#rick berman

RICK BERMAN WHEN I CATCH YOU

RICK BERMAN WHEN I CATCH YOU

'No, it didn't have a red awning. It had a big ratana tree or something out front.' - dax

'Well, you don't mean the Barros Inn?' - kahn

'Yes! That's it.' - dax

'Curzon was kicked out of the Barros Inn? That's one of the wildest bars in the whole Rigel system. What did he do?' - kahn

'He sort of set fire to it.' - dax

'Sort of?' - kahn

'All right, he set fire to it. But it wasn't deliberate. It was part of a bet.

But that's another story.' - dax

I see a lot of folks claim that TOS was the most sexist of the Star Trek shows by a landslide -- and while I agree that it definitely suffered from the sexism of the times, I also have other perspectives to share to give some food for thought.

I am of course not insinuating that TOS isn't sexist -- it is, but I have to ask folks to consider the breadth and depth of Berman's sexism in his run and ask yourself: Was Gene Roddenberry genuinely more sexist in his storytelling and delivery than Rick Berman?

I'm not telling you to feel one way or the other, but all I ask is that you hear me out and consider some perspectives and make your own balanced assessments. Nobody is obligated to share my opinion, but it means a lot just to have folks hear it and see their thoughts on the subject. So here is what I was originally responding to:

Someone's response to this photo:

"Devil's advocate. This was a part of the popular form of cardio during the production time of TNG. Yes, it was heavily sexualised by men, but so is literally every other way women work out. Men have been caught taking pictures of women while trying to do dead lifts, running on tracks and working on sled machines. They post them online to share too. The fact is, there is no way a woman can be shown working out without it going there. And yeah,t hat includes the combat forms of workout they do in Star Trek. Just look at how Dax dresses when she spars with Worf. Yes, they're dating, but still, same goes when 7 does and any other female.

Aerobics routines like this were made dirty and cringy. This was what women wore then by and large. This is how the workout was done. We make it cringy."

My response to them:

"I respect your take, but I disagree on a few fronts.

The miniskirt was chosen by the TOS female cast, not the male cast, specifically requested by Grace LW and affirmed by Nichelle and Majel who would go on to vehemently defend the miniskirt over the years as comfortable and embraced by them.

Grace said it was comfortable and seen as a symbol of female sexual empowerment during the 60s and thought it would be a progressive garment (and turns out that it was, as it was later adapted and worn by male crew as a skant on TNG) -- FYI those were designed by a gay man and Gene approved them.

This was also supposed to be Spock's TMP outfit:

Literally lingerie.

We saw both Uhura (who saves Kirk in from Marlena Mirror Mirror) and Yeoman Landon (the first to initiate combat with a classic Kirk-esque kick to help the Captain being attacked in The Apple) carry out their combat training in their Starfleet uniforms without ever being made to change into any ridiculous workout gear.

In fact, I'd argue Jim Kirk was sexualized even more than the ladies of the week on the show and I saw his naked body more than anyone else's on a fairly regular basis. He wore red yoga tights while topless in Charlie X while the women wore full length gymnastic suits that covered their entire body. If anything, it went out of its way to avoid sexualizing women practicing fitness in those scenes and instead focused on Kirk.

Gene confessed that he asked to have Shatner filmed in suggestive/provocative ways to "give something to the ladies", so he -- as he said -- liked to "film him walking away" or have him conveniently busting out of his shirts in just about every episode as it were, because Shatner apparently had great assets. LOL

Gene made an effort to at least sexualize both if he was going to sexualize one, and he carried that attitude forward in wanting the m/m and f/f scenes in the background on Risa for TNG. He also insisted that the men and women wear skimpy outfits on THAT TNG planet. You know the one. LOL I mean the dudes even had on less than the women:

Gene also gave permission to K/S shippers to have their conventions back in the 70s when he was asked for permission. Gene and Nimoy felt with all the skimpy outfits they had the ladies wear, why not let the ladies and gay men have their fun, too? It's how we ended up with moments like this:

Yes, those are two people dressed up as Kirk and Spock's penises doing interpretive dance. Gene didn't give two damns. LOL

In my eyes, that was a very progressive take on Gene's part for the 60s. It was actually PARAMOUNT STUDIOS who had the big problem with K/S stories and vehemently tried to shut them down. Gene literally hired slash authors on his payroll and even had several slash stories/writers published in his official Star Trek books (The New Voyages & The New Voyages II).

