Everyone’s favorite space dad, Jonathan Frakes, is - at this point - part of the heart and soul of the Star Trek franchise. In addition to his 7-year run on Star Trek: The Next Generation, he’s also directed episodes in five different series of Star Trek, two Star Trek films, and - a bonus - two episodes of The Orville.

But Frakes, and indeed his castmates on Star Trek: The Next Generation - were not always well-received by fans, a phenomenon that also plagues the newest iterations of Star Trek with Discovery and Picard. Frakes appeared as a guest on GalaxyCon Live on Monday (sadly without Marina Sirtis, who had been scheduled to appear as well). TrekMovie.com was kind enough to summarize the conversation for those of us who were unable to tune in.

In the interview, according to TrekMovie, Frakes spoke candidly about his early memories of conventions when Next Gen was just getting started. “The audience were very hardcore Original Series fans,” he said. “They were generally not terribly interested and completely unfamiliar with the new Star Trek, which had a bald English captain with a French name, and an entirely new cast. They wanted their ‘Kirk, Spock, and Bones’ Star Trek.”

Frakes then drew comparisons to some fans’ reactions to Star Trek: Discovery, and why that show’s reception was chillier than Star Trek: Picard’s. He said of Discovery, “It was a similar vibe when that show came out. They didn’t want to find room in their hearts for another Star Trek.” Contrast that to Picard, he said, because “hardcore fans love Picard and were inclined to look forward to the show and look forward to having him and look forward to whatever story.”

Familiarity, Frakes said, is important to fandom. He explained: “It is like the canon of these shows...they want a touch point. And, it’s important, and it clearly worked, because Picard is wonderful.”

But what about the occasional fans who are still vocally critical of Picard? Frakes observed, “But they’re watching!…They’re watching to make sure they hate it!”

You can watch Frakes’ full interview with GalaxyCon Live on their Facebook page, at facebook.com/galaxyconlive. And of course, don’t forget that you can catch up on literally all the Star Trek ever on CBS All Access.