Posted in: Paramount+, Star Trek, TV | Tagged: star trek, Starfleet Academy

Jonathan Frakes Holds Out Hope, Believes Star Trek "Will Resurface"

Star Trek icon and director Jonathan Frakes discusses the current state of Paramount's franchise, holding out hope, and much more.

If there's anyone who believes in the power of Star Trek, it's the artists who help build the foundation for what it has become, which includes those from every generation across the 60-year history of Gene Roddenberry's franchise. Some of the more vocal figures, like The Original Series star William Shatner, Voyager stars Robert Picardo and Tim Russ, have checked in on the state of the franchise since there are no active Star Trek shows in production, with Strange New Worlds wrapping the final two seasons and Starfleet Academy wrapping its second and final season, waiting to be rolled out by Paramount. Now, you can add The Next Generation and Picard star Jonathan Frakes, who's spent time behind the camera on every live-action Trek show since TNG, still believes that the beloved science fiction franchise's resilience will come through again, speaking with TrekMovie.com about the upcoming Trek Against Pancreatic Cancer's PanCAN Purple Stride Walk.

Star Trek Star and Director Jonathan Frakes on "Unfortunate Irony" of No New Shows in Production During 60th Anniversary

"I think, sadly, to celebrate the 60th anniversary of our incredible franchise, it seemed very unfortunate that they've chosen this moment to not have any new Trek in production. It seems like a very unfortunate irony. I'm sure that Trek will resurface, it always has, and it always will. And the power that Roddenberry invested in it seems to have made it through six decades." Frakes said. The actor, who got his start in the TV series The Doctors in 1977, was a regular presence on TV, guest-starring and occasionally recurring on shows like The Fall Guy, Highway to Heaven, Paper Dolls, Bare Essence, and Falcon Crest, before landing his breakout role as Cmdr. William Riker, the first officer of the U.S.S. Enterprise-D on TNG, was the first live-action spinoff of the original 1966 NBC series, as the franchise found new success on syndication.

Frakes speculated like Russ about why the current Star Trek on Paramount's streamer wasn't sustainable, citing financial costs, which was something that was also an issue during the TOS days. "So some people who either didn't like or didn't approve or didn't support the latest endeavors, for whatever reason. Perhaps it's the changing of the guard at Paramount+ and CBS [Studios]. Perhaps it's indecision," he said. "Perhaps it's the amount of money it costs to make how beautiful the show is; the level of the production has become this sort of 'shoot to thrill' cinematic phenomenon that when we did the show back in the '80s, we counted on storytelling and acting and the occasional camera move [laughs]. It's a different beast now, and that beast is very expensive, and as we know, it's called show business."

Frakes directed the penultimate episode of season one, "300th Night" of Starfleet Academy, noting how some of the critics haven't bothered seeing the show. "Yeah, isn't that unfortunate? And that's how [Alex] Kurtzman felt. I got a call from Alex and Noga [Landau], who was his co-showrunner on 'Starfleet Academy.' They were calling people to let them know that the show was kind of 'on ice,' I think was the phrase they used. And it was what you just said [critiques coming from people who hadn't watched the show], they couldn't not mention as a factor, the trolls."

While Paramount announced there will be a full reboot of Star Trek on the cinematic end, unrelated to the Chris Pine-starred Kelvin Universe with the last film being 2016's Star Trek Beyond, at Cinemacon, Frakes was optimistic things will shape up, because why not? Discovery was the franchise's live-action TV return in 2017, following the 2005 UPN cancellation of Enterprise and TNG, which premiered in 1987, 18 years after TOS' cancellation. Here's hoping we don't have to wait nearly as long. "I'm very optimistic about the future. I just wish that something was percolating now. I know that there's talk of another movie. I don't think it's going to be one of the J.J. movies. It seems it's going to be a brand-new [idea]. I know that there's also a percolating idea about the Paul Wesley [Star Trek: Year One], which would be the origin of Kirk, but that's all I've got. All I've got is rumor and innuendo, and none of it is encouraging… But in truth, there will be a Star Trek on the air through 2027. That gives us a lot of time to get something else in the oven, if you will."

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