“Star Trek” began in 1966 as a short lived television series. It was the dream and brain child of Gene Roddenberry. The “original series” lasted only three years but the small but devoted fan base refused to let it die.
For the future television series and films, some of the original props were used but one of them went missing…a model of the USS Enterprise.
Roddenberry had loaned the model for the making of the first “Star Trek” film – “Star Trek: The Motion Picture”. But it disappeared mysteriously and no one knew what had happened to it…until now.
The model suddenly appeared on the online auction site eBay last fall but was quickly removed. The Dallas company Heritage Auctions who authenticated the model.
Now the USS Enterprise model has been returned to the original owners – or rather the heirs. Gene Roddenberry died in 1991; his wife Majel Barrett Roddenberry died in 2008. Their son Eugene “Rod” Roddenberry is now the CEO of Roddenberry Entertainment.
Upon receiving the model, Roddenberry said he “is thrilled to have the model that had graced the desk of his father.” He added, “this is not going home to adorn my shelves. This is going to get restored and we’re working on ways to get it out so the public can see it and my hope is that it will land in a museum somewhere.”
While no details were given, Roddenberry noted that it was the right thing to return the model and I felt it important to reward that and show appreciation for that.”
The model returned to Roddenberry is just three feet in length and was used for “The Cage” – the original pilot episode rejected by Desi Lu and is the ship seen in the original series opening credits. The smaller model was the prototype for the eleven foot model that was used in the series episodes. That model is now housed at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum.
Feature photo credit: Copy of USS Enterprise NCC-1701-A from Star Trek movies