Brannon Braga Brannon Braga was a writer , producer and creator , serving as such on the spin - off television series , , , as well as on the and . " Star Trek " . A twenty - five year old youth , Brannon Braga started working on " Star Trek " in 1990 as a writer / producer on " The Next Generation " , it being his first professional employment within the motion picture industry . Braga was recognized for his work on the " Star Trek " franchise with eight award nominations , winning two of them . In all , he has written or co - written 109 " Star Trek " television episodes with two additional movie writing co - credits to boot , more than anyone else in the history of the franchise . " The Next Generation " . On his first day as an intern , Brannon Braga already met his future mentor Michael Piller , who was working on at the time ; " " I came in just at the right time , " " he recalled later . Actually , it was Piller who picked him out of a group of finalists of an internship program in script writing offered by the Academy of Televison Arts & Sciences at the university Braga was attending in his final year in 1990 . After an eight - week internship period at the studio , Braga was hired " on staff " at the writing department , the episode becoming his first official co - credit and with as his first solo teleplay credit . As a writer / producer on " The Next Generation " , Braga was responsible for some of the most popular episodes including the series finale . For this episode he won the Hugo Award for excellence in science fiction writing , along with Ronald D . Moore . Braga is a big fan of directors and and their way to create mysterious atmospheres . As a result he was very happy with the way the seventh season episode was brought up . ( TNG Season 7 DVD - special feature , " Departmental Briefing Year Seven : Production " ) Braga also co - wrote the movies " Generations " ( 1994 ) and " First Contact " ( 1996 ) . For the sixth season episode , Braga wrote the lyrics for the Klingon aria with music composed by Jay Chattaway . At the conclusion of the sixth season of the series , Piller asked Braga to move over to his co - creation , , but Braga wanted to " " ( . . . ) see Next Generation through to the end and I am glad I did because Ron [ Moore ] and I wrote the final episode [ " All Good Things " ] , which was probably our best work on that show . " " " Deep Space Nine " therefore remained the only spin - off television production Braga did not work on , though he did write a couple of " Deep Space Nine " - scenes featuring Julian Bashir for the episode . Having declared the series " terrific " and " an amazing television show " , Braga acknowledged its " middle child " status , when he commented , " " Personally , with " Deep Space Nine " , I don ' t think " Voyager " should have come on the air so quickly . I think " Deep Space Nine " should have been on its own for a while . " " Nevertheless , his decision to stick with " The Next Generation " did result in him being promoted to co - producer for its last season " and " his first television award . " Generations " and " First Contact " . After having completed " All Good Things . . . " , Brannon Braga immediately set to work with partner Moore and Rick Berman writing the first " Next Generation " film , with the missive that it somehow featured the " passing the baton from one generation to another " . For Braga , as it was for Moore , it was their first motion picture assignment , " " Writing the movies , those were amazing experiences . It was a different kind of storytelling . It was an opportunity to write feature films , which I ' d always wanted to do . It led to some other feature work . Ron and I were new writers and we ' d never written a movie before when we did " Generation [ s ] " . We were trying to serve a lot of masters and we were passing the baton from one generation to another . I didn ' t turn out as well as I would have liked . " " While generally well received , Braga was referring to the ending of the movie , as not only fans but also Spock performer Leonard Nimoy ( who had declined both appearing in , and directing the feature , partly for this reason ) took exception to the demise of Captain James T . Kirk as being unceremonious . " " The decision to " kill Kirk " was a complex one , made by many people , including Shatner himself " [ note : confirmed by the latter in his autobiography " Star Trek Movie Memories " ] " , who was heavily involved in the process of developing that script . I don ' t remember where the idea originally came from , but I can tell you that everyone was on board . It seemed a fitting way to " pass the baton " to a new generation