Braga Relieved To Be Writing in 21st Century

Enterprise co-creator Brannon Braga said that after 15 years in the franchise, he was happy to leave Star Trek behind him.

"It's totally refreshing to be in the 21st century. I'd been in the 24th century for so long, I worried if I'd know how to write regular contemporary people," he told the Sun (via Jam! Television). ""Star Trek was like doing a period piece set in the future. Everything was somewhat stylized. I'd been eager for a long time to write something set today."

Braga has not escaped from extraterrestrials, since Threshold focuses on a team responding to the threat of an alien invasion. Beings with triple-helix DNA are recoding human DNA to transform people. "It was exciting to exploit real-life science," he said of writing the pilot. "It's easier to draw on something that's real than come up with something that sounds amazing."

Series lead Carla Gugino "was not looking to do another series", said Braga, but "read the script and really liked it...we did very little arm twisting." He said he and his fellow producers were astonished at their luck.

As for cast member Brent Spiner, whom Braga knew from his days playing Data on Star Trek: The Next Generation, CBS and Paramount recommended bringing him in, not Braga himself. "He's enjoying doing the show and things are to his liking...I know he's a pretty harsh critic," Braga admitted. "But he's got a wonderful character and he's really embraced it."

Threshold airs Friday nights on CBS. This article is from Jam! Television. Thanks to TrekWeb for the link.

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