"Star Trek" creator Gene Roddenberry on "Good Morning America" 1986

Interview aired Friday November 21, 1986 as the concluding segment in their "Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home" promo week.

[@mukhtarilyasu9055]

Thank you Gene for this wonderful gift you're a true icon and a legend.

[@chadhartsees]

Gene is very grounded in this interview, which he can sometimes not be.

[@emmarose4234]

Oh my goodness I love Gene!

[@bettyleeist]

How nice for a news women to say this!,

[@robertthomas5736]

I Love You Lady Joan Lunden

[@sev2300]

Why were there more intellectual writers back then? Just compare Star Trek Picard’s writing to the original series’s or TNG’s. Why do today’s writers tend touch inly the surface and remain as superficial as they can?

[@themodelkitbase9649]

Interesting how Rodenberry always perpetuated the lie that NBC and Desilu didn't want females and other 'races'. For instance, he always said that the studios didn't want the female number 1 on the first pilot to recur on the series, when the truth is the studio didn't like the actress for that part. They were always on the look out to represent minorities and other genders. The truth is that actress was Gene's mistress and she wanted to be on the show. The only probelm the marketing department had with the show was Mr Spock (not backs or chicks) but that fear soon ended after the show was on air

[@NuntiusLegis]

It was a huge wasted chance not to have a woman in command on the Enterprise, and Majel Barret was a fine actress, no matter if being in love with the producer or not. To me it was always rather bizarre that the wife of Rodenberry played that marginal role as a nurse in TOS.

[@zoppie]

When the first pilot was presented to test audiences, the women in those audiences, in particular, said: "who does she think she is?" The studio probably overreacted to this, and the rest is history. Had the first pilot sold the show, I have no doubt in my mind that Number One would have made women execs a cool thing to have on your starship. Kelly Grayson is only now proving this on The Orville.

[@j.a.stafford1617]

OMG. Where were you living in 1966 that you think studios wanted women and minorities in the central roles? Certainly not the same place I was.

[@themodelkitbase9649]

@@j.a.stafford1617 did you work at NBC in 1964?

[@Boxrec297]

Gene Roddenberry was a womanizer, and nearly ruined the life and career of Grace Lee Whitney.

[@francismcmenamin982]

That's a very subjective view of the events as played out, and wholly inaccurate!

[@Boxrec297]

What I said is true. Gene, at one time of production or another, had intimate relations with at least 3 cast members in Barrett, Nichols and Whitney. Whitney was unceremoniously fired the day after the sexual assault. Grace had problems and her career was in bad shape anyway. But this about did it for her.

[@francismcmenamin982]

@@Boxrec297 You effectively accused Roddenberry of being the shadowy executive who actually attempted to sexually assault her which he wasn't! I notice you too are hiding your identity so the next time you go around slinging mud, have the courage to stick your own head above the parapet!

[@srb9]

@@Boxrec297 yes Gene Roddenberry was a womaniser not doubt. Yes he was intimate with Barrett and Nichols while he was still amrried to his first wife. As you may know Barrett became is second. Yes Whitney was sexually assaulted. However, the indentity of Whitney's sexual attacker has never been identified. Now we can certainly speculate that it was Gene Roddenberry but to this very day we still do not know.

[@Boxrec297]

@@srb9 Everything points to Gene. But, to me, the most telling evidence is Grace's firing the next day after the assault. Only Roddenberry had the power to do such a thing, and the reasons given were not only vague, but proved to be untrue. Everything points to Gene, but some people won't believe unless they see it with their own two eyes.

[@SKY-jv9ue]

Why was there Hispanics on the Bridge folks? Gene is very hypocritical folks!

[@josephheston9238]

If you watched the 2-parter _The Menagerie_ , it had a Hispanic Commodore.

[@j.a.stafford1617]

What year were you born in?

[@rogerborroel4707]

@@j.a.stafford1617 It's classified.

[@j.a.stafford1617]

@rogerborroel4707, I meant @user-vu5ls5ww5m.

[@serbdriverAU]

Boy is Gene lucky to be dead these days and not see the garbage they made under the name of show he loved and created..