Marina Sirtis Remembers Having to Win Over Star Trek Fans

It isn’t just Star Trek: Discovery that has had to grapple with an icy reception from some Star Trek fans.

DigitalSpy brought us a story this weekend of an interview between BBC Radio’s Graham Norton and Star Trek: The Next Generation actor Marina Sirtis. In the interview, Sirtis recalls that initially, many Star Trek fans weren’t that thrilled with the new series. She told Graham Norton, “The fans hated the fact that we were on. I mean people assume because we became so successful that it was always that way. But no, I would go to conventions where there were like 30 people and they'd all be sitting with their arms crossed going, 'how dare you take the place of our heroes.' So we really had to win our audience."

The initial response doesn’t seem to have hurt the series much, however, as it still remains the most-watched Star Trek series ever.

The interview did wander into Star Trek: Picard territory, but Sirtis revealed that she really doesn’t have anything to reveal. She said, "I know that it's 25 years into the future, and it's not like hearts and flowers as TNG was. Apparently Patrick, when he told us, he apologised for doing it without us... he said it's a little more dystopic, a little more reflective of how society is now.”

Star Trek: Picard will air this Fall on CBS All Access in the US, Bell Media in Canada, and Amazon Prime Video outside North America.