01x06 - Queue for Q

[bunniefuu]

NARRATOR:

These are the voyages

of the Starship Enterprise.

GATES: By the mid-80s,

Gene Roddenberry's

original Wagon Train

to the Stars,

was still rumbling along

on syndicated TV.

The ratings are actually better,

and people are watching

this show now

for the third, fourth, fifth,

sixth, seventh time.

GATES: Star Trek was no longer

simply a canceled tv show

on move.

Three lucrative movies

had transformed the franchise

into a blockbuster.

Star Trek two, three and four

are just really great movies,

GATES: But when it came

to this wagon train,

Gene had already fallen off.

MAN: He had been screwed over,

and he wasn't getting

any ownership money.

Paramount was rejecting

his scripts.

They saw him as the enemy.

GATES:

Relegated to the sidelines,

Gene could only join

the growing audience.

and watch as Star Trek took off

without him.

So beam aboard

and hold on tight

as we boldly go into

the depths of Star Trek.

And you can see it all

from here in the center seat.

Take us home.



is a huge hit.

Everybody remember

where we parked.

Star Trek was heating up.

DAVID:

Star Trek is the most

profitable property

that Paramount has.

GATES:

It may have been profitable,

but Paramount wasn't

admitting it.

At least not to Gene.

Gene Roddenberry owned 20%

of Star Trek

and Shatner owned 5%.

GATES: Which sounds like

more than a little,

but in fact...

Neither of them

had gotten a penny.

GATES: Paramount's excuse,

Star Trek was penniless.

Paramount said it's in the red.

[CHUCKLES]

It's the most successful show

on reruns.

It's now out on home video.

It's in the red?

GATES: Gene knew Star Trek

was a gold mine,

and if he needed

any confirmation,

it came to him one day

on the golf course.

DAVID: Gene was

golfing one day

with one of the studio lawyers.

And the lawyer

said, "Let's make

the next hole interesting."

Gene says. "I tell you what,

let's make it

really interesting.

How about my royalties

on Star Trek?"

[LAUGHING] And they both laugh.

And Gene says,

"What do you think

those royalties

would really be worth?"

And the lawyer looks one way,

looks the other way,

and says

"Probably about 30 million."

GATES: And more was to come,

because Paramount

wanted to bring Star Trek back

to the small screen.

with a new show.

[WOMAN] The stations

were pushing

to bring it back,

and we had tried

to re-launch it

in 81, 82, 83,

but it never really happened.

So for the next few years,

they're going back and forth.

We want to bring Star Trek back.

GATES: The next generation

of Star Trek

was going to require

the next generation

of executives.

My name is Lucie Salhany.

GATES:

Lucie and her colleagues

had an idea

that had never been

tried before.

Let us syndicate.

GATES:

Selling a brand new Star Trek

straight into syndication.

LUCIE: That means selling

a show station by station.

We will sell the original '79,

and we will sell them

the new Star Trek.

GATES: Local stations

got their new Star Trek,

and Paramount kept

a share of advertising.

We took half of their

advertising time

within that 60 minutes.

So we kept seven minutes.

The station's got seven minutes.

And those seven minutes would be

three to four times

more valuable

than any programming

they would be running

in that time period

if the show worked.

GATES: Which was a big if.

It was a gamble

those stations took.

GATES:

And it was all about

the numbers.

So we'll have

this foundation of money

from the original TV show,

and the advertising revenue

from the new Star Trek.

And that's how we paid

for the show.

[WHISTLES] Incredible.

GATES:

A new television business model

would enable

the next generation

of Star Trek.

Star Trek broke the mold again.

GATES:

But what would they call

this next generation?

We just kept talking about

this next generation.

I don't even know

how it came up.

but that's how

we named the show.

it was Star Trek:

The Next Generation.

GATES: The colon never

made it to screen,

but Star Trek

The Next Generation

was heading back into space.

We believed in Star Trek.

We believed it was the time.

We believed space was going

to be an important part

of what people were thinking

and talking about.

And we believed

in Gene Roddenberry.

GATES:

But Jean no longer believed

in Paramount.

So when it came to agreeing

for a new show,

before signing up,

Gene lawyered up.

MARC: He realized

that Paramount

needed Star Trek,

and he needed a strong lawyer.

GATES:

Gene's lawyer was a lot more

than just strong.

DAVID: Gene's lawyer was,

to put it politely,

one of the most despicable,

detestable,

vile human beings I have ever

had to deal with in any way.

I could not say enough

evil things about him.

When he came down

with a brain tumor,

I wanted to send a get well card

to the tumor.

GATES: But there was one

very notable thing

about Gene's lawyer.

He knew how to work a deal.

Gene and his lawyer,

Leonard Maizlish,

had negotiated a deal.

GATES: Not just any deal.

MARC: He wrote a contract

that said Roddenberry would get

a percentage of the ownership,

that he would get paid

by specific dates,

and that he would get

to inspect the books.

What are we going to call

this new series, Gene?

"Uh, I'll just put down

Star Trek."

MARC:

So Leonard writes the contract,

President of Paramount

signs it and everything else.

He says, "Congratulations.

Good to have you back

in the family."

Gene says,

"By the way,

I'm going to have my accountant

call next week

to look at the books."

He says, "Excuse me?"

He says, " No, really."

"We're going to audit

Star Trek."

"No, Gene,

there aren't any books.

We haven't started doing

he show yet."

And Gene says,

"Look at my contract."

"You just gave me the right.

The new contract

has auditing rights."

Leonard Maizlish didn't put

Star Trek The Next Generation.

He put Star Trek

and they signed it.

So Gene now had the right

to inspect the books

from the original Star Trek.

GATES: Paramount knew

all too well the story

those books could tell.

