Rick Berman

In his three-hour-plus interview, Rick Berman talks about his early years in television, where he worked as a producer on documentary series and specials including The Big Blue Marble. He recalls his move to Los Angeles and his work as a development executive before being tapped by Gene Roddenberry to work on his new series. He recounts his involvement in launching Star Trek: The Next Generation, and his long association with the subsequent franchise in both television and feature films. He gives his impressions of series creator Gene Roddenberry and talks about Roddenberry's vision of a hopeful future for mankind. Berman discusses taking the reins of the series following Roddenberry's death and speaks of his roles as both a producer and co-creator of the later Star Trek series: Deep Space Nine, Voyager, and Enterprise. He outlines the premise for each of those series and speaks in-depth about the cast members, their characters, and the sometimes arduous nature of pleasing the fans of the franchise. Jennifer Howard conducted the interview on May 31, 2006 in Los Angeles, CA.