I’m actually not a tremendous Star Trek fan, but I enjoyed reading Gene Roddenberry’s original Star Trek NBC story outline:
Before Gene Roddenberry could boldly launch the Starship Enterprise into history as the most famous space vessel in history, he had to pull off a minor miracle — he had to sell Star Trek to television!
From the pitch:
Star Trek is a “Wagon Train” concept — built around characters who travel to worlds “similar” to our own, and meet the action-adventure-drama which becomes our stories.
I’d actually heard that before, that Start Trek was pitched as “Wagon Train in space”. The pitch doesn’t quite match the final product though:
Their transportation is the cruiser S.S. Yorktown, performing a well-defined and long-range Exploration-Science-Security mission which helps creater our format.
Yorktown? It gets better:
Robert M. April — The “skipper”, about thirty-four, Academy graduate, rank of captain. Clearly the leading man and central character. This role is designed for an actor of top repute and ability.
Captain April? (An actor of top repute and ability?)
It looks like “Number One” become “Captain’s Yeoman”:
The Executive Officer — Never referred to as anything but “Number One”, this officer is female. Almost mysteriously female, in fact — slim and dark in a Nile Valley way, age uncertain, one of those women who will always look the same between years twenty to fifty.
[...]
The Captain’s Yeoman — Except for problems in naval parlance, “Colt” would be called a yeowoman; blonde and with a shape even a uniform could not hide. She serves as Robert April’s secretary, reporter, bookkeeper, and undoubtedly wishes she could also serve him in more personal departments. She is not dumb; she is very female, disturbingly so.