'Star Trek: Deep Space Nine' - Memories of Writing for the TV Show

2009 marked the global blockbuster return of Star Trek. J.J. Abram's frantic paced version of Gene Roddenberry's sci-fi classic thundered to acclaim in both fantastic box office profit and critical praise. It's also the 40th anniversary of Star Trek's finale on network TV. Running on NBC from 1966 to 1969, the ground breaking sci-fi show spawned an animated series, and spin-offs Star Trek: The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, Voyager and Enterprise.

2009 marks another Star Trek anniversary. It's been ten years since the finale of a darkly realized spin-off. I made my second professional Hollywood writing sale to DS9. My first was a script for Star Trek: The Next Generation, made the year prior. Needless to say, contributing to Star Trek boosted my writing career. Here are my fond memories of writing for Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.

Winter 1993. America's 1992 Presidential election was over. Bill Clinton had just been elected President, and I had just written my first TV script. Despite less than optimistic people in my life, those nasty naysayers if you'll allow, who chided that I was wasting my time, I managed to finish a 60 page teleplay. "You can't write a Hollywood script! It's well... well for Hollywood types!" was an 'interesting' reaction, after making my screenwriting intentions known. Call me a "Hollywood Type" - whatever that means. My mom raised me to never give too much away concerning my goals. Best friends and the most loving family members can act decidedly weird when you attempt the "artistic". I wished I'd followed her advice, instead of casually announcing my plans, then bravely weathering the subsequent cynical fallout.

Still, it remains one of the busiest, and most exciting times in my life. As I prepared to enter first year of college, Paramount Pictures called to say they were buying and producing my TNG script, for the seventh, final season of the Emmy nominated series. That same week, my college acceptance letter arrived in the mail. Ah, those faded, halcyon snail mail days of paper letters! My samurai sword letter opener lays dusty on a shelf now, but back then it gleamed brightly, as I sliced open the news I'd be going off to study at Ramapo College.

Situated in the Ramapo Valley near Suffern NY, and a Native American Reservation on a spectacular mountain range, the college campus fairly insists you relax. It forces your lungs to enjoy abundant clean air. Fresh air isn't something I'm accustomed to breathing, as I live close to New York City. So much so, that on the morning of 9/11, I watched the Twin Towers of the WTC collapse from my kitchen window. The air quality I grew up on never nurtured one as mountain valley crispy clean.

After unpacking my bags that first evening, I walked around the enormous campus pond. It glistened hypnotically, lit up by foot trail lights, and brimmed over with the loud, honking cries of Canadian geese. More than anything else, I marveled at how each breath I took was smog free. I had written my TNG script at home. Now here at an Earth college, bursting with fresh air, I'd pen adventures of artificially life supported Deep Space Nine, near the Bajoran Wormhole, set off in the farthest reaches of outer space.

Winter 1994. My freshman Fall/Winter semester went along smoothly, with my TNG episode "Homeward", airing in January 1994. To my surprised delight, "Homeward" became the first episode to be aired in prime time, when TV channel WPIX switched TNG from 6pm to 8pm. Ramapo's PR office coordinated a live TV interview, so my family and I watched, while a news crew captured the emotional time. Sadly, a sweeping force of natural disaster hung over our excitement. Los Angeles, CA got hit with the devastating Northridge Earthquake that day, so it felt incredibly bittersweet.

WPIX, the super station airing my TNG episode, called to assure me the interview would go forward. Waking up to dozens dying as a result of an earthquake, not to mention billions of dollars in damage, made me think for sure nobody would care about Star Trek. However, the prime time episode and "local boy" makes good angle remained an entertainment/human interest segment. Like they say in showbiz, the show must go on! Returning to Ramapo campus after winter break, saw me hang out with friends who'd either seen the episode, or them asking to borrow my VHS tape. We ended up doing a "Trek party." Good friends Jen DeRico, Luis Guzman and others, crammed together on a bunk bed to watch Worf and human foster brother Nikolai (Trek fan Paul Sorvino) duke it out over alien resettlement, and a toxic relationship of unresolved familial angst.

Summer 1994. Freshman year ended on a high note. While I relaxed at home on my living room couch, free at last of final exams, dorm roomies with odd living habits and nagging tuition bills, CNN announced former NFL star OJ Simpson was fleeing from police on a high speed car chase. I had just sent off "Charity", the script that would be produced as the DS9 episode 'Prophet Motive.' Simpson's historic legal troubles over the brutal double murder of his ex-wife Nicole Brown and Ron Goldman, would play a role in my DS9 dealings, but that's for later. For now, I started writing another DS9 script, while trying to enjoy summer break. Like many writers, I not only excel at multi-tasking projects, but feel intellectually boosted by tackling a variety.

Premiering in 1993, Deep Space Nine met a skeptical Star Trek fanbase weaned on Captain Kirk and Mr. Spock's Starship Enterprise, even if later it was commanded by British accented, chrome dome Frenchman, Jean-Luc Picard. Complaints were many: Where's the Starship? Where's the exploration? Where's opening narration? DS9 weathered a rough start, but by the time it entered its final season, it not only earned ratings close to predecessor TNG, but expertly carved up a uniquely fascinating new sci-fi mythos all its own.

Star Trek writing offices at Paramount were manned by Lolita Fatjo - the script coordinator. Lolita's reading team logged thousands of spec scripts which flooded the offices yearly. I believe when I submitted my first script, they received around 3,500 yearly. At its peak, that healthy figure skyrocketed to over 10,000.

The fact that an unknown writer like me - and others who sold through the open spec process created by producer Michael Piller - managed a first professional TV script sale is nothing short of extraordinary. I finally met Lolita when I pitched to Jeri Taylor of Star Trek: Voyager in Hollywood. Lolita was so warm and friendly. I'm glad she was so open and accessible, because when a mix-up occurred which saw Paramount Pictures returning my DS9 script unread, I'd be forced to call executive producer Rick Berman, who promptly had Lolita Fatjo sort it out.

To be continued....