Eugene Wesley Roddenberry Sr. was an American television screenwriter and producer who created the science fiction series and fictional universe Star Trek. Born in El Paso, Texas, Roddenberry grew up in Los Angeles, where his father was a police officer. Roddenberry flew 89 combat missions in the Army Air Forces during World War II and worked as a commercial pilot after the war. Later, he joined the Los Angeles Police Department and began to write for television.
Star Trek: The Animated Series (TAS) is an American animated science fiction television series created by Gene Roddenberry. It originally aired simply under the title Star Trek, subtitled Created by Gene Roddenberry, on Saturday mornings from September 8, 1973 to October 12, 1974 on NBC, spanning 22 episodes over two seasons. The second series in the Star Trek franchise, it features mostly the same characters as Star Trek: The Original Series. Set in the 23rd century, the series follows the further adventures of the Starship USS Enterprise as it explores the galaxy.
Star Trek: Phase II was the initial working title for what officially became titled Star Trek II, an unproduced American science fiction television series created by Gene Roddenberry as a sequel to the original Star Trek, which had run from 1966 to 1969. The plans for the series were first developed after several failed attempts to create a feature film based on the property, coupled with plans for a Paramount Television Service (PTS) as a fourth broadcast television network in the United States.
David Gerrold is an American science fiction screenwriter and novelist. He wrote the script for the original Star Trek episode "The Trouble with Tribbles", created the Sleestak race on the TV series Land of the Lost, and wrote the novelette "The Martian Child", which won both Hugo and Nebula Awards, and was adapted into a 2007 film starring John Cusack.
"The City on the Edge of Forever" is the twenty-eighth and penultimate episode of the first season of the American science fiction television series Star Trek. It was written by Harlan Ellison; contributors to and/or editors of the script included Steven W. Carabatsos, D. C. Fontana and Gene L. Coon. Gene Roddenberry made the final re-write. The episode was directed by Joseph Pevney and first aired on NBC on April 6, 1967.
"The Trouble with Tribbles" is the fifteenth episode of the second season of the American science fiction television series Star Trek. Written by David Gerrold and directed by Joseph Pevney, it was first broadcast on December 29, 1967. In this comic episode, the starship Enterprise visits a space station that soon becomes overwhelmed by rapidly reproducing small furry creatures called "tribbles".
"Encounter at Farpoint" is the pilot episode and series premiere of the American science fiction television series Star Trek: The Next Generation, which premiered in syndication on September 28, 1987. It was written by D. C. Fontana and Gene Roddenberry and directed by Corey Allen. Roddenberry was the creator of Star Trek, and Fontana was a writer on the original series. It was originally aired as a two-hour TV movie, and subsequent reruns typically split the episode into two parts.
Christine Chapel is a fictional character who appears in all three seasons of the American science fiction television series Star Trek: The Original Series, as well as Star Trek: The Animated Series and the films Star Trek: The Motion Picture and Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home. Portrayed by Majel Barrett, she was the ship's nurse on board the Starfleet starship USS Enterprise. A younger version of Chapel appears in the 2022 series Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, portrayed by Jess Bush.
"Space Seed" is the 22nd episode of the first season of the American science fiction television series Star Trek. It was first broadcast by NBC on February 16, 1967. "Space Seed" was written by Gene L. Coon and Carey Wilber and directed by Marc Daniels.
Janice Rand is a fictional character in the American science fiction television series Star Trek: The Original Series during its first season, as well as three of the Star Trek films. She is the Captain's yeoman on board the USS Enterprise (NCC-1701), and first appeared in the episode "The Man Trap". She had significant roles in the episodes "The Enemy Within", where she fights off an evil version of Captain James T. Kirk; "Charlie X" where a young man with god-like powers falls in love with her; and "Miri" where she is infected with a deadly disease while on an away mission and is kidnapped by jealous children.
Eugene Lee Coon was an American screenwriter, television producer, and novelist. He is best remembered for his work on the original Star Trek as a screenwriter, story editor, and showrunner from the middle of the series' first season to the middle of the second. Along with series creator Gene Roddenberry, Coon is given credit for the show's idealistic tone and for creating several key story and world-building elements that would become important parts of the ongoing franchise.
