Gene Roddenberry was an insecure misogynistic hack?
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Archived from the IMDb Discussion Forums — Star Trek: The Next Generation
TMC-4 — 9 years ago(September 11, 2016 01:03 AM)
http://www.nationalreview.com/article/439900/star-trek-gene-roddenberry-was-misogynistic-hack
The Best of Both Worlds
The first year of Next Generation was filled with infighting, antagonism, and abrupt departures. Many producers, writers, and crew left the show in frustration. So did two members of the cast. The petty psychological games played on the staff by Roddenberry and his attorney and business manager, Leonard Maizlish, were legendary. According to Altman and Gross, firings or resignations would follow verbal abuse, a shift to increasingly worse office spaces, being denied parking spots, and worse. Picard never denied Worf a parking spot.
It was not until poor health limited Roddenberrys involvement that the situation began to improve. Michael Piller was brought on as co-executive producer and lead writer. Like Coon and Meyer before him, Piller used Roddenberrys universe not as the pedagogical instrument for a monolithic, quasi-spiritual doctrine, but as the backdrop for storytelling. The ingredients for success were already there: Patrick Stewart and Brent Spiner, excellent production values, a built-in audience. What made the show gel, however, were the scripts developed by Piller and his team, among them the classic two-part episode The Best of Both Worlds. And success is the word. Star Trek: The Next Generation ran for seven seasons, spawned four movies, and inspired Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Star Trek: Voyager, and Star Trek: Enterprise.
Read more at:
http://www.nationalreview.com/article/439900/star-trek-gene-roddenberry-was-misogynistic-hack -
foebane72 — 9 years ago(September 11, 2016 01:20 AM)
Of course he was. He may have given us Star Trek to begin with, but he was TOXIC to the franchise from almost the very beginning - "Great Bird of the Galaxy", my A$$.
Why are you here if you haven't seen the movie yet? -
Jedan_Archer — 9 years ago(September 11, 2016 07:09 AM)
I believe he was a part time scoundrel, there is more like him getting half the royalties from the Courage theme music, namely for bad lyrics he wrote that were never used (!); he also claimed that he had the basic idea for the Enterprise design, which was a blatant lie.
de gustibus non est disputandum -
cjh8504 — 9 years ago(September 12, 2016 09:54 AM)
Seems like you hardly hear anybody involved with the show say negative things about him. I don't care one way or another about him, frankly.
RIP Gene Wilder. One of the funniest people of all time. RIP Matt Roberts. You were great. -
TMC-4 — 9 years ago(September 12, 2016 01:54 PM)
https://www.datalounge.com/thread/7681446-star-trek-the-next-generation
The werid thing about Wesley is that Gene Roddenberry created him for children to identify with, but then for some reason he thought the best way to do this was to have Wesley be spoken of as a supergenius and have him save the universe in the early episodes. Of course that had exactly the reverse effect of making everyone hate Wesley: who can identify with a supergenius in the 23rd century?
Roddenberry had so many crappy ideas for the show
they basically had to take it away from him after the second season (which is when the show becomes genuinely good). So many of the show's worst concepts that had to be eventually discarded or deemphasizedPicard having to stay on the ship while Riker took his place on away missions; the children living on the Enterpirse with their parents; Riker being called "Number One"; Troi's stupid sexy miniskirt; Wesley's central role; the ship looking like a cheerful dentist's officewere all Roddenberry's ideas he absolutely insisted upon.
Anonymous
reply 108 03/25/2009 -
TMC-4 — 9 years ago(September 12, 2016 02:05 PM)
https://www.datalounge.com/thread/9415359star-trek-tng-is-not-aging-well
The series improved after Roddenberry's death IMHO. The scripts of the first two seasons in particular were tough going, very heavy handed yet timid moralizing that, unlike the series in the 1960's, seemed out of step with the actual contemporary issues of the 1980's.
Not surprising since many of the scripts were reheated from the nixed 'Trek' revival from the '70s. %0D %0D When it became a series more concerned with the crew solving one anomaly puzzle after another it found it's niche. The tech geeks responsible for the series were more comfortable telling that type of story. %0D %0D I think Stewart is the only credible performer in the cast. The rest simply weren't as charming as the original cast. %0D %0D What amazes me most in the end is the show's achievements in hair styling that they gave the aliens. Those were about the only awards the show ever picked up as well.
