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Before securing the role of Data on "Star Trek: The Next Generation," actor Brent Spiner was perhaps most widely recognized for his recurring role as Bob Wheeler on the sitcom "Night Court." He also had one-shot appearances on various other hit TV shows like "Tales from the Darkside," "The Paper Chase," and "Ryan's Hope." He also had a bit part in the excellent cult musical "Ladies and Gentlemen, the Fabulous Stains" and was one of the background students in "Grease 2." Spiner had been acting in Broadway productions throughout the 1970s.

Data was a boon to his career, making him a household name, and giving him a role that he would continue to revisit for decades. Spiner has always felt ambivalent about Data, however, loving the fame, but resenting how he had been typecast. He has since referred to Data as a double-edged sword. That said, his post-"Star Trek...

When reviewing movies, the website Rotten Tomatoes is certainly one of the most recognizable and acclaimed. Since 1998, Rotten Tomatoes has been using a rating system of aggregating positive reviews from its roster of film and television critics, where its famous Tomatometer designates a film's tomato status.

A film can be designated as "Rotten" with less than 60% of reviews being positive, "Fresh" with at least 60% of reviews being positive, or "Certified Fresh" with 75% or higher scores from at least 5 of their top critics. Let's see which Star Trek films are "Fresh" and which ones are not.

#14 – Star Trek: Section 31 (2025) “Rotten” – 19% Tomatometer

With a “Rotten” Tomatometer score of 19%, the Michelle Yeoh-led Paramount+ streaming film centers around a secret mission orchestrated by a team of agents who work for a black ops organization called Section 31. Section 31 is a clandestine organization within the Federation that carries out secret missions to save the galaxy,...

Now that it’s been announced that Naveen Andrews will voice Khan Noonien Singh in the long-gestating Star Trek: Khan audio series, it’s time to delve a bit deeper into the news and the press release distributed to the media. There are numerous bits to explore.

First, we like the casting of Andrews. He’s a solid, experienced, and Emmy-nominated actor, best known for Lost, and has a distinctive voice. Though he was born in London, England, his parents are from India. Khan is Indian.

CBS Studios also revealed that Wrenn Schmidt will voice Marla McGivers, another character very familiar to fans of “Space Seed,” the episode upon which Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan was built. Schmidt recently played Margo Madison on For All Mankind and co-starred on the series Person of Interest, which Kelvin Timeline filmmaker J.J. Abrams-produced. She also co-starred with Brent Spiner, Star...

Actor Mark Hamill is best known for his portrayal of Luke Skywalker in the Star Wars franchise. The space opera franchise has remained a competitor of the sci-fi series Star Trek in the public eye, with both franchises often facing comparisons. However, Hamill admitted to being a fan of the original series created by Gene Roddenberry.

Mark Hamill as Luke Skywalker in Star Wars (Credit: Lucasfilm).

During an interview, Hamill discussed the popularity of the original series and his admiration for it. As a result, when his close friend Brent Spiner revealed a new series, which eventually became Star Trek: The Next Generation, was in development, the actor was skeptical about its chances of succeeding. Here is why Mark Hamill thought Star Trek: The Next Generation would be a failure.

Mark Hamill thought Star Trek: The Next Generation would fail before Brent Spiner proved him wrong

Actor Mark Hamill rose...

Star Trek fans know the canon’s most iconic characters, storylines, and ethos. It is fostered by great character-driven scripts, dynamic plots, and cinematic breakthroughs in film, television, and streaming services. As a result, some Star Trek characters have earned their place in our hearts as fan favorites. However, that is not to say that some of the fanfare may be, shall I say…overrated. Let’s take a look at what makes a character overrated.

When considering which characters are overrated, I first started with the franchise’s most beloved characters. Then I considered what specifically makes a character overrated. I concluded that overrated characters tend to have traits that are overemphasized or overused; they can often have repetitive characteristics or story arcs, and finally, there may be some lack of development to a fully realized character that has strengths and flaws which are the hallmarks of a human,...

If there is one guest star we expect to return now and then, it’s Gary Anthony Williams. He is a lot of fun as Judge Flobert, and he will return in Night Court season 3, episode 9.

Judge Flobert has come into the story for so many reasons. He brings a fresh job and a lot of humor, and there’s no doubt that Gary Anthony Williams brings energy to the set. In fact, he brought a lot of energy to our exclusive interview, and it was so much talking all things Night Court and more!

Gary Anthony Williams talks Judge Flobert in Night Court

Hidden Remote: Let’s start with why is Judge Flobert back again?

Gary Anthony Williams: You know, you ask all the right questions! One day, I was sitting in the makeup chair and I’d just finished lunch, and John Larroquette says to me “Gary, I...

Sir Patrick Stewart has had an incredibly venerated and celebrated career over his 38-year-long stint in the film and television industry. However, before his Hollywood debut, the actor had accumulated decades of experience on the stage while working at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre and National Theatre.

Patrick Stewart and Wil Wheaton in Star Trek: The Next Generation [Credit: Paramount Domestic Television]

It was, quite understandably, not a smooth transition for Sir Patrick Stewart during the initial years of his Hollywood career. The wildly different attitude of his American castmates presented to him as a culture shock, one that he was neither ready to accept nor adapt to.

