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Gates McFadden

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McFadden left the series at the end of the first season and was replaced by Diana Muldaur as Doctor Katherine Pulaski in the second season . An official announcement states that McFadden had left the series to pursue other career options. McFadden herself got a call from her agent who told her that the producers decided to go in another direction with the character. Like the other cast members, McFadden was surprised. ("Gates McFadden – Dr. Beverly Crusher", The Official Star Trek: The Next Generation Magazine  issue 12 , p. 43)

In Making It So: Continuing Star Trek - The Next Generation , Part 2: "New Life and New Civilizations," McFadden states that she was fired. She was too vocal to the show's staff regarding some of the writing on The Next Generation being sexist, and was unsavvy at the time regarding studio politics. Patrick Stewart described the entire cast as being "horrified and appalled," that they had never expected that her comments would lead to it, and it having been a terrible shock. McFadden herself was stunned, as Gene Roddenberry had told her that her character was the third most popular on the series. Ultimately, she felt that she spoke her mind "in a way that really pissed people off" and it was a good lesson to learn.

But thanks to a letter-writing campaign, support from Stewart, and a personal invitation from Rick Berman , McFadden was brought back to the TNG cast for the third and subsequent seasons. McFadden was absent for all episodes of the second season, was mentioned in " The Child ", and only appeared in stock footage in " Shades of Gray " which was used from the first season episodes " Symbiosis " and " Skin Of Evil ".

McFadden and Jonathan West on the set of "Genesis"

McFadden became pregnant with her first child during the fourth season of TNG , learning of the pregnancy only days after performing her own stunts for the episode " Remember Me ". This explains her absence during the last part of the season. Although the directors were able to hide her pregnancy behind objects and Crusher's trademark lab coat, it was briefly visible in some episodes, including " The Host ". Her son was born over hiatus; Brent Spiner is his godfather. McFadden has been quoted as saying her son grew up on the bridge of the USS Enterprise -D , and he was upset when the sets were torn down following Star Trek Generations .

McFadden narrated the 2021 documentary series The Center Seat: 55 Years of Star Trek and was one of its executive producers.

Ensign Gates , the conn officer played by Joycelyn Robinson , was named for her. ( Star Trek: The Next Generation Companion  (2nd ed., p. 268))

• 2.1 Appearances as Beverly Crusher
• 3 Star Trek interviews
• 4 External links

McFadden's birth date is somewhat unclear; official promotional material from Paramount Pictures lists her birthday as August 28, 1953 while the IMDb lists it as March 2, 1949. Public records indicate that a "Cheryl G. McFadden" was born in 1949 and McFadden has admitted that she makes up dates since she is uncomfortable with revealing her true birth date. Given that she graduated from Brandeis University in 1970 (X) , it is likely that she was born before 1953.

Upon her graduation from Brandeis, McFadden spent most of the 1970s teaching at the University of Pittsburgh, Harvard University, and George Washington University. During that era she formed The New York Theatre Commotion theater company and toured an all-female clown act, "Commedia Dell Pinky" in 1975. ( The Pittsburgh Press , 4 April 1975, p. 15)

Gates McFadden is an accomplished dancer and puppeteer; her first recorded professional industry credit entailed her choreography work on the 1985 film Dreamchild for which she received a "Special thanks to…" credit. Subsequently, she worked on several Jim Henson productions as a choreographer, most notably in the 1986 film Labyrinth (earlier, she also choreographed movement for the 1982 Henson production The Dark Crystal , albeit uncredited, whereas she made her 1984 film acting debut in Henson's The Muppets Take Manhattan ). She prefers stage roles to television, and has been seen in countless productions over her career. She is trained in stage swordfighting; ironically, only she and Marina Sirtis were trained in the technique which was featured in TNG : " Qpid " but only the male characters were allowed to use swords. For her behind-the-scenes choreography work McFadden usually goes by her "Cheryl McFadden" credit, as opposed to her "Gates McFadden" acting credits.

During her break from Star Trek , McFadden played Cathy Ryan (coincidentally another doctor with a husband named Jack) in the film The Hunt for Red October (1990, co-starring Daniel Davis , Boris Krutonog , Ned Vaughn , and served by Star Trek alumnus Greg Jein and his staff of visual effects artists, John Eaves among them), although most of her scenes were edited from the film. She returned to Manhattan for the break where she performed in a play and took up her pre- Trek teaching post in acting and improvisation at the New York University's Graduate School of the Arts.

In 1992, McFadden appeared alongside fellow castmembers Patrick Stewart, Jonathan Frakes , Brent Spiner, and Colm Meaney in a production of Every Good Boy Deserves Favour directed by Stewart, which was performed in four cities. In 2011, McFadden began a recurring role as judge Mallory Jacobs on the legal comedy television series Franklin and Bash having her working again with Malcolm McDowell . McFadden debuted in the first season finale "Go Tell it on the Mountain" where as Jacobs, presided over the trial of Macdowell's character Stanton Infeld. McFadden returned in the second season, first in "For Those About to Rock" joining Geoffrey Blake , Peter Weller and Tom Wright and again in the season finale "650 to SLC" reuniting with " Conundrum " guest star Erich Anderson . Anderson himself has a recurring role on the series.

McFadden had starred in the short-lived 1995 drama series Marker , which was one of the pilot series on UPN alongside Star Trek: Voyager . She has also starred in the Microsoft People Ready Business commercials, aired in the Spring of 2006 on television.

The The Center Seat documentary series McFadden narrated, was produced by The Nacelle Company , where McFadden is actually part of its editorial staff as freelancer, producing and hosting its Gates McFadden InvestiGates: Who Do You Think You Are? podcast series. [2]

Star Trek appearances [ ]

Appearances as Beverly Crusher [ ]

• Every episode in season 1
• " Shades of Gray " (archive footage from " Symbiosis " and " Skin Of Evil " only) ( Season 2 )
• Every episode from seasons 3 to 7 except " The Wounded "
• Star Trek Generations
• Star Trek: First Contact
• Star Trek: Insurrection
• Star Trek Nemesis
• " The Next Generation "
• " Disengage " (no lines)
• " Seventeen Seconds "
• " No Win Scenario "
• " Imposters "
• " The Bounty "
• " Dominion "
• " Surrender "
• " The Last Generation "
• VST : " Worst Contact "

Star Trek interviews [ ]

McFadden was interviewed for the following Star Trek media:

• TNG Season 1 DVD special feature "The Beginning"
• TNG Season 1 DVD special feature "Selected Crew Analysis"
• TNG Season 3 DVD special feature "Mission Overview Year Three" ("The Doctor Returns"), interviewed on 27 September 1989
• TNG Season 3 DVD special feature "Selected Crew Analysis Year Three" ("Crew Profile: Beverly and Wesley Crusher "), interviewed on 27 September 1989
• TNG Season 4 DVD special feature "Mission Overview Year Four" ("Celebrating 100 Episodes"), interviewed by Entertainment Tonight in 1991
• TNG Season 4 DVD special feature "Inside the Star Trek Archives" ("Cast Member Hides Pregnancy"), interviewed on 7 April 1994
• TNG Season 5 DVD special feature "A Tribute to Gene Roddenberry" ("Gene's Final Voyage")
• TNG Season 7 DVD special feature "Mission Overview Year Seven" ("An Ending And A Beginning"), interviewed on 7 April 1994
• TNG Season 7 DVD special feature "Departmental Briefing Year Seven: Production" ("New Director, New Challenges", "Creating Stronger Women"), interviewed on 7 April 1994
• TNG Season 7 DVD special feature "Starfleet Moments & Memories Year Seven" ("A Unique Family"), interviewed on 7 April 1994
• TNG Season 7 DVD special feature "The Making of "All Good Things…" Year Seven" ("Make Up", " USS Pasteur "), interviewed on 7 April 1994
• All Good Things Blu-ray special feature The Unknown Possibilities of Existence: Making "All Good Things" ( 2014 )
• To Boldly Go
• "Gates McFadden – Dr. Beverly Crusher", The Official Star Trek: The Next Generation Magazine  issue 1 , p. 22, interviewed by Marc Shapiro
• "Medical Cases", The Official Star Trek: The Next Generation Magazine  issue 4 , p. 27, interviewed by Dennis Fischer
• "Gates McFadden – Dr. Beverly Crusher", The Official Star Trek: The Next Generation Magazine  issue 12 , pp. 43-44, interviewed by Monika Gutman

External links [ ]

• Gates McFadden at X (formerly Twitter)
• Gates McFadden at the Internet Movie Database
• Gates McFadden at Memory Beta , the wiki for licensed Star Trek works
• Gates McFadden at the Muppet Wiki
• Gates McFadden at Wikipedia
• Gates McFadden at TriviaTribute.com

Actor. Director. Choreographer.

G ates McFadden is best known for her role as Dr. Beverly Crusher on Star Trek: The Next Generation – six seasons and four films. She is also a stage actress, choreographer, director, teacher, and the host of the Nacelle Podcast Gates McFadden InvestiGates: Who Do You Think You Are?

Born and raised in Ohio, she spent many years working and teaching in France, New York, and along the East Coast. Gates now lives primarily in Los Angeles, where she is always hard at work on upcoming projects and teaching her smart aleck cats to make a decent cup of coffee

See below for her extensive body of stage, screen, and teaching work. 

