Antiques Roadshow fan gasps at value of Star Trek script gifted to scientist dad
Antiques Roadshow took on a special space theme and showed off an ancient Star Trek script.
A woman brought in an original script gifted by Gene Roddenberry, the writer of Star Trek: The Original Series, including a letter that was helpful in verifying its authenticity. Kept in great condition by a frame, the pages of the script were clearly older and starting to yellow, but the typewriter ink still left the words visible.
She explained that her father was a scientist who offered Gene a little bit of advice while putting Star Trek together. Laura Woolley from Collector's Lab was able to step in and give her an estimate as to its worth.
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It was a gift from the show writer (CBS via Getty Images)The script, which was for the first Star Trek, even had notes in the margins. Laura light-heartedly pointed out some penned-in details near an equation: "I love the fact that your father, being a scientist, we have notes here."
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Laura went on to ask the woman if her father did official consulting on the show or if he just offered some early guidance. She explained that he was never an official consultant and for good reason. She explained: "Number one, he was sort of a stickler for science and he knew he would be too picky and he wouldn't let some things go by. Secondly, he really didn't think it would go anywhere."
That sort of mindset was just a testament to Gene's work ethic. Laura added: "None of us have ever heard of one coming up for auction... This is hard proof that he wanted the science to be right."
Her father was wrong, of course, as Star Trek became a hit show with a string of movies. It's impact on science fiction and pop culture cannot go without note. It's popularity is exactly what made the documents worth so much, but even expert Laura had a hard time pin pointing an exact valuation.
At first, Laura said the script could be worth $4,000 to $6,000. Scripts for movies and shows aren't that uncommon, but an original script, including details before changes were made, gifted by Gene himself, could truly be worth thousands. However, considering this specific script might be one-of-a-kind, Laura was hesitant in her estimate. "Not having another to compare it to and not knowing how many are out there," Laura explained the issues she was facing.
In the end, she estimated that it could be worth $10,000 to $15,000 due to its unique nature. The woman was surprised, saying: "Oh my stars!"
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