There seems to be a magic in the very name of "Star Trek," something franchise luminary Jonathan Frakes is well aware of. He first immersed himself in its indelible charms as Jean-Luc Picard's stalwart first officer William Riker in "Star Trek: The Next Generation", and later directed episodes on not only that series but also "Voyager" and "Deep Space Nine." Frakes also starred in four "Star Trek" films, even directing "First Contact" and "Insurrection."
While he never made it to the captain's chair on TNG, you couldn't get him out of it behind the scenes, as he directed episodes of "Enterprise," "Discovery," "Picard," and, most recently, "Strange New Worlds", where he captained Season 2's "Lower Decks" crossover, "Those Old Scientists."