and a final farewell to Shatner ' s character . But I don ’ t argue that his mode of death was less than overwhelming . " , " defended Braga , adding at a later point , " " I don ' t want to speak for Ron or for Rick Berman , but I think that Kirk and Picard should have been locked in battle on spaceships , on their respective bridges , and not cooking eggs . I can say that now that enough time has passed . I just don ' t think it was the right second half of the movie , personally . If a fan wants to sit down and watch Generations with the commentary Ron and I did for the DVD , we ' re pretty honest about what we liked and don ' t like about that film . " " As it turned out , Braga even considered resurrecting Kirk , " " Kirk back from the grave ? Hell , yeah . I even noodled a story that would do that on " Voyager " . Involved the Klingon hijacking of a modern - day 747 ( and some time travel of course ) . Never wrote it , though . " " Two years later , Braga , again with Moore and Berman , turned their attention to the movie that " turned out so well " ; " Star Trek : First Contact " . " " I had a saying when we were working on " Star Trek " : " fun to write – fun to watch . " Generally speaking if you are struggling to write something and it ’ s not making sense , then it is going to be kind of crappy on the screen . " First Contact " was blast to write , blast to make . We just knew it was going to be fun . " " On the introduction of the Borg Queen , which a minority of fans had gripes with as well , Braga said , " " I think some people liked the Borg Queen and some didn ' t , but to us the Borg Queen was the thing that made it all work . We realized very quickly that the Borg aren ' t that interesting for a feature film for two hours because they don ' t say anything . They ' re robot zombies . So , to me , the Borg Queen was the coolest new thing about that movie . " " Countering the perceptions that some fans held , Braga pointed out , " " I disagree that Kirk ' s " death " signaled the " demise " of the franchise . " Star Trek : First Contact " went on to become the highest grossing " Trek " film ever , and one of the best reviewed . The TV shows were doing pretty damn well , too . " " Being very proud of his work on " First Contact " , Braga had indeed a valid point ; " First Contact " went on to become the highest grossing and best received of all the prime universe movies , even surpassing the hitherto most beloved ones , and . ( " see for details , Star Trek films : Performance summary " ) Buoyed on by the success of " First Contact " , Braga was an obvious choice for the writer ' s chore of the subsequent " Next Generation " movie , , but he " " ( . . . ) didn ' t write any more movies after " First Contact " because I was running " Voyager " at that point and didn ' t feel like I could do both justice . Having written two movies with Ron Moore while also doing the TV shows was just too much . I chose to focus my energies on " Voyager " and I ' m glad I did . I ' m most proud of my work on that show . " " " Voyager " . Brannon Braga moved to " Star Trek : Voyager " as a producer , receiving another promotion to co - executive producer in 1997 and a further promotion to executive producer in 1998 when Jeri Taylor retired . During his time on " Star Trek : Voyager " he entered into a relationship with Seven of Nine actress Jeri Ryan , which has since ended . After " Deep Space Nine " finished its run , Braga immediately hired his " Next Generation " writing partner Ron D . Moore for " Voyager " , but Moore resigned shortly afterward citing creative differences with Braga and the other " Voyager " writers and criticizing the lack of emphasis on continuity . Though the series as a whole was by the fans received with somewhat mixed feelings , Braga was , predominantly in conjunction with Writer Joe Menosky , responsible for some of its best received episodes , most notably including the two - part episodes , , , and . Braga had reveled in working with Menosky , later emphatically stating , " " Joe Menosky was brilliant . He and I wrote what I thought were some of the best ever episodes . Feel free to disagree , but if you look at those 2 - parters we did . . . cool stuff . " " Braga himself had stated that he " had the most fun " working on Voyager , and cited the two - parter and as the episodes he considered his best work , on another occasion adding and , but also citing as " the one I ' d just as soon forget " . " Enterprise " – controversy , atonement , and defense . In 1999 , Brannon Braga began work on " Star Trek : Enterprise " as the series ' co - creator with Rick Berman ( leaving Kenneth Biller to take over the production of " Voyager " ) , and had become " Star Trek " s " number two man " behind Berman . Unlike his former writing partner Ron Moore , Braga has never been a fan , and it was for this reason that he had earlier turned the writing chore for the " Next Generation " homage episode , which was originally slated to be his , over to Moore , or as he himself had put it , " " I knew I couldn ' t possibly write it . I didn ' t even know who Scotty was . This was a Ron [ Moore ] show . " " ( " Cinefantastique " , Vol . 