I feel I saw Uhura and women in TOS engaged in more physical combat/altercations defending themselves that Troi or Bev were shown holding their own.

In fact, Kirk used to get furious when someone would "dress up" his female crew members without their consent (Trelane episode, Shore Leave episode) because like his male crew members, he wanted them to be treated professionally and to also have his male crew act professionally.

Berman brought some of his own personal biases into Star Trek that in some ways regressed it. While TOS had blatant sexism and was called on it time and again, that show was made in the 60s -- a solid 21 years before TNG. We as a modern audience understood why some of it was cringe/sexist due to the time period -- look at any other media coming out in the 60s and Star Trek was miles ahead of what other shows were doing.

Compare that to Berman who was churning sexist stuff out when women like Starbuck and Scully were simultaneously on screen on other programs airing, and we had already had Sigourney Weaver and other strong women in Holywood playing respectful roles.

In my eyes, there was no need of the sexism seen in TNG but especially VOY and ENT. There was no excuse for it when other shows were writing women far better and a number of those weren't even set in the future like Trek was, making it age even faster due to having those dated perspectives frequently highlighted.

In the Center Seat documentary as well as "The Fifty Year Mission" book you will find cast members, writers and other studio alumni who attest to this. Some discussions from "The Fifty Year Mission":

"First, Berman was supposed to have been a real sleaze ball . . . According to Terry Farrel, he would go on constantly about how her breasts weren't big enough, how she should do something about it, and how his secretary was a good example to follow as she had huge breasts. She even had to have fittings to get larger bras, and that was all done at his behest.

Later Berman and Braga developed a name for Jeri Ryan's character prior Seven of Nine. They originally called the character "perineum" which if you look it up it is the area between the anus and the scrotum. Later they floated the name "6 of 9". I mean, what does it tell you about where these two were coming from in the development of this character if they had names like that put forward in all seriousness for her?"

Gene Roddenberry also had some of his own more progressive ideas for TNG cut or watered down by Berman. Roddenberry agreed TNG should have homosexual relationships and representation at a con in the 80s and insisted on it in a meeting with his writers -- something Berman later would not honor. Gene wanted the AIDS episode, showing m/m and f/f in the Riza scenes -- these were some of Roddenberry's requests to include in TNG that Berman later stonewalled.

Berman's era was sadly dated by his own misogynist bias, IMO, to the point that it can somewhat hurt the shows he worked on through his cringe egoism and blatant disrespect toward his female cast.

There is a reason why Gene could keep female actresses working with him and Berman had a revolving door of women that he couldn't seem to keep working for him -- he was abhorrent to women, on and off set. Gene wasn't perfect at all, he had a lot of issues himself -- but Berman was a whole other level. Just look at what he did to poor Jolene Blalock, Marina Sirtis and his toxic commenting on her body weight which exacerbated her struggles with eating disorders, or how he treated and talked to Terry Farrell.

Anyway, just some food for thought. I'm not saying anyone is wrong regarding a take like that, but there are a variety of ways to look at this. Gene Roddenberry isn't a saint by any means, but it definitely bothers me how folks will tote the Berman era as if it were the lesser of two evils or the more progressive depiction of women when I felt there were far more concerning portrayals of women in his era with far less justification.

I've tried to preserve the TV Guide editors' formatting in the text (except for indented paragraphs, which just aren't practical here).

