A Brief Guide to Star Trek

great thing about people interested in science fiction is that they have open minds. They’re eager for new ideas.’
    The Next Generation
had to deliver the same but different – it had to be
Star Trek
as audiences would recognise it, but brought up to date for the 1980s, and it also had to compete to some degree with the
Star Trek
movies. New production techniques and new technology, especially in the field of special effects, helped the show look more sophisticated than the tired 1960sversion. However, some of Roddenberry’s ideas – which he held to stubbornly – got in the way of good dramatic storylines. Roddenberry had long contended that humanity in the future would be free of interpersonal conflict (ironically, an edict he had fought on
The Lieutenant
). The problem was (as Rick Berman realised) that this does not make for engaging drama. Conflict is at the heart of most drama, whether between the central characters of a TV show or between ‘our’ team of heroes and some external threat or danger. ‘We had to manufacture our conflicts from other than interpersonal conflicts among our characters and that does make it very difficult to write’, said Berman. ‘With
Star Trek
you’ve got two sets of rules: the rules of science and the rules of
Star Trek
. Writers have to be willing to follow both sets of rules. It’s difficult.’
    The first thirteen episodes of the new series were widely considered to be rather disappointing, especially given the high hopes for the show. There was a ‘revolving door’ policy towards writers as the production team – and Roddenberry in particular – struggled to bring
Star Trek
up to date. Many writers would contribute one or two episodes during the first season before their services were no longer required. It took a while for the show to evolve into its comfort zone, a process that did not really happen until after Roddenberry’s involvement ended and Berman took full control.
    The double-length pilot episode, ‘Encounter at Farpoint’, had to lay out the basics of the new show. D. C. Fontana – who’d written several episodes of the original series – scripted the opening instalment, with heavy rewriting by Gene Roddenberry. As well as establishing the new crew of the
Enterprise
(and allowing the actors to become familiar with their characters and each other), the opening episode had to tell an engaging story – one that would bring back a curious audience for the following episodes. The episode featured Roddenberry’s long-running obsession with alien beings who appear God-like in the character of the omnipotent, manipulative ‘Q’. John de Lancie’s character would feature throughout the series (and spin-offs) asan antagonist (and occasional ally) to Captain Picard. He would be pivotal in the series’ final episode, which would see a return to events at Farpoint Station. The opening episode features the maiden voyage of the
Enterprise
NCC-1701-D, introduces the crew and throws them into conflict with Q, who tries to warn them that man’s exploration of space has gone far enough. The new crew find themselves put on trial for the wrongs done by humanity in space exploration. Picard successfully argues that the situation at Farpoint Station should be used to test man’s worthiness to continue venturing outward into space. It’s a talky show that spends more time worrying about setting up the series than trying to entertain.
    Fontana and Gerrold felt badly treated by Roddenberry in the development of
The Next Generation
. Gerrold had effectively written the series bible, which Roddenberry claimed as his own, and had incorporated suggestions from others such as Justman. Fontana essentially served as de facto story editor, alongside Gerrold, working on developing scripts – although neither received the appropriate credits and remuneration for those jobs (in breach of Writers Guild rules), while Roddenberry claimed the credit for his ‘vision’ of
Star Trek
.
    During this time Roddenberry’s lawyer Leonard Maizlish became involved in the creative side of the series, accompanying the ‘Great Bird’ to meetings and serving as his messenger whenever bad news had to be delivered. Over time, as Roddenberry’s health began to fail, Maizlish would become even more prominent, supposedly representing Roddenberry’s views on all things
Star Trek
, delivering comments on scripts and even attempting his own rewrites (again, in contravention of Writers