Was a Rick Berman a bad choice to run the Star Trek Franchise after Gene Roddenberry died? This video does not paint him in the best light:
Was a Rick Berman a bad choice to run the Star Trek Franchise after Gene Roddenberry died?
- Thread starter The Overlord
- Start date
I don't have time for a 33 minute video which likely just amounts to "BERMAN SUCKS!!!!!1111oneoneone"
Oh.. A Turder... Pass...
Hindsight is 20/20. The franchise was rocking it for a good decade. Did things burn out in the end? Sure, but as a Star Trek fan, it was an enjoyable run.
Ill watch that video later.
Berman made some big mistakes like firing Ron Jones. He let Star Trek's aesthetics grow stale when the franchise needed some new blood in the late 90s.
Nevertheless, the man kept the Star Trek production factory that He, Rodenberry and Justman created running, he co created DS9 and he produced a lot of good episodes well into the 90s. Just for DS9 I'd say he did well.
Berman made some big mistakes like firing Ron Jones. He let Star Trek's aesthetics grow stale when the franchise needed some new blood in the late 90s.
Nevertheless, the man kept the Star Trek production factory that He, Rodenberry and Justman created running, he co created DS9 and he produced a lot of good episodes well into the 90s. Just for DS9 I'd say he did well.
Berman made some whopper mistakes, especially with the treatment of some of the female cast, but hindsight is never 20/20, as we have no what other people would’ve done and behaved if in charge.
He kept the trains running on time and budget for twenty five seasons and four motion pictures, likely sticking around for several years too long.
In other words, I simply don’t know.
He kept the trains running on time and budget for twenty five seasons and four motion pictures, likely sticking around for several years too long.
In other words, I simply don’t know.
well not watching, but comment on the premise..
Rick done good for awhile, but they all got.. scared.. to try new things, thinking that the old ways will always work.. but didn't.
Rick done good for awhile, but they all got.. scared.. to try new things, thinking that the old ways will always work.. but didn't.
Berman and Braga both had hits and misses. Both tried to deliver interesting Trek (and usually succeeded, at first) but, yes - they started running out of ideas.
When you try to run something so hard and for so long, you will run out of ideas. That's human...
When you try to run something so hard and for so long, you will run out of ideas. That's human...
I'm not going to say he was a bad choice at the time. He was really already running things for over two years before Gene Roddenberry died. But I will say the showrunners, and who they happened to be, made a huge difference.
I just think he stuck around too long. He should've left after VOY ended. Even if the next series tanked and the next TNG Movie still tanked, people would've turned around and said, "Look at how much better things were when Rick Berman was running things!" I think he made a mistake by sticking around all the way up to 2005.
I just think he stuck around too long. He should've left after VOY ended. Even if the next series tanked and the next TNG Movie still tanked, people would've turned around and said, "Look at how much better things were when Rick Berman was running things!" I think he made a mistake by sticking around all the way up to 2005.
Perhaps the video is more in-depth than that? It has quotes from actors and producers who took issue with some of Berman's decisions.
Does it also have quotes of actors and producers who were happy with his decisions? I only skimmed through but it made me really suspicious that no matter what part I watched it was about how awful he was.
Using real quotes doesn't mean the video is an accurate portrayal of what went on, it's easy to just pick those that fit your narrative.
He should have left after S1 of Voyager. Maybe he could've stuck to the movies. The man wasn't just in the job for a long time, but he was spread thin.
But yeah, there's a lot of good in his run, including peak TNG. Doesn't matter if her made every good call. He was an executive, his job was to appoint people with good judgement. Which also means the buck stops with him on all the bad calls.
There were the highest of highs (All Good Things) and the lowest of lows (These are the Voyages) in his tenure. I don't have the background to judge.
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I think he wanted a break after Voyager, and recognised that everything was getting a bit tired. However the studio said that they were going to go ahead with the new show with or without him. It was also around that time that they were thinking of putting a new boy band on the ship each episode as a cross promotional stunt. He managed to talk them down from that horrific idea. The Enterprise dvd/blu-ray featurettes and some early Warp 5 Podcast episodes give us an idea of how the studio execs were treating Enterprise as a marketing excercise, without really understanding the product they were marketing. Considering the level of studio interference going on at the start of the show, which would have twisted Rodenberry's ideas into something unrecognisable, I think Berman felt obligated to continue despite feeling like he, and the franchise, needed a short break.
I think he probably treated some cast members unfairly/inappropriately, probably made a few creative mistakes (the music thing is endlessly retold in the fan community), but I don't think he is some out and out villain. Certainly not of the order that garnered such hatred in the 90s/00s.
I think he was a good choice at the time because he most likely understood TNG better than anyone else at the time and why people liked the show. he later became a hindrance when it came to spin-offs and movies and such. Plus he seems to have been a asshole but that exactly hasn't been a negative trait all the time it seems when it comes to making movies and tv shows. Half of the most brilliant and talented people in the world seem to end up being assholes.
Jason
Jason
No but I think Trek like Doctor Who should never have one showrunner for too long or stuff gets stuck in one style and stale. I think some fans are way too harsh on Berman though without considering the circumstances he was under. Everything good about Trek is in spite of him and everything bad was his fault. Things don't work that way in real life.
1996, when we get 26 DS9 episodes, 26 Voyager episodes, including amazing episodes like Trials and Tribbleations and Flashback, and a feature length film, not to mention all the spin off books and games. Probably the peak of Berman trek, but it continued for another 9 years.
Nobody else has come close to delivering that. Berman was the best thing to happen to trek.
Nobody else has come close to delivering that. Berman was the best thing to happen to trek.
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