Eugene Wesley "Gene" Roddenberry (August 19, 1921 – October 24, 1991) was an American screenwriter and producer of several television series, best known for his work in creating the Star Trek franchise. He began a writing career while he was a Sergeant in the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) and his first work to be bought by a network was The Secret Defense of 117, although it took four years to be broadcast.[1] During that time, he wrote four episodes of the police procedural Highway Patrol under the pseudonym "Robert Wesley",[2] as the LAPD required employees to seek formal permission to work a second job.[3] After leaving the force, he wrote for several series, such as Have Gun – Will Travel but wanted to become a producer.[4]
He wrote pilots for a series of his own, but these were turned down by the studios until he began work on The Lieutenant. This ran for a single season on NBC on Saturday nights. While involved in that series, he began working on a science fiction premise that became Star Trek.[5] He oversaw the production of the series for the first two seasons, but following budget cuts and the move to an unfavorable timeslot for the third season, he stepped back from working on Star Trek but remained credited as an executive producer.[6] Following the cancellation of the series, he wrote and produced his first feature film, Pretty Maids All in a Row.[7] He also produced several new science fiction pilots: Genesis II (also re-worked into a second pilot, called Planet Earth),[8] The Questor Tapes and Spectre.[9] Of these, Questor was approved to go to a full season, but following disagreements between Roddenberry and the studio over suggested changes, it was canceled.[8]
Star Trek was resurrected twice, first as an animated series,[10] and then as Star Trek: The Motion Picture.[11] The studio brought in a new producer for the sequel to the film, to which Roddenberry demanded creative control or else he would refuse an executive producer credit, instead only willing to be credited as creative consultant. This credit started with Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan and continued through to Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country.[12][13] He took Star Trek back to television during the late 1980s, with Star Trek: The Next Generation Following his death in 1991, two of his 1970s science fiction ideas were re-worked, resulting in Earth: Final Conflict and Andromeda.[14][15]
Films
editYear | Title | Credited as | Notes | Ref. | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Executive consultant | Producer | Writer | ||||
1971 | Pretty Maids All in a Row | Yes | Yes | [7] | ||
1979 | Star Trek: The Motion Picture | Yes | Also uncredited wrote outline for film and wrote novelisation | [11] | ||
1982 | Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan | Yes | [12] | |||
1984 | Star Trek III: The Search for Spock | Yes | [16] | |||
1986 | Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home | Yes | [17] | |||
1989 | Star Trek V: The Final Frontier | Yes | [18] | |||
1991 | Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country | Yes | [19] |
Television
editYear | Title | Credited as | Notes | Ref(s) | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Writer | Producer | Creator | ||||
1954–56 | Highway Patrol | Yes | Five episodes (four as Robert Wesley) | [4] | ||
1954 | Mr. District Attorney | Yes | Six episodes (as Robert Wesley) | [20] | ||
1956 | I Led Three Lives | Yes | Two episodes (as Robert Wesley) | [20] | ||
1956 | Dr. Christian | Yes | One episode | [21] | ||
1956 | Natchez | Yes | Television film | [22] | ||
1956 | The Secret Defense of 117 | Yes | Broadcast as part of Chevron Hall of Stars Also called The Secret Weapon of 117 |
[1] | ||
1956–57 | The West Point Story | Yes | Yes | Eleven episodes | [23] | |
1957 | Kaiser Aluminum Hour | Yes | Episode: "So Short a Season" | [21] | ||
1957 | The Jane Wyman Show | Yes | Episode "The Perfect Alibi" | [21] | ||
1957 | Boots and Saddles | Yes | Four episodes | [21] | ||
1957–63 | Have Gun – Will Travel | Yes | 24 episodes | [23] | ||
1958 | Harbor Command | Yes | One episode | [4] | ||
1958 | Sam Houston | Yes | One episode (unsold pilot) | [21] | ||
1958 | Jefferson Drum | Yes | Four episodes | [21] | ||
1959 | The Night Stick | Yes | Yes | One episode (unsold pilot), also known as The Big Walk | [24] | |
1960 | Alcoa Theatre | Yes | Yes | Episode "333 Montgomery" | [25] | |
1960 | Hotel de Paree | Yes | One episode | [citation needed] | ||
1960 | The DuPont Show with June Allyson | Yes | One episode | [26] | ||
1960 | Wrangler | Yes | Yes | [21] | ||
