Editing Gene Roddenberry (section)

===''Star Trek''===
{{main|Star Trek: The Original Series}}
When Roddenberry pitched ''Star Trek'' to MGM, it was warmly received, but no offer was made.<ref>[[#alexander1995|Alexander (1995)]]: p. 206</ref> He then went to [[Desilu Productions]], but rather than being offered a one-script deal, he was hired as a producer and allowed to work on his own projects. His first was a half-hour pilot called ''Police Story'' (not to be confused with [[Police Story (1973 TV series)|the anthology series]] created by [[Joseph Wambaugh]]), which was not picked up by the networks.<ref name=alex211/> Having not sold a pilot in five years, Desilu was having financial difficulties; its only success was ''[[The Lucy Show]]''.<ref name=vanhise20>[[#vanhise1992|Van Hise (1992)]]: p. 20</ref> Roddenberry took the ''Star Trek'' idea to Oscar Katz, head of programming, and the duo immediately started work on a plan to sell the series to the networks. They took it to CBS, which ultimately passed on it. The duo later learned that CBS had been eager to find out about ''Star Trek'' because it had a science fiction series in development—''[[Lost in Space]]''. Roddenberry and Katz next took the idea to Mort Werner at NBC,<ref name=vanhise20/> this time downplaying the science fiction elements and highlighting the links to ''[[Gunsmoke]]'' and ''[[Wagon Train]].''<ref name=alex211>[[#alexander1995|Alexander (1995)]]: pp. 211–212</ref> The network funded three story ideas and selected "The Menagerie", which was later known as "[[The Cage (Star Trek: The Original Series)|The Cage]]", to be made into a pilot. (The other two later became episodes of the series.) While most of the money for the pilot came from NBC, the remaining costs were covered by Desilu.<ref name=alex213>[[#alexander1995|Alexander (1995)]]: p. 213</ref><ref>[[#alexander1995|Alexander (1995)]]: p. 216</ref> Roddenberry hired Dorothy Fontana, better known as [[D. C. Fontana]], as his assistant. They had worked together previously on ''The Lieutenant,'' and she had eight script credits to her name.<ref name=vanhise20/>

[[File:William Shatner Sally Kellerman Star Trek 1966.JPG|thumb|right|upright|[[William Shatner]] and [[Sally Kellerman]], from "[[Where No Man Has Gone Before]]", the second pilot of ''Star Trek'']]
Roddenberry and Barrett had begun an affair by the early days of ''Star Trek'',<ref name=alex213/> and he specifically wrote the part of the character [[Number One (Star Trek)|Number One]] in the pilot with her in mind; no other actresses were considered for the role. Barrett suggested [[Leonard Nimoy|Nimoy]] for the part of [[Spock (Star Trek)|Spock]]. He had worked with both Roddenberry and Barrett on ''The Lieutenant'', and once Roddenberry remembered the thin features of the actor, he did not consider anyone else for the part.<ref>[[#alexander1995|Alexander (1995)]]: pp. 227–228</ref> The remaining cast came together; filming began on November 27, 1964, and was completed on December 11.<ref>[[#alexander1995|Alexander (1995)]]: pp. 234–236</ref> After post-production, the episode was shown to NBC executives, and it was rumored that ''Star Trek'' would be broadcast at 8:00&nbsp;pm on Friday nights. The episode failed to impress test audiences,<ref>[[#alexander1995|Alexander (1995)]]: p. 238</ref> and after the executives became hesitant, Katz offered to make a second pilot. On March 26, 1965, NBC ordered a new episode.<ref>[[#alexander1995|Alexander (1995)]]: pp. 243–244</ref>

