If any Trek producer deserves mercy in how their tenure is remembered it is Fred Freiberger ... NOT Rick Berman.
Mr. Freiberger was brought in to be the showrunner of TOS for season three (after Gene Roddenberry decided to abandon the series). As he came in, Freiberger found the show's budget had been slashed and the program was already committed to a great number of scripts. I do not believe anyone could have done better in that situation. Having said that however many of that season's episodes were incredibly bad ("Spock's Brain" for example).
Rick Berman has no mitigating circumstances to soften the harsh review of his time at the helm. He had the full financial and creative support of his superiors. Support he continued to recieve long after the poor quality of Trek's output had warranted. The man overstayed his welcome and we have ALL paid the price for his hubris.
I honestly do not know if the Star Trek franchise can rebound from the damage Mr. Berman has done. I shall do my best to keep an openmind with respect to JJ Abrams coming onboard and give him a fresh slate in which to work (free of the rancor that has built up within me over the past few years regarding Trek).
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Respectfully,
Von Bruno
vonbruno@aol.com
..in the name of equitable'osity,
Early on, (and for MUCH longer than an average person can nominally sustain) You were involved in a key manner, second only to Gene Roddenberry, with some of THE BEST, most CRITICALLY ACCLAIMED and MOST POPULAR post-TOS Star Trek ever produced, notably Star Trek: The Next Generation and Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, and you absolutely deserve high respect and accolades for that.
I do think that later on, you were a bit like a King that's gone a bit wonky yet refuses to give up his throne :) running on a treadmill, as it were, and that that hurt Star Trek ergo that you are deserving of *some* admonishment for those later days.,
..nevertheless the depths of the lows do not negate the heights of the highs, when the page is finally turned.
Great Star Trek, is Great Star Trek, period.
And Great Star Trek is no small feat.
Good Star Trek is miles above the best of standard Television. It encompasses so much more than the pop will ever see, acknowledge or be fully awares.
and you were heavily involved in the creation of quite a bit of excellent Star Trek.
On behalf of all those that can separate their anger over the stagnation of Star Trek at the end of your run, from the glorious stunning heights you provided earlier on, let me say:
Thank you for the excellent Star Trek you helped develop & nurture Mr. Berman!
^Raise-Goblet.
Here's to You Rick Berman, The King is Dead, Long Live The King.
*Klink* *Klink*
*SALUTE*
Michael Xavier Maelstrom.
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Michael X. Maelstrom, The Avante Guardian, Tag. 
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M o n t r e a l, Q u e b e c, C a n a d a, E a r t h, S o m e t i m e s.
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Here, here, Mike... well said.
Berman has been at the helm of some of ST's biggest successes; but he did, indeed, allow the great franchise to fallow under his care... and for that, I've not forgiven him for the past few outings he was in charge of, despite his aforementioned successes in the past.
I've tried to avoid the incessant ‘Berman-bashing’ that became prevalent on both the n-groups and this forum; but my goodness, I’m still so angry at how he allowed Trek to degenerate to the sorry mess it currently is. I know that every show (or series of) cannot always maintain its momentum through the long haul; but it appeared to me Berman did not even TRY to avoid the land mines (continuity flaws, bad story concepts, Braga’s seemingly growing apathy toward Trek itself) sprawled before him before the whole Trek franchise was reduced to a torn, burning wreck at the end-- fodder for anti-Trek zealots, and for those genre creators eager to prove just how awry the current navigators of ST were steering it. Alas, he proved them to be correct.
Here’s hoping the new navigators of ST will re-spark that magic that made Trek what it has become to generations of TV and movie fans, who simply want a good entertainment product delivered to them, regardless of whether its called sci-fi or not.
I loved Berman’s stamp on the series at one time... but I grew to dislike the mere utterance of his name on later ST projects. I can now remember his past works with an affection long lost.
Thanks for addressing my feelings as well, Mike.
*raises own mayonnaise jar*
...I agree with the news article but it's funny. I thought journalist were suppose to be non biased. LOL...