"The Man Trap" is the first episode of season one of the American science fiction television series Star Trek. Written by George Clayton Johnson and directed by Marc Daniels, it featured design work by Wah Chang and first aired in the United States on September 8, 1966.
Dorothy Catherine Fontana was an American television script writer and story editor, best known for her work on the original Star Trek series.
The first season of the American television science fiction series Star Trek: The Next Generation commenced airing in broadcast syndication in the United States on September 28, 1987, and concluded on May 16, 1988, after 26 episodes were broadcast. Set in the 24th century, the series follows the adventures of the crew of the Starfleet starship Enterprise-D. It was the first live-action television series in the franchise to be broadcast since Star Trek: The Original Series was cancelled in 1969, and the first to feature all new characters. Paramount Television eventually sought the advice of the creator of Star Trek, Gene Roddenberry, who set about creating the new show with mostly former The Original Series staff members. An entirely new cast were sought, which concerned some members of The Original Series crew, as Roddenberry did not want to re-tread the same steps as he had in the first series to the extent that well-known Star Trek aliens such as Vulcans, Klingons and Romulans were banned at first.
The second season of the American science fiction television series Star Trek: The Next Generation commenced airing in broadcast syndication in the United States on November 21, 1988, and concluded on July 17, 1989, after airing 22 episodes. Set in the 24th century, the series follows the adventures of the crew of the Starfleet starship Enterprise-D. Season two featured changes to the main cast, following the departure of Gates McFadden. Diana Muldaur was cast as Dr. Katherine Pulaski for a single season before the return of McFadden in season three. Academy Award winner Whoopi Goldberg also joined the cast after pursuing a role from the producers.
Star Trek: Planet of the Titans, also known as Star Trek: Planet of Titans, is an unproduced film based on Star Trek, which reached the script and design phases of pre-production. Following the success of Star Trek in broadcast syndication during the early 1970s and the popularity of the series at science-fiction conventions, Paramount Studios made several attempts to produce a feature film based upon the series. In 1975, Star Trek: The God Thing was proposed by franchise creator Gene Roddenberry but was not picked up by the studio.
These Are the Voyages is a six-volume non-fiction reference book series by Marc Cushman with Susan Osborn about Star Trek: The Original Series and the subsequent movies/television in the 1970s, published by Jacobs Brown Press. The information revealed inside primarily comes from production documents that were donated by Star Trek creator/producer Gene Roddenberry and show co-producer Robert H. Justman to the UCLA Film and Television Archive.
The development of Spock, a fictional character first introduced in the American science fiction television series Star Trek, began prior to the start of the series. The first known mention of Spock was in a discussion between Gene Roddenberry and Gary Lockwood, where the latter suggested Leonard Nimoy for the role. Roddenberry agreed with the suggestion, and Nimoy became the first choice actor for the part. However, Roddenberry was required to audition other actors for the role. It was offered to both DeForest Kelley and Martin Landau before Nimoy. Nimoy disliked the prosthetic ears he was required to wear, and there were concerns from the studio that they made him appear satanic. Roddenberry fought to keep the character in the second pilot, "Where No Man Has Gone Before" after the rest of the main cast was dropped from the initial pilot, "The Cage".
Arthur Harold Singer was a producer, writer, and story editor in American television from the 1950s into the 1970s. Born in Harrison, New Jersey, he is best known for his work as story editor of the third season of the original series of Star Trek. Working under producer Fred Freiberger, he edited or rewrote 23 of that season's 24 episodes, and got a writer's credit for "Turnabout Intruder", the last episode filmed, which was based on a story by Gene Roddenberry. Like Freiberger, who was also hired by Roddenberry, Singer was unfamiliar with the show when he took the job, despite it having been on the air for a year and a half. It took him some time to get up to speed on the concept and characters, but he was able to bring many scripts and stories up to a producible standard, given the restrictions of time and budget. He left the television industry shortly after his involvement with Star Trek, and died in 1978.
