Maurice Hurley facts for kids

Maurice Hurley was an American writer and producer. He was born on August 16, 1939, and passed away on February 24, 2015. He is most famous for his work on the TV show Star Trek: The Next Generation.

Working in Television

In the 1980s, Maurice Hurley wrote for popular TV shows. These included The Equalizer and Miami Vice. He also helped produce some episodes of The Equalizer.

He wrote a movie script called Firebird 2015 AD in 1981. Later, in 2002, he co-wrote the film Groom Lake with actor William Shatner.

Maurice Hurley also helped create the TV show Pointman. He worked on this show with Joel Surnow and Steve Hattman. Joel Surnow later created other well-known shows like 24 and La Femme Nikita. Hurley also worked with Surnow as a writer and producer on some of these shows.

Other TV Shows

Hurley wrote and produced episodes for many other TV series. These included Baywatch, Baywatch Nights, Kung Fu: The Legend Continues, and Diagnosis: Murder.

Star Trek: The Next Generation

Maurice Hurley played a very important role in the early days of Star Trek: The Next Generation. He was the first head writer and showrunner for the series. A showrunner is like the main boss who oversees everything.

Hurley introduced many creative ideas that are now famous parts of the Star Trek universe. One of his most notable contributions was creating the Borg. The Borg are a powerful alien group that became major villains in the series.

Changes in the Cast

During his time on the show, there were some changes to the cast. At the end of the first season, Gates McFadden, who played Dr. Beverly Crusher, left the show. Some people thought Hurley was responsible for this.

Executive producer Rick Berman later said that Hurley "had a real bone to pick" with McFadden. This means Hurley had a strong dislike for her acting. Hurley left the series after its second season. This allowed Rick Berman to bring Gates McFadden back to the show. Her replacement, Diana Muldaur, then left. Maurice Hurley was replaced by Michael I. Wagner for a short time, and then by Michael Piller.

Writing for Star Trek Movies

In 1993, Maurice Hurley briefly returned to the Star Trek world. Rick Berman asked him to write an early draft for the first Next Generation movie. This film was called Star Trek Generations. The movie was meant to connect the original Star Trek crew with the new Next Generation crew.

Hurley's story idea involved James T. Kirk somehow traveling into the future. In his story, Kirk would appear on the holodeck and work with Jean-Luc Picard. They would solve a problem involving aliens from another dimension. However, Rick Berman eventually chose a different script idea. This idea was proposed by Ronald D. Moore and Brannon Braga.