Star Trek Producer Brannon Braga told AfterElton that he regrets not having a single gay character on the entire ST run.
Here is a piece of that convo:
AE: I'm very much a fan of Star Trek but unfortunately none of the series ever included a gay character. You were involved with writing two of the movies and produced or executive produced for The Next Generation, Voyager and Enterprise. Can you speak to why that never happened?
BB: It was a shame for a lot of us that ... I’m talking about the Next Generation, Deep Space Nine and there was a constant back and forth about well how do we portray the spectrum of sexuality. There were people who felt very strongly that we should be showing casually, you know, just two guys together in the background in Ten Forward. At the time the decision was made not to do that and I think those same people would make a different decision now because I think, you know, that was 1989, well yeah about 89, 90, 91. I have no doubt that those same creative players wouldn’t feel so hesitant to have, you know, have been squeamish about a decision like that.
AE: Why do you think science fiction, given that it’s so much forward looking, has done so poorly when it comes to being inclusive on American television?
BB: You know what’s funny is it was dealt with more metaphorically. Next Generation did a couple episodes you could say ... I worked on one for Deep Space Nine with Dax. I don’t know if I can speak to the whole genre of science fiction, certainly the Star Trek franchise as it existed at the time.
AE: Do you think 20 years ago there was a reluctance to do it because science fiction, wrongly or rightly, is perceived as being for young straight males? Were you guys concerned about that?
BB: I think it was, not so much a young man’s [issue], it was a syndicated family show, showing at six o’clock, you know, in Salt Lake City, so you had to deal with each separate affiliate rather than one network. And things like that.
It was not a forward thinking decision. Knowing the players involved, knowing the decision makers, knowing it was that they felt reluctant about, you know, we’re not saying “yes,” we’re not saying “no,” we’re not just not going to touch that right now.
Maybe more shows will follow through, or follow Torchwood.
3 comments:
There is a reason Braga and Berman were referred to as the "Blunder Twins"...
Poor Gene - must be rolling.......
He just kind of danced all around those questions, didn't he?
I recall an episode in which Riker became an attracted to - yeah, wow - to a female who lived in a planet where same sex attraction was the norm, not heterosexuality. The episode ended with Riker sneaking out of the Enterprise and beaming down to the planet only to come up empty handed when his would be GF tells him her mutual attraction was wrong.
Do you recall that episode? How come that one doesn't count?
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