What happens when your sci-fi franchise is also a part-time science think tank? This week, Rick Sternbach returns to The Trek Files to discuss a set of internal memos he and Michael Okuda sent to the TNG production team, an essential peek behind the curtain at how plausible science and week-to-week TV production collided during the Berman era.

These "tech notes" weren't just background noise. They helped shape the direction of key episodes, lent credibility to futuristic concepts like nanotechnology and AI, and quietly preserved Trek's internal logic. From computer core comparisons to white dwarf fragments, Rick walks us through how the art department helped make the 24th century feel real and even got a line read by Scotty.

Whether you're a longtime fan of the TNG Technical Manual or just someone who geeks out over starship systems, this one's for you.

Documents and Additional References:

• Technical Memo: "Evolution" – notes on nanotechnology, AI behavior, and micro-replication systems in TNG S3E1

• Technical Memo: "Hollow Pursuits" – science commentary and plausible extrapolations for the episode's holodeck failure storyline

• Technical Memo: "The Most Toys" – suggestions on transporter physics and energy beam effects

• Naren Shankar (science advisor and writer, TNG Seasons 3–7)

• Joan Pearce (continuity consultant, Roddenberry-era Star Trek)

The Trek Files Season 14 on Memory Alpha

All episodes and documents: The Trek Files on Memory Alpha

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Before Star Trek: Discovery unmasked the Breen in season 5, they were little more than an enigma in the Trek canon, name-dropped but rarely seen. This week on The Trek Files, Discovery writer and producer Carlos Cisco joins us to talk about tracing those first cryptic mentions of the Breen, buried in The Next Generation scripts for "The Loss" and "Hero Worship," and how they helped inspire the character of L'ak and a new chapter in Star Trek storytelling. Carlos reflects on working with the Discovery team to shape the Breen arc and what it means to tell stories that are simultaneously new and rooted in Trek history.

Along the way, we look at how offhand script references from 1990 can fuel major plot threads decades later and how today's writers sometimes find the best inspiration in yesterday's margins.

Don't miss this conversation about canon archaeology and how the smallest details can echo across centuries.

Documents and additional references: "The Loss" (TNG Season 4, Episode 10) – Final Script Pages (1990)

"Hero Worship" (TNG Season 5, Episode 11) – Script Pages (1991)

Character Reference: L'ak - L'ak on Memory Alpha

For more on the Breen - Breen on Memory Alpha

The Trek Files Season 14 on Memory Alpha

All episodes and documents: The Trek Files on Memory Alpha

Visit the Trekland site for behind-the-scenes access and exclusive merchandise.

The conversation continues on Discord with live chats and the Roddenberry Podcasts community! Join today!

This week, we open the Starfleet personnel file for Admiral Jonathan Archer, a detailed biographical memo written by Star Trek: Enterprise writer/producer Michael Sussman for the fan-favorite episode "In a Mirror, Darkly." It was only meant to be a quick background graphic, so how did it evolve into a fan-favorite bit of canon? And why did Mike sneak "President of the UFP" into the character's résumé without telling the showrunners?

Larry welcomes Mike to The Trek Files to revisit the creation of this in-universe bio, share behind-the-scenes memories from the final days of Enterprise, and unpack how a throwaway idea from 2005 became the seed of a new series pitch, Star Trek: United, which imagines Archer in his presidential years. From secret nods to The West Wing, to collaborating with Andy Probert on "Space Force One," this episode is a crash course in how Trek canon can be built with equal parts creativity and chaos.

Documents and additional references: Starfleet Personnel File: Archer, Jonathan

The Trek Files Season 14 on Memory Alpha

All episodes and documents: The Trek Files on Memory Alpha

Visit the Trekland site for behind-the-scenes access and exclusive merchandise.

The conversation continues on Discord with live chats and the Roddenberry Podcasts community! Join today!