While Roddenberry worked for the LAPD, he wrote television scripts under the pseudonym "Robert Wesley" for the series
Highway Patrol and both the TV and radio versions of
Have Gun, Will Travel. In 1957, he wrote an episode for the
Boots and Saddles western series entitled "The Prussian Farmer". In 1960, he wrote four episodes of the British (ITC Entertainment) made Australian western
Whiplash.
Eventually, Roddenberry's dissatisfaction with his work as a freelance writer led him to produce his own television program. His first attempt,
APO 923, was not picked up by the networks, but in 1963, he created and produced
The Lieutenant, which lasted for a single season and was set inside the United States Marine Corps with Nichelle Nichols starring in the first episode.
Star Trek
Roddenberry developed
Star Trek in 1964, developing it as a combination of the science-fiction series Buck Rogers and Flash Gordon. Roddenberry sold the project as a "Wagon Train to the Stars", and it was picked up by Desilu Studios. The first pilot went over its US$500,000 budget and received only minor support from NBC. Nevertheless, the network commissioned an unprecedented second pilot and the series premiered on September 8, 1966 and ran for three seasons. The show began to receive low ratings, and in the final season, Roddenberry offered to demote himself to line producer in a final attempt to rescue the show by giving it a desirable time slot.
The series went on to gain popularity through syndication.
Beginning in 1975, the go-ahead was given by Paramount for Roddenberry to develop a new
Star Trek television series, with many of the original cast to be included. It was originally called
Phase II. This series was the anchor show of a new network (the ancestor of UPN, which later became part of The CW Television Network), but plans by Paramount for this network were scrapped and the project was reworked into a feature film. The result,
The Motion Picture, received a lukewarm critical response, but it performed well at the box office — it was the highest-grossing of all Star Trek movies until the release of
First Contact in 1996.
When it came time to produce the obligatory theatrical sequel, Roddenberry's story submission of a time-traveling
Enterprise crew involved in the John F. Kennedy assassination was rejected. He was removed from direct involvement and replaced by Harve Bennett. He continued, however, as executive consultant for the next four films:
The Wrath of Khan;
The Search for Spock;
The Voyage Home; and
The Final Frontier.
Roddenberry was deeply involved with creating and producing
The Next Generation, although he only had full control over the show's first season. The WGA strike of 1988 prevented him from taking an active role in production of the second season and forced him to hand control of the series to producer Maurice Hurley.
The Undiscovered Country was the last film with the cast of the original
Star Trek series and was dedicated to Roddenberry. He reportedly viewed an early version of the film a few days before his death.
In addition to his film and TV work, Roddenberry also wrote the novelization of
The Motion Picture. It was published in 1979 and was the first of hundreds of
Star Trek-based novels to be published by the Pocket Books unit of Simon & Schuster, whose parent company also owned Paramount Pictures Corporation. Because Alan Dean Foster wrote the original treatment of the
The Motion Picture film, there was a rumor that Foster was the ghostwriter of the novel. This has been debunked by Foster on his personal web site. (Foster did, however, ghostwrite the novelization of George Lucas's
Star Wars.) Roddenberry talked of writing a second
Trek novel based on his rejected 1975 script of the JFK assassination plot, but he died before he was able to do so.
Roddenberry is reported to have made comments regarding what was to be considered canonical material in the fictional Star Trek universe, even toward the end of his life. In particular, claims have been made about his expressed opinions in this regard for the films
The Final Frontier,
The Undiscovered Country, and
The Animated Series. See main article, Star Trek canon.
"Star Trek" is a rare instance of a television series gaining substantially in popularity and cultural currency long after cancellation (see main article, Cultural influence of Star Trek). Perhaps inevitably, then, there has been some contention over the years regarding proper attribution of artistic credit and assignment of royalties related to the show. A few writers and other production staff for the series have said that ideas they developed were later claimed by Roddenberry as his own, or that Roddenberry discounted their contributions and involvement. Roddenberry was confronted by some of these people, and he apologized to them; but according to at least one critic, he continued to claim undue credit.
"Star Trek" theme music composer Alexander Courage long harbored resentment of Roddenberry's attachment of lyrics to his composition. By union rules, this resulted in the two men splitting the music royalties payable whenever an episode of
Star Trek aired, which otherwise would have gone to Courage in full. (The lyrics were never used on the show, but were performed by Nichelle Nichols on her 1991 album, "Out of this World.") Later, while cooperating with Stephen Whitfield for the latter's book
The Making of Star Trek, Roddenberry demanded and received Whitfield's acquiescence for 50 percent of that book's royalties. As Roddenberry explained to Whitfield in 1968:
I had to get some money somewhere. I'm sure not going to get it from the profits of Star Trek.
Herbert Solow and Robert H. Justman observe that Whitfield never regretted his fifty-fifty deal with Roddenberry since it gave him "the opportunity to become the first chronicler of television's successful unsuccessful series".
Star Trek was used as the basis for further television series:
The Next Generation;
Deep Space Nine;
Voyager; and
Enterprise.
Other television work
Aside from
Star Trek, Gene produced
Pretty Maids All in a Row, a sexploitation film adapted from the novel written by Francis Pollini and directed by Roger Vadim. The cast included Rock Hudson, Angie Dickinson, Telly Savalas, and Roddy McDowall alongside
Star Trek regulars James Doohan and William Campbell. It also featured Gretchen Burrell, the wife of country-rock pioneer Gram Parsons. Despite Roddenberry's expectations, the film was not a success.
In the early 1970s, Roddenberry pitched pilots for three sci-fi TV series concepts, although none were developed as series:
The Questor Tapes;
Spectre, and
Genesis II. ABC asked to see another TV movie using the characters from
Genesis II, but with more action, and Roddenberry produced
Planet Earth. He was not, however, involved in a third TV Movie,
Strange New World, which used some of the characters and situations from
Planet Earth, but with a different origin story.
Roddenberry feared that he would be unable to provide for his family, as he was unable to find work in the television and film industry and was facing possible bankruptcy.