WASHINGTON — “Star Trek” fans will have to wait a little longer for the debut of a new era for the TV series, after the launch date for “Star Trek: Discovery” was pushed back from January to May 2017.
Rod Roddenberry, son of “Star Trek” creator Gene Roddenberry, is one of the executive producers of the new series, and WTOP caught up with him during his recent visit to the National Air and Space Museum in D.C. He was there to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the “Star Trek” phenomenon his father birthed.
“What I really connect with is the ideas that he put in it. That idea of a better future. The idea of IDIC; Infinite Diversity in Infinite Combinations,” Roddenberry said. “The appreciation of all things that are different and not really fearing diversity on our planet — embracing it.”
He says there’s a great team of people behind the new series.
“Bryan Fuller is sort of leading the charge on what the show is. He’s got a number of credits under his belt, not just with ‘Star Trek,’ but a number of other series. He’s a huge ‘Star Trek’ fan,” Roddenberry said.
“He’s not just a Hollywood writer; he is a devoted fan of the show who gets the philosophy and is a fan of my father’s philosophy, and wants to make sure that is carried on. Without that, it isn’t ‘Star Trek’ and he knows it,” he added.
So far, it’s been revealed that the new series will be set about 10 years before the original series. The main character will be a woman who is not a captain, and the cast will include a gay character.
The National Air and Space Museum is now displaying the 11-foot-long Starship Enterprise studio model used in the opening sequence of the original series.
“I’m so thrilled that the Smithsonian took the time and put the money — a lot of money — into restoring it and found a lot of people who are very passionate about it. They ached over the right colors and the right temperature it needs to be stored at and how to maintain it,” Roddenberry said.
“I couldn’t be happier that something like this, a fictional ship, is with these amazing pieces of history that have moved our species forward in terms of aeronautics and space exploration,” he said, enthusiastically.
Like the Enterprise model, he’s convinced the universe his father created will live on.
“‘Star Trek’ will never die. For however long this series lasts, whether series come after it or not, whatever hiatus happens, someone will always bring back ‘Star Trek,'” he added.
The first episode of “Star Trek: Discovery” will be broadcast on TV by CBS; the rest will be available for online streaming through CBS All Access.
