Star Trek: Picard is back!
This week I chat
with Admiral Jean-Luc Picard himself, Patrick Stewart,
and Gates McFadden, AKA Dr. Beverly Crusher,
AKA my Spacemom.
Showrunner Terry Matalas stops by to chat
about Season 3.
We look at the relationship between Admiral Picard
and his faithful Number One, Captain Riker.
And we take a deep dive into the history
of everyone's favorite intergalactic doctor,
the aforementioned Beverly Crusher.
So commandeer a shuttle,
and make your way to The Ready Room.
Hey nerds, I'm Wil Wheaton,
and this is The Ready Room,
your official behind-the-scenes hub
for all things Star Trek Universe.
This week's Season 3 premiere
of Star Trek: Picard sees
Admiral Picard and Captain Riker embark
on an urgent mission to rescue an old friend.
But if you need a 20-year-old codec to decipher
the mission's details,
now might be a good time
for a red alert!
We'll be conducting a senior officer inspection
of Season 3 Episode 1
"The Next Generation",
best episode title ever,
that will take us deep into spoiler territory.
So, if you haven't had your mind blown
by this kickoff to the epic final season
of Star Trek: Picard,
meet up with your BFF, watch it,
and report back here to The Ready Room.
I have been looking forward
to this season of The Ready Room for months.
As I'm sure you can understand,
The Next Generation is dear to me,
and there is not another person on this planet
who is more excited than me to talk
to the cast and creators about the next adventure
in Picard's story.
I'm joined this week by two people I love deeply.
Patrick Stewart, who, of course,
plays Admiral Jean-Luc Picard,
and Gates McFadden, who is back as Dr. Beverly Crusher,
to talk about everything that went down
in the season premiere.
Executive producer Terry Matalas is also here
to talk about what's ahead
in the final season of Star Trek: Picard.
This week's episode sees
Jean-Luc Picard and William T. Riker set off
on an old-fashioned road trip together.
Later, we'll explore the decades-long friendship
between the Captain of the Enterprise
and his former First Officer.
But first, can I just say
how happy it makes me to see
my Spacemom back in action,
kicking ass and taking names on a starship?
She's brilliant, strong, fearless,
and she says I'm cool.
Well, don't let it go to your head.
But for those of you
who may not be as familiar with Dr. Beverly Crusher,
we've put together a special look
at the galaxy's finest physician
to help bring you up to speed,
Control room, engage.
[Eleos] Warning. Security breach.
Hull damage. Unauthorized docking.
They found us.
I think I heard first from Jonathan,
who said, "Hey, they're thinking of asking
some of us back."
Eleos. Activate warp drive.
[Eleos] Stand by. Warp drive charging.
I had no idea that I was going to be asked.
So, that's what happened,
and that was just fantastic.
[Off-screen] No! No!
Eleos, divert all power to the warp core.
- Working. - [Off-screen] Let me out!
One of the best things
about seeing Gates in Picard Season 3
was that she was a badass action hero when we met her.
She was on sort of a renegade ship.
She looked like a hired gun.
[Eleos] Unauthorized docking complete.
Intruder alert.
It was an entirely new Beverly Crusher,
which I think she enjoyed,
and I think the fans are going to enjoy as well.
We knew early on
we wanted to kick off the season
with Beverly Crusher.
It's something that was very near and dear to all of us,
and even the first shot of Beverly popping up
into frame was one of the first things
we talked about in the writer's room.
We didn't want to wait.
They found us.
And I think the first thing you notice is
she's not in Starfleet.
It's not the Beverly Crusher you remember.
And the first thing that she's doing is defending her home,
her ship the Eleos,
in a rather aggressive way,
in a way you've never really seen Beverly do before.
It's been 20 years,
25 years almost,
since we've last seen her.
So, we wanted to make it clear there's some story here.
What happened to Beverly Crusher? Why?
There's no better way to do it
than drop her right in the middle of a gun battle.
[Director] Action.
What is clear is that
she's had a lot of combat now,
because she's been running away
from people trying to kill her son and her,
for awhile.
I don't think she has changed in certain ways,
not in terms of action.
I think she had had some action before.
I think what's changed is that
she is allowed to be more involved,
and be more there on the bridge,
and that she has a range of skills.
