Chaos on the Bridge

Chaos on the Bridge (2014) is a documentary directed by William Shatner — watch it online on iFILM. In 1987, Paramount launched Star Trek: The Next Generation as a gamble: same universe, entirely new crew, and Shatner himself conspicuously absent.

Shatner interviews the people who built the show — Patrick Stewart, Jonathan Frakes, John de Lancie, Gates McFadden, Denise Crosby — and pulls out the messy reality behind the finished product: warring writers' rooms, firings mid-production, and a showrunner situation that was openly chaotic. At 59 minutes it covers more ground than most feature-length making-ofs. Stream Chaos on the Bridge (2014) online on iFILM.