Pioneers of Television: Science Fiction

It's no wonder that Gene Rodenberry, creator of "Star Trek," turned to science fiction when he wanted to delve into dicey subjects on television such as race relations and the value of war. It's easier to unearth tough subjects when creatures from another planet or another time deliver the truisms. Humans have always gazed up at the stars or stared deep into the black, rolling ocean with equal parts fascination and fear. The unexplored frontiers at the edges of our existence beckon and repel in equal measure. In the early to mid 1960s, a number of innovative television writers, producers and actors began playing with these ideas on the small screen — sometimes preying on our universal fears, and sometimes dreaming up a very different future. Whatever their initial aim, these television innovators left behind a legacy of science fiction television that entertained us and challenged our preconceived notions. (from pbs.org)

This episode explores how storytellers Gene Roddenberry and Rod Serling (of The Twilight Zone) used the future as a stage for modern morality plays, and William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, Nichelle Nichols and other science-fiction stars describe how they prepared to interact on-camera with a malevolent alien force ... or, perhaps, a giant radish.