50 Years of Star Trek (2016) - full transcript

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On September 8th, 1966,

America tunes in to catch
a glimpse of the future

and launches a global phenomenon.

A television series like no other

that unites us in its vision

of a better world to come.

- Here's a group of people who
are solving problems together,

and they're all different,
diverse people.

This is the secret history
of "Star Trek."

It's epic 50-year mission.



- That was what was so brilliant
about "Star Trek"

was that it was human nature
and human instinct

and the drive to want
to know more

combined with adventure.

The mastermind
of the "Star Trek" universe.

- And Gene says, "Do you want
to be on Star Trek?"

I said, "Yes.
Yes!"

The cast and crew
reveal the stories

you've never heard.

- Roddenberry looked
at the beard and goes,

"I love the beard.
It's nautical."

Plus Leonard Nimoy's
final full interview.

- If I were given the choice
of any character

ever portrayed on television,
I would choose Spock.



- Happy anniversary,
"Star Trek."

Happy 50th.
Wow, way to go.

- Before anybody else
were touching on subjects,

racism, segregation,
discrimination,

before any other
TV shows did.

- "Star Trek: Voyager"
is probably my first acting job.

- There's an optimism to it

that I think we've never needed
more than now.

- Seven of Nine's one of my
favorite "Star Trek" characters

because she was so hot.

Featuring an intimate
conversation with cast members,

comedians, scientists,
and academics

covering all things
"Star Trek."

- That was one of my big fears
in accepting the role.

- Happy 50th anniversary,
"Star Trek."

You know how old
that makes me?

"50 Years of 'Star Trek."

- We're here on the 50th
anniversary of "Star Trek"

at the Griffith Observatory

outside
the Leonard Nimoy theater

to discuss "Star Trek"
with a lot of great people

and a lot of fine minds
and Kevin Pollak.

Let's just jump
right into it.

Let's talk about the general
impact of "Star Trek."

- The great sense of discovery
and curiosity

on this five-year mission
to seek out new worlds.

You know, those--those--

that phraseology
was kind of impactful.

- "The Measure of Man"
where Data's on trial,

that's the episode that led me
to create my class.

- Oh, wow.
- Because it has references

to slavery in it,
and I thought about,

"Gee,
this is very interesting."

You know, there's a whole
pro-slavery argument.

It's really the Dred Scott
decision worked out there.

- Yeah.
- Is Data property or not?

- I saw a couple
of episodes

of the original series
when I was a kid

because you can't not
have seen some things.

I saw the Tribble episode,
I think,

and I saw the planet of kids,
"grups."

And they were saying,
"Grups, grups," that one.

Whatever.
- Yeah.

- But I was never a sci-fi fan,
so I wasn't into it.

And I never watched
any of the other incarnations

until I was on the show.

- I saw "Star Trek" as this,
you know,

amazing way of bringing humanity
together, right?

You had the height
of the Cold War.

You had a Russian and American
people working together.

You had black people and white
people working together.

That's an incredible thing
to see as a kid

when, you know,
you're from two worlds

that really also
don't get along.

- I first started
on the original series,

my mother was a big fan,
and those were reruns

that were happening
at the time.

It was right before
"Next Generation" started

and it was--I just always
was fascinated

by Dr. McCoy's grumpiness.

That relationship with Spock
I thought was amazing.

He just was, like,
"I can't stand you,

but I love you."
- Yeah.

- And I was like,
"Oh, that's my family."

I understand everything
from "Star Trek."

- Yes.
- You know, it's funny

because I wasn't allowed
to watch TV

when "Star Trek"
was on the air.

My parents wouldn't let me
watch it.

So I snuck downstairs
and I turned on the TV.

And, uh, that was my first--
the first time I saw the show.

I think it was, um,
"This Side of Paradise"

was the episode.
- Oh.

- And you could tell
that whoever was doing the show

was a science fiction fan.

*

"Star Trek" begins
as the brainchild of one man,

Gene Roddenberry,
a former World War II pilot

and policeman
turned screenwriter.

His first television series
premieres in 1963,

and features a few faces
that will soon become familiar

to "Trek" fans.

- He was a big man,
enthusiastic.

He really, really loved
producing a show,

which he had never done
before.

He created "The Lieutenant."

- It was "The Lieutenant."
It was his first big TV show.

And he cast me.

- I had acted in an episode of a
series called "The Lieutenant"

that was produced
by Gene Roddenberry.

My agent called me and said,
"He's interested in you

for a science fiction pilot
that he's gonna produce.

"The Lieutenant" runs
for just one season,

but Roddenberry's already
working on a bigger idea.

In 1964, he begins pitching
a series about a starship

with a multi-ethnic crew.

- I had worked for him directly
when his secretary was ill.

And he knew that I had
sold some things

that I wanted to be a writer,
a full-time writer.

And he called me into his
office and said,

"What do you think of this?"
And he showed me

about a 10-12 page piece
that was called "Star Trek."

- Well, he had done...
- "The Lieutenant."

- I went in to do a pitch
on a story.

Somehow or another,
he asked if I was interested

in doing "Star Trek."

I said, "Yeah,
I would be interested in that."

- And I went home,
and I read it,

and I came back the next day,
and I said,

"Who plays Mr. Spock."

- The script was very good,
very good.

I didn't quite understand
how it was gonna work

as a television show
because it was so unique.

It was really quite special.

But it was
a very intelligent script.

It had layers of ideas in it

that you didn't often get
in television.

- Roddenberry
was very inspired

by Jonathan Swift's
"Gulliver's Travels."

And wanted to tell stories

that you couldn't
normally tell on television

through the prism
of science fiction.

- He was such a complex
and interesting man.

Very bright,
very bright.

Hard-working.

Tough job, tough job.

Particularly getting
"Star Trek" right

the first couple of seasons.

To get it--to get it
what he wanted it to be.

- They didn't think there was
a big enough audience out there.

They thought it was gonna be
sci-fi kooks and kids.

And they didn't think they could
make enough money

from their sponsors
to put these on in prime-time.

Well, they had put on "Voyage
to the Bottom of the Sea"

in fall of '64,
winning its timeslot for ABC.

Fall of '65, he puts on
"Lost In Space" on CBS.

It's winning its timeslot for CBS.

That was when they made
the decision to put it on

for the fall of '66.
NBC wants one.

They felt they were missing
the boat.

President John F. Kennedy

issues a challenge:

To put a man on the moon
before the end of the decade.

The space race heats up
as America looks to the stars.

And one unlikely supporter
sees an opportunity.

- Well, "Star Trek" may be
the first TV show

I can really remember.

"Star Trek"
and "Mission: Impossible."

In fact, the both--the two great
Desilu productions.

- The other player
in "Star Trek"

and get it on the air
was Lucille Ball

with Desilu Studios.

- It was Lucille Ball who said,
"Let's make this."

- That studio was built
on reruns.

And when "I Love Lucy"
was in production,

they wanted to film it
here in LA.

So they said, "We'll pay the
difference and film this

if we can have
the rerun rights."

And the answer
from Harry Ackerman at CBS was,

"What's a rerun?"

Nobody had ever rerun anything
on TV.

They shot it live,
it was gone.

And "Star Trek"
was brought in.

And Lucy said, "I think that
could rerun for ten years.

Well, here we are
50 years later.

"I Love Lucy" is still on
five days a week

in every city
around the country.

And probably the second most
rerun show

in the history of television
is "Star Trek."

Let's give her credit,
Lucy loved "Star Trek."

And we wouldn't have had
"Star Trek" without Lucy,

so we love Lucy.

- You know, my father passed
away when I was 17.

He's got such a legacy
and he's touched so many people

that I've learned a great deal
about him after his passing.

You know, he was a bomber pilot
in World War II.

He flew something like, uh,
is it 79 or 89 missions.

My father had seen the best
of humanity

and he'd seen the worst
of humanity.

But I think that really helped
shape his view

of "Star Trek"
and that better future.

The pilot episode of
"Star Trek" is filmed in 1965,

introducing the world
to what would become

one of the most iconic
characters of all time,

Mr. Spock.

- And he shoved a picture
of Leonard Nimoy

across the desk at me.

At that point,
he was a Martian first officer.

- He said a character
with pointed ears,

and that set me back
a bit.

I had to think about that one.

- Leonard was an actor.
He was a real actor.

- And he walked me through
the various departments.

He showed me where they were
making the props.

He showed me where the sets
were being designed,

the design for the Enterprise,
the ship.

And I realized that he was
selling me on this job.

And that's the way
it would happen.

The network orders
a new "Star Trek" pilot.

Spock stays on board,

but the Enterprise gets
an entirely new crew,

including a brash,
young captain,

James T. Kirk.

- William Shatner had Kirk down

from act one, scene one,

and he played that through
right till the end

in "Star Trek: Generations"
in 1994.

- You know, Shatner,
who's totally nailing the part,

but DeForest Kelley,
the person that Gene wanted

from the beginning
for Dr. McCoy.

- Scotty felt like he was
a little more fully formed

as a character.

There was an empathy with
Jimmy Doohan's performance.

We just liked Scotty. You wanted
to hang out with Scotty.

You wanted to go have a drink in
the bar with Scotty, you know?

