Frakes & Sirtis Talk Trek Voyages

See Also: 'These Are The Voyages' Episode Guide

Jonathan Frakes said that the Star Trek: Enterprise finale "feels like real sci-fi" and added that Captain Archer is glorified by it, while long-time co-star Marina Sirtis laughed that nobody had warned her to keep her appearance a secret and she caused trouble for Paramount by posting about it on the internet.

In a new interview with TV Guide, the two Next Generation co-stars reminisced and joked with one another, noting that because Enterprise finale "These Are the Voyages..." is set at the time of the Next Gen episode "The Pegasus", Riker and Troi not only were not yet married but in fact Deanna was dating Worf. "Oh, god, that's right!" exclaimed Sirtis and dropped her cigarette when reminded, then asked, "Please don't tell Michael Dorn that I nearly set fire to myself at the mere memory of dating Worf!" She revealed that she had never thought the Troi/Worf romance was a good idea and suggested that Riker and Troi were as destined for one another as Ozzie and Harriet, joking that they would have their own sitcom in a future Star Trek incarnation.

Though Frakes lives in London now and Sirtis in Los Angeles, they remain good friends and teased one another about how well their old uniforms still fit, laughing that co-star Brent Spiner (Data) has no rear end to speak of. Sirtis mentioned that she had spilled the beans about Spiner's planned appearance on Enterprise as Arik Soong and said she was surprised anyone at Paramount had not warned her not to announce her own planned appearance in the finale. "My phone was red with all the messages from people at Paramount screaming, 'What the hell are you doing?!'" she admitted. "It's not like I'm some new actress they've never met before. They know that I'm 'The Mouth.'"

Sirtis said the major surprise for her was not being invited to appear on Enterprise - she appeared on Star Trek: Voyager as well - but that the series was ending after only four seasons. Though she felt that the episode did not offer the cast real closure, the way "All Good Things..." did for The Next Generation, Frakes said he thought that the ending was "really nice for Scott Bakula. Archer is deified in this script. He's put right up there with Kirk and Picard. I like it."

Sirtis also said that each crewmember comes to see Riker individually, "and he does his little bonding and counseling thing, which makes no damn sense because Troi is the counselor! But I'm not bitter or anything." She recalled the ending of Next Gen being very emotional, with Dorn "weeping like a baby" even though they were due to start filming Generations within the week. She felt that the Enterprise actors would bounce back because they are so young.

"Of all the Star Trek casts, I think we're the only ones who are still friends. Really close friends," she noted. "We're still in each other's faces constantly. Dorn is my best friend. LeVar [Burton] is here on the lot today and just popped in to say hi. I can see Gates McFadden (Beverly Crusher)'s house from my house. Then there's Brent and, of course, Patrick."

"Our cast was magic," agreed Frakes, who recalled that when they were hired, they were all just happy to be working - unlike guest star Ashley Judd whom Frakes said won't admit that she was ever on Star Trek. Sirtis said that they have all remained friends in large part because they made each other laugh and shared so much of one another's lives.

The full interview with Frakes and Sirtis is in the April 17th issue of TV Guide.

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