The Trek Files: A Roddenberry Star Trek Podcast

How much do suggestions from fans influence Star Trek? In late 1986, during pre-production on The Next Generation, this 11-point memo from Gene Roddenberry circulated among the staff. In it, a consensus of ideas from a recent convention gave food for thought as the plans for a new Star Trek series took shape. See the original document: Fan Suggestions memo - December 1986 The Trek Files Season 4 on Memory Alpha All episodes and documents: The Trek Files on Memory Alpha Visit the Trekland site for behind-the-scenes access and exclusive merchandise. The conversation continues on Discord with live chats and the Roddenberry Podcasts community! Join today!

A selection of fan letters from some of Star Trek's youngest - and most ardent - fans from 1975. Some have specific technical questions, some want merchandise and some just need to let Gene Roddenberry know exactly how deeply their fandom runs. The Trek Files looks at how much has changed and stayed the same since the pre-internet days of fandom. See the original document: Star Trek fan letters - 1975 1 The Trek Files Season 4 on Memory Alpha All episodes and documents: The Trek Files on Memory Alpha Visit the Trekland site for behind-the-scenes access and exclusive merchandise. The conversation continues on Discord with live chats and the Roddenberry Podcasts community! Join today!

Gene Roddenberry catches up with his friend, fellow TV producer Sam Rolfe, in this a letter from November of 1965. In it, Gene talks about the promise of a few pilots he's done such as "The Long Hunt of April Savage," "Police Story" and "Star Trek" which could make it to NBC's schedule the next fall. There's also mention of some Doc Savage/Ocean's Eleven show Bruce Geller is producing for Desilu. He hasn't read it, but the buzz is good. See the original document: Gene Roddenberry letter to Sam Rolfe - November 1965 The Trek Files Season 4 on Memory Alpha All episodes and documents: The Trek Files on Memory Alpha Visit the Trekland site for behind-the-scenes access and exclusive merchandise. The conversation continues on Discord with live chats and the Roddenberry Podcasts community! Join today!

In 1967, Dorothy Fontana created the Tellarites for the TOS episode "Journey to Babel" with a few notes about their homeworld and physical characteristics. Fast forward more than fifty years and the Tellarites are still part of Star Trek lore on Discovery. To celebrate this find and talk about their snout-nosed origins, Larry welcomes our first "Disco" guest and Tellarite actor, Harry Judge! See the original document: Journey to Babel makeup-costume note - September 1967 The Trek Files Season 4 on Memory Alpha All episodes and documents: The Trek Files on Memory Alpha Visit the Trekland site for behind-the-scenes access and exclusive merchandise. The conversation continues on Discord with live chats and the Roddenberry Podcasts community! Join today!

Two-time Emmy-winning director Robert Butler - at 91 the only non-actor creative still with us from “The Cage” - joins Larry Nemecek in a maxed-out room at San Diego Comic Con 2019. Discussions about the casting of "The Cage" plus Gene Roddenberry's inexperience as Star Trek's first pilot went before the cameras and how Butler sees the "new" Pike some 55 years later. It’s a rare moment of history you don’t want to miss! The Trek Files Season 4 on Memory Alpha All episodes and documents: The Trek Files on Memory Alpha Visit the Trekland site for behind-the-scenes access and exclusive merchandise. The conversation continues on Discord with live chats and the Roddenberry Podcasts community! Join today!

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 list - 1988 The Trek Files Season 3 on Memory Alpha All episodes and documents: The Trek Files on Memory Alpha Visit the Trekland site for behind-the-scenes access and exclusive merchandise. The conversation continues on Discord with live chats and the Roddenberry Podcasts community! Join today!

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 All episodes and documents: The Trek Files on Memory Alpha Visit the Trekland site for behind-the-scenes access and exclusive merchandise. The conversation continues on Discord with live chats and the Roddenberry Podcasts community! Join today!

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 Con 1973 The Trek Files Season 3 on Memory Alpha All episodes and documents: The Trek Files on Memory Alpha Visit the Trekland site for behind-the-scenes access and exclusive merchandise. The conversation continues on Discord with live chats and the Roddenberry Podcasts community! Join today!

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 - February 1991 The Trek Files Season 3 on Memory Alpha All episodes and documents: The Trek Files on Memory Alpha Visit the Trekland site for behind-the-scenes access and exclusive merchandise. The conversation continues on Discord with live chats and the Roddenberry Podcasts community! Join today!

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 Dorothy Fontana joins The Trek Files this week to discuss her work on TAS! See the original document: Dorothy Fontana notes One of Our Planets is Missing - 1973 The Trek Files Season 3 on Memory Alpha All episodes and documents: The Trek Files on Memory Alpha Visit the Trekland site for behind-the-scenes access and exclusive merchandise. The conversation continues on Discord with live chats and the Roddenberry Podcasts community! Join today!

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 Memory Alpha All episodes and documents: The Trek Files on Memory Alpha Visit the Trekland site for behind-the-scenes access and exclusive merchandise. The conversation continues on Discord with live chats and the Roddenberry Podcasts community! Join today!

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: Further notes on the Ferengi - June 22, 1987 The Trek Files Season 3 on Memory Alpha All episodes and documents: The Trek Files on Memory Alpha Visit the Trekland site for behind-the-scenes access and exclusive merchandise. The conversation continues on Discord with live chats and the Roddenberry Podcasts community! Join today!

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 3 on Memory Alpha All episodes and documents: The Trek Files on Memory Alpha Visit the Trekland site for behind-the-scenes access and exclusive merchandise. The conversation continues on Discord with live chats and the Roddenberry Podcasts community! Join today!

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 Memory Alpha Visit the Trekland site for behind-the-scenes access and exclusive merchandise. The conversation continues on Discord with live chats and the Roddenberry Podcasts community! Join today!

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 3 on Memory Alpha All episodes and documents: The Trek Files on Memory Alpha Visit the Trekland site for behind-the-scenes access and exclusive merchandise. The conversation continues on Discord with live chats and the Roddenberry Podcasts community! Join today!

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 The Trek Files Season 3 on Memory Alpha All episodes and documents: The Trek Files on Memory Alpha Visit the Trekland site for behind-the-scenes access and exclusive merchandise. The conversation continues on Discord with live chats and the Roddenberry Podcasts community! Join today!

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 All episodes and documents: The Trek Files on Memory Alpha Visit the Trekland site for behind-the-scenes access and exclusive merchandise. The conversation continues on Discord with live chats and the Roddenberry Podcasts community! Join today!

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 Trek Files Season 3 on Memory Alpha All episodes and documents: The Trek Files on Memory Alpha Visit the Trekland site for behind-the-scenes access and exclusive merchandise. The conversation continues on Discord with live chats and the Roddenberry Podcasts community! Join today!

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 documents: The Trek Files on Memory Alpha Visit the Trekland site for behind-the-scenes access and exclusive merchandise. The conversation continues on Discord with live chats and the Roddenberry Podcasts community! Join today!

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 documents: The Trek Files on Memory Alpha Visit the Trekland site for behind-the-scenes access and exclusive merchandise. The conversation continues on Discord with live chats and the Roddenberry Podcasts community! Join today!