Eugene Wesley "Gene" Roddenberry (August 19, 1921 – October 24, 1991) was an American screenwriter and producer of several television series, best known for his work in creating the Star Trek franchise. He began a writing career while he was a Sergeant in the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) and his first work to be bought by a network was The Secret Defense of 117, although it took four years to be broadcast. During that time, he wrote four episodes of the police procedural Highway Patrol under the pseudonym "Robert Wesley", as the LAPD required employees to seek formal permission to work a second job. After leaving the force, he wrote for several series, such as Have Gun – Will Travel but wanted to become a producer.
He wrote pilots for a series of his own, but these were turned down by the studios (except for a brief summer replacement series, Wrangler) until he began work on The Lieutenant. This ran for a single season on NBC on Saturday nights. While involved in that series, he began working on a science fiction premise that became Star Trek. He oversaw the production of the series for the first two seasons, but following budget cuts and the move to an unfavorable timeslot for the third season, he stepped back from working on Star Trek but remained credited as an executive producer. Following the cancellation of the series, he wrote and produced his first feature film, Pretty Maids All in a Row. He also produced several new science fiction pilots: Genesis II (also re-worked into a second pilot, called Planet Earth), The Questor Tapes and Spectre. Of these, Questor was approved to go to a full season, but following disagreements between Roddenberry and the studio over suggested changes, it was canceled.
Star Trek was resurrected twice, first as an animated series, and then as Star Trek: The Motion Picture. The studio brought in a new producer for the sequel to the film, to which Roddenberry demanded creative control or else he would refuse an executive producer credit, instead only willing to be credited as creative consultant. This credit started with Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan and continued through to Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country. He took Star Trek back to television during the late 1980s, with Star Trek: The Next Generation Following his death in 1991, two of his 1970s science fiction ideas were re-worked, resulting in Earth: Final Conflict and Andromeda.
Films YearTitleCredited asNotes Ref. Executive consultant Producer Writer 1971 Pretty Maids All in a Row 1979 Also uncredited wrote outline for film and wrote novelisation 1982 1984 1986 1989 1991
Television YearTitleCredited as Notes Ref(s) Writer Producer Creator 1954–56 Highway Patrol Five episodes (four as Robert Wesley) 1954 Mr. District Attorney Six episodes (as Robert Wesley) 1956 I Led Three Lives Two episodes (as Robert Wesley) 1956 Dr. Christian One episode 1956 Natchez Television film 1956 Broadcast as part of Chevron Hall of StarsAlso called The Secret Weapon of 117 1956–57 Eleven episodes1957True Story One episode 1957 Kaiser Aluminum Hour Episode: "So Short a Season" 1957 Episode "The Perfect Alibi" 1957 Boots and Saddles Four episodes 1957–63 Have Gun – Will Travel 24 episodes 1958 Harbor Command One episode 1958 Sam Houston One episode (unsold pilot), also known as Warrior or The Man from Texas 1958 Jefferson Drum Four episodes 1959 The Night Stick One episode (unsold pilot), also known as The Big Walk 1960 Alcoa Theatre Episode "333 Montgomery" 1960 Hotel de Paree One episode 1960 One episode 1960 Wrangler "Introducing Wrangler". Mission Log: Gene-ology (Podcast).Interview: GENE-OLOGY uncovers WRANGLER as Gene Roddenberry's first series creator credit. 1960 Two episodes 1961 Whiplash Four episodes 1961 Target: The Corruptors! One episode 1961 Two Faces West One episode 1961 Shannon Two episodes 1962 Defiance County One episode (unsold pilot), also known as Ty Cooper 1962 Dr. Kildare One episode 1962 A.P.O. 923 One episode (unsold pilot) 1962 GE True One episode 1962 Naked City One episode 1962 The Virginian One episode, Roddenberry story, Howard Browne teleplay 1963 The Lawbreakers One episode 1963–64 One season 1965 The Long Hunt of April Savage One episode (unsold pilot) 1966–69 Star Trek Three seasons 1967 Police Story One episode (unsold pilot) 1971 Alias Smith and Jones One episode, same story as The Virginian 1973 Genesis II Pilot/Television film 1973–74 Star Trek: The Animated Series Two seasons, also credited as executive consultant 1974 Planet Earth Pilot/Television film 1974 Pilot/Television film 1977 Spectre Pilot/Television film 1987–94 Star Trek: The Next Generation Seven seasonsCredited posthumously from midway through season five onwards1988 The Star Trek Saga: From One Generation to the NextTelevision documentary film1991 Star Trek 25th Anniversary SpecialTelevision documentary film 1997–2002 Earth: Final Conflict Credited posthumouslyFive seasons 2000–05 Andromeda Credited posthumouslyFive seasons
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Mission Log: Gene-ology, a podcast exploring the works of Gene Roddenberry