10 Obscure Star Trek Secrets That Took Years To Discover

We, as audiences only get to see the final products of our favourite shows like Star Trek, but there are tons of unknown moments and techniques that contributed to making the shows and films we adore.

Some of these "secrets" have become relatively common knowledge over the years, like the hidden names of production staff members on the dedication plaques aboard most Starfleet ships, or the fact that The Original Series used salt shakers as medical props (in fact, we did a whole video talking about some more of these weird props), but many secrets are a bit more obscure, and may even surprise some hardcore fans.

This list will be looking at ten of the these uncovered secrets behind the production of Star Trek, revealed through interviews, books, and documentaries with cast and crew members. Some of these reveals make you rethink entire storylines, but others are just fun trivia.

The Original Series theme song, composed by Alexander Courage, is one of the best in Trek. It's fast-paced, fun, and other-worldly, totally perfect for the show. However, many don't know that the theme song actually has lyrics, not only the voiceover from Kirk, but actual lyrics.

Gene Roddenberry wrote these lyrics in order to legally receive 50% of the royalties for the song, despite the fact that these lyrics were never used. He was actually pretty unapologetic about this fact when asked once, stating, "I have to get money somewhere. I'm sure not gonna get it out of the profits of Star Trek."

The lyrics were hastily written (as they were never actually intended to be used), but seem to be framed from the perspective of Kirk's long-lost lover he left on Earth to explore the stars.

This story was mentioned in the reference book Inside Star Trek: The Real Story (published in 1997), and Courage himself was vocal at times about his bad experience with Roddenberry, but he moved on and forgave him later in life.