Though science-fiction/fantasy shows like Enterprise and fellow UPN series Buffy the Vampire Slayer are likely to be recognized by the Emmys for technical brilliance, the writers, producers and actors behind the shows are traditionally overlooked. In today's issue of Daily Variety, several of the producers behind these shows, including Enterprise's Rick Berman and Brannon Braga, speak out on the lack of Emmy recognition for their respective series and the genre in general.

"I have outgrown expecting to get nominations in acting and writing and directing categories," Enterprise Executive Producer Berman told the trade. "It's just been so many years we've been overlooked." Berman cited Connor Trinneer ("Trip Tucker") as a prime example of those who will most likely be passed over. "If Connor were on any other freshman TV series right now, he would be the buzz of the trades in terms of getting a nomination," said Berman. "But he's on Star Trek, and we're forever hopeful, but the history doesn't show he has much chance."

Trek has landed several nominations in the drama category over the years: The Original Series racked up two best drama nominations, while The Next Generation was nominated in its final year. "The year we were nominated for Next Generation, it was wonderful to be acknowledged," said Berman's fellow exec producer Braga. "You wonder if we took the bumpy foreheads off people, if Star Trek would have gotten more nominations in the past."

Science-fiction scribe David Gerrold, who penned the classic Trek episode "The Trouble with Tribbles," noted that the genre tends to defy traditional expectations of drama. "'Real drama' is about the human condition; it's about angst, anguish, suicide, incest. It's about people failing to put their lives together," he said. "Science-fiction is about what do we build next. (It) gets into what is the nature of reality, what does it mean to be a human being. Those are answers you don't get in an ordinary story."