The Star Trek: Voyager Episode That Made TV History
When you think about Star Trek folks who have made television history, chances are that you think about people like major franchise creator Gene Roddenberry or veteran Shakespearean thespian Patrick Stewart. However, every great episode starts with a writer, and Star Trek: Voyager’s first freelancer made television history in a most unexpected way. Paul Robert Coyle pitched “State of Flux,” and the insane speed with which this went from pitch to outline after a meeting with a single producer was something almost unheard of in TV production.
The State Of Flux Rundown
Before we can talk about how this freelancer unexpectedly made TV history, it’s important to recap what this Star Trek: Voyager episode was all about. “State of Flux” is an episode where Captain Janeway discovers Federation technology aboard a Kazon vessel and realizes that someone aboard her ship must have violated the Prime Directive by giving that tech to these primitive aliens. The culprit is revealed to be Seska, someone who is neither Maquis nor Bajoran as everyone thought; rather, she was secretly a Cardassian spy who had been surgically altered to look like a Bajoran.Â
Seska’s Villain Arc
Speaking of Seksa, it was Coyle’s ideas for this character that really impressed Star Trek: Voyager executive producer and co-creator Michael Piller. The eager writer came into the pitch meeting with over half a dozen different ideas for this new show, but Piller (despite initially downplaying his own eagerness) was most interested in the idea of the ship secretly having a Cardassian spy aboard from the beginning.
It was certainly an idea that resonated with other producers and writers, as we got an entire later villain arc with Seska where she rolled with the Kazon and tried to have Chakotay’s love child after swiping his DNA.
That Escalated Quickly
Your mileage may vary as to whether “State of Flux” is a groundbreaking episode of Star Trek: Voyager, but what was groundbreaking was the speed with which this story moved. Coyle met with only one of the show’s three executive producers, and Piller ended up approving the Seska pitch in the room. After Piller’s secretary immediately struck a deal with Coyle’s agent, the writer was sent home to immediately hammer out an outline.
Coyle’s Pitch Approval Was Unprecedented
If you’re wondering why this Star Trek: Voyager pitch success story is so unprecedented, it’s because the pitching process usually moves much slower than this. Normally, even if someone like the late, great Piller loved your idea, they’d have to have discussions with other producers and perhaps crew members. It typically takes a week or more to get a response, and the blunt truth is that the response is almost always “no.”
Pitch Was Sold Right In The Writers Room
Therefore, Paul Robert Coyle’s Star Trek: Voyager pitch is so special because he sold it in the room and got to immediately start working on his outline, after which he got hearty congratulations from Deep Space Nine showrunner Ira Steven Behr.
Sadly, after submitting a script and a rewrite, the producers got others (Chris Abbott and, uncredited, Michael Piller) to write the “State of Flux” episode that aired on television. Coyle took the rejection nicely enough, but he will always have the honor of being the first freelance to pitch a Voyager episode and being the writer to make television history by selling his very first pitch right there in the room.