• Medea —Studio Theatre, University of Pittsburg, PA 1976 — director/choreographer
• Pal Joey — Springold Theatre | Brandeis University, Waltham, MA 1977 — choreographer
• Women of Trachis — Springold Theatre | Brandeis University, Waltham, MA 1979 — director *Winner of Most Innovative Director in Boston Area along with Peter Sellars
• Old Times — Laurie Theater |Brandeis University, Waltham, MA 1979 — director
• He Who Gets Slapped — Springold Theatre | Brandeis University, Waltham, MA 1979 — director
• Johnny on a Spot — Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM) NY 1980 —fight choreographer
• A Winter’s Tale — Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM) NY 1980 — choreographer
• A Midsummer Night’s Dream — Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM) NY 1981 — choreographer
• Cloud 9 — Theatre De Lys NYC 1981, Tommy Tune; director — Ellen/Mrs Saunders/Betty
• Rosario and the Gypsies — Ensemble Studio Theatre NYC 1982 — Mary
• “Bumps” and “Knots” — Lyric Hammersmith Theatre, London 1982 — director/choreographer
• A Midsummer Night’s Dream — NY Shakespeare Festival | Delacorte Theatre 1982, James Lapine; director — Fairy/Prologue/Helena understudy
• To Gillian on Her 37th Birthday — Ensemble Studio Theatre New York 1983 — Gillian
• To Gillian on Her 37th Birthday — Circle in the Square Downtown, NYC 1984 — Gillian
• The Homecoming — Jewish Repertory Theatre (JRT), NYC 1984 —Ruth
• The Bloodletters — Ensemble Studio Theatre, NYC 1984 —Annie Sutter
• How to Say Goodbye — Vineyard Theatre, NYC 1986 —Casey Staiger
• Couch Tandem —Women’s InterArt Center, NYC 1987 — Dr. Handleman
• The Matchmaker — La Jolla Playhouse, CA 1987 — Mrs. Malloy
• Bottleneck at the Bar — Golden Lion Theatre, NYC 1990 — Playwright (as Jesse Stuart Gates) and director
• L’historie du Soldat (Soldier’s Tale) — Ja Jolla Chamber Music Festival, CA; Kent Nagano, Conductor 1993— The Devil
• Carnival des Animaux —Cleveland Symphony Orchestra, OH; Leonard Slatkin, Conductor 1993 — narrator
• Emerald City — Perry Street Theatre | New York Theatre Workshop (NYTW), NYC 1988 —Kate
• Viva Detroit — Los Angeles Theatre Center (LATC), LA 1990 — Pat
• Every Good Boy Deserves Favour — Tour 1992-93 (Patrick Stewart; Director) —Schoolteacher
• Voices in the Dark — George Street Playhouse, New Brunswick, NJ 1998 — Lil
• Tree —EST-LA 2009 — Artistic Director/Producer
• Mlle. God — EST-LA 2011 —Artistic Director/Producer
• The House of the Rising Sun — EST-LA 2011 — Artistic Director/Producer
• Crack Whore Galore —EST-LA 2011 — Director/Producer/Co-creator
• House of Gold — EST-LA 2011 — Director/Producer
• The Many Mistresses of Martin Luther King — EST-LA 2012 —Artistic Director/ Producer
• The Belle of Belfast — EST-LA 2012 — Artistic Director/Producer
• Year of the Rabbit —EST-LA 2012 — Artistic Director/Producer
• Does Anyone Know What a Pancreas Is? —EST-LA 2012 — Director/Artistic Director/ Producer
• The Fisherman’s Wife —EST-LA 2012 —Director/Producer
• The Last Look Back — EST-LA 2013 —Director/Producer
• The Ugly One — EST-LA 2014 — Director/Producer
• Land Line — EST-LA 2014 — Producer
• Féstival à Pélican — Domaine de Pélican, Gignac, France 2016 —producer
• Féstival à Pélican — Domaine de Pélican, Gignac, France 2017 —producer
• The Muppets Take Manhattan (1984)— Mr. Price’s Secretary
• Dreamchild (1985) —director of choreography
• Labyrinth (1986)— Director of Choreography and Puppet Movement
• The Hunt for Red October (1990) —Carolyn Ryan
• Taking Care of Business (aka Filofax) (1990) —Diane Conners
• Beyond the Groove (1990) —Secretary (with David Rappaport)
• Star Trek Generations (1994) —Dr. Beverly Crusher
• Start Trek First Contact (1996)— Dr. Beverly Crusher
• Crowned and Dangerous (1997) —Patrice Baxter
• Star Trek Insurrection (1998) —Dr. Beverly Crusher
• Star Trek Nemesis (2002) —Dr. Beverly Crusher
• Dirty (2005) —Wife
• Make the Yuletide Gay (2009) Martha Stanford
• Mattresside (2015 short) — Nurse
• Follow the Number (2016 ONSEN music video )
• Finger (2019 short)
• The Edge of Night (1982)— five episodes —Tammy Dryden
• The Wizard (1986) —episode pilot “El Dorado” —Darcy Stafford (David Rappaport)
• The Cosby Show (1987) —episode “Cliff’s 50th Birthday” —Anita Garcia
• Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987-1988; 1989-1994) —154 episodes— Dr. Beverly Crusher/choreographer one episode (Data’s Day)/director one episode (Genesis)
• All My Children (1988)— Dr. Lisa Mallory
• L.A. Law (1992) —episode “Steal It Again, Sam”— Uta Keller
• Dream On (1993) —episode “The Book, the Thief, Her Boss and His Lover” —Ina Dreikoff
• Party of Five (1994) —episode “Something Out of Nothing”— Greer Erikson
• Marker (1995) —13 episodes —Kimba Hills Rose
• Mystery Dance (1995) —episode pilot #1.1— Nancy Maxwell; John Wells director
• Mad About You (1995-1996)— Four episodes — Allison Rourke
• The Practice (2000)— episode “Checkmates” —Judge Emily Harrison
• The Division (2001) —episode “Hero”— Mrs. Petersen
• The Handler (2004) —episode “Wedding Party” —Siobhan
• Franklin & Bash (2011-2013) —four episodes — Judge Mallory Jacobs
• A Neighbor’s Deception (2017) —Dr Constance Abrams
• NCIS (2017) episode “Skeleton Crew” —Mrs. Belmont
• The Guy… Who Was In That Thing 3: Trek Stars (2019 tv movie)— Narrator/Self
• The Center Seat (2021) — The History Channel — Narrator

Video Games

• Star Trek: The Next Generation – A Final Unity (1995) — Dr. Beverly Crusher (voice)
• Star Trek: Generations (1997) —Dr. Beverly Crusher (voice)
• Star Trek: The Next Generation Companion (1999) —Dr. Beverly Crusher (voice)
• Family Guy: The Quest for Stuff (2014) —Dr. Beverly Crusher (voice)
• Mary Jane Colter: House Made of Dawn (1999) — PBS documentary — Narrator
• Star Trek: The Next Generation: First Contact (Adapted) —2000
• Chapter Two — 2001
• This Town —2001
• War of the Worlds (Dramatized) — 2002
• Pariswalks —2003
• Walk and Talk Paris —2006
• Family Guy (2009) — episode “Not All Dogs Go to Heaven” —  (voice)
• The Autumn Garden — 2009
• METAtropolis: Cascadia —2010
• Pure Voice Audio Bible- King James Version, KJV: Complete Bible —2012
• Star Trek: The Next Generation: The Devil’s Heart (Adapted) — 2013
• Star Trek: The Next Generation: Reunion (Adapted) — 2014
• Confessor (A METAtropolis Story) — 2014
• Scary Endings (2016) —  episode “U Get What U Deserve” —  (voice) 911 operator
• Harvard Hasty Pudding Show Choreographer; 1970 Boy Who Cried Beowulf; 1971 Rhinestones in the Rough
• Choreographer in Residence for the BAM Theater Company under David Jones
• Artistic Director of Ensemble Studio Theatre LA (EST-LA) for five years
• NYU Tisch School of the Arts
• Brandeis University
• University of Pittsburgh
• Brooklyn College
• AADA New York
• The Stella Academy in Hamburg, Germany
• Teaching artist for Lincoln Center Institute
• Nashville Institue of the Arts (director of “The Drummer”)
• USC where she was awarded the George Burns Teaching Fellowship
• NYU Fredonia
• NYU Stony Brook
• George Washington Institute
• Eckerd College
• Browns & Nichols
• Cambridge School
• Harvard West Lake
• Theatre of The Riverside Church

©2022 Gates McFadden Official Website | Designed by Blue Science Studio |  Privacy Policy For official updates, follow @gates_plays on Twitter.

©2022 gates mcfadden official website designed by blue science studio privacy policy for official updates, follow @gates_plays on twitter..

‘Star Trek: Picard’ Star Gates McFadden on the ‘Visceral’ Experience of Seeing [SPOILER] Again and Dr. Crusher’s Controversial Decision

By Adam B. Vary

Adam B. Vary

Senior Entertainment Writer

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SPOILER ALERT: This story discusses major plot developments in Season 3, Episode 9 of “ Star Trek: Picard ,” currently streaming on Paramount+.

Gates McFadden didn’t know what to expect when she first got on a Zoom call with “Star Trek: Picard” executive producers Terry Matalas and Akiva Goldsman. A few years earlier, Patrick Stewart had taken the cast of “Star Trek: The Next Generation” — Jonathan Frakes, LeVar Burton, Marina Sirtis, Michael Dorn, Brent Spiner and McFadden — to dinner to announce that he was going to star on the spinoff series without them. But for the show’s third and final season, Matalas wanted to bring the full cast back together. 

Popular on Variety

“So much of the history of the character — you didn’t even see it,” McFadden says. “Jean-Luc Picard could have this brand new love interest every time, and it was as if he and Crusher had nothing between them, or ever did. That was a huge part of the character that was just put away.”

To McFadden’s surprise and delight, Matalas pitched her what has turned out to be the most robust storyline her character has ever been given. At some point after the events of “Nemesis,” Crusher and Picard consummated their relationship in a liaison that resulted in a child. Rather than tell Picard, however, Crusher cut herself off from the rest of the crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise-D and raised her son, named Jack Crusher (and played as an adult by “You” co-star Ed Speleers ), alone.

If that wasn’t enough, the episode ends with one final shocking twist: The “TNG” cast reuniting with the Enterprise-D, which Burton’s Geordi LaForge has painstakingly reconstructed since it was destroyed in the events of 1994’s “Star Trek: Generations.”

McFadden talked with Variety about what it was like to return to the old Enterprise-D and reunite on camera with all her old friends, as well as her own mixed feelings about Crusher’s controversial decision to keep Picard in the dark about his own son — and the “TNG” episode that made her feel better about it.

How did you feel about Beverly Crusher’s presence in the “TNG” movies?

Well, it’s no surprise to hear that it was very disappointing. It’s always tricky when you’re the actor. You want your role to be as wonderful as possible. But you’re also not stupid, and you’re very happy that the franchise is doing well. “First Contact” was just an amazingly written film. My only sadness was that there had to be new female love interests. But then, that’s Hollywood. So you just accept it and do the best you can do with what you’re given. I mean, that’s the job.

So when did you understand that not only would Crusher have that history with Picard on this season of the show, but it would be central to the story?

I think in the very first conversation I had with Terry and Akiva. They told me the storyline. And I said, “Hey, terrific story, but my concern is that she’s not seen as ‘That bitch didn’t tell him she was pregnant with his child! How could she do something like that?’” 

She’s basically a very ethical humanist. She really cares about doing the right thing. That was my concern. I was coming from “TNG” where I felt the female point of view was only done through different women characters who would come on board, not Troi or Crusher. I felt that we were lacking in terms of a very strong female presence. Our only scenes, usually we would be, you know, working out and talking about men somehow. 

The famous scene of the two of them stretching in leotards .

I mean, it was quite crazy, right? I have enough sense of humor to go, okay, the stupidest scene. I get it. We go to conventions and people are dressed in cosplay with our outfits. It’s funny, and I don’t feel judged by the younger generations, in a way that I wish my generation had gotten it when it happened.

So how did you resolve your feelings about Crusher’s choice about Jack?

I think if we hadn’t had the episode “Attached,” I would have had more of a problem. We had this episode where we were totally connected with each other’s deepest thoughts. I feel that’s why they basically broke up, or it never really went anywhere. Because she didn’t want this on-and-off relationship; she wanted a family. And he very clearly from the deepest instincts did not.

On “TNG,” Crusher was often a character who was unafraid to go off alone on her own path if she felt it was the right thing to do, rules be damned. Her decision to cut off all her friends and not tell Picard about his son is the most extreme version of that, but I see how people had mixed reactions.

