Veteran Star Trek writer/producer Brannon Braga has just inked a lucrative deal with 20th Century Fox. Braga, who is currently working for Fox on the show 24, is expected to develop new shows for Fox, possibly including a new sci-fi series. More details below.
Braga entrenched at FOX
For the last couple of years Brannon Braga has been working with his former Star Trek Enterprise writing buddy Manny Coto on the heavily serialized Fox show 24. And it appears that Fox has been happy with his work. Variety reports that Braga has "sealed a hefty seven-figure overall deal with the studio." The new deal calls for Braga to develop projects for the studio, including working on a a new or existing Fox show for next season.
According to Variety, Fox is interested in Braga’s sci-fi genre pedigree. Braga began his career in 1990 writing on Star Trek: The Next Generation. He went on to Voyager (where he eventually became show-runner) and then on to co-create Star Trek Enterprise. Along the way he also co-wrote two Star Trek feature films (Generations and First Contact). Braga has 107 total Star Trek writing credits, more than any other writer. Since his time with Trek, Braga co-created the genre series Threshold and FlashForward and has been working as a writer and producer for Fox’s 24.
20th Century Fox TV chairman Gary Newman says of Braga:
He’s known for his ability to write genre programming, and as a studio, we love that programming. It takes advantage of all the new opportunities the digital world gives you to connect with your rabid fanbase.
For his part Braga told Variety it was too soon to identify what kind of projects he is going to take on, but he did say he was interested in trying something new after two highly serialized TV shows (Threshold and 24).
The New Fox-Trek connection?
It seems that Fox has an affinity for writers and producers associated with Star Trek. Last year Fox picked up Ron Moore’s pilot Virtuality (which ran over the summer, but was not picked up as a series). Moore (who has the second most Trek writing credits behind Braga) is also currently writing the sequel to I, Robot for Fox. Just last month Fox inked a deal with Star Trek’s new writing overlords, Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman. The Fox Network also airs the Abrams/Orci/Kurtzman genre show Fringe (which is produced by Warner Bros. TV). And the recently announced rebirth of the Gene Roddenberry series Questor (at Imagine TV) is being pitched to Fox.
Of course if there is ever going to be a new Star Trek TV series it would have to be produced by CBS Studios (who own all the rights to Trek on TV). But if CBS doesn’t think a new Trek show would fit on CBS or the CW, maybe Fox would be interested.
NO MORE BRAGA! 24 is not the same by any means, Jack is not as tough, and the quality is lacking, you can tell it is his writing!
24 hasn’t been interesting for years now….the storytelling convention that made the show so interesting in the first place has worn very thin. Besides, if 24 has fallen even further, then you have to blame Manny Coto too.
I’m not part of the Braga-bashing crowd; I hope the deal works out for him.
I rarely comment in such a manner on this forum, but go f*#% yourself, WGW! Let him have a chance to try again! Some of the best episodes of Trek were written by Braga!
I’m not fond of Braga, but that guy did achieve something I also hope to accomplish:
Jery Ryan was his girlfriend.
Wow Crooner, might I say, Get a life! and you do that to your altar of Braga every night! LOL! JK! But, now to logic, His episodes have been a mixed bag, and those ‘good ones’ you refer to were also written by others, and you say, lets give him a chance again??? lets see, TNG, VOY, Ent, Generations, whats next??? Most are not spectacular outings, and those that were, are co-wrote by others and the real stinkers are him and Berman, For the record: * TNG: (20) o “Reunion” (teleplay with Thomas Perry, Jo Perry and Ronald D. Moore) o “Identity Crisis” (teleplay) o “The Game” (teleplay, story with Susan Sackett and Fred Bronson) o “Power Play” (teleplay with Rene Balcer and Herbert J. Wright) o “Cause and Effect” o “Imaginary Friend” (teleplay with Edith Swensen) o “Realm of Fear” o “Schisms” (teleplay) o “A Fistful of Datas” (teleplay with Robert Hewitt Wolfe) o “Aquiel” (teleplay with Ronald D. Moore) o “Birthright, Part I” o “Frame of Mind” o “Timescape” o “Phantasms” o “Parallels” o “Sub Rosa” (teleplay) o “Eye of the Beholder” (story) o “Genesis” o “Emergence” (story) o “All Good Things…” (with Ronald D. Moore) * VOY: (48) o “Parallax” (teleplay) o “Phage” (teleplay with Skye Dent) o “The Cloud” (story) o “Emanations” o “Cathexis” (teleplay, story with Joe Menosky) o “The 37’s” (with Jeri Taylor) o “Projections” o “Non Sequitur” o “Cold Fire” (teleplay) o “Threshold” (teleplay) o “Deadlock” o “Flashback” o “Remember” (story with Joe Menosky) o “Future’s End” (with Joe Menosky) o “Future’s End, Part II” (with Joe Menosky) o “Macrocosm” o “Darkling” (story with Joe Menosky) o “Rise” (teleplay) o “Distant Origin” (with Joe Menosky) o “Scorpion” (with Joe Menosky) o “Scorpion, Part II” (with Joe Menosky) o “Year of Hell” (with Joe Menosky) o “Year of Hell, Part II” (with Joe Menosky) o “Prey” o “The Killing Game” (with Joe Menosky) o “The Killing Game, Part II” (with Joe Menosky) o “Living Witness” (teleplay with Bryan Fuller and Joe Menosky, story) o “Hope and Fear” (teleplay with Joe Menosky, story with Rick Berman and Joe Menosky) o “Night” (with Joe Menosky) o “Drone” (with Bryan Fuller and Joe Menosky) o “Timeless” (teleplay with Joe Menosky, story with Rick Berman and Joe Menosky) o “Latent Image” (story with Eileen Connors and Joe Menosky) o “Dark Frontier” (with Joe Menosky) o “Think Tank” (story with Rick Berman) o “Someone to Watch Over Me” (story) o “11:59” (story with Joe Menosky) o “Warhead” (story) o “Equinox” (teleplay with Joe Menosky, story with Rick Berman and Joe Menosky) o “Equinox, Part II” (teleplay with Joe Menosky, story with Rick Berman and Joe Menosky) o “Dragon’s Teeth” (with Michael Taylor and Joe Menosky) o “Memorial” (story) o “Fury” (story with Rick Berman) o “Life Line” (teleplay with Robert Doherty and Raf Green) o “Unimatrix Zero” (teleplay with Joe Menosky) o “Unimatrix Zero, Part II” (teleplay with Joe Menosky, story with Mike Sussman and Joe Menosky) o “Human Error” (teleplay with André Bormanis) o “Author, Author” (story) o “Endgame” (story with Rick Berman and Kenneth Biller) * ENT: (37) o “Broken Bow” (with Rick Berman) o “Fight or Flight” (with Rick Berman) o “Strange New World” (story with Rick Berman) o “Unexpected” (with Rick Berman) o “Terra Nova” (story with Rick Berman) o “The Andorian Incident” (story with Rick Berman and Fred Dekker) o “Shadows of P’Jem” (story with Rick Berman) o “Fusion” (story with Rick Berman) o “Shuttlepod One” (with Rick Berman) o “Rogue Planet” (story with Rick Berman and Chris Black) o “Acquisition” (story with Rick Berman) o “Oasis” (story with Rick Berman and Stephen Beck) o “Detained” (story with Rick Berman) o “Vox Sola” (story with Rick Berman and Fred Dekker) o “Fallen Hero” (with Rick Berman and Chris Black) o “Desert Crossing” (story with Rick Berman and André Bormanis) o “Two Days and Two Nights” (story with Rick Berman) o “Shockwave” (with Rick Berman) o “Shockwave, Part II” (with Rick Berman) o “Carbon Creek” (story with Rick Berman and Dan O’Shannon) o “A Night in Sickbay” (with Rick Berman) o “Marauders” (story with Rick Berman) o “The Seventh” (with Rick Berman) o “The Communicator” (story with Rick Berman) o “Vanishing Point” (with Rick Berman) o “Precious Cargo” (story with Rick Berman) o “Stigma” (with Rick Berman) o “The Crossing” (teleplay with Rick Berman, story with Rick Berman and André Bormanis) o “Cogenitor” (with Rick Berman) o “Bounty” (story with Rick Berman) o “The Expanse” (with Rick Berman) o “The Xindi” (with Rick Berman) o “Carpenter Street” (with Rick Berman) o “Harbinger” (story with Rick Berman) o “Azati Prime” (story with Rick Berman and Manny Coto) o “Zero Hour” (with Rick Berman) o “These Are the Voyages…” (with Rick Berman) * Films: (2) o Star… Read more »
But, after this whole list all I need to say is the word Generations! need I say more?
3- uhh, which best ones? The stupid temporal cold war episodes of Enterprise? The infamous warp 10 salamander episode of Voyager? The TNG episode where they de-evolve? The Enterprise episode where they give Porthos a chameleon pituitary gland? Please let us know which ‘best’ episodes Brannon Braga wrote? >|>{
ah yes, lets see what else he can steer into the dirt
5,6-agreed!
#1: Nice. I just love it when a thread starts off on a positive note.
