Rick Berman Reflects On Trek

Rick Berman talked recently about his many years on Star Trek, and has spoken about his belief that Star Trek shouldn't be labeled or put into categories.

"People love to say [The Next Generation] hit its stride when Michael Piller arrived," Berman told Dreamwatch (via Sci Fi Pulse). "He arrived in season three, but he also arrived because he loved the show. If he loves the show, what does he love? He loved it because he saw seasons one and two. Some of the episodes that season were written or overseen by Maurice Hurley, and they were classic episodes, wonderful episodes. ... When people try to put formulas on what year wasn't great and when the show hit its stride and when the show lost its stride... it's trying to put labels on things."

Berman also responded to the perception that Deep Space Nine was often considered 'dark'. "We never meant it to be dark," he said. "Because it was on a Cardassian space station which was a creepy place, and because that space station divided two sections of the galaxy and was a boiling point for potential war, the show did become dark. When Ira Behr got involved, he brought darkness to it that was part of his writing technique, but he also brought an incredible sense of humour. There was more humour in DS9 than any Star Trek series. Also, the poignancy dealing with Avery Brooks' character [Benjamin Sisko] and his son is some of the most touching stuff in Star Trek."

Berman now focuses his attention on Enterprise, where he is particularly pleased with the cast he has put together along with co-creator Brannon Braga. "I think it worked out great," he said. "Scott Bakula was the perfect person to play our captain. Jolene Blalock was the perfect person to play T'Pol. I think we've got the best cast we ever put together ... they're tight and they're remarkable actors and they keep surprising us."

The full interview can be found in issue 103 of Dreamwatch. Further excerpts can be found here at Sci Fi Pulse.

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