How UPN ruined Star Trek

by Jared B.

"We were working on a network that, in a sense, was completely contradictory to the nature of the show."
-Rick Berman, quoted in 20 December 2006 SciFi Pulse

"I think it [UPN] damaged the show. If you don’t mind booting Brent Spiner later on I could stay up here all day and talk about this one subject. I think it hurt Voyager and much more with Enterprise, to be on a constantly shifting fledgling network that in some parts it was on channel 92 if you could find it and you needed the foil rabbit ears... Tons of problems being on that network. Also we didn’t have a lot of money to promote. So I don’ think it was a great thing for the franchise. I cant blame it all on that. There were other problems of course, but it was truly frustrating."

-Brannon Braga at VegasCon 2007


Star Trek producers Rick Berman and Brannon Braga have received a lot of grief from Trekkies during the past decade. As fans witnessed the slow and painful decline of Trek's popularity, they pointed angrily at the "Killer Bs," who allegedly and almost single-handedly destroyed the Star Trek franchise. If Paramount had cleansed the Trek offices and brought in new blood, if Berman had seen what was painfully obvious to many fans, and if the writers understood and adored The Original Series... then Star Trek would still live in episodic television.

So it is claimed.

Yet, while Berman and Braga became convenient scapegoats, vilified to an extreme degree in fanzines, chat rooms, and internet message boards, another culprit stood by immune in the shadows of closed-door meetings and safeguarded memos. Unlike "Bermaga," this villain didn't have to answer to fans as it meddled with Star Trek as no network had done before.

Of course we are talking about UPN, the Paramount television network that launched in 1995 with its flagship Voyager lost in space. In the search for viewers and profits, UPN stumbled for a decade, drifting aimlessly from one target demographic to another.

Rarely did shows last more than one season, due to their dismal quality. Rarely did the network compete with other primetime channels, who, in the midst of the reality TV takeover, took viewers from one forgettable sensation to another. Rarely did UPN offer good alternatives beyond poorly written sitcoms and canned applause.

And, as digital cable and satellite television continued expanding, viewers were hard-pressed to choose "Amish in the City" over quality shows on SciFi, the History Channel, the various Discovery spin-offs, or even USA, the network that spawned from late night bikini horror flicks hosted by Gilbert Godfrey. After a decade of switching target audiences based on the most popular show, UPN finally ran out of dilithium, and it soon became trapped in the badlands of corporate damage control.

Throughout its 11 year fiasco, it left its mark on Star Trek. Exactly how and when remains a mystery. Obviously, being on a network that wasn't available in all markets hurt the shows, especially considering that UPN wasn't available to satellite subscribers unless it was already locally accessible. Those households "lucky" enough to have UPN were subjected to constant sports preemptions, unreliable broadcast quality, and random network bugs, such as broadcasting 22 minutes of Enterprise without sound in 2002.

It is also fairly clear that UPN is to blame for many questionable production decisions, such as adding a boob-enhancing catsuit to Voyager, a show that began as a feminist statement of sorts. In several interviews, Rick Berman recalled the horror of network suits at seeing Seven of Nine borgified. "Get her out of that junk!" they screamed while hoping for a quick fix that catered to the lowest denominator. It is also clear that UPN pressured Berman and others to make Voyager and Enterprise "more like TNG," because they would have happily cashed in on a carbon-copy success that was completely unoriginal. Berman has publicly admitted that Enterprise would have been extremely different, focused on the nitty-gritty aspects of exploring our neighboring worlds (no Klingons, no Romulans, no Borg). Instead, he had to make it more "recognizable." At the same time, Berman lobbied to give Trek a year-long hiatus. He feared that "too many trips to the well" in search of profits was diminishing the shelf-life of Trek. Yet, UPN insisted otherwise, arguing that Trek could be reinvented for a younger, hipper audience.

Consequently, we were given nauseating tits and ass decon scenes that seemed to replace any opportunity for meaningful dialogue or interesting character development. UPN suits cringed at the thought of intellectually challenging their Sweet Valley High, Moesha, and WWE Smackdown viewers. A network that thrived on fluff didn't have a high tolerance level for pedantic and provocative drama.