And suddenly, instead

of a penniless Star Trek,

it was pennies

from heaven for Gene.

"We'll give you

a million dollars payout

right now."

Rolls Royce was delivered

to his office at Paramount.

Hands him the key,

his brand new Rolls Royce,

and hands him a check.

DAVID: A bonus for signing

with Star Trek.

And then we'll pay you

an enormous amount

of money each week.

That's what Leonard Maizlish

was able to do

for Gene Roddenberry.

GATES:

So, thanks to Gene's lawyers.

He's getting

enormous amount of money.

I don't know how much,

but it was a lot.

GATES: More than that.

Gene Roddenberry

is running the show.

He's running it

more than he's gotten to do

any of the recent movies.

And as a result,

Gene Roddenberry

was always indebted

to Leonard Maizlish

and gave him a lot of power.

GATES: But since Leonard,

the lawyer had no power

over creative matters,

and with Gene

a bit under the weather.

He was having health issues.

His best years were behind him.

GATES: And so he asked

his two most trusted writers

from the original series

for help.

We asked Dorothy,

and he asked David Gerrold

to prepare the Bible.

GATES: This was

the perfect opportunity

to re-imagine Star Trek.

DAVID: Oh, great.

We can fix the

star dates.

We can fix the warp speed.

We can fix all of the stuff

that was inconsistent.

A manifest.

Yes, sir.

GATES:

If he was going to write

the show Bible,

David was going to write

a New Testament.

Let's have an older,

more thoughtful captain

who doesn't beam down

and put himself in danger.

The away team's ready, sir.

Energize.

Gene says, "Oh, I like that."

And Gene says, "Well, we need

a Spock character."

That is wise.

Well, we can't have a Vulcan.

I am an android,

though anatomically I am a male.

Let's do the opposite.

I seem to have reached

an odd, functional impasse.

Let's have an android who wants

to learn how to be human.

Intriguing.

I just, you know,

took a shot and did my best.

And happy to have a job.

GATES: Some of David's ideas

were truly radical.

And I said we could have

a Klingon on the bridge.

[LAUGHING]

Gene said, "No."

GATES:

But Gene was clinging on

to the past.

Dorothy came along later.

She said, "Let's have a Klingon

on the crew." Gene said, "No."

GATES: So Gene had doubled down

on no Klingons.

But he did want

original series writing legend,

D.C. Fontana's way with words.

He asked me will I please write

the pilot scripts.

Encounter at Farpoint,

and I said fine.

This Farpoint station

will be an excellent test.

We were telling people,

don't suggest

putting a Klingon on the ship.

Gene says no. When we get

to Encounter at Farpoint,

and Dorothy writes it

where Tasha Yar is in command.

And Gene rewrites it

and introduces

the character of Worf.

I am Lt. Worf.

So he won't have to have

a woman in the command chair.

GATES:

And suddenly David and Fontana

had their Klingon

on the bridge.

But Gene had burned

a bridge in the process.

She added to my pilot script.

And that was the first thing

that was a little disappointing.

I see. I see.

He added all the stuff

that had to do with Q.

We call ourselves The Q.

DAVID: Gene took her script,

and he adds the character of Q,

who is now testing

the Enterprise.

Gene only had one story.

We meet God.

And we beat the crap out of him.

The same old story

all over again.

GATES: Gene had a long history

of playing God

with the scripts.

Which I didn't particularly

care for.

But it's not my choice.

GATES:

This time Gene was not just

rewriting the script,

he was rewriting the deal.

I had to share

that script credit with him.

DAVID: He said,

"The studio wants

my name on it."

And this is Leonard Maizlish's

doing.

Dorothy was furious.

Gene had lied to her,

and he now was getting

half the credit

and half the money

on this script.

GATES:

Having been pushed aside

on her own pilot,

Gene threw Fontana

a small but lucrative bone.

DAVID: And this

is where it gets

really ugly.

GATES: She could write

the story as she saw fit,

but not for TV, for a book.

Publishing was going to give

$30,000 for the novelization.

GATES: Dorothy promptly wrote

the novelization

of her own episode.

And Dorothy had written

the novelization,

and she was done with it.

GATES:

But no matter how evil

her own villain in the book,

it was nothing compared to what

Leonard the lawyer had planned.

She's going to turn it in,

and Leonard Maizlish says,

"We're taking the novelization

away from you."

And he comes to me and says,

"Would you like to do

the novelization

of Encounter at Farpoint?"

So I said,

"Yeah, I can do that."

GATES: But Leonard Maizlish

was about to hit a roadblock

made of solid loyalty.

And its name was David Gerrold.

And then I go to Dorothy,

very privately.

I said, "I know you finished

the book,

and I know what

Leonard has done.

Give me your book. I'll turn

it in and give you the money."

I would do anything

for Dorothy Fontana.

If Leonard is gonna screw her,

he has to go through me.

GATES:

18 Earth years since its last

primetime adventure.

Star Trek was finally launching

a new mission.

Gene Roddenberry wanted to make

a Star Trek that was different

from what he had done

in the '60s.

Break us out of orbit.

And continue to

our next assignment.

GATES:

But this next generation

Star Trek

posed a next level challenge.

We must proceed in our own way.

GATES:

How to reshape the franchise

for a new generation

without losing touch

with Star Trek's roots.

LARRY: Every Star Trek

begins with

how do we make it

exactly like the others

except totally different?

MICHAEL: Gene was very proud

of what he had done

in the original series.

But he wasn't afraid

to shake things up.

GATES: Everything was up

for renegotiation.

The set design, the costumes,

the makeup, the hair design.

Everything had to be created new

and invented.

GATES: Including a new

and redesigned enterprise.

It seemed like everything

was new.

Gene had a very

definite directive to me.

No pistols.

These phasers have been retuned.

