Jonathan Frakes Reflects on the Rikers' Relationship in Star Trek Explorer #8

With today's release of Star Trek Explorer #8, Titan is ensuring your Star Trek Day celebrations carries on long after September 8!

Don't wait! As part of their Star Trek Day promotions, our friends over at Titan have a special Star Trek Day offer of 4 issues for $24.99 (a savings of $14.97). Valid through this Friday, 9/15.

In Star Trek Explorer #8's unmissable 100-page issue, you'll find

the unmissable 100-page issue, you’ll find Star Trek: Picard's Jack Crusher, Ed Speleers, detailing whether he'll be returning to Star Trek; Celia Rose Gooding reflecting on her role as Nyota Uhura in the first two seasons of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds; and the second-half of their two-part interview with Jonathan Frakes.

That's not all! Go behind-the-scenes with composer Nami Melumad to learn about creating music for Star Trek: Prodigy and Strange New Worlds and with production designer Dave Blass to hear about developing the vision for the Federation's 25th Century aesthetic in Picard.

Plus, there are two all-new, exclusive short stories in this issue — Tuvok comes to the rescue in Keith R.A. DeCandido’s “The Kellidian Kidnapping,” then, in David Mack’s “Lost and Founder,” we find Odo in a reflective mood.

Don't miss your definitive guide to Star Trek engineers, and how comics have expanded the franchise.

Star Trek Explorer #8 is on-sale today, September 12, and you can grab a copy at your preferred retailer!

Thanks to our friends at Titan Magazine, we have an exclusive excerpt with Jonathan Frakes' "The Man in the Chair" interview below!

STAR TREK EXPLORER: How satisfied are you with where the end of Picard leaves the Rikers?

Jonathan Frakes: The Rikers’ marriage is back on track. In my mind, for the show to be able to move forward, Riker would have to be a captain and have his ship, or he would be promoted to admiral and be a liaison. I’m only half-kidding when I say it would be great for me if the show carries on and I’m like Charlie from Charlie’s Angels. They’d have to come to my office one day a week for a meeting with Riker. That’d be perfect. Then I could direct a bunch of the episodes and be around the show. I suspect if it does go forward, it would be Jeri Ryan, Michelle Hurd, and Ed Speelers, who’s now in Starfleet, and Mica Burton and Ashlei Sharpe Chestnut, who played Geordi’s daughter. I would also imagine Lulu Wilson, who played the Rikers’ daughter in season one and was so fabulous, could be a part of it. She could come back and maybe be in Starfleet.

It feels to me like there’s a real opportunity for three of the legacy characters’ children to carry on and sort of be the next Star Trek: The Next Generation. It just feels like it’s laid out there. It’s the blueprint for the next phase.

STAR TREK EXPLORER: People are excited for your Strange New Worlds episode, a crossover with Star Trek: Lower Decks…

Jonathan Frakes: What a treat, that show. I was there when they premiered, and all of a sudden, everybody loved it, the fans and the critics. I was able to experience the joy of that cast seeing their work appreciated and loved. Unfortunately, part of what happened during that time was that the fans and the critics took the same opportunity to say, “This is the Star Trek we’ve been waiting for.” Either written or unwritten was, “Not Discovery and not Picard,” if you recall. There was a congratulations and a slap in the same swing, but I was fortunate, as I often am in my timing, to be on Strange New Worlds when all the good stuff happened.

My episode was a crossover show with Lower Decks. For some reason, the Lower Decks characters Tawny Newsome and Jack Quaid play, were drawn to look very much like Tawny and Jack when they cross over through a portal on to the U.S.S. Enterprise. They started animated and became live-action. It was fantastic, what the two of them brought. The characters on the Enterprise had their epilogue scene, and they were animated, which was adorable. Let me just tell you this: it was a flat-out, unapologetic, full-on comedy episode. That was a thrill for me, as you can imagine.

Read the full interview in Star Trek Explorer #8, to discover Frakes’ thoughts on the development of Picard, directing on Discovery’s fifth season, and more! Plus, interviews with actors Ed Speleers and Celia Rose Gooding; go behind-the-scenes with composer Nami Melamud and production designer David Blass; and there are TWO all-new and exclusive Star Trek short stories! All this and all your regular favorites – on sale September 12!