- It's a very hallowed
and beloved thing

that you don't want
to mess up.

I feel honored
to play Scotty.

I will always defer
to the greatest Scotty ever,

which was James Doohan,

but if I can do half as good as
he did, then I'll be happy.

- George Takei, who plays
Mr. Sulu, sat at the helm.

- An Asian man
on a show like this,

you seldom saw
anything like that.

And here he was,
a man with responsibilities.

He was the helmsman.

- Everyone, Nichelle,
just beautiful and smart

and an incredible role model
as Uhura.

- I think the first memory
of "Star Trek" really was going,

"Oh, look..."

"There's a black lady
in the future."

And this was
the first time I knew

we would be in the future.

- Later on,
Walter Koenig as Chekov.

- If the circumstances
hadn't fallen the way they did,

if things hadn't happened
the way they did,

then I probably never
been in for the role

of Chekov on "Star Trek."

I read one line.
He says, "You got the part."

And that was the part
of a Russian.

- Who had a Russian
on the show?

We were still just reaching out
trying to make contact

with Russia
in a friendly sense.

- To bring these people together

created the magic
that is "Star Trek."

- From day one, we got along...

just like that.

With the cast
and crew assembled,

the Enterprise is nearly ready
to begin its mission.

But Roddenberry knows
something is missing.

- G.R said, "I gotta do
an opening for the show."

So he said,
"You take a shot at it,

I'll take a shot at it,
we'll see what happens."

- It was, "Space...
the final frontier,"

was yours, wasn't it?
- Yeah.

"The final frontier."

- "Space...

"the final frontier.

- So it was some Roddenberry,
it was some Black.

We came out with...

"Boldy go where no man
has gone before."

- To boldly go where no man
has gone before.

*

NBC premieres "Star Trek"

on a Thursday night
in the fall of 1966.

- Well, the first episode
of "Star Trek,""The Man Trap,"

had 47% audience share.

Lucy wrote a memo
to Gene Roddenberry saying,

"Congratulations, boys,
you're a hit."

- Back in the late '60s,

what "Star Trek" was doing
on television was cutting edge.

It was ahead of its time.

- This was the first time we saw
a miniskirt on television.

"Star Trek" premiered
in September of '66,

the mini made its debut
in London

in the summer of '66
and had not made it to America.

He was way ahead
of his time.

- It was also
a science fiction series

that took the subject matter
very seriously.

"Star Trek" is unlike
anything on television

at the time,
but what makes it unique

also threatens
to destroy it.

"Star Trek" premieres in 1966,

and instantly becomes one of
the most ground-breaking series

in the history of television.

Gene Roddenberry's vision

is a sign of changing times
in America.

- A story about a hopeful future
made in a difficult time.

The times were tough.

The war in Vietnam, the racial
issues that were happening,

riots in the streets,
riots at political conventions.

People were angry and upset
and nervous and concerned.

And it was this thing
that said, "Hey,

"in the future we have a way
of dealing with these issues.

"It's gonna be okay.

"Here's a group of people who
are solving problems together.

And they're all different,
diverse people."

"Star Trek"
tackles the most pressing

social issues of its day.

- We had the one
where Uhura and Kirk kissed.

That, I think, was more of--
I mean, I think that was great.

And the people in the South,
there were probably

a lot of people jumping out
of windows at that.

- The director was nervous.

The front office at Paramount
was nervous,

which was just dumb, you know,
then don't do it,

which is what I said.

And they went,
"You don't want to do it?"

I said, "I want to do it.
It's written in the script.

It's a great scene."

This is the first interracial
kiss on television.

*

- They were writing some pretty
major stuff in those days.

I mean, very eloquent writers.
Very knowledgeable.

- They did "Mark of Gideon,"
which got a lot of flack,

about birth control,
overpopulation.

'Cause nobody had talked
about that on TV

up until that point.

NBC was disappointed with
"Star Trek" from the get-go,

but the rating were not bad

and the fan mail was huge.

"Star Trek" is doing things

that a lot of the affiliates
were uncomfortable with,

so they kept moving it
from one bad slot to another

until they finally put it
in the death slot

to get rid of this show.

That is what killed
"Star Trek."

The original series is canceled

after 3 seasons
and 79 episodes.

But it's gained
a cult following

that's become undeniable.

Within four years,
"Trek" is back on the air.

This time reaching a new
generation of young fans.

*

- My first contact with
"Star Trek"

was probably watching
the animated series

on Saturday morning TV
in the early '70s.

And, you know, I was really
struck by the, you know,

the bright colors
of the uniforms.

- The fans were very wary.

In fact, some of the cast
was wary too.

They felt, "Hey, 'Star Trek'
is starting to get momentum.

"We think there could be
more life in this.

But if we do a cartoon,
it's gonna kill it."

And Gene Roddenberry
was very cagey and very smart.

He says, "No,
this will fan the flames.

This will keep it alive
rather than let it disappear."

And he was right.

- It sounds funny
for saying this,

but it has never been canceled.

You know, um, we were just off
longer than we wanted to be.

- So then we have the '70s,
right, '70s hit.

Everyone went to see
that "Star Wars" situation.

I think we can make some money.

- So you had a TV script that
was being padded out

into a motion picture.

They took themselves
a little too seriously

and they were trying to be
a little more like, "2001."

Then they brought in
Robert Wise

because he was known
as a big-time movie director.

- There never
really been a movie

years after a show
was canceled.

"Star Trek" would be
the beginning

of that phenomena,
which--now, you know,

well, unceasing phenomena.

- When we came back to do
the first really big one

that we did
after being away so long,

it was amazing.

"Star Trek: The Motion Picture"

hits theaters
in December of 1979.

But the cast
has its doubts.

- So Robert Wise
was a very good filmmaker.

He was a multiple Academy
Award-winning director,

but he did not know
"Star Trek."

- We sat down to watch
that first movie

and the beginning was great.

Dat-dat-dat-dat-dat-dat-dat.
Bum-bum-bum-bum.

And then it suddenly became
a talking heads movie.

Where was the friction?
Where was the conflict?

Where was the passion?

- It had very little to do
with "Star Trek."

You had the spaceship,
the Enterprise.

You had the crew.

But the story
had very little to do

with anything "Star Trek-y."

The characters were not
in shape, in place,

playing off of each other
and with each other

the way we did best.

- Why are they wearing
pajamas?

Why, you know, does it look
like they're in a Holiday Inn?

So a lot of what
"The Wrath of Khan"

proved to be about
aesthetically

and maybe even
intellectually as well

was a reaction to what I saw.

- And for a movie that was
so poorly received,

we had done extremely well.

To my great surprise,
they said, "Star Trek II."

"The Wrath of Khan"
becomes an instant classic.

It's villain is a genetically
engineered superhuman,

who first appeared in
the original series

bent on revenge
against Captain Kirk.

- "Wrath of Khan"
is a classic.

I mean, "Wrath of Khan"
just works on every level.

You know, it just does.
It's pop entertainment.

It's a fan's dream.
It's fun. It's funny.

The visual effects
are state of the art

and really hold up
even to this day.

Those space battles
are fantastic.

- Montalban was
a charismatic actor.

He really gave us
this wonderful performance.

It was theatrical,
imaginative, creative

performance as Khan
in "Star Trek II."

And he looked great.

And that was his chest
that people thought

had been built up
with makeup or something.

That was him, you know?

It was really
Ricardo Montalban.

- That's his chest.
It's his chest.

Gives you an idea
of "Star Trek-ian" scholarship

that that's the most, you know,
frequently asked question.

Behind the scenes,

the cast didn't always
get along.

- I had immediately had a good
rapport with with Nick Myers,

but as we went through
several rehearsals

working with the camera,

Shatner would come over to me

and start trying
to redirect me.

Is the word given, Admiral?
- The word is given.

- So I finally said,
"Can I stop for a second?"

Nick said to me,
"What's the matter, Ike?"

I said,
"Well, I'm getting direction

"from other people on the set,

"and it's making me
very uncomfortable.

"I just want to make sure
I'm doing my job correctly,

So I'm listening to you."

And he said,
"That's right.

You're listening to me.
We good?"

I said, "We're good.
Thank you very much."

And I just stood back.

No one else ever said anything
to me again after that.

Khan uses mind
control to achieve his ends,

delivered in a gruesome way.

- They're young.
Enter through the ears.

And wrap themselves
around the cerebral cortex.

- Yeah, well, that was fun.

You know,
being on the other end of that.

What it was,
it was a stunt bug.

No, it wasn't a stunt bug.

It was--it was a little thing
that had

a little rubbery plastic
thing,

and they had a fine filament
thread attached to it.

It was very hard to see.

When it was going up
my face,

there was actually a guy
standing above me,

and they had drilled a hole
in my helmet,

and he was pulling it up
my face on that filament.

And when they got
to my ear,

and them I made
all those screams,

really unbecoming an officer,

but they--that's what
they wanted.

But there is one
scene that has become

the defining moment
in "The Wrath of Khan."

- I read that script
and I saw the conflict,

and I saw the passion
in it,

and when I saw the scene where
Spock tries to save the ship

and dies in the process,
I said,

"This is a good,
good film."

- I really believed
that this was going to be

the final "Star Trek" movie.

