Rick Berman | |
|---|---|
| Born | Richard Keith Berman (1945-12-25)December 25, 1945 (age 79) New York City, U.S. |
| Education | University of Wisconsin, Madison |
| Occupation(s) | Television producer, writer |
| Years active | 1977–2005 |
| Known for | Star Trek |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 3 |
Richard Keith Berman (born December 25, 1945) is an Americantelevision producer andscreenwriter. He is best known for his work as theexecutive producer of several of theStar Trek television series:Star Trek: The Next Generation,Star Trek: Deep Space Nine,Star Trek: Voyager andStar Trek: Enterprise, as well as several of theStar Trek films, and for ultimately succeedingGene Roddenberry as head of theStar Trek franchise until the cancellation ofStar Trek: Enterprise in 2005.
Berman was born to a Jewish family[1][2] and raised inNew York City. He attended college at theUniversity of Wisconsin–Madison, receiving a degree in English and film production in 1967.[3] He first considered acting as a career, but decided not to pursue it because of the high degree of difficulty in gaining success. Starting a career as an independent film producer, director, and writer, he made documentaries and industrial films. Among his clients were theUnited Nations and theUnited States Information Agency. By 1977, he had traveled to over 90 countries making films for these organizations.[4]
From 1977 to 1982, he was the senior producer ofPBS'The Big Blue Marble, which won anEmmy Award for Outstanding Children's Series. Between 1982 and 1984, he was an independent producer, working on projects that includedHBO'sWhat on Earth and PBS'The Primal Mind.[5] Berman joinedParamount in 1984 as the director of current programming, overseeing series such asCheers andFamily Ties. He was also executive director of dramatic programming, overseeing series such as the miniseriesSpace and theAmerican Broadcasting Company (ABC) seriesMacGyver. He was promoted in 1986 to vice-president of long-form and special projects atParamount Network Television.[6]
In 1987,Gene Roddenberry selected Berman andMaurice Hurley to help createStar Trek: The Next Generation.[7] Initially, Berman shared supervising producer duties withRobert H. Justman. After Justman changed to consulting producer duties, Berman was promoted to co-executive producer.[7] As Roddenberry's health declined, Berman took over more of the series' daily production. He was promoted to executive producer in the series' third season, following Hurley's departure.[7] Berman wrote theTNG episodes "Brothers" and "A Matter of Time".[7] In its final year,The Next Generation became the first syndicated television show to be nominated for the Best Dramatic Series Emmy.[7]
DuringThe Next Generation's penultimate season, Berman co-createdStar Trek: Deep Space Nine withMichael Piller, marking the first time twoStar Trek series ran concurrently.[8] AfterThe Next Generation completed its run, Berman co-createdStar Trek: Voyager with Piller andJeri Taylor. In 2001, he co-createdEnterprise (retitledStar Trek: Enterprise in 2003) withBrannon Braga.[9] During this same period, Berman was also lead producer on the fourNext Generation feature films:Generations (1994),First Contact (1996),Insurrection (1998), andNemesis (2002). Berman received both producer and story credit on all four films. Since the early 2000's, several writers ofStar Trek material, such asDavid Gerrold[10][11] andAndy Mangels,[12] have criticized Berman's participation in removing and minimizing LGBT themes from multiple Star Trek series, includingThe Next Generation andDeep Space Nine.[13] Berman has responded by saying that he took full responsibility for the lack of such characters and that he had been working with other producers on including gay characters,[14] tellingKate Mulgrew that such a character would be included "in due time", though no such characters would be included during his time as producer.[15]
In reviewingNemesis,IGN's Oliver Glen argued that Berman and co-producer Braga seemed to be responsible for much ofStar Trek no longer being "bold."[16] Trek writerDavid Weddle believed that the "moribund aesthetics" of Berman were the "constrictions that slowly strangled the franchise."[17] Berman specifically received criticism for his approach to dramatic musical scoring;[18] composerRon Jones claimed Berman "always considered music an intrusion."[19] However, formerNext Generation starBrent Spiner credits Berman with having "protected Gene Roddenberry's vision."[20]Salon's Robert Wilonsky asserted that Berman deserves credit for producing hundreds of hours of popular programming, and that "without Berman to keep the show alive, there'd be no Berman to blame for the show's death."[21]
In 2005, Berman was involved in developing an eleventhStar Trek movie based on a script written byErik Jendresen. However, whenGail Berman (no relation) took over as president of Paramount Pictures, Jendresen's script was shelved.[22] In subsequent months, Berman began hinting that his involvement withStar Trek was drawing to a close, stating in November that "when they re-energise the franchise it's going to be the result of someone fresh, someone who has not been extensively involved withStar Trek."[23] In mid-2006, Berman stated he would no longer be involved in producingStar Trek.[24] Since his departure, Berman has indicated he is still involved in television production, as well as projects "not connected to the television business."[25] He also stated an interest in writing a memoir of his experiences onStar Trek.[25]
