If picard had died in best of both worlds could the show had continued without Stewart?
If Picard dies in Best of Both Worlds
- Thread starter lordsofelsewhen
- Start date
Yes but probably with lesser aclaim. Stewart was quite the catalyst for TNG and Frakes wouldn't quite have the stuffing to carry on from that. I dunno if another heavy hitter like Ronny Cox was available or could've done it.
I love the idea of a shake up if Patrick Stewart didn't return. Maybe Jonathan Frakes would have stepped up being as Riker (as a character) wouldn't have been caught in a loop for the remainder of the series? I always enjoyed Shelby too so she would have been an interesting addition.
If Paramount were up for a new captain, I wonder who they would have gone for?
If Paramount were up for a new captain, I wonder who they would have gone for?
I think it would have wrecked the entire show. The TNG cast aren't stellar actors [and many of the characters are very 2 dimensional] so the absence of a such a strong actor and such a strong presence would have had a seriously deleterious impact on the entire show.
The movies would've been better!
The writers and directors would've needed to up their game. But, I believe there was still enough acting talent there to make the show work.
The writers and directors would've needed to up their game. But, I believe there was still enough acting talent there to make the show work.
The possibility of Riker replacing Picard — i.e. Frakes replacing Stewart — was baked early on in the show. If you look at the first season, a lot of the shows focus on Riker while Picard has more of a backseat role. Of course, this was just the Kirk-Decker relationship from the aborted PHASE II series.
But Stewart was and is the better actor, so I'm not sure Frakes could've pulled it off. He would've had to, and we'd have more of a Captain Re-Kirk with Riker in the center seat.
That being said, I wouldn't have minded because we might've gotten Shelby as XO. And if they continued the conflict between her and Riker, I'd be happy. That tension between them is what I thought was missing in the Picard-Riker relationship. They got along too well.
But Stewart was and is the better actor, so I'm not sure Frakes could've pulled it off. He would've had to, and we'd have more of a Captain Re-Kirk with Riker in the center seat.
That being said, I wouldn't have minded because we might've gotten Shelby as XO. And if they continued the conflict between her and Riker, I'd be happy. That tension between them is what I thought was missing in the Picard-Riker relationship. They got along too well.
Believe it or not but I was one of the options.
I definitely think TNG could have continued past season 3 without Stewart. TNG was very much an ensemble show, and I think we would have gotten a stronger Riker if he became captain. Stewart definitely had "the stare" and "that voice" going for him, but I think Frakes would have stepped up in his absence. But given that wasn't how things played out and that Stewart went on to firmly cement his place as TNG's biggest star, I can see how it might be difficult to imagine that happening.
I am not sure they would have kept Riker as the captain if Stewart had left the show.
It goes beyond the writers & directors. Taking out the leading man, an actor of significant acting ability [who is not even remotely near-matched on the show] and just promoting Frakes to lead to me would have been an absolute disaster. If Stewart goes, they would need to have replaced him with another strong actor [and they don't grow on tree's] because Frakes is nowhere near strong enough to be the lead [and Riker isn't as good a character]. 'The Inner Light' with Frakes is just...not going to work on anywhere near the same level. It'd be like ripping Kirk from TOS or Brooks from DS9...one of the best, most funamental aspects of the show is lost. That's disastrous.
I can only envision two scenarios:
1. The show bumps up Frakes, doesn't replace Stewart, and thus begins to decline in quality far sooner.
2. They replace Stewart. Some fans hate it and rebel but if the new actor is good then the show can perhaps continue on to some success.
IMO, option 2 is by far the most likely. They wouldn't have kept Riker as captain of the ship. In fact, given that Stewart had made it appear like he would have left the show, they probably already had a few people in mind to replace him. We'll never know who they were, though.
Season 3 Finale - "The Best of Both Worlds" - Captain Picard is killed in the Borg attack
Season 4 Finale - "Redemption" - Captain Riker is killed because he thinks the Klingons are his friends
Season 5 Finale - "Time's Arrow" - Captain Shelby is stranded in the 1890s
Season 6 Finale - "Descent" - Captain Data is killed by Lore
Season 7 Finale - "All Good Things" - Captain Worf fails the anti-time test and the universe is obliterated
Star Trek Generations - Captain Troi dies crashing the Enterprise
Star Trek: First Contact - Captain La Forge is assimilated in the 2060s
Star Trek: Insurrection - Captain Barclay resigns his commission to live on the Ba'ku Planet.
