Menu
  • Podcast
      • Slice of SciFi 1042: There's Something Wrong With the ChildrenIndie Horror: “There’s Something Wrong With the Children”
      • Slice of SciFi 1041: Thoughts on 20222022 Roundup: What We Watched
      • Slice of SciFi 1040: Reginald the VampireRom-Com Horror: “Reginald the Vampire”
      • Slice of SciFi 1039: Christmas Bloody ChristmasIndie Horror: “Christmas Bloody Christmas”
    • View all
  • Movie Reviews
      • Review: Missing (2023)“Missing” is an engaging, taut, twisty mystery
      • Review: Plane (2023)“Plane” is a non-stop ride perfect for action fans
      • Review: M3GAN (2023)“M3GAN” deftly mixes genuine scares and comedy
      • Review: Avatar: The Way of Water (2022)“Avatar: The Way of Water”: Breathtaking Visuals cannot overcome story shortfalls
    • View all
  • TV Reviews
      • "Project Blue Book"“Project Blue Book” explores the threads of UFO reports
      • Manifest Season 1: 5 Episodes In5 Episodes In: “Manifest”
      • 5 Episodes In: Reverie5 Episodes In: “Reverie”
      • 5 Episodes In: Marvel's Cloak and Dagger5 Episodes In: “Marvel’s Cloak & Dagger”
    • View all
  • DVD Reviews
      • DVD Review: Dual (2022)DVD Review: “Dual” (2022)
      • Discussion: The Spine Of Night (2021)Indie Talk: Another Look at “The Spine of Night”
      • Review: Creepshow S2 Blu-rayBlu-ray Review: “Creepshow Season 2”
      • Batman: The Long Halloween (2021)“Batman: The Long Halloween”: an effective if over-long story
    • View all
  • Columns
  • News
      • TV News
      • Film News
      • DVD News
      • Interviews
      • Events
      • Geeky, Funny & Weird
      • Online Entertainment News
      • Music News
      • On Stage
      • Space News

Slice of SciFi

This is How We Geek Out: Interviews, Reviews & More

  • Writers, After Dark
  • The Babylon Podcast
  • Slice of SciFi TV
  • Horror Happenings
  • SciFi Shop Talk
  • Contact Us
    • About Us

The Memo That Never Was To Be Seen

November 1, 2006 By Sam Sloan 22 Comments

We were able to get our hands on this little nugget (don’t ask us how) that reveals some interesting behind-the-scenes casting goings-on when STAR TREK: The Next Generation was first proposed back in the late 1980’s. This information might be nearly 20 years old but it still makes for interesting coffee table chat.

This memo was not suppose to ever see the light-of-day, but after almost 20-years who could possibly get their feelings hurt?

sda

It should be noted that Eric Menyuk did star in episodes of TNG as the Traveler who ended up tutoring Wesley Crusher. Rosalind Chao ended up on TNG and DS9 playing Miles O’Brien’s wife. Cheryl McFadden is the same actress who portrayed Doctor Beverly Crusher, her full name being Cheryl Gates McFadden. Tim Russ went on to star in the motion picture “Star Trek VII: Generations” and became Commander Tuvok on the “Star Trek: Voyager” series.

Several of the other stars listed as possible candidates for main cast parts ended up guest starring in the seven year history of the show.

Share on TwitterShare on FacebookShare on Email

Filed Under: TV News Tagged With: Star Trek

Related Posts

“Trek” Fans Crash IMAX Web Site
One Step Closer To Star Trek Holodeck
Sci-Fi to Sci-Fact: 3D Replication of Tissue

Comments

  1. Kyle Nin says

    November 1, 2006 at 2:49 am

    Is that the Wesley Snipes I’m thinking of?

    Reply
  2. Sam says

    November 1, 2006 at 2:56 am

    Yep, the very same.

    Reply
  3. Bronzethumb says

    November 1, 2006 at 3:02 am

    Wesley Snipes as a TNG main character…that would’ve been interesting.

