How George R.R. Martin’s Writing Advice Led To One OfStar Trek‘s Greatest Episodes

Few sequence of Star Trek : The Next propagation are more thought - provoking , or exemplary , than “ Measure of a Man , ” the installment where Data is put on trial to determine whether he ’s a someone or just Starfleet ’s property . And it turn out that the universe of this sequence is partly thanks to George R.R. Martin — as this exclusive clip divulge .

Above is a clip from the special feature film on the Blu - ray of Star Trek : The Next Generation Season 2 , in which author Melinda Snodgrass explain that she thought maybe the parallel with the Supreme Court ’s Dred Scott decision were maybe a spot too unattackable a brewage . fortuitously , her pal George R.R. Martin talked her into running with it , with some penning advice that is go to stick with me for a long fourth dimension : “ Never lay away your fluent bullet . ” The resulting script cease up getting bought , right over the fanlight .

Star Trek : The Next Generation Season 2 total out on Blu - ray on Tuesday , let in an extended cut of “ Measure of a Man ” that a bunch of us watched in San Francisco last night — the regenerate scenes sum a lot more nuance to the arguments over Data ’s status , as well as some dainty character reference - building moments and a decent amount of cheesiness . We ’ll have a full revaluation of the Blu - shaft of light set , including the extended episode , in a few day .