By GustavoLeao / 16:33, 22 February 2008 / General Star Trek

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Yesterday's Enterprise co-writer Eric Stillwell talks to TrekWeb about this fan favorite TNG episode and his new book The Making of Yesterday's Enterprise, now available on online stores like Amazon and Barnes & Noble.

1- Eric, why write a book about the making of Yesterday's Enterprise?

When I was kid, the best book I ever read was "The Making of Star Trek" by Stephen E. Whitfield and Gene Roddenberry.  It fueled my imagination and opened up a whole new universe for me -- literally.  Eventually my interest in Star Trek led me to Hollywood and the position of Script Coordinator on Star Trek: The Next Generation.  I was also very fortunate to have the opportunity to co-write the story for "Yesterday's Enterprise," which turned out to be very popular with the fans.  In fact, just last year Entertainment Weekly ranked it as the #1 episode of the entire series!  When I attend science fiction conventions or make public appearances, I am always asked what it was like to be involved in such a pivotal episode.  So a few years ago I decided I should dig out all my records and old files and put the entire behind-the-scenes story down on paper to share wi th other fans and young writers who might be inspired by the process -- as much as I was inspired by "The Making of Star Trek" when I was just 12 years old. 

2- Your original idea was a time travel plot involving Ambassador Sarek and the Guardian of Forever. Do you ever wish to do a novel or comic book adaptation of this original plotline?

I've never considered writing a novel or comic book adaptation of the original plotline, although it is an interesting notion.  Many years ago, there were discussions with various Star Trek authors, including A.C. Crispin, about novelizing the story of "Yesterday's Enterprise" -- which would have included and extension, or elaboration, of the storyline -- taking us back in time with Enterprise-C to witness first hand the events that occurred before the destruction of Enterprise-C.  Unfortunately that never came to fruition.

3- Tell us about the contributions of Trent Christopher Ganino to the script of Yesterday's Enterprise.

Trent wrote a speculative script entitled "Yesterday's Enterprise" -- and his original story was about a ship from the past that slipped into the TNG timeline and need to go back.  But there was no altered universe or unexpected change in history.  The dilemma for Captain Picard was to avoid revealing anything about the future that might alter the timeline after the ship was sent back.  There was also an ethical debate about whether or not they should be sent back without the knowledge of their almost certain demise -- or whether they should be sent back at all.  Captain Garrett was a man (named after Trent's favorite pizza parlor in San Jose, California), and the other Enterprise-C crewmembers were very different and more numerous than in the final aired version.  Tasha Yar wasn't part of the storyline, and Guinan did not play any significant role.  During this same period of time, I had been working on a story about Sarek a nd the Guardian of Forever, which you mentioned earlier.  In my story there was an altered universe (inspired by "Mirror, Mirror") and the Federation was as war with the Vulcan-Romulan Empire and on the brink of destruction.  Many of these elements were incorporated in the final version of the story when Michael Piller asked us to combine the two stories.

4-  Before Janeway, there was Captain Rachel Garrett, Star Trek's first major female captain. What do you think about Tricia O'Neill performance as Garrett?

I thought Tricia O'Neill's performance was stellar, if you'll pardon the pun.  She is a wonderful actress and she was a big Star Trek fan, too!  I had the good fortune of spending some time with at a couple of Star Trek conventions after the episode aired, and she was a genuinely nice individual.  She also told me that when she found she got the job on "Yesterday's Enterprise," she was jumping around her living room like a kid.  She said her performance was inspired by William Shatner -- and that she wanted to be like the female version of Captain Kirk!

5- In the book, you describe a incident involving Whoopi Goldberg and a very angry Rick Berman. What are your opinions about Rick Berman as a producer and a person?

