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Posted: 00:46:56 on January 04 2003
By: Steve Krutzler
Dept: Enterprise | stenterprise.com

Several ENTERPRISE staff writers speak in the new issue of Scr(i)pt Magazine about the process of writing for the show including Andre Bormanis, Mike Sussman and Phyllis Strong and David Wilcox. Bormanis describes the aim of ENTERPRISE when asked about the types of mistakes he commonly finds in pitch sessions with freelance writers.

"They haven't absorbed how Enterprise is significantly different from those other shows," Bormanis explains. "They tend to pitch sort of big canvas, science fiction "A" stories with a lot of science fiction plot and very little if nothing with our characters: Captain Archer, T'Pol, Commander Tucker, Mister Reed, etc. We want to tell stories about the lives of these deep space pioneers. First and foremost, the stories should be about the people on this ship. And the common mistake that the writers who are coming in to pitch are making is that they're telling stories that are all science fiction plot and have little if anything to do with our people. It could be any people. It could be Captain Picard, Captain Janeway. And the key to making stories on this show work is to make them much more personal, really deeply rooted in the lives of these characters, and giving it the texture of, 'These are the deep space pioneers.'"

He continues, saying ENTERPRISE is more interested in character drama than traditional science fiction.

"We really want to tell our stories from the point of view of these characters. I think that in the other series, the stories were a little more objective, if that's the right term. They were more about the circumstances and the events, the dilemmas posed by the circumstances and events rather than how Captain Picard personally was dealing with the situation on Sigma Draconis 12. Certainly that was an element of it, but it was more about the situations and the science fictional elements than the people on our other shows."

Writing dialogue for ENTERPRISE is particularly daunting for writers used to the TNG, DS9 and VOY molds. Bormanis sums up the goal with ENT dialogue: "Loosening it up to make the conversation more informal. And when they're talking about technical things, certainly they're going to use technical terms. But they're going to do it in a way that's a lot less formal - much more loose."

Finally, Bormanis has high praise for co-creator Brannon Braga, who he credits with this more character-oriented angle.

"The opportunity to work with somebody who is terrific as Brannon Braga has been the biggest learning experience of my career as a writer in television," says Bormanis. "He is not only a first-rate writer in terms of getting stuff on the page; dialogue and scene direction. But obviously, [he's] an incredibly creative guy. A great story developer. He is somebody who doesn't settle for less than the best it can be. He's always pushing us to write dialogue that's off-the-nose, that's not expositional. To show don't tell. All of those basic rules. He is great on picking up on the tone of a line, the structure of a scene, whether or not the scene has the necessary depth. And he's terrific with character."

David Wilcox, the newest member of the ENTERPRISE writing staff shares his insights as well. Wilcox reveals some of the common plots freelancers pitch unsuccessfully to TREK over the years.

"The sentient planet is a 'crusty nugget'," he says, describing the type of story ideas that are old as dirt. "I pitched one of those. And anything with a bounty hunter is pretty crusty. Film crew on Enterprise is pretty old news as well. [Taking pitches] is a weird thing [for me]. You want to be very appreciative [and sensitive] of their work, but it's a very hard process."

Phyllis Strong says writing for ENTERPRISE after VOYAGER is particularly challenging.

"Even the script we are writing now," he says, "which is our sixth for the show, we get notes like, 'This is like a Voyager scene. Do better.'"

Writing partner Mike Sussman reiterates the aim of ENTERPRISE to avoid sci-fi plotting and focus on characters: ""We want ideas that are unique to Enterprise and couldn't necessarily be turned into a Voyager or a Deep Space Nine story — something that could only be done on our show. Those are hard to find."

You can read a full transcript of the Bormanis and Wilcox interviews here, along with some remarks by Scott Bakula. In addition, more excerpts of Sussman and Strong can be found at StarTrek.com.

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