Star Trek: 10 Biggest Takeaways From Open A Channel: A Woman's Trek
9. Jennifer Lien's Struggle
Though Jennifer Lien's struggles are well known in 2024, Open A Channel shines more light on what it was like on the set while filming. Visitor was unable to include an interview with Lien in the book, so relies on testimony from those who worked alongside her.
It paints a sad, complicated picture. The commonly held belief behind Lien's firing was that it was she, or Garrett Wang, who were facing the chop. Then Wang appeared in a list of that year's most beautiful people, so Lien was axed.
The truth is more complicated. She was already enduring mental health struggles at the time and, according to executive producer Jeri Taylor, was unreliable when it came to call times. This, along with her refusal to accept outside help, made up the producers' minds for them.
There is no 'right way' to tackle mental health struggles, something that the book makes a point of. Sadly for Kes fans, there seemed no way to accommodate Lien at the time, and she was let go.