Rick Berman had to relent to the demands of his boss's network. He may have wondered at one point, "Who exactly is paying me here?" After all, this situation was unique for Star Trek under Berman's watch. The Next Generation thrived in syndication, meaning that no individual network had much control over the content, characters, message, or direction of the show. This free reign was one of Gene Roddenberry's original demands for 24th century Trek. He had been burned much too often by meddling network suits and short-sighted executives, or so he claimed.

Yet, with Voyager and Enterprise, the situation was suddenly reversed. Paramount finally launched the great experiment of a new network helmed by a new Star Trek series (see Star Trek: Phase II). It failed miserably. No one at the top asked, "Is it logical to lauch a channel catered to teens and urban audiences with a flagship show catered toward an educated fanbase renowned for its disposable income?"

Now, nearly 2 years after the cancellation of Enterprise and 1 year after the death of UPN, Rick Berman is writing his memoirs. Mr. Berman, come clean for us! Tell us exactly what this network did and how they interfered with Trek. Tell us who is really to blame for the failures, faulty directions, and ratings ploys. Tell us, please, how UPN ruined Star Trek.

Perhaps when fans finally understand the details, your contributions to Trek will be celebrated for what they were in good times, not what we witnessed in bad times.

In the meantime, this writer invites every fan to analyze what went wrong over the years. Ask yourself, "Should we really blame Rick Berman?"

Comments

Comments at the TrekBBS

Comments at StarDestroyer.net

Forbidden Gay Frontier: Where Star Trek Hasn't Boldly Gone

AfterElton kindly allowed us to republish their superb article "Forbidden Gay Frontier." Enjoy, and please visit AfterElton to voice support.

-------------

By Michael Ricci


In 1991, Star Trek creator, Gene Roddenberry, spoke with The Humanist magazine about his evolving view of the gay community, “My attitude toward homosexuality has changed. I came to the conclusion that I was wrong. I was never someone who hunted down 'fags' as we used to call them on the street. I would, sometimes, say something anti-homosexual off the top of my head because it was thought, in those days, to be funny. I never really deeply believed those comments, but I gave the impression of being thoughtless in these areas. I have, over many years, changed my attitude about gay men and women.”

That same year, Roddenberry spoke to The Advocate, one of the leading GLBT magazines in the country, saying there would eventually be a gay character in one of his series. “In the fifth season [of Star Trek: The Next Generation] viewers will see more of shipboard life [including] gay crew members in day-to-day circumstances.”

Gene Roddenberry died later that year. No gay character ever appeared on The Next Generation or any other Trek series or movie.

“Just to get Star Trek on TV was an astounding move,” George Takei--the openly gay actor who starred as Star Trek's Mr. Sulu--says in an interview with AfterElton. “The program execs were baffled. They did not know what to do with it! Now, we are in the 21st century, and this is speculation, but I really think that if Gene were still with us today, he would have been equally bold for our times today and addressed the issue of equality for gays, lesbians, transgenders and bisexuals.”

So, why hasn't Star Trek entered this final frontier?

Many blame Rick Berman, Star Trek's longtime executive producer. While Berman has never publicly said he has no plans in the long-term for gay characters on the show, many fans have read cryptic messages into some things he has mentioned over the years. In a 2002 interview with USAToday.com, Berman addresses the subject matter.

“That was really the wishful thinking of some people who were constantly at us,” Berman states. “But we don't see heterosexual couples holding hands on the show, so it would be somewhat dishonest of us to see two gay men or lesbians holding hands.”

But in Star Trek: Insurrection, Commander Riker (Jonathan Frakes) and Counselor Troi (Marina Sirtis) are seen holding hands at the end of the movie. Indeed, Star Trek has often shown characters kissing and embracing. And fans have desired more than just handholding, hoping instead for a well-rounded character with as many virtues and flaws as their heterosexual counterparts.