Star Trek: Nemesis - Captain Shinzon dies from his temporal RNA disease thing
Season 4 Finale - "Redemption" - Captain Riker is killed because he thinks the Klingons are his friends
Season 5 Finale - "Time's Arrow" - Captain Shelby is stranded in the 1890s
Season 6 Finale - "Descent" - Captain Data is killed by Lore
Season 7 Finale - "All Good Things" - Captain Worf fails the anti-time test and the universe is obliterated
Star Trek Generations - Captain Troi dies crashing the Enterprise
Star Trek: First Contact - Captain La Forge is assimilated in the 2060s
Star Trek: Insurrection - Captain Barclay resigns his commission to live on the Ba'ku Planet.
Star Trek: Nemesis - Captain Shinzon dies from his temporal RNA disease thing
That assumes "The Inner Light" still gets written. With Frakes as the lead I think many episodes we know never get made.
I actually think the show would have benefited from Picard dying in BOBW.
From my perspective, the best of TNG was already behind them in Seasons 2 and 3. Season 4 had a few good episodes, but it was the beginning of the end -- and part of the reason for that was Stewart's passion was notably declining. The whole cast seemed to be becoming bored (to say nothing of the writers).
Shaking things up with the addition of Shelby would have breathed new life into the show. Riker could have taken a more backseat role like Picard in the first season, allowing more focus on the young risk-taking hotshot (and protecting the show from Frakes' lesser acting ability). She would really have changed the dynamic.
From my perspective, the best of TNG was already behind them in Seasons 2 and 3. Season 4 had a few good episodes, but it was the beginning of the end -- and part of the reason for that was Stewart's passion was notably declining. The whole cast seemed to be becoming bored (to say nothing of the writers).
Shaking things up with the addition of Shelby would have breathed new life into the show. Riker could have taken a more backseat role like Picard in the first season, allowing more focus on the young risk-taking hotshot (and protecting the show from Frakes' lesser acting ability). She would really have changed the dynamic.
I wonder whom they had in mind as replacement for Stewart. They must have been thinking of people.
You guessed it. Sort of.
I'm sure they would have, but would have cast someone as the new first officer. Whether that new cast member would have been Elizabeth Dennehy or someone entirely new would have been the question.
^ Assuming BOBW would have been written the same way (except with Picard dying at the end), I don't see how the writers could credibly walk back from Riker's captaincy. I mean, he's a hero. He lead the Enterprise to a single-handed victory over the Borg. It was his plan to recover Locutus and try to use him as a backdoor into the Borg collective consciousness. He succeeded where an entire fleet failed and saved Earth (and most likely the entire Federation).
Can you imagine the conversation after?
"Well, you saved everybody's bacon down here at Command, Wil. You managed to survive three engagements with the Borg, and destroyed them on the third. Wow! Almost any other officer would have been killed or assimilated after one encounter. We're still geeking out over your tactics during Picard's rescue.... But all that notwithstanding, we just don't feel you're ready to captain the Enterprise. You don't have the judgement or the experience or the literary chops necessary to argue Shakespeare with Q... So we decided to bring in Edward Jellico. Do a few tours under him, and maybe we'll hook you up with one of the new Mirandas being built to shore up the fleet. Sorry, bud."
Can you imagine the conversation after?
"Well, you saved everybody's bacon down here at Command, Wil. You managed to survive three engagements with the Borg, and destroyed them on the third. Wow! Almost any other officer would have been killed or assimilated after one encounter. We're still geeking out over your tactics during Picard's rescue.... But all that notwithstanding, we just don't feel you're ready to captain the Enterprise. You don't have the judgement or the experience or the literary chops necessary to argue Shakespeare with Q... So we decided to bring in Edward Jellico. Do a few tours under him, and maybe we'll hook you up with one of the new Mirandas being built to shore up the fleet. Sorry, bud."
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