24 , issue 3 / 4 , p . 22 ) Braga not being a " Trekkie " was not lost on Writer / Journalist Mark A . Altman , who had recorded his " Relics " statement for " Cinefantastique " magazine , as he subsequently offered rather acerbically in 1999 when " Voyager " was in production , " " The dirty little secret is Berman and the people running " Star Trek " right now hate " The Original Series " and hate being compared to it . They are not people who have any affection for the old show . When Harve Bennett and Nick Meyer took over the franchise for " " , they went back and looked at every episode of " The Original Series " and learned everything they could about what worked and what didn ' t . When these guys [ Berman and writer Brannon Braga ] took over , they hated the original and resented being in the shadow and avoided watching it . They ' d be happy if people forgot the original , and that ' s unfortunate . " " His admitted lack of understanding of original " Star Trek " - lore however , backfired on his work on " Enterprise " , as he was held co - responsible for the dismal performance of the series in its first three seasons , due to the perceived canon violations in established continuity – which , as it turned out , even though Ron Moore resigned over it , had not been an issue of note for " Voyager " , due to that show ' s premise , and despite Altman ' s assessment . Actually , when the new series was announced less than a year later , there were those who feared that the franchise would overstretch itself . When interviewed by " TV Guide " , Altman , even though he was and is a life - long " Star Trek " fan , additionally expressed his great doubt and was not convinced of the viability of the franchise when a fifth , prequel series was announced , what eventually was to become " Enterprise " , being on record as having stated , " " People are sick of " Star Trek " . But rather than give the franchise a rest and re - launch in a few years when fervor has built again , Paramount is going to run it into the ground until it ' s dead . " " He was not alone in this assessment as " Star Trek " legend Robert Justman had in effect already voiced similar concerns earlier , in regard to " Voyager " ; " ( . . . ) " less is more , " " stated Justman , " " I think the show has been flogged unmercifully and its going to rebound . The reaction is essentially going to be a negative reaction . If it is around in another 30 years , I don ' t think it ' s going to resemble what it has been in the past . " " Events however , would prove them largely right , and Braga came to concur with them to a large extent in later years , " Star Trek " was wearing out its welcome . Rick Berman didn ' t want to make a show so soon but Paramount [ Television ] did . I think it was too soon for another show . It was a quality show , but the ratings weren ' t really what they should be . And I don ' t think the network – the new regime [ at UPN ] – I don ’ t think they treated the show with the tender loving care that it needed to thrive . " " With the additional failure of ( on which Braga had not worked incidentally , he deciding to focus all his energy on the television show , just as he had done with the prior one ) at the box office in , outspoken critics vehemently clamored for the removal of the " current leadership of the franchise from their positions , including Rick Berman , Brannon Braga , and their entire staff " . At the end of the third season of " Enterprise " , Paramount and UPN indicated its cancellation and the apparent end of Berman ' s tenure as the overseer of " Star Trek " productions . Whether or not influenced by the vocal criticism , and though retaining their official credit , both men were indeed essentially relegated to the role of figureheads by franchise management at the end of the third season , their relinquished places " de facto " filled for the remaining season by Manny Coto and Mike Sussman , under whose tenure as show runners much of the perceived continuity violations was redressed , aided by writers such as Judith & Garfield Reeves - Stevens , who , like them , had an equally thorough understanding of the original " Star