10 Star Trek Fan Concepts That Became Real
1. Trent Christopher Ganino And Eric A. Stillwell - Yesterday's Enterprise
Star Trek: The Next Generation was famous for being the first syndicated show to allow submitted scripts from fans to go into production. This was something that Michael Pillar, executive producer, brought to the show and something that has resulted in some of the finest episodes in Star Trek's canon.
Ganino originally pitched Yesterday's Enterprise as a straightforward time-travel story, though after he had submitted he struck up a friendship with associate producer Stillwell. Together, they began working on other ideas. Stillwell, separately, had met Denise Crosby at a fan convention in 1989.
The original elements of the script included Sarek and the Guardian of Forever, neither of which Piller wanted. Instead, he suggested to Rick Berman that the story be published, rather than the script outright. Having said that, Ganino and Stillwell were invited to rewrite their script, allowing for Guinan and Tasha Yar to feature more prominently.
The end result is a masterpiece, often voted one of the best episodes in all of Star Trek. It is tight, tense and there is a genuine sense of pathos in Guinan's understanding of the universe around her. Yesterday's Enterprise is a triumph, not just of an episode, but for fans of Star Trek worldwide.