Is Roddenberry Selling Out?

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Title:	Is Roddenberry Selling Out?
Creator:	George Alvarez
Date(s):	January and March 1975
Medium:	print
Fandom:	Star Trek: TOS, Star Trek: TAS
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Is Roddenberry Selling Out? is a 1975 Star Trek essay by George Alvarez.

It was printed in two parts in Keep On Trekkin' v.2 n.1 and v.2 n.2.

Is Gene Roddenberry, the creator of Star Trek, selling out? Is he trying to make all the money he can off of S.T. any way he can?

Some Topics Discussed

• Gene Roddenberry and his commercialization of Star Trek
• the author's dislike of Star Trek: The Animated Series
• marketing cheap Trek products to adults, and to children
• disparagement on the label Trekkies
• outrage that Star Trek is giving the message that it is a "kiddie show"
• the danger of all this lean into children will result in future Star Trek endeavors permanently becoming a show for kids
• signal boosting a May 7, 1975 letter campaign called Star Trek Revival Day

From the Essay (Part One)

While reading an issue of "The Monster Times" (a sci-fi and fantasy publication in the form of a newspaper) I came across an artical [sic] about little toy dolls of the "Planet Of The Apes" characters. It told of a cute little "Ape Parachutest". As I read on I found out (to my horror) that the company plans to do the same thing to Star Trek! Now really, a Spock parachutest [sic]! Now don't get me wrong; I have nothing against kids. I agree it's a cute idea, but why Star Trek? "Planet of the Apes" O.K. and maybe "Lost In Space" toy dolls but not Star Trek!!! Why? Because the whole thing about S.T. is that it was (is) an ADULT show! There is nothing adult about a Spock parachutest! I mean it's right down illogical! What is Spock supposed to do, parachute down to a planet? This toy has nothing to do with the show! All it does is help to bring S.T. down to the level of a kiddie show! But that's not all... ...while in a novelty store I saw a Halloween costume of Spock!

For a while now a company has been making "Star Trek" tracer guns, a toy gun that supposed to be used by the men of the Enterprise, yet it bears no resemblance to a phaser at all! And on top of that; it fires plastic bullets! Now all these toys (and lots more like them) are creating a new breed of S.T. fans: TREKKIES. (for a complete definition of this term, consult last issue's "From the President") Trekkies are ruining it for the adult Trekkers: we can no longer talk about S.T. without some one laughing and calling it a stupid kiddie show!

Who is the cause of all this trouble? It must be Gene Roddenberry himself! He and Paramount own S.T. 50-50. In order for all these toys to be legal it must be cleared with them, and you can be sure that they make money on these deals, and half of it goes to good ol' Gene. I hate to say it but that's the way it seems; Roddenberry is selling out.

From the Essay (Part Two)

Now, as if the Star Trek jig saw puzzles, binoculars, and pop-guns (just some of the childish items being made) don't do enough damage to the show's reputation, there is the NBC Saturday morning Star Trek cartoon.

Basicly [sic] I dispise [sic] the cartoon, but since it would take this whole newsletter to fully explain why, I will only give some basic points I have against it. 1) Stories have to be crammed into less than half an hour's worth of time. 2) The majority of episodes are just re-hashes of the old (live Star Trek) episodes. 3) Aliens no longer look intriguing or fascinating, just cute or funny looking. You can no longer relate to them. 4) Where are all the exotic women that Kirk used to...er... make friends with? 5) The show. according to Lincoln Enterprises, is not supposed to be an average Saturday morning show, so why did they put it on Saturday mornings"! Why not prime time (as was the case with a cartoon called "Wait Till Your Father Gets Home")? Overall, Star Trek, as a cartoon, has lost the magic it had...it's just not the same anymore, and it is certainly not a replacement for the real thing!

Perhaps it isn't Gene behind all of this. At "The Star Trek Convention" in New York, David "Tribbles" Gerrold explained to me that Gene has very little to do with the merchandising of the toys (although he DOES make some money on them). This may be the same with the cartoon. I owe Gene an apology. It is unfair to blame this all on him, but still, he should try to do something about this... somebody should, because Star Trek is more than just a show to its fans, it is a cult, an institution, a milestone in the realm of Science Fiction. It is too good to be ruined...at least this way.

Fan Comments

Seems to me it's a mistake to protest anything that might broaden the popularity of Star Trek and convince Paramount, etc. of that popularity. That a company wants to invest in ST toys or Halloween masks would be an argument to Paramount for making the movie or mini-series they're discussing.

You have a very good point, and I think that you are right in that these toys are broadening ST's popularity. Therefore NBC or whoever may see this and consider returning ST. However, I ask you to think of the possible consequences: If NBC thinks that the majority of ST fans are children and not adults, they may want to adapt ST for children...or they might leave ST as a cartoon, thinking it's the right thing to do! I certainly don't want ST back at the price of converting it into a kiddie show!

I think that the "powers that be" know about ST's popularity already; what with all the ST cons, the overwhelming popularity of ST reruns and the selling power of the Adult ST items being sold (models, posters, books, etc.). However the best way to get ST back is to write letters! May 7 has been declared ST Revival Day. ST fans all over the country plan to flood Paramount with letters on that week. Write to Barry Diller, the new president of Paramount. He is the person with the power to bring ST back, but he must be convinced to do so! Tell him that you are an adult and want ST back but you don't want it in a demeaning way.