However, as the years went by, the X-Men legend realized something had to give, preferably on his end, if he wanted to continue down the road in Hollywood.

Sir Patrick Stewart verified a rumor for Henry Cavill Star Trek: Picard [Credit: Paramount Network]

Star Trek:...

There is no replacing William Shatner's Captain Kirk. Shatner created a character that, to this day, is the embodiment of the quintessential captain. It's a hard role to fill, and that's why, to date, no one has really tried to play Captain Kirk Shatner's way. One Star Trek: The Next Generation writer, Melissa M. Snodgrass, wanted to make Data [Brent Spiner] a little more like Kirk, specifically in the episode "Ensigns of Command." [via GiantFreakinRobot]

In the episode, Data is in charge of moving colonists from a planet. Snodgrass had it in mind to "stress him and have him face a situation where logic isn’t enough, to show that in order to command you have to have charisma.” The type of charisma that Kirk had, of course. But that didn't happen because the script went through rewrites, and Snodgrass wasn't happy about it. She even used the pseudonym "H. B.

Warning: contains spoilers for Star Trek: Lower Decks #3!

Data’s potential was wasted by Starfleet, and Star Trek itself agrees. The android Data has become a franchise icon, and his exploits in the Federation and Starfleet are legendary. Data is capable of feats of strength and intellect far beyond his Enterprise shipmates, and it would make sense for Data to hold an advanced position in Starfleet, but Star Trek: Lower Decks #3 makes the case that his potential was wasted.

Ryan North is also writing Fantastic Four for Marvel.

Star Trek: Lower Decks #3 is written by Ryan North and drawn by Jack Lawrence. Lieutenant Rutherford is lamenting that his implants are not functioning properly. Rutherford complains to Tendi that his implants should boost his brain power and make him a better engineer. Rutherford mentions Data’s computing power, and that it made Data a better engineer than him (Rutherford) and “he wasn’t even an engineer.

Geordi La Forge (LeVar Burton) is most remembered as the Chief Engineer of the USS Enterprise-d on Star Trek: The Next Generation. Throughout his Starfleet career, La Forge proved himself to be a brilliant engineer who came to know the Enterprise-d's engines better than anyone. On numerous occasions, Geordi kept the ship running even when the odds were stacked against him. Born blind, Geordi never let his disability slow him down, and his Visor often provided useful insight during away missions, as it allowed him to see across the electromagnetic spectrum.

Soon after joining the Enterprise crew, Geordi became friends with Lt. Commander Data (Brent Spiner), and the two regularly spent their off hours together. Data, in particular, enjoyed pretending to be Sherlock Holmes on the holodeck with Geordi as his Dr. Watson. Geordi was one of the most influential figures in Data's quest to become human, as he saw...

One of the core tenets of "Star Trek" is an undercurrent of pacifism. The ships we see in any given "Star Trek" series are usually research vessels devoted to missions of exploration and study. Just as often, they do repair work on distant worlds, help planets in severe environmental trouble, or taxi diplomats to important peace talks. And while the U.S.S. Enterprise is equipped with weapons like phasers and photon torpedoes, they are only very rarely assigned a mission of combat. More often, the crew of the Enterprise will threaten a potential battlefield foe while still doing everything they can to avoid war.

The core tenets of pacifism, however, are typically ignored in many of the "Star Trek" feature films. Because of their medium, the "Star Trek" movies typically demand larger-scale stories and easily consumed conflicts that can be satisfactorily wrapped in about 100 to 120 minutes. This demand often...

As a franchise spanning multiple television series since 1966, Star Trek has brought countless memorable guest stars over the decades. However, not all guest stars are created equal, with several standing as clear highlights in their respective episodes. Whether it's one-and-done appearances or informal recurring roles, effective guest stars quickly are embraced as fan-favorites. In fact, some connect with the cast, crew, and audience so well, they've inadvertently steered the course of the franchise.

A great guest star gels seamlessly with the main cast and naturally elevates the story that they're appearing in. Rather than simply feeling like stunt casting, a guest role feels like an organic addition to the Star Trek franchise. For the purposes of this article, stars appearing on this list do not include actors who have appeared as series regulars on other Star Trek shows. Here are the 15 best guest stars on Star Trek, ranked in descending order.

Throughout his Star Trek career, Brent Spiner has proven himself as one of the franchise's most versatile actors by portraying several different androids beyond Star Trek: The Next Generation's Lt. Commander Data. Data was created by Dr. Noonien Soong (also portrayed by Brent Spiner), a cyberneticist who built several androids over the course of his life. Brent not only portrayed Data and his creator, but Spiner also portrayed every other Soong android that has appeared on Star Trek, including Data's evil twin brother, Lore.

Brent Spiner began acting in the late 1970s and is most well-known for his portrayal of Data in Star Trek: The Next Generation. In total, Spiner has portrayed versions of three different androids, as well as four different members of the Soong family. Spiner is also known for playing Dr. Brakish Okun in Independence Day and Independence Day: Resurgence, and Bob Wheeler in the original Night Court and the 2023 reboot.

