by Dennis Polifroni
Remakes and reboots don’t fare well. Often, the best intentions are squashed by high anticipations and a kind of hopeful euphoria that occurs when a beloved property is seemingly resuscitated for a new generation of watchers and/or listeners. At the movies, STAR WARS fans are, for the most part, still reeling over the newest installments in the franchise and, oft times than not, bitching that there was never really a need to contaminate the memory of the series first trio of classic adventure films. Is there really a need for 2017’s BLADE RUNNER 2049? Haven’t we said farewell to the amnesiac JASON BOURNE? Most of the time, repeated visits to the well yield pretty dirty and murky drinking water.
However, lightning sometimes does strike twice (and even a third or fourth time), and, in the cases of the big screen adaptations of Batman and James Bond, even reemerge with tremendous results (who can really argue with Daniel Craig’s 007 or Christian Bale’s Dark Knight?). But, television? It had never really been tried. That is, until STAR TREK.
STAR TREK (1966-1969) was a problem series in it’s initial run on the tube. While it was often hailed as “creative” and “visionary” for its time, the show was constantly on the verge of being cancelled because of low ratings and “select audience” viewership. The adventures of the crew of the Starship U. S. S. Enterprise seemed to appeal only to Sci-Fi and Horror geeks and to a select few who would take the chance on something completely different from the generic cop dramas, doctor shows, westerns and new “Lucy” incarnations that inundated the three big networks of the time. As dazzling, creative, daring and original as some of the episodes were, the general perception of STAR TREK was that it was for kids and junkies of the genre. By 1969, even after surviving a first-to-second season, write-in plea to keep the show on the air, the head honchos at NBC finally pulled the plug.
Yet, time can be funny. Sometimes the legend of a thing absolutely outgrows the actual facts about it and something that was long thought of as “forgotten” grows to legendary status in the minds and imaginations of those that remember that thing fondly. STAR TREK’s fans never stopped thinking and talking about it. When the series started making its rounds on the syndication circuit in the form of “re-runs”, those fans became talking heads that urged and inspired even more people than initially watched, to watch, and the legend of STAR TREK grew like a snowball rolling down a white covered mountain. The success of several theatrical films based on the original series didn’t hurt in helping the series gain it’s “Classic” status. By the time the third film (STAR TREK III: THE SEARCH FOR SPOCK) was released in 1984, STAR TREK fever was spreading across the globe like wild-fire.
Studio Executives are not stupid when it comes to money and making more of it. In 1985, the heads of Paramount Pictures, who had taken a chance with STAR TREK in the 60’s, now saw the property as their “Crown Jewel” and immediately looked for a way, outside of the films that would release every few years, to get more bang for their STAR TREK buck. A second series, STAR TREK: PHASE II, had been proposed to the studio back in the early 70’s. The shows creator, Gene Roddenberry, had been incensed over the original shows premature cancellation and had theorized that the popularity the show was seeing in re-runs would fuel a resurgence of interest in producing more episodes. However, the original cast wanted a TON of money to come back to the characters they created and the closest Roddenberry could get to rebooting was a short lived, half-hour a week, Saturday morning, animated series that the cast would do for half price.
T. V. Execs have short memories when it comes to the bad news of the past they doled out and, basically, went crawling to Roddenberry for more.
STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION was NOT the show that Paramount wanted. Initially the plan was to bring back the PHASE II idea and hope to negotiate deals with the likes of Leonard Nimoy and William Shatner (Mr. Spock and Captain Kirk of the Original Series) as the stars once again. Roddenberry, a futurist and a believer in a kind of good world socialism, where we all pull together for each other and, finally, hone in on what will make our planet and universe better, had a much larger idea for the new series. Hinting at the type of future he believed was OUR destiny in the original series and, even more, in the films, Roddenberry decided to scrape Paramount’s concept of just “more of the same” and create, on top of the bones of the original series premise (the 5 year mission of deep space exploration), a universe that deeply reflected his belief in a future where everyone is equal, money and monetary gain has no meaning anymore, and artistic creation, scientific advancement and discovery, deep sea and space exploration would become the things we are truly meant for. Considering all this, the show would then have to take place much later in the time-line he initially dreamt up for the Original Series and a new cast of characters and designs for the production would have to go into effect.
