The One Thing You Could Change, ENTERPRISE Edition...
- Thread starter Farscape One
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Garrett Wang has spoken frequently at his frustration that he was never allowed to direct an episode.
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Yep, it seems to be six of one and half a dozen of the other where Garrett Wang's problems with the production team are concerned.
Have the first season be about the creation of Starfleet. with its set up flaws
I heard a rumour the producers hated the hell out of him and he even turned up very late one day for Monday morning filming.I don't know if his tardiness was the result of how he was treated or if he was treated that way because of his attitude
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Like I said, six of one and half a dozen of the other. There's little doubt that towards the later stages of the Berman era the senior producers could be bastards to the casts. But at the same time, repeatedly not showing up for work on time and kicking off about not getting custom-made shoes as part of your uniform on day one etc is not going to butter many parsnips with the higher-ups.
The Voyager behind the scenes stuff is a hot mess from start to finish. It surprises me that some of them can share a stage with each other to do a convention these days.
Say what you want about Bakula, and I note that I have a great deal of respect for Kate Mulgrew, but he didn’t take it upon himself to emotionally persecute a fellow cast member to the point where said person had a near-nervous breakdown.
I think TNG aside, there has rarely been a Trek cast that 100% gelled. Enterprise comes closest perhaps, but even then there were troubles.
Say what you want about Bakula, and I note that I have a great deal of respect for Kate Mulgrew, but he didn’t take it upon himself to emotionally persecute a fellow cast member to the point where said person had a near-nervous breakdown.
I think TNG aside, there has rarely been a Trek cast that 100% gelled. Enterprise comes closest perhaps, but even then there were troubles.
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Bullying is never right, but in Kate Mulgrew's defence, said fellow cast member had been introduced partway through the run of the show to specifically appeal to a certain demographic, was rapidly taking the spotlight from the show's established characters when some of them had long been starved for attention anyway, and just conveniently happened to be in a relationship with the show's co-creator/head writer. I can imagine that at the time things felt pretty shitty from her perspective as the show's nominal lead. I believe Mulgrew has since admitted to handling the situation badly and she and Jeri Ryan have buried the hatchet now, but I can certainly understand why that sort of thing happened on a show where the behind-the-scenes atmosphere had been a mess since day one; and while we can fairly criticise Mulgrew for acting that way, I think the real culprits here are Berman and Braga, who saw the shit happening first hand and did nothing to ease tensions on set – indeed if anything they fanned the flames.
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I believe Jolene Blalock won't do appearances or interviews concerning Star Trek any more. Deep Space 9 was an interesting one, in that the cast all seem to have got along professionally but not to have formed any long-lasting friendships beyond the show, with one or two notable exceptions.
It didn't help that Mulgrew and Jennifer Lien were good friends, and Lien had been sacked to make room for Ryan. Again, no excuse; it should not have happened.
Some more interesting things to check out: https://screenrant.com/star-trek-voyager-dark-hidden-secrets-facts-trivia/
Some more interesting things to check out: https://screenrant.com/star-trek-voyager-dark-hidden-secrets-facts-trivia/
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I think I’m retrospect both Mulgrew and Ryan have said that the tension between them created a chemistry in the two handed scenes Janeway and Seven have together.
@Vale
I agree with everything you say regarding bullying. I just want to point out that Ryan’s relationship with Braga didn’t figure into this as it was a few years into the show that they started dating. If anything it seems that Ryan dating Braga was a factor in stopping the shitty behaviour on and off set.
I believe Blalock just wants to distance herself from acting generally, though she did crack a few years back to do a convention I believe.
For troubles on Enterprise, I was thinking of how Keating and Park didn’t get along. I know Blalock wasn’t happy with the way T’Pol was written, but as far as I’m aware she had no feud with any cast members.
Back to topic, this really does touch upon the ‘one’ thing I’d change about Enterprise. That is, if you’re going to do a prequel, embrace it on every level. Do Starfleet, the Romulan War, Federation formation etc.
Basically, if you’re going to do a prequel… do it! It’s very strange the amount of fear various executives had about going in the prequel direction, especially as at that point in time George Lucas had been making plenty of bank from the idea for years (regardless of quality).
Enterprise seems to have been in this strange position where TPTB seemed to believe it needed something extra to give it a little pizazz (hence the TCW) whilst dunderheadedly failing to realise that a few seasons having a glimpse into the (future) history of the Star Trek universe was all the pizazz anyone needed.
@Vale
I agree with everything you say regarding bullying. I just want to point out that Ryan’s relationship with Braga didn’t figure into this as it was a few years into the show that they started dating. If anything it seems that Ryan dating Braga was a factor in stopping the shitty behaviour on and off set.
I believe Blalock just wants to distance herself from acting generally, though she did crack a few years back to do a convention I believe.
For troubles on Enterprise, I was thinking of how Keating and Park didn’t get along. I know Blalock wasn’t happy with the way T’Pol was written, but as far as I’m aware she had no feud with any cast members.
