Commentary: Trek Stars: The Work Of Star Trek Creators Outside Of Star Trek

Behr, Part 5: Alphas. In 2011, Ira Steven Behr returned to the science fiction genre with Alphas. The series followed a group of super-powered mutants who helped the government solve crimes while coping with their unique abilities.  This week, Max and Mike are joined by their Commentary Track Stars: Off Topic co-host Branden Myers to take a look at Behr's sixth show. We discuss the similarities to The X-Men, how the tone differs from other SyFy Channel shows, and the Behr-less second season. We also touch on Ronald D. Moore's recent Twitter activity, and the passing of Trek producer Marty Hornstein.

Behr, Part 4: Crash. After a less than successful first season, the Starz Network decided to give their television show Crash a second chance. It was decided that the series needed to be reinvented, and that the man for the job was Ira Steven Behr.  This week, Mike and Max take a look at the second season of Crash. We discuss the changes that were made to the show, how the issue of racism is dealt with, and why we'll always give Behr the benefit of the doubt.

Behr, Part 3: The 4400. In 2004, Rene Echevarria and Scott Peters created The 4400. In the show, 4,400 missing persons from the past century spontaneously return with superpowers. Echevarria quickly handed over the writing staff to his Trek boss, Ira Steven Behr, who ran the series until its cancellation in 2007. This Week, Max and Mike are joined by Trek.fm's very own Christopher Jones to talk about Behr's fourth show. We discuss the religious parallels of the story, the character development over time, and the moral ambiguity of the situations presented in the series.

Behr, Part 2: The Twilight Zone.  Perhaps the only science fiction television franchise which is more critically acclaimed than Star Trek is Rod Serling's The Twilight Zone. And the only person in history who has run shows in both franchises is Ira Steven Behr. This week, Mike and Max are joined by Tom Elliot of The Twilight Zone Network to look at Behr's third series, the 2002 incarnation of The Twilight Zone. We discuss how Behr's series compares to the original, the idea of a cohesive Twilight Zone multiverse, and what we can expect from future incarnations of the show.  We also debate whether or not the Steve Guttenberg vehicle Tower of Terror takes place in the Twilight Zone.

Roddenberry Part 5: The Questor Tapes. Out of all of Gene Roddenberry’s failed pilots, The Questor Tapes is the one that came closest to getting picked up. It tells the story of an android who has been placed on Earth to oversee humanity’s progress. This week, Max and Mike examine the pilot, which starred Robert Foxworth as Questor the android, and Mike Farrell as his trusty human sidekick, Jerry. We discuss how the show itself would have differed from the pilot, its similarities to “Assignment: Earth,” the main character’s similarities to Data, the recent attempt at resurrecting the series, how the director may or may not have been responsible for the failure of the Ferengi, and how the writer may or may not have been responsible for the success of Star Trek: The Original Series. We also touch briefly on the last of Roddenberry’s failed pilots, Spectre.

Behr, Part 1: Trek.  During the third season of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Michael Piller "stepped back" from his daily duties and handed the writing staff to his Number One—Ira Steven Behr. It was at this point that Deep Space Nine went from being a great show to being the best show. Ever.  This week, we begin a new series looking at Behr's career as a showrunner. In Part 1, Max and Mike are joined by Larry Nemecek to look at Behr's work on Star Trek. We discuss his origins on The Next Generation, how Piller lured him back to work on Deep Space Nine, and how he predicted fans would appreciate the show in later years. We also talk about how baseball was responsible for the best of Trek.

Ellison, Part 4: Recap. Few writers are as prolific as Harlan Ellison. But perhaps his greatest contribution to the world of sci-fi is his commentary on the genre itself. This week, Mike and Max recap Ellison's work on The Outer Limits. We look at his two episodes, "Soldier" and "Demon with a Glass Hand," as well as his episode of Star Trek, “The City on the Edge of Forever." We also discuss his career outside television, and his impact as a public figure in the sci-fi community.

Ellison, Part 3: Demon with a Glass Hand. In 1964, Harlan Ellison won the Writer’s Guild of America Award for his second entry into The Outer Limits, “Demon with a Glass Hand.” The episode tells the story of a man with a computer hand who is humanity’s last hope in an intergalactic war. This week, Max and Mike are joined by Tysto of Tysto.com to look at “Demon with a Glass Hand.”  We discuss why it is so acclaimed, how it is part of a much larger story, and how it might have tied into Babylon 5. We also talk about how awesome The Sci-Fi Buzz was.

