Writing The Sci-Fi 'Trek Tech' In 'Star Trek'
When Writing Scripts For Star Trek: The Next Generation and Deep Space Nine I Juggled Sci-Fi Concepts With The Iconic Treknology Of The Fabled Franchise
Gene Roddenberry gave to the world his now legendary starship of the imagination - Star Trek. Make no mistake when considering this writer creator’s mammoth accomplishment. He is also credited with the creation of the sequel TV show, Star Trek: The Next Generation. These days it’s easy for his contribution to be minimized or even somewhat forgotten. CBS and Paramount have produced new feature films and TV shows which bear little resemblance to the creator’s original vision.
Beyond many things during the development of the original Star Trek, Roddenberry always tried to get the science right or at least believable. The original series presentation proved so realistic, NASA and other science minded entities studied aspects of the show to perhaps fold into their own research in real life.
There have been many incarnations since Roddenberry’s original Wagon Train To The Stars was first broadcast in 1966, so it’s more difficult to realize the nurturing source. Those pioneer days were also formative and embryonic in developing the technology now associated with the franchise.
From the outset, Roddenberry’s writers faced a hurdle most other television show staff are never confronted with - creating the complex Trek tech or Treknology. Today, Star Trek tech is far more voluminous than back during the launch of the original, though the Kirk era brain trust still waded amid a burgeoning tech manual while plotting their stories.
The aptly named Treknology became so complex and wide ranging over the decades articles and books have been crafted entirely on this subject. In my chats with fans on writing for Trek, one of their oft asked questions, “As a freelancer, how do you deal with writing all that Treknology or Treknobable?”
My honest answer? I had some help.
‘The Next Generation’ Gave Us The Next In Trek Tech
Star Trek: The Next Generation launched in syndication on TV in 1987 - 21 years after NBC broadcast Gene Roddenberry’s first starship Enterprise, commanded by William Shatner, playing a youthful, cowboy diplomat, Captain James T. Kirk.
Roddenberry’s new version of his famed space opera wouldn’t be helmed by a Canadian actor playing an American, portraying a frequently too daring, even rebellious Starfleet professional. Instead, a distinguished, more seasoned and measured Jean-Luc Picard, played by the British actor, Patrick Stewart, would lead his crew on cosmic adventure in a more tactful, even fatherly fashion. A brash, big American brother was replaced by a mature, European intellect. Fittingly, other aspects of the show would need maturing as well.
TNG technology got tweaked. Those wonderful tech toys were revamped, expanded and somehow made even more magical. Food synthesizers or food processors would become replicators - magical light show boxes to produce nearly any food or item one needed or desired. Transporters were now faster, more reliable - yet still managed to break down once in awhile to afford a script’s plot point necessity.
By the time I was interested in writing for ST:TNG as a freelance writer, Treknology had undergone a stunningly beautiful transformation. Next Generation production staffers Mike Okuda and Rick Sternbach acted as art directors and prop designers for the TNG era. The men also served as Technical Advisors.
Sternbach would redesign the phasers, tricorders and communicators, working off the original designs from artist Wah Chang. Okuda would produce - among other graphical flourishes - the cool, future functional computer monitor artwork with a system called LCARS - Library Computer Access Retrieval System.
For me, the creative process of coming up with script ideas became an organic, fluid process. Researching real science by regularly reading magazines such as Discover Magazine, Popular Science and Scientific American helped me stay on top of trending science concepts and informed me on the state-of-the art in real life technology.
Also, when writing for the show, Technical Manuals and a Writer’s Bible with Show Guidelines were sent to writers. As a freelancer, I wasn’t present for the daily meetings of the production staff, so these comprehensive resources were invaluable in motivating and inspiring me to come up with material for my scripts.
Here’s a rundown of some sci-fi concepts in several unproduced scripts I submitted to the Paramount Pictures writing offices.
Treknology In My Scripts
Next Generation - ‘Tournament Of Decision’
This story was conceptualized as focused on an aliens with highly advanced physical abilities. They could emulate most any physical task - no matter the complexity - after only watching an expert engage in the activity. Throughout the tale, I needed Chief Medical Officer Dr. Beverly Crusher (Gates McFadden) to sound knowledgeable about kinesthetics - the field of study concerning physical body motion.
Whenever I was at a loss of how to have Dr. Crusher address her patient or subject, I would type TECH in bold. This alerts the show science advisor - at the time Andre Bormanis - to expand and fill in the appropriate science or science fiction. Even if I did thorough research on kinesthetics, I’m no expert, neither most likely is Mr. Bormanis, yet his science degrees neatly trumps my experience.
Voyager - ‘Stalker’
What if a predatory creature composed of unknown pure energy walked and stalked the corridors of Captain Janeway’s Starship Voyager? This was my script’s spooky premise.
To sound more plausible in terms of the ways in which energy moves independent of a creature which employed it, I used the examples of a starship’s own defensive force fields, deflectors or the holographic Doctor - since he’s basically a collection of photons - elements of light/energy - held together by a force field and projected by the Holodeck, the Sickbay emitters or his handy mobile holo-emitter. I envisioned a kind of Predator cloaked creature, yet the camouflage would not be realized by an external gadget, being more of a native born ability. Perhaps a crafty chameleon crossed with an electric eel.
Deep Space Nine - ‘Scent of Justice’
Can we actually smell our emotions or feelings? Fear? How about hatred or love? It may sound outlandish, but scientists are finding real support for body secreted chemicals known as pheromones which can highly impact our responses and behavior.
From The Guardian:
The team found that the smell of fear triggered a heightened response in brain regions associated with fear when inhaled by volunteers in a brain scanner. The research suggests that like many animal species, humans can detect and subconsciously respond to pheromones released by other people.
Pheromones were at play here. An alien race needed to appear as if they used pheromones in the communicative way we use speech and language, as they essentially wrecked havoc on Ben Sisko’s former Cardassian space station.
Again, whenever I needed more technology impact in the areas I felt deficient in writing authoritatively, I’d insert TECH into the sentence or dialogue block. Once again this alerted the science advisory staff to make my scene or sci-fi concept more realistic, authentic and ultimately powerful. More Treknology.
Writing for Star Trek: The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine and Voyager brought home to me the realities of conjuring up a cool sci-fi idea mixed with the challenge of seeing that premise sketched out fully, then developed into a full blown filmable story. Science concepts always intrigue and Star Trek more than almost any sci-fi vehicle seems to make the ideas more fascinating and relatable, while inserting them well into our own present day sensibilities.