Sandy wrote the Star Trek: The Next Generation episode "Coming of Age", and has recently completed work on two exciting CD-ROM titles: "Starfleet Academy" and "Star Trek: The Secret of Vulcan's Fury".

Question: Are you writing for any of the movies?
Drew

Sandy Fries: I'm currently working as a creative consultant on a political thriller movie called "Tag" which will premiere on HBO and then be released theatrically overseas. I also recently did an animated movie for Warner Bros.

The Star Trek projects I've been working on recently include the Starfleet Academy CD ROM, which William Shatner starred in and Vulcan's Fury (another Interplay CD ROM), The Borg CD ROM and about seven other Star Trek CDROMs. Many of which I forget the titles of. Just to let you know some of the other projects I've worked on in the past: Quantum Leap, Fame, and even the Smurfs. It's amazing but of all my credits, everyone is most impressed by the Smurfs.

Q: Hi, I was wondering how you come up with your stories, do you have to think about possible shows or does it just come to you?
Jim

SF: The best story ideas in an entertaining way, tell the viewer something about their lives and maybe even improve their lives a little bit. In "Coming of Age" -- which was a Next Generation episode -- for the first time in the series, Wesley Crusher failed at something. The fans loved it when Wesley finally failed and wasn't saving the ship in every episode. This also got across to viewers a little moral about coping with life's failures in a dignified way. The ideas usually start out with me saying what would be a neat moral or a neat universal theme to deal with in a story. Then you throw in funny things like ships exploding and phaser battles to make it palatable to viewers and not come off too preachy. Occasionally, ideas hit me out of the blue, but mostly you try to connect with the viewer and what their lives are about... because that's where the real power comes in an episode.

Q: Did you ever meet Gene Roddenberry? If so, can you tell us of you first meeting with him and your impressions of him?
Greg

SF: I'm never nervous about meeting anyone but the first time I met Gene Roddenberry, I was completely nervous before that meeting. I had met with the other producers on the show, before I met Gene, people like Bob Justman, Rick Berman, DC Fontana... but when it came time for me to meet Gene, I remember putting on a dress shirt for the meeting... and immediately the shirt was completely sweaty. When I finally got to Gene's office, for some amazing reason, the nervousness dissipated.

Gene was extremely friendly. We hit it off terrifically well. We joked around and had a very good rapport. He struck me as a very thoughtful man. You could see the wheels turning in his brain before he said things and he wouldn't just speak off the cuff, he would think carefully about what he was going to say before he said it - we had a terrific meeting. Based on that meeting, and my meeting with other producers and associate producers on the show, they hired me to write on staff for Star Trek: The Next Generation.

One thing that really stands out in my memory about Gene is that he had a great deal of fun working on Star Trek: The Next Generation. I remember driving around the Paramount lot with him in his little golf cart... he would drive the golf cart at top speed, aim for people and veer off just at the last second. Because it was Gene Roddenberry, everybody would laugh and say "Hey, that's really funny, Gene." He had fun in almost everything he did; visiting the set, meetings, etc. That was the predominate impression I had of him.

Q: How does a person become a screenwriter, is there a special field for it, or anyone can do it?
Jim

SF: Yes, anyone can do it. You have to first start by reading some basic books... my two favorite books about writing are "Writing for the Screen" by Wells Root and "Elements of Style" by Strunk and White. The next step is to pick a TV show that you love and write a sample script. People in Hollywood are always looking for well-written screenplays, that's why writers like Shane Black can make three or four million dollars a script, because there's a tremendous need for quality scripts. Occasionally, if someone is extremely bright, well-motivated and responsible... I'll hire them as an intern. If that's something the people on this website might be interested in, you can write me a cover letter with your resume at: Sandy Fries, 900 Hammond St., Los Angeles, CA 90069. Do not send any scripts or story ideas, just a cover letter and a resume. The internship is hard work and a learning experience and unpaid.

I repeat, no scripts or story ideas.

Q: What was the inspiration for the episode?
Wyatt

SF: A writer friend of mine once said that whether you realize it or not, any story you write is basically about yourself. I tend to be a perfectionist and I thought it would be an interesting story to show Wesley Crusher, who is also a perfectionist, for the first time in the series, failing at something. So, that was one of the inspirations.

Another inspiration for several of the scenes was a call from Mike Okuda who said "Gosh Sandy, it would be great to build a shuttlecraft set. We could play in it and it would be lots of fun. So could you write something with shuttle craft scenes." So that was the less noble of my inspirations. Mike and I actually did end up seeing the shuttlecraft set built and I actually got to sit in the pilot's seat so all in all, it was a good episode. :-)

Q: How do you pronounce your last name Fryz or Freez?
EckhartV

SF: So far, this is my favorite question. It's pronounced like Mr.Freeze in Batman.

