The Star Trek: The Next Generation cast finally got a beautiful reunion and ending in the form of Star Trek: Picard. The TNG cast reprised their roles in the four films but never got a proper finale with Star Trek: Nemesis showing the death of Data. However, the final season of Picard saw Brent Spiner’s Data returning, albeit in a new way.
While the world rejoiced at the reunion of the beloved crew, one character from the cast reportedly showed his disdain for the return of Data. When the entire cast reunited, Michael Dorn’s Worf can be seen unimpressed with the new Data as he knew that it was not the original android they loved.
Michael Dorn’s Worf Was Not Impressed With Brent Spiner’s Return In Star Trek: Picard
Actor Brent Spiner reportedly agreed to come back to Star Trek: Picard after the studio convinced him in various ways and, according to him, threw a lot of money at him. The actor had played Data in Star Trek: The Next Generation and had become a fan-favorite. However, the character had died in Star Trek: Nemesis.
After a brief appearance in season one, the character was killed off again, this time for good. However, Data returned in season 3, having a battle for control against his evil twin Lore in an astral plane. What resulted was a merge of the two androids into one, with parts of both Lore and Data in one body.
While the episode saw the reunion of the entire TNG cast after a long time, one character seemed to be less happy with the return of Data. Michael Dorn’s Worf is shown to be unaccepting of the new Data and true to his emotionless self, gives him the cold shoulder. Showrunner Terry Matalas said to Collider,
What is interesting is that Michael Dorn had decided, in this moment of nostalgia, that he would be the only one who wasn’t entirely touched that Data had returned. In his mind, he was like, ‘Whatever, this isn’t our Data. I don’t care about the robot.’
That was kind of funny. So, in that scene, as Data’s talking, he’s kind of like, ‘All right, whatever. Let’s just get to the meeting,’ if you really look at it, which is funny.
Worf as a Klingon, and Data as an android have always been less ‘human’ in their tenure with the crew, with Worf especially being less prone to emotional outbursts. Hence, this disdain for the new Data makes much more sense.
A Star Trek: The Next Generation Reunion Between Worf And Deanna Troi Was Planned On Purpose
While Star Trek: The Next Generation had a good run of seven seasons and four films, there were still many stories, relationships, and character arcs to explore. One among them was the relationship shared between Worf and Deanna Troi. While Troi is married to William Riker in Picard, she and Worf share a relationship until the end of TNG.
The relationship was reportedly not that popular among fans and even the actors were reportedly not that comfortable with the storyline. However, showrunner Terry Matalas reportedly wanted to address it in the reunion between Worf and Troi in Picard.
The Worf/Deanna moment in [Star Trek: The Next Generation], where they were a couple, hadn’t really been touched on. And I just love the idea that in the rescue, after he’s had this journey to Zen, he can’t wait to tell Deanna about it. He’s just not even looking at Will.
They all play it so perfectly. Frakes is the straight man, just sitting there, looking back and forth. It’s fantastic. I wasn’t sure if it was going to work.
The showrunner also appreciated the actors, especially Marina Sirtis’ comic timing in the scene.
Star Trek: The Next Generation and Picard are available to stream on Paramount+.