So I thought if "Star Trek"
is coming to an end,

maybe it's fitting
that Spock should die

saving the ship
and the crew,

and be a hero and go out
in a blaze of glory.

During the making of the movie,
I began to be concerned

that maybe I'd made
a mistake.

And on the day we went to shoot
Spock's death scene,

Harve came to me on the set.

He came to me on the set
and he said,

"What can you give us
that might be a thread

for the future for Spock
or 'Star Trek'?"

And it took me a moment.
I said,

"I can do a mind-meld
on DeForest Kelley

"who's laying there
unconscious,

and I can say something
ambiguous like, 'Remember.'"

And that's how that moment
came about.

Remember.

- And then you have
"Star Trek's" finest hour

between Kirk and Spock.

That death scene
through the radiation chamber--

cried like a baby.

- I was always very touched
by what happened

in that--in that sequence.
Ahem.

I thought it was beautifully
written, the death scene.

And it really worked
in the film.

I have people still today
who write me and say,

"Every time
I still see that picture

"for the fifth, tenth time,
I still cry when Spock--

at that death scene,"
you know?

I have been...

and always shall be...

your friend.

Live long...

and prosper.

Two short years
after the success of "Khan,"

"Trek" returns
to the big screen,

and the franchise
is truly reborn.

- "Star Trek III" was the first
movie that Nimoy directed,

and it was also his way
to come back to "Star Trek"

to bring Spock back.

- Nicholas Meyer, a very
talented guy, was directing.

I thought,
"I-I can do what he does.

I know what he's doing
and I can do that."

So I went in
the next morning,

and I put it to them
very simply.

I said, "Michael,
you have two problems.

"You want me to play Spock
in 'Star Trek III,'

"and you need a director.

I solved both of your problems
with one stroke."

And that's the way it went,

and he said,
"Okay, let's make a deal."

And we immediately made a deal
and went to work.

- You Klingon bastard.

- There are two more prisoners,
Admiral.

Do you want them killed too?

- It's just such a delicious
badass son of a bitch, you know?

He's just--he's just a bad guy
with no remorse.

I killed Kirk's son

and I blew up
the original Enterprise.

Just freaking wiped it out.

And I could do it again.

- I was asked to do "III,"
I didn't know how to do it.

So I said
I wasn't interested in doing it.

I was not part of "IV"
either.

They had had a script written

tailor-made to star
Eddie Murphy,

who was Paramount's
other big star at the time.

And Paramount didn't like
the idea

of putting all their golden eggs
in one basket,

Eddie Murphy
and the Star Trek people.

So I went to see Harve
and Leonard,

and they told me the story
about the whales.

And Harve said, "I'll write
the outer space parts

if you do the on Earth parts,
you know, the bookend.

And I said, "Okay."

- "Star Trek V" is hurt
by it's budget

more than anything else.
It's not a badly directed film.

In fact, Bill did a nice job
directing for the most pt,

but they just didn't have enough
money to recognize the vision,

so it looks very cheap,
and as a result,

it feels like a bad movie.

- We watched the movie,
we were like,

"Yeah, that was great."

And I remember my brother,

he was the one who had not
been drinking.

He was looking at, like,

"I don't think
it really was great."

We were like, "No, it was great.
Let's watch it again."

And we did,
so we watched it again.

That's probably the last time
I saw "Star Trek V."

- Then "Star Trek V" came out
and didn't perform well.

And then Leonard came,
and he had this genesis,

you should pardon the pun,
of an idea for "VI,"

which was all about the wall
coming down in outer space.

It was about the Klingons
have been their substitute

for the Russians.
I went, "They were?"

And we wrote it.

- His idea was that, you know,
time's change.

You know, you can't be,
you know, mad at a group

for 100 years and you don't know
anything about them.

- Michael Dorn was my idea.

He could play
his own grandfather.

I thought
that would be funny.

- So "Star Trek IV" does
gangbusters at the box office.

They're like, "Hang on,
this is a hot property."

Gene's like,
"Guess what, fellas?

I want to do I on TV again."

And then Paramount's like...
- "Yes, please."

- "I might as well."
- Yeah.

- "Well, it's sitting here
doing nothing."

- "How soon will you start?"
- So then we have

"Star Trek:
The Next Generation" comes out.

In 1987,

21 years after the original
series hits the air,

"Star Trek" returns to
television with the premiere

of "The Next Generation."

- Gene Roddenberry called me
and he was talking about

a new version of "Star Trek"

bouncing off the movies,
of course.

He came up with the basics
for the older captain,

for the characters that we see
in "Star Trek: Next Gen."

Diehard fans
are skeptical of the reboot.

- We got a bald, English
captain with a French name

and you got a Klingon
on the bridge?

Really? You got a blind guy
driving the ship?

- Gene was there during
the first couple of years

and all the spinoffs carried on
the tradition of "Star Trek."

- When that cast was first
assembled and the show

first went into production,
"The Next Generation,"

I invited them here
to this house,

the whole bunch of them,
all of them.

"Come to my house.
Let's get to know each other.

And good luck, and bon voyage.
I think--I hope it works."

- When I first auditioned
for "Next Gen,"

I was one of the few people
in the world

who was not quite aware
of the phenomenon

that we were about
to get involved with.

- When I heard that they were
doing a next generation,

I went, "Oh, afraid
I gotta do this," you know?

- I got a call from my agent
who said, "You know what?

They're casting 'Star Trek.'
Oh, my God."

And she was a huge
"Star Trek" fan.

I had no clue
it was going to be a big show.

- So LeVar Burton
and I go to eat.

I say,
"What are you doing?"

He said, "Oh, you'll love this.
I'm doing 'Star Trek.'"

I said, "Well,
I want to be on that."

And he was like, "What?"
I was like, "No, no.

You gotta tell them
I want to be on the show."

And I made an appointment
to go see Gene.

And Gene says,
"You want to be on 'Star Trek'?"

I said, "Yes.
Yes."

- And he asked me would I please
write the pilot script,

"Encounter At Farpoint."
And I said, "Fine," did that.

The question had been whether
Gene Roddenberry would do,

you know, like a retrospective
back to the original "Star Trek"

to lead into this or would he
add to my pilot script.

He added all the stuff
that had to do with Q.

- Three days into shooting,
uh, you know,

somebody came up behind me
and put his hand on my shoulder

and said, "You have no idea what
you've gotten yourself into."

And it was--
it was Roddenberry.

And I didn't have any idea.
I mean, you know.

- Riker's relationship
with Picard,

which was filled
with respect.

With Data,
the curiosity that Data had

about being a human being.

And I worked
with Worf and Geordi,

the three of us were sort of,
you know,

we made the--we kept the
together on the ship.

And it was--it all got
more natural.

And as it got more natural,

I think it got more appealing
to the audience.

- I decided to write
a spec script,

so I wrote a script
called "The Bonding."

Michael Piller came aboard
to be the new head writer,

and he found my script.

And I get this call one day

that he wants to buy it
and produce it,

which literally
changed my life.

- We used to do 26 episodes
a year, and it was great.

So we'd work for ten months,

and then the first Monday
after the 4th of July,

we'd come back to work.

And that lasted for seven years
and could have lasted,

in all fairness,
for ten years probably.

- The humans of the 24th century
on "Next Generation"

didn't have the kinds
of problems and squabbles

and petty jealousies
that we have today.

- Chief O'Brien talks to me.

Keiko talks to you.

Why do they not talk
to each other?

That's a good question, Data.

I wish I had a good answer
for you.

Perhaps when they're ready,
they will.

- Hmm. Many aspects of this
situation are puzzling to me.

- Roddenberry somehow magically
made us--made me

believe in his vision
of the 24th century, right?

He said to me,
"In the 24th century,

there will be no hunger,
and there will be no greed.

And all of the children
will know how to read.

Gene Roddenberry.

- He was given the right
to do "Star Trek"

the way he wanted to do it.

Unfortunately his health
was failing by the time

they even got "Star Trek:
The Next Generation" on.

So he didn't really get
the chance to do

all of the things
he wanted to do.

When Gene Roddenberry
dies in 1991,

"The Next Generation"
is more popular than ever.

Carrying on his legacy,
week after week,

for the next three years.

- There were those of us,
myself included,

who thought it could go on
for ten years.

That we weren't done yet.

Knowing that there was another
series waiting in the wings

where we could continue
to tell stories

that we hadn't told yet
made that okay.

And it seemed smart
to take "Next Gen" off

at the peak
of its popularity.

'Cause it was
a very popular show.

There is a part of me
that wished,

that wishes "Next Gen"
had continued.

- I was asked to direct the
first "Next Generation" movie.

I just--
I wasn't attracted to it.

I read it,

and it didn't feel
like something

that I was gonna have
a good time doing.

- Ron Moore and I
were asked to write

the first
"Next Generation" movie.

We were very excited.

It was the first movie
either of us had written.

We loved these characters.
We knew these characters.

And we set about conceiving
the first "Next Gen" movie.

Kind of hand-off
from the original series,

Kirk to Picard.

- There was sort of a list
of things

that the movie had to have,

so when Bran and I
stepped in,

here's the list of things
it has to be.

"It's gonna be the next first
"Next Gen" movie.