It’s interesting because she didn’t choose to have an abortion. She really wanted to be a mother. And if you’ve just been recently listening to Picard’s deepest thoughts — “no, I would never want a baby, absolutely no, no, no” — I think you have to base it on what she knew then. And I think she hopes that later the child would reunite with Picard, and it’s a shock when her son doesn’t want to. And perhaps she had an instinct, when the child was crying all the time at night, that this child needed protection, and was perhaps a little different. Obviously, there’s going to be people who disagree with [her decision]; I understand that. I just feel also people should then try to focus on maybe the good of why that happened.

At the same time, how did it feel to have so much material to perform as Crusher?

It was the first time ever for me in “Star Trek.” It felt fabulous. It was terrific. I owe that all to Terry. It was wonderful acting again with Patrick. We’ve always had a good chemistry on screen. I never dreamt it was ever going to happen, because I didn’t assume I was going to go back to do a just a one off where I’m, you know, opening a knitting shop or something. That I would not have been interested in.

What was it like the first day the core seven of you were all on set together?

It wasn’t like I hadn’t seen most of them. The only one I hadn’t seen was Marina. The effect on fans in my mind is probably greater than it was for us. We’re in a group text; we’re in each other’s lives. I mean, there was humor. We were sort of, “Okay, we’re back at the Observation Lounge! How are they going to do these shots?” Because in the “TNG” olden days, it would be a whole day in the observation lounge for everyone’s close-up. So it was done in a different way. 

What else was different?

The cameras were so fantastic. The lenses were so much sharper. The sound was better. You really notice that it’s been quite a while, 20 years or so — 35 years since we shot the first one. Because I couldn’t make a sound like this. [Drops a pen.] We’d have to reshoot the whole scene before, or I’d have to loop the whole scene. Now, you could make some noise. And I mean, technology has really been rockin it for cameras.

What’s your sharpest memory of being together on set with the cast?

LeVar Burton and Brent Spiner told me the same thing , that you’re “older” and “more mature” now.

I think that’s definitely true, but I’m not sure that given the right circumstances, we wouldn’t still be singing on a set or whatever. There was one moment where we went crazy with it. But poor Terry had a lot to shoot in a limited time, and I think we were all aware of that. So maybe narcissistically we were more well behaved because we wanted it to be good. We wanted the first one to be good. That’s silly to say. But we had much longer hours. So I think after you’ve shot for 14 hours, you start to get incredibly silly.

So when did you learn that the Enterprise-D was going to be resurrected?

I think pretty early on. That was amazing. It was a huge visceral difference. The Titan was an intimidating bridge. Even the Gates part of it that was like, “Wow, if I were on this bridge, I wouldn’t know how to work all those machines.” Whereas on the Enterprise bridge, I was like, “Oh, yeah, I can do it all. I know how to drive it.”

It was interesting to see the difference in the lighting, for example. The original “TNG” bridge is like a living room. My little boy, he was learning how to walk on that bridge. He was going up and down and into the ready room and looking at the fish and the spaceship model. It really was this homey feeling. And it also seems really small compared to the technology and the size and the scope of the Titan.

How closely did they recreate the original “TNG” bridge?

[Whispers] Very. Very. Amazing. They had the same stuff, things that you’d be reading that would be from the show. [“TNG” graphic designer] Michael Okuda helped them with all those little details. He’s such a genius. He and his wife Denise just figured all of those things out.

Did you see it for the first time the day you shot? 

I had seen it before. I went over. I wanted to see it.

As you’ve said, the “TNG” cast has been close for a long time, but what was it like to be on that set together for the first time since 1994’s “Star Trek: Generations”?

It just felt like home. You knew where to go, what to hold, where to run for this control and that control. I think it’s for the fans almost more exciting in a sense, because they’re seeing the whole. When I see it in the context of the episode, it’s powerful. When you’re acting it in the space, I had seen it before. It was just like going to a museum and seeing it. It was just lovely. I think that’s all I can say, you know. We had all the shots to fit in. But it wasn’t like, you know, we all burst into tears. What Terry and the editors have done is pretty great. It’s really dramatic and powerful.

Did you like where you were standing?

Terry’s made no secret that he would love to continue this storyline on a new show that he wants to call “Star Trek: Legacy.” Would you want to continue playing Crusher?

If she was as three dimensional as she was really becoming in this one? Absolutely. And, as I said, I trust Terry. I’ll play a Klingon for Terry. I mean, he’s really a wonderful, wonderful producer and writer, storyteller. And I love good storytellers. I built a theater in L.A., and we did only new work. I think people who can tell a story, I’ll be the first one to jump on board to help out. I hope it does. I think he would do a tremendous job. And I would love to be involved in some way.

This interview has been edited and condensed.

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Star Trek’s Gates McFadden opens up about The Next Generation , Picard , her podcast and more

Gates McFadden seems to be everywhere nowadays. From Star Trek: Picard season three, where she has a significant starring role, to her podcast Gates McFadden InvestiGates: Who Do You Think You Are? , where she delves deeper into getting to know actors and actresses who have been on Sar Trek , we’re hearing and seeing her now seemingly more than in the last 20 years combined. We certainly don’t mind.

Gates took some time out of a rainy Friday morning to catch up with us about her projects, and, silly us, we even stumbled upon the heart of the human condition during our conversation.

TrekNews.net : Thanks for joining us, Gates. We appreciate the way you delineate your guests on InvestiGates as people who are far more than just Star Trek alum. That was embodied well in your recent episode with Kate Mulgrew. In your intro for her, you never even mentioned she was on Voyager . We’re curious… what do you get out of really digging into these people and revealing who they are and exposing them to your audience?

Gates McFadden : Well, you honor me far too much by saying I expose them to my audience. I’m simply searching for things I don’t know about my guest. I love researching because it just opens the world to you and you go, oh my gosh, these are people who I’ve known about, some of them are dear friends… but there’s always something new you learn about them. So that to me is what’s challenging and also really enjoyable.

I do not consider myself an excellent podcaster. I am a neophyte; I am learning on my feet. It’s been fascinating and excruciating as well because you have to listen to your own voice and your own dumb questions.

TrekNews.net : It can be so tough for podcasters to nail down a level of comfort with their guest. But we think you do it really well. To what do you attribute your intimate interviewing skills?

Gates McFadden : I feel it takes a moment to get comfortable on a podcast, just as it does on an in-person or video interview like we’re doing. In the beginning, I always feel I’m trying too hard. And once it settles down, then both people are really listening to each other and it’s a conversation, which is what I love. Then it’s a give and take, and it can go places I haven’t anticipated or they haven’t anticipated. I also love it when there are big surprises that happen.

Everybody I talk to is interesting and so different. That’s an extraordinary thing for me. I didn’t pick that up as much when I was interviewing my TNG folks because I was close friends with all of them. But when you really don’t have a super-close friendship, it’s a fascinating give and takes. Some of the topics we talk about are fascinating. Like with the recent interviews with Tawney Newsome and Kate Mulgrew, we talked about our shared backgrounds, like our Catholicism.

I love talking to people like Jack Quaid and Tawny Newsome because I’m getting to know them in a new way. I adore both of them. I love their screen presence. I like who they seem to be as people. I sort of go, “yeah, I would like to get to know that person.” So, it’s pretty easy. There’s nobody I’ve worked with that I’ve gone, “well, that person’s a dud” because Star Trek actors are amazing, usually truly human beings who really care about so many different things in the world. So that part’s been fabulous.

TrekNews.net : Have you learned anything about yourself from talking with these people that you maybe didn’t realize before?

Gates McFadden : Oh, so much! I’m fighting my own self-judgment all the time. I never would’ve gone into podcasting had it not been something offered to me. I was offered and turned it down twice. I did the same thing with Star Trek . There’s something about me that keeps saying, “oh no, no.” And then, “Okay, okay, let me try this.” <laughs>. And it opened a whole new world. So, that’s what I’ve learned about me over the last, you know, 50 years.

As I was pondering doing a podcast, I have these two girlfriends who I always go over and discuss if I should do a certain thing. We walk through the pros and cons. They have a dog called Luna, and at that point, Luna never let me touch her. She was very shy. I was on the fence about doing a podcast and I said, okay, look, I’m going to take two dog biscuits. If Luna takes the biscuit in my right hand, I’m going to do it. And if she takes the left, I won’t do it. And I swear she went back and forth. It took her five minutes to make the decision, and she took the biscuit on the right. And I said, “well, I guess I’m doing it.”

TrekNews.net : Sounds like Luna can make all your life decisions from now on.

Gates McFadden : Yeah, it’s become a big joke! It’s taken me this long to learn how I need to make sure I open myself up to growing and trying new things. Somebody once referred to me as a “refuser.” Maybe that’s me.

TrekNews.net : When you talk about working on the podcast, you’ve mentioned how you edit your shows. Are you the person who actually sits down at the computer and gets into the nuts and bolts of an editing program?

Gates McFadden : Yes, and it takes forever! It’s a tremendous amount of editing. In the first season of InvestiGates , I would sometimes take a story from my interview and put it earlier or later in the show, depending on if that was a good ending. I don’t do that now. But I would have loved to be an editor in my life. I think it’s a fascinating thing because editing really makes a huge difference to the flow of a show.

TrekNews.net : Yeah, we don’t think television editors get nearly enough recognition because without doing what they do, you really don’t have a TV show. You don’t have nearly the same emotional punch or flow. It really is a valuable skill.

Gates McFadden : It would be fascinating if someone would do a TV show and have three different editors edit. The public would be just amazed at the impact different editors can have. Editing is a fine art.  

TrekNews.net : We’re sure all your guests have stuck out in your mind somehow, but is there one person who you remember as being a really interesting person?

Gates McFadden : I think I might have to go back to Wil Wheaton actually because he’s someone who I certainly knew and liked for a long time. But I learned more about him in our podcast than I had learned in years. I learned what was shocking to him and what was gross to him. I learned that he doesn’t dance. I learned he doesn’t think of himself as a forgiving person. I mean, that’s pretty amazing.

TrekNews.net : It’s almost like getting to know somebody else again, even though you might have already known them.

Gates McFadden: Yes. People oftentimes make snap judgments about other people, maybe based on what they see on TV or just a passing encounter with a person in a check-out line. You think you know a person, but we often cut ourselves off from really significant observations because we close ourselves off.

TrekNews.net: You strike us, Gates, as someone who is a real student of the human condition. Would you agree with that assessment?

Gates McFadden : I would be honored if that was the case, and I do sort of agree with that assessment.  I like looking at life like a scientist, really, because you sort of go, “why did I react that way? Why am I so scared now?” I try to stay where I like myself and try to be open to others in the same way. It’s a constant learning process. You can really do harm if you’re not thoughtful.

TrekNews.net : Fascinating. So, snap your fingers and you can get anybody on the show. Who would it be? Doesn’t have to be a Star Trek alum.

Gates McFadden : Well, one person I would love to talk to is [former Georgia State Representative and gubernatorial candidate] Stacey Abrams. I have great admiration for her. Plus, she’s been on – and loves – Star Trek !

TrekNews.net : Who would you be starstruck by?

Gates McFadden : Mads Mikkelsen is a big heartthrob of my life. He’s so great. He was a dancer, and one of those people that from afar I go, “wow, he’s a really good actor.” I love watching him on screen.

