Editing Gene Roddenberry (section)

===1970s projects===
[[File:Rock Hudson, Gene Roddenberry, Roger Vadim, and cast of Pretty Maids All in a Row.jpg|thumb|left|Cast of ''[[Pretty Maids All in a Row]]'' (L-R): (front row) [[June Fairchild]], [[Joy Bang]], Aimee Eccles; (middle row) [[Joanna Cameron]], Gene Roddenberry, [[Rock Hudson]], [[Roger Vadim]]; (back row) [[Margaret Markov]], [[Brenda Sykes]], Diane Sherry, Gretchen Burrell]]
After the cancellation of ''Star Trek,'' Roddenberry felt [[Typecasting (acting)|typecast]] as a producer of science fiction, despite his background in Westerns and police stories.<ref>[[#asherman1988|Asherman (1988)]]: p. 13</ref> He later described the period, saying, "My dreams were going downhill because I could not get work after the original series was cancelled."<ref>[[#vanhise1992|Van Hise (1992)]]: p. 45</ref> He felt that he was "perceived as the guy who made the show that was an expensive flop."<ref>{{cite news|last1=Schonauer|first1=David|title=What's important is what hasn't changed|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1876&dat=19880422&id=qzwsAAAAIBAJ&pg=6960,2530069&hl=en|access-date=April 15, 2015|work=Herald-Journal|issue=113|date=April 22, 1988|volume=58|page=B8|via=[[Google News]]}}</ref> Roddenberry had sold his interest in ''Star Trek'' to [[Paramount Studios]] in return for a third of the profits but this did not result in any quick financial gain; the studio was still claiming that the series was $500,000 in the red in 1982.<ref>[[#vanhise1992|Van Hise (1992)]]: p. 58</ref>

He wrote and produced ''[[Pretty Maids All in a Row]]'' (1971), a [[sexploitation]] film directed by [[Roger Vadim]], for MGM. The cast included [[Rock Hudson]], [[Angie Dickinson]], [[Telly Savalas]], and [[Roddy McDowall]] alongside ''Star Trek'' regular [[James Doohan]] and notable guest star [[William Campbell (film actor)|William Campbell]], who had appeared in "[[The Squire Of Gothos]]" and "[[The Trouble with Tribbles]]". ''[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]'' was unimpressed: "Whatever substance was in the original [novel by Francis Pollini] or screen concept has been plowed under, leaving only superficial, one-joke results."<ref>{{cite news|title=Review: 'Pretty Maids All in a Row'|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150112054028/http://variety.com/1970/film/reviews/pretty-maids-all-in-a-row-1200422446/|archive-date=January 12, 2015|url=https://variety.com/1970/film/reviews/pretty-maids-all-in-a-row-1200422446/|access-date=March 25, 2015|work=Variety|date=December 31, 1970}}</ref> Herbert Solow had given Roddenberry the work as a favor, paying him $100,000 for the script.<ref name="engel139"/>

[[File:Gene roddenberry 1976.jpg|thumb|upright|right|Roddenberry at a ''Star Trek'' convention in 1976]]
Faced with a mortgage and a $2,000-per-month alimony obligation as a result of his 1969 divorce, he retained a booking agent (with the assistance of his friend [[Arthur C. Clarke]]) and began to support himself largely by scheduling appearances at colleges and science fiction conventions.<ref name=engel140>[[#engel1994|Engel (1994)]]: p. 140</ref><ref>[[#nemecek2003|Nemecek (2003)]]: p. 2</ref> These presentations typically included screenings of "The Cage" and blooper reels from the production of ''Star Trek.''<ref>{{cite news|title='Star Trek' creator brings banned pilot to the Arena Sunday|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/2295345//|access-date=April 26, 2015|work=San Antonio Express|date=January 7, 1977|page=4C|url-access=subscription |via=[[Newspapers.com]]}} {{open access}}</ref> The conventions began to build the fan support to bring back ''Star Trek,'' leading ''[[TV Guide]]'' to describe it, in 1972, as "the show that won't die."<ref>{{harvp|Engel|1994|p=149}}</ref>