"It can have
the original cast in it.

"We want a transition film,
but the original cast

"can only be in
the first ten minutes

"or 15 minutes
of the movie tops.

"It has to be a Picard story.

"There has to be
a Data humorous runner in it.

"We want to have a big villain,
sort of like Khan.

"We also want to have
the Klingons in it.

And it should probably have
some time travel involved."

And you're just going,
"Okay.

- By the time "Generations,"
the first movie, is coming out,

you have Kirk and Picard on the
cover of "Time" magazine.

That's the apex,
it's the zenith of the show.

- "Generations" was still
in the theaters

when the said,
"Hey, let's do another one.

And we want you guys
to do the second one."

And we said, "Okay."

- "First Contact" was the film
that they should have made

every time after that.

- Then the second movie,
"First Contact,"

is, you know,
a roller coaster ride

and wonderful and really
sort of redeems that franchise.

- That movie was a huge success.
It made a lot of money.

And everybody liked it.

And Alfre Woodard
was great in it.

And Cromwell
was great in it.

- I'm not a drinker,
so I got a fifth of Jamesons.

And I took one
before when we rehearsed.

And then between every shot,
I would go back up to my tr--

So by the time I did the thing
we're at the bar,

when I take the drink...

Ahh!

Oh!

"Star Trek: First Contact"

debuts in 1996
with Commander Riker himself,

Jonathan Frakes
in the director's chair.

- It was great to work
with Jonathan, you know?

We'd worked with him before
as a director on the show,

so we knew his working methods,
he knew us, you know.

There was a great shorthand,
obviously,

between him and the entire cast
and the crew.

- This was our first movie
that was just "Next Gen."

So that--that was
a life-changer, you know.

- I think "Star Trek's"
a TV show.

The movies are fun,
but, you know,

it's--it's a TV show.

It needs to tell the stories
each week.

- "First Contact" is fanta--
it's like--

it's the best of
the "Next Generation" movies.

I'm sorry, everyone,
that's how I feel.

- Probably.
- I see some grunting happening

over on the corners here.

Bobak, you grunted
particularly hard.

- I'm just a big
"Insurrection" fan because--

- What? What?

- It's the most like
a "TNG" episode.

The movies really, like,
diverge from my thought

what made the show great.

And I like that it was
a little bit more of that

"TNG"-style episode than I felt
the rest of the movies were.

- So we go
from "Insurrection."

"Voyager's" still running
at this point.

And then we end up with,
I hate to say it,

"Star Trek: Nemesis,"
so Janeway--

- They asked me to be in that.
Did you know that?

- Really? What were you
gonna do in that?

Were you gonna be
on the Enterprise?

- Evidently.
- Why would you say no?

What is wrong with you?

- 'Cause I had just gotten off
of "Voyager."

- Oh, my God, Jeri.
- My biggest fear is in signing

on to "Star Trek" to begin with,
not having been a fan,

and not really knowing much
about it other than that

the actors get pigeonholed.
- Yeah.

- And it was sort of known
for that.

- Yeah.
- That was one of my big fears

in accepting the role is ever
breaking out of that character.

I don't know if that's even...
- No, please.

- Known by anybody,
but apparently they were

replacing a character.

They were gonna yank
and character out

and stick Seven of Nine
in there.

It's a popular character,
get her in the movie.

And that's what it felt like.
And it didn't feel like

it would be anything
other than that story-wise.

- Yeah.

"Deep Space Nine"
is the most meaningful to me.

Because it gets into

the darker side.

I mean, it's after
Gene Roddenberry's death.

They're kinda free to kind of
get away from this, you know,

- everything ends happily.
- Yeah.

- You know, you look at war
in a variety of different ways.

I mean, there's a great episode
on PTSD,

where Nog has to deal
with the loss of his leg.

Nobody does that kind of stuff.
- Right.

On science fiction in particular.

And so I think that show
in terms of its depth,

in terms of the issues
it would address,

I thought made it
the best.

And, you know, arguably there
are some of the best episodes

of all 700-plus hours.

- "The Next Generation"
had become such a success

in first-run syndication
for the studio

that they wanted more,
so you had "Deep Space Nine,"

which was about
a space station

and it was a little darker.

- "Next Gen" was
my undergraduate studies

in TV writing and production,

and "Deep Space Nine"
was graduate.

- "DS9" had such
a different feel

while still being
"Star Trek."

It took things even deeper.

- We were attracted to doing
darker stories.

We were attracted
to doing stories

that had much more conflict
in them,

that were more morally
ambiguous,

that were tackling
difficult subject matter

with our characters.

And we all felt
that we were pushing "Trek,"

but none of us felt like
we were breaking it.

- That was the first time
that you see

what television is now,
which is dark and foreboding.

- And I really wanted
to do the show.

Really wanted
to do the show.

I-I was like--

I just--not only as an actor
who would get a steady paycheck,

but more importantly,
as a fan of the show

I wanted to be part of the ethos
that was "Star Trek."

- It's really nice to see that
people could stick with the show

when it became darker and more
demanding of its audience.

- But no victory can make
this moment any easier for me.

And I promise I will not rest
until I stand with you again.

- Somebody had
the brilliant idea

of bringing Worf
onto our show.

- Unfortunately, I will be away
from the station at that time.

- What they hoped would happen
did happen.

Thousands,
if not millions, of people

watched because Worf
was on the show.

And so our fan base
got resurrected

because of Michael Dorn.

- And I had my concerns
about that

'cause I didn't want Worf
to be standing around,

just to be a, you know,
some guy that just--

they throw in there.

I really want him to open up
as a character.

- Worf was, like, really
the only choice from that cast

that made any sense
and that would actually add

something to the puzzle.

Here's the war-like character
coming into a situation

that's a war-torn environment.

So that made a certain
amount of sense.

- What is that smell?

Is there a pile
of rotting forshak in here.

I loved my time
on "Next Generation,"

but the work I did
on "Deep Space" was much better.

- Over my tenure
on "Deep Space,"

that was the mantra was,

"How far can we push
this franchise?

"Or what are the places
we can go

"that none of the other shows
can go?

"What can't they do
in 'Star Trek,'

and is there a way
we can do it?"

- Every "Star Trek" show broke
grounds in some way, you know?

"Deep Space Nine,"
Sisko, he was a black captain.

And then you have Janeway
in "Voyager," a woman.

I mean, they were always
thinking ahead.

When "Voyager"
launches in 1995,

"Star Trek" has been pushing
the envelope

for nearly 30 years.

The new series pushes further.

- A lot of women
of a certain age

who that show meant a lot to
because of Kate.

You know, they look at it,
you know,

the same way that guys
of my generation

look at Kirk
as a role model,

they look at Kate's Janeway
and say,

"You know, she proved that,
you know,

"I could be thoughtful
and smart and commanding,

and not necessarily use my
sexuality to get what I want."

- Then you leave me
no choice.

You are hereby relieved of duty
until further notice.

- As a writer,
writing Captain Janeway,

I didn't think of her
as a woman.

I thought of her as the captain.

And I think it's great that she
ended up being a role model

to a lot of people,
men or women.

- I was very
happy and proud

of what the producers had done
with this cast in "Voyager."

First of all, starting off
with a female captain

'cause we had not
seen that before.

- My friend, Rene,
got cast in "Deep Space."

And he told me how cool it was,
and I envied him.

I said, "What a great show
to be on," you know.

And then
a couple of years later,

boom,
I was in "Voyager."

And I-I had no idea

what the character was
makeup-wise, you know?

But I flew out
and I-I went into the room,

and there was UPN,
and there was Paramount,

and there were the creators
of "Star Trek."

And, um, I read

and I guess I was exactly what
what they were looking for.

- "Star Trek: Voyager" is
probably my first acting job.

And I was so excited,
and I was so nervous.

It was a two-part special
and I was playing a scientist.

- What do you do here?

- We watch the skies.
- For what?

- Signs of
extraterrestrial life.

Nice meeting you.

I remembered
going to my acting coach,

and he read through the script.

I was looking to him
for guidance.

And he just went, uh,

"You know, sometimes when
you're running from lasers,

you just--you just gotta pretend
you're running from lasers."

- Get down!

- I was like, "Oh.'
Ahem.

It gave me so much freedom.

I was like, "Oh, yeah,
I just--I pretend," you know?

You don't really draw from
your childhood or something.

You just pretend
you're running from lasers.

What the hell?

- What I wanted to do
was bring the Borg in.

It was my feeling
that the Borg

could always be
"Voyager's" Klingons.

They needed
a recurring villain.

And for better or worse,

that's what
we ended up doing.

And it's one of the things
that defined "Voyager"

was the introduction
of the Seven of Nine character.

You had a very sexy woman
in a very sexy outfit.

You know,
it was supposed to lure in

a certain male demographic.

But, in reality,
she was the Spock character.

She was the Data character.

- Report.

- I've applied
10,053 algorithms

to the energy signatures
produced by chaotic space.

- The Roddenberry influence
was always respected.

We didn't want
to do something

totally, outrageously
anti-Roddenberry.

- It's almost like you have
to keep pinching yourself.

You show up on these sets
and you have to remind yourself,

"I'm in the middle of something
that when we do it right,

is really important,
can really affect people."

