I came across this from Memory Alpha when I was trying to recall the details of how Trek replicators worked: The idea of replicators was unpopular with the wri

I came across this from Memory Alpha when I was trying to recall the details of how Trek replicators worked: The idea of replicators was unpopular with the writers of The Next Generation and Deep Space Nine. Ira Steven Behr commented: "I'd like to lose the replicators. They're my least favorite thing in Star Trek. A society that uses replicators is a doomed, finished society." (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Companion) Ronald D. Moore added that "Replicators are the worst thing ever. Destroys storytelling all the time. They mean there's no value to anything. Nothing has value in the universe if you can just replicate everything, so all that goes away. Nothing is unique; if you break something, you can just make another one. If something breaks on the ship, it's "Oh, no big deal, Geordie can just go down to engineering and make another doozywhatsit." Or they go to a planet and that planet needed something: "Oh, hey, let's make them what they need!" We just hated it and tried to forget about it as much as possible." This makes me laugh and cringe at the same time. They were writing for broadcast TV, so they couldn't really dive in and embrace all the implications of Trek's technology. It would be too alien for most viewers. On the other hand, Behr's quote in particular sounds like the antipathy to replicators went beyond the professional pressures the writers were under. It sounds like the preaching of a proud reactionary.