WEBVTT 00:15.900 --> 00:18.200 Hardest part about producing 00:18.200 --> 00:20.600 this show and probably any show is just coming 00:20.600 --> 00:21.800 up with new stories. 00:21.800 --> 00:24.000 Obviously, we've done a lot of Star Trek over 00:24.000 --> 00:25.100 the years 00:25.100 --> 00:27.800 something like 600 episodes of the various series and 00:27.800 --> 00:29.400 now ten movies 00:29.400 --> 00:31.000 coming up with a really fresh 00:31.000 --> 00:33.800 interesting idea to do on Star Trek is our 00:33.800 --> 00:35.400 biggest challenge 00:35.400 --> 00:36.000 and 00:36.000 --> 00:38.400 the writing staff is constantly developing ideas. 00:38.400 --> 00:43.200 We take pictures from outside Riders. 00:43.200 --> 00:46.600 Reckon, Brandon will not really embrace the story until 00:46.600 --> 00:48.700 they feel that they've found an element of that 00:48.700 --> 00:50.000 story something about it. 00:50.000 --> 00:51.500 That is 00:51.500 --> 00:53.200 it feels fresh and new 00:53.200 --> 00:54.100 something that 00:54.100 --> 00:56.000 feels like hey, this is something that we've not 00:56.000 --> 00:58.100 really done at least not this way 00:58.100 --> 01:00.000 on Star Trek 01:00.000 --> 01:01.600 clearly this season on Enterprise. 01:01.600 --> 01:02.800 We've got 01:02.800 --> 01:05.200 an overriding story arc the 01:05.200 --> 01:06.800 threat from the xindi these 01:06.800 --> 01:08.700 aliens have attacked Earth and 01:08.700 --> 01:09.800 we have reasonably 01:09.800 --> 01:10.700 are going to 01:10.700 --> 01:12.600 try to wipe out Humanity 01:12.600 --> 01:13.100 that 01:13.100 --> 01:15.600 Is driving a lot of the development process this 01:15.600 --> 01:16.900 season 01:16.900 --> 01:17.400 ultimately. 01:17.400 --> 01:19.000 We just want stories that 01:19.000 --> 01:22.400 we feel have some kind of deeper meaning that 01:22.400 --> 01:25.400 not only have interesting images and science fiction elements, 01:25.400 --> 01:25.900 but 01:25.900 --> 01:27.200 great arts for our characters. 01:27.200 --> 01:30.600 We've got seven really wonderful actors on this show, 01:30.600 --> 01:32.100 you know, I don't know that we could say 01:32.100 --> 01:34.400 that we've ever had a better all-around cast and 01:34.400 --> 01:35.900 we do on Enterprise. 01:35.900 --> 01:36.800 We want to write 01:36.800 --> 01:40.400 great scenes for Scott Bakula counter near 01:40.400 --> 01:42.900 Julian Blalock Linda Park everybody else. 01:42.900 --> 01:44.600 We want to come up with really good scenes 01:44.600 --> 01:45.600 for those actors to play. 01:45.600 --> 01:48.500 So beyond the sort of raw plot and science 01:48.500 --> 01:49.400 fictional elements. 01:49.400 --> 01:53.900 We want to rific character elements for these wonderful 01:53.900 --> 01:56.400 actors that we that we have on the show 01:56.400 --> 01:59.400 to meet all of those requirements and to try 01:59.400 --> 02:02.200 to come up with 26 stories a year that 02:02.200 --> 02:06.100 service those requirements is really really really hard. 02:06.100 --> 02:09.800 So sometimes we'll take a pitch and the idea 02:09.800 --> 02:11.500 is well, there's something kind of interesting about that 02:11.500 --> 02:13.000 but 02:13.000 --> 02:14.500 I have all of these other elements to in 02:14.500 --> 02:16.200 order for it to really work as a good 02:16.200 --> 02:18.000 as a good Enterprise story. 02:18.000 --> 02:20.100 So sometimes there is a you know, a lot 02:20.100 --> 02:22.200 of back and forth and a kind of an 02:22.200 --> 02:24.200 iterative process before a 02:24.200 --> 02:26.300 story really feels like it's working. 02:26.300 --> 02:28.900 Sometimes it's a really great sort of high concept 02:28.900 --> 02:30.000 idea 02:30.000 --> 02:31.600 that once you understand. 