“Yesteryear”hasbeenrecognizedas
a keyepisodeofStarTrek; doyou
thinkthatTheAnimatedSerieshas
nowbeengivenitsdueas“proper”
StarTrek?
I believeStarTrek:TheAnimatedSeries
hasfinallybeenrecognizedas “real”
StarTrek, notonlyforkids.Wewere
notwritingcartoonepisodes.Wewere
doingStarTrek, butina halfhour
formatandwiththeabilitytoshow
moreelaboratebeings,landscapes,and
spaceships.I wouldconfidentlysay
anyofthehalfhourscriptscouldhave
beenanoriginalseriesepisodeif we
hadhadtheabilitytoproperlyportray
thosethingswiththerelativelylimited
capacityforvisualeffectswehadat the
time.Animationabsolutelyopeneda
doorforustotellmoreanddifferent
StarTrekstories.
HowdidyoufeelasStarTrekbecame
a full-blownphenomenon,andhow
didyoufeelabouttheswitchtomovies
withStarTrek:TheMotionPicture?
07 Emotions
runwild,in
“ThisSideof
Paradise.”I attendeda numberofconventions,
startinginroughly1970,andI was
astonishedat howmanyfanswere
stillwiththeseries.Thenumbersof
conattendeeskeptgrowing,until
thousandswereroutinelyattending.
Weknewwehada largefanbase
becausethefanmailkeptcoming
in.It wasalwayssatisfyingtomeet
andtalktofansbecauseit reiterated
thatwehadtoldgoodstorieswith
interestingcharacters,andthefans
rememberedthem.
I wasnotinvolvedwithany
ofthemoviesinanyway,butI
thoughtTheMotionPicturewas
visuallyinterestingandstayedclose
tothelookoftheshow.I didthink
thefollowingpictureswerebetter
toldstories,uptoStarTrekVI:The
UndiscoveredCountry. I haven’tseen
anyofthemoviesafterthat...Your 1989 novelVulcan’sGlory
addedfurthertoSpock,featuring
a youngadultSpockwhoservesaboardtheEnterpriseunderCaptain
ChristopherPike.Wasit impossible
toresistthetemptationtocontinue
todevelopthecharacter,eveninthe
differentformofprose?
I thinkI diddevelopSpocka little
moreinthenovel.It wasfunand,in
fact,almostdemandedtofillpages
andtoletreadersinonSpock’searlier
training,growth,anddevelopmentas
a Starfleetofficer.DiscoverywriterKirstenBeyertold
StarTrekMagazinethatyou“broke
newgroundforwomen”andwere
“anintegralpartofshapingtheStar
Tr e kuniverseina wayfewothers
canclaim.”Howdoesit feeltobe
a livinglegend?
I’mliving,butI don’tfeelI’ma
legend!I enjoyedwritingStarTrek
becausewecoulddostoriessomany
otherseriesat thetimecouldnotdo.
AndI’mnowwritingotherthings
thatI hopewillpavenewground
inotherareas.D.C.FontanacamebacktoStarTrekin the
1980swithStarTrek:TheNextGeneration–
andit allstartedwitha dinnerdate...
“GeneRoddenberryandMajelBarrett
tookmeouttodinneroneeveningin 1986
andtoldmetherewasgoingtobea newStar
Tre kseriesonTV,”Fontanarecalls.“Gene
wantedmetocreateandwritethepilot,which
became‘EncounteratFarpoint.’I wantedit
tobeStarTrek, butwithnewcharacterswe
hadn’tmetbefore,comingtogetherforthe
firsttimeandhavingtosolvea mystery.I did
dothatscript– Roddenberryrewroteit and
tookhalfcredit.Hethenemployedmeagain
asassociateproducer/storyeditortostart
thenewseries.”
ThenewStarTrekwasdesignedtobe
verydifferentfromtheoriginal.“Patrick
Stewart,anoutstandingactor,wasolder
andmoreexperiencedthanCaptainKirk,”
notesFontana.“ThenewFederationrules
demandedthathenotgodownonevery
planetlanding,butwouldsendanawayteam,
usuallyheadedbythefirstofficer.Our‘alien’
onthebridgewasnothuman,butanandroid- andBrentSpinerwasa wonderfulData.I
triedhardtogeta femaleengineeronboard,
butwasonlysuccessfulin thepilot.Afterthat,
07 thekeyengineerwasa man.Asusual.”
D. C. FONTANA