Nearly 17 years is going to be hard to remember too many names, I remember Morpheus who we thought might have been affiliated with the show, I think some other people's names/avatars might trigger my memory too. Such good times.
Morpheus really was associated with the show, he provided us all the information regarding the season 2 finale and the Xindi story arc for the third season before they were made public. But I don't think we ever found out who he was or what his exact involvement with the show was.
Had to be David Goodman. Famous for being a Trek fan so why wouldn't he come to the most popular Trek forum to hang out and give out some inside info. Jason
He was here during the Days of Enterprise. It was fun having those associated with trek posting on the boards. Rick Sternbach was another one.
I also remember him expressing disappointment before the finale, kinda getting us to all brace ourselves. For some reason I kinda imagined it to be Connor Trinneer, though a writer definitely makes more sense. Dang, if it were David I wish I could talk to him, he's exactly the type of person who'd know everything about how one goes from a good spec script writer to an official writer for a show. It's my dream to be involved with writing Trek (or now the Orville which is a close to real trek as we have these days), if only I could pick his brain for a few minutes.
Well you could ask Serveaux. He might have some helpful advice in that area. It's a shame they don't have the old policy were any fan could send in scripts back in the day. I mean that is how Ron Moore got his big break on Trek. Heck maybe others here did that back in the day and they might also have some helpful advice. Jason
Wow, Ron is one of the greatest, I didn't realize that's how he got his start. Yeah I'd love to submit it like that. I remember one of these behind the scenes things about TNG and I think it was Brannon Braga talking about how this one person kept submitting scripts about lobsters or crabs and also there was a crew member in the script that the scriptwriter wanted to play who was like an ensign who solved everything, ha. But yeah, @Serveaux, you probably don't remember me from 17 years ago, ha, but if you have any advice on what a person could do to go from good spec script writer to official writer (aka "pulling a Ron Moore"), I'd be immensely grateful.
IIRC, Ron Moore somehow scored a visit to the TNG set and while he was there, he left his spec script for what would eventually become The Bonding laying around in an obvious spot when he left. But this isn't really something that would work today, particularly for a show like The Orville. All episodes and storylines for Orville episodes originate from the show's writing staff, and indeed with only a dozen or so episodes, they have no problem thinking up their own storylines. One of the reasons Star Trek turned to submitted scripts back in the day was because they were trying to fill a season of twenty-six episodes and turned to the spec scripts when they had trouble thinking up a storyline. Also, season 3 or Orville in particular is clamping down hard on any outside influences. Jonathan Frakes has said he can't direct any episodes for the third season because they're only allowing people from the show's production staff to direct episodes. If they're that strict about their director selection, they ain't going to be looking at scripts from anyone not on the writing staff.
Are there any shows around these days that take spec scripts? Most of the shows I can think of are to serialized for there to be room to put in something like that. I didn't think you actually you actually had to pay for a legit agent. I thought all of their money just came out of a percentage of whatever sales you made?
Let's talk about the captain... Ed. And that's the point, After fifty years of star Trek and multiple series.. (yes Orville is not technically Star trek.. but we all know it is Trek in many ways at its core) we know the first names of the captains, but when we think about them,.. or write posts about them.. we use "Kirk did this" and "Picard did this" and "Don't mess with the Sisko" we still use their last name way more than the first name.. but when we think of captain Mercer.. we think "Ed".. he's just "Ed." We are on a first name basis with him in a way that we haven't been before. I mean, maybe it's because we got a glimpse of his parents, who both thinks he should pay more attention to his health.. or maybe it's because he can't cook and makes peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for his date, and yet won't actually add the jelly. Ed isn't the best captain, but there is just something about him that is far more grounded and human, and he has that infectious smile. Seth was not just the perfect choice for the role, but he could soon be in my top favorite captains. People might think it was all ego that the creator of the show cast himself as the captain, but he kind of had to.. they didn't need someone who could just read the lines.. they needed someone who understood the fine line between satire, homage, and sincerity that this show had to so finely walk.. and when it comes to performance of the most important part of the show, only the creator of the show could really know all of that by instinct. But Seth has done so much more.. he has acted the shit out of this character.. It's an incredible performance
While I understand what you mean, I often think of Sisko as "Ben." Maybe it's because lots of people called him by his first name over the course of the show - his father, Kasidy, Dax, etc. Plus of course Jake is also a Sisko.
you are right. I think (and I'm not trying to generalize too much) is that a lot of fans when they think about or post about him, they still use "sisko" over Ben in many posts.. yet.. I feel the first thing I want to do is call him Ed, not Mercer.. I don't know.. it's just.. something about him. Like he's a sitcom character who is very relatable who also isn't a bad captain at all
You can't get a work with out an agent, and an agent won't represent you unless you're already a working writer. Catch 22.
It's like that with all the Orville characters. Most people think "Kelly" and not "Grayson." "Gordon" not "Molloy." "John" not "LaMarr." "Claire" not "Finn." "Alara" not "Kitan." "Talla" not "Keyali." Orville's just a show that places emphasis on the characters' first names instead of last. Probably a reflection of the fact its characters are people first for the show and not the staff of a starship first.
I think a lot of it, at least for me, is because the environment of the show just feels a lot more casual than the Star Treks tend to. You can occasionally find an agent who will take new writers, but they can be hard to find, and I think they tend to be pretty picky about who they represent.
It also helps that the characters are likeable and relatable, they're professionals but they're not so highly evolved to not be total goofs at times. Relationships seem to grow organically between them and they play off well against one another. Well written, acted and directed, all of which makes a huge odds.
A classmate had some script ideas in consideration for DS9. He had published some SF stories and at least one collection. He sent in a few script ideas/synopsis. The production team liked them enough to fly him to LA from NYS to meet with him. Even though it didn't work out, he said it was a great experience and they treated him royally.