RIP Ruth Roberts—and why she's more to us than a songwriter

We don't call this blog "Trekland" for nothing—in the end, amid all the fun stuff and funky facts, at heart it's all about the family with a Star Trek connection.

Today we got word of the passing of someone Trek fans may not recognize—unless you're a Mets fan, too!—but she had a pretty big hand in giving us everything from Locutus of Borg to Buck Bockai. And I just wanted to stop and mark the moment.

I'm talking about Ruth Roberts, 84, whose sizeable obituary in the New York Times actually cited her for her songwriting career, topped perhaps most famously by her co-credit for "Meet the Mets," the official song of that New York City National League baseball team since before its first game in 1963.

But the guy who preserved the wobbly writing of the "new" Star Trek during TNG's third season, allowed fans to submit scripts, hired the likes of youngsters Ron D. Moore, Rene Echevarria, Naren Shankar, Brannon Braga, and Ken Biller ... and yes, they guy who penned "The Best of Both Worlds" cliffhanger that propelled Star Trek to heights akin to Khan in 1982 and reboot Kirk/Spock in 2009 ... that guy, Michael Piller, was her son.

Roberts passed away Thursday of lung cancer at her Bronx home. Michael, ironically, died of cancer in 2005. Read about her life and, as with any parent, you can find out a little of what colored Michael's world—and thus, in turn what colored the universe he helped bring us on screen. It's all about the texture.

And so we remember Ruth Roberts. Even if we're not baseball fans.



But if you are...: