William Riker Actor Jonathan Frakes Has One Issue With Star Trek: The Next Generation

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Before "Star Trek: The Next Generation" came along in 1987, "Star Trek" shows and movies focused exclusively on characters from "The Original Series." With its arrival, the franchise didn't need to depend on old faithfuls like James T. Kirk (William Shatner), Spock (Leonard Nimoy), and Leonard "Bones" McCoy (DeForest Kelley) anymore. Instead, the success of "The Next Generation" made apparent that "Star Trek" could tell any story it wanted with any crew it chose to focus on, as long as the stories capture the requisite spirit.

"The Next Generation" has a larger central cast than the original series, so its crew dynamics were never a carbon copy of its predecessor. This allowed the show to explore its own path, but interestingly enough, the approach also led to the only minor problem that star Jonathan Frakes has said he had with the series. In the 2016 book "The Fifty-Year Mission: The Next 25 Years: From The Next Generation to J. J. Abrams" edited by Edward Gross and Mark A. Altman, the William Riker actor expressed regret that "The Next Generation" lacked some of the famous bickering dynamic that Kirk, Spock, and McCoy became known for. 

"I only wish we'd found a way to have the irony and tongue-in-cheek banter of the triumvirate of the original. Picard, Data, and Riker should have that," Frakes said. "We had our own relationship, but there are moments between Kirk, Spock, and McCoy that I've always envied. That's a small complaint in a show that I was very proud to be a part of."  

In all fairness, it's unlikely that "Star Trek: The Next Generation" could have replicated the banter among Kirk, Spock, and McCoy even if it wanted to, at least not with the characters it placed in their approximate roles. While Frakes' Commander Riker does have a touch of Kirk-like brashness and android Lieutenant Commander Data's (Brent Spiner) has a thematic connection to Spock's coldly logical approach, the trifecta is completed by Captain Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) — and his polite but stern manner doesn't really lend itself to easygoing bickering with underlings, no matter how close he is with them. As Frakes said, the combination of Picard, Riker, and Data does have its own great dynamic — but the trio simply wasn't built for "The Original Series"-style verbal sparring. 

Incidentally, Stewart could be even less comfortable with banter than his character in the early stages of filming the show. In his 2023 autobiography "Making It So: A Memoir," he admitted that he acted pretty high and mighty toward his "Star Trek: The Next Generation co-stars in Season 1, to the point of angrily storming off the set when his overly pompous stage actor attitude drew amused reactions from fellow cast members. Fortunately, things got better. While Stewart's character never reached the same level of collegial quipping as James T. Kirk, Picard's singular charisma and comparatively unflappable nature proved to be considerable assets that the franchise later revisited in "Star Trek: Picard" Season 3, AKA its "The Next Generation" reunion.