On Facebook, longtime “Star Trek” production designers Mike and Dennis Okuda Jerry Taylor’s death announcedShe was 88 years old.
Jerry Taylor was one of the lead producers and writers during the heyday of “Star Trek” in the 1990s, joining the staff of “Star Trek: The Next Generation” in its fourth season. Trekkies will tell you that “The Next Generation,” already hitting its stride, fast forward to its fourth season, and producing several capital-G great episodes in that time. Taylor’s impeccable writing contributions to “The Next Generation” were so widely recognized that she was promoted to the role of co-executive producer of the series in its sixth season, handling the majority of the production alongside lead showrunners Rick Berman and Michael Piller. Care was taken. In the show’s seventh season, Taylor became a full-bore showrunner.
Taylor wrote several scripts for “The Next Generation” and is credited with co-creating a fascist species called the Cardassians, who would play a big role in “Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.” Along with Berman and Piller, Taylor was the co-creator of “Star Trek: Voyager” and served as the show’s executive producer and one of its writers. Taylor served as head writer and showrunner for the fourth season of “Voyager”. Taylor also wrote three tie-in “Star Trek” novels. He officially retired from “Star Trek” games and writing altogether in 1998, leading the franchise into its best years.
Below are some of Taylor’s more notable “Star Trek” teleplays. One can see how important she was to the health of Enterprise’s missions.
‘The Wounded’ introduced the Kardashians to ‘Star Trek’
In “The Wounded” (January 28, 1991), the Enterprise is attacked by a Cardassian ship, seemingly unprovoked. The Cardassians are a cowardly species that have always had a poor relationship with the Federation, and several conflicts have left them as an enemy. However, it is explained that the Cardassians were merely retaliating against an attack they had experienced a few days earlier. Captain Picard learns that a vengeful Starfleet captain named Benjamin Maxwell (Bob Gunton) was attacking the Cardassians with unshared evidence that they were up to no good.
The episode is notable for the scene in which Miles O’Brien (Colm Meaney), who once worked under Maxwell, admits that he held a powerful prejudice against the Cardassians. He knows that other Cardassians have committed brutal murders during previous conflicts, and he cannot control his resentment.
“The Wounded” is a classic story of the continued violence of wounded people, and how war continues even after the conflict ends. These are classic “Star Trek” ideas, and handled with aplomb.
‘Night Terrors’ is the scariest thing you’ll ever see in Star Trek
In “Night Terrors” (March 18, 1991), the Enterprise discovers an abandoned ship, the USS Bratton, with only one surviving crew member. It appears that everyone on the ship has murdered each other or killed themselves. The only survivor is awake but in constant fear. Everything works on Bratton, but it can’t activate. Soon, the Enterprise also mysteriously becomes unable to move. Counselor Troi (Marina Sirtis) has nightmares of the whispering tunnel, and the rest of the crew begins to hallucinate. Commander Riker (Jonathan Frakes) finds snakes in his bed. Dr. Crusher (Gates McFadden) sees bodies sitting upright on autopsy tables.
“Night Terrors” isn’t just the scariest episode of “Star Trek,” it’s one of the scariest things ever. The tone is nightmarish and dizzying. The scene with Dr. Crusher and the corpses gave this viewer legitimate nightmares. The final explanation is equally scary. It seems that the local radiation has taken away the crew’s ability to reach REM sleep, leaving them unable to truly rest. There is no deadly alien species behind this madness. This is just madness.
‘The Drumhead’ is ‘Star Trek’ at its most moral
In “The Drumhead” (April 29, 1991) an explosion occurred in the Enterprise’s engine room when its dilithium chamber exploded. There is an immediate suspicion of foul play, as such a vital area of the ship will be closely guarded and monitored. An investigator named Nora Satie (Jean Simmons), the daughter of a renowned Federation judge, is called to the Enterprise to find potential saboteurs.
Satie is aggressively thorough and openly suspicious of everyone. Her investigation revealed a Klingon spy aboard the plane who was secretly passing information to the Romulans, but she was unable to prove that he was responsible for the explosion. He meets a junior officer who is part Romulan and accuses him of sabotage simply because of his lineage. Meanwhile, Enterprise officials found that no sabotage had occurred. It was just an engine part that had worn out due to the running of the machine.
However, Satie is not satisfied, and begins to interrogate Picard herself, questioning his loyalty. He sees enemies everywhere. We see that angry, wounded people in positions of legal power are the most dangerous, because they allow an atmosphere of hostility to turn into prejudice and oppression. “The Drumhead” includes the following speech from Picard:
“You know, there are some words I have known since I was a schoolboy. With the first link, the chain is forged. The first speech condemned, the first thought forbidden, the first liberty deprived, the first to destroy us all.” “Shackles you in chains.” The judge said these words aaron satie As wisdom and warning. The first time an individual’s freedom is trampled on, we are all damaged.”
Picard’s speech in “The Drumhead” is considered one of the most famous speeches in “Star Trek” history. Jerry Taylor gave us that.
Vulkan returns to ‘integration’
When “Star Trek: The Next Generation” first debuted, show creator Gene Roddenberry ordered that Vulcans be banned from the series, at least initially. Roddenberry wanted the series to be unique and did not want viewers to draw any parallels with Spock (Leonard Nimoy) from the original series.
However, with “Unification” (November 4, 1991), Spock was brought back just in time for the franchise’s 25th anniversary. The episode saw Picard and Data (Brent Spiner) go undercover as Romulans to find out what Ambassador Spock was up to by secretly communicating with the Federation’s worst enemies. They eventually learn that Spock had been quietly negotiating peace between Vulcan and Romulus for several years, having found a secret faction of Romulans who longed for peace.
While the inclusion of Spock was a move towards mercenary nostalgia, Taylor’s handling of the character was refreshingly intelligent and tasteful. We see Spock continue to work for moral good, applying his diplomatic skills to a long-fought cause. The character was allowed to develop and work, even when the audience was not watching. Unlike modern shows, “Unification” is not mournful or weepy. This is the logical next step.
‘Star Trek’ was clumsy but good about weirdness with ‘The Outcast’
In “The Outcast” (March 16, 1992), the Enterprise is working with a species called the J’nai, a genderless species. Commander Riker finds himself in the company of J’Nai named Soren (Melinda Culia), a welcoming co-worker. It’s easy for the audience to see that the pair are attracted to each other, as they have candid conversations about the concepts of sex, sexuality, and gender. Soren eventually convinces Riker that she is, in fact, a woman and that on the J’nai homeworld, all expressions of gender are taboo. Indeed, anyone caught expressing masculinity or femininity was immediately sent to brutal conversion camps.
This was clearly an allegory for LGBTQIA+ rights, and how many people have been prosecuted for their gender expression or sexuality throughout human history, but critics, even at the time, felt the episode was too sneaky. Before “Star Trek” featured truly queer characters, writers felt they had to hide queerness in alien metaphors. but then, An article in Salon, published in 2001Re-examined the case and found that its criticism of bias was correct, even if its eccentricity was discarded.
Taylor has gone on record saying that she wanted to tell a progressive gay-rights story in a sci-fi context, and her desire to be progressive is certainly admirable. She also admitted that she was not prepared to write it, not being gay herself. Nonetheless, this is one of the more notable episodes of the series and was certainly well-intentioned. And, with the rise of trans rights in the political arena, it has become more prominent.
