The Trek Files: A Roddenberry Star Trek Podcast

On September 8, 1966, Star Trek made its American television debut. But just days earlier, Gene Roddenberry was in Cleveland trying to convince some science fictionfans that his new television series deserved to be taken seriously. On this special 60th anniversary edition of The Trek Files, Glen E. Swanson, author of Inspired Enterprise, returns to examine Roddenberry's appearance at Tricon, the 24th World Science Fiction Convention, over Labor Day weekend in 1966. Our document of the week is the March 8 invitation from Tricon chairman Ben Jason asking Roddenberry to attend the convention, speak to the fans, and bring along both Star Trek pilots. The original Tricon program provides another remarkable artifact: a "sneak preview" of two episodes of a new science-fiction television series called Star Trek. Television science fiction still had a credibility problem, particularly among fans and writers who had seen Hollywood turn sophisticated ideas into bug-eyed monsters and juvenile adventure. Roddenberry arrived with something to prove: that Star Trek intended to treat science fiction with respect. Glen and Larry explore the expectations surrounding the convention, Roddenberry's deliberate courtship of the science-fiction community, and why taking time away from a frantic production schedule to spend Labor Day weekend in Cleveland may have been one of the smartest promotional decisions he could make. And that's only half the story. Next week, Glen returns for Part Two, as we examine what actually happened when the lights went down, the Star Trek pilots went up on the screen, and the legend of Tricon began. Related Documents Letter from Ben Jason to Gene Roddenberry — March 8, 1966 Tricon Program Book — 24th World Science Fiction Convention, Cleveland, Ohio, 1966 Additional References Glen E. Swanson – official website Glen E. Swanson at the Internet Movie Database Inspired Enterprise "Mission Impossible: How Star Trek Used the Aerospace Community to Try and Win an Emmy" — Glen E. Swanson, The Space Review

Norman Spinrad's original March 1967 story outline for "The Planet Eater" introduced Star Trek to an unstoppable machine roaming the galaxy, consuming planets for fuel and leaving destruction in its wake. By the time it reached television, the story had a new title, "The Doomsday Machine," and became one of the most celebrated episodes of the original series. Author and filmmaker Jeffrey Morris joins Larry Nemecek at Star Trek Las Vegas to revisit that original outline and consider its warning through a distinctly 21st-century lens. Drawing from his new book, A Future Askew, Jeffrey explores artificial intelligence, social media, technological disruption, and the increasingly complicated distance between the optimistic future Star Trek imagined and the one we're actually building. Could today's rapidly developing technology become our own version of the Planet Eater: enormously powerful, increasingly autonomous, and ultimately beyond the understanding of its creators? Sixty years after Star Trek began imagining the future, an old-fashioned doomsday machine provides a surprisingly timely place to ask where we're headed next. Document of the week: "The Planet Eater" by Norman Spinrad — Story Outline, March 6, 1967 Additional references: Jeffrey Morris — A Future Askew: Urgent Essays Inspired by the 60th Anniversary of Star Trek "The Doomsday Machine" If Anyone Builds It, Everyone Dies: Why Superhuman AI Would Kill Us All - by Eliezer Yudkowsky and Nate Soares  Center for Humane Technology The Social Dilemma Borg V'Ger