From: Bryon Daly <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Reply-To: Killer Bs Discussion <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: Killer Bs Discussion <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: Re: L3 Re: Your Favorite SciFi/Fantasy Movie Soundtrack? Date: Mon, 24 Feb 2003 21:15:01 -0500
Reggie Bautista wrote:
Well, JMS wrote probably 80% (or more!) of the B5 episodes, and the rest were
written to conform to his story arc, whereas I'm not sure Roddenberry wrote
any ST episodes...
Rodenberry was actively involved in the writing (and mostly, rewriting)of Star Trek episodes, especially during the first two seasons of TOS. He was also involved heavily, although to a lesser degree, in the first three seasons of TNG Regarding his writing credits, it is worth mentioning that "The Menagerie", written by Gene, won the Hugo Award. He also wrote "Return of the Archons". "Charlie X" and "Mudd's Women", although credited to other writers, boast a "Story by Gene Rodenberry" by-line.
In Bob Justman's "Inside Star Trek", TOS's Executive Producer tells of extensive rewrites upon rewrites by Gene of almost *all* the episodes of the first two seasons. Gene's active involvement on these drove him almost to the point of exhaustion.
Further, all the clichés that
were getting tired at the end of TNG (ie: holodeck adventure/accident, stranded on
a planet due to a shuttle crash, etc) were getting recycled by the writers on DS9
(and again later, on Voyager...)
By the times DS9 and Voyager came around, those clichés had been around for 25 years. They had been imprinted deeply into our subconscious, to the point where most probably, anyone of us were able to nitpick Star Trek very successfully and accurately. :-)
Re: Voyager,
After watching it, I posted
a writeup mocking it on R.A.ST, got a few laughs, and then realized that I was
getting more annoyance than entertainment, and sadly gave up. I think this was
around the same time Tim Lynch (probably the most widely read ST episode
reviewer on USENET) also gave up on Voyager.
I never really gave up on Voyager. I had to stop watching the episodes halfway into the third season because UPN was removed from my cable lineup at the time. But I always managed to get the episode tapes on loan from friends of mine. If I have to be honest, I have less complaints regarding quality of stories from Voyager than from DS9. My feeling is that, by the time Voyager came around, the writers of the show had already figured out how to try to avoid the pitfalls that they walked themselves into with DS9. So, I will give them high marks for that. Whether or not this reflected on ratings, that's another story. But I think the show had a very good run, and I think it's popularity is testament to being quite an improvement from DS9.
IMHO, the network execs think ST fans are stupid...
Funny you should say that. This reminds me of an anecdote that I want to share with you guys.
I was lucky to attend a Trek convention hosted by Rodenberry's personal assistant, Richard Arnold (who, and I had forgotten this, has functioned as consultant for the Trek shows) he was asked *why* the writers and the producers were getting into the habit of paying attention to continuity issues within the Star Trek universe. Bear in mind that most fans were shocked at such blatant disregards of Trek-continuities, as they were starting to be displayed shortly after Gene's death. His response was simple, and I quote: "because the writers and the producers think you guys are STUPID, and you won't notice any of this".
So, I guess you were right in your statement. :)
It cannot be denied that Rodenberry was very consistent in keeping a close eye on the state of the Trek franchise. Scripts, storylines, character development, etc. all followed a strict code of his very unique brand guidelines for Trek. He may have been many things to many people, but he guarded himself and Trek from falling into plot inconsistencies which strayed from the formula and his canons of what works for Star Trek.
He pampered Trek fans too much, perhaps. But he made it his duty to keep in touch with what the fans were feeling about Trek and tried to incorporate ideas into scripts which were developed during Q&A sessions in Sci-Fi conventions, etc. I'd like to see Berman try that.
Rick Berman, on the other hand, acts very detached when it comes to dealing with the fans. Rodenberry was extremely good at self-promotion which, in turn, reverberated in positive feedback from the fans and a feeling of goodwill towards his production values. While Rodenberry appeared to keep an eye on what fans felt, Berman has been very vociferous about his criticisms towards the feelings of over-protectiveness that the fans exhibit towards Trek. He probably doesn't care as much as Gene did on this respect and it shows. Bad PR from his part, by the way.
Episodes like "Sub Rosa", where the crew of TNG actually flirted with the idea of meeting ghosts.. I mean, COME ON.. Rodenberry kept TNG away from those plot inconsistencies.
When DS9 ended, Ron Moore
moved on to Voyager, and he tried to make some changes and add new ideas, so they
booted him. I think those are the reasons why the ST franchise is dying. As you can
see, I'm a little bitter about the Star Trek franchise. It had/has the potential to be *so*
good, and yet I've been so constantly disappointed, that I've mostly given up.
I share that feeling. That is exactly what I get from all the fans I talk to. I am not angry at what Trek turned out to be. I'm angry at what it could've been, if some simple story guidelines had been followed. Why tamper with a formula that was so successful is beyond me.
JJ
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