Farrell was cast as Jerry Robinson. Thematic origins The Questor Tapes was Roddenberry's second treatment of the idea of an outside force benevolently aiding human development. In 1968, he co-wrote, with Art Wallace, an episode of Star Trek which also served as a potential spin-off series pilot, "Assignment: Earth". In this story, Gary Seven was a human whose ancestors were abducted from Earth around 4000 BCE. Returning to Earth in the late 20th century, his mission was to make sure mankind did not destroy itself with nuclear weapons. In the would-be series, he would have carried out other missions to protect mankind. In The Questor Tapes, Questor's origin is also extraterrestrial, and his mission to serve and protect mankind remains the same as Gary Seven's. Music The music for The Questor Tapes was scored by Gil Mellé, who was a jazz musician as well as a saxophonist, composer, and also noted as a painter. (Some of his music for The Questor Tapes later made its way into Kolchak: The Night Stalker. Both properties were developed at, and produced out of, Universal Studios.) Mellé also was known for scoring My Sweet Charlie, That Certain Summer, and Frankenstein: The True Story. His most well-known film score was The Andromeda Strain, whose director, Robert Wise, later directed Star Trek: The Motion Picture. Reception Release The Questor Tapes aired on NBC on January 23, 1974. The telefilm was released, as a MOD (Manufacture-On-Demand) DVD on September 18, 2012, by Universal Pictures's Vault Series in Region 0. Awards In 1975, The Questor Tapes was nominated for a Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation. Legacy In Star Trek: The Next Generation Gene Roddenberry's son, Rod, has confirmed that the Questor android was an inspiration for the character of Data, from Roddenberry's later Star Trek: The Next Generation. In a casino scene situated in a London nightclub, Questor successfully detects weighted ("loaded") dice, and their subsequent realignment in his precise, powerful hand was later duplicated by Data in the second season Star Trek: The Next Generation installment "The Royale". Another Questor/Data inside joke came from a scene in which Questor discussed the human trait of "negotiating" through sexual activity, informing Robinson, "I am fully functional." While there is no such activity in The Questor Tapes, in "The Naked Now", an episode of The Next Generation Data also comments, to Tasha Yar, "I am fully functional." Proposed remake