Richard Arnold was an assistant to Roddenberry and had no influence or input on TNG other than possibly delivering messages. He was employed by Paramount as time went by to do research for all areas of the Franchise, and was a pretty good resource in that respect.
Inside Star Trek: The Real Story
- Thread starter Gary7
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^But Arnold had extensive influence over the tie-in fiction, an influence which he exercised aggressively and stiflingly.
So I hear. I also know that detached observers were not in agreement as to whether Arnold's influence represented anything more than plausible deniability for Roddenberry. Nonetheless, the contrast between his staying on while Justman leaving suggests nothing about the quality of the creative or management input into TNG. He simply didn't participate in that.
Maizlish is a different matter, because by all accounts he did interject himself into decision making on the series, in the supposed effort to protect Roddenberry's interests.
Maizlish is a different matter, because by all accounts he did interject himself into decision making on the series, in the supposed effort to protect Roddenberry's interests.
Yeah, I guess I was conflating two issues: the broader pattern of Roddenberry making some poor choices of associates late in life, and the specific issue of the effects on TNG. I should've drawn a clearer distinction between those.
I do agree about the plausible deniability aspect of Arnold's presence. GR was all about plausible deniability when it came to subjects he didn't want to deal with.
Well, IMO, I think you can get sort of a window into Gerrold's thinking around that time period if you look at his Star Wolf series of novels (Voyager of the Star Wolf, The Middle of Nowhere, and Blood and Fire). The third of those is adapted from a script Gerrold wrote for TNG and was infamously rejected. But, as a whole, I think those three books are to some extent Gerrold's reaction to what was happening with TNG. The series bible he wrote for a proposed Star Wolf television series is even moreso a reaction to TNG to my eyes.
^I have read those, and I'm aware of Gerrold's influences on them. The TV series proposal actually came first (though it was derived from Gerrold's earlier novel Yesterday's Children aka Starhunt, which was in turn loosely derived from a rejected TOS pitch that also spawned the Bantam Trek novel The Galactic Whirlpool), and the first two books were based on its pilot script by Gerrold and two unfilmed episode scripts by other writers. But it's not really the same as my hypothetical "TNG with Justman, Fontana, and Gerrold in charge." For one thing, the Star Wolf is much more of a military vessel than the original conception of the E-D.
^^^^
All true. I guess I didn't mean, necessarily, a 1:1 comparison. I think, though, if you look at the Star Wolf series bible and the first four scripts that were written for the proposed series there is a somewhat different sense of writing character arcs and the general structure of the episodes. I think that if Gerrold had stayed with TNG, some of this may have rubbed-off on that series
All true. I guess I didn't mean, necessarily, a 1:1 comparison. I think, though, if you look at the Star Wolf series bible and the first four scripts that were written for the proposed series there is a somewhat different sense of writing character arcs and the general structure of the episodes. I think that if Gerrold had stayed with TNG, some of this may have rubbed-off on that series
I find Gerrold to be a hit-and-miss writer anyway. I like some of his novels, but not all, particularly not his later stuff (partly because he's had this juvenile compulsion to insult Leonard Maizlish in practically everything he's written since 1987). I'm really more interested in what a TNG series show-run by D. C. Fontana and line-produced by Bob Justman would've been like. They both deserved more success in the industry than they got.
Fair 'nuff. I think both Fontana and Gerrold deserve more recognition and credit for what they did contribute to TNG while they were still there.
The characterization in Gerrold's original version of "Blood And Fire" (as written for TNG rather than the fan film expansion for PII) is a great deal more interesting and informal - for want of a better word - than the way the TNG characters actually evolved on screen. As one example, Wesley's got something of an attitude, convinced that any interest Picard shows in him is an attempt to gain favor with his mother. The series would have benefitted more from Gerrold's approach than from those "evolved 24th century" characters. IMAO.
Hell, yeah! That would have been some deep space adventure for sure.
I dunno....that angle would've likely wound up as being too soap-operaish and gotten really tedious, really fast.
"Is that what you think? That people are only nice when they want something?"
"Not people. You."
It's remarkable that you've projected a summarized exchange in a script you haven't read into an entire "angle" and extrapolated how that hypothetical angle would have played out over time. Guess it never does to let a total lack of information prevent the quick formulation of an opinion.
"Not people. You."
It's remarkable that you've projected a summarized exchange in a script you haven't read into an entire "angle" and extrapolated how that hypothetical angle would have played out over time. Guess it never does to let a total lack of information prevent the quick formulation of an opinion.
I don't see anything in that exchange that would prove me wrong.
In any case, I'm mainly trying to work out Roddenberry's reasons for nixing the approach, and it's not exactly rocket science. Starting off with Character X wants to sleep with Character Y, but feels guilty over the death of Y's husband, and Y's son is suspicious of X's motives...extrapolate that kind of approach to the rest of the cast, where everyone has their own agenda, and it's not hard to see how it can quickly become "As The Starship Turns".
In any case, I'm mainly trying to work out Roddenberry's reasons for nixing the approach, and it's not exactly rocket science. Starting off with Character X wants to sleep with Character Y, but feels guilty over the death of Y's husband, and Y's son is suspicious of X's motives...extrapolate that kind of approach to the rest of the cast, where everyone has their own agenda, and it's not hard to see how it can quickly become "As The Starship Turns".
God forbid we should have an episode where an android tries to convince someone not to call off her wedding. Oh wait, we did. Now that's sci-fi soap!
Worf and Troi qualified as spicing it up, but unless I didn't pay enough attention somewhere, it really seemed to come out of left field. I don't understand why the series shied away from the obvious romances based on established character histories, namely between Picard and Crusher, and between Troi and Riker. The way in which these were avoided seemed oh-so-formulaic.
On the whole, I agree with you.
I think there is something about Hollywood that makes it hard to be successful *and* have moral fiber. There's a great book by William Goldman (writer of such classics as "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid" and "Princess Bride") called "Quick! Which Lie Did I Tell?" I recommend it to everyone.
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