Which when you think about it,
anyone up on the Space Station,
they have to be able to take over for anybody.
So, you have to know how to pilot a ship.
You really do have to know how to do many different things.
Eleos, prepare to send a transmission.
Subspace frequency myriad codec.
[Eleos] System prepared to transmit.
State your recipient.
This message is for Admiral Jean-Luc Picard.
Admiral Picard.
I'm encoding this transmission with coordinates.
Beverly.
Picard's relationship with Dr. Crusher, I think,
had aspects that many of our fans wanted to see develop
into a much closer and stronger relationship.
Now that we know how each of us feels,
perhaps we should not be afraid to explore those feelings.
And in Next Generation, it never really did.
You even tried to be lovers, didn't you?
Tried is the operative word.
But maybe you're the one person
she still feels she can trust.
I think they have a complicated relationship,
and that makes it really interesting.
I think we see him disturbed
by what he receives,
and what might be the problem with her,
coupled with the fact that he's also angry with her, too.
She disappeared out of his life.
Jean-Luc, why did she cut everyone off?
Me, Deanna, and Geordi.
There had to be a reason.
I think he knows that she would not be contacting him
just to say "Hi."
So that changed everything,
to realize that there's this whole other story
that's been going on.
I loved that idea,
that she's been off
and we don't even know everything that she's been doing.
All the actors were looking for opportunities.
Opportunities to find something new,
to find something unexpected.
I've really had fun this this whole time.
I've had a blast.
I love Terry.
I love the writers.
And the whole production staff
and the crew are so lovely.
I do think it's a generational thing.
I think there's much better balance
of female characters, much better balance.
And that's important.
We've had Discovery,
we've had all these other wonderful shows,
and I feel you've had some incredible female characters,
and that's super.
So yes, I'd love to join the ride on that,
and not just be only the doctor
who's just diagnosing,
but actually someone who knows
how to do all kinds of things.
The character is more fully realized, I believe.
You see more facets of who she is,
and you see her strengths,
and you see her intellect,
and you also see her love.
I feel that's been a gift I've really enjoyed.
I've really had fun this whole time.
Get us the hell out of here.
I am thrilled to welcome
two very dear friends
to The Ready Room, today.
My Captain for 35 years, Patrick Stewart,
and of course, my Spacemom, Gates McFadden.
Aw, Spaceson, I love you.
I love you, too.
I'm so happy that you are both here.
It's just always a big deal for me
when any of us are together in the same place.
And it's just been so rare
for the last several years.
I'm just really happy to be
in the same room with both of you.
It's lovely to see you.
Thanks for being here.
Likewise. It's really a nice feeling. I love it.
It's a beautiful feeling.
I miss our collective.
It doesn't happen often enough.
That we can be together.
Sometimes I will watch an episode,
just so that I can see everybody.
I do the same thing.
I'm glad I'm not the only one.
Sometimes I feel a little weird doing that,
but I'm glad that I'm... - It is. Oh, it's weird.
- Okay, but we're weird together.
Which makes it cool.
I have so much that I want to talk to you
about just life in general,
but I'm going to stay on the cards,
and talk about this episode.
Gates.
When did Beverly Crusher become this crazy badass?
When did that happen?
I think for the last 20-some years
she's been doing martial arts,
and you know,
a lot of things like that.
No, I know. What a surprise.
This whole other side of her we know nothing about.
At the very top of this episode,
when we, like, first kind of crash
into Dr. Crusher, kind of like in medias res, right?
Like there is just crazy action going on.
Yep.
I don't recall you doing that level
of intense physical action
when we were on the series. - Spaceson.
Am I not remembering it correctly?
You're not remembering, Spaceson.
- Okay, remind me, remind me. - You might be off,
you might be with The Traveler by then.
So kicking ass is not new for you?
- No, I love that. - Cool.
Talk to me about kicking ass in this episode.
I just loved it.
You couldn't have given me a better gift
than to come back doing action.
I love doing action.
I loved, though,
the fact that she was in the universe
in a way that was really still exploring
new planets, new places.
Places that not everybody went to a lot,
and doing no harm,
trying to help people with medical supplies,
and things like that.
Very complicated, what unfolds for her,
why she went off,
why she left the Federation,
but, really interesting.