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"My old friend, this song's for you. Cause a few simple verses was the least that I could do to tell the world that you were here. Cause the love and the laughter, will live on long after all of the sadness and the tears. We'll meet again, my old friend"
Tim McGraw "My Old Friend"
Dedicated To My Home..New Orleans
DIE BERMAN DIE!!!!!!1one
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TrekWeb: Because drunk Klingons are just too darned rational and nice.
I really don't know what is with all you people, but I liked the recent Trek just like it was and I would not change many things at all. I respect and admire Berman as a person and also for what he has done, and I think this constant blaming him for everything you people seem to hate about anything is just a huge load of BULLSHIT!
Why the hell did all of you people keep watching when everything has been oh so bad for almost ten years now? That is NUTS! And now JJ Abrams. Now this is really something. Like Lost or Alias were good shows or even remotely compatible with Star Trek. I don't see who would associate this guy and his hollywood-popcorn screenwriting friends to do the next Trek movie. Don't get me wrong: If it's a good film, I would be more than happy, but I strongly doubt it will have any resamblence to anything Trek stands for, apart from four words: Star, Trek, Kirk and Spock. That is probably all that will be left from the real Star Trek spirit. I am afraid many of you might have to admit some yeras down the road that Berman was in fact the right man for the job all along, or that maybe you were watching the wrong TV shows. Why don't you try Alias, Lost or The Shield... just like Trek. Or isn't it?
Dn't mince words, Steve...tell us what you really think of Rick Berman. I'm actually disappointed that you sound like just another ranting, conspiracy believing fan(atic). Has anyone on here ever heard of constructive, respectful criticism?
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Quote from Sir Gary of Makin:
Dn't mince words, Steve...tell us what you really think of Rick Berman. I'm actually disappointed that you sound like just another ranting, conspiracy believing fan(atic). Has anyone on here ever heard of constructive, respectful criticism?
No, Steve Krutzler isn't readily given to fits of fanaticism while wearing his Editor hat, particularly when it comes to news about Paramount executives. Sardonic tongue-in-cheek is more my style (and Steve has zinged me for bouncing that into my articles at TrekWeb).
When I saw the "Rick Berman as Red Shirt" reference here, by Steve, the next thing I did was check an online almanac to see if there was a full moon.
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Berman, much maligned by Trek fans for producing subpar Next Generation films and running the television franchise into the ground, has been the chief steward of the franchise since creator Gene Roddenberry's death in 1991.
Berman was "much maligned" by fans for very good reason. It was his narrow view of what Star Trek could be that led the franchise down the road to ruin. It is just that plain and simple.
Rick Berman never allowed the Trek franchise to grow and evolve in any real, tangible, way. While TV viewers grew to expect more substantial elements of drama in their shows, Rick Berman forced the franchise into irrelevancy by keeping it bottled up in some 1980s text book formula (wherein Brannon Braga compounded the problem by doing nothing more then rehashing previous TNG episodes over and over and over again for the subsequent spinoffs in his charge).
The only Trek spinoff that even dared to push the boundaries was "Deep Space Nine" and look how Rick treated that ... He isolated the cast and crew from the rest of the franchise as if they were a cancer. They dared to threaten the status quo and paid the price.
So please, save the crocodile tears and post-Berman era flaming with such comments as "his absence shall be missed" or the disingenuous "thank you, Rick Berman, for all you've done." In the end, all he managed to do was sink the Titanic.
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Respectfully,
Von Bruno
vonbruno@aol.com
It sounds disrespectful of Rick Berman. I know many people aren't very polite but an official announcement ought to be. Rick Berman has protected Star Trek from the beginning to the end. Nobody says every decision of his was the right one. But he obviously tried to make the right decisions, and for that I will always respect him.
He didn't make decisions solely based on what's popular in the world. He didn't try to glorify himself in the eyes of Paramount or anyone. He protected Star Trek from developing outside the boundaries of the Roddenberry universe, as he saw that universe. In the end, people got tired of those boundaries and broke off to shows like BSG and what not. But B&B stood up for their beliefs and their hands weren't shaking until the last half of ENT. At that time it was do or die; it was necessary to boost the ratings, and give in to the pressure from fans who obviously never understood the spirit of Star Trek (look at the rough tone on internet forums and you'll know what I mean).