1960 | The Detectives | Yes | Two episodes | [21] | ||
1961 | Whiplash | Yes | Four episodes | [27] | ||
1961 | Target: The Corruptors! | Yes | One episode | [21] | ||
1961 | Two Faces West | Yes | One episode | [28] | ||
1961 | Shannon | Yes | Two episodes | [21] | ||
1962 | Defiance County | Yes | One episode (unsold pilot), also known as Ty Cooper | [29] | ||
1962 | Dr. Kildare | Yes | One episode | [28] | ||
1962 | A.P.O. 923 | Yes | One episode (unsold pilot) | [30] | ||
1962 | GE True | Yes | One episode | [30] | ||
1962 | Naked City | Yes | One episode | [31] | ||
1962 | The Virginian | Yes | One episode, Roddenberry story, Howard Browne teleplay | [28] | ||
1963 | The Lawbreakers | Yes | One episode | [27] | ||
1963–64 | The Lieutenant | Yes | Yes | Yes | One season | [32] |
1965 | The Long Hunt of April Savage | Yes | One episode (unsold pilot) | [33] | ||
1966–68 | Star Trek | Yes | Yes | Yes | Three seasons | [34] |
1967 | Police Story | Yes | One episode (unsold pilot) | [35][36] | ||
1971 | Alias Smith and Jones | Yes | One episode, same story as The Virginian | [18] | ||
1973 | Genesis II | Yes | Yes | Yes | Pilot/Television film | [37] |
1973–74 | Star Trek: The Animated Series | Yes | Yes | Two seasons, also credited as executive consultant | [10] | |
1974 | Planet Earth | Yes | Yes | Pilot/Television film | [8] | |
1974 | The Questor Tapes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Pilot/Television film | [38] |
1977 | Spectre | Yes | Yes | Yes | Pilot/Television film | [9] |
1987–94 | Star Trek: The Next Generation[n 1] | Yes | Yes | Yes | Seven seasons Credited posthumously from midway through season five onwards |
[40] |
1997–2002 | Earth: Final Conflict | Yes | Yes | Credited posthumously Five seasons |
[14] | |
2000–05 | Andromeda | Yes | Yes | Credited posthumously Five seasons |
[15] |
Annotations
edit- ^ The episode "Unification" was dedicated to Roddenberry following his death.[39]
References
edit- ^ a b Alexander 1995, p. 143.
- ^ Alexander 1995, p. 137.
- ^ Alexander 1995, p. 127.
- ^ a b c Alexander 1995, p. 162.
- ^ Alexander 1995, p. 204.
- ^ Alexander 1995, pp. 342–343.
- ^ a b "Review: 'Pretty Maids All in a Row'". Variety. December 31, 1970. Archived from the original on January 12, 2015. Retrieved March 25, 2015.
- ^ a b c Van Hise 1992, p. 65.
- ^ a b Van Hise 1992, p. 68.
- ^ a b Engel 1994, p. 158.
- ^ a b Engel 1994, p. 193.
- ^ a b Alexander 1995, p. 500.
- ^ Alexander 1995, p. 501.
- ^ a b "Roddenberry's Wife Picks up the Banner". Rocky Mountain News. Denver]. January 18, 1998. Archived from the original on April 2, 2015. Retrieved March 22, 2015.
- ^ a b Schlosser, Joe (January 17, 2000). "Gene Roddenberry's 'Andromeda'". Broadcasting & Cable. Archived from the original on January 31, 2013. Retrieved April 15, 2015.
- ^ Alexander 1995, p. 511.
- ^ Alexander 1995, p. 526.
- ^ a b Alexander 1995, p. 565.
- ^ Clark, Noelene (June 10, 2011). "'Star Trek': Nicholas Meyer Explains his Roddenberry Regret". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on January 3, 2015. Retrieved March 28, 2015.
- ^ a b Alexander 1995, pp. 557–558.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j Alexander 1995, p. 166.
- ^ Alexander 1995, p. 165.
- ^ a b Engel 1994, p. 16.
- ^ Van Hise 1992, p. 130.
- ^ Engel 1994, p. 17.
- ^ Engel 1994, p. 37.
- ^ a b Parkin 2017, p. 29.
- ^ a b c Alexander 1995, p. 563.
- ^ Van Hise 1992, p. 131.
- ^ a b Alexander 1995, p. 560.
- ^ Alexander 1995, p. 562.
- ^ Alexander 1995, pp. 201–202.
- ^ Alexander 1995, p. 564.
- ^ Castenada, Ruben (October 25, 1991). "Gene Roddenberry, Creator of Star Trek Series, Dies". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on September 24, 2015. Retrieved April 15, 2015.
- ^ Engel 1994, p. 71.
- ^ Engel 1994, p. 115.
- ^ Van Hise 1992, p. 61.
- ^ Van Hise (1992), p. 63.
- ^ DeCandido, Keith (June 27, 2012). "Star Trek: The Next Generation Rewatch: 'Unification, Part I'". Tor.com. Archived from the original on April 9, 2015. Retrieved April 15, 2015.
- ^ Alexander 1995, p. 546.
Sources
edit- Alexander, David (1995). Star Trek Creator: The Authorized Biography of Gene Roddenberry. New York: Roc. ISBN 0-451-45440-5.
- Engel, Joel (1994). Gene Roddenberry: The Myth and the Man Behind Star Trek. New York: Hyperion. ISBN 0-7868-6004-9.
- Parkin, Lance (2017). The Impossible Has Happened: The Life and Work of Gene Roddenberry, Creator of Star Trek. Aurum Press. ISBN 978-1-78131-447-0.
- Van Hise, James (1992). The Man Who Created Star Trek: Gene Roddenberry. Pioneer Books. ISBN 1-55698-318-2.
External links
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