We'll see how it unfolds.
I know how it unfolds, but.
The revelation that Picard and Beverly have not spoken
in 20-something years, 30-something years,
was like cold water to the face for me,
because I just presumed,
"Well, of course we all talk to each other."
I had no idea.
They have not been in touch for such a very long time,
yet Picard gets this message
and just springs into action
like, "She needs me. I'm here.
I'm ready to go."
- No. - Well.
It wasn't that fast.
No, it wasn't, actually.
- Really? Okay. - Yeah.
Correct me.
I was very pleased
that there were tortured moments for him.
That he didn't know
what he should do.
And should, there's always been
a big and significant word for Jean-Luc.
And her request,
and it was a weird request,
with its conditions attached to it.
No Starfleet.
Trust no one.
Yes, of course, that first impulse was,
"I must go to her."
But then, "No, there's something about this
that doesn't feel right,
and having been ignored for 20 years,
why should I put myself back in that?"
So, there were other elements.
I expect that we will find out
some details about this
as the season unfolds,
but just, I'm curious to know,
as you did your preparation for this,
when we're talking about characters
that we've known for 30-plus years,
there's good reasons that they have not spoken
to each other that the audience doesn't yet know.
And you need to imbue your performances with all of that.
Did I imagine that each character has
their own version of events?
Is that fair to say?
Yes. For me, I found it exciting,
because, you know,
at the end of the two movies,
Crusher was not really,
I didn't feel she was very present in those movies.
And so suddenly,
there was a whole world,
and years I could construct,
and with the writers,
with all of the ideas, obviously, of the producers.
And that was fun,
because it was someone who was learning,
who was out there,
who was probably chasing Wesley Crusher somewhere.
Where is The Traveler?
I don't know what she was doing,
But the fact was is she was a scientist,
which is what you see also coming through
in this whole season of Picard.
She's a scientist.
We're all together working towards solutions,
and we're collaborating, all of us.
Nice work, you two.
So Picard has, I guess we're going to say,
a difficult relationship with Beverly,
but not at all with Riker.
And the reunion of Picard and Riker.
- So funny. - That eventually leads to
them being in bunk beds on the Titan.
[Gates] It's so hilarious.
This is utterly humiliating.
[Wil] I just wondered if you would speak
just a little bit about
the relationship between Picard and Riker,
and where you maybe find it right now
as we begin the third season,
and the, kind of, the final chapter of this journey.
The most important element of the work that Jean-Luc did
was attention to duty.
And duty was a very, very important matter for him.
It was primary,
except where it concerned Commander Riker.
And Riker, and I learned this
from quite early on in Season 1 of TNG,
he liberates Picard.
I don't feel comfortable with children.
But since a captain needs an image of geniality,
you're to see that's what I project.
Aye, sir.
Welcome to the Enterprise, Commander Riker.
We all have had relationships of that kind,
where being with someone frees us,
eases us, relaxes us.
And that's how it is with Jonathan.
I love every single actor and actress
in our Star Trek group.
They're an extraordinary group of people,
and I miss them when I don't see them.
But there is something that penetrated the work as well
when it came to Riker.
Because I think Jean-Luc just trusted him.
Which is why,
when there is a disruption in Season 3,
it's awful.
That moment when Picard and Riker are in the bar together,
we never got to do things like that.
We never got to have these kind of, like,
completely outside of Starfleet moments,
where we're like friends getting together,
and we need to lean on each other for things.
And it's one of the things that I've loved about Picard.
I love it about Discovery and Strange New Worlds.
The more human interaction sides of these characters.
There was something really beautiful
about these two men sitting down
to just have a drink together,
and kind of figure out where they were going to go,
and what's going to come up.
And then when the three of you are together,
I start to feel kind of like, it's coming back together.
The strongest pieces of each person's personality
are all supported by having these people around them.
That scene with you and Johnny,
what was so beautiful was,
there was just this loyalty.
Loyalty and respect that was there,
that was never talked about,
but it was just there.
And that's what's so beautiful,
to have that just come across so easily.
Yeah.
We both, I think, speaking for Jonathan,
say we felt it, both of us.
But you know, there's a very famous line
from the last episode of TNG. - Yes.
- When I crash the poker session.
And there's a moment which moves me
every time I've seen it,
it even moves me when I think about it.
