Berman just wasn’t good enough, and he allowed the focus to become ONLY Picard and Data when Riker could have been action man, Worf could have been more than just comic relief and the others could have been more than just stand ins. They could have been more grand in scale (Although Generations and First Contact were nearly there) and more about tackling the heavy issues instead of what the last two did.

I’m more upset about how he handled the TNG films than I am with what he created in VOY and ENT. The Next Generation is just as much Gene Roddenberry’s legacy as the Original Series is, and I hate that they weren’t given their fair shot to have a full series of films with a competent producer who had the b***s to take risks with the franchise.

Berman gets no credit regarding the TNG TV show, that credit goes to Piller and his Season 3 creative team, and credit goes (Of Course) to the Great Bird for creating the series (Yes, Roddenberry did create The Next Generation, not Berman.) Yeah Berman was a producer, yeah he brought the shows in on time and budget but any producer can do that. Mike Piller set the show on its true course to history, and it is he who I wished would have taken over for Roddenberry.

I won’t even give Berman credit for DS9, I give that to Piller as well, and then Behr and Moore. Voyager & Enterprise, yes, I blame those on him (The good for Braga, and the bad for Berman and Braga to share.)

Rick is no writer, he just likes to put his name on for story credit.

“Yeah, the Enterprise will be in this story. There’s my contribution, make sure my name goes up first.” – Rick Berman (on anything Trek with a “Story by” credit.)

It is unbelievably better than a cell phone, to wit:
–It doesn’t need a cell tower, or ground relay lines.
–It apparently has an almost endless battery power: in no episode did it lose power.
–It can communicate from surface to standard orbit.
–It doesn’t need a clear line of sight: it works through planets (unless you’re assuming the comm officer, Uhura or whomever launches commsats when they get in orbit. Maybe ultra-violet ones, eh?)
–It knows who you’re wanting to call already.

Know any cell phones that do any of those?

First of all, I give Berman credit. I think he failed by not knowing when to move out of the way. His creative well ran dry somewhere after TNG ended, so he should have left it to someone who could steer it in the right direction. That said, if you don’t count the original series, Enterprise is my second favorite Trek, right behind TNG. I abhor Voyager and DS9 gets a ‘meh’ out of me.

Second, I hope they do change the look and feel of the interior of the Enterprise quite a bit. It should look more like it did in TWOK rather than the classic series. The audience is going to be rolling over laughing if they actually put the 60’s chic blue and purple everywhere and have the women running around with beehive hairdo’s. Yes, it was good for the time, and yes the show has an enduring appeal, but it’s so utterly dated that I would be embarrassed if I go see Trek ‘08 and it falls back on those styles. And if they approach it as some sort of period piece, I’m going to hurl.

Third, the original Enterprise design was fine for the small screen, but it needs an overhaul for the big screen. They did good with the first six movies, so if they’re going to start from somewhere, it should be that design, and then maybe retrograde an item or two. The dish on the front has got to go.

Also I’ve been suspecting since last summer that they want to surprise everyone with Shatner in the movie. I’m not so sure now, but still, it would be a sweet prank to pull off, what with Shatner complaining so much (too much?), and then ending up in the movie.