A Roddenberry Perspective On Star Trek
By MICHAEL HINMAN
Source: SyFy Portal
Nov-12-2007
http://www.syfyportal.com/pagetogether.php?id=4423&page=3
If you let him tell the story, Eugene W. Roddenberry will tell you that
he was asked to host this week's special theatrical presentations of the
original "Star Trek" episode "The Menagerie" because his name is Eugene
W. Roddenberry. Of course, what Roddenberry always fails to mention that
since his father Gene passed away in 1991 when the younger Roddenberry
was just a teenager, he has become a champion of Star Trek fans
worldwide. And for many fans, there is no one better to present his
father's original work on the big screen for the first time.
"Truth be told, I'm the cheapest one out of everyone involved,"
Roddenberry jokingly told SyFy Portal's Michael Hinman ahead of the
special two-night screenings that begin Nov. 13.
"The Menagerie" -- the original two-part episode that served as sort of
an "envelope" to the original pilot, "The Cage" -- will be shown Tuesday
and Thursday on select movie screens across the United States. The
episode focuses on Spock (Leonard Nimoy) finding his former commanding
officer, Capt. Christopher Pike, severely disabled after a training
accident. Acting on compassion, he kidnaps Pike and steals the
Enterprise. However, Capt. Kirk (William Shatner) is able to catch up
with the Enterprise on a shuttlecraft, and Spock is court martialed in a
trial that includes flashbacks to the original first mission of the
valiant starship.
"'The Cage' was my father's original concept for 'Star Trek' and the one
NBC said was too intellectual for their audience," Roddenberry said.
"When people watch this on the screen, it is the beginning of Star Trek,
the ultimate idea of what my father wanted to get out there, that
humanity won't be caged, human beings wanted to explore, they wanted to
be free."
CBS Corp., which now owns the rights to the television side of Star Trek
following the Viacom split, has been presenting the classic episodes in
a remastered fashion, including new special effects. "The Menagerie"
screenings will include such new effects, as well as digital
enhancements, that will open it up to entirely new audiences, but that
doesn't mean some long-time fans aren't a bit resistant to the idea.
Even Roddenberry said when he first learned of the remastering, he was
willing to support it as long as the studio didn't go crazy in changing
storylines, like some claimed happened in the reworked versions of the
Star Wars trilogy in the 1990s.
"The minute they have a scene that originally was supposed to have Kirk
walk in the background and now he wasn't, that's when I would have a
problem," Roddenberry said. "If they enhance a city, or a phaser, or the
beaming effect, I'm good with that."
Although he said he wouldn't support it at all if he was against it,
the fact that he does and is showing support for the remastered episodes
through his appearance in the film and making a personal appearance
during Tuesday's screening in Burbank, Calif., Roddenberry hopes to
build what he considers a new, stronger relationship between the
Roddenberry family and the media conglomerate that owns the rights to
one of the most successful science-fiction franchises in human history.
It's a relationship that historically Roddenberry best describes as a
"love-hate."
"CBS coming in new, not knowing some of this stuff in the past, is both
a blessing and a curse," Roddenberry said. While some of the negative
history may be forgotten -- the family and Paramount had clashed for
years over licensing issues related to Trek among other things -- there
also remains the possibility that despite a building bearing his
father's name on the Paramount lot, and the fact that many believe Star
Trek was the saving grace of Paramount, the Roddenberry family will be
pushed aside as if they were no one special.
"It's not about getting paid more money," Roddenberry said. "Say I
wanted to have permission to come on to the set of the new movie that's
filming, I would like to be able to call the proper person and get the
proper permission and come on. I haven't asked to do that yet, but if I
did, I would hope that having a Roddenberry visit would be something
they were willing to do."
Roddenberry did meet with J.J. Abrams, the director of the new film,
earlier this year in what was described as an informal breakfast meeting
in California. The meeting was cordial, but it was not to see if the
younger Roddenberry would like to come on board the new production, or
even to get feedback on the story.
"I got the impression that they were just finding out if I was going to
be a problem or not," Roddenberry said. "I am outspoken, and I'm not
afraid to share my opinion. If I read the script and didn't like it, or
thought it didn't follow the Roddenberry philosophy, I wouldn't bash
them. I just wouldn't say anything at all. I just won't be a yes-man."
If anyone could continue carrying the torch of Star Trek, it could
definitely be Abrams, Roddenberry said.
"I think J.J. is a genuine fan, and I think he knows what fans want," he
said. "I think we will still see Star Trek in it, but are they going to
try and reinvent Star Trek? I don't know. I know they're not saying,
'Fuck what happened before, we're going to do what we want.' And that's
good."
"Star Trek XI" will mark the first Star Trek production in nearly 20
years that will not include Rick Berman, who was the "hand-picked"
torchbearer for Star Trek following the death of Gene Roddenberry. Since
the demise of "Star Trek: Enterprise" in 2005, fan hatred of Berman has
continued to grow, and his departure from the franchise last year was
celebrated, not mourned. Roddenberry, however, says there's a lot about
Berman that is misunderstood in fandom.
"I begged him to start speaking at conventions," Roddenberry said. "He's
not Gene Roddenberry. If I took over Star Trek, I would've been torn to
shit, too, because I'm not Gene Roddenberry, either.
"To me, Rick Berman is a sweetheart. The guy had a lot of external
pressures, and on top of that, he had to fill Gene Roddenberry's shoes.
And he deserves a lot of credit for pulling off what he did."
"Star Trek: The Menagerie" will hit the big screen in select theaters
across the United States on Nov. 13, and have two additional showings on
Nov. 15. It will be shown in its original television dimension
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