HOMESTEAD: The Paramount lot and [Star Trek Voyager]'s place in it

As one enters the Paramount lot, it becomes clear that Paramount, taken as a whole, is a small city-state. Apart from the studio aspects, it comes complete with restaurants, theatres, dry cleaners, barber shop, florist, gymnasium, postal facilities, phone company, and police and fire departments. There are numerous other support services as well, including a mill, paint shop, music recording studios (scoring), and carpet and drapery facilities - pop-up details.

About the time that [Star Trek Voyager] was first being conceived, work was undertaken to beautify the southern, Melrose, side of the Paramount lot, at least the part that visitors see first. The main entrance to the lot from the Melrose Avenue side is Windsor Gate, spruced up from the generic architectural style prevalent since the 1950s and 1960s.

But the Studio's original entrance, an old wrought-iron-and-stucco arch remains the same; since some time before 1998 it has become accessible only to people who have already gained entrance to the lot. Both drive-on and walk-on visitors pass through security points at the Windsor entrance, emerging into pleasantly landscaped parking areas flanked with shade trees. Thirty yards or so further into the lot, visitors cross the wide, brick-paved pedestrian promenade, the centrepiece of the beautification process.

Across the promenade and through the trees on the other side the illusion ends, as the bulk of the "real" buildings becomes visible. The contrast is conspicuous. On any given day there are several thousand people "on the lot". Paramount, formerly Desilu Studios (which produced [TOS]) is now a Viacom company (you can see this notation in [Star Trek Voyager]'s titles/credits), and other Viacom companies work here too e.g. United Paramount Network (UPN). There are dozens of independent production companies and contractors who work on the lot. Paramount is the largest employer in Hollywood, and is now its sole remaining major studio.

A large percentage of the people who work on the Paramount lot carry pagers and many carry mobile phones (cell phones). When the camera is rolling (i.e. filming) on a set, the combined costs on that one set alone are in the tens of thousands of dollars per hour, so if someone is needed immediately (to solve a problem, for instance), they need to be found quickly.

Paramount has thirty-two stages, varying in size from the smallest, Stage 22, to the largest, Stage 16. The smaller stages are usually used for television shows. The seventeen larger ones can be used for either television shows or feature films. From a revenue-generating perspective, the largest stages are usually reserved for feature filming. However, just to satisfy the weekly filming needs for [Star Trek Voyager] and [Deep Space Nine], Star Trek permanently takes up six of the largest feature stages on the lot, plus the occasional use of two or three additional feature stages. [Star Trek Voyager] uses Stages 8, 9 and 16 (the largest on the lot). See CONCEIVING [VOYAGER]: Sacred Ground for diagram and more information. [DS9] uses Stages 4, 17 and 18.

the size of the Paramount lot compared to a Galaxy-class starship, overall length 641 metres;
USS Voyager's overall length is 344.5 metres
source STTNG Cont

Star Trek also has ancillary offices and use of support facilities on the lot. [Star Trek Voyager] (and, while it remains in production, [DS9]) each have their own separate casts and production crews. They each have their own writing staff, art department, film crew and editorial personnel.

The same production and post-production staffs oversee both series, and are their headquarters is in the Cooper Building. (Everyone refers to the buildings by name only, omitting "Building" e.g. Cooper, Hart, Dreier.) The Hart Building houses the executive producers, except for Rick Berman, a few producers, and the writing and preproduction staffs for both series. In Star Trek's case, the producers in Hart are all writers. The title "producer" is usually granted as a promotion, a reward to a writer after some tenure and performance. It is often negotiated between the studio and the writer, as a means of giving additional compensation and recognition. Brannon Braga, for example, is called a supervising producer, but he is exclusively a writer, although this would change significantly with [Star Trek Voyager]'s fourth season.

Jeri Taylor is an exception to this practice. In addition to her writing duties she is also responsible for fielding all creative problems that arise on the set during filming: actors' requests for changes in dialogue (it happens), differences of opinion between a cast member and a director, questions regarding technical terms based on known real-world technology, the way a character is portrayed, and so forth. She is also involved in studio meetings, casting decisions, and addressing certain day-to-day operational matters including managing the writing staff.

