Samuel A . Peeples Samuel " Sam " Anthony Peeples , usually credited as " Samuel A . Peeples " , was a writer who has worked on and . Peeples had already made a noticeable contribution to " Star Trek " , before the " Original Series " was even sold , as fellow writer Harlan Ellison has credited him with the creation of one of the most famous catch phrases in " Star Trek " - lore , " " < nowiki > [ < / nowiki > Gene Roddenberry < nowiki > ] < / nowiki > got " " Wagon Train " to the stars " from Sam Peeples . That ' s what Gene said to me . They were at dinner and Sam Peeples , of course , was a fount of ideas , and Gene said something or other about wanting to do a space show and Sam said , " Yeah ? Why don ' t you do " Wagon Train " to the stars ? " And when Gene started shopping it around , that ' s how he presented it . " " When Roddenberry started to make his " Star Trek is . . . " pitch rounds to the production studios in the spring of 1964 , he had by that time appropriated the phrase as his own , and has until his dying day propagated it as such in public . ( " " , 1st ed , p . 23 ) An avid fan of science fiction , Peeples served as a consultant to Gene Roddenberry during the writing of the first 1964 " Star Trek " pilot , . He introduced Roddenberry to the works of many known science fiction authors , such as Robert Heinlein and . Peeples also made a list for Roddenberry about the science fiction writers he should contact and ask for contribution to the series . The list included Harlan Ellison . ( " " , p 84 ) . One year later however , Roddenberry , grateful for the services Peeples had provided for the first pilot , assigned Peeples to write the script for what was to become the second " Star Trek " pilot . Originally a Western writer by profession , Peeples turned in his first professional science fiction story outline , then still tentatively called " Esper " , in the first week of April 1965 . Peeples himself revised his original title into the ultimate one – becoming the closing remark of the famed intro narrative – on his first script draft of late April 1965 . ( " " , 1st ed , pp . 69 , 80 - 81 , 263 ) In , Roddenberry offered Peeples the job of line producer on " Star Trek " , however he declined , wanting to concentrate on the development of his own two Western series , " Custer " and " Lancer " . Nevertheless , Peeples ' refusal made way for the gifted Gene L . Coon , which turned out to be a stroke of luck for the series . ( " " , 1st ed , p . 245 ) Despite his reluctance to be a regular writer on the " Original Series " , Peeples did agree to write the pilot episode for the 1973 " Animated Series " , . He recalled , " " < nowiki > [ < / nowiki > Dorothy Fontana < nowiki > ] < / nowiki > called and said , ' Gene suggested that since you had done the pilot for the original " Star Trek " , maybe you ' d like to do the pilot for the animated " Star Trek " . ' And that ' s what I did [ . . . ] As far as the inspiration for the story , I don ' t have the vaguest idea . It seems to me that I was trying to say that it would be interesting if there was a space ship which was actually a living creature . It ' s alive , but it is used to going from one planet to another . " " ( " " , pp . 98 - 99 ) Peeples turned in the first draft of this episode ' s script on . A revised draft of the script was submitted on , though certain pages were revised on 10 May 1973 . In the summer of 1981 , Peeples was reacquainted with " Star Trek " when he wrote a story outline , " Worlds That Never Were " , for what was later to become . By 24 August he had translated his story outline into a first script draft , now entitled " " , which was ultimately passed over for a final variant version by Harve Bennett and Nicholas Meyer . He wrote some additional material ( including his original Doctor Savik character becoming Lieutenant Saavik ) into the screenplay of the movie , but went uncredited for his contributions . ( " " , pp . 47 - 51 ; ) Nevertheless , it has earned Peeples a co - nomination for a Hugo award in the category Best Dramatic Presentation , his only motion picture industry award nomination , and in the process becoming one of the very few production staffers who received an award nomination for a " Star Trek " production for which the person in question had not officially been credited for in any capacity . Career outside " Star Trek " . Sam Peeples started out his career as a novelist , writing novels predominantly in the Western genre under his pseudonym Brad Ward . Even though Peeples was a science fiction fan , the Western remained the genre of choice for him to work in when he moved over in the late 1950s to work as a writer for television as was evidenced by his body of work . He has worked on a slew of television series from the 1950s onward , predominantly westerns , such as " The Rifleman " , " The Tall Man " , " Frontier Circus " , " Have Gun – Will Travel " ( were he met Gene Roddenberry ) and " The Legend of Jesse James " , but , ironically , not on " Wagon Train " . After his contribution to " The Animated Series " , he branched out further into science fiction by becoming the story editor on " Jason of Star Command " , a live - action spin - off of " Space Academy " ( 1977 ) , for which he had also written . James Doohan was a regular in " Jason of Star Command " , playing Commander Canarvin . The series also co - starred Sid Haig . In 1977 , Peeples also co - wrote the failed pilot " Spectre " with Roddenberry , followed by a stint as writer for the 1979 television series " Flash Gordon " . In the late 1970s , Peeples returned to novel writing , publishing two novels in 1976 and 1978 respectively , but his last recorded credit has been the 1982 television movie " Flash Gordon : The Greatest Adventure of All " , he worked on after " Wrath of Khan " . Peeples succumbed to the effects of cancer on 22 September 1997 at age 79 . " Star Trek " award . Peeples has earned the following award nomination for his work in " Star Trek " ,