The Star Trek franchise has often been lauded for its hopeful and equal depiction of the future, in which racial and gender-based discrimination is not as prevalent. Gene Roddenberry, the creator of the series, was appreciated for the inclusion of diverse individuals in the Starfleet crew.
While the show depicted several unconventional relationships on TV screens for the first time, it was reportedly criticized for the lack of LGBTQ representation. As a response, the makers produced the Star Trek: The Next Generation episode ‘The Outcast’. However, Jonathan Frakes, who played William Riker, was reportedly not satisfied with it.
Jonathan Frakes Wanted Star Trek’s LGBTQ Episode To Go Further In Representation
The season 5 episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation called ‘The Outcast,’ explores a species called the J’naii, who exist in a genderless society where any commitment to a gender or s*xual orientation is forbidden. In the episode, the USS Enterprise-D sends William Riker and a J’naii resident Soren on a mission, which brings them closer.
As Soren and Riker get closer, the J’naii mentions that she identified more towards female characteristics but hesitates to say it out loud and get involved with Riker as she fears retaliation from her planet. Soren experiences a trial after getting caught and is interrupted by Riker, who gives a passionate speech.
The episode is often lauded for its representation of the LGBTQ in sci-fi and the J’naii were considered to be a metaphor for hardcore queer deniers. However, actor Jonathan Frakes, who played Riker, mentioned that the episode did not go far enough. He said in the book Captain’s Log: The Unauthorized Complete Trek Voyages,
I didn’t think they were gutsy enough to take it where they should have…Soren should have been more obviously male. We’ve gotten a lot of mail on this episode, but I’m not sure it was as good as it could have been … if they were trying to do what they call a gay episode.
The filmmaker mentioned that Soren being played by a cis-gendered female may have dampened the impact it would have had and hence, was not as significant a milestone.
Star Trek: The Next Generation’s LGBTQ Episode Was A Response To Fans’ Request
The Star Trek franchise has always depicted significant cultural milestones on TV. The original series depicted what is considered to be the first interracial kiss between William Shatner’s James Kirk and Nichelle Nichols’ Uhura. However, when it came to LGBTQ representation, the sci-fi franchise lagged behind.
Though the producers had pitched to creator Gene Roddenberry that representation was due in the franchise, the creator reportedly only considered letting two men hold hands. These kinds of depictions were often considered missing by the diverse fans of the franchise (via Salon).
The season 5 episode ‘The Outcast’ was reportedly a response to such criticisms after decades of not having proper representation. Writer Jeri Taylor mentioned in Captain’s Log,
It came out of a staff discussion. We had wanted to do a gay rights story and had not been able to figure out how to do it in an interesting science-fiction, ‘Star Trek’-ian way. It came up with the idea of turning it on its ear and I really wanted to do it because, partly, it would be controversial and I welcome that. The idea of any drama is to touch people’s feelings and engage them, whether you make them laugh, cry, or be angry.
The show has since improved on how they represent LGBTQ as subsequent spinoff shows have included more queer characters.
Star Trek: The Next Generation is available on Paramount+.
