise" took flight. Thomas Marrone joins The Trek Files again to discuss an early TNG developm...

In the earliest days of conceptualizing Vejur for Star Trek: The Motion Picture, Gene Roddenberry, Robert Wise, and more of the brain trust met to hash our their ideas. Helping us to parse the "bonkers" document of their meeting, Daren Dochterman joins us again to shed more light on bringing Trek to the big screen. See the documents: Robert Wise, Gene Roddenberry meeting notes - 1978 The Trek File...

With time ticking before the premiere of Star Trek: The Next Generation, the production requested bids from some of the top special effects companies to bring the Enterprise-D to life. This week, Daren Dochterman joins The Trek Files to talk about breakneck production pace, state of the art effects, and the business side of fantasy. See the documents: Enterprise D model plans - 1987 The Trek Files...

It's time for The Trek Files to dive again into Gene Roddenberry's fan mail. From the mid-1970s, kids make up a huge portion of the Star Trek fandom, and in letters to Gene they ask for everything from blueprints to answers for their deepest trivia questions. See the documents: Gene Roddenberry fan mail - 1975 The Trek Files Season 10 on Memory Alpha All episodes and documents: The Trek Files on M...

Bob Justman busily pitched ideas in the earliest days of TNG, including the reworking of a classic story. It may not have made it to screen exactly as he saw it, but certain story elements did stick around. Ben Robinson joins The Trek Files to talk about Bob's contributions and "The Most Dangerous Game." See the documents: The Most Dangerous Game - 1986 The Trek Files Season 10 on Memory Alpha All...

Continuing our discussion about Star Trek: The Motion Picture Director's Edition, producer David C. Fein sheds more light on the complications that left TMP unfinished from 1979. In a letter from the period, one of the many contributors to the Enterprise graphics clarifies the work done for Gene Roddenberry. See the documents: Stowmar letter to Gene Roddenberry - 1979 The Trek Files Season 10 on M...

Want to program your own Enterprise bridge monitor? For the home computer hobbyist in 1980, Softside magazine published a glimpse behind the scenes of Star Trek: The Motion Picture along with the code to create bridge monitor graphics! The Trek Files looks back at the groundbreaking design work of TMP with David C. Fein, producer of the ST:TMP Director's Edition. See the documents:  Softside magaz...

Like many of his generation, Gene Roddenberry served in the military. This week, The Trek Files examines a letter of promotion from the War Department which kicks off a discussion about military influence on Star Trek from ship design to organization to writing and themes with our special guest, Thomas Marrone. See the documents: Gene Roddenberry promotion letter - 1945 The Trek Files Season 10 on...

A never-before seen story pitch for the abandoned Star Trek Phase II project! Decker is caught in a two-dimensional world while Kirk and Xon race to get him out. Special guest Ben Robinson returns to The Trek Files to help navigate the roads not taken for Star Trek in the late 1970s! See the documents: Breakthrough story outline - 1977 The Trek Files Season 10 on Memory Alpha All episodes and docu...

It starts with a simple suggestion from a writer: the Enterprise should have different armaments than what was seen in 1966. That kicks off a round of discussions that lead to the designer to bring the idea to life, keeping in mind all the requirements of production. This week, John Eaves returns to The Trek Files to reveal more details about his work on Star Trek. See the documents: Enterprise Ar...

The question in 1986 was how to make a Star Trek show for the next generation that still had familiar concepts and characters. Producer Bob Justman sent a flurry of memos with some ideas that stuck and others that didn't see the light of day. Larry Nemecek and John Champion discuss those creative decisions and how they affect the modern Trek landscape on this week's episode of The Trek Files. See...

The Riker walk. The Riker sit. They all had an origin that took the character from "a little smarmy" to a "Gary Cooper" type to being fully inhabited by our special guest: Jonathan Frakes. The Trek Files goes back to the origins with a special reading of the very audition sides that landed Frakes the role of the iconic William Riker. See the documents: Riker-Wesley audition sides - March 24, 1987...