The Trek Files: A Roddenberry Star Trek Podcast

Three simple slips of paper reveal the quick ascendance of an important addition to the Star Trek: The Next Generation production team - Jeri Taylor. Joining The Trek Files this week to talk about her contributions to the franchise is Jeri's friend and former assistant Lolita Fatjo. Follow the Voyager Documentary on Twitter. Indiegogo campaign begins March 2021. See the documents: http://facebook.com/thetrekfiles

While aspiring writers hoped to get a foot in the door with Star Trek: The Next Generation, it was just as tough finding a job in Hollywood a generation or two prior. Gene Roddenberry sent back some discouraging notes to two of his colleagues in 1959, and today we have script supervisor Lolita Fatjo helping us connect the dots with TNG's open submission program. See the documents: http://facebook.com/thetrekfiles

In 1976, a fan sent a tongue-in-cheek "love letter" to Majel Barrett Roddenberry (with a nod to the Great Bird, of course). On this week's show, we're happy to welcome back Noah Averback-Katz from Star Trek: Discovery to discuss what it means to be in a Trek couple. See the documents: facebook.com/thetrekfiles

This week, we're revisiting the document that spells out the new alien species devised for the Star Trek TOS episode "Journey to Babel." We'll direct our attention to the Andorians with the help of Noah Averbach-Katz, who played Ryn on "Star Trek: Discovery," to learn what it takes to become a blue-skinned warrior. See the documents: facebook.com/thetrekfiles

We dig back into the Gene Roddenberry fan letter bag for another round of wholesome 1970s Star Trek adoration. These letters address everything from props to music to a serious take on the roles of women if Trek is to make the leap to a new life on film. See the documents: facebook.com/thetrekfiles

Gene Roddenberry was impressed enough with Franz Joseph's proposed technical manual that he suggested contacting Lincoln Enterprises - Gene's own company for merchandising Star Trek. Joseph complied and sent along a few more details as well as concerns about the business relationship. See the documents: facebook.com/thetrekfiles

In 1973, Franz Joseph was a retired industrial designer with a daughter who was a huge Star Trek fan. As he learned more about the fandom, he found a good place to use his talents by converting what he saw on screen into technical drawings. That sparked an idea he shared with Gene Roddenberry in 1973. The Trek Files welcomes Karen Schnaubelt, Joseph's daughter, to share the rest of the story. See the documents: facebook.com/thetrekfiles

In the second part of our conversation with Bill Kraft, we'll get more details about the Post Office decision to break years of tradition and run an entertainment franchise on a stamp, plus the ability to "stuff the ballots." See the documents: facebook.com/thetrekfiles

When Star Trek fandom meant connecting through mailed newsletters, some fans were lobbying for an official Star Trek stamp from the U.S. Postal Service. Bill Kraft from the original Enterprise Stamp Committee joins The Trek Files to give us a look at the long journey to make the stamp a reality. See the documents: facebook.com/thetrekfiles

Season 6 of The Trek Files premieres with a look back at one of the foundational Star Trek documents, the Writer-Director Information book from August 30, 1966. In it, Yeoman Janice Rand is clearly included as one of the most important regular crew-members. We're proud to welcome Jonathan Whitney Dweck as our special guest this week - son of the late Grace Lee Whitney who portrayed Rand. He provides the personal angle on his mother's journey as Rand and the years following her Trek. See the...

Star Trek's 25th anniversary occurred the same year as another milestone: the death of Gene Roddenberry on October 24, 1991. After the memorial service, Majel Barrett sat down to write a series of thank you notes to the friends and celebrities who had attended and spoken about Gene's life and impact. In the season finale of The Trek Files, we are pleased to welcome back Rod Roddenberry to talk about his father's and mother's legacies and how his interest in Star Trek's vision was...

This is the story of the United Space Ship Enterprise. Assigned a five year patrol of our galaxy, the giant starship visits Earth colonies, regulates commerce, and explores strange new worlds and civilizations... or words to that effect. On a Tuesday in August, 1966, the Star Trek braintrust of Gene Roddenberry, Bob Justman and John D. F. Black hurriedly crafted what would become one of the most famous opening narrations in television history. Celebrating Star Trek Day, The Trek Files takes...

A few weeks after jotting down his initial thoughts on a new Star Trek series, Gene Roddenberry starts putting together his dream team of producers and writers to bring his new show to life - all under the pressure of a deadline. Some ideas will be fleshed out while others are dropped completely. In this confidential letter to Eddie Milkis, Gene spells out all the next steps to consider while making Star Trek new but familiar. See the documents: facebook.com/thetrekfiles

Star Trek was soon to make the jump from prime-time drama to Saturday morning "kiddie show" by the estimation of LA Times TV critic Don Page. Quick to set him straight was Dorothy Fontana with a letter that spelled out Star Trek's storytelling imperative, regardless of the filmed form it may take. See the documents: facebook.com/thetrekfiles

Author John Flynn joins The Trek Files to discuss further details about Angelique Pettyjohn's life. From her time on Star Trek and interactions with the fans to a stunning revelation about her relationship with Elvis Presley - Angelique's portrayal of Shana was only part of a fascinating life. See the documents: facebook.com/thetrekfiles

Angelique Pettyjohn guest-starred in The Gamesters of Triskelion and immediately became an iconic part of Star Trek. This week, we welcome John Flynn who has written a new autobiography on Angelique to share stories about her getting the role, her time on set and encounter with Captain Kirk. See the documents: facebook.com/thetrekfiles

"Spockanalia," the Vulcan-centric fanzine, kicks off this week's discussion with returning special-guest Jacqueline Lichtenberg. Diving into the world of fanzines, we'll get the low-down on fandom evolution in the mimeograph era and what producers learned from fans. See the documents: facebook.com/thetrekfiles

Return with special guest Jacqueline Lichtenberg to the early days of fandom when newsletters, 'zines, and conventions helped keep Star Trek alive. A letter from Cornell University requesting Star Trek fan resources kicks off the conversation on this week's episode of The Trek Files. See the documents: facebook.com/thetrekfiles

Fans of all ages have been inspired by Star Trek since the beginning of its TV run. Those fans who are invested in every detail of the show made sure Gene Roddenberry heard their opinions, their desires and their nitpicks, especially when it looked like their favorite show would be revived as a movie. See the documents: facebook.com/thetrekfiles

Profanity in Star Trek? Say it isn't so! Majel Barrett Roddenberry responds to a fan letter in 1994 over concerns about the language in Star Trek IV. We've got special guest Rod Roddenberry here to talk about his mother's legacy and the place of questionable language in the Trek franchise. See the documents: facebook.com/thetrekfiles