Star Trek’s 5-Part Masterpiece With 93% RT Finally Broke a Historic Gene Roddenberry Rule
During the second run of Star Trek shows, a common debate among writers revolved around how much conflict to include between characters. This discussion started because some, like The Next Generation‘s Season 2 head writer Maurice Hurley, believed the original series lacked dramatic tension due to the crew’s generally harmonious relationships. Writers such as Brannon Braga and Ronald D. Moore, as detailed in Mark A. Altman and Edward Gross’s The Fifty-Year Mission: The Next 25 Years, argued against increasing conflict. However, the positive fan response to the more contentious interactions in Picard Season 3, which reunited the main cast of TNG, hinted that audiences did want to see characters clash. Interestingly, the animated series Lower Decks playfully criticized The Next Generation‘s frequent use of the holodeck, but also demonstrated how writers could have created conflict while still staying true to the optimistic vision of creator Gene Roddenberry. This approach would not only have added drama but also shown how these seemingly flawless Starfleet officers maintained their strong moral compass.