Personally, while not my favorites of the movies, I did like ‘Generations.’
Looking at the list above (in number 5), Brannan wrote a good number of my favorite episodes.
‘Questor’ is being pitched to Fox?
Now I am worried. Fox’s treatment of science fiction is about as bad as NBC’s.
oops (#10)
while not my favorite of the movies…. (it’s 4 a.m. and I’m tired… LOL)
@7
I actually liked the devolution episode from TNG…
Good stuff!! Best wishes.
I think its obvious the guys got talent. But I also think although he wrote a lot of Star Trek, it was a bit of a hit and miss, some episodes I thought were good, others so-so. But you cant be on 100% of the time. I say good luck to him.
I will also say that after being reminded of his temporal arcs in Voyager and ENT I had to scrape my Star Trek fanfic story! :{ Dang and it had promise to, or not.
He is a much better writer than Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman.
I have met brannon twice and it was really cool to meet him. He co wrote one of my fav Trek movies, and I love his high concept ideas that he had for Trek.
Yes he wrote some terrible episodes, like Threshold. I really love how he naile the characters.
Ron Moore is another great writer.
They are both great and a lot better than the current writers of Trek. Moore is excellent at drama.
best of luck Brannon with the new deal
sweet!
brannon – come to the vegas con again this year !
I hope they’ve stocked up on crayons.
Exciting to hear that Moore is writing the “I, Robot” sequel. Can’t think of anybody more qualified!
Braga wrote some good, some bad. I always liked the fact that, even when his episodes were bad, they were still bizarre and entertaining.
And I don’t get why people constantly bring up Generations (which was … not great) but then don’t give him credit for co-writing First Contact, which many people consider the best of the Trek movies. It’s definitely the best TNG movie – I still prefer The Wrath of Khan overall – but FC was better than the new movie, which was very good too, in my opinion.
When he took over Voyager and introduced the Borg, Voyager had become completely lifeless and dull. Sure he ran the Borg completely into the ground eventually, but he also gave the show a desperately needed shot of life and energy. That season (season 4 I believe) was one of Voyager’s best.
Threshold was interesting though a tad predictable. Hard to judge without seeing how it might have turned out though.
I’ll definitely agree with anyone who says he ran 24 and Enterprise into the ground though. :) I think in Enterprise’s case, he simply had been writing Trek too long. It’s hard to start a series that is a “fresh take” on Trek, yet using a writer who is clearly burned out from writing the show for too long.
And 24 was getting tired before he came along, so its not entirely his fault.
Does anyone know what happened to Rick Berman?
PS Ron Moore is my hero
Followup to 21: I was referring to Threshold the series, not the Voyager episode. I still think its funny he named his first original series after the worst episode of Trek he ever wrote. :-)
#7 – Hey now, Janeway, in that episode, was allowed to experience motherhood…uh…sort of. That has to count for something. BTW: did she have twins or triplets?
Is Berman still writing/having written his tell-all Trek book? If so, will Braga do the same some day?
16. neill
While I have great respect for Mr. Braga, I do not think your comment that he is a better writer than Bob Orci or Alex Kurtzman is warranted. That is a completely subjective opinion. Braga, Orci, and Kurtzman have all achieved substantial success in the film and tv industry, and they have all been hired by the same company (Fox), and I doubt the company would agree with you, or else they’d never have hired Orci and Kurtzman. Braga wrote over 100 episodes of Star Trek, and 2 films…? He’s had his share of hits and misses. Orci and Kurtzman have written 1 Star Trek film, which you, seemingly, did not like. That’s fine. I’ll agree with you if you say Braga’s writing is different than Orci/Kurtzman’s, but to say he is a “better” writer is an opinion which cannot be proven to be a fact in the current history of tv and film.
As for Mr. Braga’s new deal, I wish him all the best for many years to come.
Nice to be known as “rabid.” Thanks, Fox. *switches off TV.*
Good for Braga, and good luck to him. He was always one of the most interesting writers on Trek – in some ways, too interesting for the franchise.
Gotta laugh at the declaration that FOX is very interested in SF programming though; they seem most interested in cancelling it. LOL
Regardless of all the bad blood Braga has attained with Trek fans in the past…. I wish him the best of luck in his journey. Hopefully he learns from past mistakes he made with the Trek Franchise.
Not my favorite person.
