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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
00:04his life. He constantly advocated for Trek to portray an earnest and optimistic future
00:08for humanity, one that mirrored his own hopes for a better tomorrow. While most of the time
00:13the writers and other creative people working on Trek tried their best to follow Gene's utopian
00:18vision, there were times where it was simply just too restrictive to the story. Gene wanted to have
00:23no main characters fighting with each other, no storylines involving technology being used as a
00:28villain, no reoccurring aliens or themes, and plenty of other things that, if followed, would have
00:33honestly ruined Star Trek. Of 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. Some fans criticize
00:43modern Trek for not following Gene's guidelines as precisely as the original series or the next
00:48generation, but it should be said that some of the greatest moments in Trek history were strongly
00:53opposed by Mr. Roddenberry. With all that being said, I'm Bree from Trek culture and here are 10 times
00:59that Gene Roddenberry hated Star Trek. Number 10. Star Trek II The Wrath of Khan
01:04It may come as a surprise to many Trek fans that one of the most beloved movies in the franchise,
01:09Star Trek II The Wrath of Khan, was actually disliked by Roddenberry for many reasons. Although the
01:15motion picture made money, it was received poorly by critics and general audiences, most people finding
01:20it a bit too boring and pretentious, some 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, they would need to go in
01:31a radically different direction for the next film. They took a lot of Gene's creative control away,
01:36instead letting Harv Bennett take the lead for the new script. Roddenberry was, of course, upset with
01:41having his control taken away, though his biggest issue with the film was the supposed militarization of
01:46Starfleet. He hated the violence in the film and thought that the Genesis device was a ridiculous
01:52idea. Whether or not he was right, today 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, showed that
02:03Trek can be exciting and fun while still staying smart. Number 9. Family The Next Generation episode
02:10Family directly follows the best of both worlds. The iconic two-parter episode where Captain Picard got
02:16assimilated by the Borg and turned into Locutus, destroying countless Starfleet ships at the
02:20Battle of War 359, before 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 and recover from the trauma of
02:31being assimilated. Roddenberry was strongly against this script, wanting instead to keep the story
02:36self-contained in each episode. Apparently, 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 and being forced to
02:47kill thousands. However, his main criticism for the script was the way that Picard's upbringing was
02:52portrayed and the hostility between him and his brother. He argued that siblings would simply not
02:57argue and fight like that in the 24th century, which anyone who has siblings I'm pretty sure would
03:02disagree with. Family would eventually be recognized as one of the most emotional storylines for Picard,
03:08giving his character more depth. It 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.
03:188. The Original Series Crossover on The Next Generation
03:21Strangely, Gene Roddenberry didn't want any classic characters from the original series to
03:26return in The Next Generation. His 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 as something new
03:36and different. This was a noble goal. Roddenberry was committed to not letting the franchise go stale,
03:41constantly evolving it to be grander and more modern. This is something that shows like Discovery,
03:46Lower Decks and Picard are continuing to this day. However, every now and then, a cameo from another
03:53series in the franchise can be fun to see. It helps the universe feel truly connected and real.
03:58Roddenberry was originally very adamant against crossovers, but caved and allowed for DeForest
04:03Kelly to make an appearance as Dr. McCoy in The Next Generation pilot to tour the Enterprise D.
04:08Eventually, Star Trek became more comfortable with crossovers, and during Deep Space Nine,
04:13Voyager, and other following shows, became a deeply connected universe.
04:177. Star Trek III The Search for Spock Nowadays, there have been so many ships called
04:22Enterprise in Star Trek that it's hard to keep track. But this wasn't always going to be the case.
04:28Gene Roddenberry had a strong emotional connection to the original Enterprise and was heartbroken
04:32when it was destroyed in Star Trek III The Search for Spock. Harv Bennett, another main creative head
04:37on Star Trek at the time, knew audiences would appreciate the shock ending of having the
04:41Enterprise self-destruct to save the day. Roddenberry, however, believed the destruction of the
04:46Enterprise was symbolic of Bennett trying to take creative control over Star Trek and change it to
04:51fit his own vision. Roddenberry eventually caved in when it was decided a new Enterprise,
04:56the Enterprise A, would be constructed to replace the original. Previously, the plan was to do away
05:01with the name Enterprise forever and have the Excelsior be the main hero ship of the franchise.
05:066. The Removal of Number One The pilot episode of Star Trek The Original
05:11Series, The Cage, featured an entirely different cast apart from Spock. Among them playing the first
05:17officer number one was Majel Barrett, the partner and future wife of Gene Roddenberry. Gene wanted to
05:22give Barrett a lead role in Star Trek, but when the studio watched The Cage, although they were
05:26intrigued by the premise of the show, they hated the cast, particularly two of the lead characters,
05:32Spock and Number One. Gene eventually convinced them to keep Spock, but all other characters had
05:37to be replaced. Barrett lost the role of first officer, but appeared in future episodes of the
05:42original series wearing a blonde wig, playing Nurse Chapel. Eventually, during The Next Generation,
05:48Barrett went on to voice a number of computers on the show, as well as the fan-favorite character
05:52Loxana Troi. And of course, we also have Strange New Worlds, the show based around the adventures of
05:57the original crew from The Cage, including Number One, now portrayed by Rebecca Romaine. So,
06:03although Gene was annoyed by Barrett's exclusion, she eventually got to solidify her place in Trek
06:08in other ways, and her character Number One is finally getting the spotlight in Strange New Worlds.
