This week we want to celebrate the life of a person whose impact was much bigger than just her role on Star Trek.

We’re talking, of course, about Nichelle Nichols and her recent passing.

She played Lt. Uhura. A female, African American officer who was stationed on the bridge of the U.S.S. Enterprise. In the 1960s, African American characters did not have prominent positions of authority. So Lt. Uhura, a woman as well, was a special character. 

Nichelle was not only a ground breaking, African American actor, though. She was also a ground breaking for all women. Lt. Uhura was a strong Starfleet officer on a TV show when most women were not encouraged to have careers.

While her character was strong, she was also very feminin. Nichelle's take on the character was something TV audiences had never seen before. 

In the end, Nichelle's work on Star Trek showed minorities that more was possible for their own lives.

Nichelle's life after Star Trek was also notable. In the 1970s, she landed a job with NASA, helping to recruit women and minorities to the organization. Some 8,000 applied to NASA, including Sally Ride and Guion Bluford, the first African american astronaut.

Co-hosts Kelly Casto and Bob Turner share their candid thoughts on the life of Nichelle Nichols.

It's nostalgic when contemporary Star Trek producers touch on characters and ideas first presented in The Original Series.

And that’s what’s happening in Star Trek Picard Season Two. The character Tallin is an agent from an advanced civilization, the same group that placed Gary seven on Earth in 1968. 

It’s a nice way to tie in The Original Series episode, Assignment Earth. This week, co-hosts Bob Turner and Kelly Casto talk about that show and its various iterations. It was first presented back in 1968.

***

In The Unofficial Trek Podcast, hosts Bob Turner and Kelly Casto give their "Unofficial" take on the Star Trek universe. 

From 2019 through 2019, Bob and Kelly hosted the show 70s Trek. It was a look at the events that brought a cancelled, 1960s TV show back from the dead to become a blockbuster movie in 1979. It was a decade that created a multi-million dollar franchise.

Now Bob and Kelly will look at the minutia, the concepts, the people and the news pertaining to the Star Trek Universe. It's a fascinating time for Star Trek, with a flood of content about it on the internet.

Bob and Kelly will give their "Unofficial" take. Why unofficial? Because their views are just that, they are theirs and are, therefore, "unofficial."

It's a fresh look at Star Trek from two lifelong fans who have been talking Trek for over 35 years! We hope you'll join Bob and Kelly for their next venture, The Unofficial Trek Podcast.

Visit us at these sites:

Facebook: 

https://www.facebook.com/UnofficialTrek

TuneIn: 

https://tunein.com/podcasts/Fantasy--Science-Fiction-Podcasts/The-Unofficial-Trek-Podcast-p1546279/

Stitcher: 

https://www.stitcher.com/show/the-unofficial-trek-podcast

Spotify:

https://open.spotify.com/show/6IrNzaWSzKyf1T7b4ngZX2

Website:

https://theunofficialstartrekpodcast.libsyn.com/

With the recent release of Star Trek The Motion Picture: The Director's Edition on 4K Ultra HD, we thought it might be fun to take a look at one of the film's major contributors. that would be composer Jerry Goldsmith.

His work on Star Trek The Motion Picture created the musical template for the franchise for the next 26 years. Goldsmith re-imagined what Star Trek music could be in 1979.  He created a score unlike anything that had come before.

This week, co-hosts Bob Turner and Kelly Casto talk about this award-winning composer who made a lasting impact on the franchise.

His legacy is secure. Goldsmith set the standard, and in deed the template, for what Star Trek music would be moving forward.

Even if he didn’t work on it, every movie and TV show that followed through 2005 all had his influence. They were the same musically.

And it’s all because of the work Jerry Goldsmith did for The Motion Picture.

***

In The Unofficial Trek Podcast, hosts Bob Turner and Kelly Casto give their "Unofficial" take on the Star Trek universe. 

From 2019 through 2019, Bob and Kelly hosted the show 70s Trek. It was a look at the events that brought a cancelled, 1960s TV show back from the dead to become a blockbuster movie in 1979. It was a decade that created a multi-million dollar franchise.