Anonymous
reply 10 07/15/2010
It really is the first two seasons that are the worst. After that, each season had some bad ones but there were also some really great ones. I've always thought the best ones are where the Sci-Fi aspect is in the background. The season premier, "Family" where Picard visits family in France is fantastic. Same with "The Inner Light".
You can really tell that Roddenbery had this ridiculously naive idea about how perfect the future would be. In those first two seasons, the characters are often moralizing about how primitive the time (late 80's) was.
Even in the pilot, Q acts like a 1950s Army General and makes comments about defeating the commies. Picard's response, "That nonsense is centuries old!" Really? In the future there won't be any political groups using propaganda against another? There's also the ep where they find 3 people from the 80s who have been cryogenically frozen. Dr. Crusher explains to everyone, "People feared death." Oh really? In the future no one will be afraid of dying? That's STNG at its worst!
Another element that dates the show is their first new bad guy, the Ferengis. An entire society built on capitalism. And of course, the Ferengis become a foil for every criticism about acquiring wealth. Very Regan Era-esque.
Anonymous
reply 13 07/15/2010
I think you've hit on the crux of the problem.
Roddenberry was so busy trying to be a futurist that he forgot to be a TV producer.
He had this ridiculous maxim about how Starfleet officers are so enlightened they don't disagree. Which is why the subsequent spin-offs all featured characters who weren't in Starfleet.
The Voice of the Night
reply 14 07/15/2010 -
Nexus71 — 9 years ago(September 12, 2016 03:22 PM)
The article basically confirms what Shatner's Chaos On The Bridge already mentioned.GR may be the creator of Star Trek but nothing story or production wise Gene was an ideas man he came up with the concept of Star Trek but wasn't responsible for what made the show enduring it was all those producers,writers,actors and directors who are responsible for the succes of Star Trek and what became the foundations of a franchise.
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cind5 — 9 years ago(September 14, 2016 01:39 PM)
I don't thick he was a hack. He was a decent writer, just in desperate need of a editor. He needed someone to point out his shortcomings, which leads us to his insecurity. You tell him no or that idea won't work, he'd get really defensive. Plus he was the creator of the show and at the time who know who the creators of tv shows were. But you knew him, like most insecure people they're attention whores and have to have all the credit. Everybody knew is a misogynist, even on that documentary, they introduce that one woman as his assistist and mistress, FOR 14 YEARS!
Spenser with an "S", like the poet. -
cind5 — 9 years ago(September 15, 2016 10:18 AM)
I had to look this up to get her name right. Susan Sackett was not his mistress for 14 years, but actually 17 YEARS! I stand corrected, but it's because of the shoes I wear. Majel had to know. TNG crew had to know. Probably the only one who didn't know was me.
Spenser with an "S", like the poet. -
Nakitaakita-1 — 9 years ago(September 15, 2016 12:23 PM)
Maybe he was all ugly and old by then and Majel didn't even want him touching her anymore.
So she had tons of money, a nice car, could go shopping and out to expensive lunches, live in a mansion and didn't have to have some ugly old dude touching all over her all the time!!!!
I am deplorable # 422,893! -
Nexus71 — 9 years ago(September 15, 2016 04:31 PM)
During TOS he had at least three/four women Nichols,Barrett,Fontana and the previous mentioned dame Gene was doing some going boldly where no man had gone before himself during that period.It's a good thing he wasn't bisexual otherwise he would have had Takei as well.
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Nexus71 — 9 years ago(September 16, 2016 08:44 AM)
No he was the producer of the show still married ,with four women on the side plus the stories of the casting couch(of which Grace Lee Whitney became a victim).He eventually divorced but a studio exec. remembers walking in on Gene and Nichols(who according him was barely dressed and Gene was sort of amused by the whole awkward situation).Misogynistic perhaps probably a sociopath and narcissist.
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Nakitaakita-1 — 9 years ago(September 16, 2016 09:44 AM)
He got all the women because he we wealthy and could get them into acting on his show.
Happens all the time. I think it may have even been more prevalent back in the 60's and 70's.
I am deplorable # 422,893!