Trek " - mythology . Candidly admitting to his reduced role , Braga has outlined his scaled - down responsibilities for the last season , " " I was indeed involved in Ent - season4 . But only in a supervisory capacity . Manny was really running that writing staff . I was there to help him fashion stories and give notes , which was only part of the time because Manny was doing an amazing job . I rewrote an episode called I believe . No offense to the credited writer " [ note : the Reeves - Stevens ' ] " . It just needed work and I was happy to help Manny out . " " While the season as a whole was generally very well received by the fans – though it did not save the series , as its cancellation had already been decided upon – both Berman and Braga yet again took firmly hold of the reins when it came to producing the last episode , , also turning out to be the very last of the entire television franchise for the time being . Intended to be " a valentine to all the " Star Trek " shows " , as Braga had put it in 2007 at the below - mentioned VegasCon , the well - meant intention was again met with intense criticism , again resulting in a violent backlash from production staffers and fans alike , causing Berman to admit years later , " " I would have never done it if I had known how people were going to react . " " In 2013 , Braga made the even more unusual , but equally magnanimous , gesture of prostration by openly apologizing for the episode to cast and crew of " Enterprise " , conceding that he and Berman had made a " narcissistic move " in trying to make the episode a " valentine " to " Star Trek " . He also called it " a crappy episode " ( ENT Season 2 Blu - ray - special feature , " " ) , and " an idiotic move on my part " in 2014 , having caused " ( . . . ) the only time Scott Bakula got pissed off at me " . Actually , and contrary to former partner Berman – with whom Braga has had no contact for seven years after the series had wrapped ( " " ) – Braga had already shown real character , when he made a personal appearance at the August 2007 VegasCon , opening himself up for up - close - and - personal scrutiny by the fans . " " To those who comment " it took guts " to get on that stage : yes , I was nervous as hell . Because as you point out , I had no clue what the reaction would be , " " Braga conceded , " " But I was prepared to handle it no matter what . And to my relief , the audience could not have been more gracious " " . With the most vehement passions subsided over time and discussions being waged in a more civilized manner , a relieved Braga continued to chime on the blog covering his VegasCon appearance at for the remainder of the month , clarifying issues which had not been addressed during his live - performance as well as discussing his other " Star Trek " work . On that occasion Braga lauded the efforts of Coto and Sussman for the fourth season of " Enterprise " , " " I thought Manny Coto did a great job . One could argue that " Enterprise " might have been that from the beginning . When I was seeing what Manny was doing it was like " you know what ? Maybe this should have been the show from the start " , " " having added , " " If " Enterprise " had continued , we would have kept going with Manny Coto ' s unique vision of the show . " " Aside from the " canon violation " allegations , the writing staff , including Braga , were also facing unrelated allegations of sexism , or rather sexist attitudes , exhibited in " Enterprise " at the time , which actually were already leveled against them with the introduction of the Seven of Nine character in " Voyager " . In regard to Seven of Nine , Braga has commented , " " To me , Seven of Nine added a nice touch of magic that the show needed at the time . The fact that she was a beautiful woman was just , to me , a benefit . A lot of people thought it was in poor taste that we had a buxom babe , but I ' m like , " " Have you actually watched TOS ? " " That was babes on parade . Kirk would be considered a sex addict by today ' s standards . A certain sensuality has always been at the heart of " Star Trek " . So I ' d dispute that criticism of Seven . I thought the character was a great addition to the show . And it kind of lit a fire under the cast , too . It was very controversial . We got rid of Kes and brought in Seven of Nine , and some people in the cast were upset about it and some thought it was cool , but at the end of the day I think it did all the right things creatively to the show , in my opinion . " " On addressing similar concerns leveled against them in regard to " Enterprise " , Braga has stated , " " I suppose I did ( along with Rick and the other writers ) infuse " Trek " with a few sexual moments over the years . Took a lot of flack for Seven ’ s catsuit . But you know , Roddenberry ' s " Trek " universe had an undercurrent of sexuality . He established it in the original series with episodes like . Orion slave girl s anyone ? " [ note : as a matter of fact reintroduced by Coto in the lauded fourth season , albeit with a twist ] " How about Kirk ' s escapades ? And is the catsuit any more offensive than those miniskirts ? Roddenberry took some criticism for some of this , I realize ; especially for being sexist at times , as in , where he established that women could not command starships . But we always did it in the spirit of fun and exploration . What ' s wrong with Vulcan neuro - pressure , I ask you ? What ' s so insulting about creating moments of physical intimacy for the characters ? " Star Trek " explores all dimensions of humanity , and sexuality is arguably one of the most prominent . I will concede , however , that was a bit " " " [ note : in ] " , " " and pointing out some hypocrisy , " " But then , Trip in his blue underwear didn ' t seem to get a lot of complaints . Just ask Connor Trinneer . Entire websites have been erected in honor of his skivvies . " " Though Braga has conceded that " " [ w ] ould I change anything ? Of course ! Hell , man , if I could travel back to 1999 I would change a lot of things . ( . . . ) There are certain episodes that are really stinky that I wish I hadn ' t done , but how can I go back and change that . There were also episodes that turned out great that we thought were going to be terrible " , " and that the series " ( . . ) " needed Manny Coto . I wish he had been there since season one . That fourth season should have been the first season . It was really what the show was always supposed to be and I didn ' t until Manny came in and put his imprint on it " , " he remained steadfast in his pride and defense of the series as a whole . He took exception to the persistent " violations in established continuity " allegations , " " Contrary to some people ' s opinions we paid very close attention to continuity . There has always been a perception that we spit in the face of " Star Trek " canon and nothing could be further from the truth . " " Sources of pride for him were the episodes , ( for its AIDS allegory theme ) , as well as the entire third season Xindi story line , having called it " ( . . . ) really cool , ( . . . ) a science fiction concept I ' d never seen before " . was cited by Braga as his least favorite episode , deeming it too boring . Coda . Once Brannon Braga became a staff writer on " Star Trek " his responsibilities expanded to organizing writing work shops at conventions , and attending story line pitches from aspiring writers . Together with Ronald D . Moore , René Echevarria , and Naren Shankar he became part of a somewhat pampered writer ' s quartet , authors Paula M . Block and Terry J . Erdmann have affectionately dubbed " The Young Guns " in their reference book " " . Being all very young , Braga assumed an attitude and sense of humor that was not always appreciated , and which he himself came to regret in later years , as he related in the 2007 blog session , " " I wish my 15 years on " Trek " had all been smooth - sailing . I wish every day and every episode had gone without a hitch . There are arrogant comments I wish I hadn ' t made in interviews , and in pitch meetings ( as one email points out , and dude , I am sorry for that ) . I don ' t think I ever really grasped how much I would be scrutinized in my position . I learned the hard way . " " The " dude " Braga was apologizing to was an aspiring writer , who , under the blogname " Stefanbkk " , had in the same blog session described a " pitch session from hell " experience to the " Star Trek " producers and writing staff , " I pitched to " Next Gen " , DS9 , and " Voyager " several times during the 90 ' s when I was living in LA trying my hand as a screenwriter . I also had quite regular contact with Brannon , Ron Moore and Lolita Fatjo during that time , as I assisted them doing grunt work at the " Trek " Writers Workshops they did for Creation at conventions . Ron was a great guy , as was Brannon . . . one of the quickest wits of anyone I ' ve ever met . But my opinion of Brannon changed when I pitched to him once for " Voyager " . In the room was Brannon , another writer ( can ' t remember who ) and an intern who was taking notes . I was a pitching a pretty cool Harry Kim story , one in which he had a new love interest . . . the girl character ' s name was Kayla if I remember correctly . Now Brannon knew me , and he knew that I was gay . This had never been an issue