When Picard quietly said,
I should have done this a long time ago.
You were always welcome.
- I knew that was the line. - Yeah, yeah.
Yes, of course.
Yeah, it's very powerful.
That was there for a lot of Picard, I found.
Picard and Riker come onto the bridge of the Titan.
And here's Seven.
Picard's relationship with Seven has grown and changed
over these two seasons of the show.
There's this terrific moment
where she drops being respectful to the Admiral
and says, "I'm talking to my friend."
I thought that said a great deal
about the relationship between the two of them.
Would you talk a little bit about Jeri Ryan,
and about the relationship that exists
between these two characters?
It was a relationship that took a long time to develop.
I'm not sure that Picard initially felt
he could trust her,
and have absolute assurance that she was safe.
I mean safe to be around with.
And then of course,
it becomes much more personal,
and he understands her value.
And this was something
that I think Jean-Luc did rather well.
Sir, I'm awaiting your orders to take us out.
Why don't you do us the honor, Commander Hansen?
Aye, sir.
I learned from it, certainly,
that you learn about how,
what are the areas where you feel safe
with somebody that you're with,
whether it's an intimate relationship,
or it's friendship, or it's business, or whatever.
It's interesting to me,
there are so many times in my life
that Jean-Luc Picard has been inspiring to me.
There were so many times over the years
where you as a person guided me
without even knowing you were doing it.
And it is so incredibly interesting to me
to hear from you,
the person without whom Picard does not exist,
talk about learning something from him.
That's really inspiring to me,
just as an actor and as a creator.
Like, yes, we can learn from our characters.
They can teach us things that maybe we didn't see.
[Gates] Absolutely.
You had talked a little bit
about Beverly going out of Starfleet now,
and she says, "Don't trust anybody, especially Starfleet."
That's a little unsettling.
But she's out on,
she very clearly is on a new path
that seems to me to be taking
the Hippocratic Oath to its extreme.
Like, do absolutely no harm,
and get out there and like,
serve the greater good.
Agree? Disagree?
Well, I think it's complicated.
I think I can't really talk
about all of the reasons why she's out there.
I think it's very complex.
I feel she comes aboard
with a mixture of feeling that she failed,
she did not protect this ship,
and she was being hunted,
and she did the best she could,
but is it locked, as some fan tweeted,
"Get her out of that fridge",
which I thought was hilarious.
That is, you know,
I have to say that is... - That's pretty good.
I'm actually really glad to hear someone say that.
That is something that
we in the genre world absolutely need to talk about.
Beverly would never call out
halfway across the galaxy
in order to save only herself.
Then who's this?
Her son.
This is kind of a weird way
for me to find out
that I have a half brother
that nobody ever told me about,
I'm not going to lie.
It was weird that I had to find out about it on TV.
But let's talk about Beverly's son.
You didn't get the Christmas card then?
The Christmas card, that sort of...
The Christmas card that says,
"By the way,
I've had a secret son
for the last 20 something years
that nobody ever knew about."
- Yeah. - I want to know about,
like, we're going to see
so much more of him,
and I've seen so much more of this season,
and I don't want to get ahead of myself-
and spoil things.
He is so wonderful.
Ed Speleers, he was so much fun to act with.
Very often, we were very silly.
I mean, I have a couple of moments of memory
just shaking with laughter,
and we're looking at each other
like, "Stop it. Stop it."
He's just a dream to work.
I had, I will admit,
I had a couple of moments of sibling rivalry
as I was watching this episode.
Good. Good for you.
And I just kept thinking
like, "That could have been Wesley.
Wesley could have done that."
- You were the... - Actually, no.
It couldn't have been.
You had the best sweaters, though.
He doesn't have your good sweaters.
I really do, yeah. That's right.
Nobody rocks those sweaters quite like I did.
Seven seasons of Next Generation,
all the movies, two seasons of Picard.
This season feels really special.
What do you think it is about this season?
Like, all of us feel it going into it.
Now, I know that you have inside knowledge
that gives you a different perspective
than those of us that are just waiting for it.
Something feels special about this.
What convinced me that I should do this,
back in the early days, a few years ago,
it became clear to me
that while 20, 25 years had passed
for all of us
before we returned to this world,
but it had also passed for the characters.
