Sep 15, 2026
Last week, The Trek Files followed Gene Roddenberry to the 1966 World Science Fiction Convention in Cleveland, where he hoped to convince a skeptical audience of serious science-fiction fans that his new television series was worthy of their attention. This week, Glen E. Swanson, author of Inspired Enterprise, returns to examine what happened next.
Our document is a December 1966 letter from science-fiction fan Mike Deckinger, who tells Desilu that he was among more than 1,000 people who watched Roddenberry preview Star Trek at Tricon and witnessed the audience give him a standing ovation. By then, Star Trek had been on the air for three months, and Deckinger was already urging the studio to protect a series he believed was offering television something different: mature stories, intelligent ideas, and contributions from established science-fiction writers. His brief letter gives us a valuable eyewitness account of a moment that Roddenberry himself would recount for years to come.
Glen and Larry then trace the ripples from that weekend through Roddenberry's excited telegrams back to Hollywood, a special award from the convention that Gene kept on his office wall for decades, and the award's later appearance in a full-page trade advertisement promoting Star Trek for Emmy consideration. What began as an attempt to win over one of science fiction's toughest audiences became something more lasting: an early stamp of approval from the community Star Trek most wanted to take it seriously.
Documents and additional resources
- Mike Deckinger letter to Desilu Studios, December 7, 1966
- Star Trek “For Your Consideration” trade advertisement featuring the Tricon award and endorsements from science and science-fiction figures, 1967.
- Glen E. Swanson, Inspired Enterprise: How NASA, the Smithsonian and the Aerospace Community Helped Launch Star Trek — Inspired Enterprise
- Glen E. Swanson — official website
- Glen E. Swanson, “Mission Impossible: How Star Trek Used the Aerospace Community to Try and Win an Emmy,” The Space Review, September 8, 2026 - The Space Review