GATES: Which led

to a few new questions.

How do you hold an energy weapon

if it's not like a g*n?

Well, then it's like

a flashlight.

Hold it right there.

I think the first time

I pulled out my phaser,

I went [BUZZING] You know,

like I made a noise.

GATES: Actually, Denise

was on the right track.

And we redid the entire

sound library with modern sound.

everything had

to be familiar enough,

and yet new enough.

GATES:

Ships and g*ns were one thing,

but what about the people

to control them?

Star Trek had to find

a new leader.

And that person

had some big boots to fill.

You're from outer space?

No, I'm from Iowa.

I only work in outer space.

Gene wanted to have everything

be not original series.

And so what's

the totally opposite

you can be of an Iowa farm boy,

is a French guy.

I'm Capt. Jean-Luc Picard

of the USS Enterprise.

GATES: But it's a long way

from Iowa to Paris.

Well, we were used to Shatner.

The expectation is you're going

to get somebody like him.

GATES: A far bigger problem

was who should play

this aristocratic Frenchman.

What the devil am I doing here?

How many French actors

are we going to read?

GATES:

The answer was obvious.

An Englishman of course.

When they came up--

[CHUCKLES] we went,

Oh, my God!

GATES: Gene Roddenberry

was unconvinced.

Gene didn't want

Patrick Stewart.

GATES: He felt there

was something missing

about Patrick Stewart.

Gene didn't like the fact

that he was hairless.

Gene wanted it to be somebody

who looked like Jeffrey Hunter

or William Shatner.

That standard American

leading man.

GATES: Gene felt Star Trek

would be losing touch

with its roots,

if it cast a captain

that didn't have any,

but he was abundant

with something else.

He had a gravitas.

All right.

Gene was so impressed

by his acting. He said, okay.

GATES: But if Gene loved

Patrick's smooth acting,

he still wasn't a fan

of his smooth head.

This bald guy shows up

looking for the hair department

with his very proper

English accent.

He says,

"Hi, I'm Patrick Stewart."

And he has this box.

In the box were wigs

for a hair test.

Because Gene Roddenberry,

he was not about to have

a bald captain.

GATES: Who's to say whether

Patrick Stewart passed

or failed the hair test.

It was a little bit

of a shocker.

GATES: But then someone had

a bright idea.

MARC: Why not let him just be

what he is?

It won't be compared

to the original Star Trek.

As simple as that.

GATES: Of course,

what Patrick Stewart lacked

was not a problem.

It was the solution.

If they try to get

somebody like Shatner,

it's going to k*ll the show.

We need somebody different

that people will talk about.

GATES: Patrick Stewart's skull

was the least of Star Trek's

casting problems.

Creating that ensemble.

It's a...



is your casting.

GATES:

But not to worry because...

DAVID: Gene had a superpower

and it was casting.

He would go

with his gut feeling.

He will triumph

who knows when to fight.

DAVID: With the men,

he looked for people who

are capable of heroic deeds.

GATES: And for the women,

Gene was always

looking for women

who had a certain presence,

and you can see it

with Marina Sirtis

and Gates McFadden.

Their presence is compelling.

Dr. Crusher.

Captain.

GATES: As for my presence,

Yes, that's me.

I almost wasn't even present

at my audition.

I had come out to LA

for something else,

and I was on my way back

to the airport

when my agent said,

"Please go to Paramount

and audition."

"Well, what's the part?"

She said, "Just go, Just go."

I went there and they said,

"Yeah, any

of the women's roles."

Doctor, all I've got is--

is an order to report

to sickbay,

from the only person

aboard this ship

who can give you an order.

Gene made it very clear

that I was a high

ranking officer,

that Riker and Crusher

had the same rank.

And that If I felt

that the captain,

something was off

psychologically, medically,

I could asked him to step down.

I thought it was

a big step forward

for women in command positions.

The fact that she was a mother

and had to deal with her child

on the ship.

Mom, could you get me

a look at the bridge?

All of those things were

why I ultimately said yes.

PICARD: Mr. Crusher...

NARRATOR: Star Trek's first

single mom

would bring with her

Star Trek's first series

regular teenager.

I'm with Starfleet.

Gene really wanted a character

that kids could relate to.

Breathe.

Got to remember to breathe.

WIL: I was a super weird kid.

I was shy.

and I just felt so seen

by Star Trek.

So when I had an opportunity

to become part of Star Trek,

I was so nervous.

that I went in there,

and I just sucked.

I wasn't prepared at all.

I just blew it. And I left.

And I was like,

"Well, I just lost that job."

You judge your condition good?

I judge it excellent, sir.

NARRATOR: Denise Crosby

entered through

the back door,

thanks to a last minute

brainstorm,

and a trip to the movies.

We had seen Aliens,

and we were so impressed

with Vasquez...

The hard hitting heroine,

played by Jenette Goldstein.

So "We need a strong woman

like that." Gene says.

So I created, I called her,

Macha Hernandez.

"Oh, we can't

name her Macha.

That means l*sbian."

Yeah. [CHUCKLES]

What's your point?

All right, so they changed

the name to Tasha Yar.

Originally, I was reading

for the part of Counselor Troi.

I came in and read

for Rick Berman

and Gene Roddenberry,

and Gene said, "Would you mind

reading the part of Tasha Yar?"

Security Chief, I can't

just stand here and let--

Yes, you can, Lt. Yar

And Gene said,

I see it suddenly differently.

- Wesley?

- I haven't stepped one foot

on your bridge, Captain.

And for Wil Wheaton,

the door didn't shut.

Casting had called and said,

"He just wasn't what we know

he can be.

We want him to come back

and take another swing at it."

Sit down over there,

young man.

WIL: I went back

and I didn't suck.

That never happens.

I'm really lucky

and really grateful.