And I think one of the things
that we've pulled off
in a very interesting way,
particularly in Season 1,
was how are these people changed?
I am not the man I was when I was 40, or 45, or 50.
I know I wasn't.
The value of things, the importance of things,
have reared up in front of me.
And they're not values
that I would've had 25 years ago.
Writers and my fellow producers included them
in this new series, in Picard.
It must be tremendously satisfying
to bring your personal experience to him that much later.
I don't get to do that with Wesley.
Like, I don't get to touch, you know,
like I don't get to reinterpret him anymore.
But you get to do that with Picard.
You get to do that with Beverly.
It was very moving to me,
the sense of collaboration,
especially in today's world,
where people just have forgotten
how to collaborate, it seems to me.
There was such generosity.
You know, it just felt natural to suddenly see
Riker and to see,
once we passed the first initial scenes,
it was like, "Yes, of course we're going to be working
towards whatever we need to work on."
That has to do with wisdom and getting older, I think.
You know, it wasn't sort of about,
"I have to prove,"
we have one conversation about something,
and then we're on with,
"What do we have to deal with in this situation
that's fraught with danger?"
And that's wonderful.
That's the way, I think,
people who've had some experience
and had 25 years of growth might function, perhaps.
I think that is always a possibility.
But it's been addressed in Picard, I think,
very sensitively and marvelously by the actors
who have had to bring something which is so internal,
and that never leaves someone who's experiencing it.
And to bring it out and share those feelings.
I've been so impressed with that.
This episode, Episode 1, ends
on a tremendous cliffhanger.
We've gone through all this great emotional experience.
We are out in space, we're ready to go.
Here comes the biggest,
most terrifying ship we've seen
in Star Trek in an unbelievably long time.
It looks like there is quite a bit of action
in our near future.
Is there anything that you want to tease
about this upcoming season,
without spoiling things
for our dear friends in the audience?
I don't know how to do that.
I so much want you to try to tease the season
without spoiling it.
Just 'cause I want to, it's going to be fun to,
it's going to be, we're going to do it together.
It's going to be really fun.
Tell me about something you're excited about.
Tell me something about my brother
that I don't know that's exciting.
Well, you know how you used to be sarcastic?
- Yes. - Okay.
Well, he's inherited that trait.
Oh, good.
Oh good. I'm so happy to hear that.
I guess if I was smart,
I would've said, "Well, that's great."
He's inherited-
some of your bad traits he's definitely inherited.
- Oh, good. - Yeah.
Is there anything non-spoilery
that you would like to say
about this upcoming season?
There are transformations.
There are changes.
And I don't want to frighten our audience, our fans,
by suggesting that we are transforming
the whole Star Trek franchise.
We're not.
But the steps that we take to introduce
new elements into the show are thrilling.
This is really exciting.
This is an incredibly exciting moment
for all of us in Star Trek fandom.
It's a really exciting moment for me
as Next Generation emeritus, alumni, I guess.
And I'm just really happy
that you came here to talk to us today.
- Aw. - So, thanks.
Any chance to see you, Spaceson.
- I love it, Spacemom.
- Hear, hear. - Thank you.
Now that the final season
of Star Trek: Picard has kicked off in such a big way,
there's nobody better to be chatting with
than Star Trek: Picard
Executive Producer and Showrunner, Terry Matalas.
Terry, welcome to The Ready Room.
I am so thrilled to be here.
It's surreal to be on the set
of this thing that I've watched dozens and dozens of times.
You began your Star Trek journey
with Voyager and Enterprise.
- Yes. - And now you are coming back
to the TNG timeline with Star Trek: Picard.
Talk to me about returning to the franchise.
What's it feel like?
I was a PA on Voyager,
and then an assistant on Enterprise.
But I would,
whenever they would make a Next Gen movie,
I would sneak onto the set.
Yeah.
So it's absolutely surreal
to have left Star Trek
and, you know, obviously done television-
and then to come back to it,
and then do this story, is extraordinary.
We talk about how this could very well be
the wrap-up of the Picard story
and the Next Generation timeline.
What's that? That's a lot.
- It is a lot. - And, it's an honor.
It's a responsibility. - Yes.
So when you're thinking about all of those things,
what is that?
