The Trek Files: A Roddenberry Star Trek Podcast

Gene Roddenberry's longtime executive assistant Susan Sackett joins The Trek Files to discuss two documents a decade apart. First up, the gritty details of the Star Trek office and who is responsible for what expenditures. Then it's onto the early days of The Next Generation when the groundwork was being laid for the new series - over lunch, of course. See the original document: Business affairs 1...

Kicking off season 7 of The Trek Files: an interview with Star Trek TOS multiple-episode director, Ralph Senensky. In this segment, recorded in Ralph's home, we'll hear about "This Side of Paradise," his first assignment on the series, and why directors should never expect praise from their producers. Follow The Trek Files See the original document: Ralph Senensky The Trek Files  Season 7 on Memor...

Three years before Star Trek: The Motion Picture, a fan surveyed hundreds of other Star Trek fans to get a look at their hopes and expectations for the franchise's next phase. To close season six of The Trek Files, Larry welcomes back John Champion to discuss the clues about the first wave of fandom and their unique relationship to the creative forces behind their favorite show. See the original d...

Gerald Fried is back on The Trek Files! The legendary composer sits down with Larry to discuss his time with Star Trek (composing the scores for four episodes) as well as the inherent differences in writing music for Gilligan's Island and the merits of Lost in Space. Our document this week takes a peek behind the curtain as Bob Justman seeks a composer for "Plato's Stepchildren" with his sardonic...

To fill the gap between Star Trek on TV and big screen, a record album was conceived to have various audio essays and interviews with Trek actors "in character." Mark Lenard signed up to play Sarek on a number of topics, and this week we welcome back author Jean Lorrah with her take on characterizing the Vulcan and what she may have contributed. See the original document: Columbia record memo - 19...

Final casting for Star Trek: The Next Generation was happening in spring of 1987. For the role of Wesley Crusher, young actors were given sample script pages and put on tape for the producers to make their decisions. This week, Larry is joined by one of those actor hopefuls, The Trek Files producer John Champion! See the original document: Wesley Crusher casting - 1987 The Trek Files  Season 6 on...

A correspondence between composer Gerald Fried and Star Trek Producer Bob Justman regarding music for "The Paradise Syndrome" kicks off this week's The Trek Files. We are honored to welcome the talented (and humorous!) Gerald Fried himself to talk about writing music for Star Trek and a myriad of other iconic productions. See the original document: Letter to Gerald Fried - June 5, 1968 The Trek Fi...

After Gene Roddenberry's death in 1991, letters of condolence to Majel Barrett Roddenberry flooded in from luminaries around the world, including from former President Ronald Reagan. Helping Majel reply to those letters was a close friend. The Trek Files welcomes back Dr. Harrison Solow to talk about her relationship with the Roddenberry family. See the original document: Condolence letter from Ro...

A memo from Gene Roddenberry outlines some changes and areas of concern for Star Trek's regular characters as they head into the show's third season. Spock, in particular, poses a challenge, and this week The Trek Files welcomes back Jean Lorrah to discuss fandom's take on the famous Vulcan and how fan fiction filled in the gaps. See the original document: Star Trek  Continuing Characters - 1968 T...

In 1991 a book proposal made its way to Gene Roddenberry's desk that he should be included in "Portraits of American Genius." This week, Dr. Harrison Solow (wife of the late Herb Solow, Desilu Studios' Executive in Charge of Production) talks about the pitch and her growing friendship with Gene, Majel, Herb and others in the Star Trek production staff. See the original document: Portraits of Ameri...

As the 25th anniversary of Star Trek was playing out on big and small screens and in the press, Gene Roddenberry wrote to Dan Madsen, President of the Star Trek Fan Club, to reflect on Trek's fandom and influence. Dan joins The Trek Files this week to tell his story of going from fan to professional. See the original document: Letter from Gene Roddenberry to Dan Madsen - 1991 The Trek Files  Seaso...

Dorothy Fontana's story for "Journey to Babel" introduced the world to Spock's parents Karek and Amanda (as named in her first draft). The family drama gained the interest of fans at the time, and even launched a few writing careers in its wake. Jean Lorrah, novelist, professor and Star Trek fan-fiction author, joins The Trek Files to tell her story. See the original document: Journey to Babel sto...

Dan Madsen joins The Trek Files again to discuss a letter from Gene Roddenberry about Lincoln Enterprises. It's a look into fan psychology and the "mission" of Lincoln to keep Star Trek in the public eye while a new production was still potentially years away. See the original document: Letter from Gene Roddenberry re: Lincoln Enterprises - ca. 1975 The Trek Files  Season 6 on Memory Alpha All epi...

