I don't Berman's a bad guy, either. He did what he thought was right to keep old fans, generate new ones, and get ratings. And he did a good job for a long time. The problem was lack of new blood, which is needed to keep any franchise going. Look at what happened with DS9 once B&B had to back off the daily duties: it grew into the best of the Trek series, but was still "Trek", still true to the universe Gene created. (Though Gene would have been upset at some of the less than perfect humans in Starfleet, but that was the good thing about it).
-------------- Original message -------------- From: "Tracey de Morsella (formerly Tracey L. Minor)" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > A Roddenberry Perspective On Star Trek > > By MICHAEL HINMAN > Source: SyFy Portal > Nov-12-2007 > http://www.syfyportal.com/pagetogether.php?id=4423&page=3 > If you let him tell the story, Eugene W. Roddenberry will tell you that > he was asked to host this week's special theatrical presentations of the > original "Star Trek" episode "The Menagerie" because his name is Eugene > W. Roddenberry. Of course, what Roddenberry always fails to mention that > since his father Gene passed away in 1991 when the younger Roddenberry > was just a teenager, he has become a champion of Star Trek fans > worldwide. And for many fans, there is no one better to present his > father's original work on the big screen for the first time. > > "Truth be told, I'm the cheapest one out of everyone involved," > Roddenberry jokingly told SyFy Portal's Michael Hinman ahead of the > special two-night screenings that begin Nov. 13. > > "The Menagerie" -- the original two-part episode that served as sort of > an "envelope" to the original pilot, "The Cage" -- will be shown Tuesday > and Thursday on select movie screens across the United States. The > episode focuses on Spock (Leonard Nimoy) finding his former commanding > officer, Capt. Christopher Pike, severely disabled after a training > accident. Acting on compassion, he kidnaps Pike and steals the > Enterprise. However, Capt. Kirk (William Shatner) is able to catch up > with the Enterprise on a shuttlecraft, and Spock is court martialed in a > trial that includes flashbacks to the original first mission of the > valiant starship. > > "'The Cage' was my father's original concept for 'Star Trek' and the one > NBC said was too intellectual for their audience," Roddenberry said. > "When people watch this on the screen, it is the beginning of Star Trek, > the ultimate idea of what my father wanted to get out there, that > humanity won't be caged, human beings wanted to explore, they wanted to > be free." > > CBS Corp., which now owns the rights to the television side of Star Trek > following the Viacom split, has been presenting the classic episodes in > a remastered fashion, including new special effects. "The Menagerie" > screenings will include such new effects, as well as digital > enhancements, that will open it up to entirely new audiences, but that > doesn't mean some long-time fans aren't a bit resistant to the idea. > Even Roddenberry said when he first learned of the remastering, he was > willing to support it as long as the studio didn't go crazy in changing > storylines, like some claimed happened in the reworked versions of the > Star Wars trilogy in the 1990s. > > "The minute they have a scene that originally was supposed to have Kirk > walk in the background and now he wasn't, that's when I would have a > problem," Roddenberry said. "If they enhance a city, or a phaser, or the > beaming effect, I'm good with that." > > Although he said he wouldn't support it at all if he was against it, > the fact that he does and is showing support for the remastered episodes > through his appearance in the film and making a personal appearance > during Tuesday's screening in Burbank, Calif., Roddenberry hopes to > build what he considers a new, stronger relationship between the > Roddenberry family and the media conglomerate that owns the rights to > one of the most successful science-fiction franchises in human history. > It's a relationship that historically Roddenberry best describes as a > "love-hate." > > "CBS coming in new, not knowing some of this stuff in the past, is both > a blessing and a curse," Roddenberry said. While some of the negative > history may be forgotten -- the family and Paramount had clashed for > years over licensing issues related to Trek among other things -- there > also remains the possibility that despite a building bearing his > father's name on the Paramount lot, and the fact that many believe Star > Trek was the saving grace of Paramount, the Roddenberry family will be > pushed aside as if they were no one special. > > "It's not about getting paid more money," Roddenberry said. "Say I > wanted to have permission to come on to the set of the new movie that's > filming, I would like to be able to call the proper person and get the > proper permission and come on. I haven't asked to do that yet, but if I > did, I would hope that having a Roddenberry visit would be something > they were willing to do." > > Roddenberry did meet with J.J. Abrams, the director of the new film, > earlier this year in what was described as an informal breakfast meeting > in California. The meeting was cordial, but it was not to see if the > younger Roddenberry would like to come on board the new production, or > even to get feedback on the story. > > "I got the impression that they were just finding out if I was going to > be a problem or not," Roddenberry said. "I am outspoken, and I'm not > afraid to share my opinion. If I read the script and didn't like it, or > thought it didn't follow the Roddenberry philosophy, I wouldn't bash > them. I just wouldn't say anything at all. I just won't be a yes-man." > > If anyone could continue carrying the torch of Star Trek, it could > definitely be Abrams, Roddenberry said. > > "I think J.J. is a genuine fan, and I think he knows what fans want," he > said. "I think we will still see Star Trek in it, but are they going to > try and reinvent Star Trek? I don't know. I know they're not saying, > 'Fuck what happened before, we're going to do what we want.' And that's > good." > > "Star Trek XI" will mark the first Star Trek production in nearly 20 > years that will not include Rick Berman, who was the "hand-picked" > torchbearer for Star Trek following the death of Gene Roddenberry. Since > the demise of "Star Trek: Enterprise" in 2005, fan hatred of Berman has > continued to grow, and his departure from the franchise last year was > celebrated, not mourned. Roddenberry, however, says there's a lot about > Berman that is misunderstood in fandom. > > "I begged him to start speaking at conventions," Roddenberry said. "He's > not Gene Roddenberry. If I took over Star Trek, I would've been torn to > shit, too, because I'm not Gene Roddenberry, either. > > "To me, Rick Berman is a sweetheart. The guy had a lot of external > pressures, and on top of that, he had to fill Gene Roddenberry's shoes. > And he deserves a lot of credit for pulling off what he did." > > "Star Trek: The Menagerie" will hit the big screen in select theaters > across the United States on Nov. 13, and have two additional showings on > Nov. 15. It will be shown in its original television dimension > > > > Yahoo! Groups Links > > > [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