Looking at it now, STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION looks like the norm to most that remember watching it when it first aired. Gone are the thoughts that the show had a tumultuous time getting backing from a Network because it wasn’t the show that ABC, CBS and NBC was expecting to consider for addition to one of their schedules. Passed on by all of them, FOX, looking to launch its new Network with a powerhouse, would only commit to 13 episodes, instead of the standard 26 for a series. “Syndicated First Run” (meaning that syndicated channels would run a show in their state as an “Exclusive”) came in and saved the day. By going with syndication, the channels running STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION would almost guarantee bigger viewerships and sell advertising time (splitting profits with Paramount) for huge sums of money. This, in and of itself (and providing that the show was, indeed, GOOD), became a win-win situation for everyone involved. If the show garnered BIG attention from viewers, more money would be generated without having to pay the huge fees that the “big 4” Networks were demanding for distribution and air-time and Roddenberry would get the chance to tell all the stories about his dream society that he always wanted to tell.
STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION has, above all the things the Original Series had, epic scope. While the first series gave us different peoples and plots that hinted at worlds and societies out there in the vast regions of the universe, STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION actually showed us, and visited, those worlds and societies. The series also took a deeply SERIOUS attitude towards the depiction of the world they were creating around their characters. Gone was all the campiness that regularly dotted the Original Series and the people it portrayed, both in the writing and in the physical production of the show. The new series was about giving the viewer a peek through a window at the future WE SHOULD WANT to come to fruition. It’s a future where every person on Earth is regarded with respect and dignity regardless of their age, sex, color and beliefs. The Earth of THE NEXT GENERATION was a place worth saving from various villains plans of destruction. As such, the Enterprise, and the Earth it hails from, took on a sleeker and more futuristic design. The edges of everything physical seem rounder, smoother, and looked and hummed with efficiency. Even the uniforms took on a more rounded, slicker design. To look at STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION was to gave us all a view into technology that wouldn’t be long in becoming a reality (take a look at the touch-screens that are used on the bridge of the Enterprise. They reek of Apple’s IPad and IPhone. The ship’s “Holodeck”, that room that recreates environments and people that are not really there, for our pleasure, hints at today’s Virtual Reality programs) and, in the end, we are totally sold on a time and a place we can actually believe is a possibility for humanity in years to come. The history of the show’s time-line included a great world war and a post-apocalyptic “Nightmare” (referenced in the pilot episode of the series, ENCOUNTER AT FARPOINT) that helped the societies of Earth come together as one enormous helping-hand of unity and, thus, explain Roddenberry’s vision for the aforementioned “good world socialism”. In short, the world of the series was a place we all wanted to live in.
With the changes to back-drop and history, the show also saw an overhaul in regards to the characters. Gone was the philosophical and emotional triumvirate that saw Captain Kirk (William Shatner) blend the two parts of the weekly debate fought at by his highest ranking officers, Mr. Spock (Logical-played by Leonard Nimoy) and Dr. McCoy (Emotional-played by DeForrest Kelly), and IN was the worldly, scholarly, philosophical and RESPECTED, Jean Luc Picard, a man that rarely couldn’t figure out the problem himself, and usually did so with great finesse and aplomb.
With Picard, also came the casting of Patrick Stewart. A veteran of the Shakespearean stage in London and a character actor who made his bones in prestigious TV productions like I, CLAVDIVS (the No. 6 show on MY ballot), the professionalism and seriousness of his persona demanded and inspired a far more serious take from the supporting actors for their characters on the show. At first a little jarring to those tuning into STAR TREK THE NEXT GENERATION during its first run, as nobody was expecting an older, more serious and BALD actor as Captain, and had every expectation of a William Shatner clone, Stewart quickly dispelled any misgivings about his casting by acting the shit out of the character. Picard was a full-bodied, full-blooded, THINKING man of great passions and interests, in both scientific discovery and art, and Stewart, who has made a career with those same interests applied to his craft, fit the character as perfectly as the glove O. J. used to kill his wife and Ron Goldman. Thinking back on the 7 years Stewart played Picard, I don’t think anyone would disagree, particularly considering his dynamic turns in stand-out episodes like “The Measure of a Man”, “Sarek”, “Yesterday’s Enterprise”, “The Perfect Mate”, “Darmok”, “The Best of Both Worlds”, “All Good Things” and the series two greatest episodes, “Family” and “The Inner Light”, that there were, simply stated, ten better actors working in drama on television at the time (to this day, it still mystifies me that Stewart NEVER received a nomination, let alone a win, for BEST ACTOR IN A DRAMA SERIES at the Emmy’s during the entire run of the show).
