🖖 Star Trek Files: Exploring Enterprise Command Books

[@stevec.7017]

You are appreciated, Sir !

[@TREK-WORLD]

Thank you for the kind words. -Jim

[@suzanneroberge494]

Never heard of these. Thank you for sharing this.

[@TREK-WORLD]

You are so welcome!

[@Randall1001]

I was totally unaware this magazine even existed. Which is a first for me. Thank you! Love if you'd do a vid on Trek the Magazine for Star Trek fans.

[@TREK-WORLD]

Will do!

[@brianmcguinness9642]

I don't mind the IDIC because Star Trek was Gene's creation to do with as he pleased, it added an interesting new element to the Vulcan culture while remaining consistent with what we knew of their psychology beforehand, and it didn't mess up the plot of the television episode.

[@davidgaul572]

I bought a number of the Files publications, but I also passed on a number of them.

[@GarrettCRW]

I’ve long considered the declaration by Gene that the Filmation series was non-canon to be dubious, myself. First and foremost, this edict came down right around the time Filmation was sold to L’Oreal and immediately shut down, which put many of Filmation’s shows in legal limbo. Secondly, it was supposed to be Dorothy Fontana’s show to run AND David Gerrold had a big presence on the show, and both left TNG during the first season under less than ideal circumstances. It increasingly seems like the Filmation shutdown was used by Gene (who was very unwell by 1989) or people close to him to be spiteful towards Fontana and Gerrold more than anything else.

[@cbspock1701]

I don't remember that one

[@RichardEKranz]

I disagree with you on your comments on Mr. Roddenberry. He was a showman and a visionary which don't always go hand in hand, and if you know the rat hearted slime that permeates Hollywood, it's either Sink or Swim and Roddenberry swam. Now Lucas hes the low level businessman. But that's as J.J. Abrahams would say: "A story for another time."

[@Randall1001]

Yeeeeeah, it's not "either sink or swim" in Hollywood, if you're saying you're either a "rat-hearted slime" or you're not. There's LOTS of shade of grey. Gene Roddenberry was totally a businessman first, and a showman second, and a visionary third. He PLAYED UP the visionary side of himself because it made him look good and probably made him feel good about himself, but this is a person who did all kinds of things to grab at money even if it compromised his vision or compromised or cost others. There's enough examples of that kind of behavior on his part to make that an obvious assessment of his character. What he did to Alexander Courage for instance, sets the tone I'm talking about. And just to put it another way: let's take two guys from the very same era who are known for the immensity of their creations... Roddenberry... and Rod Serling. Rod was of course the far better writer. But other than that, they were both responsible for two of the biggest cultural phenomena in TV history... Star Trek and the Twilight Zone. Both were known for their strong desire to make money also. But when Rod Serling did things for money, the only person and only thing he compromised was HIMSELF, not others, and certainly not his creation. He'd do commercials for cigarettes etc. He'd farm himself out for all kinds of crap as a voice, or as a host. But that was about HIM, not about his writing or about the Twilight Zone. He drew a line there. He traded on his celebrity, but that was his sole vice. Whereas Roddenberry, left to his own devices, would cheapen Star Trek if he could, and would come close to cheating others if he could get away with it. He was greedy and also seemed to care more about his greed than really managing his vision. And the difference in how the two visions were managed is evident even today: The Twilight Zone has had many revivals, but all have tried very hard to respect Rod Serling's original vision and stick to the integrity that he was known for. Star Trek, on the other hand, wasn't left with anyone in charge once Roddenberry was marginalized (and certainly after he died) because he alienated people (mostly due to his apparent arrogance and greed) and didn't seem to care enough about Star Trek to set people up who could be trusted with it after he was gone. That's because to Roddenberry, Star Trek was first and foremost his means for making money. I'm not saying Gene Roddenberry was a villain. He most certainly was not. But he wasn't a saint by any means either. And if you compare him to other creators, like Serling... he really wasn't all that hugely respectful of his own creation. I honestly think the first thing he loved and respected about Star Trek is that it brought him prestige and cash. He emphasized the visionary aspects of it, sure. What else was he going to do? But that didn't cover over the lower character the guy had when, say, compared to someone like Serling.

[@kingdave31]

@@RichardEKranz Roddenberry was always keen to make a buck any way he could. After all, he was supporting a wife and an ex-wife. The IDIC medallion thing is one example of this. DC Fontana also had stories about being screwed over financially on the Animated Series (Gene claimed there wasn’t enough money in the budget for the elevated role she deserved, then scored a raise for himself that was the difference between what she was making and what the higher position would have paid).

[@user-be2dt8eg2x]

Yeah, Roddenberry takes a lot of flak, but that comes with being the "big guy". That's why the people who take the most criticism in Star Trek are Roddenberry, Shatner and Ellison -- the creator, the star and the writer of arguably the best episode (like Doomsday myself). Do I think they're perfect -- no, and nobody is. Roddenberry always had an eye for the unusual -- his scripts for Highway Patrol (crooks using stolen hi-tech military weapons) and Have gun will travel ( camel riding in the old west) demonstrated that long before Star Trek. Roddenberry did vehemently resist turning star trek into Star Wars -- adding violence and shooting, that's why he criticized aspects of STII and the addition of Scott and Uhura's anti Klingon bigotry in STVI. He could have cashed in big time by making Trek about space battles and he didn't.