July 25, 2000

Sci-Fi Expo

Convention Report: Bridging Science & Science Fiction

PASADENA, July 16, 2000 - Brannon was a guest at the 112th annual meeting of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific, where he took part in one of two Star Trek-related panels.  He discussed what it was like to balance scientific credibility with dramatic needs and production restraints when it comes to sci-fi storytelling, along with fellow panelists Andre Bormanis, science consultant on Star Trek; Syd Mead, visual consultant/designer on "Star Trek: The Motion Picture" and other genre movies; Frank Spotnitz, executive producer of The X-Files; and Richard Berendzen, space advocate and academician from Washington, D.C.

The panel's moderator opened the discussion by noting the scientific community is concerned that much of the American public seems to believe in "very strange science" and doesn't seem to know the difference between science fact and science-fiction. Do the creators of the fiction feel any responsibility about getting the science "right"?

After the other panelists took their turn, Brannon responded, "My goal is to depict fun, entertaining television that's also credible, and that's really the extent of it. In terms of science, I utilize Mr. Bormanis here on a daily basis trying to make it all seem believable. What we normally do is come up with an idea that doesn't exist yet, whether it's an anomaly or a piece of technology, and try to make it sound good. Sometimes we find that we delve into real science, and that doesn't sound good. So we have to change the real science slightly to make it sound good."

He did acknowledge that in today's culture, "There's a real lack of critical thinking going on" that prevents people from separating fact from fiction. But he hopes that the Star Trek characters serve as good role models in this respect. "One of the things we've been accused of on the Star Trek shows is having too much techno-babble, and I couldn't agree more. The shows are often a little bit dry and technical, but one thing we're very vigilant about is never having these characters take anything without dissecting it and approaching it from every angle."

Brannon further observed, "You have to work within the realm of what is known in the world. We will depict other dimensions and even wacky time travel stuff, but we are using vernacular and concepts that physics has discovered. Thank God for quantum physics, because that's giving us some of our more imaginative episodes." He added, "I'm waiting for the next big discovery to give us our next batch of episodes."

The panelists noted that Star Trek presents a more "rosy" picture of the future than most other science fiction. "Almost laughably so," remarked Brannon. "But I do think that one of the reasons Star Trek is popular is because it doesn't present the post-Armageddon kind of future for humanity--it's a little more upbeat." He credited Gene Roddenberry for his vision of a human race that is "evolved to the next level, even emotionally."

April 07, 2000 

Report: Star Trek's Grand Slam, Pt. II

PASADENA, April 1, 2000 ‑ At Creation Entertainment's 2000 Grand Slam Convention, Brannon Braga was one of the few behind-the-scenes people from Star Trek to speak at the convention, so his talk was eagerly awaited.  He was the first guest in the main auditorium on the second day of the convention (Saturday), and as with all the guest intros, Neil Norman and His Cosmic Orchestra gave Brannon a musical fanfare as he walked on stage.  Brannon threatened, "I'm gonna sing a little number for you first" -- but thankfully he didn't follow up on that threat.

He already knew what question was foremost on the fans' minds, so Brannon immediately started in, "I can't tell you much about the new Star Trek series, except that there will be one." He couldn't say when the new show would premiere, but indicated it would probably be sometime in 2001. He said he and Rick Berman "haven't nailed down a concept yet. But we intend to do something that captures the essence of Star Trek, but is completely original and new."  But he emphasized that he would still continue to work on Voyager, "until the new series fills up my time."

To take the pulse of what the fans felt, Brannon took an unofficial poll by asking the audience, "Do you think we should put Star Trek on the backburner for a few years?" The audience vehemently answered, "No!"

When asked if he felt that the franchise might have strayed from Gene Roddenberry's original vision, Brannon said, "Not a day goes by that we don't talk about Gene. We try to stay true to Gene's vision, even if our interpretation of that vision may not be perfect." He added that he thought Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, with its serialized story lines, "was a remarkable series, with a rich tapestry of characters." But the Voyager staff made a conscious decision to make their show "more TNG-like" with stand-alone episodes. He said that the fan base tends to be split as to whether they prefer serialized or stand-alone story lines.