Jeri Taylor

American screenwriter (1938–2024)

Jeri Taylor

Born|

Jeri Ceclile Suer

(1938-06-30)June 30, 1938

Evansville, Indiana, U.S.

Died| October 24, 2024(2024-10-24) (aged 86)

Davis, California, U.S.

Alma mater| Indiana University Bloomington
Cal State Northridge
Occupations|

* Television scriptwriter
* producer

Known for| Star Trek: The Next Generation
Star Trek: Voyager
Spouses|

Dick Enberg

(m. 1963; div. 1973)​

David Moessinger

(m. 1986)​

Children| 3, including Alexander Enberg

Jeri Cecile Suer (June 30, 1938 – October 24, 2024), known professionally as Jeri Taylor,[1][2] was an American television scriptwriter and producer who wrote many episodes of the Star Trek: The Next Generation and Star Trek: Voyager series.[3][4]

## Early life

[edit]

Jeri Cecile Suer was born in Evansville, Indiana, on June 30, 1938.[5] She attended Indiana University Bloomington,[6] where she was a member of Kappa Alpha Theta. Taylor also received her M.A. in English from California State University, Northridge in 1966.[6]

## Star Trek screenwriting

[edit]

Taylor wrote scripts for television series like Little House on the Prairie and The Incredible Hulk, then served as a producer and director on Quincy, M.E. and Jake and the Fatman.[6] While working on Jake and the Fatman, Taylor and her producer partner David Moessinger hired J. Michael Straczynski (who would later go on to create Babylon 5) as an executive story consultant, giving him his first experience working on an hour-long show.[7] Taylor was recommended to the producers of Star Trek: The Next Generation by Lee Sheldon, with whom she had worked on Quincy.[8][9]

Taylor joined The Next Generation staff at the beginning of the fourth season as a supervising producer, co-writing the second episode to go into production, "Suddenly Human".[8] After two years, Taylor became co-executive producer with Rick Berman and Michael Piller and served as executive producer/showrunner for the (final) seventh season of The Next Generation.[6][8] During this time, she received credit on a number of episodes, including Wil Wheaton's final episode as a regular character, "Final Mission";[8] the episode that introduced the Cardassian race, which featured heavily in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, "The Wounded";[8] the first of a two part episode featuring Spock, "Unification",[8] and the script she has said she was most proud of, "The Drumhead".[8]

During the last year of The Next Generation, Taylor worked with Rick Berman and Michael Piller to develop the fourth Star Trek series, Star Trek: Voyager.[6] When The Next Generation production ended, Taylor transferred to the Voyager production staff and served as executive producer with Rick Berman during the first four years. At the beginning of the third season, when Piller moved to a reduced creative consultant role, Taylor became head of the writing staff (showrunner) and stayed in that role until the end of the fourth season in 1998, when she retired and handed over control of the writing staff to Brannon Braga. Despite retiring, she continued to work with the Voyager team as creative consultant during the show's last three seasons.[10]

During her time on The Next Generation and Voyager, Taylor wrote three Star Trek novels for Pocket Books: a novelisation of "Unification" that she wrote at the same time she was scripting its first part,[8] and two Voyager novels that expanded on the background of the characters she had helped create for the series.

Between the years 1995 to 1998, Taylor gave the Indiana University Lilly Library a collection of her screenwriting work including outlines, scripts for the Next Generation series and for the first two Voyager seasons, technical notes, cast lists, and shooting schedules for the final season of The Next Generation (1993–1994), casting call sheets and research notes for Voyager (1994–1996). Some of the outlines, technical notes, and lists contain Taylor's handwritten changes and comments.[11]

## Death

[edit]

Taylor died at an assisted living facility in Davis, California, on October 24, 2024, at the age of 86.[12][13]

## Bibliography

[edit]

* Taylor, Jeri (1991). Unification. Pocket Books. ISBN 0-671-77056-X.
* Taylor, Jeri (1996). Mosaic. Pocket Books. ISBN 0-671-56311-4.
* Taylor, Jeri (1998). Pathways. Pocket Books. ISBN 0-671-00346-1.

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "Remembering Jeri Taylor, 1938–2024". www.startrek.com. October 25, 2024. Retrieved October 27, 2024.
2. ^ "Today in Star Trek history: Producer Jeri Taylor was born (1938)". www.dailystartreknews.com. June 30, 2021. Retrieved October 27, 2024.
3. ^ "'Star Trek: Voyager' Co-Creator Jeri Taylor Has Passed Away". TrekMovie.com. Retrieved October 27, 2024.
4. ^ Staff, TrekCore (October 25, 2024). "STAR TREK: VOYAGER Co-Creator Jeri Taylor Dead at 86". blog.trekcore.com. Retrieved October 27, 2024.
5. ^ Betancourt, Emiliana (October 27, 2024). "Jeri Taylor, 'Star Trek: Voyager' Co-Creator and Showrunner, Dies at 86". Variety. Retrieved October 31, 2024.
6. ^ a b c d e "Taylor". StarTrek.com. Archived from the original on July 29, 2010. Retrieved December 15, 2021.
7. ^ J Michael Straczynski (July 23, 2019). Becoming Superman. HarperCollins. ISBN 978-0-06-285785-9.
8. ^ a b c d e f g h Nemecek, Larry (2003). Star Trek: The Next Generation: Companion. Pocket Books. ISBN 0-7434-5798-6.
9. ^ Spelling, Ian (January 23, 1994). "Jeri Taylor guides 'Next Generation'". Newspapers.com. Longview News-Journal from Longview, Texas. p. 58. Retrieved February 13, 2020.
10. ^ https://blogs.libraries.indiana.edu/lilly/2025/05/05/a-woman-among-the-stars-celebrating-the-life-and-career-of-jeri-taylor/#:~:text=For Star Trek,in the show.
11. ^ "Taylor, J. mss., 1975–1996". Archives Online at Indiana University. Retrieved December 15, 2021.
12. ^ Aguilar, Matthew (October 25, 2024). "Jeri Taylor, Star Trek: Voyager Co-Creator, Dies at 86". Comicbook. Retrieved October 25, 2024.
13. ^ Oganesyan, Natalie (October 26, 2024). "Jeri Taylor Dies: Emmy-Nominated 'Star Trek: The Next Generation' Writer-Producer Was 86". Deadline. Retrieved October 27, 2024.

## External links

[edit]

*   * Jeri Taylor at Memory Alpha
* Jeri Taylor at IMDb
* Jeri Taylor at the Internet Speculative Fiction Database
* Jeri Taylor discography at Discogs

Authority control databases

International|

* ISNI
* VIAF
* FAST
* WorldCat

National|

* United States
* France
* BnF data
* Italy
* Czech Republic
* Israel

Other|

* IdRef
* SNAC
* Yale LUX

*[m.]: married
*[div.]: divorced