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Captain Liam Shaw [Todd Stashwick] went from being a disliked captain who opposed Admiral Picard [Patrick Stewart] and Captain Riker [Jonathan Frakes] at every move and refused to acknowledge Seven of Nine {Jeri Ryan} by her preferred name. He was sarcastic and cold and didn't endear himself to any fans...at first. Over the course of the brief season of Star Trek: Picard, Shaw was redeemed and even handed over the reins of the Titan to Seven of Nine and recommended her to be promoted to captain. His redemption arc was well-played in so few episodes. Unfortunately, Captain Shaw was killed before the season ended, and while Terry Matalas and Stashwick have discussed ways to bring the captain back, it looks like it won't happen unless Star Trek: Legacy gets greenlit.

But there are other ways the franchise could reintroduce this incredible character even without Legacy. Holograms never go out of style on Star Trek,...

Fans are anxiously awaiting the premiere of the third season of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds even though, once the season starts, it will be over far too soon. We've already gotten a glimpse of comedy with Captain Pike {Anson Mount] and some of his crew members being changed into Vulcans, and most recently, we saw a brief teaser from the first episode of the season that picks up with the Enterprise crew still battling the Gorn. But there is much more in store for us according to Henry Alonso Meyers who appeared with Ethan Peck, Akiva Goldsman, and Carol Kane at a panel at New York Comic Con. [via Gamerant]

When asked to describe the third season using only three words, Alonso Meyers' replied with "dancing, murder, and surprise." Now, we already know there's going to be a Hollywood murder mystery according to Jonathan Frakes who directed the episode and...

It's beginning to look a lot like the most wonderful time of the year, and Netflix is pulling out all the stops to ensure that's especially true this year. The streaming begins rolling out its new roster of Christmas romantic comedies starring the likes of Lindsay Lohan, Lacey Chabert, and Chad Michael Murray, but Netflix has a few more tricks up its sleeve, er, stocking.

In addition to launching four brand-new Christmas romantic comedies, Netflix announced on Oct. 28 that 10 fan-favorite Hallmark Channel original movies would begin streaming in the United States on Nov. 1. That's such a special treat for fans of the cable network's seasonal offerings, who will now be able to watch their favorite movies any time on Netflix over and over this holiday season.

If you're a Hallmark Channel devotee, you probably have already watched all 10 of these movies making their way to Netflix US in November. However,...

It seems like everyone has a podcast these days. We have Deep Space Nine's Cirroc Lofton's 7th Rule podcast, The Delta Flyers', hosted by Voyager stars Garrett Wang and Robert Duncan McNeil. There's also the D-Con Chamber podcast, hosted by Enterprise stars Dominic Keating and Connor Trinneer. There's a podcast for everyone and thanks to Gates McFadden, that remains true.

Each of the above podcasts serve a unique purpose. The 7th Rule talks a lot about Deep Space Nine, among other current Trek-topics. The Delta Flyers was an episode review podcast built around Voyager but shifted ears to Deep Space Nine after Voyager ended. The D-Con Chamber podcast focuses more on Star Trek stars, while being morer of a "late-night show" for Trek fans.

For McFadden, her InvestiGates podcast focuses less on Star Trek and more on the people who make Star Trek possible. Over the years, she's...

Some people are just defined by the genre they perform in. Scott Bakula and William Shatner fit that description to a "T." They're synonymous with the world of sci-fi, and they're not the only ones. Famous names like Sigourney Weaver, Mark Hamil, and others have the careers they do, in part, due to their appreciation for sci-fi.

Another name that belongs with the Bakula's of the world is that of Katee Sackhoff. Most known recently for Star Wars, where she played Bo-Katan Kryze, she rose to fame with her involvement with the 2004 remake of Battlestar Galactica.

She played a gender-swapped version of Starbuck, now known as Kara Thrace (previously just Starbuck). She added depth, intrigue and uniquness to the role that the original character lacked. Being a byproduct of the 1970s, all the original Starbuck did was smoke, womanize and fight Cylons. Thanks to Sackhoff, the new Starbuck was a much deeper character.

On Facebook, longtime "Star Trek" production designers Mike and Denise Okuda announced the passing of Jeri Taylor. She was 88.

Jeri Taylor was one of the key producers and writers throughout the 1990s "Star Trek" heyday, having joined the staff of "Star Trek: The Next Generation" in its fourth season. Trekkies will tell you that "Next Generation," having already hit its stride, broke into a sprint in its fourth season, producing multiple capital-g great episodes at that time. Taylor's impeccable writing contributions to "Next Generation" were so widely recognized that she was promoted to the role of co-executive producer of the series in its sixth season, overseeing most of the production alongside head honchos Rick Berman and Michael Piller. In the show's seventh season, Taylor became the full-bore showrunner.

Taylor wrote multiple scripts for "Next Generation" and is credited for co-creating the Cardassians, a fascistic species that would go on to...

