"Two Takes" Frakes

[2takesfrakes]

You all know him ... you all love him! Let this Thread be a venue for you to celebrate this visionary Director, gifted Auteur and legendary Performer: Jonathan Frakes.

Jonathan Frakes, more than any other cast member, was able to bring out The Very Best from TNG's ensemble. If you look at the episodes and movies he's directed, the cast seems very much at ease with eachother, and the material. They were very "present" in those projects. And here he is, in fact, explaining his famous nickname:

[yt]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4hWDn19RaDI[/yt]

 

[Cyke101]

There've been a couple times where I'd watch an episode of a show that I normally wouldn't, just because I found out he directed it. Agents of SHIELD is a recent example for me.

 

[Whoa Nellie]

Frakes directed my absolute favorite episode of Castle, the fifth season episode 'The Final Frontier' where a murder takes place at a sci-fi convention. He makes a cameo in the beginning that is just too funny!

He also directed episodes of Leverage and The Glades.

Warmest Wishes,
Whoa Nellie

 

[2takesfrakes]

I am very fond of THE LIBRARIAN series - especially the first one, "Quest for the Spear," which Frakes did not direct, actually. But both LIBRARIAN sequels "Return to King Solomon's Mines" and "Curse of the Judas Chalice" were superbly directed by "Two Takes" and I find them both to be very entertaining popcorn fare.

 

[bbjeg]

Honestly 2takesfrakes, I thought your name meant it takes two takes to notice the guy in your avatar was Frakes (you've had a few of them).

 

[LMFAOschwarz]

Interesting post, Pancakes!

Seriously, though...that picture eerily reminds me of the black and white ones from The Making of Star Trek!

 

[2takesfrakes]

Honestly 2takesfrakes, I thought your name meant it takes two takes to notice the guy in your avatar was Frakes (you've had a few of them).

Noe! Don't get the wrong impression, sir. This thread is not about me. I do not need any online shrines to myself ... T'was my intention to offer Jonathan Frakes' fans another excuse to marvel at his achievements and his many contributions to entertainment as a whole and to STAR TREK, in particular. He's living proof that One Man Can Make a Difference!

Interesting post, Pancakes!

Brent Spiner's too much! "Pancake..." >>SNORT!!!<<

 

[AgentCoop]

I love Frakes. Not only is he an accomplished director, but I feel he's a very underrated actor. He really came into his own on TNG and he gave some truly excellent performances. His turn as Thomas Riker on DS9 is a personal favorite. He also seems like a genuinely nice, funny guy.

 

[RoJoHen]

I often wonder how "Nemesis" would've turned out if Frakes had directed.

 

[bbjeg]

He is such an underrated director. IMO, First Contact is my most favorite Star Trek movie.

 

[JarodRussell]

I absolutely love the cast chemistry in First Contact and Insurrection.

I often wonder how "Nemesis" would've turned out if Frakes had directed.

I think it would have been VERY different.
I recently pinpointed why I find Nemesis so lame. When you look at the non-action scenes, they are directed in a incredibly boring fashion. The characters sit or stand around talking, and that's it. When you look at dialogue heavy scenes in First Contact and Insurrection, there is A LOT more energy in them. People are walking from A to B, the camera is in motion, they are doing things while they are talking, etc... it's very different.

There's this really nice one in Insurrection where Picard, Anij and Data are inside the holoship and discuss why the Federation would hide a holoship. The camera orbits around them, always focusing on the one who's currently talking, and then it moves closer to a close up of Anij, indicating that she knows exactly what the reason would be. Great stuff. Baird would have just put the camera at one place and then nothing.

When they beam back to the ship right after that, they meet with Worf, walk through the corridors, meet up with Riker and Data, take a turbolift, part ways, etc... Baird would have just put them into a room, sitting while talking.


And since the director takes part in designing the action scenes, I guess those would have gone pretty differently as well. I also imagine stuff like the wedding reception would have been staged completely different, even with the same dialogue. It could have been a totally different movie with the very same script.

 

[RoJoHen]

That's the thing. However you feel about Insurrection's story and boob jokes, the cast chemistry is still there. They still feel like the same characters that we've known for years.

Everything about them in Nemesis just felt so stiff by comparison, like the director had no idea who these people were or what to do with them.

 

[Melakon]

Despite "Sub Rosa" being considered by many as one of the worst episodes in the series, I thought Frakes and his cinematographer made Gates McFadden more beautiful than she'd ever before been in the series. It's a shame his theatrical films have had less success.

 

[Lance]

That's the thing. However you feel about Insurrection's story and boob jokes, the cast chemistry is still there. They still feel like the same characters that we've known for years.

Everything about them in Nemesis just felt so stiff by comparison, like the director had no idea who these people were or what to do with them.

Nemesis director Stuart Baird admitted later on that he hated inheriting a set of 'established characters' with such a long history, because he felt constrained in what he could do with them. Seems to me he was COMPLETELY the wrong guy to put in charge of "A Generation's Final Journey", because by all accounts he just didn't give a shit about who these people are or why the audience genuinely cares about them.

I have no doubt in my mind that Frakes would have saved Nemesis. Because the script has certainly got the chemistry, it just needed a guy in charge who could harvest the best out of it. Frakes was that man, but they shunted him to the side and put the new guy in there instead.

 

[Ro_Laren]

I often wonder how "Nemesis" would've turned out if Frakes had directed.

If only!

 

[Hober Mallow]

I have no doubt in my mind that Frakes would have saved Nemesis. Because the script has certainly got the chemistry, it just needed a guy in charge who could harvest the best out of it.

The script was a piece of sh*t, as was the script for "Insurrection." There was no saving either one.

 

[vulcan redshirt]

Slightly OT, but in that vid, is it just the light, or is he going a bit thin on top?

 

[Makarov]

I don't care how old he is I still want a movie or series with Frakes as Captain or Admiral Riker. I would kickstart the heck out of that.

 

[2takesfrakes]

Quite aside from his making a name for himself in Hollywood, Jonathan and his actress wife Genie used to own a furniture store in Maine called "The Cherished Home", which I found interesting - and reassuring. NOT selling tacky, cheezy TREK-related merchandise, but instead, quality goods of an Earthly Origin!

https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Cherished-Home/106099989418493

 

[Amaris]

I often wonder how "Nemesis" would've turned out if Frakes had directed.

"Better" comes immediately to mind.