Balancing scientific credibility with dramatic needs and production restraints is a constant struggle in the making of Star Trek, but the show's writers, producers and technicians are committed to finding that balance, said panelists speaking before a convention of astronomers.

The Astronomical Society of the Pacific held its 112th annual meeting in Pasadena July 13-19, with two sessions over the weekend involving representatives from Star Trek. The first one, entitled "Behind the Scenes of Star Trek," featured actor Robert Picardo (the Doctor); Science Consultant Andre Bormanis; Scenic Artist and Video Playback Coordinator Denise Okuda; Scenic Art Supervisor Michael Okuda; and Senior Illustrator Rick Sternbach.

This panel emphasized that Star Trek has a history of commitment to scientific realism. "Much to their credit, the producers of Star Trek--going back to Gene Roddenberry's original vision for the series--have wanted to make it a credible extrapolation of the future of technology and space exploration," said Bormanis. "And we continue to strive for that, although that doesn't mean we won't sometimes go off into more far-out kinds of scenarios as well." He said that first and foremost, the writers must serve the dramatic needs of the story, but then it's his job as Science Consultant to help "bring it a little more into the realm of what you would consider to be scientific credibility."

"Continual Footrace with Real Technology"

The subject matter and visual design of the Star Trek series draw strongly from leading-edge science. "We're in this interesting continual footrace with real technology," Sternbach said. "Mike and I read Scientific American and other magazines and we look at all of the possible scientific principles that could lead to a new display, or a new communication device, or a new directed-energy weapon, or some new method of propulsion."

As an example, he referred to the idea of using a quantum singularity to power a Romulan warbird (first employed in the Star Trek: The Next Generation episode "Timescape"), which was directly inspired by recent discoveries and theories about black holes. Also, Sternbach said he constantly looks at web pages from NASA and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) for ideas that can be applied to the look of the show. "The hand props, the control panel technology, the engine technology -- whatever gets translated from blue-sky ideas into plywood and plastic and real set pieces -- it all starts out with a lot of research."

In terms of conceiving new fictional technologies and determining how they are depicted, Mike Okuda said, "None of us, with the exception of Andre, is specifically trained in science -- I have no doubt that a lot of people sitting in this very room could think of more credible ways to go faster than light or to transport a person from here to there. But what we bring to the show is a reasonable understanding of what current scientific thinking is, as well as a reasonable understanding of Star Trek's heritage, and a reasonable understanding of what production requires. And we bring those together and try to come up with what is at that moment the best guess."

Denise Okuda pointed out that the demands of a weekly television series often limit what the show can depict. "We like to be able to push the envelope, but also we have to do it within the dictates of production." However, she gives credit to the Original Series for accomplishing what it did under even tighter budget constraints than what she has worked under. "If you go back and watch those shows that are 34, 35 years old, some of the technology certainly doesn't hold up, but some of it does, and so I think the Original Series was absolutely brilliant."

If It's Dark, It Shouldn't Matter

The panelists admitted that the show does make scientific errors that can sometimes be embarrassing. Picardo related such an error in an episode he directed, "One Small Step." "B`Elanna Torres" discovered a 'dark matter asteroid,'" the actor/director said. "I was watching the show with my friend from JPL, and he guffawed so loudly I couldn't hear the next three lines. He explained to me that--of course--dark matter is infinitely diffuse, so how could you make a large clump of an infinitely diffuse thing?"

Picardo added, "It's only when things get rewritten very quickly, and they don't get sifted through Andre, that we have to be especially careful that we don't say something that is too utterly preposterous."

One audience member commented that the show shouldn't be too accurate in its depiction of science, or it wouldn't be as challenging for much of the audience. Bormanis replied, "No question that a big part of the fun of watching Star Trek for a large number of our scientifically and technically astute viewers is finding those little incongruities and griping about them."

Under-the-Microscope Examination

Of course, the science of Star Trek is not the only aspect of the show that can be challenging and controversial. Picardo said the most exciting episodes for him are those where the characters must face ethical issues and moral dilemmas. "Because we have the advantage of telling stories in a science fiction context, we've had wonderful shows that explore ethical questions,
dealing with them in a sort of pure under-the-microscope examination, paring away whatever contemporary issues might obscure the essential question." He specifically referred to the Star Trek: Voyager episode "Nothing Human," where the Doctor must decide whether to save Torres' life with medical knowledge that was derived by unethical means. Ironically, Picardo did not agree with the moral position that his character ultimately took in the episode. "Most of the time I do, because usually the Doctor argues the point of view that the producers think is the higher ground ethically." But in this episode, "I didn't particularly agree with my position. Once the knowledge exists, it must be used -- you can't not use it to save people even if it was obtained in a reprehensible way."