In an exclusive interview with AfterElton, Andy Mangels--Trek's only openly gay writer, having written over a dozen Star Trek themed novels--says he believes blame lies with Berman. “I have never met Rick Berman, and he has never expressed any specific attitudes directly to me. That said, not one single actor, staff member, or Paramount employee has ever once defended him from charges of homophobia, and many have accused him of it.

"Berman was ultimately responsible for killing almost every pitch for gay characters, and in interviews, was mealy-mouthed and waffling about the need for GLB T representation. At the very least, he was gutless and didn't care about GLBT representation. From the information and evidence I've seen, heard, and read, I believe that Berman is the reason we never saw gays on Star Trek I shed no tears that he's gone, except that he did his best to ruin the franchise on his way out.”

AfterElton contacted the representatives of Rick Berman. Mr. Berman had no official response.

Gay Star Trek storylines have been written—such as the Star Trek: The Next Generation episode, “Blood and Fire” by David Gerrold—but it was never put before cameras. In this episode, written back in 1987, the crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise encounter a derelict spaceship infected with a dangerous pathogen, known as Regulan Bloodworms, capable of killing the infected within hours. This episode was to be a 24th century allegory to the HIV/AIDS scare of the 1980s. One of the main reasons, however, this episode was never put into production was because two of the episode's characters, Freeman and Eakins, were intended to be a gay couple.

The official explanation for the episode's cancellation was because of studio concerns. Gerrold stated in an interview with Mark Altman for Cinefantastique that he believes the episode dealt with homosexuality in a “blatant” manner. He says the feedback from the staff was either encouraging or concerned. “There was a paper trail a yard wide and a mile long on everything and the memo on this was half that. People complained the script had blatant homosexual characters. Rick Berman said we can't do this in an afternoon market in some places. We'll have parents writing letters.

The other half of the memos were, from people like Dorothy Fontana and Herb Wright and Bob Lewin, who said this is a very strong script. I'm not making Rick Berman a villain because he also acknowledged the technical aspects of the script were right on the nose for what the show needed to be. But Rick Berman was the studio guy. He was watching out for the studio's interests.”

Three episodes, in particular, are labeled Star Trek's “gay” episodes. The first is a Star Trek: The Next Generation episode called “The Outcast” which dealt with an androgynous species (cast entirely of female actors) known as the J'naii who do not have typical gender roles of male and female. Those that do identify as either/or are seen as abnormal and sent to rehabilitation centers. Riker falls in love with Soren (Melinda Culea), a young J'naii who identifies with the female gender. When he attempts to rescue her, she eventually decides to stay. Gay viewers felt the episode cheated given all the actors playing the J'naii were obviously women.

“The Host” also dealt with homophobia presented as subtext. In the episode, Dr. Beverly Crusher falls in love with a Trill ambassador, Odan, who later dies. His new host turns out to be a woman (played by Nicole Orth-Pallavacini), prompting Dr. Crusher to end the relationship. It is said that Gates McFadden, who played Dr. Crusher, attempted to change the ending of this episode, but was overturned by studio execs.

McFadden isn't the only actor who objected to an episode's homophobic overtones. A Salon article from 2001 reports that in the Star Trek:The Next Generation episode “The Offspring” actor Whoopi Goldberg (Guinan) refused to say the line “When a man and woman are in love...”. She opted instead to say “When two people are in love.” Said Goldberg, “This show is beyond that. It should be." It was also decided on set that the background of the scence show a same-sex couple holding hands, but one of the show's producers made sure that didn't happen.

The final gay Trek episode was Star Trek: Enterprise's episode, “Stigma”, in which T'Pol (Jolene Blalock) contracts a rare mental disorder, Pa'nar Syndrome that is portrayed as a version of the HIV/AIDS (of which she is eventually cured).

Berman told TrekWeb in April of 2003 that “Stigma” was, “supposed to be our gay episode, but we sort of copped out.” Some critics of the episode also felt synonymously linking the HIV/AIDS virus specifically with the GLBT community to be questionable at the very least.

There have been other Star Trek episodes perceived as having gay-ish themes. One that misfired was 1998's “Profit and Lace”—written by Ira Steven Behr & Hans Beimler. Here the context of male homosexuality and transgenderism are set up as comedic and insulting instruments. Producers, fans, and even the story's main actor, Armin Shimmerman consider this Deep Space Nine episode to be one of its worst.