    Reply
  4. Paul From Des Moines says

    November 1, 2006 at 5:43 am

    I recognized Patrick Bauchau’s name from his days as “Sidney” on “the Pretender” I’m a big fan of Stewart, but I could see Bauchau in the role. But yeah I’m glad Stewart got it.

    Reply
  5. Brian says

    November 1, 2006 at 6:32 am

    If only Kotto had landed the Picard role – it would have settled once and for all ‘Kirk or Picard’ in favor of Picard by a landslide.

    Reply
  6. Alisa from Virginia says

    November 1, 2006 at 8:03 am

    It’s interesting to note that Brent Spiner wasn’t even on the list for the part of Data at that point in time. Maybe after all the readings had been done, they had other names on a different list, and Brent Spiner’s name was among those.

    That particular character is not that easy a role to play, and I am glad that Brent Spiner will be forever associated with that role, just as Leonard Nimoy will be forever associated with Spock.

    It takes the right actor to make or break a part. It would be interesting to learn the circumstances on how Brent Spiner got the part.

    Reply
  7. Phil from LI New York says

    November 1, 2006 at 9:25 am

    Wesley Snipes!!!! HA space vampires beware… and jenny auguter, are they talking about the same girl that played jessica in logans run.

    even tho this has nothing to do with it, but is it true that Sean Connery was suppossed to replace picard during “best of both worlds?” Don’t ask where i heard this, i forgot.

    Reply
  8. Will says

    November 1, 2006 at 9:31 am

    I find it interesting that they only have J.D. Roth in consideration for Wesley. Looks like Wil Wheaton wasn’t even considered in the early days of TNG. I don’t think Roth could have pulled Wesley off that well, in my opinion.

    Denise Crosby as Troi? Oh, dear Lord… I don’t think I would have enjoyed the show nearly as much. I am glad she got stuck with the role of Tasha, and I am glad when she got taken off the show.

    Wesley Snipes… Who else thinks that would have been a bad idea? I am so glad they got LeVar Burton to play Geordi.

    Last thing, I can’t think of anyone else who could have played Picard better than Stewart. One of my favorite characters of any ST is Picard, and Stewart was perfect in the role.

    Reply
  9. Matthew says

    November 2, 2006 at 12:01 am

    I think it is easy to say the ones that played the roles were the right choice, but who knows where the writers would have taken the characters based on who played them. I think some of these choices would have been interesting to say the least.

    And didn’t Denise leave on her own?

    Reply
  10. Mark in St. Louis says

    November 2, 2006 at 4:14 pm

    I’m noticing that the character of Worf isn’t listed. Anyone know the reason?

    Reply
  11. Sam says

    November 2, 2006 at 5:14 pm

    If I remember Gene talking in a very early interview once (right after the show debuted) he mentioned that he wrote the character with Michael Dorn in mind all along. It was Dorn’s part. Can’t remember where I saw that interview – afterall it was 20 years ago.

    This could explain why his name & character isn’t listed, the part was already filled…no need to audition others for it. One other note of interest. Michael also so impressed those in the “pre-look” before open audition calls that he required no other audition. Michael has often mentioned that he got the role by showing up at the interview with several people. He refused to smile or speak or sit, but stood in a corner at rigid attention, just like he envisioned a Klingon warrior would be. When called, he stormed into the room, scowled, and shook the directing interviewer’s hand sharply. Then he simply turned around without saying a word and stalked out, slamming the door hard behind him. Michael was later told that the screening director for that day said “He’s the perfect Klingon. I want him!”

    The other things I find interesting – and not at all uncommon in early drafts of new programming, is how Riker’s name was first invisioned to be spelled Ryker, and there is no mention of Marina Sirtis, or as someone else pointed out, neither Brent Spiner or Wil Wheaton were under consideration at the drafting of this early memo.