Just put me in your head for a minute
and talk about like, getting ready for that.
- Well, there's pure terror. - Sure.
Is the first thing that that happens.
You know, I always felt like
there wanted to be one more movie after Nemesis.
A wrap-up, a sort of
Next Gen's version of Undiscovered Country.
Like a coda to our...
- A coda. - Yeah.
- A send-off for them. - Sure, okay. Yeah.
"All Good Things" is like
the greatest last episode of any science fiction saga ever.
But they did
make those movies.
And it would be interesting to see
those characters, now, you know?
What is it like to see Geordi as a father?
You know, what is it like to deal
with the Rikers and some of the issues that they've had?
And where is Beverly Crusher out there?
- All those questions. - Yeah.
So much time has passed.
How have they grown?
How have they stayed the same?
Worf, we could go on forever for Worf.
So, there was a lot of pressure
in figuring out where they were.
And so the goal was to tell
one final coming together of those characters.
And certainly, we've left the door open
in ways I can't spoil,
for more to stay in this timeline
and see more of these characters.
But if it is indeed the last,
then you have to ask yourself,
"What do you want to see before it's all over?
What do you really want to see?"
And so there's a lot of discussion about that.
So that was the goal.
What's one final story for this cast?
And how does everyone play a part that has impact?
This is difficult to talk about,
it's a really delicate needle to thread.
- I imagine- - Yes.
That you have a lot of permission
to kind of explore things,
maybe answer questions,
maybe resolve character arcs
that have existed for a very, very long time.
Yes, I think I know the one
you're kind of dancing around.
Yeah, yeah.
So like, that was,
this thing that's come,
that will happen this year, I mean.
- Yes. - It's not a surprise,
audience, that big things
are going to happen this year, right?
Big things will happen.
You will see characters
that have not necessarily been announced-
- Yeah. - In the thing.
And it mostly comes from, again,
it's like, "What do you want to see?"
And that particular story
felt like a big hanging chad.
And wow, if you could come back
and now do that all these years later,
and finally tell that story.
I know we're being vague, everybody,
but once you see this, you'll double back
and you'll realize how cool this is.
It's extremely satisfying to go back and watch something-
- Yeah. - After you know
what we're talking about. - Right.
Like, I do this with other shows.
Which is really good.
I showed it to a friend of mine who was a fan,
and the gasp was so loud when that moment happened.
And it was exactly,
again, we didn't want to promote it,
and anyway.
Yes.
Would you talk to me a bit about the decision?
Like, "Okay, we're going to bring everybody back together,"
and selling that,
and getting buy-in from us.
You know, it starts with Patrick.
It starts with sitting down with Patrick,
and he was lovely about it,
and said, "You know, I think we've earned it.
I think it's time."
He had always said,
in Season 2, when I came on,
the first thing I said was, "Who can we bring back?"
And whatnot.
And he's like, "I think by the end,
I'd like to have everybody on."
And I think the idea
was sort of to space them out.
But to do it as an event felt right to me,
to sort of make this feel like a Next Generation film
- you never saw. - Yeah
And what's kind of great about it is,
if there was, say, one final Next Gen movie,
at most it would be three hours.
- Yeah. - And you wouldn't have
the chance to really deep dive
on all of these characters
and where they are, and have their own stories.
So that's what's remarkable
about having 10 hours to do it with,
is to really spend the time with these characters.
But yeah, there was a lot of sign-offs,
'cause it meant fundamentally changing
the show as you knew it. - Yeah.
And we weren't able to bring everyone back
from Seasons 1 and 2,
because there needed to be the narrative room
to tell these stories.
And so that's challenging to a studio and a fan base.
It's like, "But I just watched these two."
And it's challenging for me and heartbreaking,
but it felt right, and everybody felt that as well.
And so that's what made it possible.
I want to talk about my Spacemom.
I figured.
I figured. Who wouldn't?
So, talk to me about building that story.
We can't talk about what she is doing,
'cause the episode hasn't aired yet.
- Right. - But talk to me
about building up where she is
and what she's been doing and why?
I think the first thing was
you wanted to find her in an unexpected place.
You know, certainly all good things suggested,
she had her own ship, the Pasteur.
But that didn't quite feel right.
But it also wouldn't feel right if she wasn't a doctor.