Generosity has always been

my... weakness.

NARRATOR: John de Lancie's

casting as Q

came from

the unlikely combination

of daytime TV, heart surgery,

and a lawyer pretending

to be someone else.

JOHN: A guy walks out, he said,

"I'm one of the producers."

He actually wasn't.

He was Gene's lawyer...

GATES: Leonard, the lawyer,

was back.

as a producer.

JOHN: And he said,

"This is a payback.

Four, five years ago,

I was flat on my back

with a quadruple

bypass operation.

Every day I would watch you..."

I had been on a soap opera.

You should have seen

the smile on her face.

"...and you made me laugh,

when I thought I was

going to die."

Leonard Maizlish brought me in,

and I was there at 6 o'clock

in the morning, on Monday.

Another brilliant suggestion.

NARRATOR: The question

for the producers was,

how would all of this play

In the Kingdom of Fandom?

There was an actual protest

about The Next Generation.

You're never going

to replace Kirk and Sp--.

You can't wipe away Kirk

and Spock and McCoy for us.

You know, the fans...

they just thought

we were k*lling the sacred cow.

Leonard Nimoy said that,

you know, how many times

could you create

lightning in a bottle?

It was unlikely that we were

going to be a success.

It is possible.

But absolutely no margin

for error.

Lightning or not,

things did get a little rattled

come opening night.

DE LANCIE:

When the show aired,

when I saw that crane shot,

and it came in like this...

[LAUGHS NERVOUSLY]

I went, "Oh, dear..."

[SQUEAKING]

I mean it was...

...it was out of a great comedy.

I mean, you just

couldn't make that up.

[LAUGHING] This show

isn't going to go anywhere.

NARRATOR: The first episode,

Encounter at Farpoint,

went shakily into the unknown

on September 28th, 1987.

Encounter at Farpoint to me,

is a strange hybrid.

It's way too long.

It's a two hour,

and it's really only got

enough story for an hour.

It's kind of undisciplined

and loose limbed. It kind of,

flops around a bit.

I don't see no points

on your ears, boy.

But you sound like a Vulcan.

But something about this

loose limbed, ill-disciplined

behemoth struck a chord.

The early returns

were phenomenal.

Far beyond what anybody

thought they would be.

And we knew we had

a major hit on our hands.

A feeling of great joy...

NARRATOR: It sure was.

...and gratitude.

But not for long.

GATES:

Despite a shaky debut,

Star Trek: The Next Generation

was an instant hit.

I feel strange, but also good.

This brand new chapter

was a breath of fresh air

for Gene Roddenberry's

aging franchise.

Hello, stranger.

But then the air went stale.

The third episode was the one,

I think,

where as a viewer,

I stopped watching.

The dreaded Code of Honor.

NARRATOR: Episode three

arrived with the storyline

so loaded,

it looked like

unexploded ordinance

from another time.

DENISE: We go

to the all-Black planet, and

I've got to fight the woman.

[WOMEN GRUNTING]

He's going to take

the white woman

as his new wife.

We were like,

"We really doing this?"

NARRATOR: Yep, they did.

There is no excuse

for that episode.

It should be burned.

in a magnesium fire

and never aired again.

Star Trek... up in a really,

really, really bad way.

There is no doubt in my mind

that the cast would have

pushed back if it was

later in the run.

Some of the people

who could have

made a difference,

would have just refused

to go to work.

It's the same kind of pompous,

strutting charades

that endangered our own species

a few centuries ago.

I was scratching my head,

thinking, "There's no way

this is going to get on the air.

There's no way."

If they had not had

a guarantee of two seasons,

this show would not have

gotten past the first season.

We were like, trying to find

our way, and there were

a lot of bad episodes.

I am programmed

in multiple techniques,

a broad variety of pleasuring.

That first season was

all over the map.

- [SCREECHING]

- [LAUGHS]

The show is trying

to figure out what it is.

On a very basic level,

how close to the original

series should we be,

and how different should we be?

It's almost just like

throwing things at the wall

and seeing what will stick.

PILOT:

Coordinates set in, Captain.

Speed, warp five.

For the actors, the only thing

more uncomfortable

than the storylines,

were the costumes.

- Nice suit.

- Thank you.

DE LANCIE: There are some

costume choices where I go,

"Oh, my God, that's --

just terrible!"

Splendid. Splendid!

This looks like something

that one would come up with

for Halloween or something.

We finished our ski lesson, Sir.

WIL: I hated

Wesley's sweaters.

I hated the colors.

They were baggy.

They were weird.

Like, I just felt awkward.

The gray spacesuit wardrobe

built a big muscle suit

that I had to wear underneath.

I hated that thing so much.

It was so uncomfortable.

It was always too tight.

NARRATOR: But some costumes

were ill-fitting

in ways wardrobe couldn't fix.

What do you think?

Gene brought Bill Theiss,

his original Star Trek designer.

Bill Theiss was a lovely man.

But you look at his costumes,

you'll think you're looking

at the original series.

These costumes

hadn't really evolved.

DATA: You should

get into uniform.

NARRATOR:

Even the standard issue

was so problematic,

it was affecting

actor's performances.

The tail was wagging the dog.

The costumes

for the permanent cast

on the Next Generation,

were lycra one-piece suits,

and they wreaked havoc

on the cast,

- because they would pull

on their body,

- [SUIT SQUEAKS]

and forced the actors

into a hunched position.

WIL: When you sit down

in that space suit,

the tunic rides up.

Patrick started

dramatically tugging it down,

and they call it

the Picard maneuver.

NARRATOR: Costume designer,

Bob Blackman,

came to the rescue

in Season two

with a new two-piece number,

that saw Star Trek returning

to its military themes.