For three decades the story of stone creatures come to life has both entertained and fascinated viewers. Originally airing on a program block associated with light hearted children’s entertainment showed that animation could be much more than just “kids stuff”. Let us revisit the mysterious and enchanted world of Disney’s Gargoyles.

Created by producer Greg Wiseman, the series stood out against its contemporaries at the Disney Afternoon program block. Unlike other shows focused on gags and slapstick comedy, Gargoyles took a darker and more episodic approach similar to Batman: The Animated Series, which aired around the same time.

The series saw a group of Gargoyles who had been frozen for millennia awaken in New York City. They decide to make the city their new home and defend it from various threats.

They are led by Goliath (Keith David) with the rest of the clan being named after various...

This article contains mild spoilers for "Star Trek: Lower Decks" season 5.

In "Star Trek: Lower Decks" season 5, episode 2, "Shades of Green" (October 24, 2024), Lieutenant Boimler (Jack Quaid) has been assigned to command a team of ensigns as they collect and dispose of all the physical money on the planet Targalus IX. The planet recently acquired replicators and transporters, instantly pushing it into a post-scarcity utopia. Boimler and his fellow Starfleet officers are pleased to help, as the Federation has always been a post-capitalist society.

In a not-very-surprising wrinkle, though, not all the Targalians are happy with the change. Many of the once-rich are resentful that the fall of the plutocratic system robbed them of their influence in the world. As a result, some Targalian separatists kidnap Boimler's team and cease their money destruction. The kidnapping was poorly timed, however, as Boimler, making a bold and uncharacteristic command decision, let his team...

Sci-fi fans will certainly know the name of Katee Sackhoff, a very popular television actress who has appeared in numerous roles in sci-fi series, both in live-action and animated formats.

Most recently, fans could see her as Bo-Katan Kryze in The Mandalorian, a hit series that is a spin-off from the Star Wars franchise.

But, her roles are numerous. Older fans will probably remember her from Battlestar Galactica, where she played Lieutenant Kara “Starbuck” Thrace, and she has also appeared in numerous voice roles in DC’s projects, like Batman: The Long Halloween or Watchmen. She also appeared in The Flash, Futurama, Star Wars: Rebels, and others.

Yet, there is one major franchise Sackhoff still hasn’t appeared in – Star Trek – and in a recent interview, the actress was asked whether she would actually like to join the franchise in some capacity. If you want to know what the actress said about the proposal,...

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When production began on Stuart Baird's "Star Trek: Nemesis," everyone knew it was going to be the final cinematic outing for the cast of "Star Trek: The Next Generation." The film is full of giant, dramatic changes for its characters and features multiple fond farewells. It even opens with the marriage of Will Riker (Jonathan Frakes) and Deanna Troi (Marina Sirtis), a romantic consummation that had been dangling over the franchise since 1987. Riker also, at long last, accepted a captaincy of his own, taking command of the U.S.S. Titan. "Nemesis" was going to dramatize Riker's final mission as first officer of a ship called the Enterprise.

The ending of "Nemesis" was dramatic and tragic. Captain Picard (Patrick Stewart) was stranded on board a Romulan vessel and the Enterprise, pummeled in battle, was about to be destroyed. Data...

Star Trek will soon have new owners once the merger involving Skydance is complete. Once that happens, there likely be a huge turnover in personnel across the board, and new people will be put into place to oversee new projects, films, and shows. That means that Star Trek could very possibly find themselves with a new voice.

To be clear, that's not likely to happen. It doesn't mean that it won't, however. Especially with the up-and-down reception of the Star Trek brand as of late. While Skydance owner David Ellison has had dealings with the crew who produce Star Trek, that doesn't mean that's entirely sold on them staying with the brand.

After all, Paramount+ has canceled all but two Star Trek shows due to rising costs and declining interest from the general public. That's why the new idea is to focus on just one or two shows at a...

Though I’m more of a casual Trekkie, something about Star Trek Lower Decks really clicked with me. I admittedly slept on it for a few years, but after finally giving it a chance, I immediately fell in love with its charming cast of scrappy underdogs, witty humor, and inventive sci-fi storytelling. Just my luck that I become obsessed with the show right as its coming to an end.

But though this may be the last on-screen adventure for our beloved Lower Deckers, at least for now, I’m happy to report that Season 5 sends them off in style with the kind of intelligence and forward thinking that makes Star Trek so beloved alongside the humor and underdog spirit that sets Lower Decks apart from the crowd. Though bear in mind that this only applies to the first five episodes, as that was what was made available to me at time of writing.