With Stewart as an inspiration, the rest of the cast fell into line and helped, by way of serious interpretation and a bare minimum of camp, create iconic characters that followed Roddenberry’s future world view. Jonathan Frakes was the perfect embodiment of physical intimidation and cool guy charm as First Officer (and Picard’s right-hand-man) William Riker. Brent Spiner brought a perfect balance of technical knowledge and childlike innocence to his performance as the android, Lt. Commander Data. Rounding out the rest of the most important members of the cast was LeVar Burton as the blind engineer, Geordi LaForge, and the imposing Michael Dorn as the Klingon Security Chief, Lt. Commander Worf. Yet, aside from Picard, the character and actor that seemed to receive the most attention was 15 year old Wil Wheaton’s Ensign Wesley Crusher. Wheaton, at the time of the premiere of the series, was probably the most well known actor on the show. Having received critical raves, 6 months earlier, for his turn as a distraught youth with a big secret in Rob Reiner’s Stephen King adaptation, STAND BY ME, Wheaton helped bring alot of young teenage girls to viewership even though many complained that the inclusion of a “kid genius” on the bridge of the Enterprise was a slap in the face to the logic of the science and philosophy of the stories. Personally, I never had a problem with the character, or the actor playing him, and often found the solutions and innovations that Wesley brought to the show, as well as a serious dramatic sticking point to Captain Picard’s past (Picard blames himself for the death of Wesley’s father, his old friend and Starfleet comrade, Jack Crusher) both inventive and dramatically resonant. While Wheatons presence caused a lot of ballyhoo, it also conquered a demographic that the Executives were thrilled to add to the success of the show.
Mostly, though, as with the Original Series, it was the writing that sealed the fate of the show as one of the greats in television history and the short list of amazing authors on the series was longer than most peoples arm length. D. C. Fontana, a veteran of the original series, started the ball rolling in the first season and from that point on the baton was handed, again and again, to the likes of Bob Justman, Eddie Milkis, David Gerrold, Ronald D. Moore (the shows KLINGON expert and, later, creator/head-writer and show-runner of 2003’s amazing BATTLESTAR GALACTICA-No. 47 on MY ballot), Ira Steven Behr, Brannon Braga and Peter Allan Fields. Their contributions to the show, and helping in creating the future world that Roddenberry so firmly believed was a possibility, were incalculable to the universal staying power of the series as both a fan favorite and a respected addition to television drama/Sci-Fi legend.
However, if there was one scribe that vaulted above them all, it was a writer accidentally bolting onto the center stage as a one-shot, freelancer.
With a SINGLE writing credit on the show, the entire series has, literally, fallen into that place of TV immortality with Morgan Gendel’s story pitch and screenplay for season 5’s penultimate episode, THE INNER LIGHT. Sure, the series was already well on it’s way to being considered one of the finest works of Science Fiction at the time, but it was THE INNER LIGHT that took the series to a place that only Sci-Fi legend, Harlan Ellison’s episode, THE CITY ON THE EDGE OF FOREVER, took the original series: almost beyond rational comprehension and into the realms of ethereal emotion.
(BEWARE: SPOILER ALERT!)
In the episode, the Enterprise encounters a satellite that Data has theorized is centuries old. When the ship locks it’s tractor beam onto the probe to haul it on board for study, the satellite emits a beam into the Enterprise and connects itselfs directly into Captain Picard’s brain, knocking him unconscious. As Riker and Dr. Crusher scurry to disconnect the beam from their beloved friend, they begin to realize that removing it may kill Picard.
