Few pop culture franchises are as resilient as Star Trek. No matter how many times it “dies,” it always finds a way to come back. And it’s been that way since September 8, 1966, when it premiered on network television to middling reviews and mediocre ratings. At Comic-Con in San Diego, Nerdist got to sit down with several Star Trek luminaries from across the six decades (and several series) of the iconic franchise.
Among those we chatted with were Lower Decks’ Jerry O’Connell, Discovery’s Doug Jones, Voyager’s Robert Picardo, Deep Space Nine’s Cirroc Lofton, The Next Generation’s Michael Dorn, and George Takei, the original series’ Mr. Sulu. Rod Rodennberry, son of original Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry, was also on hand to honor 60 years of his father’s legacy. We spoke with each Star Trek icon about the franchise’s past, present, and possible future.
George Takei (Hikaru Sulu)
At 89 years old, George Takei is truly a living legend. He starred in all three seasons of the original Star Trek, along with the first six feature films. And he parlayed that fame into becoming a major advocate for several social causes, such as LGBTQ+ rights, as well as keeping the memory alive of Japanese-American internment during WWII. But he also brought his activism into Star Trek itself. And he did so by making sure his character, Hikaru Sulu, got the promotion he’d earned. We asked Mr. Takei about the battle to win his Captain stripes.
Nerdist: For years, you lobbied for Mr. Sulu to get a proper promotion. And after 25 years, you got your wish granted in 1991’s Star Trek VI. What did it feel like for you to have Sulu finally get his due, and his own starship command?
George Takei: Well, I noticed that for each new movie, we all kept getting raises in rank. I was a lieutenant, then I became a commander. But that’s all it was. Words. What I was doing on the bridge was essentially what I always did. As lieutenant, I was still saying “Sir, Warp Three.” Starfleet is supposed to be a meritocracy. So you advance in a career. So I started lobbying Gene Roddenberry that the idea of meritocracy has to be evident in the work we do. And so finally, after 25 years, in Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country, I got my own command. And I was a captain. My seat changed to the power seat, and I started giving orders. So, you know, I’m an activist in society, trying to make change in society. So it’s got to be reflected in our fictional life as well.
Robert Picardo (The Doctor)
Currently, the Star Trek franchise is in flux. Starfleet Academy and Strange New Worlds are both canceled, with Paramount+ burning off remaining episodes. Paramount is attempting to buy out Warner Bros, and that may have a real effect on Trek’s future. But the man behind Voyager’s holographic Doctor, Robert Picardo, believes Star Trek will always perservere. Here’s what Picardo told Nerdist and other journalists at Comic-Con regarding Trek’s future.
Robert Picardo: Star Trek‘s core value is diversity and inclusion. And even though presently that is seemingly out of fashion with current politics, Star Trek has survived 60 years. Current politics will not survive 60 years from now, so I believe that Star Trek’s values will just outlive present weather conditions in our culture. I hope new Trek continues to be science based. Star Trek has always been science-based, and I hope it doesn’t just turn into a video game with a lot of just fighting in space. So science based, ethics based, and that it keeps its optimism, and doesn’t get too dystopian. And that it remains about a community of nations working together in space. So it’s about cooperation and common ethics and values.
Doug Jones (Saru)
Nerdist: Star Trek on television has changed a lot in the last several decades. In the ’90s, Paramount produced 26 episodes a season. In today’s streaming environment, most seasons are a mere 10 episodes. Doug, you played Saru on five seasons of Discovery. Do you ever wish you had more episodes to flesh out your character like they did back in the day?