In its defense, Deep Space Nine has also portrayed homosexuality in a (somewhat) positive light. In the episode, “Rejoined” written by Battlestar Galactica producer, Ronald D. Moore, Trill Lt. Jadzia Dax (Terry Farrell) is reunited with Lenara Kahn (Susanna Thompson), a lover from a previous life (Trills being a symbiotic species who live many lifetimes from host to host). Rekindling a romance with previous hosts is taboo and punishable by exile. In what is undoubtedly a metaphor for modern-day homophobia, Jadzia defies the law, and engages in the first ever same-sex kiss in Star Trek's history. But, in the end, Len ara Kahn leaves and Jadzia Dax “comes to her senses”.

This episode is both praised and criticized by fans. Gay followers of the show feel the romance wasn't homosexual in nature as Dax's previous host was male, while Kahn's was female.

Another female kiss, this one lacking any emotional resonance, was in the episode “The Emperor's New Cloak”, set in the mirror universe of Star Trek—where everything is the parallel, yet opposite. The counterparts to Colonel Kira Nerys (Nana Visitor) and Ezri Dax (Nicole deBoer) engage in a meaningless kiss. It's only intention seems to stimulate the straight-male fantasy of woman-on-woman action.

Finally, Star Trek: Voyager's episode, “Warlord” also had a same-sex kiss when a male psyche possessed the character of Kes (Jennifer Lien) and kissed another woman. Both characters were seen as duplicitous and evil—a stereotypical trademark of gay and bisexual characters in Hollywood.

While Star Trek on both the large and small screen has yet to portray a positive and well-rounded gay individual, the Trek publishing media has journeyed to that frontier many, many times. Most notable is the Section 31 novel, Star Trek: Rogue written by Andy Mangels and Michael A. Martin. The novel centers around Lieutenant Hawk (a character who had been rumored to be gay in pre-production of Star Trek: First Contact) and his partner, an un-joined Trill named, Ranul Keru.

Mangels believed the rumor of Hawk's being gay to be untrue. There was no evidence of the character's orientation in any movie screenplay that he saw, nor was Neal McDonough (who played Lt. Hawk) aware of such intentions. Mangels liked the Hawk character and “expected him to survive” the movie. When he and writing partner, Michael A. Martin brought the idea to their publishers about a gay character being the center of Rogue, he said they met no resistance of any kind.

As with everything in the 24th century, bigotry toward Hawk and Keru's relationship is nonexistent. In one passages from the book, Commander Riker and Data inquire about Hawk's upcoming anniversary as easily as if it were Worf's.

The novel stayed at the top of the USA Today best selling list for several weeks.

Mangels says, “When we decided to make Hawk the focal point of the book, we brought up with our editor, Marco Palmieri, that we wanted to make him gay, playing off the movie rumors. Marco was all for the idea, as long as the elements of his sexuality had something to do with the characterization and the story. Neither he--nor we--wanted the gay stuff to just be ‘stuck on'.”

The author, however, admits there were some problems with the Paramount licensing and worried the character's sexuality might be edited. He goes on to say, “Paramount licensing was very quiet about the book's contents, and made sure that Rick Berman and Brannon Braga (the Trek TV producers) did not see it before it went to press. There was some concern that the gay elements would be forcefully removed if Berman and Braga saw it. Once it was at the printer, it was given to their office. I never heard if there was fallout or not, but the book got publicity all around the world.”

Even though Lt. Hawk was killed in Star Trek: First Contact, Ranul Keru still remains a favorite character of the writers. Since his introduction in Rogue, Keru has gone on to appear in other novels by Mangels and Martin such as Tales of the Captain's Table, Worlds of Deep Space Nine, and the adventures of Captain Riker's starship, Star Trek: Titan. In the Titan series, Keru deals with the loss of Hawk and attempts to quell his growing anger for Worf—the man responsible for Hawk's death.

