All language subtitles for The Center Seat 55 Years of Star Trek S01E06 Queue for Q 1080p AMZN WEB-DL DD+5 1 H 264-playWEB_track3_[eng]

These are the voyages of the Starship Enterprise.

By the mid-80s,
Gene Roddenberry's

originalWagon 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.

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,

But when it came
to this wagon train,

Gene had already fallen off.

He had been screwed over,

and he wasn't getting
any ownership money.

Paramount was rejecting
his scripts.

They saw him as the enemy.

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.

1986, The Voyage Home
is a huge hit.

Everybody remember
where we parked.

Star Trek was heating up.

Star Trek is the most

profitable property
that Paramount has.

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%.

Which sounds like
more than a little, but in fact...

Neither of them
had gotten a penny.

Paramount's excuse,
Star Trek was penniless.

Paramount said it's in the red.

It's the most successful show
on reruns.

It's now out on home video.
It's in the red?

Gene knewStar Trek
was a gold mine,

and if he needed
any confirmation,

it came to him one day
on the golf course.

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?"

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."

And more was to come,

because Paramount
wanted to bring Star Trek back to the small screen.

with a new show.

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.

The next generation
ofStar Trek was going to require

the next generation
of executives.

My name is Lucie Salhany.

Lucie and her colleagues had an idea

that had never been
tried before.

Let us syndicate.

Selling a brand new Star Trek straight into syndication.

That means selling
a show station by station.

We will sell the original '79,

and we will sell them
the new Star Trek.

Local stations
got their newStar 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.

Which was a big if.

It was a gamble
those stations took.

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.

Incredible.

A new television business model

would enable
the next generation of Star Trek.

Star Trek broke the mold again.

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.

The colon never
made it to screen,

butStar 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.

But Jean no longer believed in Paramount.

So when it came to agreeing
for a new show,

before signing up,
Gene lawyered up.

He realized
that Paramount neededStar Trek,

and he needed a strong lawyer.

Gene's lawyer was a lot more than just strong.

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.

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.

Not just any deal.

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."

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.

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.

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.

So, thanks to Gene's lawyers.

He's getting
enormous amount of money.

I don't know how much,
but it was a lot.

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.

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.

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.

This was
the perfect opportunity to re-imagine Star Trek.

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.

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.

Some of David's ideas
were truly radical.

And I said we could have
a Klingon on the bridge.

Gene said, "No."

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."

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.

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.

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.

Gene had a long history
of playing God with the scripts.

Which I didn't particularly
care for.

But it's not my choice.

This time Jean was not just rewriting the script,

he was rewriting the deal.

I had to share
that script credit with him.

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.

Having been pushed aside on her own pilot,

Gene threw Fontana
a small but lucrative bone.

And this
is where it gets really ugly.

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.

Dorothy promptly wrote
the novelization of her own episode.

And Dorothy had written
the novelization,

and she was done with it.

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."

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.

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.

But this next generation Star Trek

posed a next level challenge.

We must proceed in our own way.

How to reshape the franchise for a new generation

without losing touch
with Star Trek's roots.

Every Star Trek
begins with

how do we make it
exactly like the others except totally different?

Gene was very proud
of what he had done in the original series.

But he wasn't afraid
to shake things up.

Everything was up
for renegotiation.

The set design, the costumes,
the makeup, the hair design.

Everything had to be created new
and invented.

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.

Which led
to a few new questions.

How do you hold an energy weapon
if it's not like a gun?

Well, then it's like
a flashlight.

Hold it right there.

I think the first time
I pulled out my phaser,

I went You know,
like I made a noise.

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.

Ships and guns 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.

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.

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?

The answer was obvious.

An Englishman of course.

When they came up--
we went,

Oh, my God!

Gene Roddenberry
was unconvinced.

Gene didn't want
Patrick Stewart.

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.

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.

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.

Who's to say whether
Patrick Stewart passed or failed the hair test.