My hat off to Rick Berman.
J. Abrams has yet to make an impression on me.
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Rick Berman has protected Star Trek from the beginning to the end.
You mean he ran it into the ground and took a golden goose and cooked dinner.
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Nobody says every decision of his was the right one.
More like every decision was the wrong one.
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But he obviously tried to make the right decisions, and for that I will always respect him.
He never tried to make the right decisions. This idiot not only killed Kirk, but refused to listen to what the people wanted, and rejected bringing Kirk in for his garbage.
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He didn't make decisions solely based on what's popular in the world.
He didn't make ANY popular decisions. He was an incompetent.
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He didn't try to glorify himself in the eyes of Paramount or anyone.
Except whenever he actually opened his mouth or reached around to pat himself on the back for a job crappily done.
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He protected Star Trek from developing outside the boundaries of the Roddenberry universe, as he saw that universe.
He destroyed the legacy of Star Trek and turned it into a shell of what it once was. How is ignoring all forms of continuity protecting anything?
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In the end, people got tired of those boundaries and broke off to shows like BSG and what not.
Actually, they got tired of horrible storytelling, wooden characters, failure to adhere to continuity, and sheer laziness by a guy who made a career leetching off someone else's invention.
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But B&B stood up for their beliefs and their hands weren't shaking until the last half of ENT.
Rather than listen to the problems, they ignored them, and continued on with the search for more crap.
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At that time it was do or die; it was necessary to boost the ratings
Because people rejected their no-talent scripts and wooden characters.
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and give in to the pressure from fans who obviously never understood the spirit of Star Trek (look at the rough tone on internet forums and you'll know what I mean).
A rough tone brought on by not only horrible scripts, but an even more out of touch relationship with the fans.
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My hat off to Rick Berman.
May he never even be allowed to watch Star Trek let alone make it.
Is it me? Am I the only person who thinks that this new film sounds like the real death of an old friend.I have no desire to go back in time to "before".As already proven by Berman, IT DON'T WORK TO WELL. This is the ideal oppurtunity to put right over a decade of average story lines and come up with an epic that equals the like of Lord of the Rings. Otherwise it will seriously be curtains. One question, why do ideas like the return of Captain Kirk joining forces with Picard and characters from other trek series sell so many books? Answer, because this is what we want, what we love and why we walk out of the theatre desperate to know what will happen next. why we continually come back for more and more.There is nothing wrong with the old formula, it's the scale and the story lines that need to be properly thought about about and delivered to us, after all, we are Star Trek. If it wasn't for us fans, then we wouldn't be here at the eleventh film! we wouldn't even have had the first film. I know that money is always a big factor in these decisions and to bring on board the likes of Shatner and Nimoy and Stewart etc, would cost an arm and a leg.But other genres manage to hire the best actors for a job and make money, lots of money.So what I,m saying is this, give us an epic story, give us the people that we love and have loved for FORTY YEARS, give us what Gene would have given us. the Future not the past, go forward, happy endings and new begginings for old Generations and new. Proper closure for our most beloved characters and new openings for those that will take us to the next chapter. Listen Paramount, I am 37 years old, I have been here almost from the start. I would like my son to discover the same ideals that I did and have been able to live my life by.(mostly, I am human) Only then can we take Star Trek with us to the next century as we have to this one and our childrens children can be as awestruck as I was by those very first words that gripped me back then, SPACE THE FINAL FRONTIER..............
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Agree. I would love to see a "Return of Kirk" movie which reunites Shatner and Patrick Stewart again on the big screen, with cameos by other Trek icons like Nimoy or Brooks. But it appears J.J. Abrams and Paramount have other plans, which is a sad turn of events.
Gustavo
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TrekWeb.com Supervising Editor
gl2000@uol.com.br
Thank you Brad Grey for recognizing and taking action on this long-needed change in leadership for Trek. Trek fans across the world are thankful for this!
The good news is that Berman is GONE!!!!! THANK THE LORD ALMIGHTY FOR THAT!!!!!!!!!!
The bad news is...STARFLEET ACADEMY.
