Star Trek: The Original Series creator Gene Roddenberry wrote a set of unused lyrics to the show's iconic theme song for less than noble reasons, alienating the theme song's composer, Alexander Courage. Courage was the second choice to compose TOS' theme song and incidental music in its first season, after composer Jerry Goldsmith was forced to decline due to other commitments. Largely an orchestrator, TOS was Courage's chance to show he had the skills to create compelling themes of his own.
Courage more than succeeded. While TOS' full theme song is one of the most recognizable in television history, the opening fanfare has taken on an even larger life, appearing in virtually every Star Trek television series and movie. The incidental music he composed for TOS set the tone for the series with big, bombastic cues pairing perfectly with bright, action-packed adventures of Captain James T. Kirk (William Shatner) and Mr. Spock (Leonard Nimoy). Unfortunately, Courage's contributions to the franchise ended up being short-lived due to an underhanded move by Roddenberry.
Why Roddenberry Wrote Lyrics To The TOS Theme Song
During production of Star Trek: TOS season 1, Roddenberry published a set of lyrics for the theme song. The lyrics themselves were saccharine, looking at Kirk's Star Trek voyages through a lover's lens, but that wasn't really a problem as Roddenberry never intended to use them. The Star Trek creator was exploiting a loophole in Courage's contract that stipulated Roddenberry would be able to claim half of the song's royalties if he authored lyrics.
Roddenberry's move blindsided Courage, and when the composer ed Star Trek's creator, Gene was entirely unapologetic, arguing he had to profit off the underperforming TOS any way he could. Understandably upset, Courage left before production on TOS season 2 began. Courage was replaced by Fred Steiner, who produced the majority of TOS' incidental music.
Why TOS' Theme Composer Never Worked With Roddenberry Again
Courage's animosity toward Roddenberry endured, and he would never directly work with the Star Trek creator again over the royalty issue. Courage did return to score two episodes of TOS season 3, "The Enterprise Incident" and "Plato's Stepchildren," as Roddenberry had stepped down as the executive producer of the series by its third and final season. Courage was persuaded to return at the behest of producer Robert Justman.
Courage wasn't quite done with Star Trek yet. Composer Jerry Goldsmith invited his friend Courage to rework his original TOS theme for segments of Star Trek: The Next Generation - Star Trek: First and Star Trek: Insurrection. Alexander Courage deserves a more enduring legacy than he generally gets for his contributions to Star Trek: The Original Series, and it's unfortunate that he's not as highly regarded as some other Star Trek composers due in part to Roddenberry's dubious dealings.