Jodie Foster's career has been famously wild. As a child, she appeared in lightweight Disney films like "Napoleon and Samantha" and "Freaky Friday," while also taking the world by surprise playing an underage sex worker in Martin Scorsese's "Taxi Driver." Throughout the 1980s, she successfully continued acting as she grew, appearing in films like "Foxes," "The Hotel New Hampshire," and "The Accused," for which she won her first Academy Award. In 1991, Foster won her second Oscar for playing FBI cadet Clarice Starling in Jonathan Demme's bleak serial killer thriller "The Silence of the Lambs," one of the few films to win "The Big Five" Oscars. That same year, Foster made her directorial debut with the child-prodigy drama "Little Man Tate."

From then on, Foster was a Hollywood staple, leading multiple high-profile studio dramas like "Maverick," Robert Zemeckis' "Contact," and "Anna and the King." She also worked with...

The "Star Trek: The Next Generation" episode "Cause and Effect" opens with the Enterprise-d facing a catastrophe. The episode fades up, and the ship is already severely damaged. Casualty reports are coming in! Everything is failing! We are venting drive plasma! All hands to emergency escape pods! We are losing antimatter containment! Core breach is imminent! Just as Captain Picard (Patrick Stewart) gives the command to abandon ship, the ship explodes, killing everyone on board. Then the opening credits roll. It's perhaps the most eye-grabbing start to any episode of "Star Trek." 

As the episode progresses, though, viewers soon get to know the gist of the episode. The first act sees the Enterprise restored, sailing merrily through space as if nothing happened. At the end of the first act, the ship collides with another starship that seeming appeared out of nowhere. The disaster happens a second time, and audiences see...

Patrick Stewart has been one of the faces of the Star Trek franchise for decades. Taking over the reins as the franchise's face from William Shatner, Stewart has led his brand of Trek through seven seasons, four movies, and a revival series. He's largely seen as one of the brand's biggest supporters and the focal point for the closeness of the Next Generation cast.

Yet, Stewart often is very critical of the franchise, or at least was. There was a time when Stewart wanted little, if not nothing to do with the franchise. He famously wanted out so badly that at the end of season three, the writers and producers were ready to kill him off at the end of part one of the "Best of Both Worlds" two-parter.

Famously, had Stewart opted to not return for season four, Jonathan Frakes would be seated as the new lead, likely with...

The third and final season of "Star Trek: Picard" ended on a friendly note. Jean-Luc (Patrick Stewart) had rescued his long-lost son Jack (Ed Speleers) from the Borg, and had finally earned a moment with his old co-workers from the Enterprise-d. He hadn't served with them for decades, but he was still close to his old senior staff. He, Riker (Jonathan Frakes), Deanna Troi (Marina Sirtis), Worf (Michael Dorn), Geordi (LeVar Burton), Dr. Crusher (Gates McFadden), and a new fleshy version of Data (Brent Spiner) gathered around a poker table for one final, genial game together. They chatted idly and laughed as friends as the credits began to roll. 

It was implied that the characters would live out the rest of their lives on good terms. Picard was about 100 years old in that third season, so his story may very well be over. He had another adventure, just as he...

Dean Parisot's 1999 sci-fi/comedy "Galaxy Quest" puts an interesting spin on the traditional "Seven Samurai" formula. In Kurosawa's classic, an impoverished village, regularly beset by food-thieving bandits, seeks out an army of samurai protectors to defend them. The villagers, however, have no money, and only manage to attract seven samurai in dire straits of their own. The samurai, however, find a certain kind of weary, bemused nobility in their job, and agree to stage the best possible defense they can.

In Parisot's film, the beleaguered villagers are innocent, defenseless space aliens who are being murdered off by genocidal reptile men. The aliens, called Thermians, travel to Earth looking for brave space-faring heroes to defend them, specifically, they are looking for the stars of "Galaxy Quest," a decades-old "Star Trek"-like sci-fi TV series. The aliens have been watching rogue TV signals for years, and came to assume that "Galaxy Quest" was nonfiction.

No matter who you ask, most fans will tell you that they are largely unsatisfied with the direction of the Star Trek franchise. Whether they're unhappy with the direction of some shows, or the lack of sincerity in others, or even the dark tone that some writers are desperate to "explore", many fans will tell you that the franchise as a whole isn't where it should be.

That's not wholly unfair either, as it's a lack of overall interest in the Star Trek brand that saw a long-awaited show in Star Trek: Section 31, get shrunk down to a single, 90-minute film that went straight to streaming. This isn't a direct shot at the entire franchise, as shows like Star Trek: Strange New Worlds can still pull in the viewers, but they're just about the only ones.

No other show has been able to pull in viewers, routinely, across 10 weeks.

Kelsey Grammer is one of those few major names that Star Trek was able to get, that even to this day, doesn't make sense. Grammer is a huge name and has been a featured player on Cheers, and later starred on his own hit show Frasier. He's been in many movies with most of us remembering him as his turn on X-Men 3: The Last Stand, where he played Henry McCoy, aka Beast.

Arguably the best part about that film. He's largely been known for his more sophisticated roles. The world of sci-fi hasn't snarred him in its web just yet. Maybe it never truly will but for one episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation, the series had the famed Dr. Frasier Crane.

