Manny Coto, who won an Outstanding Drama Series Emmy for 24, worked on its sequel series, co-created Fox’s AI drama neXt and was an EP on Dexter, Star Trek: Enterprise, American Horror Story …
Arrgh! I just wrote a detailed response to your post, acknowledging that you’re completely right about how TOS’s liberalism hit you in the face in a different way, explaining where I was coming from, and ending with how I actually doubt Roddenberry would have put a queer character in the show based on his nixing of “Blood and Fire”, David Gerrold’s early first season TNG script. But kbin ate it. *sigh*
Roddenberry nixed it? I’ve heard different tales of that, that it was either Berman or Paramount, but never heard that Roddenberry himself nixed it. I remember reading old quotes that Roddenberry promised a gay character in TNG, but guess he was lying?
Roddenberry was showrunner at the time, so surely it would have come down to him to make the call. I suppose it’s possible that Paramount may have put pressure on him, but this is the same Roddenberry who did NOT nix the interracial kiss even though he was told it would cause NBC affiliates in the south to drop the show. I suspect he just may not have felt as strongly about LGBTQ rights as he did about other things. Which I’m kind of equanimous about. Not everyone has to feel equally passionately about every cause.
From what we’ve heard, about the only thing Roddenberry liked about the idea for Captain’s Holiday was that in addition to the heterosexual couples in the background , he could have gay couples. The writer thought it would get the episode dropped, and in Chaos on the Bridge, Berman was very direct about having to stop that in its tracks.
If it was Roddenberry and not his power tripping lawyer or Paramount who killed Blood and Fire, I expect he was being petty about how Gerrold went from adoring him to arguments and mutual disrespect during the calamity that was TNG season 1.
I know there’s a perception that Leonard Maizlish was the power behind the throne, but even if he was meddling with the production and causing general mayhem, he was still there at Roddenberry’s behest, especially in the first season.
You may have a point about Roddenberry spiking Gerrold’s story for personal reasons. Star Trek was never the sole creation of Gene Roddenberry. Justman, Solow, Coon, Fontana and others arguably added as much to the franchise as Roddenberry as he himself did (though I don’t dispute his was the most pivotal contribution). But one gets the sense he wasn’t willing to be as collaborative during TNG as he had been during TOS.
It’s a shame Gerrold left under such bad circumstances. There’s a lof of his DNA in TNG. Some of the ideas - like the Captain not leaving the ship to go on landing parties (err, sorry, away missions) - came straight out of his book The World of Star Trek.
Arrgh! I just wrote a detailed response to your post, acknowledging that you’re completely right about how TOS’s liberalism hit you in the face in a different way, explaining where I was coming from, and ending with how I actually doubt Roddenberry would have put a queer character in the show based on his nixing of “Blood and Fire”, David Gerrold’s early first season TNG script. But kbin ate it. *sigh*
Roddenberry nixed it? I’ve heard different tales of that, that it was either Berman or Paramount, but never heard that Roddenberry himself nixed it. I remember reading old quotes that Roddenberry promised a gay character in TNG, but guess he was lying?
Roddenberry was showrunner at the time, so surely it would have come down to him to make the call. I suppose it’s possible that Paramount may have put pressure on him, but this is the same Roddenberry who did NOT nix the interracial kiss even though he was told it would cause NBC affiliates in the south to drop the show. I suspect he just may not have felt as strongly about LGBTQ rights as he did about other things. Which I’m kind of equanimous about. Not everyone has to feel equally passionately about every cause.
Oh thats right, i forgot he was pulling the strings.
From what we’ve heard, about the only thing Roddenberry liked about the idea for Captain’s Holiday was that in addition to the heterosexual couples in the background , he could have gay couples. The writer thought it would get the episode dropped, and in Chaos on the Bridge, Berman was very direct about having to stop that in its tracks.
If it was Roddenberry and not his power tripping lawyer or Paramount who killed Blood and Fire, I expect he was being petty about how Gerrold went from adoring him to arguments and mutual disrespect during the calamity that was TNG season 1.
I know there’s a perception that Leonard Maizlish was the power behind the throne, but even if he was meddling with the production and causing general mayhem, he was still there at Roddenberry’s behest, especially in the first season.
You may have a point about Roddenberry spiking Gerrold’s story for personal reasons. Star Trek was never the sole creation of Gene Roddenberry. Justman, Solow, Coon, Fontana and others arguably added as much to the franchise as Roddenberry as he himself did (though I don’t dispute his was the most pivotal contribution). But one gets the sense he wasn’t willing to be as collaborative during TNG as he had been during TOS.
It’s a shame Gerrold left under such bad circumstances. There’s a lof of his DNA in TNG. Some of the ideas - like the Captain not leaving the ship to go on landing parties (err, sorry, away missions) - came straight out of his book The World of Star Trek.