The USS Enterprise-d of Star Trek: The Next Generation was missing one element that every other Starship Enterprise has had. Following the adventures of Captain Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) and his Enterprise crew, Tng ushered in a new golden era of Star Trek that lasted throughout the 1990s. With crew members like Lt. Worf (Michael Dorn) and Lt. Commander Data (Brent Spiner), the crew of Captain Picard's Enterprise became almost as popular as that of Captain James T. Kirk (William Shatner).

In both Star Trek: The Original Series and Star Trek: The Next Generation, each main character had a specific role to play on their Starship Enterprise. Both ships, for example, had Chief Medical Officers and Chief Engineers who were part of the main cast. But while the Enterprise of Tos had a dedicated helmsman in Lt. Sulu (George Takei), the Enterprise-d had a rotating cast of pilots. From...

The fourth and final Star Trek: The Next Generation movie, Star Trek: Nemesis, put a nail in the coffin of what was—at the time—a dying Star Trek franchise. Star Trek: Nemesis saw Captain Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) confront a younger clone of himself, Shinzon (Tom Hardy), who had been created by Romulans to secretly replace Picard. Shinzon had been discarded to the mines of Remus before becoming the new Romulan Praetor to exact his revenge. Star Trek: Nemesis' subplot featured the discovery of B-4 (Brent Spiner), an inferior Soong-type android built before Lt. Commander Data (Brent Spiner).

In theory, Star Trek: Nemesis' high-stakes cinematic action, with a screenplay and story by Academy Award-nominated John Logan with Brent Spiner, was designed to draw casual moviegoers. Further, Star Trek: Nemesis' themes of identity and duality in its Picard and Data storylines were supposed to create that cerebral Star Trek touch.

The character of Kes (Jennifer Lien) on "Star Trek: Voyager" was controversial from the start. She belonged to a species called the Ocampa, which only had a lifespan of nine years. Kes was merely two years old in the "Voyager" pilot (Lien was 19) and was dating the character Neelix (Ethan Phillips). Many audience members found it icky that an adult man was dating a literal two-year-old.

The concept of a short-lived character, however, was intriguing. "Star Trek: The Next Generation" ended after seven seasons, and there was every reason to believe that the concurrent "Deep Space Nine" would do the same, so "Voyager" was seemingly set up to run a full seven years. Over that time, audiences would have seen Kes grow from a being who looks 20 to one that looks 90. Trekkies would watch Kes mature, grow old, and die in seven years, a whole life in microcosm. And yes,...

Chuck Lorre and Bill Prady's 2007 sitcom "The Big Ban Theory" was hotly contested when it was on the air. In the early 2000s, certain kinds of "geek" interests moved from the cultural fringe directly into the mainstream, and previously derided niche interests like "Dungeons & Dragons," comic books, long-form video games, astronomy, trivia, and fantasy in general all became widely accepted as a new entertainment zeitgeist. New kinds of kid-acceptable pop artists came to be canonized. The geek ecosystem was widespread and easily available to any curious takers.

"The Big Bang Theory," however, was lambasted by some viewers for its inaccurate portrayals of modern-day geeks. The characters on "Big Bang" were all scientists or intellectuals, and they all loved "Star Wars," comic books, and RPGs, but they didn't talk the way geeks talked, nor did they organically celebrate geek culture. "The Big Bang Theory" relied too heavily on outdated...

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At the end of the 1994 film "Star Trek: Generations," the tried-and-true U.S.S. Enterprise-d crash-landed into Veridian III after a run-in with a sneaky Klingon vessel. The ship was damaged beyond repair, and the crew walked away, completely unsentimental about the ship's destruction. They were merely happy to be alive. In the 1996 follow-up film, "Star Trek: First Contact," the same crew was gathered on board the all-new U.S.S. Enterprise-e, a Sovereign-class vessel that was a bit smaller, but faster and much better armed. The crew stayed on board the Enterprise-e through the events of 2002's "Star Trek: Nemesis," the fourth and final film to star the "Star Trek: The Next Generation" characters.

The Enterprise-e was also severely damaged at the end of "Star Trek: Nemesis," although it seemed that this time, it could be repaired. After the events of "Nemesis,...

Brent Spiner played one of the most beloved characters in sci-fi Data in Star Trek: The Next Generation. A part of Captain Jean-Luc Picard’s crew, the android Data was curious about humanity and wanted to feel real human emotions. His arc and his life initially ended in the final Tng film Star Trek: Nemesis.

However, all was not lost as Spiner returned as Data and his evil twin Lore in the spinoff series Star Trek: Picard. While fans loved the reunion of Data with his Starship crew, Spiner reportedly had to be convinced a lot to reprise his role. He mentioned that he was apprehensive about his age being appropriate as Data was an ageless being.

Brent Spiner was worried he was too old to play Data before returning for Star Trek: Picard Brent Spiner in Star Trek: Picard | Credits: Paramount+

In a cast that was led by Sir Patrick Stewart,...

Star Trek: The Next Generation makes for the perfect binge-watch, but not all of the seasons are created equal. With its series premiere in 1987, Star Trek: The Next Generation introduced the world to an entirely new Enterprise crew led by Captain Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart). Well before binge-worthy television became the norm, Tng was one of the most-watched television shows of its time. Over the course of Tng's seven seasons, the crew members of the USS Enterprise-d became just as beloved as Captain James T. Kirk (William Shatner) and his crew had been.

