Original Research Study
My research into the inner workings of science fiction space operas began when I was in high school. Star Trek was being broadcast on NBC-TV in 1966 when a high school English teacher assigned me to watch the series, write an essay about it, and do an oral report in class.
After I got my college degree in Journalism, I was hired as a Los Angeles radio producer. In 1973, I got to meet Gene Roddenberry. Interviewing Roddenberry helped me write and produce a behind-the scenes radio documentary that looked at Star Trek just as the animated NBC-TV series was about to premiere.
Six years later, I completed my Ph.D. in communications at Indiana University after researching and writing my doctoral dissertation studying Star Trek as television persuasion in comparison to other science fiction space operas. The “others” in my research included the dreaded Space: 1999 imported from the United Kingdom and 1978’s Battlestar Galactica Classic Series from the United States.
My research while attending Indiana University involved rhetorical criticism of television programming at a time when such critical studies of the medium were not yet common. This tested the endurance of my dissertation director, the legendary James R. Andrews. For instance, I was responsible for his suffering through a 1979 theatrical release edited from the Battlestar Galactica Classic Series. His scars derived from guiding my research were temporary, and, after time, he forgave me. We can assume all is well because Indiana University did grant me my Ph.D. Unlike in the 1970s, the study of rhetorical processes in television and film is no longer considered controversial.