06:13Number Five. Star Trek V – The Final Frontier. Star Trek V – The Final Frontier is regarded by
06:19many fans as the worst movie in the franchise, but one of its most vocal haters was Gene Roddenberry
06:24himself. Gene 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. The case never materialized,
06:35but it did cause a lot of drama behind the scenes. Shatner and Roddenberry didn't talk much,
06:40if at all, during the production of the movie. But when Roddenberry learned about the plot,
06:44he became irritated, believing that Shatner was ripping off an old movie he was working on,
06:48but never finished, called The God Thing. The script had somewhat similar religious
06:53themes as The Final Frontier, and Roddenberry was under the impression that Shatner was stealing
06:57the story that he desperately wanted to tell. Number Four. Redemption. The Next Generation's
07:03season 4 finale Redemption was the 100th episode made for the series, and as such,
07:08Roddenberry wanted it to be big. Redemption continued the Klingon political arc that began
07:13earlier in the series. In 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, but Roddenberry was still upset that the 100th
07:23episode of The Next Generation featured a war plot, something he considered too bleak for the show.
07:28Ronald D. Moore was responsible for pushing Redemption into production, despite Gene's wishes,
07:34and most fans are glad he did. Moore was responsible for creating most of the updated Klingon aesthetics,
07:39and had a real talent for creating believable alien cultures. Redemption is just one example of Moore
07:45taking the Klingons and fleshing them out to be more believable. Beyond his typical hatred for violence,
07:51Roddenberry also didn't believe that Worf was strong enough of a character to carry the 100th episode.
07:56Fortunately, Redemption, and a few more episodes, especially in Deep Space Nine, eventually turned Worf into a
08:02pretty good lead character. Number three, episodes where technology is the enemy. While outlining the
08:08rules for Star Trek The Next Generation in his official series bible, Gene Roddenberry was very
08:13clear that he wanted the writers to avoid portraying technology in a negative way. Roddenberry was very
08:19aware that many people loved Star Trek because it takes place in an optimistic future, one where
08:24technology is humanity's salvation rather than the cause of its demise, as in the case with most other
08:30science fiction. Replicators, transporters, and warp drive turned Earth into a paradise where all
08:35people are free to explore the universe and pursue their passions. However, this advice has been
08:41blatantly ignored in The Next Generation many times. The Borg, for example, are a technological nightmare
08:48that serves as a warning for anyone looking to integrate computers with people's minds. Or, what about
08:53the constant transporter and hologram malfunctions? All technology has a good and bad side. Gene Roddenberry
09:00was an optimist who couldn't imagine why someone would use a replicator to create a gun rather than
09:05a cheeseburger. But eventually, the writers abandoned this guideline altogether, not in fear of new
09:11technology, but in acceptance of its destructive possibilities. Number two, the disappearance of
09:16Wesley Crusher. Wesley 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. At times, due to Wesley being based off of
09:32himself, he even saw their hate for the character as an attack on him. The truth is that most people
09:38disliked Wesley simply because he was too perfect. During Season 1 of The Next Generation, Wesley was the
09:44star of the show, constantly saving the ship and beating impossible odds, and never once making a mistake.
09:51As the series progressed, Wesley appeared less and less before leaving the ship to attend Starfleet
09:55Academy, then ditched the Federation altogether in the episode Journey's End to explore space and
10:01reality with the Traveler, his mysterious alien mentor. He isn't seen after this point until the
10:07movie Star Trek Nemesis where he's just sitting in the background during the wedding scene. Gene
10:11Roddenberry was also annoyed that his self-inserted character was sidelined, especially because it
10:16wasn't the studio that rejected him, but the fans. Number 1. The Animated Series. Star Trek The Animated
10:23Series was basically created to keep the love of Star Trek alive and the zeitgeist long enough for
10:28movies to be made. The show's actually quite good. The storylines are very reminiscent of the original
10:33series, though sometimes even grander, as the animation format allows the writers to tell any story
10:39they want regardless of budget constraints. Gene Roddenberry, however, disagreed. He famously hated
10:45the show because of a few minor story errors, but these errors were nothing worse than what was seen
10:50on the original series. In fact, The Next Generation's ships are way slower than Kirk's Enterprise, for
10:56example. Despite this, when Roddenberry's office re-obtained the creative license for Star Trek at the
11:01end of The Next Generation's first season, he officially made the animated series non-canon. According to Gene,
11:07it never happened. Nowadays, matters are a little more complicated. We've seen references to the
11:12animated series in Deep Space Nine, Lower Decks, and other Trek installments, and it seems like it's
11:18making a return to canon once and for all. As David Gerald, a writer for the animated series put it,
11:23arguments about canon are silly. I always felt that Star Trek Animated was part of Star Trek because Gene
11:28Roddenberry accepted the paycheck for it and put his name in the credits. And there you have it, 10 times
11:34that Gene Roddenberry hated Star Trek. If you want to keep up to date with all of our new releases,
11:38make sure you hit that subscribe button down below, and feel free to give us a follow on Twitter at
11:42TrekCulture. You can also find me on Twitter at TrekkieBree, and until next time, live long and prosper.
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