Now it's hard to do that
on every single episode.

I don't know who has ever
succeeded in that,

but I think that we all
could feel as a cast

when we were telling
a good story and doing it well.

- There was a lot of discussion
what "Enterprise"

would look like
and feel like.

"Star Trek: Enterprise"

is a prequel
to the entire franchise.

Set in the 22nd century,

as Starfleet's first explorers
venture into space.

- You know, we were trying to,
I think,

deconstruct "Star Trek"
and figure out, you know,

how it all came together.

You know,
we'd certainly seen the future

of where it was all going.

And it was a real challenge
to kind of back that up

and imagine, you know,
what was this--

what was this like 150 years
before Captain Kirk.

- I called my mother
and said,

"Ma, I'm not gonna have
to stress about work.

I got a job."

- I had to audition with
a slight alien accent

for the character of Dr. Phlox,
which puzzled me.

I didn't really know what to do,
so I--

I sort of tried out
a variety of funny voices

with my wife before I settled
on the voice

I eventually arrived at.

Sounds sort of vaguely
East Indian.

I don't believe
you'll be needing my services.

- You know, I thought that
we were gonna make it

and that we were gonna do
seven years

like all the rest
of these shows.

- I was just trying to tell
good stories

and do Gene's vision proud.

Tell the best "Star Trek"
stories that I could, you know?

And now that I'm no longer
involved with the show,

I'm the fan eagerly awaiting
the next television show.

- So in the '60s, I mean,
it a period of racial discord.

We got the Vietnam War,
youth rebellions,

emerging feminism,
and, you know, TV--

- Dirty hippies.
- Dirty hi--exactly.

There's no series
or television show

really addressing
these things.

You know, Roddenberry's able
to do is kind of explore

these things, but again,
in a way which is--

not only avoids the censors,

which he had a lot
of problems with,

but also allows the audience

to kind of look at it
from a different perspective.

And if they were looking
at race in America

on a documentary,
that's just not gonna have

the kind of impact,
whereas in

"Let That Be
Your Last Battlefield,"

we have the black
and white faces.

You know, and you can imagine
what the American public

was looking at this going,
"You know,

yeah, this is right.
This is kinda strange."

And again, this is an episode
that was done right after Mart--

it was produced
right after

Martin Luther King's
assassination.

- That's the beauty of sci-fi.
You can sort of

have these allegories
without

people knowing they're being
taught a lesson.

- Yeah.
- Big two on the nose.

- Yeah, they just think
they're watching

a fun space adventure
with a Canadian.

- "Star Trek" very much
at a time when, you know,

race, in particular, in the '60s
was such a big thing.

It broke down those barriers
in terms of talking--

talking about color,
multi-culturalism, other people.

And instead of making walls,
and instead of trying to

villainize others,

it was all
about embracing the other.

- Because, you know, when you
look at the "Star Trek" world,

you know, Gene really wanted
to create a world

where everybody could be,
you know?

And if we were having
some kind of trouble,

we could talk it out.

- We had one of the most
wonderful icons

in Nichelle Nichols, who was
not only African American,

she was a woman.

And, you know, she was there
on the bridge all the time.

She was important.

Sometimes she would just say,
"Channels open, sir,"

but the thing was
that she was there.

- She speaks
perfect English.

She's the communications officer

and she takes that
very seriously.

- She is not only gorgeous,

but she is
the communications officer.

She's the one you have
to talk to

if you want to talk
to anybody out in space.

And she's fly, okay?

And they all want to bone her,
and you know it.

- And there were some stations
in the South that said,

"Oh, you're having,"
what was then,

"a black woman on the bridge.

We're not gonna show
your show."

And Roddenberry said,
"you," you know.

And, you know,
"Too bad. You lose."

- A woman of color
in the late '60s

while the civil rights riots
were going on.

Her presence there
was a big deal.

- I had just been offered

a major role
in a Broadway musical.

And I met
Dr. Martin Luther King.

And I was so excited
to tell him.

And he said,
"You can't do that."

He said, "Don't you understand
what you're doing?

"This is television and
there's nobody like you on TV.

You can't--
you can't abdicate."

And I couldn't.

- The main thing
that has struck me

about Gene's series at the time
was how he mirrored

the things that were going on
in our society

by using the aliens
and the humans

to carry out those storylines.

He was very clever
in doing that.

- I liked the idea.

I'm not sure
it was always executed

as well as it might have.

I think we used the bludgeon

when we did the story of the
half black and half white.

You know, but we did it
you know?

And good for us
for taking on the issue.

- I am black
on the right side.

*

- I fail to see
the significant difference.

- Lokai is white
on the right--

all of his people are white
on the right side.

- Frank Gorshin
was a wonderful performer,

and he and Lou Antonio
were the two actors

who played
these opposing roles.

People who were actually
mirror images of each other

should hate each other
they way they did.

And there was that great moment
where Kirk says,

"Why do you people
hate each other so much?

You're--you're the same."

"Don't you get it?

He's black on the right side,
I'm black on the left."

You know, "Oh."

- Science fiction
is at its best

when it challenges you.

It presents a message
while disguising itself

as entertainment.

- In an episode called
"Symbiosis,"

there's a planet
where they're all addicted.

And there's another species

that always supplies them
with their drug.

And we know that--
that this is

this horrible enabling
situation.

And we could easily cure
the addicts.

- Please, help us.
- I'm not sure that I can.

- But do we get involved

or do we let them
figure it out?

- The moment that I felt
was so haunting to me

was the one where
B'Elanna is pregnant

and can see that her child
will have Klingon DNA

and be born with the forehead
and she has developed a way

to possibly alter that
so her daughter

doesn't have to go through
what she went through.

And I wept when I read
the episode.

But then to be responsible
for a child

and to have the technology to
change the future of this child.

And it was, um--

it was a difficult
and wonderful episode.

- When you look at Data,
you know,

at one point he is on trial,
you know.

And it's, like, is he on trial
because he's different?

Is he on trial because
he should be not be thinking

the way that he's thinking
because he's, after all,

a machine
and should not be moving--

I mean, they're all the
questions that we deal with.

And whether it's race
because it's skin color,

or race because
you're an android,

or, you know, race because
you're only this big and fuzzy.

You're a Tribble,
you know?

It's all of these stories
go into saying,

"Hey, we actually all have
to try to do this together."

- The cultural makeup
of the bridge,

that was science fiction...
- Absolutely.

- In the mid '60s.

People who watch it today
have no idea

how startling that was.

You had
this multi-cultural crew,

not just multi-cultural,

but it was male and female
as well.

I mean, I know that when
Roddenberry did the first pilot

and Majel Barrett
was Number One,

the studio was like...
- Yeah.

- Who's gonna believe a woman
in charge of a starship?

- The thing that's really
amazing about "Star Trek"

is that it definitely has
inspired people

to sort of, you know,
proceed down that path, right?

- Yeah.
- A lot of technologists,

of course talk about the
StarTAC Motorola phone, right?

The flip phone
coming from the communicator.

But it gives people a vision
to sort of think about,

"Well, why isn't
that possible?

- Well, the PADD
is an obvious thing,

which the iPad, I think,
was designed after specifically.

- Didn't they say...
- Yes.

- He took the design from iPad--
- Yes.

- Well, they wanted to call it
a PADD,

Personal Access Display Device,

which is what we called it
on the show,

but Paramount
wouldn't allow it.

- And what's really neat,
I mean,

the computer interaction
is things like we get

with Siri and Alexa.
- Well, yes, exactly.

I mean, you literally talk
to a computer,

and it, you know,
responds to your queries.

- Wow, you don't even
think about that.

- Yeah.
- I mean, I think this is

a really--kind of a neat
dynamic

of science sort of influencing
science fiction

and in return, getting some
sort of inspiration back.

- The only thing they got
really, really wrong for me

is the fact that
they plugged Data in.

I feel like he'd have
Bluetooth.

- They got to put him
in his charger every night.

- When I see someone
in a restaurant

and they have the Bluetooth
in their ear

while dining
with someone else,

I usually shout out,
"Let it go, Uhura."

And you know what?

They know
what I'm talking about.

- Oh, there you go.
- And they feel horrible.

- Gene was clearly a visionary.

He went and studied, though,

the technologies
that would be involved

in order to make
his show credible.

- Believability was
a huge thing for my father.

If you go back and read some
of the original writers' guides

and bibles
for the original series,

He says in there, you know,
"Believability is essential."

- He brought
Harvey Lynn, his cousin

who worked with the RAND
company, to advise.

And that's where a lot
of the technology came from.

- I think because I loved
the space program,

"Star Trek" to me
at that point felt real.

It felt like they all took
it kinda seriously.

There was a real ship
like that.

I do remember when I was a kid
I thought that was a real ship.

I thought, you know,
"There's a big ship

that flies around in space.
I see it every week."

- The technology absolutely
captured my imagination.

I mean, especially the idea
of being able to

live in this giant spaceship.

- He wanted to do adult stories,
adult science fiction,

so he knew that in order to make
that kind of a show work,

he had a very credible design
for his starship.

- But there's a reason
the Enterprise hangs

in the Smithsonian Institute.