Now Bob and Kelly will look at the minutia, the concepts, the people and the news pertaining to the Star Trek Universe. It's a fascinating time for Star Trek, with a flood of content about it on the internet.

Bob and Kelly will give their "Unofficial" take. Why unofficial? Because their views are just that, they are theirs and are, therefore, "unofficial."

It's a fresh look at Star Trek from two lifelong fans who have been talking Trek for over 35 years! We hope you'll join Bob and Kelly for their next venture, The Unofficial Trek Podcast.

Visit us at these sites:

Facebook: 

https://www.facebook.com/UnofficialTrek

TuneIn: 

https://tunein.com/podcasts/Fantasy--Science-Fiction-Podcasts/The-Unofficial-Trek-Podcast-p1546279/

Stitcher: 

https://www.stitcher.com/show/the-unofficial-trek-podcast

Spotify:

https://open.spotify.com/show/6IrNzaWSzKyf1T7b4ngZX2

Website:

https://theunofficialstartrekpodcast.libsyn.com/

This week, we take an “unofficial” look at one of the most prolific, and profound, writers in all of Star Trek, Ronald D. Moore.

Co-hosts Kelly Casto and Bob Turner talk about the Star Trek writer and producer in this week;'s episode of The Unofficial Trek Podcast. Of course, Ronald D. Moore is not to be confused with Star Trek visual effects supervisor Ronald B. Moore.

Ron had a unique journey to Star Trek. He was a fan who wanted to write for the show. He got his break by passing along a script to a tour guide during a Star Trek set tour. It finally reached Michael Piller who bought the script. From there, Ron was invited to write another and was soon hired as a staff writer for the show.

He was part of the new team that reshaped The Next Generation on its third season.

Ron had a great impact on not only that show, but the entire franchise during the Berman Era. From 1991 to 1999, Ronald D. Moore wrote or produced 207 episodes in three Star Trek shows.

It's an impressive feat when you consider that this was Ron's first professional job and he was just 27 when he was hired in 1991!

***

In The Unofficial Trek Podcast, hosts Bob Turner and Kelly Casto give their "Unofficial" take on the Star Trek universe. 

From 2019 through 2019, Bob and Kelly hosted the show 70s Trek. It was a look at the events that brought a cancelled, 1960s TV show back from the dead to become a blockbuster movie in 1979. It was a decade that created a multi-million dollar franchise.

Now Bob and Kelly will look at the minutia, the concepts, the people and the news pertaining to the Star Trek Universe. It's a fascinating time for Star Trek, with a flood of content about it on the internet.

Bob and Kelly will give their "Unofficial" take. Why unofficial? Because their views are just that, they are theirs and are, therefore, "unofficial."

It's a fresh look at Star Trek from two lifelong fans who have been talking Trek for over 35 years! We hope you'll join Bob and Kelly for their next venture, The Unofficial Trek Podcast.

Visit us at these sites:

Facebook: 

https://www.facebook.com/UnofficialTrek

TuneIn: 

https://tunein.com/podcasts/Fantasy--Science-Fiction-Podcasts/The-Unofficial-Trek-Podcast-p1546279/

Stitcher: 

https://www.stitcher.com/show/the-unofficial-trek-podcast

Spotify:

https://open.spotify.com/show/6IrNzaWSzKyf1T7b4ngZX2

Website:

https://theunofficialstartrekpodcast.libsyn.com/

The release of the 4K, Ultra HD version of Star Trek The Motion Picture, The Director’s Edition, is big news. Fianlly fans can see the film the way director Robert Wise intended.

Star Trek The Motion Picture was originally released in theaters in 1979. It culminated ten years of hard work, false starts and frustrations. The movie ran 132 minutes and it brought live action Star Trek back.

But because of problems during production, the film was little more that a rough-cut. The version we saw in theaters was never intended to be the final edit. But because of marketing commitments, director Robert Wise ran out of time.

Flash forward to 2001. Paramount agreed to let Wise and his team re-edit the folm so it would be closer to his original vision. The result was Star Trek The Motion Picture, The Director's Edition. The team tightened the editing and inserted new, updated CGI special effects.