The landscape of modern television is significantly different than it was in the 1980s and 1990s, with much more emphasis on serialized storytelling. Star Trek: The Next Generation told mostly episodic stories, restoring the status quo by the end of almost every episode. Despite this, the show lends itself to binge-watching thanks to one major element — the characters.

The final episode of "Star Trek: The Next Generation," called "All Good Things...," aired on May 23, 1994, although many Trekkies weren't entirely heartbroken. While viewers would no longer be able to see the weekly adventures of the Enterprise-d and its stalwart crew, they all knew that the spinoff feature film, "Star Trek: Generations" was due in theaters in only six months. Additionally, "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine" was already chugging along into its third season, and "Star Trek: Voyager" was actively developing. I tell ya, the 1990s was a grand time to be a Trekkie. 

Of course, at the time, many fans wondered why "Next Generation" felt the need to stop after only seven seasons. Ratings were high, and the show hadn't waned in cultural popularity. The cast had even signed on to act in an eighth season, steeled to withstand another year in space. There was every reason to assume...

Lt. Commander Data (Brent Spiner) became one of Star Trek: The Next Generation's most beloved characters, but the android had a fascinating life before the show even began. As the operations officer on the USS Enterprise-d under the command of Captain Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart), Data helped save the galaxy numerous times. Without Data's enhanced android abilities and resistance to pathogens and mind manipulation, the Enterprise would have been destroyed several times over. Data was the only android of his kind serving in Starfleet, and he wanted nothing more than to be human.

Throughout its seven seasons, Tng revealed many interesting facts about Data's history. However, none of his life before the Enterprise-d has ever been shown on screen. Data was created by cyberneticist Dr. Noonien Soong (Brent Spiner), and he and his wife, Juliana (Fionnula Flanagan), came to see the android as their child. Data spent his earliest...

Star Trek may not have a dedicated Christmas episode, but some episodes still channel the holiday spirit. Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry intentionally created a future where humanity had largely abandoned organized religion. Because of this, Christmas is rarely mentioned throughout the Star Trek timeline, and none of the franchise's main characters are shown openly celebrating the holiday. Still, if the Christmas season is about celebrating friends and family and the beauty of human connection, then Star Trek has plenty of episodes for that.

From Captain James T. Kirk (William Shatner) and his Starship Enterprise crew to the lower deckers of the USS Cerritos, Star Trek has always been a celebration of found families and the progress that can be achieved by working together. Every Star Trek series has episodes that highlight the camaraderie and celebration often associated with Christmas. Some of these Star Trek episodes take inspiration directly from...

It's hard to deny that Star Trek: Lower Decks came on strong in its final few seasons. It really embraced its concept and pushed it to its maximum. The show really did deliver some quality episodes. It's probably the first of the original offering of Nu Trek shows to be able to say some of their episodes could challenge the franchise's Top 100 episodes.

Will it have any in the Top 100? Maybe, we'll have to revisit our list. Yet, ScreenRant has made the bold claim that one of Lower Decks' final episodes, "Fully Dilated" tops one of the best Enterprise episodes of all time; Carbon Creek.

In Fully Dilated, Beckett Mariner, D'Vana Tendi, and T'Lyn spend a year on a pre-warp civilization. ScreenRant puts over the animation, color, concept, and the return of Brent Spiner for why the series version was perceived as "better" than the Enterprise episode.

Yet, what the...

Star Trek: The Next Generation was graced with the presence of one of the greatest minds in science. In the sixth season episode, titled Descent Part 1, Stephen Hawking appeared in the opening sequence. Interestingly, Hawking first mentioned his desire to star in one of The Next Generation episodes to Og Star Trek star Leonard Nimoy.

Stephen Hawking in a still from Star Trek: The Next Generation | Credits: Paramount Television

Nimoy then conveyed this message to the executive producer of the series Rick Berman, who wasted no time in contacting Hawking’s team. What followed was a scene in the series where Hawking played a simulated version of himself alongside Brent Spiner and actors playing Albert Einstein and Isaac Newton.

Leonard Nimoy played a role in Star Trek: The Next Generation‘s Stephen Hawking cameo Leonard Nimoy in a still from Star Trek: The Original Series | Credits: Paramount Television

Star Trek:...

Star Trek star George Takei has long been vocal about current president-elect Donald Trump’s policies. The actor has been a strong advocate for issues faced by Asian Americans and the LGBTQ+ community and has criticized Trump’s statements regarding the community even during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Takei especially referred to Trump’s statements at the time where the latter called it as a ‘Chinese virus’ which the Star Trek actor attributed to various violent attacks on Asian Americans at the time. He particularly spoke about an incident that occurred in Oakland where an elderly Thai man was attacked.

Star Trek‘s George Takei blamed Donald Trump for racializing the Covid-19 pandemic Donald Trump | Credits: CBS News

President-elect Donald Trump won this year’s election against current VP Kamala Harris. One of Trump’s biggest policies to stand on was undocumented immigration and his promises of mass deportation. The president-elect...