In 1972 and 1973, Roddenberry made a comeback to science fiction, selling ideas for four new series to a variety of networks.<ref name=hise59/> Roddenberry's ''[[Genesis II (film)|Genesis II]]'' was set in a post-apocalyptic Earth. He had hoped to recreate the success of ''Star Trek'' without "doing another space-hopping show." He created a 45-page writing guide, and proposed several story ideas based on the concept that pockets of civilisation had regressed to past eras or changed altogether.<ref>[[#vanhise1992|Van Hise (1992)]]: p. 60</ref> The pilot aired as a TV movie in March 1973, setting new records for the ''Thursday Night Movie of the Week''. Roddenberry was asked to produce four more scripts for episodes, but before production could begin again, CBS aired the film ''[[Planet of the Apes (1968 film)|Planet of the Apes]].'' It was watched by an even greater audience than ''Genesis II.'' CBS scrapped ''Genesis II'' and replaced it with a [[Planet of the Apes (TV series)|television series]] based on the film; the results were disastrous from a ratings standpoint, and ''Planet of the Apes'' was canceled after 14 episodes.<ref>[[#vanhise1992|Van Hise (1992)]]: p. 61</ref>

''[[The Questor Tapes]]'' project reunited him with his ''Star Trek'' collaborator, Gene L. Coon, who was in poor health. NBC ordered 16 episodes, and tentatively scheduled the series to follow ''[[The Rockford Files]]'' on Friday nights;<ref name=hise65/> the pilot launched on January 23, 1974,<ref>[[#vanhise1992|Van Hise (1992)]]: p. 63</ref> to positive critical response, but Roddenberry balked at the substantial changes requested by the network and left the project, leading to its immediate cancellation. During 1974, Roddenberry reworked the ''Genesis II'' concept as a second pilot, ''[[Planet Earth (film)|Planet Earth]],'' for rival network ABC, with similar less-than-successful results. The pilot was aired on April 23, 1974. While Roddenberry wanted to create something that could feasibly exist in the future, the network wanted stereotypical science-fiction women and were unhappy when that was not delivered.<ref name=hise65>[[#vanhise1992|Van Hise (1992)]]: p. 65</ref> Roddenberry was not involved in a third reworking of the material by ABC that produced ''[[Strange New World (film)|Strange New World]].''<ref>Alexander, David, "Star Trek Creator." ROC Books, an imprint of Dutton Signet, a division of Penguin Books USA, New York, June 1994, {{ISBN|0-451-45418-9}}, pp. 398–403.</ref> He began developing ''MAGNA I,'' an underwater science-fiction series, for [[20th Century Fox Television]]. By the time the work on the script was complete, though, those who had approved the project had left Fox and their replacements were not interested in the project. A similar fate was faced by ''Tribunes,'' a science-fiction police series, which Roddenberry attempted to get off the ground between 1973 and 1977. He gave up after four years;<ref>[[#vanhise1992|Van Hise (1992)]]: p. 67</ref> the series never even reached the pilot stage.{{Citation needed|date=August 2019}}

In 1974, Roddenberry was paid $25,000 by [[John Whitmore (racing driver)|John Whitmore]] to write a script called ''The Nine''.<ref name=nine/> Intended to be about [[Andrija Puharich]]'s parapsychological research, it evolved into a frank exploration of his experiences attempting to earn a living attending science fiction conventions.<ref name=hise59>[[#vanhise1992|Van Hise (1992)]]: p. 59</ref> At the time, he was again close to losing his house because of a lack of income.<ref name=nine>{{harvp|Engel|1994|p=165}}</ref> The pilot ''[[Spectre (1977 film)|Spectre]],'' Roddenberry's 1977 attempt to create an [[Occult detective fiction|occult detective]] duo similar to [[Sherlock Holmes]] and [[Dr. Watson]],<ref name=hise68>[[#vanhise1992|Van Hise (1992)]]: p. 68</ref> was released as a television movie within the United States and received a limited theatrical release in the United Kingdom.<ref>{{cite web|title=A new Trek? Roddenberry's failed TV pilots (video)|work=SyfyWire |url=http://www.blastr.com/2009/10/a_new_trek_roddenberrys_f.php|publisher=blastr|access-date=March 15, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160315182604/http://www.blastr.com/2009/10/a_new_trek_roddenberrys_f.php|archive-date=March 15, 2016|date=December 14, 2012}}</ref>