Ellison, Part 2: Soldier. In 1964, the cult sci-fi show The Outer Limits was renewed for a second season. The new production team decided to shift the focus away from a "monster of the week" format, and into a "hard sci-fi" direction. As part of this change, Harlan Ellison was brought in to write two episodes of the anthology series. The first of these was “Soldier,” based on his own short story entitled “Soldier from Tomorrow.” As the title suggests, it tells the story of a soldier from a future war, played by Michael Ansara, who is thrown back in time to the strange land of America in the mid-20th century. This week, Mike and Max take a look at both “Soldier” and the story upon which it's based. We discuss The Outer Limits in general, the episode in particular, and the allegations of plagiarism which Ellison brought against James Cameron's The Terminator. We also look back at the Shatner-starring, Esperanto-speaking opus which is Incubus.

Ellison, Part 1: Trek. This week, Max and Mike begin a new series on writer Harlan Ellison, looking at his work on The Outer Limits. Ellison's “The City On the Edge of Forever” is considered by many to be Star Trek's finest hour. The story of Kirk finally falling in love, only to have that love snatched away by the Universe is both epic in scale and personal in emotion. It is thought of by most to be a masterpiece. But not by Ellison. The episode's road to the screen was undoubtedly the most troubled of any Trek episode. Ellison's original screenplay was thought to be unfilmable and uncharacteristic of Trek. As such, it was heavily rewritten by Gene Roddenberry and others, until it became something that Ellison despised. Three decades later, Ellison published his original screenplay along with an essay telling his side of the story. The book is almost as epic as the episode itself. For the first part in our series on Ellison, we are joined by Drew Stewart of Standard Orbit and John Mills of Words with Nerds t

Black & Cushman, Part 2: Star Trek & These are the Voyages. Only months after publication, Marc Cushman's These are the Voyages is already considered to be the most thorough insight into the making of Star Trek: The Original Series. With 500 pages dedicated to Season One and two more volumes on the way, it is quite clearly the definitive history of Gene Roddenberry's classic show. In our third season premiere, Mike and Max present the second half of their interview with Marc and Original Series veterans John D.F. & Mary Black. We talk about how television has changed since the sixties, what other movies and shows John has written, and what we can expect to see in the next two volumes of These are the Voyages. We also ponder what it would have been like if Spock had left after Season One. These are the Voyages, TOS, Season One can be purchased now on Amazon.com, with Seasons Two and Three set for release in the coming months.

Black & Cushman, Part 1: Star Trek & These are the Voyages. These are the Voyages has quickly become the most critically acclaimed book ever written on the making of Star Trek. It is a comprehensive look at the day-to-day operation of The Original Series, from script to air. In the second season finale, Max and Mike are joined by the book's author and Next Generation writer Marc Cushman, Original Series writer and producer John D.F. Black, and his wife and Original Series assistant, Mary Black. We discuss what makes this book different from others, what it was like to work on The Original Series, and how the industry has changed over the years. We also try to figure out how you can tell when a writer is lying about missing a deadline. These are the Voyages, TOS, Season One can be purchased now on Amazon.com, with Seasons Two and Three set for release in the coming months.

Moore, Part 7: Recap. Ronald D. Moore's work as a writer on Star Trek gained the attention of many producers in Hollywood. Because of this, he has built a very successful career as a television showrunner. This week, Mike and Max recap their series on Moore's career, looking at all of the shows he ran, including Roswell, Carnivale, Battlestar Galactica, Caprica, and Virtuality. We also take a look at the future of Moore's career—with Helix and Outlander—as well as his unaired pilot, 17th Precinct.

Moore, Part 6: Virtuality. After five and a half years of running the Sci-Fi Channel's most successful series, Ronald D. Moore began development on not one, but two new pilots. The first was Caprica, as discussed last week. The second was a science fiction show for Fox titled Virtuality.   Co-created by Trek writer Michael Taylor, Virtuality follows the crew of a spacecraft on a ten-year mission to find an alternative to life on Earth, which only has 100 years left. The crew, which is being filmed for a reality television show, relaxes with the help of a virtual reality program. However, the program has turned dangerous, and it may not be the result of a simple glitch. This week, Max and Mike take a look at the pilot. We discuss wether or not the answers to the questions asked would have been satisfying, why Moore chose to develop two virtual reality shows simultaneously, and how Moore assembled his crew, made up of past collaborators. We also wonder why Jamiroquai wasn't hired to perform the theme song.

