Stephen Hawking Had One Request When He Visited Star Trek: The Next Generation's Set

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"Star Trek's" reputation and legacy looms large in science fiction — even for a real-life scientific giant like Stephen Hawking, who made one key request while visiting the set of "Star Trek: The Next Generation." According to executive producer Rick Berman, the late physicist and mathematician randomly requested a visit on the Paramount soundstage in the 1990s, which he and the show's team eagerly agreed to. 

Hawking mainly wanted to check out the show's elaborate sets, and when he joined the team for a tour, asked Berman via his computerized communication device if he would lift Hawking out of his wheelchair and place him in Captain Jean-Luc Picard's (Patrick Stewart) coveted seat. The request was utterly unforgettable, according to Berman's account in "The Fifty-Year Mission: The Next 25 Years" by Mark A. Altman and Edward Gross. "It was a pretty amazing sight to have perhaps the greatest mind of the latter half of the twentieth century in applied mathematics and theoretical physics, wanting more than anything else at that moment to sit in Picard's chair," the producer explained.

Clearly, iconic scholar Stephen Hawking loved his experience on set. "Star Trek" alum Leonard Nimoy, better known as Spock, contacted executive producer Rick Berman the following day and revealed Hawking had mentioned even bigger aspirations than sitting in the Captain's chair: a real appearance on the beloved series. Naturally, Berman sprang into action and coordinated a cameo for Hawking with the academic's team.

"Next Generation" fans probably already know where this is going, but Hawking's excitement gave Berman and writer Ronald D. Moore the inspiration to write him a scene for the two-part Season 6 finale titled "Descent." He and Moore asked for Hawking's notes on the scene, but, according to Berman, the astrophysicist loved what they came up with.

In the appearance, Hawking is featured playing poker on the holodeck with Data (Brent Spiner) alongside the rest of his concocted group of opponents, Albert Einstein and Sir Isaac Newton. As evidenced by the mathematician's spirited performance, Hawking seemed to have a blast becoming a canonical part of the "Star Trek" universe.