The creative ranks of the new Star Trek television series, scheduled to debut in January, continue to swell. It began with executive producers/co-creators Alex Kurtzman and Bryan Fuller, continued with writer/consulting producer Nicholas Meyer, and continues now with the son of Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry, Rod, who comes aboard as executive producer along with Roddenberry Entertainment's Trevor Roth.
Although Roddenberry had a difficult and somewhat distant relationship from his late father, he came to a greater understanding of the man and his creation by exploring the phenomenon itself.
"I do have a unique perspective on it," Roddenberry has said. "I met the fans first and then watched Star Trek. I didn't watch Star Trek as a kid. I didn't watch Star Trek as a teenager except The Next Generation - barely - because I was a PA [production assistant] on the show. I still didn't get it. It wasn't until after going to the conventions and talking to the fans after my father passed away that I pulled my head out of my ass long enough to start listening and asking questions like, 'Why do all you nutjobs dress up in these costumes and praise this show?' And they started telling their stories and it just blew me away. It was just hearing story after story about how it touched people or what their views on it were or how it made humanity a better humanity that interested me."
In a statement regarding his joining the new series, he offers, "Moral dilemmas, human issues, complex characters, and a genuine sense of optimism: These are the cornerstones of Star Trek and are what have made it such an influential and beloved franchise for the last 50 years. While I will always be humbled by its legacy and the legions of fans who are its guardians, it’s a genuine honor to be joining a team of imaginative and incredibly capable individuals whose endeavor it is to uphold the tenets of Star Trek’s legacy while bringing it to audiences in a new era and on a contemporary platform.”
Adds Fuller, "Gene Roddenberry, the Great Bird of the Galaxy, left a finely feathered nest for all who love Star Trek to enjoy. And it is only fitting that Rod Roddenberry and Roddenberry Entertainment join our new Trek adventure to ensure that his father’s legacy of hope for the future and infinite diversity in infinite combinations runs through our tales as Gene Roddenberry intended.”