I'd looked at

the Second World w*r

and saw Dwight Eisenhower

in his little jacket

that was fashioned

just for him

and I said, let me take

that silhouette,

and work with that

And that's how we came up with

the two-piecer.

The cast was most grateful

for that.

NARRATOR: Over in

the writer's room,

another generational battle

was playing out,

and the disagreements

were over more than style.

Gene ran it in a very

hodgepodge kind of way.

People would

bring him stories,

he would give it then

to everybody to get notes,

and it was very odd.

NARRATOR: Even stranger,

was who Gene brought in

as script doctor.

MARC: Leonard Maizlish,

his attorney, was doing

a lot of the writing.

They didn't like

Leonard Maizlish all.

And they didn't want him

rewriting their scripts.

NARRATOR: Gene's lawyer

had proved he knew

how to write a contract,

but when it came to scripts,

he'd already lost the room.

Everybody hated Maizlish...

except Gene Roddenberry.

NARRATOR: And Gene's Lawyer,

slash producer

slash writer was stepping on

some very esteemed toes.

As a story editor I was not...

terribly well treated.

Things went over my head

that I could have had input in.

Dorothy Fontana has written

a lot of great scripts,

and she should have been

a producer.

NARRATOR: Dorothy wasn't

the only high ranking woman

feeling overlooked.

- Is that an order, Doctor?

- Yes.

I often felt very lost

and very out of place.

I thought I was captain

of this starship.

- Of course you are. But I--

- Thank you

for the confirmation, Doctor.

Star Trek in that era,

in the late 80's,

early 90's, was a--

was a boys club.

NARRATOR:

As for the girls club,

well, there wasn't one.

It was never like,

the women just got together,

because we never had

a scene together.

DOROTHY: And if we did,

it would always be

something almost comical,

like, we would be hitting

someone on the head with a pot.

[SMASHES, GRUNTS]

[SWORDS CLASHING]

[SMASHES, GRUNTS]

You're going to put somebody

in a position of power

and then not give them

anything powerful, right, to do.

NARRATOR: The power struggle

on set mirrored the turf w*r

raging among the producers,

as Gene fought

to retain control.

That is to say, his lawyer did.

DAVID: The studio execs,

every time they would tell Gene

how much they like my work,

the lawyer would panic.

"Oh, my God, they're going

to fire Gene

and put in David Gerrold."

And so Gene would end up

balling me out

What I feel bad for,

is David Gerrold,

because he never even got

his name on the screen.

I mean, he wrote the Bible.

He came up with

some of those characters.

They asked me,

"Do you want the credit

of the money?"

I was like,

"I'll take the money."

NARRATOR: Others chose

to take the exit.

I stayed for the first



and then I left.

It was not...

a terribly happy experience.

Gene should have hired me

and Dorothy as producers,

and instead,

his despicable lawyer

brought in a lot of people

who didn't know

what Star Trek was at all.

NARRATOR: But in the end,

David knew the rules

better than Gene's lawyer.

And so the writer

turned lawyer.

DAVID: Leonard was doing

producer level work.

on the show,

when he wasn't qualified,

and this was a violation

of Writers' Guild rules.

GATES: The Writers Guild

went directly

to Paramount's top brass.

Within 15 minutes,

studio guards had packed up

Leonard's entire office.

and escorted him from the lot.

He was banned from the lot.

NARRATOR:

With this Star Trek villain

vanquished

Star Trek: The Next

Generation, continued

its syndicated success.

However, some members

of the crew

were on their last legs,

I actually asked them,

"Could you make a mock up

of my legs?"

NARRATOR: And the reason

for such a request...

You're always on Patrick

and these guys down here.

So you just really see my legs

up there.

I can go home.

NARRATOR: Denise decided

it was time for home

after her request

for better Tasha Yar stories

was rebuffed.

DENISE: Gene, he was the one

who really said to me,

The stories are going

to focus on the Captain,

the First Officer, and Data.

It's you know, that Shatner,

Spock, Bones.

When in Rome, we'll do

as the Romans do.

It's a formula that works,

and I'm gonna stick with that.

NARRATOR: So Gene made

firm plans to dispense

with Tasha Yar.

DENISE: He said,

"I want this character

to be k*lled.

I have never done it.

And he said, "The only problem

is you won't be able

to come back."

- I warn you!

- I said, "Yeah, go for it."

NARRATOR: And so, finally,

Tasha Yar got to be

the center of attention...

...as she lay dying.

CAPTAIN: [OVER RADIO]

What's Lt. Yar's condition?

You know,

it's such an anti-climactic,

you know... death.

PICARD: [OVER RADIO]

Dr. Crusher,

Report!

She's dead.

That, by the way, was just

making my character

look like an unlicensed doctor.

There were so many people

who died on my table.

[SIGHS]

GATES: I remember Patrick

saying, "Don't let her

touch you.

Her patients die." [CHUCKLING]

How's your patient, Doctor?

Not good.

It's a running joke, you know.

It's like I don't know

about Crusher,

or how good she was.

You are here now,

watching this image of me

because I have died.

NARRATOR: But Tasha Yar's

final moments

would not be

Denise's final moments on set.

DENISE: So Symbiosis,

was the last script

that I shot, and obviously,

they reversed them.

- GATES: For that,

she prepared an Easter egg,

- [BELL DINGS]

and laid it right on camera.

DENISE: I waved good bye

in the camera,

I'm waving goodbye to the fans.

NARRATOR: The fans,

and everyone.

There she is.

But Denise wasn't alone

in wanting more

for her character.

WIL: Hey, Mom,

look what I can do.

GATES: I thought we were

going to have

some really great development

between Wesley Crusher

and Dr. Crusher,

because she was a scientist.

He was this genius.

You've never seemed

that interested

in warp theory before.

Wesley was very often,

an idea...

and not

a fully realized character.

