Is Rod Roddenberry kind of a douche?

[James T. Vader]

I watched his documentary he made, and one thing struck me was that Majel basically had nothing to say to him. He admitted to being a spoiled punk and didn't get along with his father and now 2 decades later has decided to cash in his father's creation.

He was in a rountable a while back with Brannon Braga and others and i heard he's doing a TOS re-watch podcast on The Nerdist Network.

He really comes across as smarmy and just in it for the fact that he's Star Trek Jr. Kind of like Jett Lucas coming out in 15 years and being Mr. Star Wars.

 

[TEACAKE'S PLEATHER DOME]

I could only choke down half of that documentary. Way too repetitive with the endless "oh wow, my dad meant something" moments. However I don't think you can declare someone is a douche just because they cashed in on a parent's legacy.

 

[bbailey861]

I don't know if he is a douche or not - but Trek Nation is best taken in small doses until the entire medication is complete.

 

[The Wormhole]

I've never seen Trek Nation, but based on what I do know about Rod Roddenberry, he does not come off as a douche. Aside from Trek Nation, he doesn't really try too cash in on Trek. In fact he's usually very reserved in Trek-related matters. I suspect that he was approached and convinced to do the interviews he's done for the TOS DVDs and TNG blu-rays, rather than seek to do this on his own.

Sorry, Star Trek has its devils, both currently and in the past, but Rod Roddenberry isn't one of them.

 

[LobsterAfternoon]

I can't say if he's a douche or not, I don't know the guy. But his silly Trek documentary did seem like a grab at fame. He didn't like/know his dad and he decides the best way to get to know him is through a documentary about something he made? Why not talk to his friends/family rather than do interviews with actors and stuff.

 

[BillJ]

Total douche.

 

[Tosk]

I can't judge him as a person 'cause I don't know him. But I do know that I don't really care to see or hear him.

 

[Gary7]

It's hard to know a person by their media face... but most people tend to care about what gets exposed to the media, so they tend to pick and choose the best. If someone comes off as a douche based on what they've produced, in all likelihood they're even worse in person.

Based on what I've seen Rod produce, he comes off as a trust fund baby who couldn't figure out what he wanted to do, so he's riding on his father's coat tails. He has no imagination and I have no respect for him exaggerating details about his father, both positive and negative. The "old" Star Trek is a dying franchise and Rod will be left watching it fade into the sunset, probably ending up writing ridiculous memoirs that rewrite Star Trek history.

 

[Therin of Andor]

I watched his documentary he made, and one thing struck me was that Majel basically had nothing to say to him. He admitted to being a spoiled punk and didn't get along with his father...

What 16-year-old boy does? And suddenly... Gene was gone!

I was a dinner guest at the Roddenberry mansion in December 1991, only a few months after Gene's passing. Rod turned up for dinner - looking like a typical, longhaired, 16-year-old, LA skater dude, which he was. He was polite and friendly and had normal table manners. He chatted a bit about his studies and told his Mom and grandmother what he'd been up to. Majel had a long-standing rule that "Star Trek" is not mentioned in the house, beyond the door of Gene's home office, so even I was warned beforehand not to raise the subject.

As far as 16-year-old Hollywood teens go, he was no douche. I've certainly known some awful ones and most of them have grown up okay.

I chatted with him a few times via Facebook; he seems more absorbed about diving than ST.

He didn't like/know his dad...

Any worse than any kid who loses a career-minded, creative Dad when he's only 16?

And, in the late 70s, he got dragged around to enough ST conventions as a toddler to set it aside as "something Mom & Dad do".

The "old" Star Trek is a dying franchise and Rod will be left watching it fade into the sunset...

Huh? He and Majel were very complimentary about JJ's first ST movie. Not sure where you're getting the impression that Rod is clinging to the "old" franchise.

 

[mos6507]

I think the problem I have with Rod is that he presents himself as though he has some sort of Hollywood street-cred and he doesn't. I don't think he's written or produced anything. I think if he wants to follow in his father's footsteps, by all means, but he has to put some work into it. But his main source of money seems to be from selling prop recreations. While his dad was not unknown for merchandising, and Majel ran Lincoln Enterprises, Gene certainly was a capable writer who managed to navigate through Hollywood and get things done, and Rod isn't. And so I just don't take him seriously. I don't know what he has to offer the world of science-fiction other than some anecdotes from his childhood.

 

[The Mirrorball Man]

I don't know the guy and I can't judge him, but I judge him anyway.

 

[TEACAKE'S PLEATHER DOME]

I don't know the guy and I can't judge him, but I judge him anyway.

The brotherhood of the internet

 

[Forbin]

Big. Fizzy. Douche.

No, I really don't know (or care), I just like saying "big fizzy douche" after I heard it on 2 1/2 men.

 

[The Mirrorball Man]

I don't know the guy and I can't judge him, but I judge him anyway.

The brotherhood of the internet

And I was barely aware he even existed before clicking on the thread.

 

[RandyS]

I don't know if he is or not, nor do I care. But, Majel's rule of "no Star Trek talk in the house" has me wondering about HER.

What the hell kind of rule is THAT??

But then, what else to to be expected from the woman who voluntarily played Luxwana Troi??

 

[T J]

one thing struck me was that Majel basically had nothing to say to him.

This part of the Doc caught my eye too. How very sad. You can tell in some way he had burned his bridges with him mom and she had a stone wall up. I kept thinking if my mom behaved that way with me I would know what to do. Douche or not I just thought it was very sad and part of me wants to pity him... Feeling pity for spoiled trust fund babies... not my thing.

Be good to your mother folks, ya only get one!

 

[Gary7]

Huh? He and Majel were very complimentary about JJ's first ST movie. Not sure where you're getting the impression that Rod is clinging to the "old" franchise.

Oh sure, they were complimentary of JJ's ST movie, but Rod had nothing to do with it. As mos6507 said, "his main source of money seems to be from selling prop recreations." He won't have any licensing to create the new props. He's out of it. All he has left is the old franchise.

 

[sbk1234]

I don't know if he is or not, nor do I care. But, Majel's rule of "no Star Trek talk in the house" has me wondering about HER.

What the hell kind of rule is THAT??

But then, what else to to be expected from the woman who voluntarily played Luxwana Troi??

Honestly, my take on that rule is that their lives were so connected to Star Trek that they needed a place to break free of it and explore the other aspects of their lives. Otherwise, I could see how Star Trek could have become even more all encompassing in their lives.
You have to remember, we love Star Trek as our recreation. An escape from real life. For the ROddenberrys, Star Trek was work. It was their daily lives. It seems no different than the doctor who won't discuss medical matters at home.

I may be wrong, since I don't know these people personally. I've met them each a few times, and each time they seemed genuinely friendly, and appreciative of their association with Trek.
Even as a young child (when I met him) Rod was pleasant to chat with.

 

[HaplessCrewman]

In this case, I'd say that the apple falls far from the tree.

 

[BillJ]

Huh? He and Majel were very complimentary about JJ's first ST movie. Not sure where you're getting the impression that Rod is clinging to the "old" franchise.

Oh sure, they were complimentary of JJ's ST movie, but Rod had nothing to do with it. As mos6507 said, "his main source of money seems to be from selling prop recreations." He won't have any licensing to create the new props. He's out of it. All he has left is the old franchise.

Yeah, but as long as new Trek gets made, he'll continued to get paid. He gets a slice of the pie on anything with "Created by Gene Roddenberry" on it.

Nice gig if you can get it.