The Written Trek

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 • 

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 • 

Stephen C. Smith

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 • 

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 • 

Stephen C. Smith

1

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 • 

Stephen C. Smith

1

February 2025

The Man Trap (Episode 06)

Although this was the fourth episode of the first season to be produced, it was the first to air. The reviews were less than stellar.

Feb 5 • 

Stephen C. Smith

1

January 2025

The Enemy Within (Episode 05)

The episode's idea was lifted from "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde." A sexual assault scene foreshadowed what would soon happen in real life to a female cast…

Jan 12 • 

Stephen C. Smith

1

December 2024

Mudd's Women (Episode 04)

Despite its reputation for creating a vision for an equitable future, behind the scenes Star Trek was incredibly sexist. Harry Mudd is little more than…

Dec 18, 2024 • 

Stephen C. Smith

1

The Corbomite Maneuver (Episode 03)

After two pilots, Star Trek finally began production as a series. This was the first episode to be produced. Spock was a work-in-progress -- and nearly…

Dec 2, 2024 • 

Stephen C. Smith

1

November 2024

"The Cage" 60th Anniversary

This featurette looks back sixty years to the filming of the first Star Trek pilot -- which decades later inadvertently birthed a sequel series…

Nov 28, 2024 • 

Stephen C. Smith

1

Unification

OTOY uses artificial intelligence technologies to reunite William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy in the hereafter.

Nov 18, 2024 • 

Stephen C. Smith

Where No Man Has Gone Before (Episode 02)

Contrary to myth, the second pilot was not because the first was "too cerebral." It was to have an episode with more action to show potential sponsors.

Nov 17, 2024 • 

Stephen C. Smith