Which Cast Got Along the Best? And Worst?
- Thread starter Lucky
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TNG seems to have had the most friendly cast.
Maybe that's what matters to you. I just find behind the scenes stuff interesting, and I'm always interested in how that translates onscreen. I haven't read much behind the scenes stuff about the shows so I was curious which casts seemed to get along best and which didn't because I was curious if that translated onscreen. Like Anji said, the respect the TNG crew had for each other did seem to bleed through to the screen, I always thought they seemed like a family, especially in All Good Things.
From all the background info I've read, and behind the scenes footage that's escaped, the TNG cast does seem the most closely knit. This might be because in 1987, no one really knew if a new Star Trek series with new characters would work. Especially as it wasn't a network show, and syndicating a brand new dramatic series hadn't been done in decades. They were all either climbing the mountain or falling off the cliff together. The only familiar names to American television audiences at the time were LeVar Burton (Roots in 1977) and Wil Wheaton (who'd had a hit film the year before with Stand by Me). This stepping into the unknown likely helped the cast to bond quickly.
Agreed on TNG cast getting along the best.
TOS probably the worst?
From various interviews, it seems the DS9 cast were not all that close (though there were some close relationships amongst that)m but never "didn't get along", merely were just professional to each other and never really moved beyond that into friendship etc. There was an interview with Armin Shimmerman who highlighted this with regards to "Mr. Brooks".
Dave Rossi, back in the Star Trek Monthly magazine circa 2006, suggested that esp. around season 2/3 time, there were some arguments amongst the cast.
Not sure about Voyager, but I understand some of the cast resented Jeri Ryan initially.
TOS probably the worst?
From various interviews, it seems the DS9 cast were not all that close (though there were some close relationships amongst that)m but never "didn't get along", merely were just professional to each other and never really moved beyond that into friendship etc. There was an interview with Armin Shimmerman who highlighted this with regards to "Mr. Brooks".
Dave Rossi, back in the Star Trek Monthly magazine circa 2006, suggested that esp. around season 2/3 time, there were some arguments amongst the cast.
Not sure about Voyager, but I understand some of the cast resented Jeri Ryan initially.
The TNG cast sounded like they could be unprofessional at times - one director refused to come back.
Having just seen much of the TNG cast together in San Francisco, I think it's fair to say they got along very well (and still do). Marina Sirtis did say that they chased one director off with their shennanigans, but it wasn't about them not getting along.
Michael Dorn said that, compared to the TNG set, DS9 was "grim". I don't think that was about the cast not getting along necessarily, but other factors.
Michael Dorn said that, compared to the TNG set, DS9 was "grim". I don't think that was about the cast not getting along necessarily, but other factors.
If you consider TOS separately from the TOS movies, the only real "regular cast" members were Shatner, Nimoy and Kelley, and by all accounts, they got along with each other just fine. There does seem to have been some professional rivalry between Shatner and Nimoy (publicly acknowledged by both of them) but it doesn't seem to have ever gotten out of hand. And, indeed, the two went on to become lifelong best friends.
Sounds pretty accurate from what I've read about them, which is a fair amount. Sometimes I think maybe I find out more than I care to know. And sometimes I wonder how much of the supposed bad feelings were manufactured to make a living on the convention circuit.
Meh, hard to say on the outside. They're all going to say they got along and acted professionally after all, regardless of how they really felt.
Talking down to your castmates is pretty much the quickest way to get blacklisted in Hollywood... or be a Republican, one of the two.
Talking down to your castmates is pretty much the quickest way to get blacklisted in Hollywood... or be a Republican, one of the two.
Roots? No, sorry, Burton will always be "the Reading Rainbow guy" as far as I'm concerned.
I do recall Robert "Chakotay" Beltran making comments to the effect of how the TNG cast were more of a family, but that the VOY cast simply didn't bond like that on their set. There was certainly more tension on the VOY set, even if it never did spill into outright hostility. And certain cast members, particularly Robert Picardo, seemed to have got along well with everybody.
My recollection from an interview somewhere was that Beltran seemed to resent how the writers gave Picardo so many good storylines and things to do.
If I got this right, Beltran was told that "the Doctor" was getting good material because Picardo would come up with ideas himself and pitch them all the time. And Beltran complained about it, essentially saying "that's not my job" and you should be coming up with better things for me to do.
I found it ironic that when they finally had Chakotay carry an episode, it was that terrible boxer illusion/fantasy/metaphor story which for me was by far the worst show of the series. They gave him an episode, but it was a boring and murky story that no one could have carried off-- except possibly Jeri Ryan, who would have shined in the topless scenes.
I think it also comes down to just how much people actually worked together. Anything I have read about the DS9 cast suggests that the set was a very professional, work oriented atmosphere.
However, Armin Shimerman mentioned (at a convention) that since rehearsal time was limited he used to have all of the cast who worked in makeup over to his house for extra rehearsal so they could work out the kinks of how to best act through the makeup.
In my experience that comes across in the Q&A panels I have seen...the actors who worked in makeup all seemed to have little in-jokes and seemed very friendly with each other.
However, Armin Shimerman mentioned (at a convention) that since rehearsal time was limited he used to have all of the cast who worked in makeup over to his house for extra rehearsal so they could work out the kinks of how to best act through the makeup.
In my experience that comes across in the Q&A panels I have seen...the actors who worked in makeup all seemed to have little in-jokes and seemed very friendly with each other.
Re: Beltran, I remember this being the case as well. Both Beltran and Wang seemed to be the most vocal detractors of their experiences with the show, always wanting more dialog and episode directing opportunities, seeing that some of the others were getting it.
Yeah, DS9 was an odd duck. I do remember Dorn's comment about it being a more "grim" set, but I wonder if that was more of a function of the subject matter of the show (always being promoted as the "darker" Trek) or one of the actors.
I do recall Brooks being the most aloof of the group, however, IIRC, he was also said to have frequently advocated for the other actors to get bigger roles in the show where it made sense to the plot. That, to me, speaks volumes of the man's professionalism and proof that he wasn't about stroking his own ego, despite his top-billing status.
TNG and Enterprise seemed to have the most camaraderie that I could tell, with everyone pretty much having fun with the gig in general.
And yes, top marks for TOS being the most fraught with cliquey behavior and petty squabbles. The "big three" may have gotten along well with each other, but the venom from the second- and third-tier folks, whether perceived or real, coupled with the almost persistent threat of imminent cancellation, definitely puts it at its own level above the rest when it came to disharmony on the set.
That had more to do with neither of them ever taking their work professionally or putting much effort in. Wang wasn't willing to take the directing courses that all the other Trek Actors-turned-Directors did, IIRC.
Yep - sounds like a pretty simple case of wanting the title and accolades without actually putting in the hours to earn it.
I remember a quote from Michael Dorn where he was asked to compare the working environment on the two shows and he said being on TNG was like going to a party every day while being on DS9 was like spending a day at the office. Which I interepret as meaning TNG was the more fun show to be on, but he had no complaints about DS9.
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