In more than four decades Star Trek has produced nearly a dozen feature films, more then five hundred episodes between five series, numerous video games, and countless books, comics, role-playing games, and magazines. The ground-breaking sci-fi franchise has broken through many barriers, such as being the first to have an interracial kiss (between William Shatner and Nichelle Nichols) on broadcast television, as well as touting the values of peace and tolerance for all. Yet the series has refused to address forthrightly the topic of homosexuality where it would most matter—on television or film.

Currently there are no new Trek series in the works, but there is an eleventh movie rumored to under consideration. [Trekdom insert: Now in pre-production] Gay fans fervently hope Star Trek will live on and that one-day this remarkable franchise will finally—and boldly—go where none of its predecessors have gone before.

*Visit AfterElton

Comments

In Defense of Rick Berman

In Defense of Rick Berman
By Jared B.

----------

When Rick Berman assumed control of Star Trek: The Next Generation about halfway through its first season, he inherited a disaster of a show. The atmosphere behind-the-scenes was chaotic, hurtful, and infuriating for many insiders. Gene Roddenberry, having been heavily intoxicated and overly “medicated,” alienated many of the people who had made the original Star Trek superb. D.C. Fontana recalled:

"As 1987 progressed… No one but Gene could be recognized as a contributor to ideas for the show. No one else could write a final draft. Writer-producers on the show felt the same anger and outrage I did at being excluded from the production process – at being told not to visit the sets or speak to the actors – at watching perfectly good scripts be rewritten by Gene into something far less – at having their files prowled through and sometimes removed. Definitely gone were the days when a staff birthday was an occasion and the crew was rewarded with a party for hard work. In the space of nine months, no fewer than eight writing-staff members left the series. There was no high sense of morale or community; rather the production offices were like an armed camp. Armed against Gene Roddenberry because of his alienating actions." (Fontana quoted in Engel, xii-xiii)

In addition to D.C. Fontana, other great Trek insiders such as David Gerrold left the show, feeling betrayed and belittled by the self-proclaimed humanist.

Word on the streets of Hollywood was “Don’t go near that show!” New writers felt strangled by Roddenberry's "box" of rules that made little sense. Somehow, they had to tell interesting stories about humans aboard a spaceship without depicting conflict between Starfleet officers. They were also asked to write fascinating and dynamic characters who were supposedly "too evolved" to have flaws or interesting personality quirks. Roddenberry’s utopian diatribes about 24th century humanity could be entirely contradictory, such as the notion that humans are too evolved for intolerance, yet under no circumstances would they tolerate “primitive and superstitious beliefs” like religion. Writers were left in an awkward position, bound by rules that were either inherently contradictory or outwardly at odds with the rules of good writing. The show suffered.

After reigning as a insecure visionary, and after alienating many people who had made the original Trek a phenomenon, Gene Roddenberry stopped contributing, although he retained his executive producer title. The person who did the job was Rick Berman.

Berman was not very familiar with the original Star Trek. But, he didn’t need to be, at least not according to Roddenberry himself. Just as Harve Bennett had discovered when making The Wrath of Khan, Roddenberry’s pronouncements about his vision of Trek didn’t match what viewers saw on the original series. If Berman meant to stay true to Roddenberry’s current vision and “box,” watching Kirk and crew would have been simply confusing.

Instead, Berman was determined to make the rules works, bending them slightly if necessary, but always concluding episodes with an optimistic depiction of the future. He was also committed to making the characters more complex, going so far as to hire Michael Piller, who was known for his excellent character writing yet lacking in experience as a science-fiction writer. Unlike Roddenberry, Berman, time and time again, gave new writers a shot to contribute to Trek in lasting ways, instead of jealously protecting Star Trek as his personal vision of the future. Ron D. Moore, Ira Behr, Brannon Braga, and many other young writers owed much to Berman’s willingness to give credit where credit was due. Although he held the reins and made executive decisions regarding the direction of the franchise, he was always open to collaboration, and, in many instances, he took risks. Gone were the days when an associate producer stood on the executive producer’s desk impatiently waiting for him to finish rewriting another author’s script (in between binges and late-night affairs). Instead, Berman’s Trek was a well-oiled machine that initially encouraged collaboration, brainstorming, and differences of opinion, so long as those differences didn’t become personal.