Funny to read what kind of fans here post at trekmovie…..they don´t seem to like Braga, they hate on Berman and they don´t respect Ronald D Moore either. So what exactly do you guys like???? Apart from the sanctified TOS????? Its just extremly ridiculous that three of the most distinctive figures of Star Trek who where responsible for the best Star Trek moments are regularly dissed. I can´t take these kind of “fans” seriously…personally i prefer Ronald D. Moore to Braga simply because Braga was with Voyager and Moore with DS9 which was imo way better than Voyager…AND i have great respect for Berman. He respected Roddenberrys ideals and views, NOT like J.J.Lensflare i don´t like Star Trek but love Star Wars.
P.S. I enjoyed the new movie
Television will continue to be the best medium for Star Trek. More episodes, more stories, more character development.
I love Brannon Braga.
Ronald Moore almost single handedly destroyed the entire Trek franchise with DS9. He took it off course from it’s bright optimistic future which had to be reinstated by JJ Abrams. If moore wanted a dark universe, maybe he should’ve written an Aliens vs. Predator series, not Star Trek.
In my view, DS9 *strengthened* Trek’s optimism by showing how its ideals persevered in the face of some extreme difficulties. It broke from Trek formula but stayed true to the spirit. DS9 rocks!
What ever happened to “in all fairness to…?” Some Star Trek fans lacking a bit of compassion, hmm?
Mr. Braga was involved with Star Trek 24/7 for 14 years. Anyone who has ever worked at one job for 14 years knows — no matter how much you enjoy it — it can become grueling. Earlier, I stated Braga had his share of hits and misses, but he wasn’t always solely to blame. I’ve criticized him in the past, primarily because I, like others, felt the essence of what made Star Trek great was being lost. But I wouldn’t deny the man his due. And, regardless, even at its lowest points, Star Trek fans have always stood by Star Trek, which is a testament to the concept and the fans.
So, in all fairness to Mr. Braga, I think he did a decent job. Every fan has a rather specific image of what we think Star Trek should be… and some are more adamant about it than others. But, as I’ve said many times before, being a fan does not mean we are collaborators. A fan who bitches at the writer is like a dog who bites the hand that feeds him, IMO.
Maybe it’s just me but I like this season of 24.
According to a Wikipedia article, the last TV show that CBS Television Studios produced but aired on a different TV network owned by a different company rather than CBS is ‘The Cleaner’ which aired on A&E. With all respect to CBS TV Studios, the new ‘Star Trek’ TV series should air on either CBS or the CW. As for the Fox network, they should pick up a new live-action ‘Star Wars’ TV series that takes place between ‘Revenge of the Sith’ and ‘A New Hope’. If that happens, then 20th Century Fox Television should co-produce a new S-Dub TV series with Lucasfilm.
Yes, we all know CBS owns ‘Star Trek’ while Lucasfilm owns ‘Star Wars’.
Oh no…. another Braga thread. And it looks like it’s going the way I thought it would.
Let’s see…. we’ve got “I love Braga but don’t like JJ,” “Ronald Moore sucks,” “GFY, Braga,” and “Why the frak are people still arguing about this?” kind of comments.
Just for the record, on that poll about Trek nitpicking a few weeks ago, I voted that it was the darker underside of Trek politics.
Let’s do a letter-writing campaign for a new “Trek” series.
Whom do I write to?
He killed Kirk. Nuff said.
Well done Mr Braga!
#31 “….Its just extremly ridiculous that three of the most distinctive figures of Star Trek who where responsible for the best Star Trek moments are regularly dissed.”
Huh? When did anyone ever dis Gene Coon, DC Fontana and Gene Roddenberry?
#35 “A fan who bitches at the writer is like a dog who bites the hand that feeds him, IMO.”
It all depends on what that hand is putting in the bowl.
44. star trackie
“..It all depends on what that hand is putting in the bowl…
On the other hand, if the dog doesn’t like it, he’s apt to just walk away and not get into a debate with you about it…
I always get cracked up when there is an article about Berman, Braga or Moore. We get the: Braga sucks, Abrams rules–Braga rules, Moore was a idiot, Moore was the best–Berman should die over and over again, etc, etc, etc. You know, I loved all of the shows and movies. Yes, there were were some episodes that made me cringe like everyone else. Yes ST V was a disappointment. But you know what, when I was watching them, I could have cared less who was writing/making the episode. It was a fun ride. My thanks to Gene Roddenberry, Rick Berman,Ronald Moore,Brannon Braga, Jeri Taylor, Harve Bennett, Nicholas Meyer, JJ Abrams, Bob Orci, Alex Kurtzman, and anyone else who was responsible for and made Star Trek, et al, the enjoyable and fun ride it has been and hopefully will be for years.
I miss Rick Berman!
#46, Damian.
Well thats far too sensible. And I couldn’t agree more. ;)
Well said Damian!!
46,
Someone saying something sensible on a Star Trek forum?!