TrekNews.net : It’s good to see Beverly get some major meat in season three of Picard . We’re sure you feel the same way. What was your first reaction when you saw her storyline, considering the character unfortunately was not so prominent in the TNG movies?

Gates McFadden : That’s an understatement. Yeah, I needed to know in advance that there was going to be a good storyline, something that would show different aspects of Beverly. That it wouldn’t just be that she was a mother, or I was a vehicle to make the son come back. Obviously, they could have used any number of people who that could have happened to.

I don’t want to be limited to things that are just considered “female,” or “feminine.” I don’t only think it’s about nurturing. I think it’s about being forceful, in a good way, being assertive about being a scientist, and being really curious about what’s going to make the situation get better. I think she’s a humanist. I think she is, of course, a nurturer, but I think she is also very interested in science and technology, and collaboration is huge for her.

TrekNews.net : Would you do a Crusher show?

Gates McFadden : Are you kidding? <laughs>, Of course, I would. I mean, that could be very interesting. You know, we could be off on the Eleos doing medical supply runs and running into people sort of Pre- Picard .

TrekNews.net : It’s been basically 20 years since Nemesis . So, how did you get back into that headspace? How did you get back into character after so long?

Gates McFadden : Oh, it becomes very easy because we go to Star Trek conventions. It was after the 20 th or 25 th anniversary that we all started heavily doing conventions again. I hadn’t done them for a while. And we [the TNG cast] all were in contact. You know, once you’re with your television family again, it just starts to happen. And we all are very close. We have a group text. So, I think we know who our characters are, and how the characters evolved.

TrekNews.net : Forgive this next slightly morbid question. It’s fair to say your obituary is going to have Star Trek in the first paragraph. Let’s take Star Trek out of the picture. What do you want to be remembered for besides Star Trek ?

Gates McFadden : In my life, I would like to be remembered for giving love. Every time I’ve ever given love, I’ve grown as a person. And I think there’s no point in giving hate or giving negativity. Being with my own personal family brings me so much love. I have so much love from my niece and nephew. I have so much love for my friends, and certainly for my son. Being a parent was the greatest experience of my life, for sure, because it is about protection and giving love. You learn about yourself as you do it. That was something I really wanted.

Being a parent illustrates what is so amazing about our existence. Yeah, there’s the risk of pain and injury and all sorts of things, but it’s like, are you willing to get positive? Are you willing to give love? But it’s about trying to emphasize giving . It’s about taking it off of me, me, me .

TrekNews.net: Well said. Thanks for sitting down with us today, Gates.

Gates McFadden : Oh, you’re certainly welcome!

Gates McFadden InvestiGates is available on Apple Podcasts , Audible , Spotify , and other podcast apps through gatesmcfadden.com .

The third and final season of Star Trek: Picard stars Patrick Stewart as Jean-Luc Picard, LeVar Burton as Geordi La Forge, Michael Dorn as Worf, Jonathan Frakes as William Riker, Gates McFadden as Beverly Crusher, Marina Sirtis as Deanna Troi, Brent Spiner as Lore, Jeri Ryan as Seven, Michelle Hurd as Raffi, along with Amanda Plummer as Vadic, Todd Stashwick as Captain Liam Shaw and Ed Speleers as Jack Crusher.

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Keep it locked on TrekNews.net for all the latest news related to Star Trek: Picard , Star Trek: Discovery, S tar Trek: Strange New Worlds , Star Trek: Lower Decks , Star Trek: Prodigy , and more.

Kyle Hadyniak has been a lifelong Star Trek fan, and isn't ashamed to admit that Star Trek V: The Final Frontier and Star Trek: Nemesis are his favorite Star Trek movies. You can follow Kyle on Twitter @khady93 .

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'Star Trek: Picard's Gates McFadden Talks 'InvestiGates' Season 2, Dream Guests, and What She Loves About Beverly Crusher

She also discusses what she's learned from running her own podcast and whether she'd return for a 'Star Trek: Legacy' spin-off.

Gates McFadden , best known for her role as Beverly Crusher in Star Trek: The Next Generation has taken the small screen by storm once again, reprising the role 20 years later in Season 3 of Star Trek: Picard , which is rocketing towards its final episode. McFadden has also taken over the airwaves recently, launching Season 2 of her podcast InvestiGates: Who Do You Think You Are? earlier this year, with new episodes dropping every Tuesday. On InvestiGates , McFadden goes on a deep dive with her fellow Star Trek stars and creatives to learn more about who they really are beyond the small screen.

Recently Collider's own Samantha Coley sat down with McFadden to discuss Season 2 of InvestiGates and Season 3 of Star Trek: Picard . During their conversation, McFadden revealed her dream guests for the podcast, what she's learned about editing and creating content, and why she uses this platform to find the human connection in commonality. McFadden also discussed Beverly Crusher's moral dilemmas in Season 3 of Star Trek: Picard , what she loves about the character after all these years, what it was like to film the Next Generation reunion, and whether she would be open to returning for a Star Trek: Legacy spinoff series .

COLLIDER: You've been doing this podcast for a couple of years now. How would you say that it's evolved since you started it and have your goals for these conversations changed since those early episodes?

GATES McFADDEN: Well, the biggest difference is that the first group were friends of mine that I was very close to. And now this season I'm talking to people who I've either just met recently before I spoke with them. Now, I know them better. But either that or they were people from other shows who I would meet and I had talked to, but I didn't really spend a lot of time with. I didn't know a lot about them. People like Alexander Siddig or John Billingsley I knew very well because we would end up being in green rooms together, for example.

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McFADDEN: So, I think it's a lot of fun to get to know new people, especially because I think I was more nervous doing my friends, which is funny, but I know how particular they are and so I thought, "Well, okay. I don't know what they're going to be willing to share or go over it. Are there stories they've told too many times?" So, I think I was maybe better with some of the... I think my second season might be better than my first season because I learned more about what to ask. When you hear your own voice, I don't know how you feel about this, but it's like torture.

Oh yeah, I completely agree.

McFADDEN: And also, I don't know about you, but there were so many times, and there still are, where I go, "Just shut up Gates. Just shut up." Does that ever happen to you, Samantha?

All the time. I do a podcast as well and I cannot listen to it back.

McFADDEN: There's just so many ticks and all of that. So if you ever want to learn about what you don't want to know about yourself, but you should know, do a podcast and listen to yourself.

What would you say is the biggest thing that you've gained from doing this podcast and what are you hoping people take away from it?

McFADDEN: Well, I've learned how to sound edit. Which is a huge thing actually. It takes hours and hours. And then I send it to the technician who really cleans up my edits, but they don't change my edits. My edits are my edits. I've taken out all of the people clearing their throats and things like that, as well as just tightening things up because I've learned not to do so long of a podcast because I end up having to edit it down to 50 minutes basically, or 55 minutes. And the more I have, the harder that task is.

But also, it gives me a range of stories or things to talk about. So, it's a plus and a minus. I think what I want people to take away from it is that every one of us has all these interesting stories and you think you know someone, but maybe you don't know.

Sort of like a peek behind the curtain.

McFADDEN: Yeah, and I feel we are all connected as human beings and we all have our struggles and I wanted to try to be as honest as I could be about different things that we all go through and what our dreams are and what we're wishing for and the commonality in our struggles and the joy in family and talking to each other. And it's a Star Trek community, it's a brilliant community. I'm so honored to be part of it. And now I'm finally taking it all in. As an older person, I'm going, 'Man, what a wonderful ride this has been. What a fortunate community I live among.' So anyway, I've really learned how my struggles are just like other people's struggles and being vulnerable, and I do feel vulnerable when I do this.

Absolutely.

McFADDEN: I think that's been very hard. You have to stay open and risk sounding like an idiot.

If it helps, I’ve listened to quite a bit and you don't sound like an idiot.

McFADDEN: Well, thank you. Maybe I edited out the idiot part. So, I don't know.

Well, you're very good at it. So as you mentioned, for this season, you're talking to a lot of talents that you haven't worked with necessarily on screen. Can you go into a little bit more about what it's like to engage with these people that you may not have worked with in a show, but whose careers overlap with yours so significantly?

McFADDEN: Well, I think that's why I wanted to do this InvestiGates . I like to go back to who their parents are, where did they grow up, what was it like—things that I often go back to. I feel that the games we play as children are very important. Did you have a sense of play when you were young? So many actors had a great sense of play and the games they played are really important to how their creativity unfolds sometimes. So, that's very fascinating to me personally. I love that about anybody. It could be the person sitting next to me on the plane. You can have a very deep encounter with someone you don't know very well if you all just listen and ask the right questions.

Absolutely. You've mentioned that you do a lot of research for each guest that you have on. How does that differ from person to person?

McFADDEN: Well, take Tawny Newsome. I wish I could see her live performances at Second City , improvising in Chicago. I would love to have seen that, but I can't. So, instead, I know a lot about Second City . I have had friends who've been in Second City . So on something like that, I know the kind of improvisational background she has. I had a very strong impression of her when I first met her. She's extraordinary and very smart and beautiful. So when you have a really strong gut feeling about somebody, it makes it fun to just see what you can find out there on the internet. And I watched different shows that she had performed in and I would find things she'd acted in. You look at interviews, I would listen to podcasts that she had spoken on, and that's kind of where you start.

And as I was researching with hers, for example, I was finding the things we had in common, be it astrology or being brought up Catholic, whatever it is. And that's kind of where you start. With Kate Mulgrew, I read her books and I watched all the different things that she did. I didn't see everything. I didn't have to see everything. And I know a lot of people who are friends of hers. Even though I hadn't spent as much time with her, I spent a lot of time with these friends of mine. People like Andy Robinson. He and I were both at USC together teaching. So, he was head of the graduate acting department. I mean, again, there are overlaps and that's what's really fun about it, is to figure out the overlaps.

I think that the level of personal care and dedication you put into each of these conversations really comes through in each episode. I was just listening to your conversation with Tawny this morning and the way that you two light each other up was delightful.

McFADDEN: Oh, thanks.

You have a few more episodes in this season. Who are some guests that you have lined up that you're excited to talk to if you haven't recorded already, or episodes you’re excited for fans to hear that are not up yet?

McFADDEN: Well, the one's coming up... So, today is Alexander Siddig who played the doctor on Deep Space Nine . Yeah. I mean, what a fascinating man. What a brilliant actor. Next week I have Terry Matalas, who was-

McFADDEN: Yeah. Our producer for this season of Picard , who I adore, and he's just wonderful. So, people are going to learn more about him. I have Ed Speleers coming up who plays my new space son on Picard Season 3. And then I have Anson Mount. And that will conclude Season 2.

Those all sound like amazing episodes. If you come back for a third season, who are some of your dream guests that you'd like to talk to?

McFADDEN: Well, I really would love to speak with Sonequa. I think she's an extraordinary actor and whenever we've met in the green rooms, she has this very extraordinary presence. I would like to get to know her, find out about her. I think all of the actors in the new shows are terrific. Obviously, my dream guest probably is Michelle Yeoh. That would be amazing.

