Where is Rick Berman now
- Thread starter JarodRussell
- Start date
That was really uncalled for. I didn't agree with every decision Berman made, but it was obvious the man worked his ass off for Star Trek.
He was a business man, he made money, and he kept costs in check. There is been little to ever suggest he has much of anything in the realm of creative ability.
Captains are suppose to go down with there ship.
That doesn't make him a hack. He co-created three series, including the fan acclaimed Deep Space Nine.
Which he did. Even working on Star Trek: The Beginning even though it was clear it was never going to be made.
Well when the later half had rapidly declining quality I beg to differ.
Even after all these years and tons of resources, it seems Trek fans still don't really understand how the creative process works in Hollywood. Some Trek fans would rather remain uneducated and complain than realize that Hollywood doesn't work the way that it does in their heads.
Rick Berman didn't want to have multiple series running at a time, Paramount did. Rick Berman wanted to take a break between Voyager and Enterprise, Paramount didn't. Rick Berman and Brannon Braga wanted "Year of Hell" to be the entire fourth season, Paramount didn't. Rick Berman wanted Enterprise to be a true prequel (no transporters, spending a year at Earth), Paramount didn't (they also forced the temporal cold war on the show).
It is very rare that a creator or producer has total control over a product in Hollywood. Like any other business, they have to satisfy the people paying the bills.
I stand corrected, I'm genuinely interested in this stuff, do you have a short rendition(a link) explaining some of this?
Be clear I don't think they have magical powers, however picking the right battles is an issue. You can say he wanted to take a break. But why did he stick around with a product he knew was subpar?
Be clear I give him credit for holding things together as a franchise, but I'm a strong believer they should of just let stuff fall apart.
It is scattered across books and websites I've read over the years.
Here's a more recent thread on "Year of Hell":
http://www.trekbbs.com/showthread.php?t=258496
Sometimes it's hard to walk away from what you know and love. And I believe Berman loved Trek in his own way.
There's a lot that I don't like him for, but those are all just one part of the equation. I'm sure he pulled in like 12 hr days, 5-6 days a week from the beginning to end of his run. And as much as I don't like his decisions, he did make them with honest intentions.
If he's in retirement, he's certainly earned it. There's plenty of Trek during his run that I greatly enjoy. If I criticize something of his, it's on a case-by-case basis, but as much as I enjoy Trek, I hope he's living well, too. For us, Trek is enjoyment, a hobby, and an escape. For others, it's a job, and jobs are hard. Even writers and actors who were Trekkies first and then joined on get drained in a few years.
Seems like he's traveling a lot and active in philanthropy internationally.
As I said recently in another thread... well I'll just copy & paste it-
I remember back in the day of ENT airing I fell into "the crowd" on this board of bashing Rick Berman & Brannon Braga (B&B) for the shows problems.
But after watching the extras on the s3 & 4 ENT Blu-rays (I haven't got 1-2), and also for the TNG ones I have (s2-5), I've gained so much respect for both of those guys.
I remember back in the day of ENT airing I fell into "the crowd" on this board of bashing Rick Berman & Brannon Braga (B&B) for the shows problems.
But after watching the extras on the s3 & 4 ENT Blu-rays (I haven't got 1-2), and also for the TNG ones I have (s2-5), I've gained so much respect for both of those guys.
Yes but this rational is always used any time one begins selling of an inferior product.
Part of my issue with him is he didn't leave when he should of likely because he had few other options.
And how in the world would you know what options Berman did have?
Sounds more like you just want to shit on the guy, and are willing to throw whatever reason out there you can to justify doing so.
There are plenty of criticisms we can level at the man that are perfectly fair, but come on.
Sounds more like you just want to shit on the guy, and are willing to throw whatever reason out there you can to justify doing so.
There are plenty of criticisms we can level at the man that are perfectly fair, but come on.
I doubt options really had anything to do with it. The man was likely already rich by the time Voyager and Enterprise came around. For good or ill, he had a perceived duty to protect "Roddenberry's Vision" and he did so until Paramount/CBS showed him the door.
While the consistency wasn't there at the end, they still managed to hit it out of the park here and there.
Rick Berman was quite the workhorse if we really think about it. At one point, he was overseeing the wrapping of TNG, the regular production of Deep Space Nine, the pre-production of a feature film and the startup of Voyager.
Could we have done better than Rick Berman? Yeah, probably. But I think, at the end of the day, we could've done a hell of a lot worse too.
No doubt with the epilogue ending with "It wasn't the Manny Coto show, dammit!!!"
Yeah, I think I'd buy it just to hear about all the stuff that went on behind the scenes. I just hope he doesn't bias everything with his self-denying rose-colored "we are all very pleased" bullshit-extruding machine. Just the facts, man...
Well, there's ``Brothers''.
Why? Ships are replaceable. Competent, experienced people are not.
I've always figured Berman as a shoot-from-the-hip guy. 
For example, I appreciate the honesty at the time with which he went public with how he'd advised Paramount "not to go to the well once too often" with the Star Trek franchise. Berman felt that simply churning out spin-offs ad nauseum could potentially sour the audience to Star Trek in the long term, and sadly he was ultimately proven right.
His spoken interviews on all the TNG and ENT blu rays have also been candid. I appreciate him for that.
For example, I appreciate the honesty at the time with which he went public with how he'd advised Paramount "not to go to the well once too often" with the Star Trek franchise. Berman felt that simply churning out spin-offs ad nauseum could potentially sour the audience to Star Trek in the long term, and sadly he was ultimately proven right.
His spoken interviews on all the TNG and ENT blu rays have also been candid. I appreciate him for that.
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