Q: Is it hard to do your kind of job, or do you work only a couple hours a day?
Jim

SF: Writing is extremely hard work. Especially when you realize that millions and millions of people will be watching your episodes and picking up on every little mistake you make... and writing letters about it. When I first started working on Star Trek: The Next Generation, one of the executives at Paramount gave me wonderfully framed posters of Kirk, Spock and McCoy and hung it up in my office facing my desk. The pressure of seeing these characters staring at me was so intense that I literally took the posters down and turned them around.

So there's all kinds of things you have to think about as a writer; number one, will the actors be well-served by the script? Number two, are the budgets within reason for an episode, based on what you're writing? Number three, is it an episode you can be esthetically proud of? Number four, and probably most important, will the millions of fans who decide the success of the show be moved and entertained by what you put down on a sheet of white paper?

So the long-winded answer is yes, it's definitely hard work.

Q: Where are you from? Are you a California Native?
Goober

SF: I'm primarily answering this question because it comes from a person named "Goober". In and of itself, it's not that great a question. I'm originally from New York. I hope Goober is not your real name and if it is, you're a brave person to go through life with that sort of name. My official name is Sanford, which is way too pompous of a name and that's why I use the name Sandy.

Q: Where is the image from, that is showing in the chat? It looks like the ST: TNG Ready room...
AncientThomas

SF: It was the Conference Lounge.

Q: Quien es mas macho? Es Ricardo Montalbano es Lloyd Bridges?
Fred

SF: Herve Villachez.

Q: Is it more difficult writing for an interactive CD than it is to write for TV?
Greg

SF: It's definitely more difficult to write for a Star Trek CD because there are many potential story branches in a CD ROM, whereas there is only one storyline in a TV episode.

Q: Have you ever attended a Star Trek convention? What did you think of the fans? We can be pretty intense, but only because we love this show!!!!!!!!!!!
ConMan

SF: I've attended many conventions and really enjoy them. When I was a kid, some of the best times I spent were as a fan at a Science Fiction convention. It's an honor for me and almost unreal that now I've attended many conventions as a guest speaker. The fans are usually very bright and terrific people, and conventions are a lot of fun for me to do. I've done them all over the world and have a lot of fun with them. In terms of being intense, I think that's a great way to be in all areas of life. What's the alternative to being intense? Being lethargic and bored. So there's absolutely nothing wrong with being intense.

Q: First let me say that we like your last name...very close, no? Which of the four television series of Star Trek do you feel follows the closest to Gene Roddenberry's vision of the future?
Sylvia and Ben

SF: Anybody who got married in this chat room deserves an answer to their question. Probably the closest version of Star Trek to Gene Roddenberry's vision is, without any question, as any fool would know, Star Trek: The Next Generation.

In reality, though, I think Gene was much more hands-on involved in the original series. On any series, you will have executives above you who want to change things... be it Star Trek: The Next Generation, the Original Series, DS9, etc. But I think Gene was most creatively hands-on involved in the Original Series and you see things from that series reverberating through the other Star Trek series. The Spock character, which is a great character, is recapitulated in Data, Odo, etc.,etc. The theme of the Prime Directive, which comes from the Original Series shows up over and over again in later series, even though it was a dramatic trap that Gene locked himself in. How do you have adventures on other planets when you're not supposed to interfere with anything?

But I think many themes that started in the Original Series reverberated through the subsequent series.

Q: Is Worf a challenge to write for since he has such a colorful background, or does that in itself make him one of the easiest characters to work with?
Quadskunk

SF: Worf is a wonderful character to write for because his personality is so distinctive. Of all the Star Trek: The Next Generation characters, I think Worf and Data are the easiest to write for because their personalities are so well-defined. I remember when I was first looking at the writer's guide, those characters really popped out as fun characters.

Q: Greetings Mr. Fries. Would you like to write a DS9 or Voyager episode, if the opportunity provided? If yes what would be the main idea?
GARAK

SF: I recently had a meeting with Jeri Taylor to pitch story ideas for Star Trek: Voyager, and it would be a lot of fun to write for that show. It's a real challenge to come up with ideas for Voyager because there have been so many stories that have been done in the Star Trek universe, between the TV shows, novels, comic books, CD ROMS, movies, etc. Coming up with a story that's never been done is really a challenge.

Q: How do you think the ST properties will age?
JimGoody

SF: I think if you look at Star Trek as stories about the human condition, as opposed to just stories about photon grenades and inter-galactic battles. There will always be powerful stories about what it's like to believing as a human being. The best science fiction gets its power from strong universal themes and Star Trek has lasted a long time dealing with these issues through powerful characters like Kirk, Picard, etc. I think as long as people are fascinated by the human condition, Star Trek will continue on.

Q: Have you ever met with any of the stars of Star Trek, if yes, which ones?
Dorothy

SF: Yes. It was especially fun to meet William Shatner, who stars in the Star Trek CD ROM, " Starfleet Academy" (now on sale at your video stores!) He has a great sense of humor and immediately impressed me when he first met me and said, "Gosh Sandy, you look too young to be a writer." It was a real honor to be standing on a sound stage watching Mr. Shatner do the Kirk character for what will probably be the last time ever on screen. Patrick Stewart was also a wonderful person to work with.

