The Trek Files: A Roddenberry Star Trek Podcast

Before bonus features and streaming clips, seeing Star Trek's bloopers could mean a trip to a convention, or a carefully negotiated loan from Gene Roddenberry himself.
Dan Madsen returns to The Trek Files to join Larry Nemecek for a look at an August 9, 1974 letter to British fan organizer Jenny Elson. With preparations underway for what her committee billed as the first British Star Trek convention, Elson hoped to secure an essential attraction: the famous blooper reel. Gene was willing to help, but his instructions covered everything from insurance and screening fees to protecting the film and getting it safely home.
That exchange opens a window onto a fandom growing across borders, one letter, newsletter, and gathering at a time. Dan remembers receiving his own Super 8 blooper reels for Christmas and turning the family garage into a screening room for fellow Denver fans. Together, he and Larry explore why these shared laughs became such a treasured part of early Star Trek fandom and why gathering in person still matters.
Documents and Additional References
Gene Roddenberry to Jenny Elson, Star Trek Action Group (August 9, 1974), with Elson's request and accompanying envelope.

Dan Madsen
The Trek Files Season 15 on Memory Alpha

All episodes and documents: The Trek Files on Memory Alpha
Visit the Trekland site for behind-the-scenes access and exclusive merchandise.
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How much screen time does it take to leave a lasting impression? For Brian Volk-Weiss, two of Star Trek's most memorable captains made their mark in just a handful of scenes.
The Nacelle Company founder joins Larry Nemecek to revisit the script introductions of Rachel Garrett in "Yesterday's Enterprise" and Edward Jellico in "Chain of Command, Part I." Their conversation explores Garrett's sacrifice, Jellico's uneasy relationship with the Enterprise crew, and why both characters became essential choices for Nacelle's Star Trekaction figures.
Known for Star Trek documentaries including The Center Seat, Brian shares how his fandom became a personal code and a guiding principle for bringing overlooked characters to collectors' shelves. Larry and Brian also celebrate the news that Nacelle has picked up Larry's documentary The Con of Wrath for distribution.
Documents and Additional References
"Yesterday's Enterprise" script excerpt — final draft December 8, 1989; included scene revised December 11, 1989.

"Chain of Command, Part I" script excerpt — final draft October 6, 1992; included scene revised October 13, 1992.

The Nacelle Company — Star Trek action figures

Reference: The Center Seat: 55 Years of Star Trek

Reference: The Con of Wrath

The Trek Files Season 15 on Memory Alpha

All episodes and documents: The Trek Files on Memory Alpha
Visit the Trekland site for behind-the-scenes access and exclusive merchandise.
The conversation continues on Discord with live chats and the Roddenberry Podcasts community! Join today!

The Trek Files welcomes back Dan Madsen to revisit a revealing 1968 exchange between seventeen-year-old MaryLou "Mandi" Tamborello of the Nimoyan Fellowship and Gene Roddenberry's attorney, Leonard Maizlish. After offering photographic prints reproduced from Star Trek film clips, Mandi found herself explaining her intentions to a lawyer and promising to stop selling the pictures. Maizlish's reply offers an unexpected combination of reassurance, a firm refusal to authorize sales, and a possible arrangement to reimburse her costs.
For Dan, the situation feels familiar. He recalls how his own teenage fan newsletter attracted Paramount Licensing's attention, how Gene Roddenberry supported his path toward an official fan club, and how a conversation with Majel Barrett helped establish room for his merchandising efforts alongside Lincoln Enterprises.
Dan and Larry explore the balance between fan passion and professionalism and why understanding the fans matters on both sides of the licensing conversation.
Documents and Additional References
Nimoyan Fellowship letter from MaryLou "Mandi" Tamborello to Leonard Maizlish — June 12, 1968

Leonard Maizlish reply to Mandi Tamborello — July 15, 1968

Dan Madsen on Memory Alpha

Previous coverage: The Trek Files 11-04, "Nimoyan Fellowship letter – June 1968," with Tim Gaskill — November 28, 2023

 
The Trek Files Season 15 on Memory Alpha
All episodes and documents: The Trek Files on Memory Alpha
Visit the Trekland site for behind-the-scenes access and exclusive merchandise.
The conversation continues on Discord with live chats and the Roddenberry Podcasts community! Join today!