If there is anyone who liked the series finale of Star Trek: Enterprise, they haven't been very vocal about it. For the most part, fans abhorred the last episode...even the actors, with some seeing it as a slap in the face. But while the story was lacking, Linda Park, who played Ensign Hoshi on the series, didn't mind the filming of the series finale as it brought back some friends. Due to her connection to some of the Star Trek; The Next Generation actors, whether through working with them or being friends with them, Park felt like the finale was "like friends coming to hang out some more."

The actors weren't blamed for the finale. That lay solely at the feet of Brannon Braga and Rick Berman, and it was a tough pill to swallow for all of us who felt the cast of Enterprise took a back seat...

Warning: Contains Spoilers for Star Trek: Lower Decks season 5, episode 9, "Fissure Quest"

Academy Award-nominated actress Alfre Woodard portrayed Lily Sloane in Star Trek: First Contact. Following Star Trek Generations, First Contact was the first big screen adventure devoted completely to the cast of Star Trek: The Next Generation. Director Jonathan Frakes' hit film follows Captain Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) and the USS Enterprise-e as they travel back in time to prevent the Borg from rewriting history. Upon arriving in 2063, the Enterprise crew encounters Zefram Cochrane (James Cromwell), the creator of warp drive, on the eve of his historic flight that led to humanity's First Contact with the Vulcans.

While Commander William Riker (Jonathan Frakes), Lt. Commander Geordi La Forge (LeVar Burton), and Counselor Deanna Troi (Marina Sirtis) work with Zefram Cochrane on Earth, Captain Picard and the rest of the crew fight off Borg drones aboard the Enterprise. The Borg manage to capture Lt.

One of the measures of a successful sitcom is the ability to attract star-power cameos from related media. You can judge the enduring popularity of "The Big Bang Theory" through the number of Star Trek cameos it boasted by the end of its 12-season run. The show included guest appearances from the likes of Brent Spiner, LeVar Burton, and George Takei — and, of course, Wil Wheaton (aka Professor Proton) had a recurring role as himself, too.

One coveted cameo that eluded the show for a long time, though, was the iconic, original "Star Trek" Captain James T. Kirk, i.e., William Shatner.

By the time season 10 came out, Shatner had publicly clarified that despite the genre fit, he hadn't shown up on the show because he wasn't happy with the writing for a potential part. In a 2019 interview with the New York Post, the show's executive producer and showrunner, Steve Holland,...

The final episode of "Star Trek: Enterprise," called "These Are the Voyages...", was met with controversy when it first aired and still isn't particularly beloved to this day. "Enterprise," it should be recalled, was one of the least popular of the "Star Trek" shows to date, lasting a mere four seasons while its three immediate predecessors lasted seven seasons each. At the end of the show, the makers of "Enterprise" felt a panicked need to wrap up the series in a neat little bow, as well as find a way to tie the series into extant "Trek" lore at large. 

As such, the premise for "These Are the Voyages..." felt strained. The episode added bizarre bookend material set in the year 2370 during the events of the "Star Trek: The Next Generation" episode "The Pegasus," depicting Commander Riker (Jonathan Frakes) using a holodeck to recreate the events "Star Trek: Enterprise" so...

Introduced on Star Trek: The Next Generation, Lt. Commander Data (Brent Spiner) quickly became one of Star Trek's most interesting and beloved characters. An advanced one-of-a-kind android, Data served as the operations officer aboard the USS Enterprise-d under the command of Captain Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart). Data's universal kindness and childlike sense of wonder made him difficult to dislike, and he remains an important part of modern Star Trek. Brent Spiner's nuanced performance helped make Data stand out among Tng's incredibly strong cast, and his quest to be human became one of Tng's best ongoing storylines.

Thanks in part to Brent Spiner's performance as Data (as well as his portrayal of Data's evil twin brother Lore and various Soong family members), Star Trek: The Next Generation's Data-centric episodes remain some of the show's strongest. Like Spock (Leonard Nimoy) on Star Trek: The Original Series, Data allowed Tng to...

Warning: Huge spoilers ahead for Star Trek: Lower Decks season 5, episode 7, "Fully Dilated."Star Trek: Lower Decks, season 5, episode 7, "Fully Dilated," proves that Brent Spiner's Commander Data remains one of the most beloved Star Trek characters, and he'll hopefully continue to return to the world of Gene Roddenberry's vast space opera time and time again. After playing Data in all seven seasons of Star Trek: The Next Generation and the show's sequel movies, Spiner has reprised the character and adjacent roles in several other spinoffs. There was no disputing his importance to the Star Trek: The Next Generation cast, but Spiner's cameo in Star Trek's animated comedy solidifies his legendary status.

Spiner has also played several members of the Soong family, such as his creator, Dr Noonien Soong. This has allowed Spiner to be involved up and down the Star Trek timeline without always playing Data. However,...

Sir Patrick Stewart was reportedly not interested in joining Star Trek: The Next Generation before he was persuaded by his manager to take the well-paying job. Though the actor seemed like a fish out of water initially, he never phoned it in with his performances and gave the character of Jean-Luc Picard a whole new dimension.

