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Who was the best Star Trek franchise showrunner (1987-2005)

posted 4 years ago by TMC-4 (20181)
5 replies | jump to latest

*TNG Seasons 1-2: Gene Roddenberry
*TNG Seasons 3-5: Michael Piller
*TNG Seasons 6-7: Jeri Taylor
*DS9 Seasons 1-2: Michael Piller
*DS9 Seasons 3-7: Ira Steven Behr
*VOY Seasons 1-2: Michael Piller
*VOY Seasons 3-4: Jeri Taylor
*VOY Seasons 5-6: Brannon Braga
*VOY Season 7: Kenneth Biller
*ENT Seasons 1-3: Brannon Braga
*ENT Season 4: Manny Coto

If you want to be technical, I'm not sure that it's truly accurate to refer to any of them as "showrunners". This is because that term encompasses a lot of production responsibilities that Rick Berman has often shouldered even while not serving as head writer. In the case of someone like Berman, he may not have written episodes, but he certainly made decisions about what would air and ergo its tone and direction, so he'd be the showrunner for most of TNG.

And Gene Roddenberry as far as I know, was never the head writer on TNG. He was the executive producer, and very hands on during the first couple of seasons, but he never actually ran the writing room. Maurice Hurley was essentially the showrunner during Season 2 of TNG. Roddenberry was still actively involved in the show at that point, but had cut back his day-to-day involvement, and Michael Piller had not yet come on board.

[–] Devilman (448) 4 years ago

I think each show had it's own best runner for TNG it was definitely Michael Piller, DS9 was very solid up until S7 so it's Ira Steven Behr and VOY I really can't tell because the show is really very random in quality but S4 was very good so it's probably Jeri Taylor.

For Enterprise it's definitely Manny Coto he put the show on track but it was too late.

Overall I'd say Michael Piller is the best one he created the base formula which TNG and later shows worked around.

[–] [deleted] 4 years ago

DS9 was very solid up to and including S7

There, fixed it for you.

[–] Devilman (448) 4 years ago

For me I think S7 was somewhat weaker especially with the early episodes there are many factors that I disliked about it. Maybe because we lost Jadzia and Dukat turned into a complete comic villain the ending fight between Sisko and Dukat was silly the show deserved a better ending.

I still consider DS9 the 2nd best Star Trek show after TOS.

[–] [deleted] 4 years ago

I agree about the early episodes, except for several moments in them, but the build-up to the ending of the Dominion War is awesome.

As for Dukat, I don't get this hatred against the Pah-Wraiths because they see them as being "magic", when they are basically anti-Prophets, and technically, THEY are magic too, but they're both energy beings. What do people think of "The Reckoning", when a Prophet and a Pah-Wraith face off in the bodies of our protagonists Kira and Jake? Did they think that was silly?

[–] Erting (202) 4 years ago

I would have to go with Michael Piller. TNG seasons 3-5 was best stretch of TV Star Trek ever (and for me personally, I thought seasons 6 and 7 were nearly on par). That being said, I didn't realize Piller was the showrunner for the first two seasons of DS9 and Voyager. I thought those were easily the four weakest seasons of Star Trek, so it seems like his overall run in Star Trek was something of a mixed bag.