Jeri Taylor Co-Creator of Star Trek: Voyager Passes Away Aged 86

Jeri Taylor, one of the co-creator’s of the series ‘Star Trek: Voyager’ has passed away aged 86.

She was also an executive producer on ‘Star Trek: The Next Generation’, which along with ‘Voyager’ was highly beloved by fans.  

Taylor was born on June 30, 1938, and first got her start in television by writing scripts for ‘Little House on the Prairie’ and ‘The Incredible Hulk’. 

Her skills would continue to develop as she would later produce episodes of ‘Quincy, ‘M.E.’ and ‘Jake and the Fatman’

Taylor was recommended to the ‘The Next Generation’ producers because of her work, and she joined during season four of the show as a supervising producer. 

She climbed the ranks during following seasons, being promoted to executive producer alongside Rick Berman and Michael Piller, and even become showrunner for the final season of the show, season seven. 

Taylor was responsible for writing Wesley Crusher’s, played by Will Wheaton, final appearance as a series regular, and the episode ‘The Wounded’, which saw the first appearance of the ‘Star Trek’ faction known as the Cardassians, who became a prominent faction in ‘Star Trek: Deep Space Nine’ and the wider franchise.  

This work was followed by Taylor joining Berman and Piller to develop ‘Voyager’, which would launch in 1995 and would continue for seven seasons, culminating in 2001. 

Taylor would executive produce the show for four seasons and became showrunner for seasons three and four, before stepping down and acting as a consulant to her successor, Brannon Braga.

Taylor also contributed to the ‘Star Trek’ universe in other ways, writing three novels – a novelisation of ‘The Next Generation’ episode ‘Unification’, the 1996 ‘Voyager’ prequel titled ‘Mosaic’, and 1998’s ‘Pathways’, which sees the crew of USS Voyager being captured by an alien race and separated from Captain Janeway.

Braga posted a tribute to her mentor on Instagram, saying “Jeri Taylor died. She was a great writer and showrunner and, to me, a cherished mentor. Jeri was generous with her wisdom and her time, she nurtured an entire staff of young writers which is a testament to her patience. I would not have a career without Jeri’s intricate guidance. 

“She taught us all so much. Her memory will live on in many ways, but perhaps most of all in the character of Captain Janeway, who reflected the best dimensions of Jeri herself. Jeri Taylor, we were lucky to know you.” 

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