On this episode of the Sofa King Podcast, we release our inner Trekkies about the creator of Star Trek, Gene Roddenberry. His story is a wild one! His show is filled with a future that explores the possibility of a utopian earth with no war, hunger, trouble, or strife. But his own life was far from that. In World War II, he learned to fly and volunteered to join 394th Bomb Squadron, flying the B-17 Flying Fortress. In his time in the Air Force and after as a commercial pilot, he survived three deadly crashes.

After the final crash, he decided he wanted to be a writer and moved to LA, where he became a cop to pay the bills. After an endless Hollywood hustle of failed pilots and scripts nobody wanted, he dreamed up Star Trek. It was a futuristic look a vessel of exploration, helmed by a diverse crew. It included the first African American woman on prime time television and even featured a Russian crew member in the height of the cold war. But all was not utopia on the set either.

There was Gene Roddenberry’s love triangle with cast members. Then, there was the way the writers all quit, claiming he store their ideas and constant battles with the studio. He created the world’s most fan-loved sci-fi universe, but it was not without a lot of conflict, romance, and heart break.

 

Visit Our Sources:

https://theoatmeal.com/comics/plane

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gene_Roddenberry#Early_life_and_career

https://www.startrek.com/database_article/roddenberry

https://variety.com/2021/film/news/star-trek-gene-roddenberry-biopic-1235044949/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pan_Am_Flight_121

https://www.inc.com/kevin-daum/21-gene-roddenberry-quotes-that-inspire-a-great-future.html

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aW8tKl_HOeo

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aW8tKl_HOeo

https://www.newyorker.com/tech/annals-of-technology/the-enduring-lessons-of-star-trek