McFADDEN: But I doubt I could get her at this point. But who knows? That would be a dream person. And also the other actors on Strange New Worlds , some of the Lower Deck actors. And then we have the maybe two new series happening. And of course Todd Stashwick. I mean, he's just fantastic. So, I'd love to speak with him. I adore him. So, that's a good start.

Yeah, those are great answers. I would love to listen to those conversations. So speaking of the third season of Picard , you're doing some truly fantastic stuff with Beverly. How much influence did you get to have over some of these really key moments for her? Namely, the conversation with Picard in Episode 3, and then most recently, her moral conflict with Vadic.

McFADDEN: With the third episode with the scene with Patrick [Stewart] and I, that one was the trickiest because I did not want one person or the other to have clearly made the wrong ethical choice, and I was worried about that the most. So, I fought for certain things. Certain things got taken out that I thought were more on Beverly's side as an explanation, but I tried to play it as strongly as I could in the way it was written. As I've said several times, the show's called. It's not called Crusher. So, I think he was going to have more final say in how the scene was going to be in terms of lines. I think the one with Vadic, it's a very tricky scene. I love the fact that you see this woman who's so vulnerable and exhausted by this. This has been going on for quite some time in her life.

And she thinks it is because of this person. This is the person who has done all of the Changelings, and she doesn't know anything more than that. So, I feel that I've... Well, let me put it this way. I've always thought to myself, you see what people do, the horrible things humans can do to each other. And I've thought to myself, the only time I could ever see myself really just striking out and hurting someone or killing someone would be protecting my son, my family. And so, I think she's in that position. And if you're exhausted, you look at in wartime and the exhaustion that must happen and the post-traumatic stress of things, I don't think you always are in a state where you can control every emotion and reaction you're feeling. You strive to. And I think that certainly everyone's character is always striving to do that, do work for the greater good.

But she speaks honestly when she says, "I don't know, I think I'm losing my moral compass." She wants to hold on to that moral compass, but she's at least aware that it might be slipping. So, I love the fact that they present it so that the audience is going to have to think about what they would do. They end up not killing her, something else happens. But to just put yourself in that position and imagine what you would do is very important because none of us know what we would do until we're in that situation. I mean, look at the Holocaust, The Night of Broken Glass, when all that was happening, Crystal Night. If you weren't there, how can you say what you would do or would not do to save your family? So, again, I like the fact that it was a scene that was engaging us on those very extreme levels.

I think you played both of those moments in particular just phenomenally.

McFADDEN: Oh, thank you.

Wonderful work. What was it like establishing the new family dynamics with Jack and, to an extent, Picard? Did you do a chemistry read with Ed? You two just... I believe that relationship so much.

McFADDEN: Oh, thank you. Well, he's such a wonderful actor. Oh, he's so wonderful. We just clicked. We totally just clicked. And once I got over the fact that he was going to have a British accent, which was pretty funny. No, he was just a joy to work with. So, it was easy working with him. He's one of those actors. So, I'm glad it reads like we feel. I love him. He's got two great kids and a wonderful wife. And yeah, he feels like my new space son. I'm so lucky. I've got two space sons and a real son.

Well, I can't wait to listen to that conversation coming up. So I've seen through episode eight, and this will probably go up past that episode. Can you talk a bit about the reunion moment?

McFADDEN: Well, it was what you would imagine it was. But you see, we all are in each other's lives. We are close friends. We're in a group text. We know what's basically going on in each other's lives. What was a trip is to go back to this big observation lounge table. That was a trip. But it reminded us of how long those shooting days used to be. Because when we were around the observation lounge in the original show in the Enterprise D, it would take the whole day to just go around the table, even if you had one line because they had to do closeups and medium shots, and then the master shot. Now, they shoot things much faster because they have so many cameras going at the same time.

It still does take a long time though, when you have a group of people at a table. But it was pretty cool, I have to say. I think for me, the moment that really got to me though was when I was on the Titan bridge the first time with Patrick and Jonathan and I was like, "Oh my gosh, we're on a bridge of a ship and we're doing this and we're in costumes." It was something about the spaceship. It's an amazing set. But yes, it was tremendous to have the chance for all of us to be there acting together. I love them all. They're an amazing group of human beings, and they're wonderful actors.

I've just been loving this season. It's fantastic so far. Is there anything that you can tease for fans heading into the final two episodes?

McFADDEN: Absolutely not.

I completely understand.

McFADDEN: All I will say is it is such a ride. Oh my gosh, the pace quickens and the plot thickens, and look out. Yeah. Anyway, that's all I can say.

Fantastic, I can’t wait. There's been a lot of chatter about a potential spinoff, a Legacy spinoff about Jack and some of the other characters. Would you be open to returning to something like that? And what's your vision for Beverly in the future, if you can tease that at all?

McFADDEN: I would certainly be open to something like that. I have no idea what my vision of her would be. I mean, I'm interested in a lot of things. It would depend on the given circumstances. I think she certainly has... What's been great about this season is you see that she's the one who will keep looking for the solution. She's definitely a scientist as well as a humanist and a doctor, and I think that's really cool that she's always thinking, "What can I do to get us out of this situation and what am I not seeing?" And that's great. I love that about her character. I also think it's fantastic that we haven't seen her for 20 years and she was doing this exploring, going to all these dangerous places out in space. I mean, that's also would be really fun to see more of what that was like. But I'd love to see more with her space son. That would be fantastic. I use the word fantastic a lot. I've noticed that in my podcasts.

Well, when it fits!

McFADDEN: Anyway, that's about it. Yeah, there you are.

Wonderful. Thank you so much for taking the time to chat with me.

McFADDEN: I hope you love the final episodes as much as I love them.

You can catch McFadden in the Star Trek: Picard series finale which hits Paramount+ on April 19, and you can listen to Seasons 1 and 2 of InvestiGates on your favorite podcast app.

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Interview: Gates McFadden On Dr. Crusher And Controversy In ‘Star Trek: Picard’ Season 3

| February 13, 2023 | By: Anthony Pascale 18 comments so far

TrekMovie had a chance to talk to members of the cast and crew of Star Trek: Picard season 3 at the Hollywood premiere. The new season includes Gates McFadden, reprising her Star Trek: The Next Generation role of Dr. Beverly Crusher. We had a brief moment with the actress on the purple carpet and she talked about what it took to get her to say “yes” and how season 3 is the most challenging thing she has done with Trek yet.

[Minor spoilers ahead]

Terry Matalas worked with each of the TNG actors to develop their characters 20 years later. For Crusher, she has gone through quite a lot. Was it what you imagined and did you have input into the development of Beverly?

Absolutely. Terry was such a mensch about everything. He called and said, “Listen, I would love you to be part of this, I have a story idea. Let me explain it to you. And then please give me your input. Think about it.” And we had a dialogue for several months about all sorts of things. Because I wanted to make sure that it was really going to be a story in which Crusher was really used. She wasn’t just going to be a device and then let go, and he honored all of our characters. Each of us is doing things we have never done before on screen. And so it’s fantastic. That doesn’t happen that often.

Gates McFadden as Dr. Beverly Crusher episode one of Picard season 3

So if Crusher was handled like she was in Insurrection or Nemesis again, would you have said no?

I would have said No. Yeah. And it wasn’t like that. So I was thrilled. Thrilled!

How do you think fans will react to Beverly in season 3?

I hope the fans like it as much as I loved doing it. But there’s some controversy, and controversy is good, but ultimately we all work together and collaborate and try to find a solution together, even if we’ve had conflicts. So that’s… hope you like it.

And now you are ready to do more?

Absolutely!

More Picard coverage

We released our interview with Michele Hurd yesterday, and there are more interviews from the Hollywood premiere event coming, including series star Sir Patrick Stewart and showrunner Terry Matalas.

We will be posting our regular recap/reviews on a weekly basis, starting with the first episode on Thursday, February 16, and each week our All Access Star Trek podcast will discuss the latest episode, starting on Friday, February 17. Our  Shuttle Pod podcast crew will also discuss the upcoming season. Until then, you can read our spoiler-free review of season 3, written by Mark. A. Altman .

The third and final season of  Picard  premieres on Thursday, Feb. 16, 2023, exclusively on  Paramount+  in the U.S., and Latin America, and on February 17 Paramount+ in Europe and elsewhere, with new episodes of the 10-episode-long season available to stream weekly. It will also debut on Friday, Feb. 17 internationally on Amazon Prime Video in more than 200 countries and territories. In Canada, it airs on Bell Media’s CTV Sci-Fi Channel and streams on Crave.

Keep up with news about the  Star Trek Universe at TrekMovie.com .

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Star Trek: Picard

‘Picard’ Season 2 Was Rewritten After Paramount Deemed It “Too Star Trek,” Says EP

Does anyone know if the eps are available starting at 12:01 a.m. Thursday morning pacific time (in other words, midnight Wednesday night)?

That’s when new P+ shows typically drop, yes. Midnight PT.

Thank you!!!

She barely had any lines in TNG movies, she was basically a set prop. So anything Will be a step up!

I’ve only seen the one episode, but if that’s anything to go by, she’s going to impress.

Was lucky enough to attend a screening she spoke at, where she was full of touching and funny insights, and was as delightful as ever.

Lucky you! Was that the one in New York City?

It sounds like it was.

It was! I had no idea it was planned, but a friend’s 70 year-old dad was in the know and got us all tickets. Great fun, and the audience ate it all up of course. But as season premieres go, this one did a lot of things right.

In Mariner’s voice: Ooooh, I’m so jealous! Sounds like you had a good time and it’s nice to hear all the goodwill so far. Man I can’t wait now!!

I’m so happy we’re going to really see Beverly shine next season. She got so short changed in the movies. So can’t wait!!!!

I wonder if she’s talking about an internal controversy of some sort or just the usual backlash from certain sectors of the fandom.

Damn find a way to watch the episode when it’s hit the US or watch it when it hits UK the next day through official channels…that will be a tough 24 hours to endure for us non US citizens….

The NG movies missed an opportunity big time with Crusher. There was a different aspect to Picard’s character where Crusher was concerned. He had always loved her, even when she was with Jack Crusher. Feelings like that never die. She exposed a major vulnerability in him and knew him probably better than anyone. Hopefully the fallout of that relationship will be a main focal point of the story.

I really find it disturbing to continue to see well-liked characters, especially in STAR TREK, with firearms.

But that’s been a part of the shows since the beginning. Starfleet has always been a paramilitary organization with laudable ideals but phasers set to stun on every away mission.

Beverly fired a phaser as early as season 1 of TNG.

Characters have been shooting with phasers since 1966. What are we missing?

Political correctness 2023?!

They work and live in harm’s way. How could it be otherwise for them?

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Nathan lane, george takei, ‘fellow travelers’ & ‘rupaul’s drag race’ among honorees for inaugural critics choice celebration of lgbtq+ cinema & television, breaking news.

