Gene Roddenberry was very proud of the universe he created, but also very protective.
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00:00Gene Roddenberry, the creator of Star Trek, was very passionate about the franchise throughout his life.
00:04He constantly advocated for Trek to portray an earnest and optimistic future for humanity,
00:09one that mirrored his own hopes for a better tomorrow.
00:12While most of the time the writers and other creative people working on Trek
00:15tried their best to follow Gene's utopian vision,
00:18there were times where it was simply just too restrictive to the story.
00:22Gene wanted to have no main characters fighting with each other,
00:25no storylines involving technology being used as a villain,
00:28no reoccurring aliens or themes,
00:30and plenty of other things that, if followed, would have honestly ruined Star Trek.
00:35Of course, Gene's optimism is still respected by creators of Trek today,
00:38but in a way that's much more realistic than Gene originally intended.
00:42Some fans criticized modern Trek for not following Gene's guidelines as
00:46precisely as the original series or The Next Generation,
00:49but it should be said that some of the greatest moments in Trek history
00:53were strongly opposed by Mr. Roddenberry.
00:55With all that being said, I'm Brie from Trek Culture,
00:58and here are 10 times that Gene Roddenberry hated Star Trek.
01:01Number 10. Star Trek II The Wrath of Khan
01:04It may come as a surprise to many Trek fans
01:06that one of the most beloved movies in the franchise,
01:09Star Trek II The Wrath of Khan,
01:10was actually disliked by Roddenberry for many reasons.
01:14Although the motion picture made money,
01:16it was received poorly by critics and general audiences,
01:19most people finding it a bit too boring and pretentious.
01:22Some even going as far as to dub it the motionless picture.
01:26It became clear to the studio that in order to reinvigorate Star Trek,
01:30they would need to go in a radically different direction for the next film.
01:33They took a lot of Gene's creative control away,
01:35instead letting Harv Bennett take the lead for the new script.
01:38Roddenberry was, of course, upset with having his control taken away,
01:42though his biggest issue with the film was the supposed militarization of Starfleet.
01:47He hated the violence in the film and thought that the Genesis device was a ridiculous idea.
01:53Whether or not he was right,
01:54today The Wrath of Khan is regarded as one of Trek's best stories.
01:58The introduction of a strong villain, a classic from the original series no less,
02:02showed that Trek can be exciting and fun while still staying smart.
02:08Family
02:08The Next Generation episode, Family, directly follows the best of both worlds.
02:13The iconic two-parter episode where Captain Picard got assimilated by the Borg
02:17and turned into Locutus,
02:18destroying countless Starfleet ships at the Battle of Warp 359,
02:22before finally having his humanity restored at the end of the episode.
02:26In Family, Picard returns to Earth with the Enterprise to visit his family
02:29and recover from the trauma of being assimilated.
02:32Roddenberry was strongly against this script,
02:34wanting instead to keep the story self-contained in each episode.
02:37Apparently, Gene would rather have Picard go right back to boldly going,
02:41mere days after having the very essence of his individuality taken from him
02:46and being forced to kill thousands.
02:48However, his main criticism for the script was the way that Picard's upbringing was portrayed,
02:52and the hostility between him and his brother.
02:55He argued that siblings would simply not argue and fight like that in the 24th century,
03:00which anyone who has siblings I'm pretty sure would disagree with.
03:03Family would eventually be recognized as one of the most emotional storylines for Picard,
03:08giving his character more depth.
03:10It also helps audiences recover after the best of both worlds,
03:13and makes it a little more believable for Picard to return to work in the next episode.
03:18The Original Series Crossover on The Next Generation
03:21Strangely, Gene Roddenberry didn't want any classic characters from the original
03:26series to return in The Next Generation.
03:28His reason for this, as stated in the official Star Trek Bible he wrote,
03:31is that he wanted the newest Star Trek show to stand apart from the original
03:35as something new and different.
03:37This was a noble goal.
03:38Roddenberry was committed to not letting the franchise go stale,
03:41constantly evolving it to be grander and more modern.
03:44This is something that shows like Discovery, Lower Decks, and Picard are continuing to this day.
03:49However, every now and then a cameo from another series in the franchise can be fun to see.