Well, just so people don't misunderstand the situation -- Rick was not angry at Whoopi Goldberg, he was angry at me and Trent.  But they'll have to read my book to find out what happened! (That's called "a hook" in the TV biz!  LOL.)  As for Rick Berman, I think he produced a lot of good Star Trek.  Nobody is perfect.  Even the original series had some real stinkers -- like "Spock's Brain"!  But Rick ruled through intimidation and fear, which was very heavy-handed for my taste.  I always feel that people who resort to that type of managerial style are very likely trying to overcompensate for an insecurity of some kind.  It's not that uncommon in Hollywood.  There is a great deal of pressure in the television industry to deliver high-quality entertainment on a very short turnaround -- and the stakes are enormous when you're talking about mi llions of dollars worth of product for a major studio like Paramount.  People need to remember that back in the 1980s and 90s, Rick was producing 26 episodes per year (and double that during the overlapping years of DS9 and Voyager) -- not just 13 or so episodes like a lot of cable shows nowadays.  I'm not trying to excuse Rick's approach to managing people, but it might help people understand the enormous stress that producers must bare.  For me, it's all water under the bridge at this point in my life.  
 
6- In the book, you said that Berman said in an interview that Yesterday's Enterprise should have been the first TNG movie. What do you think?

Well, more specifically --he said if he had known back in 1989 that they would be making TNG movies in the mid-1990s, he would have saved "Yesterday's Enterprise" for the silver screen.  Instead of the story revolving around Enterprise-C, it would have been the Enterprise-A, with Kirk and company.  And that would have been very, very cool.  When you think about it, many of the elements in Star Trek: First Contact are reminiscent of "Yesterday's Enterprise."  When working in Hollywood, one learns to appreciate that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.

7-  What are your memories of the great Michael Piller and tell us about his help and contributions to Yesterday's Enterprise.

There are not enough ways for me to express what a great and wonderful writer Michael Piller was.  I am firmly convinced that without his creative energy coming to TNG during the third season that the series might never have found its creative stride, which really turned things around that season.  Michael never received the accolades or awards that he deserved for his work on Star Trek: The Next Generation, but came close when the show was nominated for an Emmy for best dramatic series in its seventh season.

Michael's contributions to "Yesterday's Enterprise" are an example of how Michael made TNG about the characters -- about the human adventure -- and not so much about the gadgets and space phenomenon.  Those things were always important to the storytelling, but for Michael the story was always about the characters.  Trent and I struggled with a particular story element in "Yesterday's Enterprise," trying to figure out how the crew would know the future had changed if they had changed with it.  They wouldn't have any memory of the "other" version of reality, so how could they possibly know that something was wrong?  Trent and I had Picard launching a space probe into the rift prior to the arrival of Enterprise-C, and when the space probe re-emerged through the rift after the time alteration, it had recorded the previous history -- which remained intact while it was inside the rift.  Michael wasn't buying it.  It was too technical, too bor ing, too convenient for him.  And he was absolutely right.  Instead, he suggested that Guinan might have some kind of alien intuition that would allow her to sense the shift from one time to another.  And that's how Michael's focus on characters contributed enormously not just to "Yesterday's Enterprise," but to the entire series.

8- They sort of did a sequel to Yesterday's Enterprise with Sela, the daughter of the Tasha Yar from the Enterprise-C. What did you think?

I thought it was a bit contrived -- but it was an interesting way to bring Denise Crosby back to the series for a couple of guest appearances.  It also cemented a place for "Yesterday's Enterprise"' in the annals of Star Trek history, because when you think about it, that Sela storyline proves that the events in "Yesterday's Enterprise" irrevocably altered the timeline of Star Trek forever!

9- How can the fans buy your book, which I have read and recommend?

"The Making of Yesterday's Enterprise" is now available through online booksellers like Amazon.com and Barnes&Noble.com.  It's also available directly from the publisher's website at http://www.lulu.com/content/1043019.

10- Eric, a last question : what are your future projects and would you like to work on Star Trek again in the future ?

It is unlikely I will ever work on Star Trek again.  When Michael Piller passed away in 2005, my wife and I moved to my hometown of Eugene, Oregon, where I now work at the University of Oregon.  I'm finally putting my political science degree to good use!

These days, I think it's more fun just being a fan!  I'm really looking forward to the new Star Trek movie coming out in May 2009.  I've always been a big fan of J.J. Abrams, so I'm really optimistic about his re-booted version of Star Trek.  If he can do for Star Trek what Ronald D. Moore has done for Battlestar Galactica, it will be very, very exciting.  I'm really looking forward to seeing if he can pull it off.  If he does, I think Star Trek has the potential to go on forever!