Legendary Hollywood producer Sam Goldwyn rejected the use of motion pictures as persuasion, saying,“If you want to send a message, call Western Union.” But, today few in Hollywood will dispute that communicating idea content to an audience using sights and sounds on screen can persuade people to change their perceptions, beliefs, and even their behaviors. Gene Roddenberry chose to use television in this way in the 1960s when he created Star Trek.

Intruder Alert:  If you live in a parallel universe and know nothing about Star Trek, stop and read Wikipedia’s details before proceding further.

I hope what you find here at Trekology.com demonstrates the value of looking below the surface of the original Star Trek series and other science fiction space adventures such as Ronald D. Moore’s Battlestar Galactica. It’s worth the effort to search for deeper importance beyond the high enjoyment of the quality entertainment which the entire Star Trek franchise continues to provide to a loyal, worldwide audience.

The original Star Trek television series (1966-1969) spawned ten major motion pictures–-the most recent being Star Trek Nemesis (2002)–-plus five television spin-offs, Star Trek The Next Generation (1987-1994), Star Trek Deep Space Nine (1993-1999), Star Trek Voyager (1995-2001), and Star Trek Enterprise (2001-2005)–a total of 726 episodes. The sheer volume of episodes and major motion pictures, if nothing else, proves that Roddenberry and his creation have provided ample material for future studies.

The Star Trek Connection to Battlestar Galactica

Ron Moore, who developed the current edition of Battlestar Galactica starting as a late 2003 miniseries, began his television writing career on the third season of Star Trek: The Next Generation in the late 1980s.  He worked his way up to script editor, then co-producer, and ultimately, producer. Moore has written or co-written a total of 27 episodes for Star Trek: The Next Generation before moving on to be supervising producer for Star Trek: Deep Space 9 in 1993 and then co-executive producer in 1995 for the beginnings of Star Trek: Voyager. Moore also co-wrote Star Trek: Generations, released in 1994 as the seventh major motion picture in this Paramount Pictures franchise, and Star Trek: First Contact, released in 1996 as the eighth. As the 1990s ended, creative differences motivated Moore to separate from Star Trek.