Summary
- Frakes received a surprise call from DeForest Kelley, who congratulated him on the success of Star Trek: First Contact.
- Kelley expressed his happiness that the franchise was in good hands, showing his kind and considerate nature.
- Kelley’s cameo in The Next Generation started a trend of original series actors appearing in the show, passing the torch to the new cast.
Jonathan Frakes received a phone call from his favorite Star Trek: The Original Series actor when Star Trek: First Contact became a hit. Frakes directed Star Trek: First Contact, the most popular and successful Star Trek: The Next Generation movie. With a crowd-pleasing main story of Captain Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) facing the Borg and their leader, the Borg Queen (Alice Krige), First Contact grossed $146-million worldwide and is widely considered one of the best Star Trek movies.
In the Star Trek oral history “The Fifty-Year Mission: The Next 25 Years” by Mark A. Altman and Edward Gross, Jonathan Frakes recounts an unexpected phone call he received from the legendary DeForest Kelley, who played Dr. Leonard “Bones” McCoy in Star Trek: The Original Series. Kelley phoned to congratulate Frakes on Star Trek: First Contact‘s success, which is a memory Jonathan still treasures. Read his quote below:
I got a phone call from DeForest Kelley, whom I had only met for a day or two once when he was on the Next Generation set. I had also seen him at a convention and had dinner with him and his wonderful wife at [Rick] Berman’s house. So I had met him probably three times. First Contact opened on a Friday, but on Saturday, while I was in Great Barrington, he called to congratulate me on the success of the film. And to tell me how pleased he was that the franchise was in good hands. Oh, man, it was the most thoughtful, unnecessary, pleasant surprise. De Kelley of all people! I adore him. He was my favorite, and probably the best in the entire Star Trek family in terms of who he was as a man.
Star Trek: First Contact Ending & Picard Impact Explained
Star Trek: First Contact is not only one of the most beloved big screen entries in the franchise, it also plays a pivotal role in Star Trek: Picard.
DeForest Kelley Was The First TOS Actor To Appear On Star Trek: The Next Generation
Sarek, Spock, Scotty, and Kirk eventually met the Enterprise-D crew.
As Jonathan Frakes noted, he met DeForest Kelley when the Star Trek: The Original Series icon cameoed in Star Trek: The Next Generation‘s premiere episode, “Encounter at Farpoint,” as Admiral Leonard McCoy. Although McCoy only had a scene with Data (Brent Spiner), Kelley clearly spent some time interacting with Star Trek: The Next Generation’s cast off-screen. It shows what a kind and considerate man DeForest Kelley was that he called Frakes to tell him the Star Trek franchise was in good hands.
DeForest Kelley turned down appearing as Dr. McCoy in the prologue scene of Star Trek Generations, preserving Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country as the last time he played Bones.
After DeForest Kelley’s cameo, other Star Trek: The Original Series actors gradually made appearances in TNG. Mark Lenard reprised his role as Ambassador Sarek, and then returned for Leonard Nimoy’s episodes as Spock in Star Trek: The Next Generation season 5’s “Unification” two-parter. James Doohan then reprised Scotty in TNG season 6’s “Relics.” Doohan returned as Scotty, along with Walter Koenig as Chekov in Star Trek Generations, which featured William Shatner’s Captain James T. Kirk teaming up with Captain Picard. But it was DeForest Kelley who originally passed the torch to the cast of Star Trek: The Next Generation.
Star Trek: First Contact is available to stream on Paramount+.
Source: “The Fifty-Year Mission: The Next 25 Years: From The Next Generation to J. J. Abrams: The Complete, Uncensored, and Unauthorized Oral History of Star Trek” by Mark A. Altman and Edward Gross
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Star Trek: The Next Generation
- Release Date:
- 1987-09-28
- Cast:
- Patrick Stewart, michael dorn, Marina Sirtis
- Genres:
- Sci-Fi, Superhero, Drama, Action
- Seasons:
- 7
- Story By:
- Gene Roddenberry
- Writers:
- Gene Roddenberry
- Network:
- CBS
- Streaming Service(s):
- Amazon Prime Video
- Franchise(s):
- Star Trek
- Directors:
- David Carson
- Showrunner:
- Gene Roddenberry
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Star Trek: The Original Series
- Release Date:
- 1966-09-08
- Cast:
- William Shatner, Gene Roddenberry
- Genres:
- Sci-Fi, Action, Fantasy, Adventure
- Seasons:
- 3
- Story By:
- gene roddenberry
- Writers:
- Gene Roddenberry
- Network:
- Paramount
- Streaming Service(s):
- Paramount+
- Franchise(s):
- Star Trek
- Directors:
- Gene Roddenberry
- Showrunner:
- Gene Roddenberry
