Summary
One of the best things about being aStar Trekfan is going to conventions and hearing the actors who brought the characters to life talk about everything from behind the scenes antics to their personal thoughts about the franchise. During a recent appearance at Rhode Island Comic Con, Jonathan Frakes and Michael Dorn talked about their favoriteStar Trekmemories and Dorn revealed his favorite, and least favorite,Star Trekepisodes.
Frakes, who playedWilliam Rikerand Thomas Riker in multipleStar Trekseries, has stayed quite involved in theStar Trekuniverse since he first portrayed Riker inTNG. He’s returned to the modern Trekverse both as an actor inStar Trek: PicardandStar Trek: Lower Decksand as a director forStar Trek: DiscoveryandStar Trek: Strange New Worlds.Unlike Frakes, Dorn,who played Worfand Worf’s ancestor, Colonel Worf, left theStar Trekuniverse after starring inStar Trek: Deep Space Nineand only recently returned forStar Trek: Picard. Both actors are regulars on theStar Trekconvention circuit, attending cons like Rhode Island Comic Con all over the country.
On the stage at Rhode Island Comic Con, as reported byTrekNews.net, Frakes and Dorn began by talking about their memories of the early days on the set ofTNG, then transitioned to talking about the show itself, discussing the episodes they thought were the strongest and weakest.
The Favorites
When asked about his favorite episodes, Dorn said he loves “The Drumhead,” an episode from the fourth season ofTNG. Dorn isn’t alone in his admiration for this episode, which was actually directed by Frakes, his partner onstage that day. “The Drumhead” is widely considered one of thebest episodes ofTNGever made. The episode is one of the first co-written byJeri Taylor, who would go on to be one of the showrunners forStar Trek: Voyager.
Since Dorn also spent so much time onDS9, fans asked about his favorite episodes from that series as well. He replied that they were season 5’s “Soldiers of the Empire” and the seventh season episode “Once More Unto the Breach.” Though those two episodes aren’t often listed amongDS9’sbest episodes, they are some of the best Klingon episodes in the entire franchise.
Frakes didn’t chime in with his favorite episodes during the panel, but he has given fans an answer before. In an interview withStarTrek.com, Frakes shared that his personal favorite episode is “The Offspring,” which was the first episode ofStar Trekhe ever directed. It’s also widely considered one of the bestTNGepisodes. Frakes added that though it was his personal favorite, he thought the two-parter “Best of Both Worlds” was “the best TV we did.”
The Least Favorite
Dorn also chimed in about his least favorite episode, which happens to be Frakes' least favorite as well. Dorn said that the season 1 episode “Code of Honor” was his least favorite episode ofStar Trek.Frakes has said the same on multiple occasions, calling it racist and saying it should be removed from streaming services.
Fans agree wholeheartedly with this assessment, and “Code of Honor” is frequently listed among thetop five worst episodes ofTNG.
Frakes and Dorn also discussed their return to the bridge of the Enterprise inStar Trek: Picardand their future involvement in the franchise.