During the next few years, Berman, with the help of these talented writers and others, turned Star Trek: The Next Generation into a hugely popular cultural phenomenon. By all indications, TNG was coming into port, surpassing the original Star Trek in the public imagination and paving the way for new films and new series. Trek reached its peak in terms of profitability and popularity. When the franchise celebrated its 25th anniversary, the future of Star Trek seemed endless. Anyone predicting the demise of Trek would have been shunned and mocked.

Without Berman, Trek may have ended with the retirement of the original Enterprise crew. Instead, we were given a new generation to continue the legacy on the big screen. And, we were given Deep Space Nine, which, by most accounts, was the best Trek series of the entire franchise. Not only was Berman willing to take a huge risk by changing the format, but he also openly defied Gene Roddenberry’s formula and rules in the process. Deep Space Nine depicted religion and faith in more respectful ways. Internal and external conflict drove stories in complex and provocative directions. Characters were far from perfect and boring exemplars of human progress, and the 24th century, in the midst of war, cultural conflict, and dangers of militarism was far from the vague and unworkable utopia of Roddenberry’s Trek. Instead, under the direction of Rick Berman, the Trekverse became more realistic and believable. Certainly, Behr, Moore, Piller, and others deserve much credit for Deep Space Nine, but so too does Rick Berman for allowing the writers to move in this direction while giving them the freedom to write superb television without caring about the ratings.

Yet, Berman, as executive producer, had to care about the ratings. Despite its triumphs and break-throughs, DS9 bled viewers year after year. Perhaps the show demanded too much. After all, it would have been impossible to casually tune into the Dominion War and immediately understand the complex relationships between the Founders, Vorta, Cardassians, Klingons, and wormhole aliens. Can we really blame Rick Berman for turning back from this great experiment and creating a new show, Voyager, that more clearly corresponded to the format of TNG? At the heights of its popularity, Trek followed this format. It was a tried and true success. Should we also blame him for abandoning the Alpha Quadrant, which had become much too complex for stand-alone episodes that could be viewed out-of-order? It would have pleased the hardcore fans to watch two series simultaneously engulfed in a complex war that required viewers to watch every episode with soap-operaesque obsession. What about the mainstream, casual viewer? What about new viewers, who might stumble onto Trek having never seen Deep Space Nine? If Star Trek was to continue in TNG’s formidable footsteps, the next series had to be familiar to TNG viewers, and DS9 was not.

As the ratings for Voyager fell during its first three seasons, many fans blamed Berman. Some of his decisions deserved criticism, especially the quick resolution of the Starfleet/Marquis conflict and the use of uninteresting villains like the Kazon. Other criticisms were sometimes petty. Despite its flaws, Voyager had many gems in those first few seasons. Unquestionably, the show suffered from the departures of Moore, Piller, and others. But other factors, especially the growing influence of UPN, contributed to the demise. TNG broke new grounds as a syndicated show not subject to the interventions of network micro-managers. But, with Voyager, Paramount finally launched the great experiment of a studio network headed by a new Trek show (see Star Trek: Phase II). As a network, not only was it constantly redefining its target demographic, but also the quality of most programs was dismal. There are many television markets to this day that do not carry UPN.

Other factors were in play. Rick Berman was justifiably concerned that “too many trips to the well” had occurred. He was also justifiably concerned that, due to the political correctness of the early 90s, Trek had now become much too conservative. Why not make it sexy again? Certainly TOS “tinfoil bikinis” were out-of-the-question, but why not throw in some sex appeal and visual titillation? Many fans criticized the decision to add Seven of Nine as a “ratings gimmick” that “catered to the lowest denominator.” If fans believe this, then they should remind themselves the original Star Trek must have catered to the lowest denominator. Also, the writing for Seven was superb for the most part, adding in a well-needed source of conflict and drama.

