Bryan Fuller joined the writing staff of Star Trek: Voyager during the fourth season and has gone from Story Editor to Executive Story Editor to Co-Producer. His titles may change, but Bryan remains one of the main Voyager writers. Now, with the show heading into the last lap, Bryan is the first Voyager writer to participate in one of our popular Q & A sessions. Writing is one of the integral components in the making of a successful show and we're sure you will understand more about the process after reading Bryan's answers to your questions.

Question: In the writing process for the show, do you ever get writer's block?
Lyle J.

Bryan Fuller: When I sit down to attack a scene and look at the dynamic between the characters and the outline from the story break, I try to consider what's a fresh new way to write it that's not going to be something we've seen before. With Star Trek being a fairly formulaic show, we often see similar types of scenes, i.e. the expositional Briefing Room scene, or the Ready Room scene where Chakotay and/or Tuvok approach the Captain with concerns over a proposed course of action. When I'm confronted with one of those scenes, I take some time to look for a new spin, whether it be an interesting line or a bit of humor that sets it off in an unexpected direction. It isn't necessarily writer's block, but it does give me pause.

Q: Will the story arc of Lieutenant Barclay be completed? Will he meet the Voyager crew at the end of the series?
Rob

BF: It's very likely that we'll see Barclay again after "Inside Man." When we were first discussing having him on the show early last season, we considered the possibility that he would play an integral role in bringing Voyager home. As we sit down and discuss the final few episodes and whether or not Voyager will indeed make it back to Earth, we'll definitely be talking about the role Barclay will play in those events.

Q: How come Voyager isn't more damaged from the years of constant attack?
Dave F.

BF: When we were breaking "Year of Hell" during the fourth season, we talked about having a multi-episode arc in which Voyager was severely damaged. Of course, in that scenario, the crew would be making constant repairs. What we decided, given the way "Year of Hell" resolved with the crew having no knowledge that any of those events ever took place, we thought it might become tedious to do a series of episodes where the ship was in disarray. That and if you take into account that our crew can manufacture shuttles lickity-split, they very well should be able to repair damaged bulkheads and seal various ruptured conduits with out too much trouble. They're a Starfleet crew and as such they wouldn't leave the ship in a state of disrepair for too long.

Q: What do you think has been Voyager's most successful season?
Ronald F.

BF: For me as an audience member, it would have to be either Season Four or Season Five. Season Six and Season Seven were and are, respectively, very consistent in the level of strong storytelling. But it's Four and Five that I would say had more high-concept, standout episodes. I look back at those seasons and can point to more personal favorites than I can in any other season. Shows like "Scorpion," "Year of Hell," "Mortal Coil," "Prey," "The Killing Game," "Living Witness," "Drone," "Timeless," "Latent Image," "Counterpoint," "Bride of Chaotica," "Course: Oblivion," and "Someone to Watch Over Me," shows that worked on so many levels in terms of character, drama, humor and good old-fashioned science-fiction.

Q: Can we expect a multi-episode story arc for the latter part of the season, like DS9 did?
Dave L.

BF: We will definitely not have the ten-episode arc that Deep Space Nine had to conclude that series. We're currently discussing the last leg of the season. We have stories up through episode twenty or twenty-one, which leaves about three or four shows before what we are currently planning to be a two-hour series/season finale. If there is an arc it would probably be only three or four episodes at the most, but may be limited to as few as the last two hours. That's not to say that there won't be seeds planted in previous episodes that will come to fruition in the finale, it just won't be as serialized as the arc in Deep Space Nine.

Q: I have been disappointed by the limited amount of screen time that Kate Mulgrew has gotten so far this year. I want to know if there was some reason why we have seen much less of Kate?
Angela D.

BF: I would have to argue that Janeway, although not having an entire episode unto herself, has been present throughout this season. "Unimatrix, Part II" was more Janeway's episode than anyone else's with Seven's love story taking a back seat to the Captain's adventures aboard the Borg Cube. And certainly her role as Captain brings her to the forefront of many episodes. For example, in "Imperfection" she was faced with the possibility of losing Seven of Nine, whom she's come to think of as a daughter, and in "Flesh and Blood" she's confronted by the repercussions of her past actions in the Delta Quadrant. I agree that Janeway hasn't been seen thus far as much as she has in previous seasons, but we have episodes on the way that will feature her more prominently. In "Shattered," she takes a strange journey through a life she has yet to experience, and in "The Void" she discovers that the crew's survival depends solely upon her abilities as a Starfleet Captain and her reliance on the principles of the Federation. To answer your question more directly, there's no specific reason that we've seen less of Kate so far this season. But I'm confident we'll remedy that situation as the season progresses.