‘Star Trek: Picard’ Stars Patrick Stewart, Gates McFadden And Jonathan Frakes On Returning To The Bridge Of The USS Enterprise: “An Emotional Experience”

The third and final season of Star Trek: Picard went out with a bang this year, reuniting the cast of Star Trek: The Next Generation and delivering a compelling conclusion to a story that started 37 years ago. Patrick Stewart , Gates McFadden and Jonathan Frakes reflect on their earliest days, and describe the emotion they felt as they stepped back onto the bridge of the USS Enterprise.

DEADLINE: Do you remember your first meeting with one another, way back in 1986?

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GATES McFADDEN : I was doing a play with Linda Hunt called The Matchmaker , down in La Jolla. Patrick came down to see it. We went out to dinner and it was all very exciting; we found we had a lot of mutual friends who were in the Royal Shakespeare Company. We talked all night. We both said, “I don’t know, I’m nervous about this whole thing…”

PATRICK STEWART : I remember people telling me not to worry about signing a six-year contract. They said, “You’ll be lucky to make it through the first season.” You cannot revive an iconic series, that’s what they told us. I was told, “Get a plane ticket, come over here, do the show, make some money for the first time in your life, and work on your tan, then you can go home.”

FRAKES : You have to remember, audiences were not ready for a bald English captain with a French name. And a Klingon on the bridge, and a blind guy driving. It was a very strange environment and people were skeptical to say the least. I didn’t know anything about Star Trek . Neither did Gates, or Brent [Spiner], or Patrick. I think [Michael] Dorn did, and I know your space son, Gates, Wil Wheaton did. But we had different tastes in television — in spite of the fact that my wife, the wonderful Genie Frakes, had a poster of Captain Kirk on her bedroom wall when she was a kid [laughs].

McFADDEN : Brent said the same, that we just didn’t know if this was a good idea.

STEWART : Of course, I found out eventually that I was also signing up for six years of Jonathan Frakes.

FRAKES : Hey, now [laughs].

DEADLINE: Star Trek: Picard ’s third season reunites the whole Next Generation ensemble. The chemistry between the characters takes us right back to Next Gen when it had hit its stride. How long did it take you to settle in and find that chemistry?

FRAKES : I don’t think we got rolling until about the third season of Next Generation , in terms of chemistry. The writers didn’t know yet who they were writing for. For us, I’d never worn a silly spandex spacesuit with no pockets. I didn’t know how to act without my f*cking hands in my pockets. It was a lot to learn. And the technobabble. God bless Brent and LeVar [Burton], who were given the bulk of it.

McFADDEN : Excuse me, Beverly had quite a lot to say, too.

FRAKES : Yeah, and Beverly Crusher, my apologies [laughs]. I had the great privilege that for most of the scenes, we’d be gathered as a crew and I just had to sit next to the captain and say, “Report.” Then I could listen to everyone else mumble the technobabble, and Patrick would wrap it up. That was my favorite kind of scene.

STEWART : My knowledge of Star Trek was so minimal, and my knowledge of being on a soundstage with cameras and 40 crew was non-existent. I wasn’t called to shoot on the first day, and I remember being very annoyed about that. I wanted to be there from the start. I wanted to experience everything. So, I went out to the location in Griffith Park, just to watch how they did it. It was Brent and you, Jon.

FRAKES : The “Pop Goes the Weasel” scene.

STEWART : The ease and relaxation with which everyone was approaching that day’s work so impressed me. I think maybe I’d been unlucky. Whenever I’d been on camera, or where cameras were the observers, I had experienced tension and stress and anxiety. The atmosphere that day in Griffith Park was so relaxed. You and Brent were working together as though you’d been doing it a lifetime, and you’ve never worked together before, had you?

FRAKES : No. We’d done a play reading, but never anything on camera before, and certainly not with these characters.

STEWART : Those first days for me was just acquiring information and experience at the highest possible speed, and from the beginning there was a cooperative and social atmosphere on set. There was a lot of fun, too, a lot of humor, for which I paid a big penalty down the road [laughs]. But most of the first season, for me, was a huge learning experience.

I’ve watched quite a lot of it in the past few months as we’ve been talking about Picard , and I must say I’m not happy with a lot of the work I did in that first season. It was a little artificial, not spontaneous, not being in the moment. Not all of those things that are now fundamental to whatever we do. It got better as it went on.

FRAKES : I feel the same way. I had the exact same reaction to watching those early shows. I felt physically uncomfortable — and I look it. I was clearly nervous. I wasn’t centered, and wasn’t relaxed, despite appearances.

Do you remember, we couldn’t make any noise? You couldn’t put anything down on the set, because it would make a huge noise and then you’d have to dub the entire scene.

DEADLINE: You sat out the second season, Gates. When you came back for Season 3, did you start to feel more comfortable?

McFADDEN : The character was different when I came back. They’d had a different doctor, Pulaski, who was a bit more Bones-like, and that’s who they were writing Season 3 for. Suddenly, my character was a little more matronly. So, no, I was a little lost for the next couple of years, really, and didn’t really get into some great writing for the character until much later. I did have a couple of really wonderful episodes, like “Remember Me”, that were a little earlier.

DEADLINE: You each got episodes that allowed you to sink your teeth into your characters. As you got more comfortable, did you start to feel the potential of what you could do through the show?

FRAKES : Of course. And as they got to know us better, the writing made that easier to find. Patrick seemed to have a grasp of the captain before the rest of us had a grasp of who we were. At least, it felt that way to me. Patrick had some center, some position, that we didn’t have. He didn’t seem very nervous to us during Season 1.

STEWART : Oh, boy [laughs]. The comfort and reassurance that I perhaps projected came from years and years before I went to Hollywood, playing leaders, kings, princes, soldiers, warriors, in half of the plays of Shakespeare. I leant on that, I think, and while it may have given me that sense, rewatching the episodes I’m left with the feeling that I was too formalized. Too predictable. There wasn’t much of a human being there.

FRAKES : This might be a good time to remind you about the one-man show that Patrick did called Kings , in which he played a number of kings, including Billie Jean King, B.B. King, and of course, Elvis, which was my personal favorite [laughs].

McFADDEN : Patrick, which year was it when you directed us in Every Good Boy Deserves Favour , the Tom Stoppard play? That, to me, was one of the greatest experiences of my entire time doing the show. It wasn’t Star Trek , but it was, because we were all there and we were all very tight. We had Colm Meaney as well. We did it with an 80-piece orchestra in different cities, and they sold out, 6,000 seats every time. It was Star Trek fans; many of whom had never seen a theater, let alone a play, or an orchestral performance. It was phenomenal, and it was Patrick’s idea.

STEWART : As we were doing five days of work every week on the show, Monday to Friday.

FRAKES : And then to go to Chicago on the weekend and play Stoppard. That was a great period. I loved that. I think it was 1992. We started in LA, then went to Chicago. We played with the Atlanta Symphony. And Minneapolis. It was a beautiful experience, and we were directed by our captain.

DEADLINE: It has been more than two decades since the last Next Generation movie, Star Trek: Nemesis . Returning to Picard , how quickly did the characters come back to you?

FRAKES : Our family of friends never stopped knowing one another, so there was no feeling of reunion. We hadn’t been apart. What was unfamiliar was stepping back into a turbolift, waiting to walk back onto the bridge of the Enterprise-D. That was quite an emotional experience.

But 20 years had passed. And I remember Akiva Goldsman saying to me, “Patrick, your life has changed in the past 20 years. So many things have happened to you. Are you the same person you were then?” I realized then that it didn’t have to make reference to The Next Generation at all. What had been happening to these characters in those 20 years? Who were they today? I already knew mine had been up and down — captain, admiral, a desk job, not flying a spaceship.

McFADDEN : The reason to come back was that Terry [Matalas] pitched a really great story, and I loved it. I liked the fact it was different, that the character was much more three-dimensional as far as I was concerned. I loved that it was a story about the corruption of the Federation, because our world today is so full of corruption; of the environment, of the values we’d grown up with. You read three newspapers in the morning and you’re ready to go back to bed.

DEADLINE: Star Trek has always been at its best when it’s shrouding real-world issues and human experience in science fiction. This season too, Patrick and Gates, you’re working out your relationship as Picard is discovering a son, he never knew he had, and what that means for his life, for his legacy. Jonathan, you are dealing with grief over the loss of your son. I’m sure you’ve heard from people who have been affected by that kind of loss in their own lives.

FRAKES : I certainly have, and it has been very moving. Terry pitched a really satisfying arc for the third season, so it wasn’t necessarily a reunion. Each of the characters had to earn their entrance, and meet their position in the storytelling, and we each brought those 20 years of life back to it. There was conflict again, which as we know is the basis of all drama . Matalas really delivered what he promised us all at lunch one day, and I was thrilled to be a part of it.

McFADDEN : Terry did such a great job because he really loved TNG , and he loved our characters. There were more Easter eggs planted on that set than even I knew about. He knew more about the series than most of us, and certainly me. Some fans have said, “It was all action, and not enough talking about philosophy.” But look at the world. We have to take action, to prevent voter fraud, to stop this corruption that’s all around us in so many ways.

STEWART : It was very significant that we had Jonathan, who had broken down the barrier during The Next Generation of, “No, no no. The actors don’t get to direct episodes as well.” He broke that barrier down, and so he was able to bring his role as director, and all the experience he’s had, to this set.

Even though Jonathan, better than anyone else I know, can switch very easily from one move to another, at times he would have to make critical comments about what he was seeing that he thought wasn’t right. Now, that’s not an easy task ever, but under circumstances like these it’s even harder. At the heart of it all is affection, and I speak for everyone on our cast and crew. There is respect, there is admiration, and an intense love for one another in order that we protect this show and these characters. I mean it when I say this was a unique experience. I’ve had many wonderful experiences in my life, but there’s been nothing quite as unique as what we had in The Next Generation and, now, in Star Trek: Picard .

DEADLINE: What has the reaction to the show meant to you?

FRAKES : LeVar said the other day that we didn’t dare hope it could be this good, or that we could revisit this world, this friendship, this family. I think it’s even better than we could ever have dared hope. I’m proud of the work, the time and the experience. And it has only made our friendships stronger.

Audiences reacted in a way I have never experienced before, as an actor or a director. The outpouring of support has been, at times, a little overwhelming. I don’t want to be caught in the bubble of it because that’s a danger, but I’ve been so grateful.

McFADDEN : I’ll toast to that. I’m grateful and I feel the same way. It has been a complete surprise; a surprise that it happened and a surprise that it has been so well-received.

STEWART : It was a gamble, wasn’t it?

FRAKES : It certainly was.

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‘Star Trek: Picard’: Gates McFadden on Crusher & Picard’s ‘Raw’ Argument & All Those Reunions

Spoiler Alert

Star trek: picard.

• Michelle Hurd Talks ‘Star Trek: Legacy’ Hopes & Ponders ‘SVU’ Return
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[Warning: The below contains MAJOR spoilers for  Star Trek: Picard Season 3 Episode 8 “Surrender.”]

Star Trek: Picard brought back Patrick Stewart’s   Next Generation costars for its final season, and so far, it’s been one reunion after another.

