When I did the on-line chat with the Star Trek Book Club a week ago, I was sooooo careful. Remember what I’ve said here in the past? That I say something about Star Trek that’s perfectly innocent, it winds up getting twisted around, and šhìŧ falleth from above like the gentle rains upon my hapless head?
So one questioner asked about the likelihood of my writing for “Enterprise.” And I’m thinking, How can I respond to this in as neutral a manner as possible? Particularly since I’m waiting to see how the season progresses before firming up an opinion on the series itself? And I replied (this is a paraphrase, I don’t have the exact text in front of me) that it wasn’t tremendously likely, because most series TV is staff written. And I had no desire to move to the West Coast under any circumstance. I didn’t want to disrupt my life or, even more importantly, my family’s life. But in the unlikely event that “Enterprise” wanted to hire me freelance so I could stay here in New York, I’d be up for that. (I didn’t go into detail, but I can say from experience that moving to Montreal for weeks at a time in order to oversee “Space Cases” was so stressful on my family that I’ve no desire to repeat it.)
So what’s the headline in “Trek Today?”
“DAVID WON’T MOVE WEST FOR ENTERPRISE.”
Which, of course, makes it sound like they offered me a gig and I thought they were such a crap show that I refused. “Angel,” “Charmed,” I’m there, but “Enterprise?” Eeeewwww, cooties.
Now fortunately enough they quote from the interview and the full context is there. But the headline steers the perception, plus if someone is skimming, it’s the only thing they remember.
So if you happen to read someone on line saying, “Peter David thought Enterprise is so bad that he turned down a staff job,” now you’ll know where it comes from, and why life in the public eye can be fraught with excitement.
PAD
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