"But we're very aware of walking a thin line with all this," acknowledges Berman. "We can come up with hundreds of different aliens with different noses, but one of the most attractive things about Star Trek—for the vast majority of its audience—is familiarity. Granted, achieving this isn't easy given the premise, so the trio hopes to satisfy Trekkers in somewhat vicarious ways:

■ Voyager marks the first time an Asian male (Garrett Wang as Harry Kim) and a Vulcan (Tim Russ as Tuvok) have been Trek regulars since the beloved George Takei and Leonard Nimoy (Sulu and Spock) starred in classic Trek (in Voyager's premiere, Janeway even refers to Tuvok as Mister Tuvok).

■ By now, the odd alien who serves as a mirror on humanity is a veritable stock character (witness Spock, Data, and Odo). But Voyager will have an odd couple: the runty, rooster-haired Neelix (Ethan Phillips) and his 1-year-old Ocampa girlfriend, Kes (Jennifer Lien).

■ And, in the grand tradition of William Shatner's Capt. James T. Kirk, Voyager will boldly go retro with Robert Duncan McNeill as Lt. Tom Paris—a lusty, un-apologetic gal-chaser.

But is the thirst for Trek big enough to warrant one more trip to the well?

"Unquestionably," says Jack Fentress, v-p and director of programming at Petry National Television (a group of affiliate stations carrying Voyager).

Ops/Communications Officer Harry Kim Garrett Wang With the role of Harry Kim—the Ops/Communication Officer on the Starship Voyager—is one big step in the career of actor Garrett Wang. But it's one giant leap for Asian males.

"Usually, television presents us one of two ways: threatening or emasculated," says Wang. "We're either the Vietcong bad guy or the straitlaced asexual. So Voyager is a fantastic opportunity for us all." Though born in Southern California, the Chinese-American Wang (it's pronounced Wong… and it's a long story) spent his formative years in Memphis, where, he says, "I faced a great deal of antiminority sentiment. The [barrage] of racist epithets from the kids was devastating—especially when you're in junior high arid all you want to do is fit in."

After one particularly rough run-in with schoolmates, Wang recalls "telling my mother that I wish I were white—that I wished I'd been born to anyone but her. I had become so badly damaged by these mean kids, I didn't care that I'd made her cry." The incident deeply disturbs him to this day and is, he says, "what drives me to be an actor. I have a burning motivation to change stereotypes. I want to portray characters that kids can look up to—not ones hidden under a rice-paddy hat.

"So, in a way, it feels like I was destined to become a part of this steamrolling juggernaut of Star Trek. These shows can really open minds."

"The previous spinoff, Deep Space Nine, hasn't set off the ratings rockets that The Next Generation has—but we're splitting hairs. It's still an unqualified success, and any [station] would love to have such numbers. Because Voyager is going to have more traditional, ship-based action/ad-venture, our expectations for it are even higher." Adds Bill Carroll, his counterpart at Katz Television Group (which also carries Voyager): "Where the Trek audience is concerned, it all comes down to quality. If you build it well, they will come.

Some may do so begrudgingly. Mark A. Altman, editor in chief of Sci-Fi Universe magazine, predicts, "Many fans of The Next Generation will tune in Voyager with a 'Prove it to me' attitude, but having attitude is just part of the enjoyment—it's one more part of the Trek mythos. Cyberspace Trekkers have quite a vested interest in this fourth series: "When word hit the online bulletin boards that Paramount was inclined toward a male captain, the fans immediately mobilized, says Altman. "They deluged the studio with thousands of faxes and letters backing up the producers' wish for a female authority figure. It gave Berman, Piller, and Taylor a lot of support to stick to their guns. So, in a way, the fans feel instrumental."

And, by the way, how is all that female authority stuff working out?

Chief Engineer B'Elanna Torres Roxann Biggs-Dawson A self-confessed Trek virgin, Roxann Biggs-Dawson had no idea what a Klingon was when she auditioned for the role of B'Elanna Torres—Voyager's half-human, half-Klingon Chief Engineer.

"I watched The Next Generation the night before my test but was so naive I didn't realize Worf was a Klingon," she says, referring to the canine-ish character played by Michael Dorn. “I just kept looking at that face and thinking, That poor guy!" Upon landing the part, the brunette beauty says she “ran out to buy The Star Trek Encyclopedia, put two and two together, arid went into shock."

The hotheaded B'Elanna may turn out to be Voyager's juiciest role: Like the half-Vulcan Spock, she is eternally doomed to wrestle with her mixed heritage (she worships her human father but is totally humiliated by her Klingon side). The creation of Biggs-Dawson's look has proven to be equally complex—early attempts were rather low on sex appeal. “We started off with a very strong Klingon influence arid then realized we'd better back off—but not so much that you have to look for it." But pals may have to look for Biggs-Dawson herself: Newly married to casting director Eric Dawson, she'd intended to drop her maiden name professionally but nixed the idea upon seeing herself in final makeup. I'm unrecognizable under all this stuff—-and I want people to know it's me!"

"Kate Mulgrew is gonna blow the audience away," says a beaming Berman. "Like Patrick Stewart, she is a figure of extraordinary strength—on- and off-camera. In fact, there's not one actor who isn't surprising the hell out of us. They're all better than we dreamed—and they've got an on-screen rapport that took the other [Trek] casts years to develop.

Reportedly, things are so swell with Mulgrew at the helm that Voyager's tumultuous first days (which reached their nadir when the original Janeway—ethereal movie queen Genevieve Bujold—took a highly publicized powder) now seem like something out of… well, a holo-novel.

"We look at Kate and can't even imagine anyone else sitting in that captain's chair," says Berman. "The Genevieve Bujold incident was a blessing. It was a marriage that wasn't meant to be—and, luckily, we found that out before there were any children." ■

Doc Zimmerman Robert Picardo When he goes on auditions, the follicly challenged Robert Picardo will often whip out an 8-by-10 glossy of himself sporting a nice toupee—just in case his au naturel look isn't, er, appreciated.

"But Voyager wanted me just as I am," he says. "The producers told me they've had quite a lot of luck with bald actors." Picardo will play Doc Zimmerman, a holographic emergency medic who is hauled into service after the ship's human doctor is killed in the premiere. "He's personality-free and definitely lacking in bedside manner," reports Picardo, who researched the character by watching old TNG episodes showcasing Data—the emotionless android whose popularity inspired producers to create Zimmerman.

"My role didn't sound terribly interesting until I realized what an opportunity playing a clean slate can be. The audience finds this kind of thing very appealing—whether it's Data or Forrest Gump." Picardo—best known as Coach Cutlip on The Wonder Years—will again get to utilize his comic talents (Trek writers are toying with the idea of letting patients program Doc's personality to suit their whims). However. his three years of active duty as Dr. Dick Richard—Dana Delany's true love on China Beach—left him a tad shortchanged: "I became a real master of all that Vietnam medical lingo—but its not much use in the 24th century."

Guide/Cook/Handyman Neelix Ethan Phillips Already predicted to be Voyager's breakout star, character actor Ethan Phillips was receiving fan mail less than a week after filming began.

"The power of this thing is incomprehensible," giggles Phillips, who's been talking shop with his former Benson costar (and Deep Space Nine's Odo) Rene Auberjonois. "He tells me he signs so many autographs at Trek conventions, he's developed carpal tunnel syndrome. He's maybe gonna have to wear a splint! Gee, I guess it can really get to a guy. But I should have such problems, right?"

Following in Odo's footsteps, Phillips will play the new series' resident strangeoid—a polka-dot alien known as Neelix. He's part scavenger, chef, tour guide, and sage. “And," says Phillips with glee, he knows all the best dishes." For a nearly nude bathtub scene in the premiere episode, the actor underwent a grueling eight-hour body-makeup session—but his daily routine is no walk in the park, either: The Neelix mask muffles most sound, and Phillips, who says he's “blind as a bat" in real life, is not allowed to wear his character's expensive cat's-eye contacts until absolutely necessary. “So I can't hear and I can't see—but, other than that, I'm having a ball!"