Meanwhile, as Picard sleeps, he awakens in a strange house, in a town on a planet he’s never heard of, Kataan. The woman that sits over him, as he opens his eyes, professes to be his wife, Helene, and proceeds to tell him that they have been married for two years and that he was just coming back to consciousness after a long bout of fever brought on by pneumonia. The rest of the episode follows PIcard as he lives an entire 60 year life on Kataan, chocking up his time on, and life before, the Enterprise as a fevered dream that the pneumonia brought on. For all intensive purposes he is Kamen, pillar of the community, family man and a scientist hell-bent on finding a way to keep his people alive as Kataan slowly dies of worsening drought.
The episode is a special one in that it perfectly plays up on the Sci-Fi pinnings and ironic twists that made the Original Series a classic and THE NEXT GENERATION a nominee in the same race for television immortality. It’s the series BEST as it also paid the audience back for their devotion to the show and, particularly their acceptance, fascination and LOVE for Picard and Patrick Stewart. Long had the fans felt Picards quiet pains and regrets in giving up a normal life, and the prospects of family, for a career in Starfleet. The questioning of his decisions loomed over episodes like season 4’s FAMILY (where Picard goes back to his family home in France for shore leave) and season 2’s SAMARITAN SNARE (Picard bonds with Wesley during a shuttle flight and tells him a story of regret from his past) and insight into his longings were often questioned by the fans through letters to the studio and aimed at Roddenberry. THE INNER LIGHT gave the fans something they always pondered and never expected, and bestowed upon a character that they not only held dear as a hero, but as a friend, all the things he ever truly wanted to make his life a complete one. The story struck such a universal chord with both the viewers and those in the industry of television writing that the episode won the series, and Gendel, the coveted HUGO award for Best Dramatic Writing of the Year (an honor only the aforementioned CITY ON THE EDGE OF FOREVER ever achieved for the Original Series and that rarely goes to a TV production). THE INNER LIGHT proved, as so many episodes tried to do before it, that STAR TREK, in any of it’s many incarnations, was far more than just nifty plots and stories about aliens from distant worlds, spaceship battles and pyrotechnics. It proved that STAR TREK was a human morality play. A play about the way things could and should be. It’s about the kind of humanity that we all have deep within us. It’s about the good in us all, the love we have for our family and friends and, well, all people from all over the world. It’s about learning from our past to make our future a better place for the generations we hope will continue what we started with good intention.
But, above all else, STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION is about our dreams.
STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION
(1987-1994 DVD, Blu-Ray)
p. Gene Roddenberry, Rick Berman, Maurice Hurley, Michael Pillar, Jeri Taylor d. Various w. Bob Justman, D. C. Fontana, Eddie Milkis, David Gerrold, Ronald D. Moore, Ira Steven Behr, Brannon Braga, Morgan Gendel, Peter Allan Fields based on “Star Trek” created by Gene Roddenberry ph. Edward R. Brown, Marvin V. Rush, Johnathan West m. Dennis McCarthy, Ron Jones, Jay Chattaway title theme. Alexander Courage, Jerry Goldsmith
Patrick Stewart (Capt. Jean Luc Picard), Jonathan Frakes (Com. William Riker), Brent Spiner (Lt Com. Data), LeVar Burton (Com. Geordi LaForge), Mirina Sirtis (Counselor Deanna Troi), Denise Crosby (Lt. Tasha Yar), Michael Dorn (Lt. Worf), Gates McFadden (Dr. Beverly Crusher), Diana Muldaur (Dr. Katherine Pulaski), Colm Meany (Chief Miles O’Brien), Wil Wheaton (Ensign Wesley Crusher), Whoopi Goldberg (Guinan), Brian Bonsall (Alexander Rhoszhenko), Michelle Forbes (Ensign Ro Laren), Rosalind Chao (Keiko O’Brien), Patti Yasutake (Alyssa Ogawa), Dwight Schultz (Lt. Reginald Barclay) and John DeLancie (Q)
