When Paramount and Gene Roddenberry launched Star Trek: The Next Generation in 1987, it was a massive risk. No sequel series had ever done better than the original, and despite success in syndication, The Original Series was a TV flop. However, Star Trek: TNG not only proved the doubters wrong, it produced many iconic episodes and propelled Roddenberry’s universe into the real-world future. Yet, the budget was always a problem, and one such penny-pinching episode became one of TNG and Patrick Stewart’s most beloved episodes, in which he declares “There are four lights!” But it almost didn’t happen.The two-part Season 6 episode “Chain of Command” is notable for many reasons, not the least of which is that it prompted Deanna Troi to start wearing Starfleet uniforms. The episode introduced character-actor Ronny Cox, best known at the time for RoboCop, as the strict Captain Edward Jellico. It also deepened the subtle serialized element in Star Trek with the introduction of the Cardassian Empire and their feud with Starfleet. Jellico was brought aboard the USS Enterprise to take over command and lead negotiations with the Cardassian representatives. It offered fans a look at what life might be like on a starship when the captain is very different from Jean-Luc Picard. He, along with Dr. Beverly Crusher and Worf, was sent on an undercover mission to Cardassian territory. It proved to be a trap, and Picard was taken prisoner and tortured by the sadistic Gul Madred. Actor David Warner, by then a Star Trek veteran, played the role, helping to fulfill a lifelong career goal of Patrick Stewart’s.However, two-part episodes (or more) allowed the producers to maximize their budgets. Star Trek: Enterprise’s producers tricked UPN into giving the series a fourth season by ending the show on a cliffhanger. The network was failing, and the new executives had no love for Rick Berman and his Star Trek empire. Yet, they didn’t want to be the executives who killed the nearly two-decade-old golden goose with no proper finale. So, while the show got a new season, their budgets were even tighter.
When Paramount and Gene Roddenberry launched Star Trek: The Next Generation in 1987, it was a massive risk. No sequel series had ever done better than the original, and despite success in syndication, The Original Series was a TV flop. However, Star Trek: TNG not only proved the doubters wrong, it produced many iconic episodes and propelled Roddenberry’s universe into the real-world future. Yet, the budget was always a problem, and one such penny-pinching episode became one of TNG and Patrick Stewart’s most beloved episodes, in which he declares “There are four lights!” But it almost didn’t happen.
The two-part Season 6 episode “Chain of Command” is notable for many reasons, not the least of which is that it prompted Deanna Troi to start wearing Starfleet uniforms. The episode introduced character-actor Ronny Cox, best known at the time for RoboCop, as the strict Captain Edward Jellico. It also deepened the subtle serialized element in Star Trek with the introduction of the Cardassian Empire and their feud with Starfleet. Jellico was brought aboard the USS Enterprise to take over command and lead negotiations with the Cardassian representatives. It offered fans a look at what life might be like on a starship when the captain is very different from Jean-Luc Picard. He, along with Dr. Beverly Crusher and Worf, was sent on an undercover mission to Cardassian territory. It proved to be a trap, and Picard was taken prisoner and tortured by the sadistic Gul Madred. Actor David Warner, by then a Star Trek veteran, played the role, helping to fulfill a lifelong career goal of Patrick Stewart’s.
However, two-part episodes (or more) allowed the producers to maximize their budgets. Star Trek: Enterprise’s producers tricked UPN into giving the series a fourth season by ending the show on a cliffhanger. The network was failing, and the new executives had no love for Rick Berman and his Star Trek empire. Yet, they didn’t want to be the executives who killed the nearly two-decade-old golden goose with no proper finale. So, while the show got a new season, their budgets were even tighter.
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