Back to topic, this really does touch upon the ‘one’ thing I’d change about Enterprise. That is, if you’re going to do a prequel, embrace it on every level. Do Starfleet, the Romulan War, Federation formation etc.
Basically, if you’re going to do a prequel… do it! It’s very strange the amount of fear various executives had about going in the prequel direction, especially as at that point in time George Lucas had been making plenty of bank from the idea for years (regardless of quality).
Enterprise seems to have been in this strange position where TPTB seemed to believe it needed something extra to give it a little pizazz (hence the TCW) whilst dunderheadedly failing to realise that a few seasons having a glimpse into the (future) history of the Star Trek universe was all the pizazz anyone needed.
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Interesting, I'd never heard that!
I’m going to have to dig the second of the oral history books published around the 50th anniversary. The Next 25 Years I think. It’s somewhere in there, but Google gives me nothing.
I don’t think it was ever anything too nasty. Just a misunderstanding in early days that eventually smoothed itself out.
@Vale
Keating on the cast:
“It’s greatest success was we had a bloody good cast… Linda was fresh out of the gate and she wasn’t always my favourite person, but she was a good actress”
from The Fifty Year Mission - The Next 25 Years.
I was reminded by it on the recent Shuttlepod YouTube show hosted by Keating and Trineer, in which he talked about how supportive the cast were of both of them during the gruelling Shuttlepod One shoot and how the day after filming “even Hoshi” said hello to him (Keating).
It sounds like a storm in a tea cup, nothing to the level of Mulgrew/Ryan.
Keating on the cast:
“It’s greatest success was we had a bloody good cast… Linda was fresh out of the gate and she wasn’t always my favourite person, but she was a good actress”
from The Fifty Year Mission - The Next 25 Years.
I was reminded by it on the recent Shuttlepod YouTube show hosted by Keating and Trineer, in which he talked about how supportive the cast were of both of them during the gruelling Shuttlepod One shoot and how the day after filming “even Hoshi” said hello to him (Keating).
It sounds like a storm in a tea cup, nothing to the level of Mulgrew/Ryan.
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Only a handful of episodes really dealt with the TCW in S1 & 2 combined: “Broken Bow”, “Cold Front”, “Shockwave I & II,” and “Future Tense”. “Detained” and “Two Day, Two Nights” were as well to a far lesser extent, as they dealt more about the Suliban Cabal itself. Far more episodes were dedicated to Vulcans and how they interacted with human, Andorians and other species as a major power. It got crapped on, largely because ENT hadn’t figured out the mini arc format or the awesome soundtrack to go with their episodes until S4. Or that there was a need to add much more melodrama and moral dilemmas like in S3. Making everything come off as dull and generally unexciting to watch.
It was the Xindi arc that went overboard with time travel and the TCW, introducing the Sphere Builders and the alien nazis at the end of the arc. A number of episodes could have worked as standalone or two-parters on their own, and the Delphic Expanse worked as a dangerous region of unexplored space filled with spatial anomalies, pirate bases, religious fanatics, and weapons manufacturers to major powers (ex.the Romulans) without needing to add time travel to the mix. The Xindi weren’t needed either beyond the Insectoids and Aquatics to show off non-humanoid lifeforms.
It was the Xindi arc that went overboard with time travel and the TCW, introducing the Sphere Builders and the alien nazis at the end of the arc. A number of episodes could have worked as standalone or two-parters on their own, and the Delphic Expanse worked as a dangerous region of unexplored space filled with spatial anomalies, pirate bases, religious fanatics, and weapons manufacturers to major powers (ex.the Romulans) without needing to add time travel to the mix. The Xindi weren’t needed either beyond the Insectoids and Aquatics to show off non-humanoid lifeforms.
Being freinds as close as family is quite nice creates a great working environment but it doesn't happen all the time maybe even often.
You have freinds but you also have acquaintances. My job now i have a group if 10 or so. Freindly with all but freinds with only a few of them as in I have there phone number and talk after work. Rest I can talk to do my job be professional etc. None are an "enemy" or have a negative thoughts for. Has happened in the past where I couldn't work with X or Y.
So expecting a group of 10 or more to get along famously is a stretch.
You have freinds but you also have acquaintances. My job now i have a group if 10 or so. Freindly with all but freinds with only a few of them as in I have there phone number and talk after work. Rest I can talk to do my job be professional etc. None are an "enemy" or have a negative thoughts for. Has happened in the past where I couldn't work with X or Y.
So expecting a group of 10 or more to get along famously is a stretch.
Even among the original Monkees Mike Nesmith and Peter Tork didn't like one another, or more specifically Tork did not like Nesmith for whatever reasons. That fact was really well hidden for many years but since Tork was the first Monkee to quit the group it sort of follows things were going on behind the scenes that helped drive Peter's decision.
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