Why A Key Star Trek Creative Was Hesitant To Work On The Next Generation

Today, "Star Trek: The Next Generation" is viewed as one of the best sci-fi TV series ever made, with legions of fans, multiple movie spin-offs, and even a quasi-revival series in the form of "Star Trek: Picard." There's no doubting its cultural cache, but at the time it was first launched, it was a huge risk. Believe it or not, longtime "Star Trek" producer Rick Berman almost said no to the job because of those risks. "There were three reasons not to do it," Berman told Entertainment Weekly during a roundtable retrospective. "One, this was a sequel, and sequels on television had never been successful. Two, it was science fiction, and in the 1980s, science fiction was not successful. And three, it was going to be syndicated, not a network program."

That's right: It may be hard to fathom now, but the truth about "Star Trek: The Next Generation" is that the major networks were simply not interested, hence the show being sold to local stations for first-run syndication. At the time he was hired, Berman was working as a programming executive at Paramount under network television president John Pike, who was spearheading the series' development. He knew it was risky, but Berman eventually said yes, though not because he thought "The Next Generation" would defy the odds — he agreed to come on board because he was sick of his role at Paramount. "My desire to get into the ranks of producers was strong enough that I agreed," he said.

Rick Berman signed on to produce "Star Trek: The Next Generation" after being offered the job by none other than "Star Trek" creator Gene Roddenberry himself. According to Berman, he impressed Roddenberry and his lawyer, Leonard Maizlish, in a meeting with Paramount execs, and he owes the job offer to, of all things, an eye roll. "[Paramount] wanted to put someone in charge of this new series, and I was the lowest man on the totem pole, by far," Berman said on "The Shuttlepod Show." As Berman tells it, nobody else wanted to work with Roddenberry, who at the time, he says, "had a reputation for being a real pain in the ass." It was during this meeting with Paramount brass and Roddenberry that Berman got on the "Star Trek" creator's radar in an unusual way.

"At one point, one of the studio executives said something and I rolled my eyes because it was so ridiculous," Berman recounted on the podcast. Apparently, Maizlish noticed the gesture, seemingly impressed by the young executive's willingness to break rank with his own colleagues and make his feelings known. When the meeting was over, Maizlish gave him a call, telling Berman that Gene wanted someone like him — fresh, young, and less familiar with "Star Trek" — to produce the show. Shortly thereafter, Berman met with Roddenberry, who subsequently negotiated with Paramount to release Berman from his contract. "The next day, my salary tripled, and I was working across the street for 'Star Trek: The Next Generation.'" Not bad for an eye roll.