But it’s the eighth episode in which we see everyone together again — Picard (Stewart), Crusher ( Gates McFadden ), Riker ( Jonathan Frakes ), Geordi ( LeVar Burton ), Worf ( Michael Dorn ), Deanna ( Marina Sirtis ), and Data ( Brent Spiner ). McFadden talks about filming that scene and Crusher’s arc this season.

When you first signed on to come back to Star Trek , how much had you known about Crusher’s arc?

Gates McFadden: Nothing. I was contacted by [showrunner] Terry Matalas and he said, “Would you be interested? We have a really great storyline.” I said, “I’m interested. Tell me the storyline.” I think it was clear to the producers that the reason it was interesting for us to come back was if they would honor each character in some way, and they did. They gave all of us tremendous arcs. I love the arc of Beverly Crusher. Patrick had told us three years ago or so that he was going to do a show on his own without us, and he just wanted us to know and maybe we would occasionally have a guest star appearance. But this was quite different. This was really as if it was its own movie actually, so it was so much fun!

What was your reaction to Jack ( Ed Speleers ) being Crusher and Picard’s son ? I love it.

I do, too. I am always honored to have anything that’s connected with motherhood because I really think parenting is one of the hardest things I’ve ever done, and it’s also the most rewarding by far, so anything that has to do with that on board. But the fact that she had gone away, was out of Starfleet, was a little bit of a renegade in that she was commandeering her own ship, she was doing something she believed in, and sometimes skirting the law because in order to get medicine places, you had to sometimes do a weapons exchange… I love the fact that we don’t know everything that’s happened to her.

She raised this son single-handedly, for the second time really, but this time really off alone. It’s a tribute to single parents everywhere and to the parents up on the space station. There are sacrifices that have to be made. And I loved the fact that she was still a scientist, doing research. She was still a doctor, and she very much was protecting her son from a serious trouble if she had just let everyone know whose son it was. I know it was controversial, but I don’t think she’s a selfish person at all. How do you read it?

Trae Patton/Paramount+

I agree. What works is that you don’t ignore the past and pretend this is her first child. So you can understand why she wants to protect Jack.

Yeah, and the argument that they crafted between us — which obviously Patrick had final say in, and I did lose a couple things that I thought were more on Crusher’s side, but the show is called Picard , not Crusher and rightfully so … It was only last season that Picard really dealt with his issues about his parents. So in a way, I think there’s a lot of truth when she says, “I don’t know how it would’ve been,” and she did what she felt was right for various reasons. Some of it is just a mother’s instinct, which if you stay to the end, we don’t know what would’ve happened had that child been out and about in the world.

Can you share what was lost from Crusher’s side in that argument?

I won’t because I think it’s a beautiful scene. … There was more of how much she had really wanted Jack to contact him and that he had made his decision, but she was against that decision. You have to make a choice as a parent: Are you going to be loyal to the father of the child or are you going to be loyal to your child? If the child says, “don’t, I don’t want him to know. I don’t want you to tell him.” You’re in a tricky spot there. [Also] she really did strongly believe there would be a target on his back, and I think she was right.

How was it for you to step back into Crusher’s shoes?

The shoes were more comfortable, as was the costume. [ Laughs ] I loved my costumes! I had the coolest jackets. I want them.

What’s really special about this is how many groups of people who have worked together on a series have the chance — I’m sure it’s happened before and it will happen again, but it’s pretty rare that you are also friends in real life, so we know what’s going on in our lives. We see each other a lot. But then to be able to act our old characters who have evolved just as we have evolved as human beings, because hopefully as you get older you might get a little wiser — either that or maybe set in your ways, I don’t know which… The chance to explore that through characters you love is pretty terrific. I look into Jean-Luc Picard’s eyes and there’s chemistry already. There’s something there. I have a history with both Sir Patrick Stewart and with the character.

In this episode, everyone’s back together for a scene that honestly was not long enough for me.

What was it like on set?

It was a little bit difficult because there was a lens and we were changing some of the ideas that the director had at that time, so it wasn’t as relaxed as I think we all thought it was going to be. But it ended up later being very, very relaxed. It’s so much fun to be back around a table, the Observation Lounge. We just missed the Ready Room. That was a room I really liked going into for scenes. It had the fish, the Shakespeare book. It was great.

How far will Crusher go to keep Jack safe? Does she have a line on cross? Her maternal and doctor sides have to constantly be in conflict.

They are. That’s very much in the last two episodes. She’s in great turmoil about it.

What is so amazing about the franchise in general is that no matter what the stakes and how many conflicts you have, you all collaborate to work together for the greater good. That’s the choice that everybody makes. … It resonates with me because it’s rarely the easy choice. It’s usually the difficult choice. There’s not one character in that crew that wouldn’t be willing to give their lives to save the others.

Talk about filming scenes like Crusher and Picard’s argument. They’re so heavy with all these years that have passed.

Patrick and I loved doing [that]. It was what we’d been longing to do. I longed for scenes like that in film and earlier on in the original Next Gen where they’re more raw. Because people who love each other fight, but you have to learn how to also forgive and go forward and work together. And that’s what is so special. It’s real life in the sense of the way character relationships are, but the technology is very advanced and not so real, but soon may be real because right now we’re going so fast. People are working on virtual realities that are very like the Holodeck, so who knows?

It wasn’t difficult to shoot. What took time was the script. We went back and forth with giving our point of view to the writers and the producers. … We were really listened to. You don’t always get what you asked for, but I think we got a terrific balance. It was just a few takes and it was great because we both were ready to do the scene.

What might the future hold for those two?

I think they might be in different spots in their lives. She’s certainly very happy to be back into the world that she was so used to and that she loved so much, which is the world of the Federation … and [she] would like to participate in the world very much. I certainly don’t see her as somebody retiring.

What else can you say about how the series ends for Crusher?

She’s three-dimensional, which is fantastic. All of us are three-dimensional or more, and it’s nice when we’re validated and challenged and tolerant and then when we learn, and I think she’s learned a lot. She’s probably made some mistakes. I can’t give out the very end, which I know people want to know. [ Laughs ] And I don’t blame them. But what’s very clear is there’s a lot of love amongst the members of the cast and with the new members. I love Ed Speleers, who plays my son. I love the daughters of Geordi La Forge. All the actors are so good. And then there’s Jeri [Ryan] and Michelle [Hurd]  and Todd [Stashwick] , who we all adore and now the public’s going crazy for. I’m over the moon that people are liking it, that I had so much fun doing it. It’s a privilege.

Patrick Stewart & Gates McFadden on Reuniting on 'Star Trek: Picard'

What was your reaction to the last script?

I feel that it’s a very complete story and that it leaves a lot of things not completely defined, and people are just going to have to fill in their own blanks and hope for more.

How that you’ve stepped back into her shoes, do you see this as the final time or would you do it again if the right opportunity arose?

I would definitely do it again in a minute. Jonathan and I were talking about that this last weekend. I feel a legacy show would be fantastic. They could focus on different characters and then maybe everyone would come back for a bit and focus on another character.

What really is exciting to me, honestly, about this show, other than yes, I was so happy to have a part and be part of it, but I don’t think it’s that often that we see such a balance of young and old characters, different generations, actually sort of three generations on the Titan ship, collaborating, respecting each other and working together, and people standing up for each other. That’s a very beautiful thing to see. It’s something I believe we need to do more of in our own world today in society.

Star Trek: Picard , Thursdays, Paramount+

Star Trek: Picard where to stream

Gates McFadden

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The Center Seat: 55 Years of Star Trek

Chronicles rare and fascinating details of how "Star Trek" began, where it's been, and how it's going where no television series has gone before. Chronicles rare and fascinating details of how "Star Trek" began, where it's been, and how it's going where no television series has gone before. Chronicles rare and fascinating details of how "Star Trek" began, where it's been, and how it's going where no television series has gone before.

• Gates McFadden
• Larry Nemecek
• Marc Cushman
• 13 User reviews

Episodes 11

• Self - Author & Historian …
• Self - Author & Historian
• Self - Professor of Sociology …

• Self - Writer & Producer, Multiple Series …
• Self - Writer, Multiple Series …

• Self - Uhura, The Original Series …
• Self - Program Manager, WKBF Cleveland …
• Self - Professor of Sociology

• Self - Wesley Crusher, The Next Generation …
• Self - Memorabilia Collector …

• Self - Executive Producer Multiple Series …

• Self - Scenic Art Supervisor Multiple Series …

• Self - Science Consultant Deep Space Nine …
• Self - Scenic Artist Multiple Series …

• Self - Chekov, The Original Series …

• Self - Director, The Wrath of Khan …
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• Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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• Trivia While the documentary talks about the difficulties between Roddenberry and the network, it mentions only very briefly the drinking, drugs and womanizing that made working with the series' creator so difficult.
• Connections Referenced in Treksperts Briefing Room: The Center Seat (2023)

User reviews 13

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• How many seasons does The Center Seat: 55 Years of Star Trek have? Powered by Alexa
• November 5, 2021 (United States)
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• Inside Star Trek: Hinter den Kulissen des Enterprise-Universums
• The Nacelle Company
• See more company credits at IMDbPro

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• Runtime 46 minutes

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Star Trek actors Michael Dorn, Brent Spiner and Gates McFadden added to Montreal Comiccon lineup

The three Next Generation cast members will be at Palais de Congrès to meet fans from July 5 to 7.

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Montreal Comiccon has announced that three Star Trek cast members have been added to the lineup for the festival’s 2024 edition, namely Michael Dorn, Brent Spiner and Gates McFadden. As Worf, Data and Dr. Beverly Crusher, respectively, the actors appeared together in the 1980s/’90s series Star Trek: The Next Generation , the 1996 film Star Trek: First Contact and the third season of the recent Picard series.

As previously announced , the Montreal Comiccon 2024 lineup also includes Vincent D’Onofrio, Giancarlo Esposito, the Trailer Park Boys (in character) and Robert Englund with fellow cast members from A Nightmare on Elm Street .

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Montreal Comiccon (@mtlcomiccon)

For more on Montreal Comiccon, taking place at Palais des Congrès (1001 Place Jean-Paul Riopelle) from July 5 to 7, please visit their  website .

For more Montreal arts coverage, please visit the  Arts & Life  section.

Star Trek: Discovery Season 5, Episode 4 Has A Perfect David Bowie Link

WARNING: Contains SPOILERS for Star Trek: Discovery, season 5, episode 4, "Face the Strange".

• Reflections on the evolution from mutineer to captain in Star Trek: Discovery parallel David Bowie's "Changes" lyrics.
• Burnham & Stamets face their past selves in "Face the Strange," with ties to David Bowie's song.
• The 32nd century move allowed Discovery to break free from canon, echoing Bowie's artistic reinvention.

Star Trek: Discovery season 5, episode 4, "Face the Strange" has a perfect link to the legendary musician David Bowie . Written by Sean Cochran and directed by Lee Rose, "Face the Strange" forces Captain Michael Burnham (Sonequa Martin-Green) and Commander Paul Stamets (Anthony Rapp) to reflect on the changes they've experienced across five seasons of Star Trek: Discovery . By reflecting on her journey from mutineer to starship captain, Burnham is able to destroy the time bug and send the USS Discovery back to the 32nd century to continue their search for the Progenitors' technology.

