"Blood and Fire" is an episode written by David Gerrold for possible use on Star Trek: The Next Generation. The script was commissioned and written, but never actually filmed. According to Gerrold, some of the production staff, including Rick Berman, had a negative reaction to its positive depiction of an openly gay couple. Herbert Wright rewrote the script under the name "Blood and Ice", which also was left unproduced.
Contents
It was eventually adapted by Gerrold into a standalone novel and later filmed as an episode of the fan- series Star Trek: New Voyages.
Plot
In the original script, the crew of the Enterprise-D came upon a derelict spaceship whose crew had all been killed off by Regulan bloodworms. Since these creatures are highly dangerous and can kill within hours, any ship or space station found to be infested with bloodworms must be sterilized and/or destroyed, as per Starfleet orders. The concept of Regulan bloodworms, mentioned in dialogue in the original Star Trek series (but never actually explained until this episode), was intended to be a metaphor for the public's fear of AIDS. Gerrold has since said that he also intended the episode to specifically address the public's fear of donating blood, and that he wanted to include a title card encouraging viewers to donate blood via the Red Cross.
Legacy
This episode was noted for its inclusion of two openly homosexual crew members, which would have been a first in Star Trek history. Years later, an AIDS allegory would later be included in the Star Trek: Enterprise episode "Stigma".
Filmed as an episode of Star Trek: New Voyages
With Gerrold's permission, Carlos Pedraza rewrote "Blood and Fire" for the fan series Star Trek: New Voyages. Gerrold did a final draft polish and also directed the two-part episode totalling 98 minutes.