Despite his wonderful performance in the show, the actor never received an Emmy nomination, let alone an award for his role in Star Trek: Tng. In fact, many of the cast members have been denied the prestigious award despite giving amazing performances. One episode that proved the Emmys’ hate for sci-fi is the season 3 episode, ‘Sarek’.

Sir Patrick Stewart’s Performance In Star Trek: Tng’s ‘Sarek’ Deserved An Emmy A still from Star Trek: Tng | Credits: Paramount

The Emmys have always been biased against sci-fi and fantasy shows as opposed to true dramas.

Portrayed by Johnny Galecki and Kaley Cuoco, Leonard Hofstadter, and Penny continue to be one of the most beloved couples on the hit sitcom The Big Bang Theory. However, considering the contrasting personalities and lifestyles, many have questioned whether they were truly a good match.

Leonard and Penny in The Big Bang Theory | Credit: CBS

And another recurring character of the show, Alex Jensen, has been suggested by some fans as a perfect match for Leonard. However, the idea hasn’t resonated with everyone, as many argue that Leonard should not have ended up with Alex.

Could Alex Jensen Have Been Leonard’s Perfect Match on The Big Bang Theory?

The Big Bang Theory Season 6 introduces Alex Jensen, a Caltech Physics doctoral student, as Sheldon’s (Jim Parsons) new assistant. Throughout her appearances, Alex is shown as a pretty and smart girl, who starts showing an interest in Leonard Hofstadter.

The weirdest scene in Star Trek Generations was actually brilliant. The last movie starring the cast of Star Trek: The Original Series opens with Captain James T. Kirk (William Shatner), Montgomery Scott (James Doohan), and Pavel Chekov (Walter Koenig) touring the USS Enterprise-b, waxing nostalgic about time gone by. The Enterprise-b has been passed to its next commander, Captain John Harriman (Alan Ruck). As expected, Star Trek Generations' prologue runs with themes already established in the Tos movies, and also introduces the Nexus as a timeless, wish-granting energy field that will unite two generations of Star Trek casts.

Following the opening prologue with the familiar Tos crew, Star Trek Generations passes the narrative baton to the cast of Star Trek: The Next Generation. Instead of shifting to the USS Enterprise-d, the action takes place on a 19th-century British naval vessel. Captain Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) and the USS Enterprise-d's bridge...

Warning: Spoilers for Star Trek: Lower Decks Season 5, Episode 7 - "Fully Dilated"Star Trek: Lower Decks just topped Star Trek: Enterprise's classic episode, "Carbon Creek." The spectacular Star Trek: Lower Decks season 5, episode 7, "Fully Dilated" is a fish-out-of-water story where Lieutenants Beckett Mariner (Tawny Newsome), D'Vana Tendi (Noel Wells), and T'Lyn (Gabrielle Ruiz) are stranded in a pre-warp civilization for a year. "Fully Dilated" cleverly borrows from several great Star Trek episodes like Star Trek: The Next Generation's "The Inner Light" and Star Trek: Voyager's "Blink of an Eye," and it's a riff that exceeds Enterprise's "Carbon Creek."

Star Trek: Enterprise season 2, episode 2, "Carbon Creek," is a story told by Subcommander T'Pol (Jolene Blalock) of how her ancestor, T'Mir (also Blalock), and two other Vulcans crash-landed and were stranded in Carbon Creek, Pennsylvania in 1957. The Vulcans arrived over a century before First Contact and hid among the townspeople,...

Warning: Spoilers for Star Trek: Lower Decks season 5, episode 7, "Fully Dilated"

Star Trek: Lower Decks introduced an alternate universe where the USS Enterprise-d is purple, raising the question of why Starfleet ships are gray when purple is an option. In its fifth and final season on Paramount+, Lower Decks finds the USS Cerritos investigating a series of quantum fissures that have opened up throughout the galaxy. In Lower Decks season 5, episode 7, "Fully Dilated," the Cerritos sends Lts. Beckett Mariner (Tawny Newsome), D'Vana Tendi (Noël Wells), and T'Lyn (Gabrielle Ruiz) to retrieve technology that an alternate universe USS Enterprise-d left on Dilmer III.

While on the planet, Mariner, Tendi, and T'Lyn find the purple disembodied head of Lt. Commander Data (Brent Spiner) among debris from a shuttlecraft crash. This version of Data comes from a universe that appears to be similar to Star Trek's Prime Universe, except that everything is purple.

While some may argue that Star Trek: Lower Decks is its own thing and should be left to be such, I would argue that it is still a Star Trek series and needs to feel like Star Trek beyond costume and set design. Season 5, Episode 7, "Fully Dilated" is an episode that does just that by giving us an interesting quandary and watching the quirky Lower Deckers navigate it.

Episode summary (spoilers)

"Fully Dilated" begins with the USS Cerritos arriving to close a quantum fissure, like the ones we've been seeing throughout the season so far. This one involved a purple alternate version of the Enterprise-d, and the Cerritos crew notes that some debris was left on the planet below, Dilmer III.

Captain Freeman decides to send an away team consisting of Beckett Mariner, D'Vana Tendi, and T'Lyn. Tendi and T'Lyn are both candidates for the Senior Science Officer position on the Cerritos now,...

