William Shatner reflects on fallout with ‘Star Trek’ pal Leonard Nimoy, historic kiss with Nichelle Nichols
William Shatner, 'Star Trek' alum and author of 'Boldly Go,' spoke to Fox News Digital about his decadeslong friendship with Leonard Nimoy, as well as his iconic on-screen kiss with Nichelle Nichols.
"Live long and prosper."
"Star Trek" fans can bask in nostalgia, as the cast of the iconic science fiction series has reunited.
After more than two decades, "Star Trek: Nemesis" actors, including Gates McFadden, LeVar Burton, Jonathan Frakes and Patrick Stewart, revealed the decision to reprise their famous roles and what it was like working together on the spacecraft again on "Star Trek: Picard."
Stewart, who’s known for his role as Jean Luc Picard in the "Star Trek" franchise, gave fans a preview of what they can expect in the current series.
"Star Trek: Nemesis" actors, including, from left, Jonathan Frakes, Patrick Stewart, Gates McFadden, LeVar Burton and Michael Dorn, reprise their famous roles on "Star Trek: Picard." (Getty Images)
"Well, a lot of it is based on disappointment, frustration. I was promoted, which meant a bit of farewell. A goodbye. But the admiral job turned out to be an office trip, basically. It was not what he had known all his life, which was being on a ship," the actor told the New York Times.
"Star Trek: Picard" executive producer Alex Kurtzman pointed out that before the series began, Stewart challenged him to focus on the story of how Picard aged after 20 years and how events have changed in his character’s life.
"Unlike the life that we saw him in 'Next Generation,' in seasons one and two of 'Picard,' Jean Luc was alone," Stewart additionally said during a Paramount+ video interview.
"Jean Luc is not the same person that he was when he was captain of the Enterprise," Stewart noted.
Season 3 of the show focuses on bringing the "Next Generation" cast back, more than 30 years later.
Stewart, who’s known for his role as Jean Luc Picard in the "Star Trek" franchise, gave fans a preview of what's to come in the current series. (Getty Images)
"He had gone back to France and was running his vineyard… then he encounters this profoundly troubled young woman and feels that he needs to do something," he said of Picard's mission.
"That’s where the engagement begins, and it is also the last time that, as an actor, I ran up a flight of stairs. You’ll never see me do that again," Stewart joked.
When asked how challenging it was to play evolved versions of each of the "Star Trek" characters, the cast responded candidly.
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"I thought [showrunner] Terry [Matalas] wrote Riker better than he had ever been written," said Jonathan Frakes, who plays Picard’s longtime No. 1 William Riker.
Stewart starred as Capt. Jean-Luc Picard in the "Star Trek: The Next Generation" television series and films. (Paramount Pictures)
"He had Patrick and me to lunch, and he said, ‘What I’d like to do is write conflict for you two guys who never really had any conflict.’ To which we both said: ‘That’s great'… we really had big issues, and that made the drama better. It made the story better," Frakes explained.
From left: Frakes, Dorn, Stewart and McFadden visit SiriusXM Studios on Monday. (Santiago Felipe/Getty Images)
The first episode of "Star Trek: Picard" Season 3 is set at the end of the 24th century and 14 years after Picard’s retirement from Starfleet. Picard lives a quiet life in his vineyard until he’s sought out by a long-lost friend with a desperate message.
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As Admiral Picard prepares for the "most daring mission of his life," it forces him to recruit allies among old and new "Star Trek" generations.
"This final adventure sets him on a collision course with the legacy of his past and explosive, new revelations that will alter the fate of the Federation forever," the show description states.
The "Star Trek" cast members went on to express how they felt about where the "Next Generation" franchise was left after "Nemesis."
"I always felt it was a missed opportunity to create a story and play a storyline that had a fitting and proper conclusion to it. None of us knew that was going to be our last outing. So there was always, at least for me, a sense of a missed opportunity, something unfulfilled," LeVar Burton, who plays Geordi La Forge, told the New York Times.
"Two decades have passed. I had long since given up on any hope of a conclusion as satisfying as this one is."
Burton, who plays Geordi La Forge, said he had "given up on any hope of a conclusion as satisfying as this one is." (Albert L. Ortega/Getty Images)
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The "Star Trek" reunion concluded with the cast explaining why fans continue to resonate with their characters decades later.
"People need role models… I think this season of 'Picard,' our characters are the most human they’ve ever been, actually. We are expressing things in ways that we weren’t quite expressing them in any other show," Gates McFadden remarked, who makes a special return as Dr. Beverly Crusher in the final season.
"Star Trek: Picard" Season 3 is available to stream on Paramount+ and consists of 10 episodes, with a new release every Thursday.
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