It was a little bit
of a shocker.

But then someone had
a bright idea.

Why not let him just be
what he is?

It won't be compared
to the original Star Trek.

As simple as that.

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 kill the show.

We need somebody different
that people will talk about.

Patrick Stewart's skull

was the least of Star Trek's
casting problems.

Creating that ensemble.

It's a...

85% of the success of your show
is your casting.

But not to worry because...

Gene had a superpower
and it was casting.

He would go
with his gut feeling.

He will triumph
who knows when to fight.

With the men,
he looked for people who are capable of heroic deeds.

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.

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.

Mr. Crusher...

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.

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.

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 lesbian."

Yeah.
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.

I went back
and I didn't suck.

That never happens.

I'm really lucky
and really grateful.

Generosity has always been
my... weakness.

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.

A guy walks out, he said,

"I'm one of the producers."

He actually wasn't.
He was Gene's lawyer...

Leonard, the lawyer,
was back. as a producer.

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.

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 killing 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.

When the show aired,

when I saw that crane shot,
and it came in like this...

I went, "Oh, dear..."

I mean it was...

...it was out of a great comedy.

I mean, you just
couldn't make that up.

This show
isn't going to go anywhere.

The first episode,
Encounter at Farpoint, went shakily into the unknown

on September 28th, 1987.

Encounter at Farpointto 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...

It sure was.

...and gratitude.

But not for long.

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.

Episode three
arrived with the storyline so loaded,

it looked like
unexploded ordinance from another time.

We go
to the all-Black planet, and I've got to fight the woman.

He's going to take
the white woman as his new wife.

We were like,
"We really doing this?"

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

You should
get into uniform.

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 wrecked havoc on the cast,

because they would pull
on their body, -

and forced the actors
into a hunched position.

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.

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 War

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.

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.

Even stranger,
was who Gene brought in as script doctor.

Leonard Maizlish,
his attorney, was doing a lot of the writing.

They they didn't like
Leonard Maizlish all.

And they didn't want him
rewriting their scripts.

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.

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.

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.

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.

And if we did,
it would always be something almost comical,

like, we would be hitting
someone on the head with a pot.

You're going to put somebody
in a position of power

and then not give them
anything powerful, right, to do.

The power struggle
on set mirrored the turf war

raging among the producers,
as Gene fought to retain control.

That is to say, his lawyer did.

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."

Others chose
to take the exit.

I stayed for the first
13 episodes, 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.

But in the end,
David knew the rules better than Gene's lawyer.

And so the writer
turned lawyer.

Leonard was doing
producer level work.

on the show,
when he wasn't qualified,

and this was a violation
of Writers' Guild rules.

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.

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?"

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.

Denise decided
it was time for home after her request

for better Tasha Yar stories
was rebuffed.

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.

So Gene made
firm plans to dispense with Tasha Yar.

He said,
"I want this character to be killed.

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."

And so, finally,
Tasha Yar got to be the center of attention...

...as she lay dying.

What's Lt. Yar's condition?

You know,
it's such an anti-climactic, you know... death.

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.

I remember Patrick
saying, "Don't let her touch you.

Her patients die."

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.

But Tasha Yar's
final moments would not be

Denise's final moments on set.

So Symbiosis,
was the last script

that I shot, and obviously,
they reversed them.

For that,
she prepared an Easter egg, -

and laid it right on camera.

I waved good bye
in the camera,

I'm waving goodbye to the fans.

The fans,
and everyone.

There she is.

But Denise wasn't alone
in wanting more for her character.

Hey, Mom,
look what I can do.

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.

Second season
head writer, Maurice Hurley, wanted more action, too.

But not
for his female characters.

What do you want?

He wanted
the big adventure, the big conflict.

Not so much interested
in human dynamics...

characterization,
that kind of thing.

Rice 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.

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.

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.

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.

So having
killed the doctor, producers sent for the doctor.

- Doctor! Doctor!
-This doctor.