However, this version of the film was only released in standard definition on DVD. Blu Ray had not yet been invented. So fans never got to see this verison of the film in high definition.

Until now.

Members of Wise's 2001 team have gotten access to the Paramount vaults and have gone back to the orignal camera negatives to restore The Director's Edition in 4K Ultra HD. Theyhave also updated the special effects, bringing them up to 4K, as well.

The result is a stunning film with more color, detail and dynamic sound.

***

In The Unofficial Trek Podcast, hosts Bob Turner and Kelly Casto give their "Unofficial" take on the Star Trek universe. 

From 2019 through 2019, Bob and Kelly hosted the show 70s Trek. It was a look at the events that brought a cancelled, 1960s TV show back from the dead to become a blockbuster movie in 1979. It was a decade that created a multi-million dollar franchise.

Now Bob and Kelly will look at the minutia, the concepts, the people and the news pertaining to the Star Trek Universe. It's a fascinating time for Star Trek, with a flood of content about it on the internet.

Bob and Kelly will give their "Unofficial" take. Why unofficial? Because their views are just that, they are theirs and are, therefore, "unofficial."

It's a fresh look at Star Trek from two lifelong fans who have been talking Trek for over 35 years! We hope you'll join Bob and Kelly for their next venture, The Unofficial Trek Podcast.

Visit us at these sites:

Facebook: 

https://www.facebook.com/UnofficialTrek

TuneIn: 

https://tunein.com/podcasts/Fantasy--Science-Fiction-Podcasts/The-Unofficial-Trek-Podcast-p1546279/

Stitcher: 

https://www.stitcher.com/show/the-unofficial-trek-podcast

Spotify:

https://open.spotify.com/show/6IrNzaWSzKyf1T7b4ngZX2

Website:

https://theunofficialstartrekpodcast.libsyn.com/

This week, co-hosts Bob Turner and Kelly Casto explore a time paradox that came out of The Next Generation and involved a character from The Original Series, our beloved Montgomery Scott.

The issue comes from Mr. Scott's appearance in The Next Generation episode Relics, and the movie Generations.

It’s a bit of a head scratcher why this in-universe paradox happens. Also, it's very curious why writers and producers allowed such a mistake to occur on their watch, especially in light of the fact that the same group worked on both productions and those shows were only separated by two years!

We’ll try to get to the bottom of it.

***

In The Unofficial Trek Podcast, hosts Bob Turner and Kelly Casto give their "Unofficial" take on the Star Trek universe. 

From 2019 through 2019, Bob and Kelly hosted the show 70s Trek. It was a look at the events that brought a cancelled, 1960s TV show back from the dead to become a blockbuster movie in 1979. It was a decade that created a multi-million dollar franchise.

Now Bob and Kelly will look at the minutia, the concepts, the people and the news pertaining to the Star Trek Universe. It's a fascinating time for Star Trek, with a flood of content about it on the internet.

Bob and Kelly will give their "Unofficial" take. Why unofficial? Because their views are just that, they are theirs and are, therefore, "unofficial."

It's a fresh look at Star Trek from two lifelong fans who have been talking Trek for over 35 years! We hope you'll join Bob and Kelly for their next venture, The Unofficial Trek Podcast.

Visit us at these sites:

Facebook: 

https://www.facebook.com/UnofficialTrek

TuneIn: 

https://tunein.com/podcasts/Fantasy--Science-Fiction-Podcasts/The-Unofficial-Trek-Podcast-p1546279/

Stitcher: 

https://www.stitcher.com/show/the-unofficial-trek-podcast

Spotify:

https://open.spotify.com/show/6IrNzaWSzKyf1T7b4ngZX2

Website:

https://theunofficialstartrekpodcast.libsyn.com/

The Enemy Below is the story of a battle between an American Destroyer captain and a German U-Boat commander during World War II. It stars Robert Mitchum as Captain Murell and Curt Jurgens as the German commander. As you watch The Enemy Below, similarities to the Star Trek episode Balance of Terror jump out.  Trek writer Paul Schneider had never written a science fiction story before.  So when Gene Roddenberry asked him to submit ideas to the show, Schneider looked to The Enemy Below for inspiration.  When Roddenberry saw what Schneider did, he got behind the effort.

