Jonathan Frakes Reveals How Roddenberry Described Riker & How “Nervous” He Was In TNG Season 1

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Summary Gene Roddenberry described Commander Riker as loyal, honest, and patient, which made Jonathan Frakes proud for 37 years.

Frakes felt nervous during Star Trek: TNG season 1 but says the cast felt looser in episodes with strong villains.

Star Trek: Resurgence incorporates many TNG elements, and Frakes voices Captain Riker in the game.

Jonathan Frakes reveals how Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry described the character of Commander William T. Riker and how "nervous" he was during production of Star Trek: The Next Generation season 1. For 37 years, Frakes has portrayed Riker, who appeared in Star Trek: TNG, four TNG movies, and Star Trek: Picard, as well as Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Star Trek: Voyager, and Star Trek: Enterprise. Frakes played Captain Riker in Star Trek: Picard, and Jonathan also voices Captain Riker in the video game Star Trek: Resurgence.

In an interview with Star Trek: Resurgence's lead writer Dan Martin about Captain Riker's role in the game, Jonathan Frakes discusses how Gene Roddenberry saw Riker as a "loyal, honest, reliable, patient, and with 'derring-do'". Frakes also spoke about how proud he is to be associated with Riker for nearly four decades. Read Frakes' quote and watch the video of the interview below:

The character of Riker, as Gene Roddenberry created him, was a man who had what… Gene used this phrase, he said, ‘He has derring-do, he’s incredibly loyal, he’s honest, and he’s reliable, and he’s patient.’ What great qualities to aspire to, not only as Riker, but as a dad, and a husband, and a friend. And it’s been a privilege to be associated with this guy for the last 37 years.

Jonathan Frakes also marveled at how Star Trek: Resurgence pulled story and alien villains from the Star Trek: The Next Generation season 1 episode, "The Last Outpost." When Dan Martin asked if Frakes thought of that episode as a turning point for Riker, Jonathan spoke about what it was like for the TNG cast filming season 1:

I wish I could say I did. I think I was so nervous during season one. When we go back and watch clips of these original shows, you can just see we’re not really quite sure how we’re supposed to behave because we hadn’t found the characters yet. And whenever we went to Planet Hell, which is what we called Stage 16, and we had a strong villain, we were a little bit looser.

Related Star Trek: The Next Generation Cast & Character Guide Star Trek: The Next Generation has one of the most beloved cast of characters in all of science fiction. Here are the major characters of the classic.

Star Trek: Resurgence is available on PC, Xbox One, Xbox X/S, PS4, PS5, and coming to Steam on May 23, 2024

Star Trek: The Next Generation is available to stream on Paramount+