. . . While the book is kind to Roddenberry, the reader cannot walk away with anything other than the impression that he was a fairly ruthless self-aggrandizing womanizer.
In other words, he was a creative genius, but also a real son of a bitch. That describes a whole lot of famous artists and writers.
Not just artists and writers -- a lot of people in general, unfortunately.
It's why my criticism of the man shouldn't be misinterpreted as anything other than wanting to know some level of truth about how
Star Trek was made.
Having pretty much grown up as he became a campus figure in the 1970s and then a producer on the first movie, I heard a lot about him, but it was all from his own lips. Aside from Harlan Ellison, nobody ever really challenged him about it. Simultaneously, Ellison has undercut his own credibility by being such a famously rude asshole.
So it wasn't until much later that a lot of the truth of production lore came out. It was fascinating to find out how much Coon and Bob Justman had contributed. It was a complete shock to discover Herb Solow's level of involvement, as Roddenberry pretty much portrayed him as just a friendly studio boss.
It was just plain fascinating to discover that Fred Freiberger, while probably no genius, walked into a hideous political situation when he took over as executive producer.
Fans had blamed Freiberger over the years for ruining
Star Trek. It turns out the work environment and politics of the production were so twisted by then that nobody could have done the job.
He was beset on all sides by competing political and emotional interests, forced into uncomfortable confrontations that could only make things worse, while at the same time trying to figure out exactly what the hell
Star Trek was and how to make it every week.
The only real fault I can find with Freiberger he made the exact same professional mistake on
Space: 1999. You'd've thought he learned better.
Again, it's just wanting to know the truth. If I really fault Roddenberry for anything, it's that he obscured that truth for so long. The reason for the obfuscation is an altogether too common trait. There are several of the Seven Deadly Sins involved, which tells you just how timeless they are.
I wonder if the time isn't ripe for a docu-drama about the making of the series. It would certainly be consistent with a lot of the soapy dramas and reality shows that are so popular.
Furthermore, if they wanted to be really cute about it, they'd cast the entire cast of the 2009 film to play the actors who played the characters originally. I.e. Chris Pine as Shatner, Zach Quinto as Nimoy, Zoe Saldana as Nichols, that nameless blonde chick with a really short nurse's minidress and one line as Majel ...
Wow, actually now that I think about it, I can imagine a scene with Simon Pegg as Doohan where he gets mad at Shatner. While it's in no way supported by anything anyone's ever said over the years, I can just imagine:
Shatner (Pine) turns away from Doohan (Pegg). Cut to a medium shot of Doohan. There is a beat and then Doohan raises his right hand and flips off Shatner. Except that it's his
right hand -- the one missing the middle finger.
I can just see the expression on Pegg's face as he flips off Pine with his CGI-doctored missing middle finger. It would be perfect Pegg material.
Hm ... maybe not ... some of the principals in all this are still alive, and I don't see Paramount alienating them that way.
On the other hand, the scene with Saldana under Roddenberry's desk with no pants or underwear would generate a lot of ticket sales.
I volunteer my services to play Roddenberry.
(It's been a while since I've worked professionally, so Paramount can get me cheap. Hell, I'd do this one for free if SAG would let me; since they won't, I'll do it for scale.
)
Edit: just had a brilliant idea for the docu-drama.
You don't use the 2009 cast, you use the New Voyages/Phase II cast. Plus, they come with their own bridge set that can't be beat in terms of faithfulness to the original.
However, the caveat is that if I'm to play Roddenberry, I want my choice of Nichelles and Majels. They've used a couple of actresses, and I think it's part of the Roddenberry character that I should get my choice.