The title of Star Trek: Discovery season 5, episode 4 is "Face the Strange", which comes from the 1971 David Bowie song "Changes". The song was the first single from Bowie's Hunky Dory album, which failed to chart on its release, but got a swift reappraisal following the huge success of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars in 1972. The full lyric that inspired "Face the Strange" comes from the chorus of "Changes", but a lot of the lyrics in Bowie's song reflect not just the themes of the episode, but the story of Star Trek: Discovery as a production .

Burnham Has Now Lived Star Trek: Discoverys Time Travel Both Ways

Why star trek: discovery's david bowie link is perfect, "time may change me, but i can't trace time".

The links between Star Trek: Discovery season 5, episode 4 and the lyrics of David Bowie's "Changes" aren't confined to the " Turn and face the strange " lyric. In the first verse, David Bowie sings about turning to face himself, not unlike the two Michael Burnham's fighting each other aboard the USS Discovery. However, the most obvious link between Bowie's "Changes" and "Face the Strange", is that they're both about someone reflecting on how " time may change " them. Discovery 's time bug allows both Burnham and Stamets to look back on their younger, angrier selves, and appreciate the people that they've become .

Stamets and Tilly briefly sing David Bowie's "Space Oddity" in Star Trek: Discovery season 2, episode 4, "An Obol for Charon".

There's also an interesting link between David Bowie's autobiographical song about finding one's artistic style, and the trajectory of Star Trek: Discovery . The innovations of Discovery were hampered by its connections to the wider Star Trek timeline in its early days, meaning that bold inventions were drowned out by complaints about canon. Like Bowie rejecting his own early artistic efforts in "Changes", Discovery 's move into the 32nd century in season 3 allowed it to create its own version of Star Trek , freed from the shackles of canon .

Discovery Isn't Star Trek's Only Link To David Bowie

David Bowie is linked to the Star Trek franchise in a number of ways, despite never appearing in any TV show or movie. Bowie's friend and artistic collaborator Iggy Pop guest starred as Yelgrun in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine , season 6, episode 10, "The Magnificent Ferengi" . In 1991, David Bowie's wife Iman appeared opposite William Shatner in Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country . Shatner himself covered Bowie's "Space Oddity" for his album Seeking Major Tom in 2011. Another of Bowie's classic songs, "Heroes" was played in the Star Trek: Short Treks episode "Children of Mars".

One of the most interesting links between David Bowie and the Star Trek franchise is his iconic role in the movie Labyrinth . Star Trek: The Next Generation 's Gates McFadden, credited as Cheryl McFadden, was the director of choreography and puppet movement on Labyrinth . Years later, McFadden reflected on the experience (via ComicBook ), saying that " Bowie was a dream to work with " while trying to choreograph the ballroom scene. For fans of both icons, it's disappointing that David Bowie never appeared in Star Trek . However, as Star Trek: Discovery proves, his influence is keenly felt on the franchise.

Star Trek: Discovery streams Thursdays on Paramount+.

Star Trek: Discovery

Star Trek: Discovery is an entry in the legendary Sci-Fi franchise, set ten years before the original Star Trek series events. The show centers around Commander Michael Burnham, assigned to the USS Discovery, where the crew attempts to prevent a Klingon war while traveling through the vast reaches of space.

Directed by Jim Henson and written by Monty Python's Terry Jones, Labyrinth stars Jennifer Connelly as Sarah, a teenage girl whose accidental wish that her baby brother be taken by the Goblin King results in an epic quest to save the baby from the King through a vast labyrinth, accompanied by its inhabitants. David Bowie also stars as Jareth, the Goblin King, and many of the characters are played by puppets created by Henson. 

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Published Jan 27, 2023

Gates McFadden Joins Star Trek Online with Refractions Update

Welcome to Refractions!

StarTrek.com

The conclusion to the Terran Gambit story arc for the free-to-play MMORPG, Star Trek Online is here!

What began with Reflections ends with Refractions as Terran Emperor Crusher has nearly made his way to Earth with “The Other,” the Mirror version of our V’ger , to destroy the capitol of the Federation.

Before he gets to Earth, you and your allies must break into a maximum-security prison in the Mirror Universe in a new 5 Captain Ground Task Force Operation “Bird Cage” and break out the Mirror version of Beverly Crusher in the hopes that she might help stop her son. Gates McFadden joins our long list of Star Trek cast members in this release.

Star Trek Online: Refractions - Launch Trailer

In our new giant-sized episode “Fujiwhara Effect,” Emperor Crusher and “The Other” have made it to Earth. You and your allies must make a desperate attempt to stop him as the galaxy hangs in the balance. If you want to know more, you’ll have to play it — the less spoilers for this one, the better.

In addition to this, there are two new Patrols based on content from previous release, Ascension . Both of these patrols fill in more details from Ascension . How did Janeway’s Borg drones get cleared from Jupiter Station? And what happened to the Khonshu while it was trapped in the Mirror Universe?

In addition to this release, Star Trek Online is celebrating our 13th anniversary. Play the new content above, along with some previous Terran Gambit content, and the Omega Stabilization Game, to earn the brand new V’Ger tech-inspired Compiler Science Dreadnought [Tier-6]. This gigantic, alien ship can transform itself into electric probes that will chase your enemies. Anniversary Celebration festivities kicked off this week and will continue until February 23.

This fantastic starship is visually inspired by a mix between the visuals of the V’Ger entity as seen in Star Trek: The Motion Picture (as well as concept art from the same), along with a portion of custom designs created in Star Trek Online for fleshing out the technology and enemies associated with “The Other,” as seen in the current story arc.

It wouldn’t be an anniversary without a brand-new Party Popper to earn. The 13th Anniversary version of the annual toy-device takes the grand, cosmic power of V'ger and shrinks it down to an itty bitty party horn.

Work on the Terran Gambit storyline kicked off in early 2021, and the Star Trek Online team has done a great job in bringing it to life. Along the way Kate Mulgrew, Wil Wheaton, and Gates McFadden joined the big cast of Star Trek actors. We can’t wait for you to play it!

To download and play Star Trek Online today for free, visit www.playstartrekonline.com .

Stay tuned to StarTrek.com for more details! And be sure to follow @StarTrek on Facebook , Twitter , and Instagram .

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Star trek: tng has a surprising fleetwood mac connection.

A member of Fleetwood Mac made a surprising appearance on an episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation.

• Mick Fleetwood, drummer of Fleetwood Mac, made a cameo in Star Trek: The Next Generation season 2 episode "Manhunt" as an alien ambassador.
• Fleetwood was a big Star Trek fan and requested to be part of the show, shaving his beard for the role and beaming on board the USS Enterprise-D.
• Many musicians have made surprise appearances in Star Trek, including Michelle Phillips, Iggy Pop, and Tom Morello, showcasing the franchise's appeal to diverse celebrities.

Classic 1970s rock band Fleetwood Mac has a surprising connection to Star Trek: The Next Generation . Beginning with its two-episode premiere in 1987, TNG brought live-action Star Trek back to television for the first time since the cancelation of Star Trek: The Original Series . While many fans of TOS were initially nervous about a Star Trek series that didn't feature Captain James T. Kirk (William Shatner) or Mr. Spock (Leonard Nimoy), Star Trek: The Next Generation went on to become a massive hit and one of the greatest science fiction series of all time.

Thanks to reruns and syndication, Star Trek: The Original Series developed a significant fanbase in the years following its cancelation. Many celebrities have talked about their love of Star Trek over the years, but some went even further, requesting a role in a Trek project. For example, Whoopi Goldberg reached out to TNG's producers and eventually took on the role of Ten Forward bartender Guinan, who appeared in 29 episodes of Star Trek: The Next Generation , as well as the movies Star Trek Generations and Star Trek: Nemesis . Mick Fleetwood, the drummer and leader of Fleetwood Mac, was also a huge Star Trek fan. After requesting a role in Trek , Fleetwood appeared in Star Trek: The Next Generation season 2, episode 19, "Manhunt" as an alien ambassador.

10 Star Trek Guest Star Actors You Forgot About

Mick fleetwood was in an episode of star trek: tng, fleetwood was unrecognizable in a cameo in tng season 2, episode 19, "manhunt.".

Mick Fleetwood plays an Antedian dignitary in the Star Trek: The Next Generation season 2 episode, "Manhunt." Both of whom spend most of the episode in a catatonic state. Fleetwood was a big Star Trek fan and wanted to be a part of the show in whatever way he could, although he did have one request. In a 2015 interview with the Vancouver Sun , Fleetwood spoke about his TNG role, saying he told producers that he would shave his beard " if you promise me that I get to beam down or beam up." Due to the extensive prosthetics required to play the fish-like Antedian, Fleetwood did shave his beard, and the Antedians were beamed onto the USS Enterprise-D at the beginning of the episode. Despite being unrecognizable, Mick Fleetwood got his wish to be part of the Star Trek universe.

In Star Trek: The Next Generation season 2 's "Manhunt," the USS Enterprise-D picks up two Antedian dignitaries, including Mick Fleetwood who need transportation to a conference on Pacifica. Soon after the Antedians arrive, the USS Enterprise-D receives a message that Lwaxana Troi (Majel Barrett) will also be traveling to the conference. The mother of Counselor Deanna Troi (Marina Sirtis), Lwaxana has entered a part of a Betazoid woman's life known as The Phase, and she is determined to find a husband. She initially sets her sights on Captain Picard, but ultimately leaves the Enterprise without a partner. Before she departs, however, Lwaxana reveals that the Antedian dignitaries are actually assassins who were planning to set off a bomb at the conference.

Lwaxana Troi had previously been introduced in Star Trek: The Next Generation season 1, episode 11, "Haven," and, in total, she appeared in six episodes of TNG and 3 of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.

Star Trek Has Other Surprising Musician Cameos

Star trek has a long history of celebrity cameos, including multiple rock stars and singers..

Mick Fleetwood was not the only musician who popped up in Star Trek over the years. Before Fleetwood's appearance on Star Trek: The Next Generation , Michelle Phillips of the pop group The Mamas & the Papas portrayed Picard's former flame, Jenice Manheim, in TNG season 1, episode 24, "We'll Always Have Paris." The "Godfather of Punk," Iggy Pop appeared in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine season 6, episode 10, "The Magnificent Ferengi," as a Vorta named Yelgrun. DS9's executive producer Ira Steven Behr was responsible for casting Iggy Pop, as he was a big fan of the musician.

Tom Morello, former guitarist for Rage Against the Machine and Audioslave, was such a big Star Trek fan that he reportedly contacted producer Rick Berman to request a role in Star Trek: Insurrection . Although Morello briefly appeared as a member of the Son'a species, his character was uncredited and barely seen. Because of this, he was asked to return for Star Trek: Voyager season 6, episode 20, "Good Shepherd," in which he portrayed Starfleet Crewman Mitchell. With its massive and dedicated fanbase, the Star Trek franchise has had quite a few memorable celebrity cameos, including several famous musicians.

Star Trek: The Next Generation

Star trek: deep space nine, star trek voyager.