Today we got the shocking news that Picard’s third and final season would form a major reunion of much of the primary cast of Star Trek: The Next Generation, with Jonathan Frakes, Marina Sirtis, LeVar Burton, Gates McFadden, Michael Dorn, and Brent Spiner all making appearances. With Whoopi Goldberg and John de Lancie already on season two, the question rises: whither Reg Barclay or Miles O’Brien?
One peculiar missing name from Picard’s nostalgia fest is Wil Wheaton’s Wesley Crusher, which makes for a strange gap in the show’s otherwise complete and total assault on the nostalgia senses of for its final outing. But with most of the big names on board, who else could Paramount bring back for an extra shot of TNG nerdery?
Reg and Miles, perpetual second-runners of the crew, could be fun pulls, even if O’Brien went on to become more closely associated with Deep Space Nine than his time as TNG’s transporter room officer. You could even have deep cuts like older versions of the Lower Deckers—not Boimler and Mariner, alas, but (presumably former) Ensign Lavelle, and his friends Taurik and Nurse Ogawa. What about tempting fate with the return of Doctor Pulaski?
Hell, maybe it doesn’t have to be someone from the Enterprise! What about bringing Denise Crosby back, not as Tasha Yar, but Sela? Would it be heretical to try and cast someone else as Deanna’s mother, Lwaxana Troi, in a world without Majel Barrett? Is it time for the Outrageous Okona to come back? What’s Vash been up to since her last dalliance with Picard? What about Starfleet deep-cuts like Commander Shelby or Captain Jellico?
We’re already getting the TNG reunion of our dreams, so go wild in the comments: just who should be back for Picard’s last huzzah along with everyone else?
Wondering where our RSS feed went? You can pick the new up one here.