lt`s always occurred to me that we have a very theatrical set.
lt has, in many ways, the sense of a stage.
We have a raised acting area, an open area
and a really dramatic section in front of the view screen.
From time to time, with visitors, we have an audience lined up.
Sometimes, it feels like an exclusive little theatre.
``My love is a fever. ``
``Longing still for that which longer nurseth the disease. ``
For me, it became increasingly clear that...
..the parameters of the character would be narrowed.
l was on the bridge, in my ready room, or talking to the view screen.
l was becoming a negotiator. Picard is a wonderful negotiator.
But all l was doing was talking.
We have reason to mistrust one another
but even better reason to set those differences aside.
Gene agreed that some of that had to be relaxed
or the Captain would stagnate.
And so, quite dramatically in places,
we involved the Captain in action sequences,
without actually undermining this basic theory
that you try not to put him at risk.
You`re becoming quite annoying!
As are you, human!
The choice was to assume it was perfectly normal that l was gone.
No big deal is made of it. l was doing something for Starfleet.
l was cruising at warp speed somewhere,
getting my nails done. Now l`m back.
Wesley.
- Take care. - You too, Mom.
That is really a profound change.
Because when you don`t see anybody who`s growing... He`s a young man.
There is not going to be as much mother-to-son
as officer-to-officer.
At least, that`s the way l`m reading it.
lt`s great. l feel even more comfortable with Will than before.
After a whole year being respected as a junior officer
and having junior officer responsibilities,
to have Mother come back is uncool.
Now he seems like an adult. Now l`d say, ``Let`s go see a movie.``
l guess it`s in that way l feel closer to him.
Cute couple.
lt is so good to see him having fun for a change
with an attractive young woman,
who obviously looks at him with extraordinary affection.
What do you know about this girl?
One of the things Marina and l have refused to let die
is the Riker-Troi relationship.
Even when writers, producers and directors forget about it.
l remember a certain junior officer meeting a very serious psychologist.
The best part about being assigned to Betazed.
lt started that we had had an affair before we came onto the Enterprise.
- Have you met? - We have.
Ex cellent.
The affair had ended because he was an ambitious Starfleet officer
who wanted to be a captain one day.
He was gonna concentrate on his career.
So it ended. Then we end up together on the Enterprise.
Basically, it seemed that the affair was on
if it suited that episode that week.
Try the oskoid. Very different.
Marina and l are very close
and have a very intimate relationship in terms of what we`ll talk about.
Our relationships and our marriage, our relationships with other friends.
That has informed the relationship between Riker and Troi.
lt was hard. He became the stud of the galaxy.
Every week, he had another girlfriend: the alien of the week.
l had to figure out for Troi how she felt about him and keep that.
Because l`ve always prided myself on the fact that Troi and Crusher
were two strong women.
l didn`t think it gave a good message
that it was Troi equals doormat when it came to Riker.
That he could click his fingers and she`d come.
l didn`t think that was a good message.
Mother, look. Perhaps some day l will marry.
But you have to let me make my own choices, live my own life,
not the life you want for me.
You had your chance with Cmdr Riker. Look how you ruined that.
l did not ruin anything. We`ve become very good friends.
All the better. You wouldn`t want to marry an enemy.
Majel was always a welcome part of any story.
Of course, we had her every day as the voice of the computer.
Approaching safety limits of engine-containment field.
The character they created for her,
Deanna Troi`s mother, Lwaxana Troi,
was perfect for Majel, for her style, for her sense of humour,
for her flamboyance.
To get her involved with the Captain,
in that semi-humorous romantic way,
provided all of us with a lot of entertainment.
A lot of us consider her a member of the inner circle.
With Majel, it was...
..more than just acting with someone playing your mom.
l was really nervous the first time she was on the show.
l thought, ``Be good, the boss`s wife is coming.``
But after about five minutes of working with Majel,
we all realised she was wackier than the rest of us
and she was joining in and having a blast.
She really just fit right in. lt was great.
One of my fondest memories is when...
Majel falls in love with a Ferengi and learns oo-mox,
which is Ferengi foreplay that involves the ears.
This image of this wonderful, successful actress,
living in a mansion in Bel Air,
rubbing a Ferengi`s ears somehow sits with me fondly.
Has anyone ever told you how attractive they are?
Some females think they are my best feature.
You claim a birthright you have forsaken?
l have not forsaken my heritage!
l am Klingon!
My heart is of this world. My blood is as yours.
Worf is the only Klingon in the Federation.
He`s been somewhat of a pariah amongst his own people.
His fortunes have varied
over the seven years of The Next Generation.
And he has always been a man alone. Always removed,
from both his people and also from the crew.
Worf has never been buddies with the other crew members
on The Next Generation. Respected them, yes.
Liked them, on some level, yes.
But is not someone who spends time together on the holosuite.
This Romulan didn`t murder your parents.
You are the only one who can save his life.
Then he will die.
Worf was in a position to save the life of an injured Romulan.
Everybody was trying to find a way
to make that an interesting decision for Worf.
l was brand-new then. l said, ``l don`t think he would.``
``l think Worf would let him die.`` He`s a blood enemy.
The people in the room gasped.
But l said, ``lt`s in character for Worf
to do what his heart tells him to do.``
``lf we write it right, the audience will understand.``
That`s the way we went.
The actor said, ``What? You are destroying my character.``
But then he understood this was coming straight out of character.
lf you`re true to character, ultimately it pays off.
That was the beginning of the growth of Worf`s character,
where we got down to some fundamental conflicts.
He has a wonderful performance by Michael
and a wonderful make-up of character to play with.
l am asked to give the blood of my mother and my father
to those who murdered them.
- You blame all Romulans? - Yes.
You`re good. Very good.
l know my ship. lnside and out.
ln seasons one and two,
it became clear to the producers
that everyone had an area of expertise.
lt wasn`t until they discovered that...
we`d had a succession of guest engineers
and this was a prominent position on board ship.
``We`ve got a character, and an actor, for that matter,
who don`t have a lot to do!``
``Let`s promote Geordi and make him Chief Engineer.``
That`s when the character began to take on some sort of life.
l want enough power to barrel out of here, not blow us up.
This is my design we`re talking about.
l don`t care if you built it with your bare hands.
lt`s gonna go... And we`ll go with it.
- l am not used to being questioned. - And l`m not used to dying.
He had his own area of the ship, his own responsibilities,
his own place from which to contribute.
He had his own office, his own staff.
Morning. Start your brains, gentlemen and let`s do it.
We only scratched the surface...
..in terms of him being the Engineer and having ideas,
speaking technobabble, ...
..and applying his mind to problem-solving
but rarely did we get a glimpse into his soul.
l just don`t get it, Guinan. l can field-strip a fusion reactor.
l can realign a power-transfer tunnel.
Why can`t l make anything work with Christi?
lt`s like... l don`t know what to say.
- You`re doing fine with me. - You`re different.
- No, you`re different. - But l`m not trying now.
That`s my point.
For whatever reasons, the writers,
whether by omission or unconsciousness...
l know there was a conscious thought on their part
that they thought it was amusing
that Geordi was uncomfortable with women
but what ended up happening was,
we dealt more with the sexuality of everyone else,
and then Geordi became this non-sexual being.
We explored the sexuality of the Klingon in intimate detail.
We explored...
Let`s not even begin the conversation about Riker and his sexuality.
Picard was always courting some fox on some planet...
..or in some situation.
We explored the sexuality of the android more
than the sexuality of this Black man.
You`re a terrific guy.
l just don`t feel that way about you.
Knock it off.