Rod Roddenberry Talks Importance of Inclusion in the ‘Star Trek’ Franchise
Wilson Chapman editorGrowing up, Rod Roddenberry wasn’t a huge fan of “Star Trek.”Although the series was created by his father Gene Roddenberry, and starred his mother Majel Barrett as Nurse Christine Chapel, Roddenberry was born after the original show was cancelled, and spent his childhood watching series like “Kamen Rider” and “Dukes of Hazzard.”Roddenberry spoke about his relationship with the “Star Trek” franchise at the Variety’s Changemakers virtual summit. In a keynote conversation, Roddenberry talked to Steve Shapiro, senior vice president of City National Bank, about his work as the CEO of Roddenberry Entertainment and his Roddenberry Foundation.The episode of the series that really showed Roddenberry the power of the series was the Season 1 episode of TOS “The Devil in the Dark,” which finds the crew of the USS Enterprise faced with a bizarre, seemingly violent creature in a mining colony.