A short memo from Michael Piller to Rick Berman points out the necessity of filling the Conn position on the Enterprise bridge with someone worthy after Wesley Crusher leaves. Returning guest Lolita Fatjo talks about Piller's contributions to TNG and his legacy. See the original document: Conn Position memo - July 23, 1990 The Trek Files  Season 6 on Memory Alpha All episodes and documents:  The T...

An earnest fan letter to Gene Roddenberry in 1971 kicks off today's discussion with Star Trek fan-turned-actor Noah Averbach-Katz. Get the story of Noah's immersion into the Trek world and how he sees the fandom reacting to today's stories. See the original document: Fan letter to Gene Roddenberry - 1971 The Trek Files  Season 6 on Memory Alpha All episodes and documents:  The Trek Files on Memory...

The third season TOS episode "Plato's Stepchildren" may be remembered for its famous kiss between Kirk and Uhura, but there was a profound effect on a young viewer that led to a lifetime in fandom. Hear Dan Madsen's story and reflections on the impact Star Trek has on innumerable fans who are inspired by its stories. See the original document: Plato's Stepchildren production documents - 1968 The T...

Three simple slips of paper reveal the quick ascendance of an important addition to the Star Trek: The Next Generation production team - Jeri Taylor. Joining The Trek Files this week to talk about her contributions to the franchise is Jeri's friend and former assistant Lolita Fatjo. Follow the Voyager Documentary on Twitter. Indiegogo campaign begins March 2021. See the original document: Star Tre...

While aspiring writers hoped to get a foot in the door with Star Trek: The Next Generation, it was just as tough finding a job in Hollywood a generation or two prior. Gene Roddenberry sent back some discouraging notes to two of his colleagues in 1959, and today we have script supervisor Lolita Fatjo helping us connect the dots with TNG's open submission program. See the original document: Gene Rod...

In 1976, a fan sent a tongue-in-cheek "love letter" to Majel Barrett Roddenberry (with a nod to the Great Bird, of course). On this week's show, we're happy to welcome back Noah Averback-Katz from Star Trek: Discovery to discuss what it means to be in a Trek couple. See the original document: Love letter to Majel Roddenberry - 1976 The Trek Files  Season 6 on Memory Alpha All episodes and document...

This week, we're revisiting the document that spells out the new alien species devised for the Star Trek TOS episode "Journey to Babel." We'll direct our attention to the Andorians with the help of Noah Averbach-Katz, who played Ryn on "Star Trek: Discovery," to learn what it takes to become a blue-skinned warrior. See the original document: Journey to Babel makeup-costume note - 1967 The Trek Fil...

We dig back into the Gene Roddenberry fan letter bag for another round of wholesome 1970s Star Trek adoration. These letters address everything from props to music to a serious take on the roles of women if Trek is to make the leap to a new life on film. See the original document: Fan letters to Gene Roddenberry - 1975 The Trek Files  Season 6 on Memory Alpha All episodes and documents:  The Trek...

Gene Roddenberry was impressed enough with Franz Joseph's proposed technical manual that he suggested contacting Lincoln Enterprises - Gene's own company for merchandising Star Trek. Joseph complied and sent along a few more details as well as concerns about the business relationship. See the original document: Letter from Franz Joseph to Lincoln Enterprises - 1973 The Trek Files  Season 6 on Memo...

In 1973, Franz Joseph was a retired industrial designer with a daughter who was a huge Star Trek fan. As he learned more about the fandom, he found a good place to use his talents by converting what he saw on screen into technical drawings. That sparked an idea he shared with Gene Roddenberry in 1973. The Trek Files welcomes Karen Schnaubelt, Joseph's daughter, to share the rest of the story. See...

In the second part of our conversation with Bill Kraft, we'll get more details about the Post Office decision to break years of tradition and run an entertainment franchise on a stamp, plus the ability to "stuff the ballots." See the original document: Citizen Stamp Advisory Committee - 1998 The Trek Files  Season 6 on Memory Alpha All episodes and documents:  The Trek Files on Memory Alpha Visit...

When Star Trek fandom meant connecting through mailed newsletters, some fans were lobbying for an official Star Trek stamp from the U.S. Postal Service. Bill Kraft from the original Enterprise Stamp Committee joins The Trek Files to give us a look at the long journey to make the stamp a reality. See the original document: Star Trek  stamp campaign - October 1995 The Trek Files  Season 6 on Memory...