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George R.R. Martin Reveals Why 'Star Trek' Refused To Hire Him

Did George R.R. Martin nearly put his all into another piece of cult fandom?

By Tom ChapmanPublished 6 years ago 2 min read
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'Star Trek: The Next Generation' [Credit: CBS]

These days, we all know author George R.R. Martin as the man behind the stories of the seven kingdoms and its whimsical Westerosi, but did the Game of Thrones creator nearly put his all into another piece of cult fandom? If you Vul-can believe it, there was a time that the sire of Starks and Snows tried to bravely go where no man had gone before — taking on the sci-fi spectacular that is #StarTrek.

Beam me up Georgie.

Speaking at a workshop for UC San Diego's Arthur C. Clarke Center for Human Imagination, Trek Movie recalls that the acclaimed "A Song of Ice and Fire"novelist revealed he once tried to sit in that spinning chair and helm the Starship Enterprise:

“I had an interview with Star Trek: The Next Generation for a possible job as a staff writer. I remember coming in to the office of this producer – who thankfully did not last long on the show and you can see why when I tell the story. He said “I don’t know who you are, can you tell me your credentials.” And I said “I am just coming off Twilight Zone where I worked for a while, but before that I wrote novels and short stories. I am primarily a science fiction writer.” And he said “Oh really, well Star Trek is not a science-fiction show, it is a people show.” I was fooled by the photon torpedoes and starships. I was misled. Needless to say I did not get that job."

While #GeorgeRRMartin doesn't reveal who said producer was, it is safe to assume that it was the maligned Maurice Hurley. It certainly sounds like Hurley, who famously had no sci-fi knowledge, clashed with a number of writers on the show, and charted the show's uneven waters in Season 1 and 2.

Thankfully, The Next Generation is already lauded as a shining jewel in the #StarTrek crown, but think what would've happened if Martin had got his chubby writing mitts on it? Sure, the original Trek series launched the franchise, but when Paramount decided to bring the Enterprise out of the scrapyard in the '80s, few realised that the show could become so popular again. For us '90s kids, TNG became the era of the franchise that we automatically leaned to, so sorry Shatner.

Just imagine the bloody (and brilliant) pairing of Martin and Sir Patrick Stewart — pure poetry in motion. Alas, the old gods and the new seemed to disagree with this idea, and Martin was left to watch the various other writers kick TNG into warp drive over the show's impressive tenure of seven seasons. There was Captain Jean-Luc Picard flying us to glory alongside the vagina-headed Worf, awkward Data, and the ample bosoms of Deanna Troi. All of the above sound like perfect fodder for Martin to have weaved his wordy wisdom on and given us an even better show.

Nowadays, it is hard to imagine any TV show turning down the mastery of Martin, but in an era before #GameofThrones hit our screens, he was just that bearded guy who was yet to about dragons. Admittedly, Martin was already an award-winning sci-fi writer and had worked on The Twilight Zone reboot, but this wasn't enough for those CBS bigwigs. Now, on the cusp of the upcoming Star Trek: Discovery, fans have been show that we can still "Klingon" to the past but move with the times. Who knows, with Martin's GoT schedule soon to be cleared, perhaps he could hop from HBO to CBS — just imagine, the "Red Shirt Wedding."

(Source: Trek Movie)

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About the Creator

Tom Chapman

Tom is a Manchester-based writer with square eyes and the love of a good pun. Raised on a diet of Jurassic Park, this ’90s boy has VHS flowing in his blood. No topic is too big for this freelancer by day, crime-fighting vigilante by night.

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