Warning: Spoilers for Star Trek: Lower Decks season 5, episode 7, "Fully Dilated"

Since Lt. Commander Data's heroic sacrifice in Star Trek: Nemesis, Brent Spiner has only portrayed the beloved Star Trek: The Next Generation version of the android twice. As part of the original USS Enterprise-d crew on Tng, Data quickly became one of the show's most popular characters, thanks in no small part to Brent Spiner's compelling performance. Throughout Tng's seven seasons, Data's quest to discover his humanity became one of the show's best ongoing storylines, and his friendship with Lt. Commander Geordi La Forge (LeVar Burton) remains one of Trek's best friendships.

Data's storylines in the Star Trek: The Next Generation films did not fair quite as well as his stories on the show, and the question of Data's age was also becoming a problem. As an android, Data did not age (although a line in the Tng...

Warning: Spoilers for Star Trek: Lower Decks Season 5, Episode 7, "Fully Dilated"

Lt. Commander Data (Brent Spiner) lost his head in Star Trek: The Next Generation, thanks to time travel and some pesky shapeshifting aliens. As the only advanced android of his kind serving in Starfleet, Data played a uniquely important role on the USS Enterprise-d. With his intellect, kindness, and android abilities, Data was one of the Enterprise's most indispensable crew members. Without Data, the Enterprise would have been destroyed several times over, and, in a few cases, the rest of the galaxy along with it.

Data's synthetic body meant that the android could not only lift heavy objects with ease, but was also resistant to the diseases and toxins that affected the rest of the crew. Data did not need to breathe or sleep, allowing him to participate in missions that would have been impossible for other crew members.

Beam us up and away from spoilers. This article discusses major plot developments from the latest episode of "Star Trek: Lower Decks."

"Lower Decks" has been getting a whole lot of mileage out of alternate universe antics during its fifth and final season, starting with the premiere episode that threw our Cerritos crewmembers alongside their mirror selves and kickstarted Ensign Boimler's (Jack Quaid) obsession with growing out that fugly-looking facial hair. That pattern continues in episode 7, titled "Fully Dilated." The action kicks off when Boimler and Rutherford (Eugene Cordero) clumsily drop their obnoxious martinis all over the delicate transporter controls, dooming the away team to months (if not years) on the surface of a nearby planet currently undergoing severe time dilation. While Ensigns Mariner (Tawny Newsome), Tendi (Noël Wells), and T'Lyn (Gabrielle Ruiz) are trapped indefinitely, they continue to investigate the reason they embarked on the mission in the first place: a purple-colored,...

Warning: Spoilers for Star Trek: Lower Decks Season 5, Episode 7 - "Fully Dilated"Star Trek: The Next Generation's USS Enterprise-d and Lt. Commander Data (Brent Spiner) are back in Star Trek: Lower Decks, and apparently, Star Trek Generations never happened for this version of Captain Jean-Luc Picard's (Patrick Stewart) Galaxy Class starship. Star Trek: Lower Decks season 5, episode 7, "Fully Dilated," continues the USS Cerritos' mission of plugging holes that lead to other Star Trek timelines. A new rift in dimensional space briefly brings an alternate universe purple USS Enterprise-d into the Prime Timeline.

In Star Trek: Lower Decks season 5, episode 7, "Fully Dilated," Lieutenants Beckett Mariner (Tawny Newsome), D'Vana Tendi (Noel Wells), and T'Lyn (Gabrielle Ruiz) undergo a Starfleet surgical procedure for an away mission to Dilmer III, a primitive pre-warp civilization. During their mission to rid Dilmer III of debris from the purple USS Enterprise-d that could violate the Prime Directive,...

This article contains spoilers for the latest episode of "Star Trek: Lower Decks."

"Star Trek" shows have been known to go big for their final seasons, and judging by this week's great episode, "Star Trek: Lower Decks" is no exception. The latest installment, "Fully Dilated," is one of my favorites of the entire series. It focuses on three great characters, utilizes one of the most impactful "Trek" tropes out there (time dilation), and includes a very silly-funny bit about Boimler and Rutherford spilling prawn cocktails all over the transporter panel during a particularly high-stakes moment.

"Fully Dilated" was already one of the more endearing episodes the reference-packed animated comedy has produced to date, but its positive qualities really went off the charts when it introduced its not-so-secret weapon: Brent Spiner's Data. More specifically, the Cerritos crew encountered the purple severed head of an alternate universe version of Data, who...

The actress who portrayed Lt. Commander Geordi La Forge's (LeVar Burton) mother in Star Trek: The Next Generation had appeared as Star Trek's first Black female captain a few years before. Not much was revealed about Geordi's family throughout Tng's run and neither of his parents appeared on the show until season 7. As the Chief Engineer on the USS Enterprise-d under the command of Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart), Geordi's storylines typically involved him solving engineering problems with his best friend, Lt. Commander Data (Brent Spiner).

In Star Trek: The Next Generation season 7, episode 3, "Interface," Geordi learns that the USS Hera has gone missing and that all of its crewmembers, including Captain Silva La Forge (Madge Sinclair), are presumed dead. Prior to learning this information, Geordi, Data, and Dr. Beverly Crusher (Gates McFadden) had been testing an interface device that would allow Geordi to see through and pilot with his iconic Visor.