And it always broke my heart

that we didn't get

to have those scenes.

It was a difficult part to write

for Wes,

and I think we all sort of

backed off from it.

Didn't want to.

Because his role was uncertain.

You know, it was not clear

by any means, what--

what his position was there.

and what his relationship

to the others were.

GATES: Second season

head writer, Maurice Hurley,

wanted more action, too.

But not

for his female characters.

What do you want?

JERI: He wanted

the big adventure,

the big conflict.

Not so much interested

in human dynamics...

characterization,

that kind of thing.

MARK: Reece Hurley, you know,

that old school,

cigar-chomping TV writer.

The bottom line is...

he was very sexist.

He wrote women in lazy,

trophy ways.

GATES: I argued a lot about it

with Maurice Hurley,

and I think I was not

very diplomatic.

You know, he just was not--

not happy with her.

GATES: I think I really,

really upset him.

And I remember at the--

the closing party

of the first season,

I had been told by my agents

how popular my character was.

I remember I was saying

hello to everybody.

and Maurice Hurley looked at me

with a look that I will

never forget.

Like, "Okay, you will see.

You're going to be surprised."

And I heard later that he said,

"Either she goes or I go."

And then it was like,

a week later,

that I was told by my agent

that I was, you know, fired.

You are excused, doctor.

NARRATOR: And so, it was

Dr. Crusher who was put

into the transporter

to nowhere.

He was a producer/writer,

so obviously, the actor

could be easily replaced.

Nobody was cool with it.

I recall the cast being angry

about it.

GATES: So having

k*lled the doctor,

producers sent for the doctor.

- Doctor! Doctor!

- GATES: This doctor.

Dr. Katherine Pulaski.

DIANA: I just got the call

and went in, talked to Gene,

he said,

"Would you be interested

in playing a doctor

on The Next Generation?"

- and I said, "Yes."

- NARRATOR: Well, that was easy.

- I like to help.

- I only agreed to do it

because I was doing

a totally different character.

I'm Dr. Jones.

GATES: Different

to the doctor she played

way back when.

When a female doctor on TV

was something

to get excited about.

Of course, Dr. McCoy.

Please don't worry about me.

NARRATOR:

And not just for Bones.

I based my character on Bones.

Well, what do you know?

And a lot of fans

picked up on that.

Close. But, different

GATES: While that satisfied

the true fans,

Star Trek was about to receive

a fan request like no other.

Well, everyone's

very curious about you.

Yes, I bet they are.

Got a call

from Whoopi Goldberg

saying that she wanted

to be considered

to take Denise's role

as the head of security.

GATES:

But with a chance to have

a big Hollywood star

in their show,

they had other plans

for Whoopi.

Whoopi wasn't really

the head of security

type for us,

and Gene and I sat down

and we discussed it

and thought,

what a great idea

to have a bartender.

- Guinan.

- Captain.

GATES: But even

as a humble bartender,

Whoopi's mega star power

was quietly

saving Star Trek.

With experience.

BRENT: A major movie star

at the peak of her career

decided to do this show.

I think we became legit

when Whoopi

came on the show.

I mean, it could have been

your timing.

- My timing is digital.

- [CHUCKLES]

GATES: Others would soon

be departing.

DIANA: I was very happy

at the end of the year

to say bye-bye.

I would not have

stayed for more.

INTERVIEWER: Can I ask why?

No.

I don't need to hear

what you don't need to say.

GATES: Star Trek's doctors

were going down

faster than their patients,

and fans were clamoring

for the return of Dr. Crusher.

So that's where I come in,

again.

I was at Starfleet Medical

for a year,

I missed about

two inches of him.

GATES: It took some convincing,

but when

the captain calls...

I got a call from Patrick.

He asked me if I would

please consider coming back.

The return of Dr. Crusher

was a bone crusher

for head writer Maurice Hurley,

who had previously said...

Either she goes or I go.

MARK: Maurice at the end

of the second season,

he, voluntarily,

left the show.

One of the first things

that happened

at the beginning

of third season was,

"Let's bring Gates back."

And Diana was never

spoken of again.

GATES: But just as the ship

began to steady on screen,

Star Trek: The Next Generation

was forced to undergo

a changing of the guard

at the top.

Gene realized that

the day to day running

of the show

needed to be turned

to the next generation.

And that was Rick Berman.

It happened slowly.

He got less and less involved

as his illness took over.

Rick Berman

was a studio executive

who had a lot in common

with Gene.

You know, Gene felt

he could trust him.

RICK: Gene's optimistic

attitude of the future.

I always felt

was somewhat unrealistic.

But it was his attitude,

and I felt

it was my responsibility

to keep Gene's optimism alive.

GATES: But the long shadow

of Star Trek's creator,

was putting

The Next Generation

in the shade.

We'd have these

very acrimonious fights

with Rick

about what Star Trek was.

"Gene would never do this

in a million years,"

he would say.

Rick was going to defend

to his dying breath

what he thought Gene

wanted Star Trek to be.

Rick ran the show

as he thought it should be run.

If that rubbed certain people

the wrong way, so be it.

GATES: While Rick defended

Gene's vision,

there was one subject matter

Gene was willing to explore

that Rick wasn't.

At some point, Gene mentions

that we're going to have

to have a g*y crew member.

GATES: And so in an episode

called Blood and Fire...

DAVID: There's a scene

in Blood and Fire,

where someone turns

to the g*y crew member

and says, "How long have you

and Freeman been together?"

That was it.

Rick Berman wrote a memo.

"We can't have g*y characters

on Star Trek

"because Mommy's

will write letters."

And I wrote a memo

which says,

"Gene promised g*y

crew members on this Enterprise,

if not now,

Uh, when?" One of the producers

sticks his head in my office.

says, "Great memo,

"you still have to take

the characters out."

