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When production began on Stuart Baird’s “Star Trek: Nemesis,” everyone knew it was going to be the final cinematic outing for the cast of “Star Trek: The Next Generation.” The film is full of giant, dramatic changes for its characters and features multiple fond farewells. It even opens with the marriage of Will Riker (Jonathan Frakes) and Deanna Troi (Marina Sirtis), a romantic consummation that had been dangling over the franchise since 1987. Riker also, at long last, accepted a captaincy of his own, taking command of the U.S.S. Titan. “Nemesis” was going to dramatize Riker’s final mission as first officer of a ship called the Enterprise.
The ending of “Nemesis” was dramatic and tragic. Captain Picard (Patrick Stewart) was stranded on board a Romulan vessel and the Enterprise, pummeled in battle, was about to be destroyed. Data (Brent Spiner) then bravely flew through space to get on the ship, rescue Picard, and destroy it from the inside, sacrificing himself to save everyone. “Nemesis” featured more deaths than any of the other “Next Generation” movies. Later, once the conflagration had calmed, the surviving Enterprise crew members toasted Data’s life with a glass of wine. It’s a maudlin moment.
Shortly thereafter, the final farewell came when Riker entered the captain’s ready room, requesting permission to disembark. He and Picard shared a conversation of mutual melancholy. Riker says that it was an honor serving with Picard. “The honor was mine,” he replied. They both held back their tears.
According to the oral history book “The Fifty-Year Mission: The Next 25 Years: From The Next Generation to J. J. Abrams,” edited by Mark A. Altman and Michael Gross, this scene was difficult for Stewart to get through. The actors knew this was going to be one of their final scenes together, possibly forever, and the last 15 years of “Star Trek” memories all rushed in at once. Stewart admitted to actually crying on set, and noisily. The crew hadn’t ever seen the taciturn Stewart break down like that, and some of them panicked.
Stewart cried so much people thought he was drunk
The crew of the Enterprise are, of course, merely co-workers, largely assembled by chance by the caprices of Starfleet command. Some of them, however, do become friends over the course of their workdays, and Riker and Picard had developed a certain regard. Stewart and Frakes, of course, developed a parallel relationship, working together for so long on “Star Trek: The Next Generation.” Indeed, Frakes had directed multiple episodes of the show as well as two of the movies, so the two had likely spent a lot of time discussing their characters and how they plied their craft. It was just as hard to say goodbye for Stewart as it was for Picard.
Stewart remembers the scene well, notably how hard he cried … to the degree that people assumed he was drunk. In his own words:
“I will say that at the end of the film I’m saying goodbye to Riker and I found myself completely caught up in the moment. I broke down. Out of the clear blue sky, my emotions overwhelmed me. I collapsed in Jonathan’s arms and felt such a fool. The entire crew watched me cry and then started muttering, ‘What’s going on? Has he been drinking or something?’ But in that moment, absolutely everything coalesced; the feelings that I had for these people over the years. Saying goodbye was absolutely terrifying and agonizing for me.”
“Nemesis” wasn’t terribly well-received, perhaps because everyone knew it was the franchise’s trip out the door. In 2005, when “Star Trek: Enterprise” was canceled, it seemed that “Star Trek” would be gone forever.
Stewart and Frakes would eventually reunite for the late-stage revival “Star Trek: Picard” in 2020. In “Picard” season 3, the bulk of the “Next Generation” cast reunited for one final on-screen adventure. Stewart, then, got to experience the joy of working with his old co-workers again, but he also had to bear the brunt of saying farewell again. Time will tell if another reunion is in the stars.
