Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, January 2, 1993 TAG: 9301020147
SECTION: SPECTATOR PAGE: S-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: DANIEL CERONE LOS ANGELES TIMES
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
`STAR TREK'S' NEW FRONTIER HAS DEBUT
The late Gene Roddenberry, known affectionately to his fans as the Great Bird of the Galaxy, had a favorite phrase that he liked to say at "Star Trek" conventions."What is `Star Trek?' " asked the man who created the worldwide phenomenon that has resulted in three TV series, six feature films, 110 novels, 100 fan conventions a year and easily more than $1 billion worth of revenue to Paramount Communications Inc. over the last quarter of a century.
"It's not `Star Trek' unless I say it's `Star Trek,' " he used to say. "If there are 99 people in the room, and they vote, it's not a democracy. I decide what's `Star Trek.' "
This week a fourth TV series, "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine," spun off from the top-rated syndicated show, "Star Trek: The Next Generation," will make its debut (at 8 p.m. Friday on WSET-Channel 13, then at noon Sundays). Set in the same period of the 24th century, the Starfleet officers in "Deep Space Nine" have taken command of a seedy, run-down space station - replete with a wild barroom and holographic brothels - once belonging to an alien race.
The oppressive environment and questionable characters who pass through Deep Space Nine - located near the mouth of a wormhole, a phenomenon that opens a shortcut to distant quadrants of the galaxy - were created as story-telling devices to provide dramatic conflict with the good, noble and honest crew members of the Federation.
"Deep Space Nine" comes a little more than a year after Roddenberry died at 70 of a heart attack. Although Roddenberry was aware of the new series, which the creators have described as darker than any other "Star Trek" incarnation, he never had a chance to give the show his blessing. He never had a chance to say: "This is `Star Trek.' "
When Roddenberry was alive, his contract with Paramount was supposed to guarantee him virtual approval over anything connected to "Star Trek," which began as a short-lived TV series in 1966 and was briefly revived as a Saturday-morning cartoon before the 1987 premiere of "Next Generation."
Roddenberry dreamed of a world where technological advances did not outdistance human ones. He created the USS Enterprise as a vehicle of science and exploration, not war and destruction. His vision of the future was one of tranquillity - a lovely thought, but a difficult one for writers of TV series, movies and books who need conflict for drama.
As a result, Roddenberry's voice was not always heard.
Officials at Paramount deny having had any problems with Roddenberry, describing their relationship instead as one of mutual respect. John S. Pike, president of network television and international co-production for Paramount Television, maintains that the studio has closely adhered to the philosophical principles laid down by Roddenberry.
" `Star Trek' has been and will continue to be one of the most important jewels in Paramount's crown," Pike said. "We would do nothing to fracture that asset. We are very careful to protect it. You don't do anything with `Star Trek' that has short-term potential but could result in long-term damage."
No one individual has replaced Roddenberry's self-imposed function at Paramount - to maintain the integrity of the vast "Star Trek" enterprise and act as the quality controller. Decisions regarding movies, books, marketing and merchandising are now handled more or less on a departmental basis.
But "Star Trek" springs from television. And in that arena, Roddenberry did leave behind his successors in Rick Berman and Michael Piller, who are the creators and executive producers of "Deep Space Nine." Berman was with "Next Generation" as a producer from the start, while Piller came on in the third season as a writer and later a producer.
In his final year, Roddenberry increasingly relinquished control of "Next Generation" to Berman and Piller, who basically ran the series the last several years while Roddenberry acted as a consultant.
"Over and over, people tried to budge Roddenberry, and he wouldn't budge," Piller said. "Once Rick and I earned Gene's trust, once we got to that place, we were able to expand the universe, stretch the limits of what Gene set forth, over what anyone could by fighting him."
Roddenberry knew that Berman and Piller were developing a new series at the request of Paramount, but he never had the chance to hear what they had in mind.
"He was not well at the time," Berman said. "He was quite ill, and I never got a chance to tell him what the ideas were, what they were about. But I definitely discussed things with him enough to know that he trusted me and had given me his blessings."
On "Deep Space Nine," the Starfleet officers include a black commander whose son lives aboard the space station, a first officer who was once a terrorist, a science officer whose really a small worm controlling a beautiful female body, and a security officer who can transform himself into inanimate objects.
Because of its proximity to the wormhole, Deep Space Nine - represented by an expansive, menacing set that cost Paramount $4 million to build - has become a way station for a bizarre parade of travelers, explorers, merchants and spies.
More importantly, "Deep Space Nine" is an opportunity for Berman and Piller to evolve "Star Trek" and make it their own, while upholding Roddenberry's prime directive to keep the peace. They want to assure fans that the integrity of "Star Trek" will not be injured by their efforts.
"Rick Berman and I are not out to change `Star Trek,' " Piller stated firmly. "And `Deep Space Nine' is not a redefinition of `Star Trek.' It's an extension of Gene Roddenberry's vision."
Berman agreed. "In a sense, we have Gene Roddenberry sitting on our shoulder all day long," he said.