The Star Trek franchise has grown exponentially over the years and audiences have seen the franchise evolve in many ways to mixed results. The original series and The Next Generation remain the peak of the franchise which saw the birth of many iconic characters like Jean-Luc Picard and William Ryker played by Patrick Stewart and Jonathan Frakes.
However, The Next Generation had to go through some initial struggles in its first two seasons as the show was finding its footing. One of the episodes from the second season was written by Tracy Tormé. However, he became frustrated with the constant rewrites done to the episode without his input and thus disowned it.
One Integral Writer of The Next Generation Had Abandoned An Entire Episode
Star Trek: The Next Generation was a great follow-up of the franchise after the success of the 60s original series. The show made actors like Patrick Stewart, Brent Spiner, and Jonathan Frakes become household names. It also perfectly captured the amazing dynamic and the familial bond of the crew of the USS Enterprise (NCC-1701-D).
However, the series received lukewarm reviews in its first season with most of the episodes deemed as cheesy and incoherent. One of the better episodes from the season was The Big Goodbye (episode 12) which was written by Tracy Tormé. The talented writer returned for season 2 and wrote an episode named The Blue Moon Hotel. However, he became frustrated when significant changes were made to it.
In the 1995 oral history book Captains’ Logs: The Unauthorized Complete Trek Voyages by Mark A. Altman and Edward Gross, Tormé stated that he and one of the executive producers of the show disagreed on various aspects of the show. He was let go from the series and wrote his name off from the episode. He declared that he completely disowned the version that was made. Tormé said (via Slashfilm),
One of the executive producers and I had a severe disagreement about how the show should be done, and for reasons which I believe are personal rather than professional, I was informed that I was being removed from the script.
At that point, I immediately told them that I wanted my name off the script, because I knew the direction they were going to go in, and I just knew with all my heart that it was a bad choice. I’ve completely disowned the piece.
A pseudonym, namely Keith Mills, was credited as the writer of the episode. Considering Tormé’s work in the first season, the episode in the second season (which became The Royale) could have been another banger. However, while the end result was not as bad, it was a goofy episode that was not as good and memorable as The Big Goodbye.
Patrick Stewart Stormed Off The Set of The Next Generation Due to His Castmates’ Behavior
Patrick Stewart was committed to being an intense actor who did not have time to make jokes or have fun in between takes. Thus, when his castmates sometimes goofed around and teased him during production, he did not handle it nicely.
In his memoir Making It So. Stewart detailed how he was angry with the conduct of the cast and lectured them by telling them that they were not there to have fun. Looking back at the incident, he and his castmates find the whole thing ridiculous and hilarious. The Picard star said (via The Hollywood Reporter),
I could be a severe bastard. My experiences at the Royal Shakespeare Company and the National Theatre had been intense and serious … On the TNG set, I grew angry with the conduct of my peers, and that’s when I called that meeting in which I lectured the cast for goofing off and responded to Denise Crosby’s, ‘We’ve got to have some fun sometimes, Patrick’ comment by saying, ‘We are not here, Denise, to have fun’.
After the show and the 90s Star Trek films, Stewart returned as his character in the 2020s with the Picard series which ended on a high note with its third season last year.
Fans can watch Stewart, Frakes, and Spiner in The Next Generation on Paramount+.