The result is one of the best episodes of Star Trek and a fan favorite.  Co-host Bob Turner and Kelly Casto dive deep into The Enemy Below and discuss the production, the story and the similarities to Balance of Terror.

***

In The Unofficial Trek Podcast, hosts Bob Turner and Kelly Casto give their "Unofficial" take on the Star Trek universe. 

From 2019 through 2019, Bob and Kelly hosted the show 70s Trek. It was a look at the events that brought a cancelled, 1960s TV show back from the dead to become a blockbuster movie in 1979. It was a decade that created a multi-million dollar franchise.

Now Bob and Kelly will look at the minutia, the concepts, the people and the news pertaining to the Star Trek Universe. It's a fascinating time for Star Trek, with a flood of content about it on the internet.

Bob and Kelly will give their "Unofficial" take. Why unofficial? Because their views are just that, they are theirs and are, therefore, "unofficial."

It's a fresh look at Star Trek from two lifelong fans who have been talking Trek for over 35 years! We hope you'll join Bob and Kelly for their next venture, The Unofficial Trek Podcast.

Visit us at these sites:

Facebook: 

https://www.facebook.com/UnofficialTrek

TuneIn: 

https://tunein.com/podcasts/Fantasy--Science-Fiction-Podcasts/The-Unofficial-Trek-Podcast-p1546279/

Stitcher: 

https://www.stitcher.com/show/the-unofficial-trek-podcast

Spotify:

https://open.spotify.com/show/6IrNzaWSzKyf1T7b4ngZX2

Website:

https://theunofficialstartrekpodcast.libsyn.com/

This week, we take a look at a strange phenomenon that has appeared in Star Trek TV, movies and books.

It's the idea of having two Spocks in the story.

That's right! These are stories that feature two different versions of the Spock character.

This week, co-hosts Bob Turner and Kelly Casto will explore this phenomenon in this episode of The Unofficial Trek Podcast.

***

In The Unofficial Trek Podcast, hosts Bob Turner and Kelly Casto give their "Unofficial" take on the Star Trek universe. 

From 2019 through 2019, Bob and Kelly hosted the show 70s Trek. It was a look at the events that brought a cancelled, 1960s TV show back from the dead to become a blockbuster movie in 1979. It was a decade that created a multi-million dollar franchise.

Now Bob and Kelly will look at the minutia, the concepts, the people and the news pertaining to the Star Trek Universe. It's a fascinating time for Star Trek, with a flood of content about it on the internet.

Bob and Kelly will give their "Unofficial" take. Why unofficial? Because their views are just that, they are theirs and are, therefore, "unofficial."

It's a fresh look at Star Trek from two lifelong fans who have been talking Trek for over 35 years! We hope you'll join Bob and Kelly for their next venture, The Unofficial Trek Podcast.

Visit us at these sites:

Facebook: 

https://www.facebook.com/UnofficialTrek

TuneIn: 

https://tunein.com/podcasts/Fantasy--Science-Fiction-Podcasts/The-Unofficial-Trek-Podcast-p1546279/

Stitcher: 

https://www.stitcher.com/show/the-unofficial-trek-podcast

Spotify:

https://open.spotify.com/show/6IrNzaWSzKyf1T7b4ngZX2

Website:

https://theunofficialstartrekpodcast.libsyn.com/

 

This week, we go behind the scenes of an episode many consider to be one of the worst in all of Star Trek: It’s The Alternative Factor. But could it be there were real reasons why this episode ended up…well…the way it did?

Author Marc Cushman wrote a series of books called “These Are The Voyages.” They are an in-depth look at the production of each of the 79 original episodes.

So when we thought we would do a show about one of the worst episodes of Star Trek ever, we broke out March Cushman’s books.

But what Cushman describes shocked us. The Alternative Factor IS a bad episode, but there are several contributing factors that happened behind the scenes that contributed to this particular show turning out the way it did.

The first is that the original script included a love interest for the guest character, Lazarus. The love story made Lazarus a much more believable and relatable character. The only problem here was that the love interest was to be played by a black actress.