before , but on that day things suddenly were different . Although my story had no gay overtones , Brannon was determined to rattle me throughout the entire pitch : As I started to pitch again , I was constantly interrupted with comments meant to shake me up and amuse his cronies in the room : followed by guffaws of laughter . It went on like that throughout the rest of my story pitches that day . I was so shook up when I left that I stopped and talked to Lolita , the script coordinator , and after much coaxing from her , I told her what happened . Well she was so pissed at him , that the next day I got a call from Jeri Taylor , who apologized for him and told me that any future pitches from me who be heard by her directly . I think I went back and pitched to Jeri once after that . But the whole experience just left a really bad taste in my mouth about continuing . So it ' s strange . When I first met Brannon , he was a funny , witty and extremely talented and insightful newcomer to " Next Gen " who was excited about his work and about writing what he and Michael Piller always called " high concept " stories . Then I encountered him again during " Voyager " and saw a completely different guy . . . arrogant , insecure and . . . a bit of an ass . Loved MOST of his work , but in the end , was not too fond of the guy himself . . . Absolute power corrupts absolutely . " Braga ' s acknowledgment of , and apology for the episode was appreciatively accepted by Stefanbkk ; " " You deserved an apology . Just sorry it was a decade late , " " Braga added further down the line . His three main writing collaborators on the " Star Trek " franchise , in chronological order , were Ronald D . Moore , Joe Menosky , and Rick Berman , for the television properties " The Next Generation " , " Voyager " , and " Enterprise " respectively , while the first and the latter were his main writing collaborators for the movie properties " Generations " and " First Contact " . The controversy surrounding " Enterprise " has somewhat overshadowed his previous " Star Trek " work for a time , but as fan reactions on TrekMovie . com have shown , Braga ' s more endearing work for the franchise is in the process of being reaffirmed , as was exemplified by blog master Anthony Pascale who summarized , " " I know that it seems to be some kind of accepted blood sport to rag on Brannon Braga and Rick Berman . However ( as I have noted before ) , Braga was part of some of the best " Trek " ever . Besides the " highs " mentioned above , Braga was behind what are sure to be top episodes in each of the three series he worked on such as TNG ' s , VOY ' s " Year of Hell , " or ENT ' s . I wish many things ( especially with VOY and ENT ) were different ( and apparently he agrees ) , but I also try and look at his career with " Trek " in the context of the full body of work " " . Braga and Berman were rumored to have worked in the early stages on the 2009 movie , , but Braga has since made it clear that his days with the " Star Trek " franchise were over , as he had already indicated at the 2007 VegasCon , declaring it his last " Star Trek " convention appearance . Yet , Braga was unable able to resist the lure of the convention circuit and has since then returned to the circuit , appearing among others at the 2010 and 2014 VegasCons . Despite all the " grief " " Enterprise " had brought him , Braga stated in 2014 , " " I miss " Star Trek " . I didn ' t realize how badly I missed it . It ' s such a great premise . You can do anything you can possibly imagine . It has such a great message . It has such a great feeling . I think one of the reasons I was so passionate about " Cosmos " " [ see below ] " and threw myself so deeply into it was because there was some part of me that missed that " Star Trek " feeling so I channeled some of that into " Cosmos " . " " In 2012 , Braga was given the opportunity to slate his worst " Star Trek " thirst , when he was sought out by publisher IDW Publishing to co - author the four - issue comic book miniseries " " . " " It ' d been a long time since I ' d written " Next Generation " , but the characters came back quickly . I remember , when I was conceiving the story , it just amazed me how fluidly it came back . . . and how much I missed it , " " Braga stated in an interview on the occasion . Much of what Braga has stated on the aforementioned occasions , he reiterated in a lengthy in - depth interview , spread over several special features , specifically produced by Roger Lay , Jr . for the 2013 - 2014 , mentioning in passing that by then his relationship with the fan base had all but been mended . Braga also mentioned that there had been an additional , personal reason for him handing over the reins of " Enterprise " to Manny Coto ; the stress surrounding the production – which included the negative backlash from audiences – of the series had gotten to him , suffering from a severe case of burn - out by the end of season three . Braga also mentioned that it was he who had selected Coto to work on the series during season three after seeing his work on the short - lived science fiction series " Odyssey 5 " , whereas Coto himself divulged that it had been Braga personally who informed him that he had become the show runner for season four . Career outside " Star Trek " . Brannon Braga was born in Bozeman , Montana ( though spending much of his youth in Venice , California , followed by Canton , Ohio ) and during his stay on the " Star Trek " franchise has frequently slipped references to his place of birth into episodes and films he has written ( see , Eli Hollander , Gallatin ) . He studied Theater Arts and Filmmaking at Kent State University and The University of California . He received the aforementioned Academy of Television Arts and Sciences Writing Internship in 1990 . An atheist , he has suggested " Star Trek " as an " atheistic mythology . " During his stay on the " Star Trek " franchise , Braga made one contribution to a non - " Star Trek " production , when he co - wrote a first draft for the 2000 theatrical feature " Mission : Impossible II " ( which was rapidly becoming a hugely successful , reemerging " " franchise for Paramount Pictures – " see also Paramount Pictures : Footnote 8 " ) , once again in collaboration with Ron D . Moore . After his tenure on the " Star Trek " franchise ended , Braga worked on various other television projects . In 2005 , he was the executive producer of the CBS science fiction series " Threshold " ( co - starring Brent Spiner ) , which was canceled after thirteen episodes ( of which only nine were aired ) . Braga also wrote the first two episodes of the series . In 2009 , Braga co - created the series , where he also served as executive producer and wrote the first two episodes . In 2012 , he served as executive producer and writer on " Terra Nova " , a science fiction action series , reuniting him with René Echevarria and April Rossi . Both shows were canceled after one season , though " FlashForward " s episode " No More Good Days " netted him an additional 2010 Hugo Award nomination . From 2009 - 2010 , Braga worked on FOX ' s hit series " 24 " , as a writer and Executive Producer , working alongside former Enterprise writer / producer Manny Coto on several scripts . He is also credited for the television film " 24 : Redemption " as co - executive producer . " Star Trek : The Next Generation – Hive " had not been Braga ' s first foray into the world of comics ; in the same period he co - authored the four - issue 2010 miniseries " Iron Man vs . Whiplash " for Marvel Comics . Braga ' s more recent work is credited as Executive Producer and Director for the 2014 docu - series " Cosmos : A Spacetime Odyssey " , the successor to Carl Sagan ' s 1980 series " Cosmos : A Personal Voyage " . As he had explained above , he approached this project with a particular zeal , and it did net him no less than five 2014 - 2015 award nominations , one of which , a 2015 PGA Award , won , and most of them shared with Seth MacFarlane , who served as one of the series ' executive producers . Braga has subsequently started work as an executive producer on the 2014 fantasy television series " Salem " , which he had co - created . As of 2017 , Braga has been working as Executive Producer and occasional Director on the Sci - fi series , " The Orville " . The series is about space exploration set similarly to " Star Trek " from Seth MacFarlane , the creator of " Family Guy " and Rivers on " Enterprise " . The show contains comedy elements and has been described by some sources an homage to the " Star Trek " franchise , though Braga himself states the series " is aiming to tell stories that ride the line between drama and comedy , with an eye toward earnestness . " " Star Trek " awards . For his work on " Star Trek " Braga received the following awards and nominations in the various writing categories . Emmy Award . Braga received the following Emmy Award nomination in the category " Outstanding Drama Series " : Hugo Awards . Braga received the following Hugo Award and nominations in the category Best Dramatic Presentation Saturn Award . Braga received the following Saturn Award nomination in the category Best Writer Universe Reader ' s Choice Award . Braga received the following Universe Reader ' s Choice Award in the category Best Writing for a Genre Motion Picture