You can’t talk about her obviously classic, huge contribution to all things Spock and Vulcans — creating Sarek and Amanda, too! — without putting Dorothy Fontana in the Top 3 or 4 or 5, at most, of who Made Star Trek What It Is Today. She died Dec. 3 after
I mean, if Ron Moore became TNG‘s “Klingon guy” and the boom behind that fandom in the 90s … you have to credit Dorothy in the same way, in hindsight, as the “Vulcan guy” (gal?), right?
But that’s just the beginning. I mean, what a beginning!— but it’s just the beginning.
I mean, think of the chain reaction she incited: Spock fanfic > zines> clubs> split-off media conventions> comic-con culture today.
That’s kinda heavy.
And that’s all even before pondering how not only did she create this resume of incredible, but how she humbly and gladly shared her award-winning craft, taught young writers, and enriched interviewer-historians like me for years.
Many have written of Dorothy’s feats this week — as a writer, as a woman in media, as a role model, as a mentor — as a change agent in pop culture before all the buzzwords were even concepts. Most of all, she survived the crazy that was early Star Trek (and early TNG). She won awards for her non-Trek writing, she won awards for serving her Writers Guild, she elcturd at AFI. And of course she shepherded Season 1 of TAS into something far more than NBC or Filmation expected — and helped win Star Trek’s only writing/production Emmy, ever.
Many have written all that in detail — and they should. So I’m keepin’ it brief:
She did all that — and lived to tell us all about it. And loved doing it.
We were so spoiled. But what a legacy.
And if you want more from me … check out Trekland Tuesdays LIVE #132.