Roddenberry developed several possible scripts, including "[[Mudd's Women]]", "[[The Omega Glory]]", and with the help of [[Samuel A. Peeples]], "[[Where No Man Has Gone Before]]". NBC selected the last one, leading to later rumors that Peeples created ''Star Trek'', something he always denied.<ref>[[#alexander1995|Alexander (1995)]]: pp. 246–248</ref> Roddenberry was determined to make the crew racially diverse, which impressed actor [[George Takei]] when he came for his audition.<ref>{{harvp|Takei|1994|p=149}}</ref> The episode went into production on July 15, 1965, and was completed at around half the cost of "The Cage", since the sets were already built.<ref>[[#alexander1995|Alexander (1995)]]: p. 252</ref> Roddenberry worked on several projects for the rest of the year. In December, he decided to write lyrics to the ''Star Trek'' theme; this angered the theme's composer, [[Alexander Courage]], as it meant that royalties would be split between them. In February 1966, NBC informed Desilu that they were buying ''Star Trek'' and that it would be included in the fall 1966 television schedule.<ref>[[#alexander1995|Alexander (1995)]]: pp. 255–256</ref>

On May 24, the first episode of the ''Star Trek'' series went into production;<ref>[[#alexander1995|Alexander (1995)]]: p. 272</ref> Desilu was contracted to deliver 13 episodes.<ref>[[#alexander1995|Alexander (1995)]]: p. 275</ref> Five days before the first broadcast, Roddenberry appeared at the 24th [[World Science Fiction Convention]] and previewed "Where No Man Has Gone Before". After the episode was shown, he received a standing ovation. The first episode to air on NBC was "[[The Man Trap]]", on September 8, 1966, at 8:00&nbsp;pm.<ref>[[#alexander1995|Alexander (1995)]]: p. 278</ref> Roddenberry was immediately concerned about the series' low ratings and wrote to [[Harlan Ellison]] to ask if he could use his name in letters to the network to save the show. Not wanting to lose a potential source of income, Ellison agreed and also sought the help of other writers who also wanted to avoid losing potential income.<ref>[[#alexander1995|Alexander (1995)]]: p. 284</ref> Roddenberry corresponded with science fiction writer [[Isaac Asimov]] about how to address the issue of Spock's growing popularity and the possibility that his character would overshadow Kirk.<ref>[[#alexander1995|Alexander (1995)]]: p. 304</ref> Asimov suggested having Kirk and Spock work together as a team "to get people to think of Kirk when they think of Spock."<ref>[[#alexander1995|Alexander (1995)]]: p. 307</ref> The series was renewed by NBC, first for a full season's order, and then for a second season. An article in the ''[[Chicago Tribune]]'' quoted studio executives as stating that the letter-writing campaign had been wasted because they had already been planning to renew ''Star Trek''.<ref>[[#alexander1995|Alexander (1995)]]: p. 287</ref>

[[File:Star Trek crew members.jpg|thumb|left|upright|Some of the main cast of ''Star Trek'' during the third season]]
Roddenberry often rewrote submitted scripts, although he did not always take credit for these.<ref name=alex314>[[#alexander1995|Alexander (1995)]]: p. 314</ref> Roddenberry and Ellison fell out over "[[The City on the Edge of Forever]]" after Roddenberry rewrote Ellison's script to make it both financially feasible to film and usable for the series context.<ref>[[#alexander1995|Alexander (1995)]]: p. 313</ref> Even his close friend [[Don Ingalls]] had his script for "[[A Private Little War]]" altered drastically,<ref name=alex314/> and as a result, Ingalls declared that he would only be credited under the pseudonym "Jud Crucis" (a play on "Jesus Christ"), claiming he had been crucified by the process.<ref>[[#alexander1995|Alexander (1995)]]: p. 315</ref> Roddenberry's work rewriting "[[The Menagerie (Star Trek: The Original Series)|The Menagerie]]", based on footage originally shot for "The Cage", resulted in a Writers Guild arbitration board hearing. The Guild ruled in his favor over [[John D. F. Black]], the complainant.<ref>{{harvp|Engel|1994|p=118}}</ref> The script won a [[Hugo Award]], but the awards board neglected to inform Roddenberry, who found out through correspondence with Asimov.<ref>{{harvp|Engel|1994|pp=120–121}}</ref>