Doug Jones: It would have been cool in some ways, yes. But by the same token, Discovery was such a humongous undertaking. We were basically doing a feature film every episode. So, it took us nine months to film our 10 episodes or whatever, so I can’t imagine what it would take to do 20 or 26 episodes. We couldn’t do it. It would be two years for one season. And for me, memorizing all that science fiction dialogue by the paragraph? Oh, my gosh, no, 10 is enough! (laughs)
Jerry O’Connell (Jack Ransom)
Nerdist: With multiple series running concurrently on Paramount+, that’s allowed for some unusual crossovers, like when the animated Lower Decks characters crossed over into Strange New Worlds. Sadly, Jerry, your character Jack Ransom wasn’t the one to make the crossover. That would have been fun, as your real-life wife (Rebecca Romijn) plays Una on Strange New Worlds. Do you wish that Ransom been the one to transfer to the live-action realm on SNW, if only to get to act alongside your wife in a Trek project?
Jerry O’Connell: First of all, I was so happy that Tawny [Newsome] and Jack [Quaid] got to do it. They’re such great performers, and we’re all friends. I do have one of the more iconic lines in that episode, if you recall. We have the poster of my real-life wife, who plays Una Chin Riley, and they have the poster of her, and I get to say, “Yep, hottest Number One in Starfleet.” It’s just such a fun, iconic line. I mean, in my house, we say it all the time, “hottest number one in Starfleet.” And you know, a lot of times, when my wife does conventions, and I go with her, people have a poster with that image from Lower Decks, and have her sign it, and it’s just so cool.
Cirroc Lofton (Jake Sisko)
Speaking of crossovers, After 25 years, you recently got to return to play your DS9 character Jake Sisko once again, on a Deep Space Nine tribute episode of Starfleet Academy. Your character was there to honor Avery Brooks, who played your dad, Captain Ben Sisko. What was it like to return to your role after a quarter century away?
Cirroc Lofton: I mean, it was nerve-wracking because I didn’t want to mess it up. I remember going through a few script changes because I thought Avery would not like the way it was, how certain things were worded. So really, it was an homage to him, and I wanted him to be pleased with it. And there was a lot of pressure on my end to deliver in a way that would satisfy him. And to his credit, he was super helpful along the way. He was super supportive of me being involved in the project. And I just really felt embraced. So, this was a once in a lifetime window that opened up. And I jumped through it while it was open.
Michael Dorn (Worf)
Nerdist: You have appeared more Star Trek projects than anyone else alive. You actually hold the record. Seven seasons of TNG, four of DS9, five feature films, and one season of Picard. That last season was the last time you played Worf, where the script suggests he was the Captain of the Enterprise for a time. In fact, an offhand comment made by one of the characters even suggested he was responsible for something bad happening to the Enterprise-E. Does you have any idea what happened to Worf’s Enterprise when he was her captain?
Man, I don’t know. They don’t even know! (laughs). You know, and I asked them, the writers, and they said “Well…” and I realized “Oh, you don’t know, either.” So yeah, they don’t know.
I know we speak for many Star Trek fans when we say we’d love a Captain Worf project of some kind.
You know, never say never. You think there’s closure, and I keep telling people, “I’ve said goodbye I think, five or six times now.” They always said, “Oh, by the way, we want you to come back.” You never say never when it comes this world.
Rod Roddenberry
Rod Roddenberry, son of the late Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry, is an active producer on much of modern Star Trek, and he knows how important the message at Trek’s core is. Despite the current challenges the franchise faces, Rod maintains a positive outlook in regard to its future. He told Nerdist and other journalists “The industry’s pretty crazy, with Paramount and mergers and all that. So they will continue to do Star Trek, no doubt. And they are working on things. What I know there’s a sensitivity. I know they want to get it right. And it’s that balance of making a great movie or series, and sticking to the message. And I’m there as much as I can be to ensure they do pay attention to the message to the best of my ability.”
Whatever the future holds for Star Trek, its legacy at age 60 can’t be denied. Modern nerd culture is built on the foundations of Gene Roddenberry’s original TV series, from massive conventions to fan fiction. Even if no new episodes of Star Trek were ever produced, its influence will be felt for generations to come. Thanks to these actors and creators, we know in another six decades, someone somewhere will still be talking about Star Trek.