The Trek Files: A Roddenberry Star Trek Podcast

Twenty years after Star Trek broke new ground on television, the format was revived for a new generation. Dorothy Fontana sent a memo to Gene Roddenberry outlining the ways that women characters needed to grow and evolve. Fran Taylor from SyFy Sistas joins The Trek Files to discuss how those issues looked in 1966 vs 1986.

See the original document: Sisterhood memo - 1986

The Trek Files Season 8 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 simple memo secured Ralph Senensky for his third outing as a Star Trek TOS director. Today on The Trek Files, Senensky returns to discuss "Obsession" and the struggles to find the right words in the script for "Return to Tomorrow."

See the original document: Director Contract Request - September 29, 1967

The Trek Files Season 8 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!

Anyone who knows Star Trek has a passing familiarity with the contents of Starfleet's Operating Orders - particularly the all-important Prime Directive. Our document from early in The Next Generation is the perfect subject to welcome back special guest and space-law expert Mclee Kerolle.

See the original document: Starfleet Operating Orders - 1987

The Trek Files Season 8 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!

Remember that Gene Roddenberry TV series in the late '60s that featured motorcycles? Well, it never happened, but not because Gene and the sales manager from Cosmopolitan Motors weren't trying for it - and for a Star Trek tie-in. Hear the details and speculation when special guest Dave Rossi stops by The Trek Files.

See the original document: Cosmopolitan Motors - April 1968

The Trek Files Season 8 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 variety of letters to Gene Roddenberry reveal the state of the fandom in the years when Star Trek was dormant but anticipation for a new project was high. The variety of ages and emotions are the topic on this week's The Trek Files with guest John Champion.

See the original document: Fan correspondence - 1971-1975

The Trek Files Season 8 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 young fan writes to Gene Roddenberry about the inspiration she found in Star Trek and the concerns she has about the widening political and social "generation gap." Today, we welcome Fran Taylor, a Trek fan from the very beginning and co-founder of SyFy Sistas, to talk about fandom then and now and finding inspiration on the Enterprise.

See the original document: Generation Gap letter - 1971

The Trek Files Season 8 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!

Follow the SyFy Sistas

The more things change, the more they stay the same. Scheduling the workload for a show like Star Trek looked much the same way in 1968 as it did in 1988 and beyond. This week, The Trek Files welcomes back David Livingston to help us peer behind the curtain at the relationship between producers and directors.

See the original document: Star Trek directorial commitments - 1968

The Trek Files Season 8 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 a speech, Gene Roddenberry proposes a set of laws in the future that will supersede the limits of modern nations, replacing them with "Metalaw" that makes humans primarily citizens of Earth. The Trek Files welcomes Mclee Kerolle from The Space Court Foundation to explain how the law applies to space and humanity's future.

See the original document: Gene Roddenberry 'Metalaw' speech

The Trek Files Season 8 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!

As many creatives work in TV production, they all answer to one overwhelming force: the budget. A true insider from Star Trek's longest run, producer/director David Livingston is here to kick off season 8 of The Trek Files with a look at how producers and studios keep it all in line. Or not.

See the original document: Writing to Budget - 1987

The Trek Files Season 8 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!

Closing out the season, The Trek Files is pleased to welcome back special guest Adam Nimoy. In this week's show, Adam discusses the sights (and smells) of his boyhood visit to the TOS set as well as creative tensions within the production. A memo about "Maiden Wine" promos discussion about Leonard Nimoy's music career.

See the original document: Maiden Wine poem - 1968

The Trek Files Season 7 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!

Visit the Trekland site for behind-the-scenes access and exclusive merchandise.