Q: Is there a storyline or character development arc that you wish you could have explored, but for whatever reason you were not able to?
John and Mary Jo T.

BF: The first thing that comes to mind is Kes' return in "Fury." I was disappointed in the way that episode turned out. Kes' motivations were unclear, the story was muddy, and the crew wasn't given the chance to interact with her in any REAL way. The original concept of that show was Kes would return and through her interactions with the crew, they'd realize that this is a very different woman than the one that left Voyager three years earlier. In the time she was gone, she had some sort of traumatic experience as she was evolving to the next phase of the Ocampan life cycle that corrupted her. Perhaps she even went a little crazy. There was no element of time travel in the original conception. What attracted me to the story was the chance to explore a character who had been so sweet only to become so nasty. It made sense to me that it would be someone like Kes, someone very na?ve, that could be corrupted in that way. She was the proverbial innocent who found life on "the street" to be too harsh and unrelenting. Whatever happened to her caused her to become jaded, twisted even. It made perfect sense to me that someone like that could then turn around and blame her "mother," in this case Janeway, for encouraging her to explore all that life had to offer - especially since the life that she found was not what she expected. That really wasn't clear in the script. It was boiled down to a very rushed scene that had to compete with the Viidians invading Voyager. Also Kes' turn in Act Five wasn't believable to me. If she had become so enraged that she would plot the deaths of her former friends, there would be no way you could change her mind. I would have liked that story to end - whether it had time-travel elements or not - with Kes thwarting Janeway and escaping only to return as a recurring villain. That would have been a lot of fun.

Q: Can you tell us anything about the episodes you are currently working on?
Mervix

BF: Ken Biller and I just wrote the story for our February two-parter called "Workforce" and we're currently co-writing the teleplay for the first part. Ken and Mike Taylor will write Part Two. The episode's very much an ensemble show that will have the crew exploring new lives as laborers on an alien world. I can't say much more about the plot than that, but I will tell you this, as with every good science-fiction thriller, there's much more going on than meets the eye.

Q: Will Harry Kim get promoted?

BF: Suffice it to say, Kim will get his promotion when Captain Janeway sees fit.

Question: I just wanted to know if there are any plans to do an episode in the mirror universe seen in Deep Space Nine [and TOS]?
Tasha R.

Bryan Fuller: Being a fan of alternate universes and the "Mirror, Mirror" episodes, I am sad to say that there are no plans right now. Last season I was working on a story that was basically "Who's Killing the Great Voyagers of the Delta Quadrant?" Obviously, it was a spin on "Who's Killing the Great Chefs of Europe?" where we'd follow the crews of several alternate Voyagers. There was a Klingon crew with a "Mistress Jan'toch" - Captain Janeway in Klingon make-up -- that was native to a universe where the Klingon Empire conquered the Federation two hundred years ago, a holographic crew that was essentially the Doctor to the infinite power, and several others. In each of these instances, some unseen force would destroy the alternate Voyager and its crew. Ultimately, the real Captain Janeway and her posse would discover that another alternate Voyager with a twisted Chakotay in command was responsible. He was from a universe where the Maquis overthrew the Starfleet crew. He had a personal vendetta against Janeway and Voyager, and wouldn't stop until he had snuffed each and every one of them out of existence. It was a fun, broad concept and for a brief time there seemed like a possibility that we might do it, but ultimately it never came to pass.

Q: Why can't Kathryn Janeway have one decent love affair? (And I mean with a real man, not a hologram.)
Aaron M.

BF: Captain Janeway will have a romance with a real, live, flesh and blood he-man come February sweeps. Stay tuned.

Q: When you were first starting out, did you go to film school, university, or did you just get an agent?
W.S.

BF: All of the above and more, actually. I went to USC Film School and later went on to pursue a career in acting. I was writing and performing sketch comedy at various LA-based venues like "The Groundlings" and "Beachwood Canyon Review." During one of the shows I met an agent who used to represent none other than Ronald D. Moore of TNG and DS9 fame. She sent me to a "Writing for Star Trek" seminar hosted by Ron and Brannon Braga. After the seminar, I wrote a spec script for Deep Space Nine. Once my agent submitted it through the proper channels, I was invited in to pitch and sold the story from my spec script and another story shortly after that. I had been pitching to Voyager, as well, and Brannon told me that Kes was going to be leaving the show and it might behoove me to come up with a few different ways to kill her off. One of my ideas was to have her evolve to the next phase of the Ocampan life cycle. That one seemed to stick. I was originally slated to write "The Gift," but there were some scheduling conflicts with Jennifer Lien and the episode had to be rushed into production. Joe Menosky took the reins and did a beautiful job. As a consolation, I was given the task of re-writing the story that would eventually become "The Raven." Based on my work on that story, I was given the teleplay and based on my work on that, I was hired as a staff writer. That's the long and the short of it.

