Jonathan Frakes Reveals His Personal Favorite Star Trek Episode
Across the decades, Jonathan Frakes has proven to be a real Star Trek double threat: not only did he dazzle as Commander Riker on The Next Generation, but he eventually became one of the franchise’s most talented and prolific directors. He has brought some of the best episodes to vivid life, and it’s always a treat when he directs episodes of a new Trek series. Now, Jonathan Frakes has gotten into the big chair to direct another episode of Strange New Worlds, and he confessed to series star Rebecca Romijn that “it was his favorite hour of television that he’s ever directed.
Frake’s Favorite Episode Will Be A Murder Mystery
While the details are relatively scarce, the hour of television she is referring to is episode 3 of Strange New Worlds’ third season. Showrunner Akiva Goldsman has said that the episode is “a Hollywood murder mystery,” one where “our actors get to do things that they haven’t gotten to do previously.” Jonathan Frakes is directing and later took a flight back home with Romijn, and she said that “I got to listen to him talk about it for three hours” and that he declared it the favorite episode he has ever directed.
The Lower Decks Crossover
On Strange New Worlds, the Riker actor has only previously directed one episode, but it was a doozy. He helmed season 2’s “Those Old Scientists,” the ambitious episode that crossed over with the animated series Lower Decks. The finished product had all the hallmarks of Jonathan Frakes’ confident direction, and many fans declared it their favorite episode of the season, if only for bringing beloved cartoon characters like Boimler and Mariner to live-action.
If Past Work Suggests Future Success …
As for Jonathan Frakes, one of the reasons we’re excited to hear that the upcoming SNW adventure was his favorite episode that he’s ever directed is that his previous credits include some of the best Star Trek stories. On The Next Generation, for example, he directed “The Offspring” (the tear-jerker where Data makes a daughter), “Reunion” (which brought Scotty back), “The Drumhead” (where Picard gets caught in a witch hunt), “Cause and Effect” (the great time loop episode), and more. He also directed First Contact, the best of the TNG films.
Frake’s Experience With NuTrek
It’s fair to say that Frakes’ directing has had an ongoing effect on the franchise as a whole. He previously directed the TNG episode “The Chase” which inspired the plot for the final season of Discovery, a show for which he directed a whopping eight episodes. More recently, he directed several episodes of Picard, including the standout season 3 episodes “Seventeen Seconds” and “No Win Scenario.” Jonathan Frakes has directed so much NuTrek that it’s actually a little weird that he only directed one Strange New Worlds story before, but now that the upcoming episode is his favorite, we can only hope he comes back for more.
The Best Has Yet To Come
Given what we know about that upcoming episode–that it’s in a different genre and has our characters acting distinctly out of character–the more relieved we are to know this awesome actor is in the director’s chair. Jonathan Frakes understands Star Trek like nobody else, and if this was his favorite episode to direct, it may soon be our favorite to watch. Unlike Riker, Frakes has never had a problem stepping into the big chair, and under his directorial command, we look forward to seeing where he manages to take the franchise’s best new show.
Source: Collider
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