It is such--
not just an iconic ship,

but such a beautiful ship.

It's a magnificent
aesthetic achievement.

- Roddenberry said, "We want
our audience to believe

"that for the hour they're
watching 'Star Trek,'

"they're really on a spaceship
out exploring the galaxy.

"So we have to design
the bridge.

"We have to think
about navigation.

We have to think
about what powers the ship."

And then he thought,
"You know,

"why don't we set up
a system

"in the sick bay
called the biobed?

"A crewman comes in,
lays down on the biobed,

"and on a computer screen
above the bed,

it instantly displays
all of their vital signs."

The creators of "Star Trek"

designed and engineered gadgets
for the crew

that are decades ahead
of their time.

And inspire the devices that
are second nature to us today.

- But also the smaller things
like the tricorder

or the communicator,
which, I mean,

you know I have one
in my pocket right now

that's not dissimilar.

- Leonard Nimoy, years ago,

he told me the flip phone
was purposely designed

to look like a communicator.

That the inventor
of the flip phone

wanted it to be a pastiche
of "Star Trek."

- A guy named Martin Cooper
in the 1970s

was tasked by Motorola
and Bell Labs

to create a, you know,
one of the first cell phones.

A portable telephone that,
you know,

you could carry
and walk around with,

and it would ultimately be
small enough

to fit in a pocket.

And Cooper explicitly said,
"When I was designing

"that first handheld phone,
I thought,

"'You know,
this thing is kinda big.

"'It's a little bulky,
but if I fold it in half,

"'that'll save--
that'll save space.

"'It'll make it smaller
and easier to carry.

"'Plus, it'll be really cool
to flip open

"'Like the communicators
on "Star Trek."'"

- You have these PADDs that are
now iPads and everything.

Well, we didn't have iPads then,
so it was--it was like

we were doing it,
we'd be making things up.

But if you set it down too hard,
you gotta do--

it would make a clunk.

You'd have to take
the whole shot over.

- The PADDs that they used,

which had nothing on them,

we'd use them in the stories
to somehow advance the plot,

or they're looking
at a report.

Never in a million years
did any of us think

this would be a thing.

It was total
science fiction to us.

- It was 20 years after

"Star Trek:
The Next Generation" premiered

that Apple introduced
the iPad.

And that's, you know,
that's a dead ringer, really,

for the PADDs that we had on
"Star Trek: The Next Generation"

20 years earlier.

- Universal translation
technology,

artificial intelligence,
all kinds of things,

and it instilled in some fans
a passion for sce,

and who knows what they went on
to discover or will discover.

- People forget this.
They look at it now, they say,

"Oh, 'Star Trek's' so dated.
It's so primitive."

They have no idea.

Supermarkets didn't have
sliding doors yet.

That's how prescient
"Star Trek" was.

- It was Roddenberry's idea
for the holodeck,

which I always thought
was revolutionary, you know?

Virtual reality
was being explored

in science fiction novels,

but he was really
the first to kind of put

true, thorough
virtual reality,

certainly onto
a television show.

- The holodeck, which was
a wonderful invention

taken to imaginative creative
extremes in "Next Generation,"

has its origins in the
"Star Trek" animated series

that most people don't know.

The holodeck
was in an episode

of the "Star Trek" cartoon,
"Practical Joker."

That was the first time
we saw that.

- If you look at "Star Trek,"
the original "Star Trek,"

you will see Spock
holding little cards

and data cards
that he would slip

into a slot on the computer.

They look exactly like
the 3 1/2" floppy disks

that were created
20 years later.

- It's remarkable to think,
you know,

Siri's getting pretty close

to the computer
on the Enterprise.

- "Star Trek," I think,
on the technology side,

partly it's the extraordinary
vision of Gene and the people

that he worked with
in creating that original show

and thinking about how things
can be better in the future,

and then people growing up
watching "Star Trek"

making those things happen

because they were inspired
by "Star Trek."

So it's a really fascinating
kind of feedback loop

between art and science.

- I can't think of another show
that had nearly the impact

for people who really, you know,
work in the aerospace industry

that "Star Trek" did,
right.

Or even for a lot of cases,
physics and things like that.

Because it did take
a realistic approach to science

and using science
to solve problems.

But you try to solve them
with a rational approach.

"Star Trek" begins
as a prime-time

television series,

but over the next
half century,

it reaches far beyond
the airwaves

to help shape our world.

- "Star Trek" inspired people.

"Star Trek," like,
people became scientists.

They became physicists.

They became doctors
and astronauts

because of "Star Trek."

- When you see someone who says,
"You were such a role model.

You know, I went to med school
because of you."

Or, "I got into nursing
because of you."

It made it richer for me.
It made it a richer experience.

- I've received a lot of letters
from people

who were inspired
by "Star Trek" in general

and from my character,
specifically,

to go into the sciences,
into engineering.

It's cool that you can make
science cool.

And that it can inspire somebody
to move in that direction.

- One of the reasons I wanted
to become an engineer

was because of "Star Trek."

Because there was something
different about it

in that the world felt
more thought through and real

than other things
that you had seen.

- I mean, there's a picture
of NASA and Mission Control

and people were wearing
Spock ears.

- People who went to college
to study physics

or engineering or medicine
because they grew up

and were inspired
by "Star Trek."

And wanted to be the next Scotty
or the next Dr. McCoy.

- Jimmy Doohan,
who played Scotty,

and DeForest Kelley,
who played McCoy,

were always relating stories

of people
who had written to them

and would become engineers
and doctors

because of "Star Trek."

I think that was great.

But how does that apply to me?
And it didn't.

And for the longest time,
it didn't.

Until I met a young lady,
who after "Star Trek"

had gone to school
to learn Russian

and went to work
for the State Department.

Her mission
was so important

that she couldn't tell me
what it was about.

But it had to do
with the Russians,

so I actually helped
inspire a spy.

- I was so fascinated
by "Star Trek"

that maybe the first filmmaking
book I can remember reading was

"The Making of Star Trek"
by Stephen Whitfield.

And I remember being
so fascinated

by looking at the
behind-the-scenes pictures,

the layout of how the sets
were put together

at Desilu
and Paramount Studios.

The idea of using
a colored light

to create different planets.

Just all the imagination
that went into it,

it just really excited me,

and it really became a doorway
into the idea of filmmaking

and into television,
which obviously, you know,

I've spent my whole life on.

- Probably one of the most
influential books in my life

was discovering
"The Making of Star Trek"

by Stephen Whitfield, which I
found at a school book fair

in the sixth grade.

And I read that thing cover
to cover over and over again

'cause that really was about the
making of a television series,

about selling a pilot,
you know, show bibles

and production questions
and issues

and fighting with networks.

And I was completely
enthralled with it.

And it sort of--it imprinted
itself in me in a profound way.

You know, I didn't really
think about

becoming a television writer
at that age,

and wouldn't for many,
many years.

'Cause that wasn't a real job.

But reading that book
gave me a hunger to do that.

I wanted, on some basic level,
to do that, too,

to make a television series
and to do those things

like Gene had done.

- We were invited to the rollout
of the Enterprise shuttle.

I didn't have an understanding
of how significant it was

until we got there.

And there were several hundred
people there.

And they had
the Air Force Band.

The conductor raised
the baton and waved his hand

and the band started
playing up.

The Enterprise rolled out
from behind the building,

and it was amazing to see.

As it came out,
the band started playing

the theme music
from "Star Trek."

And we jumped up as one,
and were cheering and screaming.

It was just the most
remarkable moment.

And, you know, across the nose
of the shuttle

was the word "Enterprise."

For the first time, I realized
that there was a significance

beyond the fact that we were
a television show

that went on once a week.

That we really had
an influence in the culture.

And I guess it was
the first time

that I really felt that
I could take a bow.

Up until then, my sense was,
"I'm a supporting character

"with very little to do.

I'm riding the coattails
of this television project,

and I haven't really
contributed very much.

Well, that was all true,
but I realized then

that I was part of a group
that, as a group,

we had an influence.

That we had an influence
in society

- Because of "Star Trek,"
I am all the things I just said.

Engineer, physicist,
doctor, psychiatrist.

I've joined the military.
I became a policeman.

But the most potent,
I think,

are the stories
where someone comes up

and looks you in the eye
and says,

"Star Trek was the only time
in my house

"where there was peace.

"Where my dad or my mother
or the abuse or the alcohol,"

or whatever it was, "the only
time where we sat together

and it was peaceful
and trouble-free."

And--and it's heartbreaking.

And it's true.

You can see it in their eyes
how true it is

and how important it is.

- There are people who have gone
to nine foster homes,

and the only steady thing
in all of those foster homes

was that the family
watched "Star Trek."

- "Star Trek" over the years
has inspired people.

And whether it's inspired them
to follow their dreams

or believe in themselves,

I mean, that's the--
one of the key messages

in "Star Trek" is,
"You're a great person.

"You have valid thoughts,
valid ideas.

"Never think of yourself
as less than anyone else.

Now go out there
and follow your dreams."

- We were talking earlier,
Doug,

before we started shooting here
and I just found out,

somehow, just found out
about a book right here.

- How could you
have missed this book?

- Here it is,
"The Making of Star Trek."

- That's the book.

