The Trek Files: A Roddenberry Star Trek Podcast

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

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

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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!

Rick Sternbach comes back to The Trek Files to discuss his first TNG technical memo. How would the shields on the new Enterprise work? Rick lets us know how he balanced science and science fiction in the early days with plausible explanations for complex ideas.

See the original document: TNG Weapons and Tactics - January 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!

Bob Justman sends a memo to Gene Roddenberry just before TNG's "Encounter at Farpoint" goes in front of the camera. Director Corey Allen has his own approach which Bob reminds Gene may need some oversight. Talking more about director quirks with us this week, returning guest Dave Rossi!

See the original document: Corey Allen - Farpoint director notes - April 26, 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!

Ever want to know what all the buttons on the bridge of the Enterprise actually do? When Star Trek The Motion Picture was in production, the art department came up with a manual to explain exactly that. This week, meet Rick Sternbach and learn how to fire photon torpedoes!

See the original document: Enterprise Flight Manual - 1978

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 Fred Bronson this week to tell tales of writing for Star Trek: The Animated Series with his draft for "The Counter-Clock Incident" under then pen-name John Culver. Stick around for stories of visiting Nichelle Nichols' home plus crashing the TOS set!

See the original document: The Counter-Clock Incident revised draft - July 31, 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!

The episode that would become "Menage a Troi" started as a pitch called "Piece of Mind" from Fred Bronson to Gene Roddenberry. Having already scripted one episode of The Animated Series, Fred had an "in" with the TNG production staff and knew that a Lwaxana story would be needed. Our special guest this week is Fred Bronson himself with tales of rewrites, rejected ideas and the importance of work lunches.

See the original document: Piece of Mind story draft - January 17, 1990

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!

This week, The Trek Files solves a mystery 50 years in the making. Ever since Gary Seven's cat "Isis" took human form in the episode "Assignment Earth," fans have wondered who it was on screen for just a few seconds. Rumors swirled, and as is often the case, they were wrong. Meet the newest member of the Trek family, April Tatro.

See the original document: Assignment Earth extras casting - January 5, 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!

Diversity has always been a hallmark of Star Trek from the written concept to casting to production. In a pair of documents this week, we see notes from Susan Sackett to Gene Roddenberry about audience requests for hispanic crew on the Enterprise followed by Gene's note to Michael Piller about avoiding any "parochial hooray for humans."

See the original document: Hispanics on the Enterprise - 1989

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!

It wasn't always rosy between Gene Roddenberry and John and Bjo Trimble, even after their mail campaign famously helped "Save Star Trek." Their friendly relationship with the production made them the "go to" source of information for Trek fans everywhere and helped propel Gene's merchandise company, Lincoln Enterprises. Things soured soon after, though, and the Trimbles found themselves closing up shop. The Trek Files welcomes back John and Bjo Trimble to talk about the ups and downs of their relationship with Gene.

See the original document: Gene Roddenberry letter to Bjo Trimble - 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!