When NBC caught wind of this, they put a stop to it. This lead to the love scenes being deleted from the script at the last minute. It left a hole in the character of Lazarus, and also a hole in the content of the script. It didn't fill the needed 51 minutes of time.

The result is a character that seems superficial and unrelatable and the episode ends up filling time with shots that don't really move the story forward.

In the end, the late changes effectively made this story into one that was no longer worth producing. As March Cushman suggests, they should have scrapped it all together.

***

In The Unofficial Trek Podcast, hosts Bob Turner and Kelly Casto give their "Unofficial" take on the Star Trek universe. 

From 2019 through 2019, Bob and Kelly hosted the show 70s Trek. It was a look at the events that brought a cancelled, 1960s TV show back from the dead to become a blockbuster movie in 1979. It was a decade that created a multi-million dollar franchise.

Now Bob and Kelly will look at the minutia, the concepts, the people and the news pertaining to the Star Trek Universe. It's a fascinating time for Star Trek, with a flood of content about it on the internet.

Bob and Kelly will give their "Unofficial" take. Why unofficial? Because their views are just that, they are theirs and are, therefore, "unofficial."

It's a fresh look at Star Trek from two lifelong fans who have been talking Trek for over 35 years! We hope you'll join Bob and Kelly for their next venture, The Unofficial Trek Podcast.

Visit us at these sites:

Facebook: 

https://www.facebook.com/UnofficialTrek

TuneIn: 

https://tunein.com/podcasts/Fantasy--Science-Fiction-Podcasts/The-Unofficial-Trek-Podcast-p1546279/

Stitcher: 

https://www.stitcher.com/show/the-unofficial-trek-podcast

Spotify:

https://open.spotify.com/show/6IrNzaWSzKyf1T7b4ngZX2

Website:

https://theunofficialstartrekpodcast.libsyn.com/

This week, co-hosts Kelly Casto and Bob Turner rate the Star Trek Movies...Part 2. Bob and Kelly will rate them from worst to best, starting with Kelly's number 7. The idea of rating the Trek movies was inspired by a recent Slashfilm.com poll that aksed readers to identify their favorite movie in the franchise. 

The film that got the most votes was…you guessed it…The Wrath of Khan. In fact, 21% of the votes went to this film.

Here are the vote percentages for the other movies: Star Trek The Voyage Home received 16%, Star Trek First Contact and the JJ Abrams reboot Star Trek (2009) both tied at 14%.

Right behind was Star Trek Beyond with 12.5%, The Motion Picture at 12% and Star Trek VI The Undiscovered Country received 10%.

And if one of your favorite movies happens to be Wrath of Khan, Then there’s good news for you.

Star Trek II will return to theaters for a limited run between September 4 and September 6 in 2022. Check out Fathom Events for theaters in your area.

***

In The Unofficial Trek Podcast, hosts Bob Turner and Kelly Casto give their "Unofficial" take on the Star Trek universe. 

From 2019 through 2019, Bob and Kelly hosted the show 70s Trek. It was a look at the events that brought a cancelled, 1960s TV show back from the dead to become a blockbuster movie in 1979. It was a decade that created a multi-million dollar franchise.

Now Bob and Kelly will look at the minutia, the concepts, the people and the news pertaining to the Star Trek Universe. It's a fascinating time for Star Trek, with a flood of content about it on the internet.

Bob and Kelly will give their "Unofficial" take. Why unofficial? Because their views are just that, they are theirs and are, therefore, "unofficial."

It's a fresh look at Star Trek from two lifelong fans who have been talking Trek for over 35 years! We hope you'll join Bob and Kelly for their next venture, The Unofficial Trek Podcast.

Visit us at these sites:

Facebook: 

https://www.facebook.com/UnofficialTrek

TuneIn: 

https://tunein.com/podcasts/Fantasy--Science-Fiction-Podcasts/The-Unofficial-Trek-Podcast-p1546279/

Stitcher: 

https://www.stitcher.com/show/the-unofficial-trek-podcast

Spotify:

https://open.spotify.com/show/6IrNzaWSzKyf1T7b4ngZX2

Website:

https://theunofficialstartrekpodcast.libsyn.com/