Summary

7 years before creatingStar Trek , Gene Roddenberry deliver a TV serial publication about Sam Houston , and hisfirst - ever pitch text file is explore by the Roddenberry podcastGene - ology . Before producingStar Trek ’s first unaired pilot burner , " The Cage , " which he pitched in 1964 , andStar Trek : The Original Series , which premiere in 1966 , Gene Roddenberry spent the mid - to - late 1950s as a successful TV writer . While still working as an LAPD police sergeant , Roddenberry wrote script forHighway Patroland Mr. District Attorney ( under his pseudonym Robert Wesley ) , and 10 episodes of The West Point Story .

In 1957 , Gene Roddenberry pitchedThe Man From Texas , a historical - based TV series about Sam Houston . factor - ology : A Roddenberry Podcast , hosted by Earl Green and Norman C. Lao , exposed and exploredThe adult male From Texas , theearliest idiot box slant by Gene Roddenberry that there are disk of in the Roddenberry Archives . It ’s a enchanting coup d’oeil at Roddenberry ’s desire to manage his own TV serial publication about an American ikon whose life was an unbelievably straight account . you’re able to mind to the episode ofGene - ologybelow :

​​Gene - ologyis also delving into the two unproduced scripts ofThe humans From Texaswritten by Gene Roddenberry . The instalment about the first ​screenplay , " Destiny and the Raven , " can be hear below :

andromeda

you’re able to also download each sequence ofGene - ologyfrom theMission Log Podcast website at this link .

After Gene Roddenberry ’s death in 1991 , Majel Barrett built on his Star Trek bequest by producing two previously unmade projects , including Andromeda .

How Roddenberry’s Lost TV Pitch Connects To Star Trek

There are hints of Roddenberry’s future in his Sam Houston pitch

western sandwich were the dominant TV genre in the 1950s , and it ’s no surprise Gene Roddenberry pitch a western TV show of his own . Indeed , Star Trekwas cant over to NBC as"Wagon power train to the stars"to give TV web executives something conversant to grasp about his scientific discipline fable show . ForThe Man From Texas , Roddenberry saw an outsized historical figure who live a remarkable life in Sam Houston , and those heroic aspects could have regulate the futureCaptains of the Starship Enterprise , Christopher Pike ( Jeffrey Hunter ) and James T. Kirk ( William Shatner ) .

Roddenberry ’s challenging ideas for The Man From Texas audio more like a modern serialized TV series .

Gene Roddenberry also delved into the history of Sam Houston , andhe envisioned a historical epic about Houston ’s lifethat could run for 36 installment a season andeven"ten times"that . Star Trek : The Original Seriesalso plunge into history with the crew of the Starship Enterprise fourth dimension travel to the past , meeting diachronic figures , or even beings from mythology like the Grecian god Apollo ( Michael Forest ) . Roddenberry ’s ambitious ideas forThe Man From Texassound more like a advanced serialized TV series , augur what would total decades later with show likeStar Trek : Deep Space NineandStar Trek : Discovery .

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TheGene - ologyhosts liken Gene Roddenberry ’s plan forThe Man From Texasto George Lucas’The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles .

Further , Gene Roddenberry ’s character vignette for Sam Houston ’s main army scout inThe Man From Texas , Def Smith , contained potential elements of Mr. Spock ( Leonard Nimoy).In the role of Sam Houston ’s sidekick in the television serial , Smith could be seen as serving a interchangeable function as Captain Kirk ’s Vulcan First Officer inStar Trek . The Man From Texaswas never made , andThe Lieutenant(1963 - 1964 ) predatedStar Trekas the first television receiver series make by Gene Roddenberry , butGene - ologyoffers a riveting glimpse at Roddenberry ’s unrealized vision for an ambitious video series about Sam Houston .

Source : Mission Log : A Roddenberry Star Trek Podcast , Roddenberry Archives

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A painting of Gene Roddenberry with Star Trek’s USS Enterprise behind him.

Gene Roddenberry’s Max From Texas Pitch Cover

Star Trek The Original Series TV Poster

Headshot Of William Shatner

Headshot of Leonard Nimoy

Star Trek: The Original Series