Some of the best episodes of Star Trek TNG wouldn't have been made if Gene Roddenberry had been like this

Key recommendations

• Fans saved Star Trek from cancellation, leading to the animated series and the first film.
• Paramount wanted Roddenberry out of The Next Generation (TNG), but eventually brought him back.
• Despite the strict initial rules, Roddenberry's TNG constraints were eventually broken to create better stories.

When Star Trek: The Original Series (TOS) was canceled in 1969, fans of the show thought they might never see the Enterprise crew again. But the fans themselves made sure that didn't happen. The series was so popular in syndication that Paramount developed a second one Star Trek series: Star Trek: The Animated Series (TAS). Although TAS lasted only a season and a half, continued interest in the Star Trek led to the development of a second live-action show. This eventually turned into the first Star Trek film, Star Trek: The Movie.

As the 20th anniversary of the show's premiere approached in 1986, Paramount decided to release a brand new Star Trek series. Conformable Star Trek: The Next Generation – The Mission ContinuesParamount wanted to develop the new show without Gene Roddenberry, the creator of the franchise, at the helm. The studio always struggled to work with Roddenberry, who was fiercely protective of his creative vision and whose personal attorney was best described as a ruthless shark. After much deliberation, the studio decided it was impossible to make Star Trek without Roddenberry. So they brought him on board for the new series, which would become Star Trek: The Next Generation (TNG).

Roddenberry's Rules

True to form, Roddenberry took creative control of the new show as soon as the ink was dry on his contract. To ensure that the new show would implement his vision to his high standards, Roddenberry brought in some of his loyal writers from Cough to help develop the show.

When the Writer's Guide to Star Trek: The Next Generation was complete, it included several pages of rules about what was not allowed on the show, a list that was informally called Roddenberry's Rules. Several writers who worked on TNG said that any script that didn't follow Roddenberry's rules was immediately rejected, regardless of its quality. This led to a lot of conflict in the writer's room, especially since even Roddenberry's most loyal writers disagreed with some of his rules for the show.

As it turns out, there were good reasons for the disagreements. If the writers had followed all of Roddenberry's rules to the letter, some of the most beloved episodes of TNG would not exist.

Rule #1: No Cough Characters or their Descendants

One of the things Roddenberry was particularly adamant about was not including characters from The original series. The TNG'S The writer's guide says:

As much as we love our original cast […] we need our audience's attention focused on our new characters.

Roddenberry believed that the appearances of the original characters would overshadow LPGs characters and he was sure that this would doom the new series. This belief was not unfounded. The Trekkies had already made it clear that they were not happy with a new one Star Trek with a different character set. They were so displeased that when news of the new show leaked out, they actually picketed Paramount Studios. Trek fans are nothing if not dedicated. So all the familiar faces from Cough were banned LPGs stories—though Roddenberry broke his own rule LPGs the first episode when dr. Leonard “Bones” McCoy made a cameo.

avoiding Cough superstars would have been necessary in the early seasons as Trekkies met and learned to love the new characters. But it didn't make sense when the show was set up. Fortunately, the writers realized this and started writing cameos for the most loved ones Cough characters. If they hadn't, fans would never have gotten the excellent episodes 'Sarek', 'Unification Parts 1 & 2' and 'Relics'.

Rule no. 2: No Volcanoes

In the same spirit as the ban Cough characters, this Roddenberry rule was codified with a very clear statement:

We are determined not to copy ourselves and believe that there must be other interesting aliens in a galaxy full of billions of stars and planets.

The sentiment is correct; you are not arguing this point. In that it is not based on Vulcan stories, its writers TNG they were forced to imagine some amazing new species. To date, over 300 alien species have been seen or mentioned in the franchise. But this would have happened even with some Vulcan-centric episodes in the mix. And it seems that the principle of “don't copy ourselves” only applied to the characters, since several early episodes of TNG were remixes of Cough episodes.

The TNG the writers followed this rule quite well and TNG it is Star Trek show with the fewest Vulcans. But they broke the rule for the aforementioned “Sarek” and “Unification Parts 1 & 2,” and fans are glad they did.

Rule #3: No conflict with Klingons or Romulans

Roddenberry didn't outright ban Klingons and Romulans TNG as he did with the Vulcans, but insisted that the writers avoid stories about the Federation's conflicts with these species. Although this ban was partly motivated by the fact that it is not based on the same concepts as Coughwas more motivated by Roddenberry's idealistic vision of the 24th century. He believed that by then, 100 years after the first crew of the Enterprise, the Federation would not be involved in a full-scale conflict with an entire species, especially ones as familiar as the Klingons and Romulans.

However, the writers broke this rule quite early on, at least for one of these species. Since the Klingons were allied with the Federation in the 24th century and there was a Klingon on the bridge of the Enterprise-D, the Klingons could not be major antagonists in TNG. But the Romulans could and do make such good villains. So the ban on conflict with the Romulans has been lifted until the end of the year LPGs the first season.

By the third season, the ban on conflict with the Klingons was also dropped. Although they remained allies of the Federation, several incredible episodes featured tense encounters with the Klingons, suggesting that peace was precarious.

List of episodes from which they would have been excluded TNG if this rule was followed it is immense. Some of the best include 'A Matter Of Honor', 'Redemption, Parts 1 & 2', 'Birthright, Parts 1 & 2', 'The Mind's Eye', 'The Defector' and 'Face Of The Enemy' .

Rule no. 4: Follow the first directive

Roddenberry was adamant that Starfleet should avoid interfering with the natural development of other worlds' species and cultures. This guideline was mentioned, but rarely followed, in Cough. In TNG, however, Roddenberry insisted that he should be supported. He was so insistent, in fact, that the in-universe rule formerly known as General Order One became the Prime Directive.

However, the minds behind it TNG He soon discovered that forcing the Enterprise crew to decide whether to obey the Prime Directive made for compelling stories. Should the crew obey the Prime Directive if it meant letting an entire planet be destroyed? Should they violate it to prevent genocide? By the second season, the Prime Directive was a frequent source of dramatic tension in the TNG episodes, and Captain Picard made the decision to break it surprisingly often.

The writers made the right decision by breaking this Roddenberry Rule. If they hadn't, fans would have missed out on great episodes like “Pen Pals,” “Who Watches the Watchers,” and “Homeward.”

Although Roddenberry had solid justifications for most of his strict rules about what was not allowed inside TNGthe writers eventually proved that most of them could be broken without harming the show's success. And in the end, the fans benefited from this decision.

Sources: The Writer's Guide to Star Trek: The Next Generation, Star Trek: The Next Generation — The Mission Continues