By Steve Krutzler / 00:01, 15 June 2005 / TrekWeb Features

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STAR TREK writer/producer Michael Piller created two series within Gene Roddenberry's sci-fi take on the pop western, and his latest show is decidedly closer to the terrestial roots of WAGON TRAIN. After four years in THE DEAD ZONE (which began its fourth season on USA this past Sunday), the TNG, VOY, DS9, and INSURRECTION scribe embarks on a new challenge: down home drama.

WILDFIRE is the story of a delinquent teenaged girl who redeems herself through a newfound passion with horses. The drama co-stars DS9 actress Nana Visitor ('Kira Nerys') and is the ABC Family network's first original scripted drama and Piller and his production company's biggest departure from sci-fi/genre material.

TrekWeb recently asked Piller to give us the lowdown on his latest project.

TW: What lessons in writing STAR TREK informed your WILDFIRE project? Be creative!

MP: Wow, I don't know how to answer that except to say that the lessons I learned from Roddenberry - that stories need to be about something, explore moral and ethical dilemmas - informs all my writing now. Certainly, those are at play in WILDFIRE.

TW: How did Nana Visitor become involved with WILDFIRE and why her?

MP: We needed a TV mom who could really act. Ironically, Nana wasn't on the casting agent's list. As we were reading actresses, not finding what we were looking for, she came to mind because we'd seen each other over at Ira Behr's house not long before. I asked that she be called in and she was easily the best actress we'd read.

TW: How gritty or serious can WILDFIRE become on a network like ABC Family? Is it intended to be a "heavy" drama in the first place? Give us the low down.

MP: The role models I used in the creation of the series were EVERWOOD and AMERICAN DREAMS. I'm a big fan of both shows. They're smart, they touch my life with their stories and really make me invested in their families. Those are very compatible franchises for ABCF. Don't mistake this network for a child-oriented channel - they are serving whole families and very interested in provocative drama.

TW: What inspired you to make horse racing the world of your next series?

MP: My friend Chris Teague had brought me an idea for a movie called The Last Rescue about three teenaged fugitives from a prison camp who steal some horses from the sheriff's equestrian center that have been designated for slaughter. They ride them across Los Angeles to an Indian reservation. That never went anywhere. Then I read SEABISCUIT - one of the best books I've read in the last ten years - and I knew the Ron Howard movie would be coming out and that TV would not be far behind. So we went to the WB ahead of the curve and pitched a series version that takes a prison inmate teen girl and puts her on a horse farm - it was the first drama they bought last year but we got aced out by JACK AND BOBBY, I guess. Kate Jeurgens, who used to be in charge of drama at the WB, had moved to ABCF read the script, loved it, ordered the movie. As soon as they saw the movie, they ordered the series - it had "hit" written all over it.

TW: NIP/TUCK has made the indulgent soap intelligent. Will WILDFIRE owe more inspiration to DYNASTY or this new breed of brainy soap?

MP: I'm not a regular viewer of NIP/TUCK, which seems intent on shocking at every turn (at least what I've seen of it), but RESCUE ME on the same network is a terrific show and although we won't be that bleak, I'd be proud to have a series as intelligently executed as RESCUE ME.

TW: How do you tread the line b/w soap opera and intelligent serialized drama? THE WEST WING, NIP/TUCK, BSG, DS9 all seem (or seemed) to blend them wonderfully.

MP: I think it's by staying true to the characters as opposed to creating story lines that are meant only to titillate.

TW: Character drama is all the rage in sci-fi these days with the success of BATTLESTAR GALACTICA, THE 4400, LOST (if that's a sci-fi show) and of course THE DEAD ZONE. But TNG rocketed to mega-success with largely plot-oriented stories. Why the shift?

MP: I disagree. If I brought anything to TNG, it was development of their characters and that's when women started tuning into the series which helped the ratings grow. I could make a case that the third season of TNG really led the way into character drama in TV sci fi.

TW: With the popularity of DVD, is the old excuse about avoiding serialized storytelling because it makes shows hard to sell later still valid?

MP: Well, the argument is still valid because it is still true. Where is DAWSON'S CREEK today? That's a question we asked ourselves as we developed this series. DVD is one source of revenue but you want a series that can rerun - even on the same network during the same week it premiered - and is easily accessible to new audiences. We will have stand alone elements in every episode.

TW: What's the most important thing you know now and wish you knew when you started in this business?

MP: That I know what I'm doing and don't have to believe everything everybody tells me I should be doing.

TW: You helped cement the modern STAR TREK series. With the show's exit from television for the first time in eighteen years, what does it need to come back and why did it lose viewers' attention?

MP: The answer is too long and complex for here. More than anything it needs time. Look at the Bond model. It got tired and then we were ready for him to return. I think there was just too much of it finally. TREK inflation.

TW: If you could erase one credit from your resume, what would it be (and why)?

MP: I can honestly say there isn't one I can think of. I'm even proud to have my name on a DUKES OF HAZZARD story.

TW: Quick takes: cable or network?

MP: Cable.

TW:22 episodes or 13?

MP:22

TW:Sci-Fi or horror?

MP:Sci-Fi.

TW:Kirk or Picard?

MP:Picard.

TW:Is it the Dodgers' year?

MP:Always in spring.

WILDFIRE premieres on ABC Family next Tuesday, June 20th. 8 PM. Learn more about the series at the official web site.