Q: I was wondering how much input the actors have had into the scripts for this season. They mention in interviews what they'd like to see happen, but how much of this comes through onto the screen?
Kathryn W.

BF: How much we see in the script of the actor's input varies greatly. Sometimes it's none at all, sometimes it's very little, and sometimes it's quite a bit. Bob Picardo, Roxann Dawson, Robbie McNeil, Garret Wang, Tim Russ, Kate Mulgrew are all people I've talked with at length regarding their characters or a specific story element. When I was writing "Barge of the Dead," Roxann and I had several conversations about B'Elanna's background and her state of mind and many of Roxann's suggestions made it into the script. I had a similar experience with Bob when I was writing "Flesh and Blood." And Kate was quite vocal about her dissatisfaction with Janeway sleeping with a hologram and we made a concerted effort to address her concerns, although not too well I'm afraid. I should also note that Roxann was very influential with the fifth season's "Extreme Risk" and Bob often suggests plot elements to the staff and has even gone as far as to sell the story for sixth season's "Lifeline." On the opposite side of the spectrum, Roxann and I talked at length about an element to the Klingon episode "Prophecy." It was a great story point and something that was very close to her, but ultimately there wasn't room for it in the final story. On a smaller scale, we're often called about line changes or additions that one of the actors would like to make, and quite frequently we make those changes because they're good suggestions. But there are times where a dialog suggestion is a little loose or uncharacteristic and we have to say no. We certainly don't dismiss any suggestion out of hand and do our best to consider everything the actors have to say because they play an integral role in the creative process, especially in those instances when they're directing the episode.

Q: There has only been one question that has been on my mind lately when it comes to Star Trek: Voyager: Will Voyager have another encounter with Q?
Aaron G., New Jersey

BF: There is a distinct possibility that Q will return.

Q: Even though you can't say if Voyager will get home or not, what would you choose?
Sean F.

BF: I'm torn on that question. There's a part of me that would like to see the adventures of Captain Janeway and her intrepid crew continue in the Delta Quadrant because they're in a very unique situation. There are certain stories that couldn't be done if they were just another ship in the fleet. But on the other hand, this has been a series about a Captain struggling to get her crew home. Somehow it only seems fitting that she should accomplish that goal. But my opinion is just one among many.

Q: My question is: Has Season 7 been more challenging to write, if so, in what way?
Kristi, England

BF: The prospect of writing the final season of a show, especially when you know it's the final season, is a daunting task. You're bringing to a close the arcs of nine different characters, and a journey of a ship. In that aspect it's more of a challenge because you want to give the audience and each of those characters the stories and moments that they deserve. And since it is the seventh season of a series that has had three sister series before it—two with seven seasons and one with three, some five hundred and seventy episodes in total—it is a challenge to do something that hasn't been done before. But certainly not impossible.

Q: Where do you get your inspiration for new stories?
Michael E., Germany

BF: It varies. Sometimes it's an image or a scene that I'll construct a story around. Other times I'll see a movie or read a book and wonder how that story would change if it were to take place in the realm of Star Trek, or how a certain Star Trek character would respond in that situation. Sometimes it's something as simple as an article in the newspaper. But if I had to point to a single source of inspiration for myself as a writer, I would have to say The Twilight Zone and the works of Rod Serling. I get very excited by the notion of reality being something tangible that can be manipulated, bent or spindled; that it isn't necessarily subject to the confines of secular science. That truly inspires me.

Q: How long does it take you to write an episode for Voyager?
Shane A.

BF: Generally speaking, a writer will have an idea and compose a story document, which usually takes about a week and then anywhere from a few days to another week to rewrite and do notes. From that point we sit down and break it as a writing staff, which takes about another week. Once the story is broken and by that I mean it's "broken down" into a five-act structure, it takes about two weeks for the writer to go off and write the first draft. Then another week for notes from the head writer, in this case Ken Biller. From that point we distribute the script and have a pre-production meeting with all the department heads. Rick Berman gives another round of notes, and depending on how extensive they are, another week to churn out a final draft.

At that point, we have our production meeting and the show's on the stage. I'd have to say that the writing process, from story inception to final draft, takes about five or six weeks. Give or take a day or two. But that's an ideal situation and certainly not to say we haven't done it in much less time than that. There have been instances where we were going to production meetings with only a thread-bare outline and writing the script in a matter of days, even as it was being prepped and filming had already started. I should also note that Joe Menosky has the singular distinction of writing a complete script, "Blink of an Eye," during a long weekend and he did a fabulous job.