GATES:

David's groundbreaking script

was lost to history,

and with it went

one of Star Trek's

most faithful servants.

DAVID: That was the reason

why I quit.

Because this is hypocrisy.

I was emotionally beaten down.

GATES: Star Trek:

The Next Generation had been

on a merry go round

of casting chaos.

Well, it's nice

to be together again.

GATES: The balance of power

was shifting

behind the scenes too.

It was a switch

at the top

of the writing staff.

You know,

Maurice Hurley had left

and Michael Piller came in.

Things really took a turn

and seemed to start going

in the right direction.

Can it be possible

they know what they're doing?

GATE: Well, by the show's

third year,

maybe, yes.

ANDRE: God bless

Michael Piller.

When he took the reins,

he really understood

the potential of the show

and understood storytelling

and science fiction.

And Michael's edict was

we're going to

tell stories about

the enterprise characters.

JOHN TENUTO: This show

is not about the ship.

This show is about Riker,

and Picard and the characters.

It's about the people.

GATES: But good characters

need good stories.

And halfway through

season three,

the only action

the writer's room had seen

was industrial.

LOLITA: The writer's strike

had just ended.

There was not a full staff.

There was a point

where we had nothing.

Once you start sh**ting,

it never stops.

And something's

sh**ting tomorrow,

and then the day after that.

It has to be a sense

of clockwork to it.

And if you don't have enough

scripts in development,

and they're not in

good enough shape,

then it becomes, uh,

an emergency.

GATES: But one thing

Star Trek still had

was its fans.

And trekkers, themselves,

were about to intervene

in a way

that would restore

the show they loved,

and, ultimately,

set a new direction.

We invited absolute

unknowns and newcomers

to come in

and pitch story ideas.

Like, why don't we

leverage that fan base

out there?

If you wrote an actual script,

you could send it to Paramount,

and somebody would read it.

Part of that job fell on

in my department

as a script coordinator.

My office was just piled

with scripts everywhere.

It was insane.

GATES: One fan's script

caught the attention

of production assistant

Eric Stillwell.

Trent Ganino's script involved

an Enterprise from the past.

GATE: That script

didn't make it to screen.

We had gone up to

Trent's hometown

for a Star Trek convention

where Denise Crosby

was the guest.

We were speaking to her

in the autograph line

and she said,

"You should write an episode

and bring me back."

- Tasha?

- Yeah.

GATES: But there was

one small issue

to do with her being,

um, what's the word?

- Dead.

- GATES: That's it.

You know, I died.

We know that.

GATES: Of course,

everyone knew that.

I am not supposed

to be here, sir.

So, Trent and I together

started hashing out

how can we bring Tasha back

'cause she's dead?

GATES: Well, there was one way,

time travel, of course.

So Eric traveled

across the hall.

Yeah, I ran across the hall,

started to just cold pitching.

GATES:

And Michael Piller said...

Make it so.

We'll give you a cover.

GATES: But it was still

a very basic idea.

They turned it over

to Ron Moore

to polish the story.

I took Yesterday's Enterprise.

I really liked the idea

of the alternate timeline,

and there was a mention

of, like,

they had been

at w*r with the Klingons,

but it wasn't front

and center of the story,

and I just thought,

"Oh, that's the coolest part,"

is that they're at w*r,

and, "Oh, well, that would

make it a darker universe."

And, everything would be

more warlike and militarized.

What's the matter

with the bridge?

This is not a ship of w*r.

This is a ship of peace.

GATES: Now the story

had become serious enough

that Captain Picard

had to whisper.

The w*r is going very badly

for the Federation.

RONALD: They're not

just at w*r,

but the Federation's

actually losing.

The good guys are losing,

and it's all gonna come

crashing down.

And that gave this episode

this sense of stakes,

and it made it

a bit of a tragedy.

You know,

there's a doomed sense

to the world

that you were in.

The Federation has lost

more than half a star fleet

to the Klingons.

GATES: And now,

with the fleshed out outline,

the stage was set

for a beloved character

to come back,

in the flesh.

And there was a sense

that Tasha didn't go out

with the episode

she deserved.

So when we were talking

about bringing her back,

everyone was excited

by the idea.

Didn't know if Denise Crosby

would be willing to do it.

DENISE: And, of course

I read it and went,

"This is fabulous.

"This is great."

And I said I'm on board.

Where am I supposed to be?

Dead.

GATES: Producers now

had their idea

and the actress ready

to play Lazarus.

But days from sh**ting,

there was still

something missing.

We had no script.

GATES: Scrambling

to put together

an ambitious episode.

There was just an outline

of what the thing was.

This was seven days

before we shot.

There was no time

for any one writer

to do a complete draft.

GATES: This crowd sourced idea

needed a crowd sourced script.

They take Thanksgiving,

their Thanksgiving holiday,

and all the writers

are writing at home

an act,

they all take an act,

they all come back on Monday

after losing Thanksgiving

and put it together.

We all wrote separately

and then stitch them together.

Everybody thought

it was crazy,

it was insane.

It's a real mess

down here, sir.

ERIC: Everybody was convinced

that it was just going to be

this hodgepodge,

horrible episode

that they had thrown together

at the last minute.

What ship is this, Captain?

You're aboard the Enterprise.

GATES: In the rush, the writers

managed to smuggle in

some Star Trek firsts.

Rachel Garrett.

How's my ship?

GATES: Rachel Garrett

was breaking new ground

as the Enterprise's

first female captain.

RONALD: In the script

it wasn't a woman.

I remember

thinking at the time

it's weird that

I'm the one doing this.

[CHUCKLES]

It's like, how is this

the first time

this has been done?

We'll make it one

for the history books.

RONALD: I wanted her to be

every bit as brave and heroic.

