I wanted to send a message to the television industry that excitement is not made of car chases.

I wanted to cast a woman as second in command. NBC said no way.

To cast Mr. Spock, I made a phone call to Leonard, and he came in. That was it.

When they put out the sales brochure when we eventually went to series, they carefully rounded Spock's ears and made him look human so he wouldn't scare off potential advertisers.

What Kirk wanted every evening was to go to bed with a beautiful woman. Our captain now is a man of infinitely more skill. A better man.

I'd been an Army bomber pilot and fascinated by the Navy and, particularly, the story of the Enterprise, which at Midway really turned the tide in the whole war in our favor. I'd always been proud of that ship and wanted to use the name.