Moore, Part 5: Caprica. As the saying goes, "All of this has happened before, and all of it will happen again." While Ronald D. Moore's Battlestar Galactica was coming to a close, his new series, Caprica, was just beginning.  The prequel takes a look at the world of BSG fifty years prior to its destruction. It focuses on two families, the Graystones and the Adamas, at a critical time in the history of the world, when artificial intelligence is on the brink of sentience.  This week, Mike and Max are joined by their Commentary Track Stars: Off Topic co-host, Branden Myers, to look at the ill-fated spinoff. We discuss the problems with creating a prequel, how to make something different, and why the decision was made to change showrunners mid-season. We also debate whether or not the series should have been more like Desperate Housewives.

Moore, Part 4: Battlestar Galactica.  In many ways the nine years that Ronald D. Moore spent working on Star Trek prepared him for the show that very well may be his masterpiece, Battlestar Galactica.  With his 2003 reboot of Glen A. Larson's classic series, Moore pushed boundaries that he wasn't allowed anywhere near on Star Trek. The end result is a heavily continuity-driven show that takes a hard look at politics, religion, and the human condition.  This week, Max and Mike are joined by their co-host on Commentary Track Stars: Off Topic, Branden Myers, to take a look at one of the most significant science fiction works of the new millennium. We discuss what makes BSG stand out from other shows, how it differs from the original series, and the debt it owes to Star Trek. We also try to figure out whether or not Branden's a Trekkie.

Moore, Part 3: Carnivale. A year after the cancellation of Roswell, Ronald D. Moore returned to television to run a new HBO series titled Carnivale. Set against the backdrop of a traveling carnival during the Great Depression, the show follows two people—Ben (played by Nick Stahl) and Justin (played by Clancy Brown)—who are unknowing pawns in a battle between good and evil. This week, Mike and Max chat about Moore's first solo effort. We discuss how the series came to be, why Moore left after one season, and what the show's existence means for the future of television. We also debate whether or not the terms "good" and "evil" apply to the main characters.

Moore, Part 2: Roswell. After leaving Voyager, Ronald D. Moore was recruited by Jason Katims to work on the second season of Roswell. The series chronicles the lives of three teenaged aliens who are secretly living in the town where their spacecraft crash landed.  Under Katims’s leadership, the first season of Roswell was primarily character driven, with the science fiction elements taking a back seat. But going forward, the network wanted the series to build upon its sci-fi mythology. And so, Moore was hired as a co-showrunner for the first time in his career.  This week, Max and Mike are joined by Trek.fm’s Christopher Jones to take a look at the final two seasons of Moore’s first show. We discuss whether or not Moore’s contribution improved the show, how well the show holds up over time, and the strange connection the show has to Enterprise. We also fondly recall now-defunct ’90s television networks.

Moore, Part 1: Star Trek. Many of the writers who began their careers on Star Trek have gone on to find great success outside of the franchise. But none have been more critically acclaimed than Ronald D. Moore. At the age of 25, Moore wrote his first teleplay, “The Bonding,” a spec script which was bought by Michael Piller for The Next Generation. He was quickly brought on staff, where he would write 60 more Trek adventures—including episodes for Deep Space Nine and Voyager, as well as the first two Next Generation movies. This week, Mike and Max are joined by Matthew Rushing of The Orb to look at Moore’s work on Star Trek. We discuss his early work on The Next Generation, how his movies stack up to the others, what his contribution was to Deep Space Nine, and what led to his quick departure from Voyager. We also try to figure out who the Ringo of the DS9 writing staff was.

Matheson, Part 10: Recap. Richard Matheson’s influence on science fiction cannot be measured. Whether it’s I Am Legend or The Twilight Zone, Matheson’s impact on what has come since is massive. This week, Max and Mike try to examine Matheson’s career by looking at a tiny cross-section of his work. Specifically, we recap our series on Matheson’s novels that have been adapted into movies. Starting at the beginning, we look at the books, Someone is Bleeding, I Am Legend, The Shrinking Man, A Stir of Echoes, Ride the Nightmare, Hell House, Bid Time Return, and What Dreams May Come, and their motion picture counterparts, Georges Lautner’s Icy Breasts, Sidney Salkow’s The Last Man on Earth, Boris Sagal’s The Omega Man, Francis Lawrence’s I Am Legend, Jack Arnold’s The Incredible Shrinking Man, Joel Schumacher’s The Incredible Shrinking Woman, David Koepp’s Stir of Echoes, Terence Young’s Cold Sweat, John Hough’s The Legend of Hell House, Jeannot Szwarc’s Somewhere in Time, and Vincent Ward’s What Dreams May Come. W