So the idea of her being this doctor without borders,
maybe not necessarily part of Starfleet,
but goes to worlds that Starfleet has forgotten.
You know, it's a big galaxy out there.
Seemed really exciting, and dangerous,
and filled with drama.
And it's also, to me, Beverly's a character
that never really got her due, I felt like,
and certainly in the feature films,
and it's a fascinating character.
So that felt like a rich opportunity
to tell more of that story.
And so I said to Gates,
I said, "Look, I have this image in my head.
The first person you see in Season 1 is
Beverly Crusher popping into frame,
waking up as her ship is being attacked."
And she said, "Well, what do I do?"
I'm like, "You're going to kick a little ass.
We're going to see you do something."
And she was like, "I am in."
And that felt fun, too.
I can totally hear her saying that.
But again, you don't want it to be a character betrayal,
where suddenly she's Ripley,
and she's just. - Right. Sure.
She's doing the right thing,
but she's still a doctor.
And we see her do some really phenomenal
doctor sick bay moments this season.
But it was exciting,
sort of to reinvent Beverly Crusher a little bit.
There's a moment in the season
where she says, "A lot has happened in the last 20 years."
And they look at her a little bit differently.
But that's also what's exciting.
Again, and it continues with Geordi and Worf.
- Right. - And throughout.
There's so much ahead of us now.
There's so much, like we know.
They don't know.
- Right. Right. - It's just,
I feel like I've bought all the presents for my kids,
you know, and they're all wrapped up-
- Right. - and ready to go,
and now they're just going to sit there
and they're just going to have to wait.
I know how complicated it is on the set.
I know how high the stakes are.
I know how expensive every minute is.
- Yeah. - Did you get to-
- Oh. - I don't know,
celebrate that?
High five yourself through time?
Take a victory lap?
Really enjoy, like,
"What a wonderful, special thing I'm part of
that I got to help make."
Oh, absolutely.
Yes. That for sure.
However, I was mostly terr-
I wanted, the pressure of making this great,
is overwhelming on those days.
And just getting through,
because you don't have, it's not a feature film.
You don't have days and days
to just perfect the scene.
You have three hours to get this right.
And I imagine, if I know us the way
that I think I do. - Yes.
They fell right into it, right?
Oh, absolutely.
- Like we'd never left? - Yes.
Uproarious, ridiculous goofing off
until it's time to roll and then we nail it?
When they were together, nonstop. Yeah.
And I have now, I used to love to watch
the behind the scenes,
and watch all this stuff,
but now I'm the director,
and I'm like, "Guys, we have.
I don't want to stop you singing
You legendary characters
of science fiction.
But if I don't get this shot..."
So it's all very, I mean,
I could, you could write volumes on it.
But look, it's an honor to do this,
and it's surreal,
and you just hope you're worthy of it, so.
I think you're worthy of it.
Well, that means a lot.
Thank you so much.
And I've loved this season,
and I told you before we rolled,
I will tell you in public,
you're taking such good care of Star Trek.
- Aw. - And it really,
really matters to me.
And I know it matters to the audience as well.
I can't tell you what that means to me.
I mean, I could, but I'll cry,
and I can't do that,
were on- - That's fair.
- Streaming and whatever. - That's fair.
We need to look like- - Second we cut-
- Tough guys. - I'm going to
take my glasses off and bawl, so.
Okay. Outstanding.
Well, let's get to crying.
Thanks for being here today.
All right. It's my pleasure.
Thank you so much for having me.
Ever since Jean-Luc Picard asked William Riker
to help him not make an ass of himself
around children more than 35 years ago,
the two Starfleet legends have been as close as family.
And like all family relationships,
they've had their ups and downs.
In the end, they always come away
with a greater respect and love for one another.
Let's take a closer look at the brotherhood
between the captain of the Enterprise
and his loyal Number One.
[Riker] Hell of a view.
The kind we spent half a lifetime chasing.
And the other half missing the chase.
Will, are you enjoying this?
Of course not. Are you?
From the very beginning,
the relationship between Riker and Picard was different
from any other relationships that he had.
Commander Riker, sir.
And that wasn't just on-camera, either.
To be back with Sir Patrick has been
one of the great joys of my Star Trek career.
And I have, I think, Terry Matalas to thank.
