Movies - TV
The Next Generation Episode That Sparked A War Between Star Trek Writers
By WITNEY SEIBOLD
The "Star Trek: The Next Generation" episode "The Royale" features a 20th-century-era casino populated by people who don't know they're the only humans in a distant world.
"The Royale" was written by the late Tracy Tormé (he is credited as "Keith Mills"), but insisted his name be removed after producer Maurice Hurley rewrote his draft without input.
Tormé recalled pitching his idea as a surrealistic satire with a great deal of humor. He said that in the rewrite, "I felt like a lot of the comedy [and surrealism] was taken out."
"I feel that it's very heavy-handed now, and it's gone from being a strange episode to being a stupid episode," Tormé added, noting the cast and crew preferred his draft.
The director of "The Royale," Cliff Bole, also said he liked Tormé's draft. Still, he knew that schedules and budgeting often didn't allow for artistic integrity.