Was accurate science and technical advisers an important part of The Next Generation?

I think not only had science become important but the audience had become so much more sophisticated. They�d tape the show and make sure that we�re saying something that is at least reasonably accurate or appropriate. We always trusted that someone had done the research before they got to us.

I never met any technical advisers. I know that they exist. I know that the first draft of the scripts always had lines with parentheses around the word �tech�, and the next draft would have those tech lines filled in with something that became �Pillar-filler�, technobabble or gobbledegook.

I was thrilled that the technobabble usually went to the very talented lips of Brent Spiner, LeVar Burton or Patrick. I mostly asked the questions and they had to come up along with the answers.