Despite these and other attempts to liven up Voyager, ratings continued to slip after an initial season 4 boost. Rick Berman had to try something bold and different. What could have been riskier than a prequel that took place before the time of Kirk and Spock? Although, in this author’s opinion, the execution of Enterprise was deeply, deeply flawed, the premise held much potential. Berman can be faulted for the execution, but, perhaps his biggest mistake was circling the wagons around Brannon Braga and himself, while attempting spearhead a prequel to a show that he never really watched or enjoyed. If the process had been more openly collaborative with people like Fontana, Black, Justman, and younger TOS aficionados like Coto from the beginning, then it’s possible that Enterprise could have been superb.

But, even if the first three seasons had been as good as the last, then it may have still bled viewers just as Deep Space Nine bled viewers. Other factors were beyond the control of Rick Berman.

He was our scapegoat, and, while witnessing the demise of Trek the last several years, we have used Mr. Berman as a convenient target, just as workers blame CEOs for everyday grievances. Many times, the criticisms have been justified. Yet, at other times, we were attacking the CEO for market fluctuations and unpredictable consumer habits.

Regardless of who or what is to blame for the franchise’s demise, we still owe Rick Berman praise for bringing Trek to the height of its popularity. We should thank him for taking risks, some of which worked and some of which flopped. We should commend him for shaking up the formulas and blindfolding his bust of Gene Roddenberry. And, yes, we should also criticize when deserved.

Is it time for new blood? Most definitely. Just as Trek needed a Harve Bennett and then a Rick Berman, it now needs a J.J. Abrams to take the franchise in new and bold directions. It is time to pass the torch, and Berman has so far done that graciously. But he is also writing his memoirs. Most likely, he will defend himself from the onslaught of fan criticism of the past decade. He deserves to do so, and fans should read his book with an open mind.

24th century Trek was Berman’s legacy, and it deserves respect for what it was in good times, rather than condemning it wholesale for what it was in bad times.

------------------

Comments and Reviews

Garrett Wang criticizes Rick Berman

In 2004, Modamag.com published a lenghty interview with Garrett Wang, Star Trek: Voyager's Ensign Harry Kim.

Read the full interview here.

A few highlights for discussion:

KA: Aside from a strong camaraderie amongst the cast, you’ve been a bit outspoken regarding Rick Berman’s treatment of the show…

GW: Yeah… (laughing) Much to my detriment, actually, yes. That’s what happens when you sit there and you tell it like it is to people who have power; they don’t like it. I’m the only person who’s ever publicly spoken about anything regarding Rick Berman in a negative way. This is a free country. You’re entitled to your criticisms and I think my criticisms were valid. I think most people, other actors or people who work on the show, if you pulled them off on an aside and said “Okay, there’s no Rick around. Let me ask you, what do you think of what I said?” I think 99% of them would say “I agree with you that he didn’t take the risks he could have.” That’s all I said and it was in reference to the fact that the man came in, took over from Gene Roddenberry, plugged in a formula and kept that same formula for “Next Generation,” every episode of “Deep Space Nine,” every episode of “Voyager” and after a while, you’re talking about 21 years worth of episodes. Man, you better start changing your formula a little bit just to keep it fresh.

Look at TV today. Look how edgy it is. Look at something like “The Shield.” Look at “Nip/Tuck.” Some of these shows are just going above and beyond what anybody’s ever seen. That’s all I said to Rick, who is somebody used to nobody saying anything negative about him publicly. I’m sure he saw this and was like “Okay, fine. Alright. You wanna do that? You want to play hardball? I’ll show you what hardball is.” The result of that is I’m the first actor in the history of “Star Trek” to be refused a directing job.

KA: You’re kidding?

GW: Believe me, I asked in Season 5, Season 6, Season 7… “No, no, no.” And all not from him. It was always through messages. He would never talk to me and say “no” to my face. His comment was “What am I running, a director’s school here?” And the sad part of the whole situation is, of all the actors who have directed, none of them have been as much of a fan of science fiction as I have been. Most of those actors directed because they wanted their DGA card, they wanted to move on to bigger and better things, or they wanted a career in directing. For me, I wanted to direct “Voyager.” I wanted to put my stamp on “Voyager.” I wanted to make “Voyager” better. Everything I wanted to do was about directing science fiction, specifically directing “Star Trek” and that’s what kills me. He basically turned down the one person who would have given him, in my estimation, the best first-directed (for an actor) episode ever and I was standing by my guns on that.

