The Written Trek

The Menagerie (Episodes 16-17)

Gene Roddenberry recycled Star Trek's first pilot "The Cage" into a two-part episode.

Feb 17 • Stephen C. Smith

1

January 2026

Court Martial (Episode 15)

The name Mankiewicz means you're Hollywood royalty. But it doesn't mean you can write Star Trek.

Jan 30 • Stephen C. Smith

2

December 2025

The Galileo Seven (Episode 14)

A once-blacklisted screenwriter's script was saved by a plastic model toy maker.

Dec 28, 2025 • Stephen C. Smith

2

November 2025

The Conscience of the King (Episode 13)

Shakespeare in Space!

Nov 8, 2025 • Stephen C. Smith

1

October 2025

Miri (Episode 12)

Grace Lee Whitney was sexually assaulted while filming this episode, then was told her contract would not be renewed.

Oct 13, 2025 • Stephen C. Smith

2

Book Review: When HARLIE Was One (Release 2.0)

Author David Gerrold wrote a novel first published in 1972 that seems eerily prescient in 2025.

Oct 7, 2025 • Stephen C. Smith

1

A Visit to the Enterprise

The Star Trek tour in Ticonderoga, New York features replicas of the NCC-1701 sets, which were used in the "New Voyages" fan series.

Oct 4, 2025 • Stephen C. Smith

September 2025

Dagger of the Mind (Episode 11)

As pressures built on him to deliver an action-adventure show on time and on budget, Gene Roddenberry personally rewrote yet another writer's script.

Sep 13, 2025 • Stephen C. Smith

1

August 2025

What Are Little Girls Made Of? (Episode 10)

Robert Bloch, the author of the 1959 novel "Psycho," brought his taste for the macabre to the final frontier.

Aug 12, 2025 • Stephen C. Smith

1

July 2025

Balance of Terror (Episode 09)

Writer Paul Schneider and the Star Trek production team set out to make an episode based on the 1957 submarine warfare film, "The Enemy Below."

Jul 23, 2025 • Stephen C. Smith

1

June 2025

Charlie X (Episode 08)

Dorothy Fontana overcame sexist stereotypes in the entertainment industry to become Star Trek's story editor.

Jun 19, 2025 • Stephen C. Smith

2

May 2025

The Naked Time (Episode 07)

Gene Roddenberry asked television writer John D.F. Black to be Star Trek's first story editor. He lasted thirteen episodes.

May 6, 2025 • Stephen C. Smith

2