02:31.600 --> 02:33.200 Oh, that's the premise 02:33.200 --> 02:35.400 the story really takes off from there. 02:35.400 --> 02:36.100 But 02:36.100 --> 02:37.800 the hardest part about this 02:37.800 --> 02:39.800 this whole process is just coming up with those 02:39.800 --> 02:40.800 stories. 02:40.800 --> 02:43.300 Once you've got a really terrific story. 02:43.300 --> 02:45.300 Laying it out and writing the script is 02:45.300 --> 02:46.200 is 02:46.200 --> 02:46.800 is 02:46.800 --> 02:47.900 relatively straightforward. 02:47.900 --> 02:51.200 It's coming up with those original interesting engaging stories 02:51.200 --> 02:51.800 that 02:51.800 --> 02:56.900 that's the toughest part of our job. 02:56.900 --> 02:57.900 Basically, 02:57.900 --> 02:59.400 it's 02:59.400 --> 03:01.000 we have a we have a staff of writers 03:01.000 --> 03:04.100 who are all capable of writing teleplays 03:04.100 --> 03:06.000 teleplays are assigned depending on 03:06.000 --> 03:07.500 sometimes who came up with the story. 03:07.500 --> 03:09.800 Mike Sussman came up with a really interesting story 03:09.800 --> 03:11.000 that we 03:11.000 --> 03:13.100 we filmed a couple of weeks ago. 03:13.100 --> 03:14.900 He really wanted to ride that teleplay. 03:14.900 --> 03:16.500 He came up with the idea for the story. 03:16.500 --> 03:18.500 So he wrote that teleplay 03:18.500 --> 03:20.400 I came up with the story earlier this season 03:20.400 --> 03:20.900 that 03:20.900 --> 03:22.000 I was very interested in. 03:22.000 --> 03:23.800 So I got to write that one 03:23.800 --> 03:25.300 part of it is simply who's up in the 03:25.300 --> 03:26.000 rotation. 03:26.000 --> 03:27.000 It's kind of like 03:27.000 --> 03:29.900 You know batting and Major League Baseball, 03:29.900 --> 03:30.900 there is a rotation. 03:30.900 --> 03:33.100 We want everybody to get a turn at bat. 03:33.100 --> 03:34.400 So 03:34.400 --> 03:36.000 Chris black I think who is one of our 03:36.000 --> 03:38.100 co-executive producers is 03:38.100 --> 03:39.800 kind of up next 03:39.800 --> 03:42.200 he wrote 03:42.200 --> 03:43.100 show for 03:43.100 --> 03:45.600 or co-wrote show for this season 03:45.600 --> 03:47.700 co-wrote show seven. 03:47.700 --> 03:50.500 He will probably write 12 or 13. 03:50.500 --> 03:51.800 I wrote show three. 03:51.800 --> 03:54.300 I will probably do 13 or 14. 03:54.300 --> 03:56.400 That's just kind of how they how the rotation 03:56.400 --> 03:56.700 work. 03:56.700 --> 03:57.500 X 03:57.500 --> 03:59.600 so it's partly if it's a writer who has 03:59.600 --> 04:01.300 come up with an idea and 04:01.300 --> 04:02.500 he or she really is 04:02.500 --> 04:04.500 excited about that and wants to do the script 04:04.500 --> 04:06.100 if they haven't written one and 04:06.100 --> 04:07.600 you know in a few episodes then they'll go 04:07.600 --> 04:09.000 ahead and do it. 04:09.000 --> 04:10.500 Otherwise, it's just kind of who's up in the 04:10.500 --> 04:15.600 rotation. 04:15.600 --> 04:17.200 I have a lot of favorite episodes. 04:17.200 --> 04:18.900 I think it's always hard, you know to 04:18.900 --> 04:21.300 to think of just one or 04:21.300 --> 04:22.900 two even compile a list. 04:22.900 --> 04:25.000 But if I had to compile a list, 04:25.000 --> 04:28.000 I think from the original series 04:28.000 --> 04:30.100 certainly City on the edge of forever. 04:30.100 --> 04:30.900 I love 04:30.900 --> 04:31.400 love 04:31.400 --> 04:33.800 who Mourns for a Denarius the story about Apollo. 04:33.800 --> 04:35.700 I thought that was a really 04:35.700 --> 04:37.300 interesting and very emotional story. 04:37.300 --> 04:38.600 Ultimately 04:38.600 --> 04:39.600 Tribbles was a lot of fun. 04:39.600 --> 04:42.800 Of course. 04:42.800 --> 04:44.900 Most of the episodes of the first season of 04:44.900 --> 04:45.900 the original series. 