This article about Gene Roddenberry reminds us that scifi creativity starts from humble beginnings. Roddenberry’s proposed story, something called the “Transporter” (deep ironic foreshadowing ahoy!) teaches us a few things within typewritten lines. You can read the original doc here.
Indiewire has more on the story: “In 1955, Roddenberry … had gotten into television writing by acting as a liaison for the LAPD, when he worked as a police officer in the early 1950s, to the show ‘Dragnet.’ We don’t get a clear picture of how or why Roddenberry made the jump from ‘procedural cop show’ to ‘groundbreaking scifi. I agree with the article’s comment: “The Roddenberry estate believes this document to be his first-ever attempt at writing science-fiction. It’s like seeing the first-ever attempt at dripping paint on canvas by Jackson Pollack.” You can’t help connecting with the elements of scifi creativity and genius in these yellowed sheets.
I’ve talked about this before – you don’t have to be perfect at everything to be successful. These examples teach us: we don’t suck – we’re beginning! It’s okay to begin, it’s okay to learn, it’s okay to not be a master yet. Our hyper-capitalist world demands ‘all masters, no beginners, all the time.’ That’s neither fair, nor reasonable – we all deserve compassion, understanding, and nurturing when we begin.