On a lighter note, one audience member complimented Picardo for the singing ability his character has exhibited on the show, and asked if he had studied opera. "I studied voice for probably a year in college," Picardo replied. "I have absolutely no business singing opera, and I don't think I will embarrass myself in that way again," he told the laughing audience.

The next day of the convention, Bormanis returned for a panel discussion called "Visioning the Future," joining Executive Producer Brannon Braga and visual consultant/designer Syd Mead, who worked on "Star Trek: The Motion Picture" and other science fiction films including "Blade Runner," "2010" and "Aliens." This panel also included Frank Spotnitz, executive producer of The X-Files, and Richard Berendzen, space advocate and academician from Washington, D.C.

Separating Fact from Fiction

The moderator of this discussion opened by noting that there has been a lot of consternation in the scientific community over the fact that much of the American public seems to believe in "very strange science" and doesn't seem to know the difference between factual science and science fiction. Do the creators of the fiction feel any responsibility about getting the science "right"?

Braga responded, "My goal is to depict fun, entertaining television that's also credible, and that's really the extent of it. In terms of science, I utilize Mr. Bormanis here on a daily basis trying to make it all seem believable. What we normally do is come up with an idea that doesn't exist yet, whether it's an anomaly or a piece of technology, and try to make it sound good. Sometimes we find that we delve into real science, and that doesn't sound good. So we have to change the real science slightly to make it sound good."

He did acknowledge that in today's culture, "There's a real lack of critical thinking going on" that prevents people from separating fact from fiction. But he hopes that the Star Trek characters serve as good role models in this respect. "One of the things we've been accused of on the Star Trek shows is having too much techno-babble, and I couldn't agree more. The shows are often a little bit dry and technical, but one thing we're very vigilant about is never having these characters take anything without dissecting it and approaching it from every angle."

Mead related some of the scientific inaccuracies depicted in "2010," which he was fully aware of while working on the film, but dramatic needs had to supersede scientific realism. Mead posed the question, "Do science and science fiction conflict? Science has always been everybody's last, best guess backed up by whatever facts are available at the time, and that has changed continuously over the centuries. In science fiction, whatever basis you attach to it to make it logical is literally as good as anybody's guess."

"Thank God For Quantum Physics"

Braga further observed, "You have to work within the realm of what is known in the world. We will depict other dimensions and even wacky time travel stuff, but we are using vernacular and concepts that physics has discovered. Thank God for quantum physics, because that's giving us some of our more imaginative episodes." He added, "I'm waiting for the next big discovery to give us our next batch of episodes."

The panelists noted that Star Trek presents a more "rosy" picture of the future than most other science fiction. "Almost laughably so," remarked Braga. "But I do think that one of the reasons Star Trek is popular is because it doesn't present the post-Armageddon kind of future for humanity--it's a little more upbeat." He credited Gene Roddenberry for his vision of a human race that is "evolved to the next level, even emotionally."

Berendzen lauded Star Trek for its "cardinal theme of diversity," in particular its portrayal of a woman starship captain. "I would like to think that that's a positive image of the future, and it's one which is rarely portrayed in most other things."

Bormanis echoed that sentiment, comparing Star Trek to another sci-fi classic of the 60's, Stanley Kubrick's "2001: A Space Odyssey." He noted that Kubrick's film was revolutionary in its vision of space travel and technological advance, but the astronauts depicted were all white men. In both respects, the film has proven inaccurate. "That level of social progress which wasn't predicted by '2001' or any other science fiction film or TV show other than Star Trek -- that's become the reality. That is probably a greater and more heartening sort of progress than going to Jupiter with a bunch of white guys would've been."

Planting Seeds

Asked if the writers and producers of Star Trek have ever intentionally planted an idea into a story to see if someone might bring it to fruition, Braga replied, "It is a fantasy. We create things for story reasons typically, to give us the plot momentum that we need, but it's always a little secret fantasy of mine that someday maybe they will discover or invent that thing. It's definitely something that I think about."

Bormanis added, "I've talked to a few scientists in their 30's or 40's who saw warp drive on Star Trek when they were children, and as they got older and learned about science, they knew that warp drive is fiction. But then they would start to think, 'Gosh, I wonder if you could.' And somebody gets a Ph.D. in general relativity and says, 'You know, maybe if you found a way to focus enough energy in a particular way you could stretch the very fabric of space much faster than the speed of light and get a ship from point A to point B -- a distance of five light-years or whatever -- in days instead of years.'"

"I think it's terrific if Star Trek or other science fiction provides the motivation to get somebody thinking about those questions and solving a few equations, and just seeing if something like that is legitimately possible or not. And even if it isn't, it might open the door to another direction of research that produces something that's wonderful or interesting," Bormanis concluded.

Coming up: James Doohan (Scotty) appeared before another convention of astronomers this past weekend. Check back with STARTREK.COM NEWS later this week for a report on that event.

Story & Photos by Sandy Stone