Summary
- Gene Roddenberry's strict rules on human behavior in Star Trek often hindered the creativity of writers, leading to conflicts and creative workarounds.
- Despite his objections, many of the aspects of Star Trek that Roddenberry disliked ended up becoming beloved parts of the franchise's ongoing story.
- Roddenberry's conflicts with writers and his attempts to exert creative control over the franchise sometimes led to tension and disagreements, but ultimately, Star Trek continued to thrive and evolve.
As the creator of Star Trek, Gene Roddenberry often had some very strong opinions on the movies and TV episodes that were made during his lifetime. So stringent were Roddenberry's demands on what Star Trek should be that writers often found themselves creatively hampered. While working on Star Trek: The Next Generation, Michael Piller referred to the strict rules on human behavior and life in TNG's 24th century as "Roddenberry's Box." Famously, Roddenberry banned the TNG crew from having any interpersonal conflicts, which often made it difficult to increase dramatic tension in the show's early days.
Writers often had to find creative ways around Gene Roddenberry's no conflict rule in Star Trek, which pushed the franchise in some interesting new directions. However, these creative solutions to "Roddenberry's Box" weren't always enough to keep the franchise creator happy. There were numerous Star Trek movies and TV episodes that Roddenberry took exception to, and he even went to the lengths of decreeing that one particular entry in the franchise wasn't even canon. Sometimes, Roddenberry was right in his assessment of the flaws in particular movies or TV episodes, but more often than not, the very things he objected to became beloved parts of the ongoing Star Trek story.
