Jeri Taylor, Co-Creator of Star Trek: Voyager, Dies at 86

Star Trek has had a lot of distinguished creative voices over its 58-year run and throughout its varied TV exhibits. Earlier this week, a type of voices—Jeri Taylor, an government producer for Star Trek: The Subsequent Era and a co-creator of its eventual successor Star Trek: Voyager—handed away at 86 years outdated.

Born June 30, 1938, Taylor bought her begin in TV writing scripts for Little Home on the Prairie and The Unimaginable Hulk, and would later produce and direct episodes of Quincy, M.E. and Jake and the Fatman. Lee Sheldon, who she’d labored with on the previous, advisable her to the Subsequent Era producers, and she or he joined the present as a supervising producer on season 4. Throughout her time on the present, she was promoted to government producer, turned showrunner for the ultimate season and penned a number of episodes, together with Wesley Crusher’s (Wil Wheaton) ultimate look as a sequence common, and “The Wounded,” the primary Star Trek episode to characteristic the Cardassians, who would change into a serious faction in ’90s Star Trek in Deep House 9.

Taylor later labored along with her fellow Subsequent Era co-EPs Rick Berman and Michael Piller to develop Star Trek: Voyager, and helped carry Subsequent Era manufacturing workers over to the brand new present. Along with being an government producer for the primary 4 seasons, she turned showrunner for seasons three and 4 earlier than retiring, although nonetheless acted as a advisor for her successor Brannon Braga. However earlier than that time, she additionally wrote a trio of Trek novels: a novelization of her Subsequent Era episode “Unification,” the 1996 Voyager prequel Mosaic, and 1998’s Pathways, and the occasions of each have been referenced in Nickelodeon’s Star Trek: Prodigy.

A number of Star Trek have eulogized Taylor on social media. Braga known as her “an excellent author and showrunner and to me, a cherished mentor. I’d not have a profession with out Jeri’s intricate steering. Her reminiscence will stay on in some ways, however maybe most of all within the character of Captain Janeway, who mirrored one of the best dimensions of Jeri herself.” Prodigy EP/co-head author Aaron J. Waltke attributed his profession to the scripts she’d donated to Indiana College Lilly Library, saying “I discovered to put in writing finding out her. I wouldn’t be right here with out her. Thanks, Jeri. For the whole lot.”

David Zappone, a movie producer behind a number of Star Trek documentaries, stated Taylor will likely be a “main half” of an upcoming documentary centered on Voyager, and that her accomplishments and contributions to the franchise”won’t ever be forgotten.”

[via TrekCore]

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