Rod Roddenberry, The son of Gene Roddenberry, and Roddenberry Productions, has struck a deal to try and revive one of his late father’s forgotten projects.

An agreement has been reached with Ron Howard’s Imagine Television to develop ‘The Questor Tapes’.

The announcement was made by Rod Roddenberry, at the the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences TV Hall of Fame Ceremony, where Gene Roddenberry was being inducted posthumously.

Based on a 1974 Roddenberry pilot, which he scripted with Star Trek writer Gene L. Coon, it ultimately aired as a TV movie. The original “Questor” was about an android (portrayed by Robert Foxworth) with incomplete memory tapes who searched for his creator and his purpose.

A novelization, written by D. C. Fontana (another Star Trek alumna), was dedicated to Gene L. Coon, who died before the program was broadcast. (The novel and DVD of the broadcast is available at Amazon.com).

Rod said that “My father always felt that ‘Questor’ was the one that got away. He believed that the show had the potential to be bigger than ‘Star Trek.’”

In the 1970s, after the original Star Trek ended on NBC, and while developing Star Trek Phase II (which ultimately became ‘Star Trek: The Motion Picture’, Gene Roddenberry developed a number of sci-fi TV shows which were turned into pilot TV movies, but never picked up as series (like “Genesis II” and “Planet Earth” which are also available at Amazon on DVD).

NBC had made a 13 episode commitment, but after failing to agree on changes with Roddenberry, the project was scrapped.

Now “Questor” may be back. Rod Roddenberry will develop the project, along with Roddenberry Productions COO Trevor Roth and Imagine Television’s President David Nevins and EVP of Development Robin Gurney. The team is currently in negotiations with writer, producer and show runner Tim Minear (Lois & Clark, The X-Files, Angel, Dollhouse) to produce.

Of course there still is no guarantee that the new “Questor” will get picked up as a series, but Imagine has a good track record on TV. Imagine developed shows like 24, Friday Night Lights, Lie To Me; Arrested Development, and many more.

In closing, some bits of trivia for you. The character of Commander Data was influenced by Gene’s android.

In fact, there is a scene in the TV movie “Questor” which worked its way into the second season TNG episode “The Royale”. You may remember that during that season, due to a writer’s strike, Roddenberry drew from his ‘personal’ files, especially the ill-fated ‘Star Trek: Phase 2′ for much of Next generation’s stories.

Keep your eyes to the stars, and here for further developments!