Would the quality of Star Trek episodes improve if anybody could pitch an episode idea like they used to be able to in the 90s? (Was that a widespread practice across TV shows in general or just Trek?)
It's not a practical option with how modern TV shows are produced and the only reason they did it on the 90s Trek shows was because they were having trouble coming up with 26 different story ideas each season. And even then, it was primarily just TNG and Voyager that did it since they were the episodic shows. With only ten episodes, they have no problem thinking up ideas, and even on an episodic show like SNW there's a loose arc running through each season which would make the freelance writers format completely impractical.
I'd like to see it return. One variant of the old model was that freelancers would pitch stories, and that framework would be revised into the final teleplay by staff writers.
Though yeah, it's probably not a lack of ideas that causes the problems with nuTrek, it's the fact that their entire goal is to make exactly the kind of thing that they've ended up making three times over. "Children of the Comet" shows that they can do a solid run-of-the-mill Star Trek episode if they want to, they just typically don't want to.
Though yeah, it's probably not a lack of ideas that causes the problems with nuTrek, it's the fact that their entire goal is to make exactly the kind of thing that they've ended up making three times over. "Children of the Comet" shows that they can do a solid run-of-the-mill Star Trek episode if they want to, they just typically don't want to.
The legal ramifications of the open submission and pitching process is enough to scare off any professional production these days. The WGA just ain't gonna take the risk, so there's no point in even having the discussion.
Hell, we're at the point where writers on shows are expressly forbidden against reading fanfic of any kind. That's how stringent the rules have gotten over the years.
Hell, we're at the point where writers on shows are expressly forbidden against reading fanfic of any kind. That's how stringent the rules have gotten over the years.
Which is why there's a Don't Post Story Ideas rule in our Trek Lit forum.
One reason I’ve seen for the open pitching days at TNG was that after all the turmoil and changes in staff at TNG over its first two years, a lot of pros didn’t want to go anywhere near it.
Yup. They kept a hatchet list of all the writers that came and went in the first couple seasons. Talk about your toxic workplaces.
Even those that successfully pitch would be watered down by the corporate model in place. The corporate model is the real problem.
Yeah, I suppose it's impractical when the episodes are so intertwined with each other and so few in number.
At least we have the pitch games. (I wonder how often we've inadvertently duplicated a real pitch someone actually made, wholly or partially).
Which other shows did this?
At least we have the pitch games. (I wonder how often we've inadvertently duplicated a real pitch someone actually made, wholly or partially).
Which other shows did this?
Allowed pitches from people who were not members of the WGA and not represented by agents? None, as far as I know. I believe that was a Michael Piller invention and that it took a lot of wrangling with Paramount's legal department to get it approved.
It was borne out of desperation when the continual writing staff turnover in the first two seasons led to the pile of produceable scripts going dry. They instituted the policy purely to keep the production machine fed and void a very expensive shutdown.
It'll never happen again.
I know that was part of the reason, but I don't think it's the whole story. Michael Piller seemed very committed to the idea as a way to give opportunities to new writers. This is evidenced by the fact that they kept the policy in place basically for the entirety of the Berman era, long after the writing staff had settled down and they were no longer desperate for scripts.
One thing about it is you get ideas from a larger group of people, so there's a wide variety of viewpoints and backgrounds from which to approach concepts.
And an even wider group of people to get legal releases from in case someone gets lawsuit happy over a story element in a finished episode that seems even slightly similar to something in their pitch or spec script.
I guess if all parties are willing to cooperate by the same set of rules, it works. But that's very hard to achieve.
The thing people seem to forget all the time is that you cannot copyright an idea. "Beverly has sex with a candle" is not copyrightable. Someone could come up with that idea, and even tell it to Paramount, and still not have a case when "Sub Rosa" is produced. What is copyrightable is the fixed expression of the idea -- the dialogue, the stage directions written in the script, etc. That doesn't stop people from suing. But it's still the way the law works.
Do you think pitches in the past went directly to the screen without being developed, rewritten and restructured? Without the studio, network or sponsers chiming in?
Problem is, the legal threat is enough for studios to avoid the trouble entirely. No reason to open yourself needlessly to litigation if you don’t have to.
Similar threads
