Frakes still believes his influence remains underrecognized, felt not only in the episodes themselves but in the people he championed, Next Generation writers who went on to shape television in their own right: Moore (Battlestar Galactica, Outlander), Brannon Braga (Star Trek: Voyager, Star Trek: Enterprise), René Echevarria (The 4400), and Naren Shankar (The Expanse).
Piller also made room for outsiders, establishing a spec-script policy that allowed unrepresented writers to submit original episodes for consideration. “He trusted his taste, and he was willing to share the spotlight with these young, hungry, smart, clever writers,” Frakes says. If the franchise remembers “The Best of Both Worlds” as a turning point, it also remembers the man who taught it how to grow.
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