04:45.900 --> 04:47.300 I thought were really 04:47.300 --> 04:48.900 really terrific and 04:48.900 --> 04:51.700 what a great first year of Television for for 04:51.700 --> 04:52.800 any show 04:52.800 --> 04:54.900 let alone a science fiction show 04:54.900 --> 04:55.800 next Generation. 04:55.800 --> 04:58.000 I think my all-time favorite is probably darmok. 04:58.000 --> 05:00.200 I thought that that was just such an extraordinarily 05:00.200 --> 05:02.300 interesting and original way 05:02.300 --> 05:05.500 of exploring the idea of trying to communicate 05:05.500 --> 05:07.900 with an alien culture in alien language. 05:07.900 --> 05:09.900 It was a brilliant metaphor for 05:09.900 --> 05:11.800 not only the difficulty implicit in 05:11.800 --> 05:13.100 Educating with 05:13.100 --> 05:15.100 with another form of life, 05:15.100 --> 05:16.200 but just 05:16.200 --> 05:19.000 how hard it is for us to communicate with 05:19.000 --> 05:19.700 each other. 05:19.700 --> 05:21.800 Even if we speak the same language 05:21.800 --> 05:25.900 because of everything that is involved in genuine communication 05:25.900 --> 05:27.200 from cultural 05:27.200 --> 05:28.600 cultural 05:28.600 --> 05:31.500 issues to the assumptions that we unconsciously make about 05:31.500 --> 05:31.900 the people. 05:31.900 --> 05:34.100 We're trying to communicate with and so on 05:34.100 --> 05:37.400 brilliant episode brilliantly written directed and acted 05:37.400 --> 05:40.900 Patrick Stewart in Poland field were both just amazing, 05:40.900 --> 05:41.700 you know lot, of course. 05:41.700 --> 05:44.100 It would of course was a great episode. 05:44.100 --> 05:45.900 I left heart of Glory from the first season. 05:45.900 --> 05:47.200 I thought that was a real standout. 05:47.200 --> 05:48.200 That's where I really felt. 05:48.200 --> 05:48.900 Oh my gosh. 05:48.900 --> 05:50.800 I Now understand something about 05:50.800 --> 05:51.700 these Klingons. 05:51.700 --> 05:53.700 They're not just sort of these, 05:53.700 --> 05:55.800 you know sort of Hardcore Warrior types. 05:55.800 --> 05:57.600 There is an ethic 05:57.600 --> 05:59.600 an ethos behind 05:59.600 --> 06:01.700 and a belief system that they're that they're very 06:01.700 --> 06:03.000 committed to 06:03.000 --> 06:06.400 Voyager number of episodes 06:06.400 --> 06:07.600 eye of the needle 06:07.600 --> 06:08.600 was was a lot of fun. 06:08.600 --> 06:11.800 I thought prime factors was a terrific story. 06:11.800 --> 06:14.400 Audience always I thought extraordinarily funny that was a 06:14.400 --> 06:17.000 great episode and Jeri Ryan and Bob Carter were 06:17.000 --> 06:19.700 both terrific as all as 06:19.700 --> 06:20.000 I guess. 06:20.000 --> 06:21.400 I should plug a show that I wrote with 06:21.400 --> 06:22.300 Brannon 06:22.300 --> 06:24.500 called human error, which I thought was 06:24.500 --> 06:26.700 came off quite well 06:26.700 --> 06:29.300 Enterprise 06:29.300 --> 06:30.000 love the pilot. 06:30.000 --> 06:31.800 I love shuttlepod 1 06:31.800 --> 06:33.200 dear doctor. 06:33.200 --> 06:35.700 I was pretty happy with 06:35.700 --> 06:36.100 silent. 06:36.100 --> 06:38.500 Enemy, which is one that 06:38.500 --> 06:39.400 that I'd written 06:39.400 --> 06:40.800 and 06:40.800 --> 06:41.700 you know, I'm very 06:41.700 --> 06:42.800 it about this season. 06:42.800 --> 06:45.700 We've got an episode coming up called impulse 06:45.700 --> 06:47.100 that I think is 06:47.100 --> 06:48.500 I have not seen the Final Cut of it, 06:48.500 --> 06:52.100 but I think it's going to be terrific so 06:52.100 --> 06:53.800 that off the top of my head would sort 06:53.800 --> 06:55.800 of be a quick list of a top 10 06:55.800 --> 06:57.000 to 12 06:57.000 --> 06:58.200 Star Trek favorites.