Dr. Katherine Pulaski.

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."
-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.

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.

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

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.

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.

But even
as a humble bartender,

Whoopi's mega star power

was quietly
savingStar Trek.

With experience.

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.

Others would soon
be departing.

I was very happy
at the end of the year

to say bye-bye.

I would not have
stayed for more.

Can I ask why?

No.

I don't need to hear
what you don't need to say.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

But the long shadow
ofStar Trek's creator,

was putting
The Next Generation in the shade.

We'd have these
very acrimonious fights with Rick

about whatStar 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 Trekto be.

Rick ran the show
as he thought it should be run.

If that rubbed certain people
the wrong way, so be it.

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 gay crew member.

And so in an episode
calledBlood and Fire...

There's a scene
inBlood and Fire,

where someone turns
to the gay crew member

and says, "How long have you
and Freeman been together?"

That was it.
Rick Berman wrote a memo.

"We can't have gay characters
onStar Trek

"because Mommy's
will write letters."

And I wrote a memo
which says,

"Gene promised gay
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."

David's groundbreaking script was lost to history,

and with it went
one ofStar Trek's most faithful servants.

That was the reason
why I quit.

Because this is hypocrisy.

I was emotionally beaten down.

Star Trek:
The Next Generation had been

on a merry go round
of casting chaos.

Well, it's nice
to be together again.

The balance of power
was shifting

behind the scenes too.

It was a switch
at the top of the writing staff.

You know,
Morse 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?

Well, by the show's
third year,

maybe, yes.

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.

This show
is not about the ship.

This show is about Riker,
and Picard and the characters.

It's about the people.

But good characters
need good stories.

And halfway through
season three,

the only action
the writer's room had seen

was industrial.

The writer's strike
had just ended.

There was not a full staff.

There was a point
where we had nothing.

Once you start shooting,
it never stops.

And something's
shooting 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.

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.

One fan's script
caught the attention

of production assistant
Eric Stillwell.

Trent Ganino's script involved
an Enterprise from the past.

That script
didn't make it to screen.

We had gone up to
Trent's hometown

for a Star Trekconvention

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.

But there was
one small issue to do with her being,

um, what's the word?

- Dead.
-That's it.

You know, I died.
We know that.

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?

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.

And Michael Piller said...

Make it so.
We'll give you a cover.

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 war 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 war,

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 war.

This is a ship of peace.

Now the story
had become serious enough

that Captain Picard
had to whisper.

The war is going very badly
for the Federation.

They're not
just at war,

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.

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.

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.

Producers now
had their idea

and the actress ready
to play Lazarus.

But days from shooting,

there was still
something missing.

We had no script.

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.

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.

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.

In the rush, the writers
managed to smuggle in

some Star Trek firsts.

Rachel Garrett.
How's my ship?

Rachel Garrett
was breaking new ground

as the Enterprise's
first female captain.

In the script
it wasn't a woman.

I remember
thinking at the time

it's weird that
I'm the one doing this.

It's like, how is this
the first time this has been done?

We'll make it one
for the history books.

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.

Captain Garrett
broke through Star Trek's last 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 war.

So it became
harsher and nastier

than sometimes deaths were.

This is Lieutenant Yar, sir.
Captain Garrett is dead.

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.

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.

-It seemed that
-The Next Generation

had finally found its place
in the universe.

Space, the final frontier.

These are the voyages
of the Starship Enterprise.

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.

To boldly go
where no one has gone before.

But behind the scenes,

personnel issues were only
getting more personal.

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.

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.

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."

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.

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.

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.

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.

But even still,
Star Trek without Gene...

It's heartbreaking.

It was a big deal
for the Star Trekfamily

that he was gone.

-Without its creator,
-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.

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!

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.

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.

Paramount's
risky experiment

and direct to syndication
television had paid off.

You saved humanity
once again.

And not just commercially.

1994 was peak Trek.

You have Next Generation
ending with an Emmy nomination.

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.

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.