Ahhhhh...irony can be pretty ironic sometimes. To think we get rid of Berman and Star Trek will likely still die but under another person's watch.
As Dr. Smith on Lost In Space used to say..."Ohhhh...The pain...the pain..."
IM
...Because, quite frankly, this is even bigger news than J.J. Abrams taking over. THANK THE NAGUS!!! THIS is what real TREK fans have waited eons for. Berman's creative straight-jacket has finally been torn loose, shredded and burned by the Powers That Be, and I for one am truly excited to see what Abrams comes up with, now that Berman's departure has been confirmed. You know, even if the new TREK film turns out to be only mediocre, I am DYING to hear Abrams-mainstay Michael Giacchino's very-first TREK score, when he hasn't even written a single note yet. You know it's going to blow every other TREK score (since TREK VI and "Best of Bost Worlds") right out of the Milky Way.
NOW... I'm starting to get goosebumps.
I'm fond of a lot of his work. I'm dissapointed that he couldn't have moved his writing talent onward to other things. But this is still good news for Trek. It assures something new and assures more fan support. We do need a new creative helmer
GREAT NEWS---Made my day!!! Has someone actually listened to the fans for a change? I think if the studio wants ratings, and justice for the fans, they should put Berman in the film as a Redshirt and have Shatner kill him for crimes against the Federation. BTW I don't like the prequel idea, unless there are some major cameo/flashback appearances by Shatner & some of the original cast. I think the franchise should go forward--not another prequel. Thanks to whomever finally made the right decision to axe Mr Berman. Watch how many of the cast/actors will now speak out now that he is not in charge of Trek anymore!
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GREAT NEWS---Made my day!!! Has someone actually listened to the fans for a change?
Well lets hope they don't listen to much, or those people from "bring back kirk" might get that horrible movie of theirs made...
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"I'd write my senator/congressman about this....but I can't find my checkbook."
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Well lets hope they don't listen to much, or those people from "bring back kirk" might get that horrible movie of theirs made...
A return of Kirk movie is about the only thing that will get fans in the stands. If Berman wasn't so dumb, he would have done it, and likely wouldn't have been fired and left Trek in disgrace.
I love watching people like you squirm. It amuses me.
He's helmed some damn fine Trek - or at least led the teams that did.
Sure he lost his way, but there's only so much you can churn out. His mistake was not knowing when to pass it over, but I guess he's an exec rather than a creative.
Ho hum, I'm greatful for what was delivered in the early to mid 90s. Shame about Insurrection, Nemesis and Enterprise.
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I agree. Berman really did a lot to turn around what was then a terrible TNG and make it a great show after Roddenbury died. (No offense to Roddenbury)
I also loved DS9 and Voyager. I wasn't a big fan of Enterprise, but it was a good idea.
As for movies, Berman really just followed the pattern...
Star Trek 1 - Terrible
2 - Great
3 - OK
4 - Good
5 - Terrible
6 - Great
Generations - OK
First Contact - Great
Insurrection - Terrible
Nemesis - I really liked it
I'm really just a little scared of bringing someone in that hasn't been there, and making something completely off the wall that has nothing to do with the rest of Star Trek. (i.e. the Dukes of Hazzard Movie)
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"Are you out of your Vulcan Mind?"
It's not you I hate, Rick Berman. I hate what I became because of you. -- "The Wounded", Stardate 44429.6
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I don't hate Rick Berman, and unlike many fans on this site, I enjoyed Voyager and Enterprise. However, "These Are the Voyages" was unforgivable.
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"... and you're all astronauts, on some kind of Star Trek"
- Zefram Cochrane
"I am a dangerous, dangerous man, with dangerous, dangerous weapons.... I am a brutal dictator..."
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"There are more things in heaven and earth... than are dreamt of in your philosophy."
- Hamlet
"I would never live in the 24th century! I @*!%^ HATE "The Next Generation". Only classic!"
- Robert, Free Enterprise
"I'm not a lesbian! I hate men, but I'm not a lesbian!"
- Elaine, Seinfeld
Great headline.
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"Serenity" is the movie "Star Wars" prequels wish they could be.
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