As Star Trek celebrates its 60th anniversary, The Trek Files welcomes a performer who was there before the beginning and then came back for the episode that introduced the series to television audiences. Stunt performer Sandy Gimpel first entered the Star Trek universe as one of the Talosians in "The Cage." When the series went into production, she returned to inhabit one of its most memorable creatures: the shape-shifting M-113 creature, better known to generations of fans as the Salt Vampire, in "The Man Trap."
This week's document is an excerpt from George Clayton Johnson's June 16, 1966 final draft of "The Man Trap." Before the story even begins, a note to the director explains the creature's ability to appear differently to different people and suggests giving "Nancy" an identifiable gesture to help the audience follow her transformations. The script's cast list, meanwhile, simply identifies the creature as a silent role ("CREATURE (?)") giving little indication of the character that would become one of the most recognizable images from early Star Trek.
Sandy joins Larry to remember what bringing that creature to life actually required in 1966: a plaster cast of her head, a custom-made mask and costume, severely restricted vision, and an ingenious low-tech technique for matching her position to actress Jeanne Bal so the two could transform into one another on camera. When the costume made it nearly impossible for Sandy to hit her mark opposite William Shatner, she asked Gene Roddenberry to let her rehearse without it, counted her steps like the dancer she was, and then repeated the movement once she had been sewn back inside the creature.
The conversation also reaches beyond Star Trek, tracing Sandy's remarkable career from dancer and background performer to stuntwoman, stunt coordinator and director.
Documents and Additional References
The Man Trap final draft by George Clayton Johnson (June 16, 1966)
Sandy Gimpel on IMDb
Stunt Lady: Falling for the Stars by Sandy Gimpel
Reference: "The Man Trap"
Reference: "The Cage"
The Trek Files Season 15 on Memory Alpha
All episodes and documents: The Trek Files on Memory Alpha
Visit the Trekland site for behind-the-scenes access and exclusive merchandise.
The conversation continues on Discord with live chats and the Roddenberry Podcasts community! Join today!

Not everyone who appeared on Star Trek got a line, a screen credit, or even their name on the call sheet. Nearly sixty years later, that can turn a face clearly visible on screen into a genuine archival mystery.
This week, The Trek Files welcomes veteran Deep Space Nine assistant director B.C. Cameron for a look at the working life of Hollywood's background performers. The starting point is a mystery explored in the latest Inside the Roddenberry Archive: identifying Al Jones, an uncredited performer prominently seen as one of the thralls in "The Gamesters of Triskelion." The episode's production call sheets tell us which principal actors were required, which sets were in use, and simply how many "atmosphere" players and stand-ins were needed but not necessarily who those background performers were. Separate Extra Talent Call Sheets from Independent Casting provide the missing names, allowing the surviving paperwork to be pieced together and Jones finally identified.
B.C. brings useful perspective to that paperwork. Before spending all seven seasons working as an assistant director on Deep Space Nine, she began her own career as a background performer and stand-in, including an early job standing in for Jane Fonda on Comes a Horseman. B.C. and Larry explore the hierarchy between credited actors, featured performers, union and non-union extras; why call sheets generally listed background by type or number rather than name; and what life was like when tomorrow's paycheck could depend on a call from Central Casting. They also look at how Deep Space Nine developed its own reliable stable of recurring background players and how "Trials and Tribble-ations" required the production to cast performers who could actually match the extras seen in footage shot three decades earlier.
Documents and additional resources
Star Trek, "The Gamesters of Triskelion" production call sheet, October 24, 1967.
Independent Casting Extra Talent Call Sheet for "The Gamesters of Triskelion," October 24, 1967.
Inside the Roddenberry Archive — investigation identifying uncredited "The Gamesters of Triskelion" background performer Al Jones.
"The Gamesters of Triskelion" — Star Trek: The Original Series, production no. 60346.
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, "Trials and Tribble-ations"