As the second season was drawing to a close, Roddenberry once again faced the threat of cancellation. He enlisted the help of Asimov,<ref>[[#alexander1995|Alexander (1995)]]: p. 327</ref> and even encouraged a student-led protest march on NBC. On January 8, 1968, a thousand students from 20 schools marched on the studio.<ref>[[#alexander1995|Alexander (1995)]]: p. 329</ref> Roddenberry began to communicate with ''Star Trek'' fan [[Bjo Trimble]], who led a fan-writing campaign to save the series. Trimble later noted that this campaign of writing to fans who had written to Desilu about the show, urging them to write NBC, had created an organized [[Star Trek fandom|''Star Trek'' fandom]].<ref>[[#alexander1995|Alexander (1995)]]: pp. 336–337</ref> The network received around 6,000 letters a week from fans petitioning it to renew the series.<ref>[[#alexander1995|Alexander (1995)]]: p. 338</ref> On March 1, 1968, NBC announced on air, at the end of "The Omega Glory", that ''Star Trek'' would return for a third season.<ref>[[#alexander1995|Alexander (1995)]]: p. 341</ref>

The network had initially planned to place ''Star Trek'' in the 7:30&nbsp;pm Monday-night time slot freed up by ''[[The Man from U.N.C.L.E.]]'' completing its run. That would have meant ''[[Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In]]'' had to start a half-hour later (moving from 9:00 to 9:30). Powerful ''Laugh-In'' producer [[George Schlatter]] objected to his highly rated show yielding its slot to the poorly-rated ''Star Trek''.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.tvobscurities.com/articles/star_trek_look/|title=A Look At Star Trek – Television Obscurities|work=Television Obscurities|date=May 24, 2009 |access-date=May 16, 2022|quote=Citing: “‘Laugh-In’ staying put.” ''Broadcasting''. 18 Mar. 1968: 9.}}</ref> Instead, ''Laugh-In'' retained the slot, and ''Star Trek'' was moved to 10:00&nbsp;pm on Fridays. Realizing the show could not survive in that time slot and burned out from arguments with the network, Roddenberry resigned from the day-to-day running of ''Star Trek'', although he continued to be credited as executive producer.<ref>[[#alexander1995|Alexander (1995)]]: pp. 342–343</ref> Roddenberry cooperated with Stephen Edward Poe, writing as Stephen Whitfield, on the 1968 non-fiction book ''The Making of Star Trek'' for Ballantine Books, splitting the royalties evenly. Roddenberry explained to Whitfield: "I had to get some money somewhere. I'm sure not going to get it from the profits of ''Star Trek''."<ref name=sojust402>[[#solowjustman1996|Solow & Justman (1996)]]: p. 402</ref> Herbert Solow and [[Robert H. Justman]] observed that Whitfield never regretted his 50–50 deal with Roddenberry, since it gave him "the opportunity to become the first chronicler of television's successful unsuccessful series."<ref name=sojust402/> Whitfield had previously been the national advertising and promotion director for model makers [[Aluminum Model Toys]], better known as "AMT", which then held the ''Star Trek'' license, and moved to run [[Lincoln Enterprises]], Roddenberry's company set up to sell the series' merchandise.<ref>{{harvp|Engel|1994|p=123}}</ref>

Having stepped aside from the majority of his ''Star Trek'' duties, Roddenberry sought instead to create a film based on Asimov's "[[I, Robot]]" and also began work on a ''Tarzan'' script for [[National General Pictures]].<ref>[[#alexander1995|Alexander (1995)]]: pp. 390–391</ref> After initially requesting a budget of $2 million and being refused, Roddenberry made cuts to reduce costs to $1.2 million. When he learned they were being offered only $700,000 to shoot the film, which by now was being called a TV movie, he canceled the deal.<ref>[[#alexander1995|Alexander (1995)]]: pp. 393–394</ref> NBC announced ''Star Trek''{{'s}} cancellation in February 1969. A similar but much smaller letter-writing campaign followed news of the cancellation.<ref>[[#alexander1995|Alexander (1995)]]: p. 398</ref> Because of the manner in which the series was sold to NBC, it left the production company $4.7 million in debt.<ref>[[#alexander1995|Alexander (1995)]]: p. 399</ref> The last episode of ''Star Trek'' aired 47 days before [[Neil Armstrong]] stepped onto the moon as part of the [[Apollo 11]] mission,<ref>[[#alexander1995|Alexander (1995)]]: p. 400</ref> and Roddenberry declared that he would never write for television again.<ref>{{harvp|Engel|1994|p=175}}</ref>