Reminds me of my cadet days,
only I don't remember having to get up to pee this much.
When we were shooting Season 2
I was hanging out with Jonathan Frakes a lot,
because he was directing the episodes,
and one of the first things I said was
how much I really wanted to do
Butch and Sundance with Picard and Riker.
I'm not sure about this plan.
Because it's not really a plan, it's a ruse.
Yeah, that's the part I don't like.
That that would be the kickoff of a season,
and see that dynamic of them back in the game.
Your hands are stiff.
My knees are killing me.
So long as we don't have to move or shoot,
we should be fine.
He developed this wonderful arc
where I hook back up with Picard
and the two of us go on a mission together.
Ready?
As ever.
It's a lot like going back in time.
The very, very first time
I appeared in front of the camera
as Captain Picard, I didn't say a line of dialogue.
I just looked at somebody, and then walked away.
And when they called, "Cut,"
Jonathan Frakes yelled out,
"So, that's what they call a British face acting, is it?"
And that underlined and emphasized
the way that my relationship with Jonathan progressed.
[Imitating Picard] I think the resemblance rather striking.
Wouldn't you agree, Number One?"
He became quite quickly
a much loved, trusted, and inspirational colleague.
In many ways,
it feels as if we'd never left.
I mean, God knows we're a lot older.
But we have the same mutual respect.
There's an undying friendship between us as actors,
and friends, and characters.
Thank you, Will.
What for?
Oh, for so many things.
It's what made the work that we did for seven years,
and then four feature films,
so differently interesting
from what it can often be on camera.
And I think that it was
one of the aspects that people particularly loved.
I'm so happy to be with you,
I feel so much,
yeah, it feels great.
It's feels like it's never stopped.
- Yeah, right? - It's better.
As many characters in the show,
in Season 3, have changed,
Riker and Picard-
I mean, Picard's changed,
but Riker is essentially the same guy,
just a lot older and with a white beard.
If you are as psyched seeing
Jean-Luc Picard, William Riker,
and Beverly Crusher back in action as I am
and can't wait for more,
then I'm about to be your favorite person in the world,
because I have an exclusive clip
from next week's episode,
just for you.
Incoming!
[Eleos] Blast shield, engaged.
What the hell just happened?
Will, the pod's losing power.
And her life signs are fading.
We need to get her to the Titan.
Admiral! Change of plan.
We've just lost the shuttle.
We're trapped here.
I know that it looks bad,
but 35 years of Star Trek have given me
the indication that it's probably
going to work out okay for our heroes.
Thank you for beginning
Star Trek: Picard's final journey
with me here in The Ready Room.
I cannot wait to experience
the emotional roller coaster ride
of this final season together.
Next week, we'll be looking
at Season 3, Episode 2 of Star Trek: Picard,
titled, "Disengaged."
And I'll be joined by Ed Speleers,
who plays Beverly Crusher's son-
and Wesley's younger brother-Jack.
Until then, I'm Wil Wheaton.
Live long and prosper.
Shortly after we finished
this episode of The Ready Room,
our Star Trek family lost
a beloved member, Annie Wersching,
who played the Borg Queen
in Season 2 of Star Trek: Picard, passed away.
It was my privilege and my honor
to interview Annie here
in The Ready Room during her time on Picard.
This was the only time we shared
more than a moment or a quick hello.
But I instantly liked her.
I felt this kind, gentle, enthusiastic warmth
just radiating from her.
I saw Annie just one other time,
at a big Star Trek convention.
She was wearing this green, glittery crown.
It was beautiful and it suited her.
Her Picard castmates were there,
and I didn't want to intrude.
So, I said hello, and then I stayed out of their way.
They all looked so happy together.
And I saw this bond among them that I recognized.
A bond that forms in casts, when we are lucky.
It is a bond that makes us more than coworkers.
They were lucky.
I very much hoped that I would get to know Annie
a little bit more.
You've heard me say it so many times.
Star Trek is a family.
And those of us who are fortunate enough to be
part of that family,
we share a common language
that is expressed in more than words.
It is an understanding
of this very specific,
very special bond that unites us.
On behalf of all of us at The Ready Room,
our hearts go out to Annie's family
and to everyone who knew and loved her.
May her memory be a blessing.