HeyJaredThe Trek Files: A Roddenberry Star Trek Podcast
Your weekly deep-dive into the archives of Roddenberry Entertainment, from the personal files of Gene Roddenberry. Each week, "Dr.
- Indexed episodes, last 90 days
- 12
- Latest publication
- Sep 29, 2026
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- Earliest in this view
- Jul 7, 2026
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15-20 Sandy Gimpel: Inside Star Trek's Salt Vampire (opens the original)
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As Star Trek celebrates its 60th anniversary, The Trek Files welcomes a performer who was there before the beginning and then came back for the episode that introduced the series to television audiences. Stunt performer Sandy Gimpel first entered the Star Trek universe as one of the Talosians in "The Cage." When the series went into production, she returned to inhabit one of its most memorable creatures: the shape-shifting M-113 creature, better known to generations of fans as the Salt Vampire,
15-19 Background Check: Finding Star Trek's Forgotten Performers (opens the original)
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Not everyone who appeared on Star Trek got a line, a screen credit, or even their name on the call sheet. Nearly sixty years later, that can turn a face clearly visible on screen into a genuine archival mystery. This week, The Trek Files welcomes veteran Deep Space Nine assistant director B.C. Cameron for a look at the working life of Hollywood's background performers. The starting point is a mystery explored in the latest Inside the Roddenberry Archive : identifying Al Jones , an uncredited per
15-18 The Standing Ovation That Launched Star Trek (opens the original)
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Last week, The Trek Files followed Gene Roddenberry to the 1966 World Science Fiction Convention in Cleveland, where he hoped to convince a skeptical audience of serious science-fiction fans that his new television series was worthy of their attention. This week, Glen E. Swanson , author of Inspired Enterprise , returns to examine what happened next. Our document is a December 1966 letter from science-fiction fan Mike Deckinger, who tells Desilu that he was among more than 1,000 people who watch
15-17 Three Days Before Star Trek: Gene Roddenberry at Tricon (opens the original)
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On September 8, 1966, Star Trek made its American television debut. But just days earlier, Gene Roddenberry was in Cleveland trying to convince some science fictionfans that his new television series deserved to be taken seriously. On this special 60th anniversary edition of The Trek Files , Glen E. Swanson , author of Inspired Enterprise , returns to examine Roddenberry's appearance at Tricon, the 24th World Science Fiction Convention, over Labor Day weekend in 1966. Our document of the week is
15-16 "Who Watches the Watchers": Jeffrey Morris on the Prime Directive and Star Trek's Future (opens the original)
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Recorded live at STLV, filmmaker and author Jeffrey Morris returns to The Trek Files with a 1989 research report on the landmark Star Trek: The Next Generation episode "Who Watches the Watchers." The production notes scrutinize everything from radiation exposure and memory modification to the logic of sending Riker and Troi undercover, and even question whether Picard telling a Mintakan to "shoot me" feels a little too much like a Kirk move. Morris calls "Who Watches the Watchers" not his favori
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