I guess I should have realized that as soon as Herb Solow showed up, the Smithsonian Channel's outing of "Real Story" featuring Star Trek was going to be nothing more than complete drek.

And as I continued to watch this episode of the cable channel's documentary series, I couldn't tell if this was all designed to celebrate Star Trek, or simply attack "Star Trek" creator Gene Roddenberry. Now that I've had a few days to reflect on it, I'm leaning toward the latter.

Because "Real Story" is on a channel associated with a prestigious museum and owned by CBS Corp. (which also has many of the rights to Star Trek itself), I was expecting to see something more of a puff piece celebrating a franchise that has made billions of dollars over the decade. And you do get that, especially in how Star Trek has influenced so much science out there, ranging from artificial intelligence to the exploration of antimatter and beyond.

However, to get to that, you have to get through Herb Solow, the executive producer of "Star Trek" during its original run, who has made it clear in his 1990s book "Inside Star Trek" that he doesn't like people giving Roddenberry credit for creating what would become the Star Trek franchise, and obviously did not like Roddenberry at all.

And no one is saying that Roddenberry should get all the credit for Star Trek. Many people were involved in the overall creation of the Trek universe, both in the 1960s, and through the years. Even despite what Gene Roddenberry may have claimed when he was alive. And there is nothing wrong with extending that credit to those who did make significant creative contributions.

But inexplicably, "Real Story" took a turn down the road of sensationalism, deciding to get personal with Roddenberry about his private life, and that just had no place in a documentary like this.

The imperfections of Gene Roddenberry are well known to anyone who has spent any time researching the life of the Great Bird of the Galaxy, either through his authorized biographies over the years, and even his unauthorized ones. Yes, Roddenberry was not exactly the most faithful person in the world when it came to love, and that is a flaw that is impossible to admire. But what that has to do with the creation of Star Trek, and how it influenced the world is beyond me.

Completely beyond me.

Except that this was a project that has involved Solow. A man who is pretty much known for this one thing -- Star Trek -- and that's about it. He doesn't hold any punches when it comes to Roddenberry, going right to the initial pitch meeting Solow and Roddenberry had with NBC for "Star Trek."

"Gene started to speak badly, and I cut him off, because I could see the looks on [the executives'] faces," Solow said. "I went ahead and pitched the idea."

Yes, of course. Roddenberry is known for many things, most especially the fact that he can't pitch an idea. That just must make it all the more amazing that Roddenberry went from being a police officer in the Los Angeles Police Department to a television writer -- considering he can't pitch, and needed someone like Herb Solow to bail him out.

But it gets worse.

"Gene will tell you he created 'Star Trek,'" Solow said. "I will tell you right now, that is an abject untruth."

An "untruth"? Roddenberry may not have created every intricate detail of Star Trek, but it was his concept that his early creative team latched on to, and it was his concept that has grown into the worldwide phenomenon it is today.

And news flash: Thomas Edison didn't invite the light bulb either. He led the team and financed the research, but it wasn't just him doing it (yet he gets all the credit).

Solow's only goal is to rewrite history. Why? Because what else does he have? And he's using "Real Story" as a vehicle to make that happen.

When Sunday night rolls around, you might be missing "Game of Thrones" or even "Mad Men." But tune in to something else, like "True Blood," and don't even bother trying to find the Smithsonian Channel on your cable lineup. "Real Story" is nothing more than a real mess when it comes to a mini-documentary.