Unveiling the Untold Secrets: A Star Trek Legend's Unflinching Love for DS9 Over Roddenberry's TNG

Summary

The show that writer D.C. Fontana favored as a spinoff from the renowned Star Trek series was Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. Fontana found the darker themes of Deep Space Nine more captivating than those of Star Trek: The Next Generation.

Fontana's departure from Star Trek: The Next Generation can be attributed to a poor experience, primarily stemming from the conduct of Leonard Maizlish, Gene Roddenberry's lawyer, and Roddenberry's tendency to extensively revise scripts. Following her sole appearance on DS9, Fontana pursued writing opportunities with Babylon 5, various Star Trek video games, and Earth: Final Conflict, but opted not to participate in Gene Roddenberry's Andromeda.

A renowned figure from Star Trek: The Original Series opted for Star Trek: Deep Space Nine as their preferred spinoff show, bypassing Gene Roddenberry's The Next Generation. Deep Space Nine was the last Star Trek series that Roddenberry was involved in before his passing in 1991. However, due to his deteriorating health, he only had a limited awareness of the project and its frontier town-style setting. Deep Space Nine premiered two years after Roddenberry's demise, and its stationary location and moral ambiguities drew criticism from fans who felt it did not embody the essence of Star Trek.

This perception was completely untrue, as Star Trek: Deep Space Nine actually challenged Gene Roddenberry's vision in order to resonate more with a contemporary audience. To underscore this point, one of the key figures in Star Trek's early development selected Deep Space Nine as their favorite spinoff show. Dorothy Catherine Fontana, commonly known as D.C. Fontana, played a pivotal role in the creative team of Star Trek: The Original Series. She penned legendary episodes such as "Charlie X" and "Journey to Babel". When Gene Roddenberry revived Star Trek for television in 1987 with The Next Generation, Fontana also returned, although she did not find the experience as fulfilling as writing her sole episode for Deep Space Nine.

Why TOS' D.C. Fontana Preferred Star Trek DS9 Over TNG

D.C. Fontana, who co-wrote the Star Trek: Deep Space Nine episode "Dax", delved into Trill culture and had a pleasant collaboration with Peter Allan Fields. Fontana had previously left the Star Trek franchise after her time on Star Trek: The Next Generation, but she recently disclosed her reasons for departing in the 2014 documentary William Shatner Presents: Chaos on the Bridge. Fontana cited Leonard Maizlish, Gene Roddenberry's lawyer, as an antagonistic individual whose behavior led her to leave the show. Richard Arnold, a research consultant, substantiated Fontana's account by confirming that "Leonard was horrible to Dorothy."

Additionally, Fontana expressed irritation with Gene Roddenberry's habit of revising their scripts on Star Trek: The Next Generation. This annoyance grew to the extent that Fontana resorted to using the pseudonym J. Michael Bingham when working on the script for the Star Trek: TNG episode "The Naked Now", which was not well-received. Looking back on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine many years later, D.C. Fontana shared with Trek Movie that she believed the darker themes of DS9 would have appealed to Roddenberry, contrary to some fans' reservations. She also praised the show's stronger characters compared to TNG. However, "Dax" marked Fontana's final Star Trek script, leaving viewers curious about her approach to other DS9 characters.

What Did Star Trek's D.C. Fontana Do After Her DS9 Episode?

D.C. Fontana went on to write three episodes for Babylon 5, the other major space station series of the 1990s, after her sole episode for Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. She maintained her connection to the Star Trek franchise by writing stories for the video games Bridge Commander, Tactical Assault, and Star Trek: Legacy. While Majel Barrett opened the Roddenberry archive, D.C. Fontana was hired to write an episode for Earth: Final Conflict but did not return for Gene Roddenberry's Andromeda.

A notable tribute to D.C. Fontana's extensive list of accomplishments came in the beloved Star Trek: Deep Space Nine episode "Far Beyond The Stars". This episode, set in the 1950s, portrayed the lives of a group of science fiction writers, including Benny Russell (Avery Brooks) and Kay Eaton (Nana Visitor). Kay was inspired by Dorothy Fontana, who also used her initials when submitting stories to magazines to make editors think they were written by a man. This nod served as a heartfelt recognition of one of Star Trek's most iconic writers by her favorite Star Trek series.