Jonathan Frakes Says STAR TREK: STRANGE NEW WORLDS Parody Episode Made Showrunners Nervous Over Shatner and Roddenberry Portrayals

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds pulled off one of its boldest experiments with “A Space Adventure Hour,” the holodeck test run that spiraled into a meta parody of Star Trek’s origins.

The episode imagined a pulp-style murder mystery set against the backdrop of a struggling sci-fi show, with cast members channeling real-world figures like William Shatner, Gene Roddenberry, and even Lucille Ball.

Director and longtime Star Trek veteran Jonathan Frakes revealed that not everyone was entirely comfortable with poking fun at such iconic figures.

Paul Wesley, who once again stepped into the role of James Kirk, admitted he was cautious about leaning too hard into Shatner’s mannerisms. Frakes recalled the conversation:

“Paul Wesley, who plays Kirk, for better or for worse, said to me ‘What do you think, Frakes?’ I said, ‘Go for it!’ He said, ‘How far?’ I said, ‘Go for it, I’ll tell you if it is too much.’ Clearly, I didn’t think it was too much. [laughs] And then we leaned into it with the cinematography… it was kismet, that episode.”

Wesley later said his biggest concern was “overdoing it,” but ultimately decided the performance worked as a playful nod to fans, echoing the Shakespearean energy Shatner brought to the original series. Not that Shatner himself is judging, he’s admitted openly that he doesn’t watch Star Trek.

Things got trickier when it came to portraying Gene Roddenberry. Anson Mount jumped at the chance, but the showrunners hesitated, knowing Roddenberry’s son is an executive producer on Strange New Worlds. Frakes explained:

“And Anson was so excited when he got the draft… he was so psyched, he said, ‘I want to do Roddenberry.’ I said, ‘I’d love you to do Roddenberry.’ And then [co-showrunners] Akiva [Goldsman] and Henry Alonzo Myers got cold feet.

“We don’t want to offend Roddenberry. I said, ‘Rodenberry’s dead!’ And he had a sense of humor. But they said, ‘Frakes, don’t lean into that too much.’ So, as you can tell [slyly], I didn’t lean into it at all.”

Despite the nerves behind the scenes, the episode landed as one of the show’s most memorable entries. Its success lies in how well the writers understood Trek history, transforming it into a clever holodeck murder mystery where the “cancellation” of a TV show became the crime to solve.

Strange New Worlds is set to end with Season 5, and while showrunner Akiva Goldsman has floated the idea of a spinoff focusing on Kirk’s first year as captain of the Enterprise, fans may need to temper expectations. Paramount hasn’t exactly been quick to greenlight the spinoffs viewers have been asking for.

Still, if this episode proved anything, it’s that Trek can honor its past while also laughing at it, and that balance may be exactly why Strange New Worlds has resonated so strongly with fans.

Source: CinemaBlend