In season five, episode 18, really did wonders for the optics of Star Trek from the larger acting community and others would appear who were once thought ungetable.

Star Trek is one of those shows that knows not to mess with a good thing. Usually, quite often the franchise will set up it's premise for a series and adhere to it. The original show had a five-year mission, Deep Space Nine was set on a space station, Voyager was in the Delta Quadrant, and Quark was a mischievous rascal. These were constants that never changed.

Yet, sometimes the formula was put to the test. Star Trek: The Next Generation was set to have Jonathan Frakes and his character Will Riker take over as series lead following the conclusion of season three. With Patrick Stewart waffling about returning, and a perfect exit point featuring The Borg, stars alignd to shift focus.

That was not to be, however, as Stewart and his character Jean-Luc Picard both returned to the fold for season four. Yet, that wasn't the only time a...

Sir Patrick Stewart is one of the few Star Trek leads to not direct a film in the sci-fi franchise. While his other colleagues like William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, and Jonathan Frakes have helmed original films from their own series, Stewart has only stuck to directing a few episodes of The Next Generation and acting.

The actor mentioned that he was never interested in directing a film, even though the prospect had come up once. He mentioned that he did not like to think of scope and scale when it came to movies and preferred directing episodes over a film. He also mentioned that he hated watching his performances in the episodes he helmed.

Patrick Stewart Wanted To Cut Down On His Scenes In A Few Star Trek: The Next Generation Episodes Patrick Stewart in Star Trek: Picard | Credits: Paramount

Patrick Stewart played Captain Jean-Luc Picard for seven years. When...

Cast members from various Star Trek series will gather next week for an in-person and livestream fundraiser for Crooked Media’s Vote Save America.

Per organizers, those participating include Jonathan Frakes, Gates McFadden, Wil Wheaton, Jonathan Del Arco, Jeri Ryan, Rosalind Chao, Tawny Newsome, Eugene Cordero, and Noël Wells. Also expected: Mike McMahan, writer and producer of Star Trek: Lower Decks. The event will be hosted by Pod Save America’s Jon Lovett and Trek’s and the City’s Alice Wetterlund.

The event will take place at 4 p.m. Pt on Oct. 2 at a venue in Los Angeles and via livestream.

The proceeds will go to Vote Save America, which raises money for down-ballot races, state-level grassroots organizations and voter protection efforts. Tickets start at $10 per person for the livestream and $150 per person for the in-person event.

The event is the latest fundraising effort for Harris and Democrats tied to fandom.

Star Trek has had numerous alien races onboard its series and in its movies, and some of the actors portraying these characters require more time in the make-up chair than others. Jonathan Frakes, who played Commander Riker on Star Trek: The Next Generation acknowledged at a ComicBook fundraiser that he was fortunate to play a human on the show as it saved him a lot of time. [via Looper}

When the day of filming was over, Frakes and Patrick Stewart [Captain Picard] could head out for a drink while both Michael Dorn [Worf] and Brent Spiner [Data] were stuck in the makeup chairs getting prosthetics removed and gold paint washed off. Then there were the women who had to get their wigs off. Frakes pointed out that people playing aliens had to arrive on set at least four hours earlier and stay at least an hour and a half later after everyone else was done with their time on set.

For many, the characters of Wesley Crusher and Jean-Luc Picard will forever be intertwined to some degree. Picard, the captain of the U.S.S. Enterprise-d stood tall among his peers and garnered admiration from everyone, from Klingon to android to cadet alike. So it wasn't surprising that Wesley Crusher would take to Picard.

After all, Picard was the best friend of Wesley's father and a romantic interest of Wesley's now-widowed mother. The two would obviously be very close to one another's orbits. Yet, that's on screen. All are televised in a scripted, science-fiction-based universe. It's not reality. In reality, the man who brought Wesley Crusher to life, Wil Wheaton, seemed to be far fonder of another of his commanding officers.

It's widely known that Patrick Stewart, the man behind the character of Jean-Luc Picard, could be rather stiff and stifling. He's famously thought about quitting the show because he thought it was beneath him.

In the "Star Trek: The Next Generation" episode "The Enemy", the U.S.S. Enterprise-d rushes to the aid of a downed Romulan vessel on a stormy, radioactive planet called Galorndon Core. Dr. Crusher (Gates McFadden) manages to rescue an injured Romulan officer, and keeps his condition steady back on board the ship. It seems, however, that the Romulan suffered a deep neurological injury that she won't be able to treat unless she gets some Romulan blood she can transfuse. Sadly, the Federation and the Romulans are still deeply at odds, and there is no Romulan blood on hand. 

Dr. Crusher does find that she can, with some clever organic chemistry, alter the blood of a Klingon to serve as a reasonable facsimile, and there is one Klingon, Worf (Michael Dorn), on board. All she needs to do is get a blood sample from him, extrapolate the appropriate ribosomes, and save her patient's life.