- The book.
- The book.

That book
changed my life completely.

That book came out,
I guess, like,

the second season
of "Star Trek."

- Uh-huh.
- I was crazy about the show.

- That book was,
I mean for me,

it was like Popeye
downing a can of spinach.

Can I see it?
- I mean, look at this.

This is the diagram
of the bridge.

- Honestly, I mean,
it totally gave me a direction.

I knew what I wanted to do
after I read that book.

And I could say that
"Star Trek" and that book

made me who I am today,
and that kinda sounds a little sad.

But, you know, it led me
to a couple of Emmys.

Led me to
an Academy Award, you know.

And that's all because
of "Star Trek."

- My favorite episodes
were always the ones--

personally, 'cause, you know,
I was doing 'em.

Were the ones where Seven

was really exploring her humanity.

So I think it was
"Someone To Watch Over Me"

where the doctor's teaching
Seven how to date.

- Oh, that's a great one.
- And I just--

I thought that was so lovely
and so touching,

and it just broke my heart
at the end

when he's kinda
falling in love with Seven

and she's like, "Yeah,
there's nobody here for me."

I hated that moment.

That's where you break the exoskeleton
if I'm not mistaken.

- Yes!
- The lobster.

- The creature has an exoskeleton, yes.

So that was
one of my favorites, definitely.

- Well, a truly great
"Star Trek" episode,

in my opinion,
has a list of ingredients.

It's an equation.

And that equation includes:

a great high concept

that provides
cool character dynamics

and conflict,
but also is a parable.

It has some deeper theme.

- "Devil in the Dark"

I thought was a wonderful episode

about--about
fear of the unknown.

How we fear--and even hate

something that we
don't know anything about.

Learn who your enemy is
and maybe then--

maybe then it's no longer
your enemy.

Interesting episode.

- You know, I remember
the "Devil in the Dark" episode

with the Horta.
That really left

a big impression on me
as a kid,

that he didn't kill the monster

and that the monster
was a mother

and had all these eggs.

- They're eggs,
aren't they?

- Yes, Captain.
Eggs.

And about to hatch.

- "A City on the Edge
of Forever"

which is, of course,
the episode of "Star Trek"

that is the one that
everybody knows is a great one.

It's a little bit--
it's an eccentric episode.

I love also the two-parter.

The repurposing
of the original pilot

into "The Ca--"

What is it,
"The Cage: Part one and two"?

And that's brilliant--we refer
to these shows all the time

on "Breaking Bad"
in the writer's room.

We prefer to, you know,
Tranya.

We refer to Captain Pike
with his--with the light.

I mean, which, you know,
couldn't even think of

as being a little bit like
a Hector Salamanca

when he's in the wheelchair
and he's got the bell.

- I really loved
"Yesterday's Enterprise."

It was a spec script
that I had

that had gone through
a couple of drafts already.

Then I took a pass at it

and reconceiving the story
and kinda making it

a much more darker universe
on the other side

and emphasizing
the war aspect of it.

And the tragedy of it.

- My favorite is my favorite
because it's just brilliant.

Brilliant writing.
Brilliant directing.

Brilliant acting.

And it's called
"Far Beyond the Stars."

It's where all
the series regulars

appear as humans,

and the episode
has to deal with racism.

It's not just good "Star Trek."

It's not just
good science fiction.

It's great literature.

- Well, you know,
I think I'm the last

character Gene created.

I think I'm the last one
that he actually created

based on Texas Guinan.

- Guinan her name was.
After Texas Guinan

who was a famous card player
and gambler,

or whatever she was.

And Whoopi showed up in the show
and brought in

this--this aura.

And the wild--
remember the shovelhead hats

she used to wear?
That beautiful face

with those big eyes
and that gorgeous skin

and the voice.
And she played it so straight.

- Guinan was great, again,
'cause Whoopi's playing it.

Guinan was a strange,
mysterioso character

that no--none of us
really understood

what the hell she was.

When we started really
getting into "Next Gen"

in the later years,
what we said was,

"It's really about
her relationship with Picard.

"Yes, she's the bartender
and, yes, she listens

"to all their problems
and gives insight to people

"for various issues,
but she has some back-story

"with Picard, and it's a
personal relationship with him

"that drives
that character forward.

"And it's the only reason
she's on the ship.

It's the only reason that she
really matters on the show."

- In my mind,
always believed that

Guinan was the
great-great-great-great-great-

great-great-great-great-great-
great-great-great-great-

great-great-great-great-great--
couple more greats

grandmother of Picard.

And the reason she's on the ship
is just to see how he's doing.

'Cause, you know, she can go
anywhere at any time,

and she just irritates
the hell outta Q.

Which made me very happy.
John is wonderful.

- You know him?

- We have had some
dealings.

- Those dealings
were two centuries ago.

This creature
is not what she appears to be.

She's an imp,
and where she goes

trouble always follows.

- You're speaking of yourself,
Q, not Guinan.

- Guinan?
Is that your name now?

- Guinan is not the issue here.
You are.

- I ended up doing six episodes
of "Next Generation."

- Anytime there was an episode
with Q in it,

I loved because whenever
he was in an episode,

he was, you know,
he was Agent Mayhem.

He was--it was going to be
something really intense,

and he was
seemingly unstoppable.

And so it was always
really fascinating to watch.

- Jonathan Frakes
used to say to me,

"You're the litmus test.

You come back once a year."

I always looked forward
to come back, but I never asked.

It's a little bit like
asking whether you're gonna

be invited to somebody's
dinner party.

- The character of Q--
that omnipotent,

Machiavellian,

cunning, bitter,

nasty, mean-spirited,

controlling character--

I can't even fathom
anybody else

doing as much with it.

Painting that canvas
as completely

as de Lancie did and does
with all his characters.

Have you any idea
how far we'll advance?

- Perhaps in a future
that you cannot yet conceive,

even beyond us.

- The character on the page
is just not as entertaining.

You give it to John de Lancie,

and it becomes
this other thing, right?

And everyone enjoyed
writing for him.

It really--
people would just write

scene after scene after scene
for Q in any of those shows,

and many of them were too silly
or too over-the-top,

but you just really enjoyed it.

You really couldn't wait
to dig your--

dig into a Q episode.

Internally, what we said
all the time was,

"Q is in love with Picard."

That was the fundamental
of the relationship.

He's in love with him.
He just is.

He loves Picard.

It's a particular relationship
with this one human

and this omnipotent being
that's bizarre,

but that's really
what's at the heart of it.

- "Star Trek"
is so character-oriented,

and there were so many
great characters.

So many people got a chance
to shine.

But I think
that my favorite character

is "Mcskirk."
- "Mcskirk"?

- "Mcskirk."

Which is McCoy,
Scotty, and Kirk.

- Oh--
- 'Cause they're really one guy.

- I was like, "What did I miss?"

Mcskirk?
- I didn't see that episode.

- It's a transporter
malfunction.

- You take that--
those three--

those three,
it's like one guy

split up three ways.

You know, ordinarily,
if you have one person,

if you want to know
what's going on in their head,

you gotta have a voice-over
or something.

But with those three guys,
split up that way,

they could have
a conversation...

- Yeah.
- And it's really like one guy.

- I love, love, love Scotty.

I-I think that he's--

A, he's always the funnier one
of everybody.

He's always--I love that he's
third in command of the ship.

- He saw himself
equal with the captain.

- Oh, and he was.
- The ship was his.

- He was the captain
of that engine room.

100%.

- Scotty was great,
and I love how he got mad

and would yell at the captain
about the things he needed

and how he couldn't
really do it,

but really he could do it.

I just love it.
I just loved him.

As a kid I was just like,

"I don't know why
this guy's amazing,

but I want to be an engineer."
- I think that's a great answer.

- You know the techno-babble.
- Yeah.

- Which is so difficult...
- Yeah.

- For the actors
to do that stuff.

LeVar Burton, it didn't matter
how late it got.

- Oh, you kidding me?
- It could be 2:00

in the morning and he was just,
like, right on the money.

- He's--I--for some reason,

I can fix a warp core breach.

I know that I need to reroute

main power through
the secondary coupling

if there's a coolant leak.

Why do I know that?

Because of LeVar Burton.
- That's right.

- Uh, Worf.
- Worf!

- Yes.
- Really?

- Thank you.
- I just--for some reason I--

I mean, Data's the--
is really close,

but I just--something
about Worf I really like.

- What is it about him?
Is it the fact that he's

terrible at firing weapons?

He misses everything.

- I don't know.
- The captain--Captain Picard

will never take
a suggestion of his.

- Does that make him
more human to you?

- Yeah, he was--
- Because

it's immigrant family
raised by Russians?

- He drinks prune juice.

Come on, now,
who doesn't--who does that?

And he's a big warrior, so...
- Yeah?

- But I think, you know--
I think partly 'cause he also

went--he transcends
the two series.

You know, "The Next Gen."
and "Deep Space Nine."

- I gotta go with Kirk.

- You gotta go with Kirk.
- I mean, the original series.

You just--the way he just
kinda, you know,

sauntered around.
- Yes.

- You gotta love him.

- The Shat was the guy
I grew up on.

I admire Picard.

I love them all equally,
but...

uh...I think there is
no substitute

for Bill Shatner.

- Shatner's putting on
such a great persona

of a trustworthy captain

with just enough sense of humor.

You know?
And calm under pressure.

And good with the ladies.

Shatner had it all.

The way he presented that
character was just so awesome

and believable and theatrical
at the same time.

He's not a subtle guy.

But I just thought it was great.

He fought--
I think it was, like,

a Gorgan or whatever.
It's where he had--

Captain Kirk is stranded
in the desert

and he's got, like,
this lizard creature

he's gotta fight
and he's gotta learn

how to make, like, gunpowder

and projectiles
and stuff like that.

- Certainly the iconic,
classic scene

in which Spock--
or Kirk

confronts "God" and says,

"What does God
need with a starship?"

What other character
in the history of cinema

would come up to God?
Not even Charlton Heston

would say to God, "What do you
need with a starship?"

- Absolutely,
without question,

my favorite captain
is James T. Kirk.

I mean, he just--
Kirk did the right thing.

He said the right thing.
People looked up to him.

He was a man of action.
He was a man of romance.

And, like, I mean, as performed
by William Shatner?

I mean, there was a reason why
as a little kid

I wanted to be Captain Kirk.

There's a reason why as
an almost 50-year-old grown-up

that I still watch
the original series

and I still wanna be
James T. Kirk.

He is the best captain.

- The way he would
stare down

100-foot tall Apollo,
and with great...

sort of indignation:

"What gives you the right--"
you know,

to a 100-foot tall god...

he shouted,
"What gives you the right?"

When Apollo just could have...

done that.

Yeah, the sort of leadership
and the fearlessness

and also...my first
understanding

of what a...

you lead by example.
- Yeah.

- The captain's setting,

the fish stinks
from the head down,

all of those leadership
qualities

that hadn't been shown to me
by a family member

or by anyone at school,
a teacher.

Really, it oddly was
that leadership necessary

as put forth by
Captain James Tiberius Kirk.

- I mean, I love Captain Kirk.
However...

I have...
you know, I have to say

that I think my favorite captain
is Picard...

- Uh-huh.
- Because the thing is

Kirk is really
only 1/3rd of a guy.

- Oh...
- He's only 1/3rd of a guy!

- Interesting.
- Picard is a nice,

well-rounded guy.

And he doesn't have to
punch anybody in the face

to get his point across,
right?

- But if he has to, he can.
- Well, he can,

but he usually has
Riker do it or Worf.

Yeah, he, uh...

You know, for me,
in a lot of ways,

"Next Generation" was a...

"Star Trek" kind of grown up.
- Yeah.

- You know? And that
started with Picard.

- Yeah. My answer's
actually Picard too.

Just because I find him
to be--

I don't think he's the most
realistic of a captain.

I think that Picard
has so few flaws,

and he only really
finally becomes human

after he's a Borg
and then turned into a human.

You know, he really
just starts like--

They give him a love story
once in a while...

But it just--I don't know.

I just love--
I found Picard to be virtuous

and I found Picard
to be like, oh...

if humans could one day
turn into that guy,

maybe "Star Trek's" plausible.

But it's not gonna happen.

- Yeah, he's a great
representation

of kind of Rodenberry's vision.
- Yeah, a vision of what

humanity can be.
- A captain needs to be.

- What a captain is.
- Exactly.

- Yeah. Just putting every--

He just--I don't know.
I just always...

And that accent.
I mean, you can't really...

- Well, the accent, yeah.
- Top that voice.

n - The show is about
what it is to be human,

and that never
goes out of style.

And it's the type of stories
that they tell

that you don't generally get
in other television shows.

- Yeah.
- The introspective...

And the basis of it is
who are we...

who are we
as human beings?

- I think it's because

it's an optimistic
view of the future.

- Hope.
- Yeah. It's hope.

- Yeah.
- I think that's exactly

what it is--
it's an optimistic portrayal

of what we could
hopefully achieve

and what our society
could be like

and that we finally
accept each other

and we finally learn
to look past differences

and things like that.

And I think that we so
desperately hope

that we can achieve that.

- And it evolves, you know,
from series to series,

over the 50 years.

It may have some core values
and ideas

and the optimism and the hope,

but it evolves
with the times, too.

So it, you know, it--
hopefully the next reiteration

will fit our times today
much like, you know,

"The Next Gen" did
in the late '80s, early '90s

or "Deep Space Nine"
and "Voyager" in the '90s,

and, of course, the original
series back in the '60s.

But it's been able to evolve.

It hasn't been
a static kind of franchise.

- There's that
Martin Luther King line...

"The arc of history
bends toward justice."

I think for fans
of this show,

the arc of history
bends towards "Star Trek,"

that we have this hope,
this belief,

that...things
are getting better.

And that, yeah, we're probably
not gonna, you know,

run into guys
with pointed ears out there.

But we will find a way

to fix our problems

and move out into the universe

and believe in, you know,
the...

you know, the better angels
of our nature

and...and make the world
a better place.

- One thing about "Star Trek"
that I've said before

and I really believe it

is it was the Beatles
of 1960s TV.

And if you had to describe
the Beatles,

you would say it's magic.

And take any one of them
out of that band,

and it's not the Beatles.

Well, "Star Trek's"
the same way

from the same period.

I mean,
take William Shatner out.

Take Leonard Nimoy out.

Take Rodenberry or Coon
or Fontana out

or Deforest Kelley,
and you don't have it.

It's still gonna be good,

but it's not gonna be
what it is,

and we wouldn't have
what we have now 15 years later.

- I think there's a lot of
reasons why it endures so long.

You know, I think, um...

I think the biggest thing
to me,

in terms of its longevity
and success,

is that it is unique in that
its portrayal of the future,

the optimistic portrayal
of the future,

does kind of stand alone
in pop culture.

The vast majority
of science fiction pieces

that take place in the future,
you know,

show us a dystopian future,
a terrible future.

Here's the only real
science fiction construct

that I wanna go live in,
you know,

that I want to be part of.

I want to join that crew.
I want to live that life.

I want to have those adventures
with those people.

- "Star Trek" has something to
say about who we are as people,

who we aspire to be,

and it says that
we will endure.

We will overcome
all obstacles.

- I think "Star Trek"
will be around

for a long, long time

because it's a unique
piece of science fiction

in that it's optimistic.

"Star Trek" is optimistic.

It holds out the hope

not that humans are gonna be
somehow perfect in the future

but things can get better.

- I think "Star Trek" succeeded

because a number of elements
fell into place.

They had a great overall story.

They're modern-day pioneers
where no man has gone before.

So it could be the Wild West.

It's the Wild West in space,
really, led by a great captain

and an incredible team.

- And I think it's gone on
for 50 years so far

because it is a show about
human interest

and adventure
and how far we will go

to try to learn more
and to expand our own worlds

and our own minds.

And I think that's something
that resonates

with people 50 years ago,

and it'll resonate with people
50 years from now.

- And now, of course, J.J. has
taken it to a whole other place.

- Why "Star Trek"
is still relevant

is because of the paradigm that
Gene Rodenberry came up with,

the idea of unity,
of humanity--

and other species, actually--
working together.

There's an optimism to it

that I think we've never needed
more than now.

- Well, it starts with
the characters, you know.

I love the ensemble.

I love the idea that, you know,

this group of people
came together

and through the shared journey,
they become a family.

The sense of family
that goes beyond blood.

And I also love every night
there's a sense of discovery

and exploration, you know,

and that, to me, is the DNA
of "Star Trek."

- You know, I think
"Star Trek's" enduring appeal

is really because it presents
a vision of humanity

that is united and, particularly
in this day and age,

it's wonderful to have
kind of a beacon of morality

to see that, you know,
maybe the dystopian future

that you see in a lot of movies
like the "Mad Max" movies

and the "Blade Runner" movies
is not gonna be our future.

- Collectivism versus
separatism,

which is a big thing
in today's society, you know.

About how we're better
together.

And that was something
that we felt obligated to do.

This is "Star Trek."

"Star Trek" has always spoken
about who we are now.

- And now it's, I guess,
coming back on another network.

You know I'ma try to get on
there, you know, just to see.

Because I try--You know, Guinan
is everywhere all the time.

- A majority of the "Star Trek"
fans that I've met

are proactive

in making that vision of
a better future a reality.

- The "Star Trek" fans
are the most unique people

you've ever met.

They know your character.

They know every episode
and what it meant

and how it affected them.

- If I were given the choice

of any character ever portrayed
on television--

that I could play
any character I wanted--

I would choose Spock.

- Well, people identified
with us.

They identified with
"Star Trek,"

they identified
with the characters.

They were dressing
in their own uniforms

and their own costumes.

- It resonated with
that group of people

that were kids, you know,

and now they're young adults.

- "Star Trek"
created an umbrella

for everybody else.

And then once we got in
under the shade,

we then said, "Oh, come.
Come and join us."

That's what "Star Trek" did.

And that tent
will continue to grow.

- And it's now 30 years later
for our show,

when I'm talking to you,

50 years for the original show,
and, I mean,

it goes in waves,
but people are still

attached to, committed to,

affected by, interested in

this thing that Gene invented,

and I was blessed enough
to be part of.

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