It was pretty awesome to see nearly every main crew member from Star Trek: The Next Generation reunited for Star Trek: Picard Season 3 (sorry Wil Wheaton). That was just such a treat for Star Trek fans, especially for those like myself who grew up on TNG. However, Patrick Stewart initially didn’t want to bring the crew back, and he needed to be convinced that it would be a good idea.
While a guest on The 7th Rule podcast, showrunner Terry Matalas shared that when he jumped onto the show in Season 2, his first instinct was to bring back all the actors from TNG, and that just didn’t sit well with Stewart at first for some reason. Matalas said:
“They said, ‘No, we’re never going to do that.’ But along the way, I think Patrick warmed up to the idea. The more his friends came back to the show, Jonathan [and] Marina came back, de Lancie came back, and Whoopi came back… Those days on set were so warm and so happy for him, that he started to say by the end, ‘We gotta have everybody.’”
It’s pretty crazy to me that the producers of the show were initially dead set against bringing back The Enterprise-D crew. It was one of the best decisions that they made in the series, and because of it Picard ended on such a fantastically high note. It’s exactly what the fans wanted and needed to see!
Stewart was joined by the likes of Jonathan Frakes, Gates McFadden, Michael Dorn, Marina Sirtis, LeVar Burton, and Brent Spiner. I hope Picard Season 3 isn’t the last time we see these characters together.