Exclusive: David Cormican, who produced Freeform’s ShadowHunters and Lifetime’s The Secret Life of Marilyn Monroe, has new representation.

Cormican and his Fun Republic Pictures banner has signed with Paradigm. The agency will work with Cormican across scripted feature film and TV as well as publishing, brand partnerships, content finance, marketing, and mergers and acquisitions opportunities.

It comes as Cormican is preparing for the television adaptation of Arthur C. Clarke’s Venus Prime, which is set to go into production in Canada next year with Star Trek alum Jonathan Frakes directing. Cormican is writing, will exec produce and serve as co-showrunner.

He recently produced Michal Kunes-Kováč debut feature film Réveillon, is currently in production on Trevor Cameron’s debut narrative feature film #VanLife, a thriller which stars Michelle Thrush, Tamoh Penikett and Justin Derickson and is in post-production on the Michael Jai White action film Hostile Takeover.

He is...

Star Trek has aired 930 episodes of television since it debuted in 1966. That's an astonishing legacy, especially when you factor in that people continue to tune in to every series every day. There's not a day that goes by that at least one episode of Star Trek isn't watched, especially some of the favorites like Star Trek: Deep Space Nine's "The Visitor" or Star Trek: Picard's "The Last Generation." Out of all the 930 episodes, surprisingly, there aren't that many complete duds.

Sure, there are some that we may fast forward through because they still have good parts. And there are some that we skip altogether because we don't want to watch about ghost sex, but according to the viewers from IMDb, there is one that is ranked so low, it would be a surprise if anyone is rewatching it.

It's "Shades of Gray" from Star Trek; the Next Generation...

Actor Wil Wheaton is best known for his role as Wesley Crusher in Star Trek: The Next Generation. The actor was a regular on the show for four seasons and then made short appearances in subsequent seasons. His character was known to be polarizing, with many fans hating Crusher.

While the bullying did reportedly get to him, Wheaton mentioned that he had a great time on the sets of Tng and even called them his family. Coming from a troubled childhood filled with abuse, Wheaton said that his co-stars supported him a lot. He also specifically appreciated Jonathan Frakes for being a father-like figure to him.

Wil Wheaton Gives Thanks To Jonathan Frakes For Being A Father Figure Wil Wheaton in The Big Bang Theory | Credits: CBS

Even before he became Sheldon Cooper’s nemesis in The Big Bang Theory, Wil Wheaton was a pop culture staple. Known for his...

When Star Trek: The Original Series premiered in 1966, it changed the face of sci-fi television, eventually gaining a cult following and launching several spin-offs. Its successor Star Trek: The Next Generation proved equally popular, if not more. As a result, fans of the franchise have often debated which entry is the superior series.

Star Trek: The Next Generation surpassed The Original Series (Credit: Paramount Television).

While The Next Generation isn’t without its flaws and The Original Series is a pathbreaker, the successor almost certainly surpassed its predecessor during its sixth season. The two-part episode Chain of Command was the exact moment The Next Generation proved that it was superior to its parent series. Here is what the episode gets right and what makes it even better than the classic original series.

Chain of Command Proved Star Trek: The Next Generation Surpassed The Original Series

Chain of Command is a...

The transporter is one of the definitive gadgets of the "Star Trek" universe. Sure, there's other impressive technology in this world, but faster than light starships, energy weapons, holograms, androids, etc.? Plenty of other science-fiction stories have those. The transporter, a device that "energizes" matter and reassembles it in another location? That belongs to "Star Trek" alone.

The offscreen origin of the device is documented in "The Making of Star Trek," a 1968 behind-the-scenes book written by Stephen E. Whitfield and series creator Gene Roddenberry. As is often the case in television, the transporter was designed for narrative (and budget) convenience.

The core premise of "Star Trek" has always been a (mostly) human starship crew visiting strange new worlds. Obviously, the crew would have to get from orbit down to the planet's surface. Landing the Enterprise? Out of the question, per Roddenberry:

"Land a ship 14 stories tall on a planet surface every week?...

In the eyes of Trekkies, "Star Trek: The Next Generation" may be the greatest TV series of all time. No other show -- not "The Sopranos," not "M*A*S*H," not "Manimal" -- has come close to the high quality and rich premise of the adventures of the Enterprise-d in the 24th century. Famously, creator Gene Roddenberry took core concepts from his 1966 "Star Trek" series and enhanced them for "The Next Generation," creating an even more aggressively utopian world that was even more forthright about its anticapitalist, anticolonialist intentions. He even instigated a rule among the show's writers that no two characters were allowed to bicker, and no stories could stem from interpersonal conflicts. In Roddenberry's vision, everyone got along at all times.

Writers, naturally hated this idea, as they felt conflict is the best way to create drama. For the first two seasons, Roddenberry, writers, and lawyers all butted heads over the series.

