The Star Trek actor reveals the dark side of the franchise’s golden era

Pa Chris Snellgrove
| Published 3 seconds ago

Aside from debating which shows and movies were the best, it’s pretty easy for Star Trek fans to agree on one thing: that the ’90s were the golden age of the franchise. It was when The next generation hit the fan-favorite spinoffs Deep space nine and Voyager were launched The original series films were being completed, and even the smallest towns had their conventions. however, Star Trek: Voyager Actor Garrett Wang’s recent comments about being snubbed by the producers are a grim reminder that the franchise’s “golden” era was extremely dark.

The Star Trek veteran recently sat down with CinemaBlend to discuss his happiness at returning to the franchise Low Dexbut Garrett Wang bluntly said that it was a long road. He described watching his colleagues love Jerry Ryan and Robert Duncan McNeill to receive invitations back to the franchise and counted at least seven different missed opportunities to bring his character Harry Kim back into the ranks. Interestingly, he would have returned to the franchise earlier if he hadn’t been denied the opportunity, but he remains tight-lipped about the details.

There was, apparently, some nameless one Star Trek a project in the works that would somehow bring Garrett Wang’s character back from Voyager even before his recent appearance on Lower decks. According to the actor, “something happened, but then something happened beyond my control … And this offer was, in a sense, canceled.” Perhaps due to an NDA, or perhaps because he didn’t want to spill a copy of the tea, the Harry Kim actor ended this train of thought with a simple, “That’s all I can say.”

As longtime Star Trek fans know, Garrett Wang has never been shy about spilling the tea about being mistreated before Voyagermanufacturers. For example, he claims he wasn’t allowed to direct the episode, something the other main cast members of Trek have always been able to do upon request. He also bristled at the fact that his character never got promoted, telling CinemaBlend the sad story that he was so desperate about it that he once showed up at Kate Mulgrew’s trailer and begged her to help Harry Kim finally get promotion.

Perhaps the ugliest Star Trek story told by Garrett Wan was when he and Robert Duncan McNeill were singled out and ridiculed for gaining extra weight during production of the show. This culminated in the two actors finding belts in their trailers one day, and their characters even starting a dialogue where they teased each other for being out of shape.

When Wang balked at this offensive line, executive producer Brennan Braga allegedly told him in front of the cast and crew, “If you and your fellow cast members go down the same path as you have for the past two years, we’re going to have to change the name of the show to “Star Trek: Voyager “Pigs in space.” This gruesome body shaming is an example of how the golden age of Star Trek is disturbingly dark and grim.

As much as he loved his time on Star Trek, Garrett Wan was never afraid to name those who wronged him. This includes Brennan Braga’s body shaming and another alleged incident where Braga explained that Kim was never promoted, saying, “Well, somebody has to be a warrant officer.” He had a particular falling out with infamous executive producer Rick Berman, who he claims ordered the cast to “neglect our human characters” (i.e. act boring) to aliens would look more realistic.

Now, it’s worth mentioning that these guys are basically Star Trek royalty: As writer-producer Braga worked on The next generation, Voyagerand Enterprise while helping to write Star Trek: Generations and Star Trek: First Contact. Co-producer and frequent writing partner Rick Berman was an even bigger part of the franchise, executive producing PNG before co-creating DS9, Voyagerand Enterprise. Berman is also a highly controversial figure, accused of being a “raging homophobe” by veteran Trek writer David Herald and actor Jadiah Dax. Terry Farrell as “very misogynistic” about women and their appearance.

Fans, after learning about this, often argued over who the “real” Braga and Berman were. Eventually, they created some of the the best track content ever made (including TNG’s epic finale “It’s All Right”), but it also seems like they hurt some of our favorite actors. This includes Star Trek favorite Garrett Wang, and his own stories about these producers remind us that these people can be both talented and flawed, capable of great creative energy and inflicting great pain.

The Golden Age of Star Trek has a hidden dark side, but the people who supposedly made it happen have already given us the perfect way to explore their creative legacy. U First contact (co-written by Bragi and produced by Berman), Commander Riker gives Zefram Cochrane some advice from his future self: “don’t try to be a great man, just be a man…and let the story make its judgment.” Trek’s golden age has itself passed into history, and only time will tell how future fans and creators remember its greatest and most vicious architects.