Blogpost #11

Welcome, Trekkers and Trekkies alike! In the wake of the newly reimagined version of the classic TV series, this week's show is an hour-long documentary written and narrated by the late Gene Roddenberry back in 1976. You'll hear Gene's insightful conversations with original cast members William Shatner and DeForest Kelley as well as the father of modern science fiction, Issac Asimov. Above is the cover for the original 1976 Inside Star Trek LP. My copy is a rare promotional release with white record labels instead of orange, and it also comes with an insert guaranteed to "self-destruct in ten minutes". No, it's not for sale... yet.

I was not a Trekkie back in 1976 when I first heard this record, but I still found it fascinating, especially the part where Shatner returns to the bridge of the Enterprise to become Captain Kirk once again for a few moments. The record features numerous excerpts from Gene Roddenberry's May 1976 lecture at New York's Rochester Institute of Technology, where he humorously recounts his legendary battles with network censors. There's also a scene featuring Spock's Vulcan father Ambassador Sarek (played again by Mark Lenard) in which he reveals the unknown details of Spock's miraculous birth and his traumatic childhood. Gene himself reveals that he had a difficult childhood as well, and it's possible that it influenced him when he created Spock's backstory.

The 1976 LP has been expanded and revised for CD release, and is still available as part of a package that features the 1979 soundtrack music for the first Star Trek film. It's available for purchase or download from Amazon.com. Next week's show will delve into the history of Radio's Golden Era, but not in a way you've ever heard before. I'm going to focus on the scandalous and shameful moments of early broadcasting, covering everything from Orson Welles' Martian Invasion scare in 1938 to William Conrad's never-aired 'Dirty Saturday' rehearsals for Gunsmoke in the late fifties. Remember, A Time To Remember is for mature adults only. Always was. Always will be.