For twenty years, Trek really has had only three people in charge. Rick Berman and Micheal Piller (I'm counting them as one), Ira Stevens Behr (by default) and JJ Abrahms. And Manny Coto for one irrelovant season. It's pathetic, but my question is who was your favorite?
The three showrunners
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^ Win! 
^ Win!
Well. The criteria for the question was the last 20 years, and since Gene Roddenberry has been dead for 20 years and 13 days that rules him out. I would say my favourite show runner was Ira Steven Behr.
Brannon Braga.
I liked that whenever he was in charge of a season the horror quotient would increase.
Yup, everything Brannon Braga was in charge of was indeed quite horrible.
I have to wonder if Braga was ever really in charge of Voyager. By the time Jeri taylor handed him the reigns there was little to do conceptually except bring in a hot babe so I guess yea, he would be my favorite too. i hear his day to day activities included ushering in the babes, but he said by the time of Enterpise, he had to fight for an ear piece for Hoshi, Berman's clutches for power and control were so strong. I would also agree that Braga was the weakest decision maker, like bringing in Moore and then getting rid of him. Why bring him in, just to embarass him?
STAR TREK has had quite a few head writers over the years. It's never been strictly accurate to refer to any of them as "showrunners," though, since that term encompasses a lot of production responsibilities that Rick Berman has often shouldered even while not serving as head writer.
TNG Seasons 1-2: Gene Roddenberry
TNG Seasons 3-5: Michael Piller
TNG Seasons 6-7: Jeri Taylor
DS9 Seasons 1-2: Michael Piller
DS9 Seasons 3-7: Ira Steven Behr
VOY Seasons 1-2: Michael Piller
VOY Seasons 3-4: Jeri Taylor
VOY Seasons 5-6: Brannon Braga
VOY Season 7: Kenneth Biller
ENT Seasons 1-3: Brannon Braga
ENT Season 4: Manny Coto
TNG Seasons 1-2: Gene Roddenberry
TNG Seasons 3-5: Michael Piller
TNG Seasons 6-7: Jeri Taylor
DS9 Seasons 1-2: Michael Piller
DS9 Seasons 3-7: Ira Steven Behr
VOY Seasons 1-2: Michael Piller
VOY Seasons 3-4: Jeri Taylor
VOY Seasons 5-6: Brannon Braga
VOY Season 7: Kenneth Biller
ENT Seasons 1-3: Brannon Braga
ENT Season 4: Manny Coto
You have to remember that while working on TNG, Moore and Braga were friends, colleagues and peers. DS9 came and went with little fanfare, but Voyager was still on the air and by then Braga was the big shot show runner along side Berman. So they brought Moore in as a writer, basically so Braga could show off and boss his old friend around. Moore didn't like the show, or how it was run but mostly didn't like how he was treated but his former friend. Resulting in Moore publicly vowing to never have anything to do with the Star Trek Franchise again. Good work Brannon Braga.
Braga couldn't make a decision.
Piller was very generous and let other people shine through. Practically anyone. My garbage man claims he wrote an episode of TNG. I don't even know whether to disbelieve him or not.
Jerry Tailor was very nice and distinctive and classy. Although I heard that even though she didn't know what she was doing when she got there she became a tyr ant and a holy terror on the set when she did. I don't know if that's true. She seems very sweet and hugely talented.
Ira Behr is like a myopic visionary. People told him no more Ferengi stories and what does he do, give us more Ferengi stories. Kennith Biller was like Coto and seemed like a hoarder of stories only to be reexpressed by his giant head alone. I.e. stingy and grubby.
Piller was very generous and let other people shine through. Practically anyone. My garbage man claims he wrote an episode of TNG. I don't even know whether to disbelieve him or not.
Jerry Tailor was very nice and distinctive and classy. Although I heard that even though she didn't know what she was doing when she got there she became a tyr ant and a holy terror on the set when she did. I don't know if that's true. She seems very sweet and hugely talented.
Ira Behr is like a myopic visionary. People told him no more Ferengi stories and what does he do, give us more Ferengi stories. Kennith Biller was like Coto and seemed like a hoarder of stories only to be reexpressed by his giant head alone. I.e. stingy and grubby.
^^My understanding is that in the second season, scripts still had to have Roddenberry's personal approval before they were filmed, so I'd give him the title of showrunner, even if someone else was actually doing the day-to-day work.
Well, my snarky post upthread notwithstanding, I've always felt the best new Star Trek in my adult lifetime was TNG sesons 2-5 (I know, I know, a lot of that is more than 20 years ago). In any case, whomever was "showrunner" during those years would get my vote. I guess that would be some combination of Maurice Hurley, Michael Piller, and Rick Berman.
Gene Roddenberry was never, as far as I know, the head writer on TNG. He was the executive producer, and very hands on during the first couple of seasons, but he never actually ran the writing room. I believe that in both seasons 1 and 2, that would have been Maurice Hurley. So who was "showrunner"? Depends on how you define the role.
As I've always heard it, I think of showrunner as referring to the head writer. That was definitely Hurley. But Rick Berman was heading up the production side, Hurley was heading up the creative side, and Roddenberry was overseeing it all.
As I've always heard it, I think of showrunner as referring to the head writer. That was definitely Hurley. But Rick Berman was heading up the production side, Hurley was heading up the creative side, and Roddenberry was overseeing it all.
"In short, the executive producer who serves as the head writer. The longer answer is that the showrunner is the person who gives the show its tone and direction. The initial showrunner is usually the creator (frequently the writer of the pilothttp://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/Pilot)."
--TV Tropes: showrunner
In the case of someone like Berman, he may not have written episodes, but he certainly made decisions about what would air and ergo its tone and direction, so he'd be the showrunner for most of TNG. Roddenberry was the showrunner on at least the first 2 seasons of Star Trek.
--TV Tropes: showrunner
In the case of someone like Berman, he may not have written episodes, but he certainly made decisions about what would air and ergo its tone and direction, so he'd be the showrunner for most of TNG. Roddenberry was the showrunner on at least the first 2 seasons of Star Trek.
^ I disagree. That definition says, first, that the short version is the executive producer that serves as head writer. Neither Berman nor Roddenberry were ever the head writer of TNG.
The longer definition says "the person who gives the show its tone and direction." Using THAT definition, I can see that applying to Roddenberry in the first season and to Roddenberry and Maurice Hurley together in the second season. But never Rick Berman. The person setting the tone and direction, creatively, of TNG from the third season onward was most definitely Michael Piller. I think he would clearly be called the showrunner. Perhaps around season six or seven, when he stepped back a bit, you could say Jeri Taylor, but even then, Piller was still ultimately in charge of the writing room.
Although Rick Berman was the final authority, and did have input into the creative decisions, he certainly did not have the level of direct supervision over the writing room as Piller did, and Piller clearly set the tone and direction of the show.
The longer definition says "the person who gives the show its tone and direction." Using THAT definition, I can see that applying to Roddenberry in the first season and to Roddenberry and Maurice Hurley together in the second season. But never Rick Berman. The person setting the tone and direction, creatively, of TNG from the third season onward was most definitely Michael Piller. I think he would clearly be called the showrunner. Perhaps around season six or seven, when he stepped back a bit, you could say Jeri Taylor, but even then, Piller was still ultimately in charge of the writing room.
Although Rick Berman was the final authority, and did have input into the creative decisions, he certainly did not have the level of direct supervision over the writing room as Piller did, and Piller clearly set the tone and direction of the show.
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