Star Trek: Nemesis brought together the cast of Star Trek: The Next Generation for their fourth and final big-screen adventure. Directed by Stuart Baird, and written by the Academy Award-nominated John Logan, Star Trek: Nemesis premiered in December 2002. Unfortunately, Star Trek: Nemesis ranks as the lowest-grossing Star Trek movie, and it was a bomb with critics and audiences that resulted in the end of the Star Trek: The Next Generation movie franchise.

Star Trek: Nemesis' plot involves Captain Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) of the USS Enterprise-e meeting his clone, Shinzon (Tom Hardy), who took control of the Romulan Empire and plots to destroy the United Federation of Planets. Lt. Commander Data (Brent Spiner) also meets his malfunctioning android doppelganger, B-4. Star Trek: Nemesis includes cameos by Star Trek: Voyager's Kate Mulgrew as Admiral Kathryn Janeway, Whoopi Goldberg as Guinan, and Wil Wheaton as Wesley Crusher. Details of the main...

Spoiler shields up! This article discusses plot details from the latest episode of "Star Trek: Lower Decks."

If "Star Trek: Lower Decks" must end with its fifth and final season (which /Film's Jacob Hall reviewed here), it might as well go out swinging for the fences. That seems to have been the approach from creator/showrunner Mike McMahan and the writing team as a whole so far in this series, in all fairness, but season 5, episode 6 takes this Mo to even greater heights. Titled "Of Gods and Angles," the story sees the crew of the USS Cerritos having to don their diplomacy hats in order to mediate between two disgruntled factions of photon-based lifeforms: alien races made up of cubes and spheres, hilariously enough. Yet, as ridiculous and silly as this gets, the main plot doesn't even take the title for the nerdiest moment of the episode. No, that honor...

Warning: Spoilers for Star Trek: Lower Decks Season 5, Episode 6 - "Of Gods and Angles"

Star Trek: Lower Decks season 5, episode 6 has Lieutenant Bradward Boimler (Jack Quaid) unexpectedly name-drop the comic Joe Piscopo played in Star Trek: The Next Generation season 2 back in 1988. Crossing the midway point of Star Trek: Lower Decks' final season on Paramount+, the crew of the USS Cerritos takes a break from investigating rifts in space that lead to alternate Star Trek timelines to broker peace between warring factions of aliens who are cubes and spheres.

However, Lt. Brad Boimler remains obsessed with becoming more like the alternate universe bearded Boimler he met in Star Trek: Lower Decks' season 5 premiere, "Dos Cerritos." Boimler has been growing a beard, and he's obsessed with the bearded Bradward's files in the Padd he swiped from the parallel universe. When his roommate, Lt. Sam Rutherford (Eugene Cordero) asks to borrow Brad's alt-universe Padd,...

Did Seven of Nine (Jeri Ryan) have any special Borg powers in Star Trek: Voyager? Many of Star Trek's alien characters have special abilities that set them apart from humans. Star Trek: The Original Series started this trend by establishing Vulcans' telepathic abilities with Mr. Spock (Leonard Nimoy). Star Trek: The Next Generation characters with superpowers, like the empathic half-Betazoid Counselor Deanna Troi (Marina Sirtis), outnumber those without. Even humans can have enhanced abilities with the aid of technology, like Lieutenant Commander Geordi La Forge's (LeVar Burton) Visor granting him the ability to see much more of the electromagnetic spectrum.

Of course, there's no better example of a tech-enhanced organic being in Star Trek than the Borg. Beginning in Star Trek: Voyager season 4, ex-drone Seven of Nine provided insight into the previously inscrutable Borg. According to Seven, the Borg prized efficiency in their quest for perfection. Starfleet methods, like research and communication,...

Thirty years ago today, Star Trek: Generations, the first film that featured the characters of Star Trek: The Next Generation, debuted, and though, it wasn't the most successful of the films (that honor goes to Star Trek: First Contact), it did bring us some great moments. Let's forget about Captain Kirk's death for a minute, as we know that's the part of the movie fans hated the most, and take a look at one of the funniest Lt. Commander Data (Brent Spiner) scenes ever.

At the beginning of the movie, Worf (Michael Dorn) is being promoted, and Commander Riker (Jonathan Frakes) finds it funny to "remove the plank" rather than retract it. That, of couse, causes Worf to fall into the water. Data misses the essence of the joke even when it's explained to him, and he proceeds to push Dr. Crusher (Gates McFadden) into the water. That didn't turn out so well,...

Star Trek has the ability to bring generations together. With each new series or film, the franchise affords itself a new viewer-base, not just through marketing, but through shared experiences. So much of the Star Trek fandom is passed down from parent to child, or from one older fan to a younger one.

The franchise has been able to thrive over the years because of the shared ability to experience Star Trek with one another. The fandom has been galvanized by that concept. Yet, it's not just the fandom that benefits from the fact that the older generation passes something down to the younger generation.

Those who make the shows and films we love so much do the same thing. Starting with The Next Generation, the first in the non-William Shatner-led Star Trek properties, the previous generation has always been there to lend a hand to the newer generation.