Patrick Stewart is as legendary as an actor can get in their career. From starring as several iconic characters over the years to being knighted by the Queen herself, there is a reason why audiences love him as much as they do. However, like all in the film industry, Stewart also had a time when he was starting out and rather than being an inspirational figure, he had one of his own.

Colm Meaney and Patrick Stewart in Star Trek: The Next Generation | Credit: Paramount Pictures

Stewart once revealed that he looked up to David Warner for most of his professional life, with him being his biggest inspiration as an actor. With this in mind, one can only imagine what it must have been like for the actor to work with his hero.

Tortured by One’s Savior?

In a part of his memoir, Making It So: A Memoir, Patrick...

Actor Patrick Stewart is synonymous with the role of Jean-Luc Picard, the captain of the USS Enterprise-e, a character he has played for decades. After debuting in the role on Star Trek: The Next Generation, Stewart reprised it in a series of theatrical films from Paramount Pictures, including the classic 1996 film Star Trek: First Contact.

Patrick Stewart reprised his role as Jean-Luc Picard in 1996’s Star Trek: First Contact (Credit: Paramount Pictures).

While working on the movie, Stewart disagreed with the writers on some aspects of the screenplay and was very vocal about it. During an interview to commemorate the film’s 25th anniversary, writer Ronald D. Moore reflected on the experience of working with Stewart. The screenwriter revealed what led to the clashes with the veteran actor, and here is what he had to say.

Patrick Stewart Openly Clashed With Writers on Star Trek: First Contact

Star Trek: First Contact...

Star Trek fans can be surprising, especially when it comes to their favorite series. Star Trek: The Next Generation has legions of fans that are still as dedicated to the series as they were back when it originally aired. The third season of Star Trek: Picard proved that. Bringing all of the crew back together resulted in the finale being the highest ranked of the entire series, tying it with the best episode of The Next Generation according to Internet Movie Database [IMDb].

Not suprisingly, The Inner Light took the top spot as the highest-ranked episode out of all seven seasons of The Next Generation. Dramatic and heartbreaking, this episode took Captain Picard [Patrick Stewart] through an entire lifespan on another planet where he had a wife and children. He got a chance to see what it was like to have a family and be something else besides a Starfleet captain.

"Star Trek: The Next Generation" debuted on September 28, 1987 to much ballyhoo. A new version of "Star Trek," set a century after the events of the original "Star Trek"? With an all-new U.S.S. Enterprise and an all-new crew? Trekkies were excited, cautiously optimistic that the new show would be a hit. After a few rocky seasons, it was, and "Star Trek: The Next Generation" became a ratings bonanza. Also, while the first "Star Trek" only lasted three seasons, and the 1973 "Star Trek" animated series only lasted two, "Next Generation" would continue for seven year, racking up an impressive 176 episodes. Or 178, if you count the two-hour debut and finale episodes as two episodes each. 

Audiences loved the eight main characters on the show. The Enterprise was captained by the stern Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart), and his first in command was William Riker (Jonathan Frakes). Geordi La Forge (LeVar Burton) was the ship's engineer,...

One of the best bits of advice any writer will give you is to make yourself familiar with as many tropes, cliches and conventions as possible. That way, you can understand how they work while also knowing just when to ignore them. One convention seen in just about all of fiction is the idea that the protagonist and antagonist must share at least one, if not many, moments together, culminating in a final altercation in which the hero emerges victorious over the villain. It's a trope so common that not only is it not questioned, it's routinely expected, so much so that when it's missing, it seems initially like it could be a mistake. Of course, there are many examples of novels, TV shows, and films where this convention is subverted or even ignored, yet it becomes more difficult to do so when an artist is working within the confines of genre.

It's widely accepted among Trekkies that no "Star Trek" series starts with its best foot forward. Almost every single series, from the 1960s all the way up to the Paramount+ era, has a rocky first season, presenting clumsy storytelling and strange character conceits that many Trekkies look back on with a wince. Generally speaking, a Trek series doesn't hit its stride until about season three. 

I will hasten to note that even when Trek shows are struggling through their "bad" seasons, they usually still feature strong characters and a dynamic setting, so a curious viewer will not have to endure years of bad TV before it gets good. They'll just have to endure some awkward writing until it gets excellent. If one wants to watch "Star Trek: The Next Generation," one could simply start with season 3, and then ask a Trekkie friend to recommend vital episodes from seasons one and two.

At the beginning of the "Star Trek: The Next Generation" episode "Descent, Part I", Data (Brent Spiner) is spending some free time on the holodeck. He has arranged a poker game with three of the greatest minds the scientific community has ever known. Sir Isaac Newton (John Neville) is arrogant and impatient. Albert Einstein (Jim Norton) is affable, but an aggravating poker player, as he struggles with basic arithmetic. And, sitting across from Data, making science jokes and poking fun at Newton and Einstein, is Stephen Hawking, playing himself. 

