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Star Trek: The Next Generationran for a total of 7 seasons, during which time 178 episodes were released. While the series gave fans of the franchise a plethora of memorable characters and storylines, the existence of so many narratives means that some are bound to be off the mark.
Patrick Stewart’s Jean-Luc Picard undoubtedly stands tall among the kind of charactersThe Next Generationboasted of. However, even the franchise’s flag-bearer had his issues with certain aspects of the show.
In particular, Stewart called the second episode of the first season,The Naked Now,a ‘s*x farce,’ and claimed in his memoir that it smacked of desperation, even if fans of the show grew to like the particular episode.
Patrick Stewart calledThe Next Generation’s The naked Nowa ‘s*x farce’
The episode, which was released after the two-partEncounter at Farpoint,was marred with doubt from fans and actors alike.The Next Generationopened with plenty of fans questioning whether it would be able to match the kind of success the original series enjoyed, and while that eventually happened,Patrick Stewartwas not happy with the way the series began.
“It was like we were doing Shakespeare or Chekhov”: Jonathan Frakes Broke a Serious ‘The Next Generation’ Rule While Directing Another Star Trek Show
The episode itself saw the entire crew of the Enterprise being infected by a virus that made them act, well, horny for each other. Describing it as a ‘s*x farce’ inMaking It So: A Memoir (via Looper),which was released in 2023, Stewart claimed the following: (via Slash Film)
“Dr. Crusher gets horny for Picard, Picard gets horny for Dr. Crusher, and Tasha Yar gets horny for nearly everyone before focusing on Data. Denise’s and Brent’s dialogue has become notable in Star Trek lore. Tasha, writhing in a midriff-exposing outfit, asks Data if he, being an android, is ‘fully functional.’ He responds, ‘I am programmed in multiple techniques – a broad variety of pleasuring.'”
After filming the two-part premiere, “Encounter at Farpoint,” Stewart was already nervous with respect to the future of the series. For that to be followed by such a s*x-frenzied episode was bound to alarm him, even if things turned out just fine.
Patrick Stewart had every right to be worried aboutThe Naked Now
Brent Spiner and Spot inStar Trek: The Next Generation| Paramount+
The Next Generation’spilot saw the series start off by staying true to the franchise’s roots. It was the same familiar type of science-fiction, space opera that viewers had initially fallen in love with. However,The Naked Nowimmediately came after it, and was in itself a bit of a s*x comedy which saw a range of questionable dialogues and raunchy scenes.
Brent Spiner’s Data, an Android, hooks up with Denise Crosby’s Tasha Yar, while Picard is shown having a crush on Gates McFadden’s Dr. Crusher. Furthermore, a range of characters were also shown naked, and the kind of ideassimply did not please Stewart.
“I don’t think we realized it early on”: The Exact Season Jonathan Frakes Realized Star Trek: The Next Generation isn’t a Certified Disaster, It’s Lightning in a Bottle
He believed, that instead ofThe Naked Nowbeing the second episode of the series, it should have been created as part of a later season. This, according to the actor, should have happened afterThe Next Generationhad already worked through a ‘cupboard of good ideas.’
Still, the episode itself was created as a tribute to the original series, and was praised by fans despite the kind of content it featured.
The Next Generationis available to be streamed on Netflix.
Rishabh Bhatnagar
Editor/Reviewer
Articles Published :315
Rishabh Bhatnagar is an Entertainment and pop culture journalist/editor with Fandom Wire. He has more than 6 years of experience working for multiple major platforms and is himself an avid consumer of worthwhile content. A natural storyteller, Rishabh has a unique way with words and is always looking to improve, as a storyteller, writer, and a journalist.
