In 1986, Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry enlisted Rick Berman to be a writer and co-producer on The Next Generation series. Berman has worked on the franchise ever since, co-producing companion series Deep Space Nine, Voyager, and Enterprise, as well as producing all the Next Generation movies.
You've been with Star Trek for 16 years. Why has the franchise lasted so long?
There are a lot of people who like the optimistic elements of Star Trek. There's a lot of science fiction that has a rather negative view of the future - like "Blade Runner" and others. There's also an element of familiarity to Star Trek, everybody knows "Beam me up, Scotty" or what Warp speed is and what a Klingon is.
How much does having an obsessive fan base influence the Star Trek creative process?
They both scare and help us, and that's almost more for the television show than the movies. The internet allows them to get online the night that they've seen an episode of the television show and discuss it. So the next day, I can have my assistant put together a stack of information of what people thought of last night's episode. That's a little frightening. You know we can listen and see what the fans think, but in the long run we have to do what we want to do. You can't let the fans write the show.
How much of a Trek fan do you have to be to watch this film?
I would like to think the fans will love the film, but I think the film works pretty well for people who aren't familiar with Trek. That's something we try to do on all of the movies. It's a very fine line that you walk, because if you explain too much the Star Trek fans get belligerent, but if you don't explain enough the non-fans are going to be lost. So it's difficult to make sure people on both sides of the fence can enjoy the film.
How have you documented your time working with the Star Trek franchise? Do you have a lot of mementos?
No, I don't. If you went to my house you wouldn't see a single Star Trek thing. I've got a couple of bits hidden away in draws. They give you a lot of the licensing stuff like toys and merchandise, and I always just give them away to charity.
