The Trek Files: A Roddenberry Star Trek Podcast

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 magazine - May 1980

The Trek Files Season 10 on Memory Alpha

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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 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 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 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!

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 Armament - 1986

The Trek Files Season 10 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 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 documents: Star Trek TNG Writer Bible memos - 1986

The Trek Files Season 10 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 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

The Trek Files Season 10 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!

What changes and what stays the same? That was the core question for the earliest steps in shaping Star Trek: The Next Generation. Star Trek illustrator/designer John Eaves stops by The Trek Files to help us chart the many ways that sequel series need to carry off that difficult balancing act.

See the documents: TNG Writers/Directors Guide - 1987

The Trek Files Season 10 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!

Looking back again at Star Trek: The Experience in Las Vegas, Gary Goddard joins The Trek Files to discuss the changes that occurred along the long development path as well as the joys of (and complicated tech behind) "beaming up."

See the documents: Star Trek: The Experience promotional images

The Trek Files Season 10 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!

"Star Trek: Picard" production designer Dave Blass joins us again, this time to look at a document from the first attempt to bring Star Trek back to TV. Familiar refrains from 1977 ring true today about Trek's "perfect" characters and the realism of the story's drama.

See the documents: Star Trek II Writers-Directors Guide - 1977

The Trek Files Season 10 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 returns for season 10 with special guest Jonathan Frakes! We look at two call sheets, one from TNG "The Offspring" and the other from "Star Trek: Picard," to kick off a conversation about Jonathan's directing career and how it stacks up against playing William Riker.

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See the documents - "The Offspring" call sheet - 1989

Visit Dr. Trek - larrynemecek.com

The Trek Files Season 10 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!