03:55It helps the universe feel truly connected and real.
03:58Roddenberry was originally very adamant against crossovers,
04:01but caved and allowed for DeForest Kelly to make an appearance as Dr.
04:04McCoy in The Next Generation pilot to tour the Enterprise-D.
04:08Eventually Star Trek became more comfortable with crossovers,
04:11and during Deep Space Nine, Voyager, and other following shows,
04:15became a deeply connected universe.
04:17Number 7. Star Trek III The Search for Spock
04:20Nowadays there have been so many ships called Enterprise and Star Trek that
04:24it's hard to keep track.
04:25But this wasn't always going to be the case.
04:28Gene Roddenberry had a strong emotional connection to the original Enterprise
04:31and was heartbroken when it was destroyed in Star Trek III The Search for Spock.
04:35Harv Bennett, another main creative head on Star Trek at the time,
04:38knew audiences would appreciate the shock ending of having the Enterprise
04:42self-destruct to save the day.
04:44Roddenberry, however, believed the destruction of the Enterprise was symbolic of Bennett
04:48trying to take creative control over Star Trek and change it to fit his own vision.
04:52Roddenberry eventually caved in when it was decided a new Enterprise,
04:56the Enterprise A, would be constructed to replace the original.
04:59Previously, the plan was to do away with the name Enterprise forever
05:02and have the Excelsior be the main hero ship of the franchise.
05:06Number 6 The Removal of Number One
05:09The pilot episode of Star Trek The Original series,
05:12The Cage, featured an entirely different cast apart from Spock.
05:15Among them playing the First Officer Number One was Majel Barrett,
05:19the partner and future wife of Gene Roddenberry.
05:21Gene wanted to give Barrett a lead role in Star Trek, but when the studio watched The Cage,
05:26although they were intrigued by the premise of the show, they hated the cast,
05:30particularly two of the lead characters, Spock and Number One.
05:34Gene eventually convinced them to keep Spock, but all other characters had to be replaced.
05:38Barrett lost the role of First Officer,
05:40but appeared in future episodes of the original series wearing a blonde wig playing Nurse Chapel.
05:45Eventually, during The Next Generation, Barrett went on to voice a number of
05:49computers on the show, as well as the fan-favorite character Loxana Troi.
05:53And of course, we also have Strange New Worlds, the show based around the adventures of the
05:57original crew from The Cage, including Number One, now portrayed by Rebecca Romijn.
06:02So, although Gene was annoyed by Barrett's exclusion,
06:05she eventually got to solidify her place in Trek in other ways,
06:08and her character Number One is finally getting the spotlight in Strange New Worlds.
06:13Number 5 Star Trek V The Final Frontier
06:16Star Trek V The Final Frontier is regarded by many fans as the worst movie in the franchise,
06:21but one of its most vocal haters was Gene Roddenberry himself.
06:25Gene even prepared to take legal action against William Shatner, the director of the film,
06:30for abusing his creation and slapping the name Gene Roddenberry on it.
06:33The case never materialized, but it did cause a lot of drama behind the scenes.
06:38Shatner and Roddenberry didn't talk much, if at all, during the production of the movie.
06:42But when Roddenberry learned about the plot, he became irritated,
06:45believing that Shatner was ripping off an old movie he was working on,
06:48but never finished, called The God Thing.
06:51The script had somewhat similar religious themes as The Final Frontier,
06:54and Roddenberry was under the impression that Shatner was stealing the story that
06:58he desperately wanted to tell.
07:00Number 4 Redemption
07:02The Next Generation's season 4 finale Redemption was the 100th episode made for the series,
07:07and as such, Roddenberry wanted it to be big.
07:10Redemption continued the Klingon political arc that began earlier in the series.
07:14In the episode, we saw a civil war beginning to brew in the Klingon Empire.
07:18The conflict was resolved by the end of the episode,
07:20but Roddenberry was still upset that the 100th episode of The Next Generation
07:24featured a war plot, something he considered too bleak for the show.
07:28Ronald D. Moore was responsible for pushing Redemption into production,
07:32despite Gene's wishes, and most fans are glad he did.
