Gene L. Coon

thumb|left|In a universe where things work.
Gene L. Coon actually created most of what we now consider to be Star Trek. Klingons, the Federation, the Prime Directive: you name it, he wrote it. Coon left the show after writing the better parts of "A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Taping of 'A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum'", but continued to draw checks from some half-baked episodes that could have been classics if only ... if only. Coon died in 1972, before the whole "Star Trek Lives!" thing got off the ground, thus allowing some guy with the initials "Gene Roddenberry" to claim all the credit. Too bad, really.