• GoodKingElliot@feddit.uk
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    1 year ago

    Gene Roddenberry wrote lyrics to the Star Trek theme song, but he did it for kind of an asshole reason.

    Without Courage’s knowledge, Roddenberry wrote lyrics to the theme, not in the expectation that they would ever be sung, but in order to claim a 50% share of the music’s performance royalties. Although there was never any litigation, Courage later commented that he considered Roddenberry’s conduct unethical. Roddenberry was quoted as responding, “Hey, I have to get some money somewhere. I’m sure not gonna get it out of the profits of Star Trek.”

    source: https://www.lyricsondemand.com/tvthemes/startreklyrics.html

    • Whiskey Pickle@lemmy.mlOP
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      1 year ago

      Roddenberry did lots of things for asshole reasons. he wasn’t a very nice guy. the docuseries The Center Seat: 55 Years of Star Trek goes into a lot of detail about what happened with him behind the scenes.

  • chaogomu@kbin.social
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    1 year ago

    I did some googling, the only thing that I can find about Roddenberry and Earth Final Conflict is a three page “pitch” that’s basically “what if aliens came to modern Earth and secretly enslaved everyone by literally mind controlling leaders and important people?”

    Oh, and it had a different name.

    So yeah. Not much involvement at all.

    • Whiskey Pickle@lemmy.mlOP
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      1 year ago

      well… he did die 6 years before it was made…

      his ex-wife, Majel “Lwaxanna” Rodenbery-Barrett starred in it and was also an Executive Producer, which might have had something to do with his being credited as creator.

      • funchords@lemmy.sdf.org
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        1 year ago

        I’ve convinced myself that using his name practically in the title is about marketing. People watched it just because his name was on it.

      • chaogomu@kbin.social
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        1 year ago

        I was trying to reply to someone with this…

        That’s what happens when the comment you’re replying to is at the bottom of the page (in kbin) you get confused and reply to the post, not, the comment.

        @bauhaus for the mention, if mentions work properly.

  • reddig33@lemmy.world
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    1 year ago

    There were much better Roddenberry series ideas I’d like to see revived, like Assignment Earth.

      • chaogomu@kbin.social
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        1 year ago

        I really wonder how much of that series had Roddenberry’s fingerprints on it. Seeming as how Roddenberry died in 1991 and that series premiered in 1997.