"Star Trek" Actress Talks Franchise's Future
DALLAS (CBSDFW.COM) - This past weekend saw several stars from "Star Trek: The Next Generation" beam into DFW for the Dallas Comic Con. And fans have Marina Sirtis to thank for that. She played Counselor Deanna Troi on the show -- and subsequent movies -- and said that she was the one who dragged her co-stars into the convention scene.
"It's adoration. They love us," the actress said on Saturday. "We actually get a lot from these, too, because we get to meet the people who kept us on the air for seven years and four movies, and thank them."
"I think we get as much out of it as the fans do, emotionally," Sirtis added. "I definitely do."
Sirtis said that her favorite part about meeting the "Star Trek" fans is hearing about their connection with the series. "I love to hear the stories of how TNG was family time and how, whenever they see an episode now, possibly their parents have passed, it brings back fond memories," Sirtis explained. "I get people come up to me and, by the end of the chat, I'm in tears."
One such talk was with a fan at a convention in Salt Lake City. "His nickname was Feet because he'd had both his legs blown off in Iraq," recalled Sirtis. "He came up to the front of the stage when we were doing our panel, and thanked us because we had saved his life. He'd had 105 surgeries and watching our show kept him going and not giving up."
"We all burst into tears," Sirtis continued. "When things like that happen, you can't even explain what it means."
Sirtis also speculated on the future of the long-running "Star Trek" franchise. While first warning that, "We don't know anything. The actors are always the last to know anything," she quickly admitted to inside talks about where the sci-fi series would be heading in the long run.
The last "Star Trek" crew to appear on television was in "Star Trek: Enterprise," which aired from 2001 to 2005 and featured actor Scott Bakula. The franchise was then rebooted in 2009 under the guidance of director J.J. Abrams, bringing in young stars to reprise iconic roles like Captain Kirk and Spock. This new cast has made two big screen appearances thus far.
"I have heard rumors that there will be another series, but not until J.J.'s finished with his movies," let out Sirtis. "J.J. has pretty much finished with the movies because he's doing 'Star Wars' now." This may suggest that the franchise's small-screen future is coming a little sooner than we once thought.
"Paramount are kind of concentrating on the movie franchise right now and possibly, when that's run its course, there will be another TV series. I can't imagine there won't be," Sirtis said. "Why wouldn't there be?"
Regardless of what happens, Sirtis does not expect to be asked back again -- as original Spock actor Leonard Nimoy was in the Abrams films. "It won't involve us, I'm pretty sure. We're done," Sirtis added. "It's sad, but we're done. But we're still involved because of the conventions, so we're still part of the family."
However, should the studio decide to also reboot "The Next Generation" characters, Sirtis does have a good suggestion for who should take over as Counselor Deanna Troi. "I had to think about this, and I've decided that it should be Mila Kunis," Sirtis stated. "Mila, have that baby real soon and get in the 'Star Trek' universe!"
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