Robert Justman is a name well-known to the world of Star Trek. He was the associate producer of Star Trek: The Original Series for its first two seasons then was promoted to co-producer for the third season. He ended up resigning, though, because he wasn’t happy with the way things were going. When Gene Roddenberry had the idea for Star Trek: Phase II, Justman wasn’t inivted to particpate, which surprised him, accoridng to Star Trek All Good Things: A Next Generation Companion.
Justman did end up returning to the franchise for Star Trek: The Next Generation, and according to an old interview, he created the back stories for both Captain Picard (Patrick Stewart) and Dr. Crusher (Gates McFadden). He was responsible for the history between them and for Worf’s presence aboard the Enterprise as, initially, Roddenberry didn’t want a Klingon aboard the ship. Thankfully,Justman was able to talk Roddenberry into it.
Needless to say, Justman gave a lot to Star Trek, and Roddenberry supposedly acknowledged that through his business manager and attorney, Leonard Maizlish. Justman revealed in an interview that Maizlish came to him to acknowledge his contribution to Star Trek: The Next Generation, telling him they appreciated everything he’d done for the show before adding “we’re going to see to it that you get a piece of the show.” That never happened, and, at the time of the interview, Justman said he was still waiting for that piece.
Whether or not Justman was supposed to get a part of The Next Generation, he did make major contributions to the franchise, and though he never owned part of any Trek series, he will forever be associated with Star Trek. In 1996, he, along with Herb Solow, wrote “Inside Star Trek: The Real Story,” which detailed the making of Star Trek from the point of view of those who knew it best.
