Drexler: Best Times On Trek

Doug Drexler recently shared what he enjoyed most during his time working on Star Trek shows.

For Drexler, the thing that stands out most was the friends that he made over the years. “These people are still my friends, and I still work with many of them, too,” he said. Those friends included Mike and Denise Okuda. “I owe [Mike] much for [taking a chance on me], but the friendship that we have, it’s something you can’t put any price on.”

Star Trek: The Next Generation was the most fun time for Drexler. “I’ve been in this business for thirty-two years, and I’ve never seen anything like the cast on TNG,” he said. “You read about shows where they say it’s a big family and then you find out they really hated each other. Not on TNG. It was a genuine family and everyone had a ball. It was sheer fun, no matter how late you worked. Brent Spiner and Jonathan Frakes, the guys were wacky and totally loony. They didn’t take anything seriously until the camera was rolling. Honestly, I don’t think I ever saw a normal rehearsal. Every rehearsal had somebody trying to crack somebody else up. But once they called action, they were right on the money. If I could go back to a time, it would probably be to that show.”

After Star Trek: Enterprise wrapped, Drexler worried about future employment. “When Enterprise ended, I was thinking, ‘Man, I was on Star Trek shows for seventeen years! This could be the end of it! I’ll never work again! Who gets a streak of luck like that?’ But when I get home, there’s a message from Gary [Hutzel] on the answering machine. Lightning! Right away I knew he was going to ask me to come to Battlestar Galactica. I called him and he said, ‘I heard about Enterprise.’ I said, ‘Yeah…’ He said, ‘You know, Doug, every cloud has a silver lining.’ And that was it, I was on the show.

Drexler is currently working on Battlestar Galactica: Blood and Chrome, and waiting to see if it is picked up as a series.