{
  "id": 27275,
  "title": "Gene Roddenberry's First Draft Of William Shatner's Iconic Star Trek Intro Wasn't Good At All",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/01/gene-roddenberrys-first-draft-of-william-shatners-iconic-star-trek",
  "topic": "science",
  "section": "Science",
  "published": "2026-08-01T15:12:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "TVLine",
    "slug": "tvline",
    "url": "https://www.tvline.com/2223938/gene-roddenberry-first-draft-william-shatner-star-trek-intro-not-good/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "The opening voiceover for the original Star Trek series, featuring Captain James T. Kirk, has become an iconic part of television history. However, the version most fans are familiar with didn't come easily. According to a reference book, \"Inside Star Trek: The Real Story,\" by Herbert F. Solow and Robert H. Justman, Gene Roddenberry, the creator of Star Trek, only wrote Captain Kirk's opening narration a few days before it was recorded. Initially, Roddenberry's draft read, \"The United Space Ship Enterprise, assigned a five-year patrol of our galaxy, visits Earth colonies, regulates commerce, and explores strange new worlds and civilizations. These are its voyages... and its adventures.\" The mention of regulating commerce certainly wouldn't have inspired awe, and the narration seemed flat and matter-of-fact. Roddenberry and his team made significant revisions, adding drama and a more dramatic tone. William Shatner, who played Captain Kirk, was asked to record the revised version, and his delivery was excellent. However, the narration still lacked something, so they added reverberation to Shatner's voice. That final take would go on to become TV history, welcoming viewers to space – the final frontier.",
  "summary": "The familiar Star Trek intro that explains the Enterprise's mission \"to boldly go where no man has gone before\" started out as a very dry draft.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}