At the time that everybody wanted to direct, I didn’t ask because it was such a stampede. It was Tim Russ, Roxanne, Robbie McNeill — Robbie had already been set to direct an episode by this time — and Bob Picardo…all butting heads and elbowing each other to get in to direct at the same time. I remember they were observing Les Landau directing “The Chute.” All three of them were cramming in there and I said to myself “That’s fine. They can do their thing because when they direct during Season 4, that’s when I’m going to start observing and Season 5 is when I’m going to direct.” That was my game plan and it’s going to be known that Garrett Wang directed the best first-directed episode of “Star Trek” ever. That was what I was aspiring to. I was going to kick some major booty, but, of course, those plans got derailed.

At this point, it’s been three years since the end of the show. I’m more matter-of-fact about this information. Usually I get really riled up when I talk about it, but I’m starting to look at stuff, like the five years of fighting with my parents, and realizing how it actually ended up helping me. My not becoming a fan of “Next Generation” helped me in my “Voyager” audition and I think somehow, some way, shape or form, it hasn’t manifested itself yet, but Rick Berman saying “no” to me is somehow to push me in some other direction also...

KA: Well, I think I came up with a theory as to what Rick Berman’s problem might have been with you. I think he was jealous that, in 1997, you were chosen as one of the 50 Most Beautiful People in People Magazine and he wasn’t. How did you find out about that?

GW: It was very weird. The only hook that people were interested in during the first couple of seasons was the first woman captain, so Janeway got the brunt of every single interview or major magazine piece. Everything was her…all about her. Bob Picardo would be utilized once in a while because people consider him the breakout character on the show. But, I remember how ridiculous it was. The day I fired my third publicist was just after I found out that both Kate Mulgrew and Bob Picardo were guests on Jon Stewart’s first talk show on MTV. And I said “What the hell? Why aren’t Jennifer Lien and myself on that. Why would they have Kate and Bob? Who’s going to be watching MTV going ‘Yeah, I want to watch my uncle and my aunt’?” So at that point, I thought “This is ridiculous. I’m wasting my money on a publicist.”

Maybe three of four days later, I get a call from somebody at UPN’s publicity department going “Garrett, they want you for People Magazine. They want you for the 50 Most Beautiful People. How did you do this?” I had no idea. I didn’t even have a publicist anymore and it just happened. And then I got another call. “E-Channel wants to do the 20 Coolest Bachelors and you’ve been picked as one of the 20.” It was sort of like the week where I got 5 commercials, only this time I got two major pieces of publicity.

I dug a little further and found out that somebody had been in the audience when I was on stage at a Starcon event in Denver, Colorado. There were probably about 3,000 people there, so it was a pretty big turnout. Everyone could see what was going on and I remember that was probably one of my best stage presentations ever. Everything flowed into everything else and there were funny things that happened along the way. For instance, I was wearing an Armani suit on stage and I hadn’t zipped up my zipper. People had been waving at me and my girlfriend was in the audience, so she had seen it, and they were trying to get my attention. I finally talked to somebody about 20 minutes into it and they told me “You have to zip up your zipper.” I’m like “Oh, my God.” (laughing) And, of course, I didn’t hide it. I told the audience everything and they just started cracking up, but even mishaps like that just fed into everything.

When I got off stage, Armin Shimerman was sitting there because he was going on after me, and he told me “Oh, my God. You were unbelievable! How am I going to follow that? You blew them away.” It turns out that somebody in that audience had some connection with People Magazine and called their people at People and said “Listen, there’s this kid…why not him?” And boom, it happened. In the history of Trek, it’s just me and Patrick Stewart. You know, that’s pretty good company to be in who have made the 50 Most Beautiful People.

Comments and Discussion

Related Article: In Defense of Rick Berman