Hawking gets the opening line of the episode, completing an anecdote: "But then I said, in that frame of reference, the perihelion of Mercury would have precessed in the opposite direction." Einstein laughs, and Data declares the story to be very amusing. Data tries to explain the joke to Newton, who would not have known about the relativistic curvature of space-time.

Gene Roddenberry’s sci-fi series Star Trek boldly went where no other show in the genre went. While the show explored multiple philosophical questions and featured multiple alien worlds, it differed from the usual dystopian sci-fi franchises in providing a positive outlook on the future of humankind.

Roddenberry was known to have many rules in the characterization of the show’s many crews, which usually drove writers crazy. However, one rule from Roddenberry on Jonathan Frakes’ William Riker reportedly did not last past the first season. Frakes mentioned that Roddenberry told him that Riker would not smile as much.

Star Trek Creator Gene Roddenberry Instructed Tng Actor To Not Smile So Much In The Show Jonathan Frakes in Star Trek: The Next Generation | Credits: Paramount

Jonathan Frakes’ William Riker is known for his flamboyant personality. The first officer of the USS Enterprise was depicted as a ladies’ man, who grows...

In the "Star Trek: The Next Generation" episode "Conspiracy", the crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise-d find that a mysterious species of intelligent brain parasites has infiltrated Starfleet. The parasites look like pink-shelled stag beetles and enter a host's body through their mouth. Once inside, the parasites completely take over their host's brains, using their bodies like puppets. Multiple higher-ups at Starfleet Command had been taken over, with the queen parasite inhabiting the body of a character named Lieutenant Commander Remmick (Robert Schenkkan).

Luckily, Captain Picard (Patrick Stewart) and Commander Riker (Jonathan Frakes) figure out the conspiracy and use clever disguises to sneak into a secret dinner party attended only by infected officers. Picard and Riker get the drop on everyone, thank goodness, and begin firing their phasers. Everyone is knocked out and the parasites exit their bodies.

In the climax of the episode, our two heroes blast the infected Remmick in the face,...

As Laura tries to find help for a dying Lulu on General Hospital, she went to her incarcerated son Nikolas to see if he could donate part of his liver to save her. He greeted his mother surprisingly in blue prison garb, not orange as we’ve seen. His prisoner identification number is emblazoned on his lapel, and it’s an obscure nod to a famous play.

An Easter Egg

Hidden references within a film or TV show are called “Easter Eggs,” a term created by former Atari manager Steve Wright, who “loved the idea of hidden surprises in games because they reminded him of ‘waking up on Easter morning and hunting for Easter eggs,’” according to Dictionary. One such Easter Egg was found when Laura (Genie Francis) visited Nikolas (Adam Huss) in jail on the August 27 Gh episode. (Find out how Nikolas landed in prison.)

The number on his...

The only major film role actress Robin Curtis had before 1984's "Star Trek III: The Search for Spock" was playing a minor role in John Irvin's 1981 horror film "Ghost Story." By a weird coincidence, "Ghost Story" also featured actress Alice Krige, who would play a prominent role in 1996's "Star Trek: First Contact." Curtis also appeared in an episode of "Knight Rider" in 1983, and in the salacious TV movies "In Love With an Older Woman" (can a 29-year-old possibly love a 43-year-old?) and "First Affair" (Oh no! I'm in love with my professor!). 

So by "The Search for Spock," Curtis was already used to being on set and acting in high-profile studio productions. "Star Trek," however, was the largest project she had worked on yet. She played the role of Saavik, taking over for Kirstie Alley in "Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan." Saavik is a Vulcan, and...

It should be stated right up front that the below list is not meant to be taken as a commentary on the strength of certain characters, the talents of the actors playing them, or the quality of the show from which they hail. Indeed, most of them come from legitimately great TV shows and/or are played by very talented people. Some of them may even be among the greatest characters in "Star Trek," and I do not mean to suggest, even for a moment, that they should be removed from the franchise or altered in any way.

Except for their names. "Star Trek" is full of futuristic aliens and evolved humans that need to be named by modern-day screenwriters, and, well, sometimes those screenwriters come up with some pretty silly ideas. It's natural now to accept Brent Spiner's android character from "Star Trek: The Next Generation," but it...

The culture at large seems to be very ambivalent about Sherwood Schwartz's 1964 sitcom "Gilligan's Island." On the one hand, it was massively popular and, thanks to plum syndication deals, remained in the pop culture consciousness for literally decades, feeding its goofy reruns to multiple generations. The seven stranded castaways are all easily recognizable by millions, and kids grew up chuckling to Gilligan's antics. On the other hand, "Gilligan's Island" is often lambasted, critically, as the nadir of television. The series takes place in a lightweight, cartoonish universe, and it doesn't ever reach deeply into the souls of the characters to analyze how they adapt to being stranded on a tropical island. There is no madness or deterioration, just shenanigans. 

Anything as popular as "Gilligan's Island" at least deserves a robust and healthy regard, however. Its seven stars may have been playing broad, slapstick archetypes, but their performances certainly struck a chord.

The spinoff series Star Trek: Strange New Worlds has never shied away from experimenting with the genres specified in the show. While sci-fi is the main genre, the series’ concept lends itself to bringing various tropes of other narrative styles into the fold. The series has done a musical and has teased a murder mystery in the upcoming season.

The upcoming third season will also reportedly feature a connection to the original series. Showrunner Akiva Goldsman teased that the show had gone to places no other Star Trek had ever been. Considering that many of the original series’ characters appear in the show, it might not be a stretch.

Akiva Goldsman Teases A Vulcan Connection To The Original Series In Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Leonard Nimoy in Star Trek: The Original Series | Credits: Paramount

After the popularity of Spock and actor Leonard Nimoy, Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry reportedly...

Jonathan Frakes has been long associated with the Star Trek franchise. While he was part of the main cast as William Riker in Star Trek: The Next Generation, he also turned director with multiple episodes of the series and even went on to direct First Contact and Insurrection.

Frakes also returned to the role of Riker and as director for the spinoff series Star Trek: Picard. While the actor was satisfied with what Tng did in its seven-season run, he reportedly had one complaint. Much like the original series’ trio of Spock-Kirk-McCoy, Frakes wanted more banter between Riker, Patrick Stewart’s Picard, and Brent Spiner’s Data.

Jonathan Frakes Wanted More Banter Between Characters In Star Trek: The Next Generation A still from Star Trek | Credits: Paramount

Despite having a loyal fanbase, the original Star Trek was finished after the first three seasons and only reached a larger audience with...

Author Arthur C. Clarke loved technology and science. With the help of what he loved, the author’s book series, “Venus Prime,” will be made into a television show. At Sdcc, the creators and producers of the newly announced series recently revealed how this could be done.

“Venus Prime” follows an amnesiac woman with biomechanically enhanced abilities who must uncover the truth about her past and purpose while escaping and evading the deadly forces trying to harness her talents to rule the galaxy. The creators behind the new series revealed at Sdcc that they are opening up a worldwide casting call for the female lead.

It was also revealed that “Star Trek” alum Jonathan Frakes is set to direct a couple of episodes of the sci-fi series. The series is still in early production, so no release date has been announced. The creators said to expect big news in the early part of next year.

The 1960s were the time when space race was heating up, and people’s imaginations were slowly becoming reality. Space sci-fi became a staple of the television diet, with Gene Roddenberry leading the march with his Star Trek franchise.

Jonathan Frakes in a still from Star Trek: The Next Generation | Paramount Distribution Television

The Original Series was followed by The Next Generation, which, after much speculation and criticism, managed to find a permanent place in the Trekkies’ hearts. And needless to say, the series made Jonathan Frakes’ portrayal of William Riker a fan favorite.

Jonathan Frakes was not the original choice for William Riker

Many memorable characters hail from the Star Trek: The Next Generation series, but Captain William Riker stands out as particularly charming, a testament to Jonathan Frakes‘ talent. But most fans will be surprised to know that he wasn’t the first choice for the role.

Related...

Before there was William Shatner, there was Jeffrey Hunter. The actor may not be a household name today, but when "Star Trek" was in its infancy, he was a rising star in Hollywood – and an undeniable heartthrob. Hunter famously played the Enterprise's original captain, Christopher Pike, in Gene Roddenberry's first "Star Trek" pilot, but he didn't return when the show was given a second chance to perfect its first impression, leading Roddenberry to come up with the Captain Kirk character instead. The reason for Hunter's exit? Well, it depends on who you ask.

The second "Star Trek" pilot was made nearly 60 years ago at this point, so it's no surprise that some of the details of its creation have been muddled or lost over the years. There's no shortage of information about Hunter's involvement with the show, but accounts of his exit differ wildly. It's common knowledge that when...

In the "Star Trek: The Next Generation" episode "The Pegasus", Commander Riker (Jonathan Frakes) is reunited with Admiral Erik Pressman (Terry O'Quinn), his former commanding officer on board a ship called the U.S.S. Pegasus. Pressman is visiting the Enterprise to reveal that Starfleet intelligence has located the missing Pegasus, presumably destroyed 15 years ago. It's their mission to either salvage the Pegasus or destroy it before nearby Romulans can cannibalize its technology.

In some meaningful asides, Riker and Pressman talk about the "final mission" of the Pegasus, and how there are some things they have been keeping secret for the last 15 years, hoping that Starfleet never finds out. Like most Admirals on "Star Trek," Pressman is up to something shady, and he had convinced a young Ensign Riker to go along with it. Because Pressman is played by Terry O'Quinn, audiences were likely suspicious immediately; O'Quinn was an expert...