Neelix's Ocampa Lover, Kes Jennifer Lien A member of the never-before-seen Ocampa species, the young, delicate Kes is Voyager's resident blond beauty—but she's already spoken for. In a quirky, unexpected romantic twist, the show's creators have mated the character—played by former Another World star Jennifer Lien—with the lovable con man Neelix. According to executive producer Rick Berman, "Neelix adores Kes but is insanely jealous. She doesn't give him any reason for those feelings but whenever he can't find her, he's sure she's somewhere in a closet with a sailor."

Somewhat the 'artiste' type, Lien (who also co-starred in last season's Phenom) is not comfortable being grilled about Voyager "I get so emotionally involved in the characters I play that I can't articulate well. All I know is I'm going to have a remarkable time playing her!"

But for how long? As viewers will glean, Ocampa only have a life expectancy of nine years. "It's not as if she'll have a clock ticking over her head," insists Lien. This is not a foreboding dilemma that limits the character. If anything, it opens up possibilities."

Just one question. What if Voyager runs 10 years?

The First Shot The actual first shot on the first day of a brand new Trek series might seem like a monumental occasion—but Voyager began with a mere cup of soup.

"Hot… plain… tomato… soup!" snaps actor Robert Duncan McNeill in Take 1 (his character, Lt. Tom Paris, is tussling with the ship's mess-hall replicator, which, like a waiter in a chichi restaurant, insists on rattling off 14 tomato variations). "Again!" says director Winrich Kolbe, for no apparent reason. Take 2. The extras are repositioned. Take 3. McNeill's hair is too poufy. Take 4. It's not poufy enough. Take 5. Executive producers Rick Berman and Michael Piller whisper to each other and then consult with Kolbe. Take 6. McNeill is delinted by a costume assistant. Take 7. Berman and Piller—who seem more concerned that Avery Brooks (Cmdr. Benjamin Sisko) is directing an episode of Deep Space Nine next door—decide to split the scene. Take 8. A stage light flickers. Take 9. Somebody's heard talking, and it sure ain't McNeill. Take 10. "Great!" says Kolbe. "I'm never satisfied till we get into the double digits!"

And from there on, it's business as usual. Aliens stand around eating doughnuts with sprinkles. Veterans help out the greenhorns (the coffee in the Mr. Coffee is clean, the stuff in the big Paramount urns is not). And everybody's oblivious to the sign posted near the snacks: "Be careful of the toes you step on today—they may be connected to the [butt] you'll kiss tomorrow."

The First Episode While searching the “Badlands" for a band of resistance fighters known as the Maquis, the U.S.S. Voyager mysteriously slingshots to the far, uncharted reaches of the galaxy. Capt. Kathryn Janeway's dismal discovery: Even at warp speeds, it will take nearly 70 years for her starship to make its way back to Starfleet Command. The Maquis ship—which was also transported to this nether region—is soon destroyed, and the two crews form an uneasy alliance. Janeway maintains her status as captain while the Maquis leader, Chakotay (a Native American Indian who “vision quests" through the unconscious with a spirit guide), steps down to the First Officer post. The Vulcan Tuvok, a Starfleet spy in the guise of a Maquis, becomes Tactical/Security Officer and the unofficial keeper of the peace: Many of the Maquis—especially the tempestuous Chief Engineer B'Elanna Torres—are uncomfortable with Starfleet's strict rules of conduct. Sparks also fly between old foes (Chakotay and Lt. Tom Paris) and between the sexes (Paris has an eye for the beautiful Kes; Kes is in love with the ship's cook, Neelix). Also upping the stress factor: Voyager's bioneural computer system. It can organize and process information much like the human brain but just like living brain tissue—it proves highly susceptible to heat, pressure, and virus. Through it all, Janeway insists that Voyager boldly explore its new neighborhood so that if it ever finds a shortcut home, it will have amassed a wealth of knowledge that would otherwise be unattainable.