Roddenberry has also chosen to involve himself limitedly with other upcoming projects bearing his father's name. "Well, there's Starship, the CGI show. Right now, it's on the backburner, but they're still trying to get it out there. It's currently being pitched to several animation companies. I really have a lot of faith in that one. The producer's a good guy, and he's definitely attempting to do a quality show. The way it's going, it'll probably be more realistic than a lot of the sci fi on TV now, despite being CGI."

The most notable new show, however, is the Kevin Sorbo vehicle Andromeda. "Andromeda's coming up. I've read the bible for that show, and it has potential. I don't want to lie and say it's going to be great. What I've read so far is pretty good scifi, but we still have to see what happens. I know that Kevin [Sorbo]'s excited because he's breaking out of his Hercules role. I really want to know where it's going before I hop aboard."

Roddenberry is also excited about an innovative new web site that he recently created. "It's called Philosophy Sphere. Basically, I did it selfishly to talk to fans of my father and fans of Star Trek and just ask questions and get an idea of what Earth: Final Conflict is and what Star Trek is and what it says to the fans." The site is set up as a variety of message boards that deal with differing aspects of the shows that bear the Roddenberry name and is run and moderated by Roddenberry Jr. himself. "The idea that these shows have inspired people and sometimes changed their lives has really affected me."

Sharing the idealism of his father, Roddenberry Jr. is determined to maintain integrity in the increasingly volatile world of television while pushing the envelope to the best of his ability. "One day, I hope to produce a quality scifi show, with characters that people can feel involved with and who aren't just T&A. There's a lot of that in the industry today, but I'm sticking to my ideals and principles. I don't want to lose that. I'm twenty-five years old, and I've only been in the industry for three years. I'm not in a hurry to get out there and make a name for myself right now. I'm more in a hurry to learn as much as I can and build a foundation."

Like his father before him, Roddenberry's passion for the genre is tempered by humility. "Right now, I'm young," he says with a grin, "and I'm learning the business, and I'm still trying to figure it all out. I'm actually going to conventions to learn from the people who watch the show to pick up on what works and what doesn't. I've got a long way to go, and if there's any way to improve the show, I'll do my best."

Visit Gene Roddenberry Jr.'s website at http://www.philosophysphere.com

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