All the actors on Next Generation were excellent to work with and I enjoyed meeting them all. I remember on "Coming of Age", which was a big Wil Wheaton episode, when I first went to the sound stage to see the episode being shot, Wil had a terrible case of the flu. He was hacking and wheezing and coughing and my first thought was, "Oh no, there goes my episode." But Wil was amazing, when the cameras starting rolling, he immediately lost the coughing and hacking and you could never tell he was sick. He did a great job on the episode.

Q: Are the actors you meet with respectful of your writings or do they sometimes have a fit?
John

SF: I've never seen an actor have a fit. The Smurfs are also great fun to work with. Actors usually are very respectful of a writer's work.

Q: Who are your favorite writers? Which writers influenced you the most?
Greg

SF: Probably my all-time favorite writer is Mark Twain. He was brilliant in every type of writing you can imagine; comedy, drama, journalism, speech-writing. He was also an inventor, a riverboat pilot, a journalist... so he was a pretty remarkable man. In terms of screen writers my favorite is Paddy Chayefsky, who wrote "Network","Marty", etc.

Q: Can you tell me if there will be a Quantum Leap TV movie?
Admiral Q

SF: Not as far as I know. It was a wonderful show, though. But it was getting hard to come up with new people for Sam to leap into. He leapt into a dog. The next step was barnyard animals...

Q: Do you still see all the ST: TNG characters?
STMan

SF: Yes.

Q: What was the last feature film you went to see?
JoshLing

SF: I guess the last one was "The Full Monty". Two films that I really like quite a lot are "Air Force One" and surprisingly, "George of the Jungle."

Q: What do you want to do when you grow up? Have you reached your goals as a writer or do you have more to accomplish? If so what is it that you have left to conquer?
Gerry

SF: The Universe.

But seriously, I'm working on a feature film now and that's quite a lot of fun. In terms of big life goals, I'm basically pretty simplistic and just want to continue for the most part having fun in my work and life in general. If you could look back at your life when you're 100 years old and ready to croak, and say basically "I had fun and I was nice to people" that's about as much as I hope to achieve.

Q: How did you first breaking to screen writing? What was your first on-screen credit?
Greg

SF: My first on-screen credit was for "Different Strokes". I started as a journalism writer and did free-lance writing for the New York Times. Then I got my masters degree in journalism from Columbia and things evolved from there to TV writing.

Q: Do you have any funny stories you can share about your Star Trek experiences?
Greg

SF: I remember once being on the sound stage of Star Trek: The Next Generation and Patrick Stewart was doing a very heavy, dramatic scene and acting brilliantly... in the middle of this incredibly intense scene, my stomach rumbled. Patrick started cracking up, the rest of the crew started cracking up. I was hugely embarrassed and immediately left the sound stage.

That one stomach rumble, which lasted a brief few seconds, cost Paramount Studios at least $5,000 in a blown take.

Luckily, my pay was not docked. Another funny story; we were shooting one night, very late into the night, and Wil Wheaton came over to me and said, "Sandy, this is incredible what I just saw." Wil was shaking and very nervous. He continued by telling me that he had read that the sound stage was the same sound stage Elvis Presley movies used to be shot on and he swore to me that he saw the ghost of Elvis Presley. He had me equally nervous and after a few minutes, he started cracking up at my gullibility and stupidity and told me it was all a practical joke.

Which all goes to prove what a great actor Wil Wheaton is and how gullible I am.

Q: Do they still air the Smurfs? Do you know what stations?
Drew

SF: Yes, they certainly do. On the USA Network. I had a lot of fun writing for the Smurfs, so tune in to the reruns and buy all the merchandising. :-)

Q: Have you ever considered working on an Anime/Japanimation project. One that involves Mech has since they can relate to Star Trek more often then any others.
Quadskunk

SF: I have written for animated shows like "Thundercats" which, when I speak at conventions, I find fans absolutely love. I wrote three episodes of "Thundercats" and it was a lot of fun to write for. I especially liked writing Snarf dialogue. I also did a two-part Spiderman episode about two years ago where Spiderman loses his youth and that was a real honor too, because as a kid, I used to write fan letters to Stan Lee and get back little blue index cards from him, answering my fan letters. Now as an adult, I had the opportunity to have lunch with Stan Lee and write for Spiderman, or as we like to call him, Spidey. At one meeting at Marvel, I accidentally parked in Stan Lee's parking spot. However, it all blew over and I got to write for Spiderman anyway. I would like to write for Japanese Anime. Some of the visuals are remarkable. I was in Malaysia recently and the whole Asian culture is fascinating and very unique... so for many reasons, writing for Japanese Anime would be a great experience.