Movies - TV
Star Trek: Voyager Included A Sneaky Get Out Of Jail Free Card
By JEREMY MATHAI
With the premise of a Starfleet ship stranded in the galaxy, "Star Trek: Voyager" was a far cry from the franchise's typical optimistic exploration within a utopian framework.
To sell a very skeptical decision-maker on the potential of "Star Trek: Voyager," co-creators Rick Berman, Michael Piller, and Jeri Taylor devised a backup plan.
With the task of convincing Paramount Television President Kerry McCluggage that they weren't completely bending the "Trek" ethos, the three worked an escape plan into the pilot.
The Caretaker abducted the USS Voyager and took them 70,000 light-years away, but a second entity, Suspiria, was referenced to get them home early if needed.
If at any point "Star Trek: Voyager" began to suffer from flagging ratings and audience impatience regarding the crew's circumstances, the writing team would bring in Suspiria.
Taylor said that although the potential "Get out of jail free" card was motivating, she tried to keep coming up with ways to keep the storylines interesting and not have to use it.