She had to be worthy

of Picard and Kirk.

Captain, I would be

lying to you

if I told you

there was a chance in hell

of coming out of this alive.

GATES: Captain Garrett

broke through

Star Trek's glass ceiling,

but unfortunately,

also broke her head.

The detail of how, uh,

Tricia died

was really, really important,

The kind of shocking-ness

I wanted to get

as part of the w*r.

So it became

harsher and nastier

than sometimes deaths were.

This is Lieutenant Yar, sir.

Captain Garrett is dead.

GATES: For the character

of Tasha Yar,

it was an unlikely win.

Yesterday's Enterprise

became a redeeming episode

for Tasha's senseless death.

A death without purpose.

She even addresses

this very thing.

I'd like my death to count

for something.

I always make the joke,

I had to die

to get a good script.

This isn't a joke, Natasha.

GATES: Just as this fan sourced

episode reanimated Tasha Yar,

it reinvigorated

The Next Generation.

Yesterday's Enterprise

is a very risky episode

that could have gone south

a thousand different ways,

but it worked.

You're not part of my crew.

I am now.

Captain Picard approved

my request for transfer.

It was the first,

in my opinion,

truly great episode

of Next Generation.

And I think that

really raised the profile

of The Next Generation.

I think people

sat up, took note

and took the show

more seriously.

Welcome aboard.

GATES: It seemed that

Star Trek: The Next Generation

had finally found its place

in the universe.

PICARD:

Space, the final frontier.

These are the voyages

of the Starship Enterprise.

GATES: With the steady hands

of Michael Piller

and Rick Berman

steering the ship,

Star Trek: The Next Generation

had successfully

extended

the franchise's mission.

PICARD: To boldly go

where no one has gone before.

GATES: But behind the scenes,

personnel issues were only

getting more personal.

PICARD: Mr. Crusher,

report to the bridge.

I had this terrific

opportunity to go work

in a feature film,

and Rick Berman said,

"This is a really important

Wesley episode.

"I have personally written

an extremely important scene.

"It's a really important part

of the show.

"Our hands are tied."

He has to pass on the film.

You are not involved

in this decision, boy.

WIL: After I had passed

on the film

and the film

had been recast,

He wrote me out

of the episode completely.

and I was furious.

Look, I have done everything

that everyone has asked

of me and more.

WIL: It hurt so much.

And after that happened,

I said to my agent,

"Get me out of this contract.

Get me off the show.

"I don't want to work

for this person any more."

GATES: It was another

unwelcomed departure.

But then came the news

of an even more

significant loss.

It was during

the fifth season

of Star Trek: Next Generation.

Sorry to interrupt.

We're receiving

an emergency distress signal.

I'm on my way.

GATES: The producers received

some news

that would stop them

in their tracks.

Rick got a phone call,

he took it

and didn't say much,

and then he came back

and sat down with us

and told us.

And...

Gene, he passed away.

You know, one of the most

significant individuals

ever to impact television

was now gone.

GATES: Gene Roddenberry

died suddenly

on October 24th, 1991.

Twenty-five years

after the launch of Star Trek.

His memorial service,

it was a perfect send off

to him.

Hundreds and hundreds

of people,

they had the Blue Angels

fly over at the end.

A handful of people

actually create something

that lasts 55 years,

you know.

DAVID: He managed to create

this iconic thing that defines

the best part

of the 20th century.

A vision of hope,

a vision of what

could be a way

to ask questions

about who we are

and what we're up to

in the world.

GATES: But even still,

Star Trek without Gene...

It's heartbreaking.

It was a big deal

for the Star Trek family

that he was gone.

GATES: Without its creator,

Star Trek: The Next Generation

continued for another

two-and-a-half years.

I think in the sixth

and seventh seasons

in particular,

we were on such a roll

as the cast was just

going so well together.

The writing was phenomenal.

And it just seemed

to get better and better.

The series wrapped

with a two part extravaganza

that Gene, no doubt,

would have been proud of.

The series finale

really brought us full circle

to some of the issues

and themes

that were brought up

in Encounter at Farpoint.

It's time to put an end

to your trek through the stars.

I thought it was a sensational

double episode at the end.

Captain Picard.

- Yes.

- Yes.

There was nothing that I felt

I could have asked for more

than the way they explored

where our characters go

or have gone.

RONALD: The whole

final episode

was a love letter to the series

and to the fans.

It didn't feel right to just

go up onto the bridge

and press engage

one more time.

It was really about them

and how much

they loved each other.

Yes, yes!

RONALD: We knew we wanted

to end the show

with a poker game.

And the key was that Picard

never joined the poker game.

I...

I just thought

that I might, um...

I might join you

this evening.

So we wanted to gather

the family together,

just loving

each other's company.

I should have done this

a long time ago.

What's the last line

going to be?

Had to be a poker line,

you know,

and I think it might

have been Jeri Taylor

who came up with it.

PICARD:

And the sky is the limit.

It was a very sad time for me

and a sad episode

just because it was over.

It turned out to be

one of the great episodes.

GATES: Paramount's

risky experiment

and direct to syndication

television had paid off.

You saved humanity

once again.

GATES:

And not just commercially.

LARRY NEMECEK:

1994 was peak Trek.

You have Next Generation

ending with an Emmy nomination.

GATES: But on the other side

of every peak

is a descent,

and emboldened by its success,

Star Trek was about to descend

once more

into chaos in deep space.

This was the show that

they aren't that pleased with.

You're obviously a prisoner

of Federation dogma

and human prejudice.

GATES: And ultimately,

deep trouble.

There were a lot of people

who didn't like

the way it was going,

the fact that

it was serialized.

A lot of the audience gave up.

Paramount just threw up

their hands.

[THEME MUSIC PLAYING]