07:36Moore was responsible for creating most of the updated Klingon aesthetics,
07:39and had a real talent for creating believable alien cultures.
07:43Redemption is just one example of Moore taking the Klingons
07:46and fleshing them out to be more believable.
07:48Beyond his typical hatred for violence, Roddenberry also didn't believe that
07:52Worf was strong enough of a character to carry the 100th episode.
07:56Fortunately, Redemption, and a few more episodes, especially in Deep Space Nine,
08:00eventually turned Worf into a pretty good lead character.
08:04Number three, episodes where technology is the enemy.
08:07While outlining the rules for Star Trek The Next Generation in his official series bible,
08:12Gene Roddenberry was very clear that he wanted the writers to avoid
08:15portraying technology in a negative way.
08:18Roddenberry was very aware that many people loved Star Trek
08:21because it takes place in an optimistic future,
08:23one where technology is humanity's salvation rather than the cause of its demise,
08:28as in the case with most other science fiction.
08:30Replicators, transporters, and warp drive turned Earth into a paradise
08:35where all people are free to explore the universe and pursue their passions.
08:39However, this advice has been blatantly ignored in The Next Generation many times.
08:44The Borg, for example, are a technological nightmare that serves as a warning
08:49for anyone looking to integrate computers with people's minds.
08:52Or, what about the constant transporter and hologram malfunctions?
08:56All technology has a good and bad side.
08:59Gene Roddenberry was an optimist who couldn't imagine why someone
09:02would use a replicator to create a gun rather than a cheeseburger.
09:06But eventually, the writers abandoned this guideline altogether,
09:10not in fear of new technology, but in acceptance of its destructive possibilities.
09:15Number two, the disappearance of Wesley Crusher.
09:17Wesley Crusher was one of Gene Roddenberry's favorite characters in Star Trek,
09:21mostly because the character was actually based on an idealized version of himself as a teenager.
09:27The audience's reaction to Wesley deeply upset Gene.
09:30At times, due to Wesley being based off of himself,
09:33he even saw their hate for the character as an attack on him.
09:36The truth is that most people disliked Wesley simply because he was too perfect.
09:41During season one of The Next Generation, Wesley was the star of the show,
09:45constantly saving the ship and beating impossible odds, and never once making a mistake.
09:50As the series progressed, Wesley appeared less and less before
09:54leaving the ship to attend Starfleet Academy,
09:56then ditched the Federation altogether in the episode Journey's End
10:00to explore space and reality with the Traveler, his mysterious alien mentor.
10:05He isn't seen after this point until the movie Star Trek Nemesis,
10:08where he's just sitting in the background during the wedding scene.
10:11Gene Roddenberry was also annoyed that his self-inserted character was sidelined,
10:15especially because it wasn't the studio that rejected him, but the fans.
10:20Number 1. The Animated Series
10:22Star Trek The Animated Series was basically created to keep the love of
10:25Star Trek alive in the zeitgeist long enough for movies to be made.
10:29The show's actually quite good.
10:31The storylines are very reminiscent of the original series, though sometimes even grander,
10:36as the animation format allows the writers to tell any story they want,
10:39regardless of budget constraints.
10:41Gene Roddenberry, however, disagreed.
10:44He famously hated the show because of a few minor story errors,
10:48but these errors were nothing worse than what was seen on the original series.
10:51In fact, The Next Generation's shifts are way slower than Kirk's Enterprise, for example.
10:56Despite this, when Roddenberry's office re-obtained the creative license for Star Trek
11:00at the end of The Next Generation's first season,
11:03he officially made The Animated Series non-canon.
11:06According to Gene, it never happened.
11:08Nowadays, matters are a little more complicated.
11:11We've seen references to The Animated Series in Deep Space Nine,
11:14Lower Decks, and other Trek installments,
11:16and it seems like it's making a return to canon once and for all.
11:20As David Gerrold, a writer for The Animated Series put it,
11:23arguments about canon are silly.
11:25I always felt that Star Trek Animated was part of Star Trek
11:28because Gene Roddenberry accepted the paycheck for it and put his name in the credits.
11:32And there you have it.
11:3310 times that Gene Roddenberry hated Star Trek.
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11:46And until next time, live long and prosper.