“It Was By no means Going To Occur”: Walter Koenig Was Turned Down As A Star Trek: The Subsequent Technology Author

Walter Koenig reveals he virtually grew to become a author on Star Trek: The Subsequent Technology till he realized “It was by no means going to occur.” Koenig portrayed the long-lasting Pavel Chekov in Star Trek: The Unique Sequence and in seven Star Trek films. Koenig can be a gifted author who has penned episodes of tv sequence like Land of the Misplaced and the Star Trek: The Animated Sequence episode, “The Infinite Vulcan.”

Whereas reviewing Star Trek: The Unique Series’ season 2’s traditional episode, “The Hassle With Tribbles” on The seventh Rule podcast, Walter Koenig instructed hosts Cirroc Lofton and Ryan T. Husk about points he as soon as had with the episode’s author, David Gerrold. After changing into pals with Gerrold, Koenig wrote for David’s present, Land of the Misplaced, earlier than Walter was invited to pitch tales for Star Trek: The Subsequent Technology. Sadly, Koenig’s bid to put in writing for TNG received so far as Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry. Learn Walter’s quote and watch the video under:

He and Dorothy [Fontana] tried to get me on as a author on Subsequent Technology. So I pitched some tales to them, they usually cherished them. They cherished the tales. Irrespective of the friendship that’s concerned, you say, effectively, they’re pals, in order that they preferred them, it’s their ass on the road if the story isn’t good [and] they’ve supported the author.

My sense was they actually preferred the tales, they thought they had been price doing. I carry this all up as a result of the opposite producer, who I didn’t know… He additionally very a lot preferred them. I pitched two or three tales. He stated, “We’re going to do one of many three, for certain.” And so I went house saying, ‘That’s nice.’ After which I get a name: “Gene [Roddenberry] needs to fulfill with you.” I stated, “Okay.”

So I went again to the studio. Gene was very nice. We walked the lot. We sat down within the cafeteria, and I pitched the tales once more. I completed one, then he went for his drink that he had. He sat a second, then he stated… “How can we get [Data] to the planet?” There’s one million methods you may get him to the planet… After which he requested me to inform the second story. And by now, I knew it was by no means going to occur. It simply wasn’t going to occur. In order that was the tip of that. However each Dorothy and David Gerrold, and this different producer, had been very, very beneficiant of their approbation.

Why Walter Koenig Did not Turn into A Star Trek: The Subsequent Technology Author

Being An Icon Of Star Trek: The Unique Sequence Would possibly Have Labored Towards Koenig

Walter Koenig’s bid to affix Star Trek: The Subsequent Technology‘s writers’ room should have come round 1987, maybe throughout manufacturing of season 1, which was after Star Trek IV: The Voyage House in 1986. It is attainable that Koenig being a part of Star Trek: The Unique Sequence labored towards him. On the time, Gene Roddenberry needed TNG to ascertain its personal id and did not need references to Nineteen Sixties Star Trek. Maybe Walter Koenig was too carefully tied to Star Trek: The Unique Series, regardless of how good his TNG episode concepts had been.

Star Trek: The Subsequent Technology season 1 had an infamously tumultuous author’s room, with a number of scribes becoming a member of and leaving the fledgling sequence. As Ryan T. Husk famous on The seventh Rule, Walter Koenig might need dodged a bullet by not becoming a member of TNG‘s troubled writers’ room in season 1. TNG progressively righted the ship, first with Maurice Hurley changing into showrunner in season 2 earlier than bringing in Michael Piller, who led TNG beginning in season 3 to ultimately develop into one of many biggest science fiction sequence of all time.

Our Take On Walter Koenig Not Turning into A Star Trek: The Subsequent Technology Author

What Had been Walter’s TNG Story Concepts?

Contemplating how interesting the thought of Leonard Nimoy directing Star Trek III: The Seek for Spock and Star Trek IV: The Voyage House, and the way effectively that labored out for Nimoy and for Star Trek, it is disappointing that Star Trek: The Subsequent Technology did not faucet into the thought of Walter Koenig writing for TNG. Koenig has lengthy been a treasure and useful resource that Star Trek has not absolutely utilized, both as an actor as Chekov, or, we discovered on The seventh Rule, as a author.

I would like to know what Walter Koenig’s Star Trek: The Subsequent Technology pitch concepts had been. One appeared to contain Lt. Commander Knowledge (Brent Spiner) on a planet. Koenig gave the impression to be caught within the behind-the-scenes politics of TNG, and it is a disgrace his try to contribute tales concerning the USS Enterprise-D got here to nothing. In the meantime, Walter Koenig gives his recollections and insights about Star Trek: The Unique Sequence on The seventh Rule, and it is regrettable that he could not creatively be part of Star Trek: The Subsequent Technology.

Supply: The seventh Rule

Star Trek: The Subsequent Technology

9/10

Launch Date

1987 – 1994-00-00

Community

Syndication

Showrunner

Gene Roddenberry

Administrators

Cliff Bole, Les Landau, Winrich Kolbe, Rob Bowman, Robert Scheerer, Jonathan Frakes, Robert Wiemer, Gabrielle Beaumont, Alexander Singer, David Carson, Paul Lynch, Corey Allen, Patrick Stewart, Chip Chalmers, Joseph L. Scanlan, James L. Conway, Robert Lederman, Tom Benko, Timothy Bond, Robert Legato, Adam Nimoy, Robert Becker, David Livingston, LeVar Burton

Writers

René Echevarria, Maurice Hurley, Richard Manning, Melinda M. Snodgrass, Tracy Tormé, Hannah Louise Shearer, Stuart Charno, Ira Steven Behr, Sara B. Cooper, Peter Allan Fields, Herbert Wright, Frank Abatemarco, Burton Armus, Hilary Bader, Morgan Gendel, David Kemper, Michael I. Wagner, Philip LaZebnik, Robert McCullough, Susan Sackett, Nick Sagan, Fred Bronson, Robert Hewitt Wolfe, Sam Rolfe