The Hart Building was built in 1936 and it has four floors. It is small. It has what Poe calls "narrow musty corridors" which run down the centre of each floor, giving access to "mostly drab, closet-sized office spaces" on either side. Producers of whatever rank generally are given offices somewhat larger than the "closets". The first floor of Hart is assigned to [Star Trek Voyager]. The second floor belongs to [DS9]. The third and fourth floors are more or less split between the two. According to Poe, anyone who ventures above the first floor learns after a visit or two to take the stairs at the end of the corridors rather than chance the (tiny) elevator as it has the disturbing habit of stopping between floors. Two people can barely squeeze inside. At one time, Gene Roddenberry had a small office on the third floor of Hart. He used to complain bitterly about the elevator, and used it as a last resort. Later, when his fortunes improved with the start-up of [TNG], he was moved to a larger office on the first floor, which is the same office now occupied by Michael Piller.

Michael Piller, on 19th September 2003

Michael Piller's office. A mirror image of Brannon Braga's office, this office was once occupied by Gene Roddenberry during the early days of [TNG].

The rest of the Star Trek production activities are scattered around the lot in a checkerboard of buildings and offices. The impact is so enormous, so pervasive, that it is not possible to spend any reasonable amount of time at Paramount and not be aware of Star Trek's presence. Many people not just those directly associated with things Star Trek-often do not even refer to the phenomenon as a "show" or "series". Instead the whole business i.e. anything and everything related to Star Trek, is lumped together under one all encompassing term: 'the franchise', usually spoken with a touch of reverence. The franchise contributes so much money to Paramount's coffers that it is easy to assume that the revenue pays for much of everything else at the studio, as if it is Star Trek provides the financial matter-antimatter fuel that keeps Paramount running.

dedication of the Roddenberry Building on the Paramount lot, 1991, attended by Star Trek cast

Tom Mazza is the Paramount Television official who is acutely aware of the power, impact and value of things Star Trek. He is the Executive Vice-President, Current Programs and Strategic Planning, Network Television. Practically speaking, Mazza is Berman's immediate boss. Mazza reads every script, provides direct input on each episode, and exercises final approval on all major elements of both [Star Trek Voyager] and [DS9]. Technically, Kerry McCluggage, who is the Chairman of Paramount's Television Group, and Mazza's boss, has the final say on everything. But it is Tom Mazza who is on the front lines of the day-to-day operations of Star Trek television. This position of authority over Rick Berman and Star Trek manifests itself in some rather oblique ways. One of these is Hollywood's tendency to assign possession of projects to certain individuals. For example, if Rick Kolbe directs an episode, some people will later say, "Oh yes, [Eye of the Needle], that's a Rick Kolbe show." If Brannon Braga writes an episode, some people will later say, "[#3 Parallax]? Yeah, that was a Brannon Braga episode." Similarly, certain entertainment industry executives will say, "Oh, [Star Trek Voyager] - that's Tom Mazza's series."

From Poe's interview with Tom Mazza, it is good for fans to know that there is someone sound in charge.
Tom Mazza: "The franchise has a very theological umbrella hanging over it. One of the reasons viewers respond so well to it is it's a very uplifting franchise. It asks viewers to buy into a lot of belief systems ... all positive ones. Not bad ones. We don't have a bad prediction for the future. Other science fiction shows don't have the uplifting, spiritual adventure that Star Trek has. People love to see interesting characters. They like to see them working together as a team. It's important. People want to have hope."

A veteran of [TNG], Merri Howard began her Star Trek career as a first assistant director during that series' second season. She was later promoted to unit production manager, and eventually to line producer. Now a full producer, she is an example of Rick Berman's policy of always trying to promote from within.

Merri Howard source TOSTW

Merri Howard: "I deal with everything that nobody else wants to do. I do the line-production work, which means I'm the focal point for everyone in the company, with the day-to-day operations. I oversee everything that happens on the set ... making sure we're staying within budget ... making sure we can meet During the third season Berman moved to larger offices at the other end of the Cooper Building. our schedule. People bring their problems to me first. If there's a problem ordering equipment ... a problem the actors have on the set, creatively with a line or a scene ... or the director needs something, I can solve the problem or I can take it to David, Jeri, Michael, or Rick. Everything publicity-wise goes through my office. Special projects, licensing matters, television ad support, outside conventions, charitable events, things like that. Between Brad Yacobian and me, we co-ordinate the efforts to make those things happen."