Is Eugene Roddenberry a proponent of the "no conflict among good guys" philosophy?

[Greg Cox]

Eugene's Vision™


I like well-run conference room meetings, but I'll always have TNG for that

Well, I may be biased in that I hate writing talking-head scenes. Give me a chase through a swamp any day. Much more fun to write!

I'm actually writing what amounts to a conference-room scene this afternoon, and working hard to throw in plenty of physical business so it's not just voices on a page.

"He removed a silk handkerchief from his breast pocket and fastidiously wiped his fingers clean."

 

[SPCTRE]

I'm actually writing what amounts to a conference-room scene this afternoon, and working hard to throw in plenty of physical business so it's not just voices on a page.

"He removed a silk handkerchief from his breast pocket and fastidiously wiped his fingers clean."

 

[Kor]

I seem to recall from interviews that Eugene Roddenberry sort of "discovered" Trek later in life as an adult; and that he hadn't really paid attention to it as he was growing up, since it was his father's thing and not his thing.

So I'm not sure if he would necessarily adhere to a strict interpretation of Gene's Vision, or be so emotionally invested in it as to try to impose a strict philosophy on the production.

Kor

 

[ancient]

"conflict" is a pretty vague term. Perhaps GR simply meant that the good guys were not to engage in sword fights with each other.

I think that the spirit of the rule is that diverse opinions are still held but don't cause violence or upset - there isn't homogeneity, just civility.

 

[rahullak]

Except fencing in the rec-room.

 

[jamestyler]

I seem to recall from interviews that Eugene Roddenberry sort of "discovered" Trek later in life as an adult; and that he hadn't really paid attention to it as he was growing up, since it was his father's thing and not his thing.

Thats the one thing that really, really intrigues me about any involvement he might have from a consulting standpoint.

Trek Nation felt like a documentary of figuring out who Gene Roddenberry was. And that in itself involve a lot of myth shattering.

That scene where he starts to ask his mother about him alone is a tremendous base for character work. The outward illusion of perfection and an aura of a visionary hiding a truth that was less than pleasant. It's a more personal and real version of some of the stuff mentioned on DS9 - underneath the illusion there are secrets that can break it.

As much as he must respect and embrace the Roddenberry myth - on a personal level adds a layer that must have had an effect on him. None of us are perfect, as much as we pretend. It'd be interesting to see if that balance or conflict of myth v reality would be something that could be encouraged in a character in the new Trek.

 

[Capn Nick]

I thought the whole Eugene thing was kind of a ceremonial position to get good will. I mean, it's difficult to imagine him exerting that much influence on a much more experienced crew of writers and producers.

I also agree that people overstate what GR meant by "no conflict" and think TNG gets too much criticism for this. There is plenty of conflict, it just isn't generally of the ego driven kind. I always thought that was the core of what he meant.

But then, I prefer conference room scenes. So I can always hope against hope that they will decide to make them like that, even though I'm pretty sure I'm the only person who preferred that Trek :-)

 

[Christopher]

I thought the whole Eugene thing was kind of a ceremonial position to get good will. I mean, it's difficult to imagine him exerting that much influence on a much more experienced crew of writers and producers.

Well, like I said, it's probably more that Roddenberry's production company is a financing partner. With the rising costs of production, most shows and movies these days have multiple production partners sharing in the cost of production, dividing up the risk and rewards. There are production companies that exist exclusively as financial backers, like the Skydance Productions that underwrote Into Darkness and Beyond. They're not involved on the creative side; they're just investing money in enterprises that they hope will be profitable, a pure business transaction. I think that's the role Roddenberry's company will play here. But yes, the reason the production chose his company specifically to partner with is probably because of his name value.