Eugene Roddenberry on Trek Legacy

Eugene Wesley Roddenberry, the only child of Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry and his wife Majel Barrett Roddenbery, discusses the legacy of Star Trek and his parents with Hero Complex. Below are a few segments with the full interview here.

What was your reaction to J.J. Abrams’ reboot of your dad’s series? And what, if any expectations do you have for future installments?
RR: I began very apprehensive. Someone new was coming in, and they were gonna do my dad’s “Star Trek.” And they even put a commercial out saying, “This is not your father’s ‘Star Trek.’” Which concerned me for two reasons. My love, my respect for my father. What that name means to fans, and the fans’ expectations. I really wanted to make sure they were protected. A lot of them look to the Roddenberrys to make sure this doesn’t go down the wrong road. So, scared, apprehensive. But I’m also not a problem starter, so I wasn’t going to go stomping my feet and knocking on doors and saying, “You’d better do this right.” Uh, when I sat in the theater and saw it, I have to say I was blown away. Bottom line, I was very impressed, very happy. J.J. and [Alex] Kurtzman and [Roberto] Orci, the two writers, did a fantastic job. I think they’re a great team. I’m guessing that Kurtzman and Orci, being fans of “Star Trek,” kept it true to the philosophy, kept it true to the time line and they were able to take their own time line to make changes. And J.J. made it a roller-coaster ride for everyone to enjoy. They brought it out of the old and into the new. They made “Star Trek” cool again.

HC: I like how they created a new time line basically, with Eric Bana going back in time, destroying Vulcan -- so the adventures we’ll watch Chris Pine and Zach Quinto go through will be totally different than what we saw William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy go through. It opens up a totally different facet of the franchise.
RR: Exactly, and at the same time, all the hard-core original fans, myself being one of them, their time line is not disturbed. They didn’t say “screw you” to that and just rewrite it. It’s an alternate reality, and I am fine with that. I am thrilled about that.

HC: Maybe it’s in the gene pool. Which leads me to your mom. What did it mean to you that her voice was in the new film?
RR: It was tremendous. They called and they asked if it could happen, and we did everything we could to make it happen. In fact, it didn’t take much. My mother loved being in “Star Trek.” Not because she loved acting -- [but] because she loved the fans. And I genuinely mean that. She loved the adoration. She really loved being a part of “Star Trek,” and when they asked her to, she said yes with no hesitation. And we were a little bit concerned because her health had started to go downhill and her voice had started to change a bit. And what was very interesting, again, she had not been in the best health. She had not been able to move around much, but when the people recording her came to the door -- 'cause we asked them to do it at the home -- she did a whole 180. She brightened up. She had tons of energy. Her voice changed. So it really brought out the best in her. And she was fantastic.