    Sirtis has commented many times how, after finally be called up to audition for the series, many weeks went by and she was so sure she wouldn’t get a part on the show that she started packing to leave America because her work visa was about to expire. Right before it did, she got the call offering her the part of Deanna Troi. The actual character she tried out for initially was a security officer named Macha Hernandez. Gene, was not happy with Crosby’s audition as Troi (even thought the studio brass were), so after weeks of negotiations, he changed the part of Hernandez to Natasha Yar (Tasha), made it a more central character and gave it to Crosby, then brought Sirtis back in to play Troi. It was a great casting move on Gene’s part.

    Reply
  12. Bob says

    November 2, 2006 at 9:51 pm

    I call shenanigans, where did this come from?

    Reply
  13. Sam says

    November 2, 2006 at 11:00 pm

    From the best of our inner-studio sources, which shall remain annonymous (for obvious reasons), this memo is straight-up and legit.

    Reply
  14. mikerabil says

    November 3, 2006 at 5:41 pm

    FREE JOE MURPHY

    Reply
  15. CarrieP says

    November 6, 2006 at 7:59 pm

    Couple things:

    One, this memo is so cool. I’m definitely a “special features/media archaeology” type person, so I love this sort of thing.

    Two, I got to see Patrick Stewart this weekend at a major sporting event. He conducted the band at my Alma Mater’s football game. He’s looking as good as ever. Quite a surprise treat for attending a game that was supposed to be a “blow-out.”

    Reply
  16. lauren says

    September 6, 2008 at 6:13 pm

    HOLY @#%& BRENT SPINER ISTENT EVEN ON THERE!!!!!!!!!!!!!1

    Reply
  17. assimilator47 says

    August 26, 2010 at 6:01 pm

    Ryker? They spelled Riker with an Y. Maybe some first draft or something?

    Reply
  18. Starship Conductor says

    August 27, 2010 at 12:49 pm

    *BEN MURPHY* as Ryker.

    Is this the Ben Murphy of “Alias Smith and Jones” fame?

    Reply
  19. Agent.Skully says

    August 29, 2010 at 6:25 pm

    Okay, no dis on LeVar because I think he’s awesome…. but think of how UNLUCKY his character was with women. Can you picture a LaForge that looked like Blade striking-out with the ladies as often as he did?

    Reply
  20. Alton Aeldredwood says

    October 7, 2010 at 3:19 pm

    I love Eric Menyuk as The Traveler. I just wish the character had been utilized more. Those episodes that slipped into the quantum realm were always my favorites.

    Reply
  21. Ric S. says

    January 19, 2011 at 9:17 pm

    I noticed that Will Wheaton was not on the list for Wesley Crusher. I use to produce Star Trek conventions (Trek-0-rama) for 8 yrs. Will was a good kid..but according to M. Sirtis his mother killed his acting carreer.It seemed the older he got the more awkward his acting. He was great in” Stand by me”.His mother also turned one of the tv stations I worked with promotions director against me in Omaha. I never had that to happen ever..but like she did to her son..she was an expert at wrecking relationships.

    Reply
  22. Paul Borboa says

    May 9, 2014 at 10:57 pm

    When STNG began, LeVar Burton was easily the most recognized face on the cast, due to his work on ROOTS. Now that I’ve read this list of potential actors, the first thing I thought of when I saw Wesley Snipes name… was he as full of himself then as he is now?

    Patrick Bachau and Patrick Stewart both read for the captain role, side by side. Thinking now about Bachau’s history of roles, you can see how his portrayal of authority and command is so very different than Stewart’s. Since the producers were so impressed by Stewart, I can’t help but wonder why they didn’t change the character’s name to more of an English one.

    Reply

Trackbacks

  1. Star Trek: The Next Generation with Wesley Snips as Geordi??? « Combsing Through the Minutia says:
    November 2, 2006 at 12:57 am

    […] Slice of Scifi – Science Fiction TV & Movie News, Interviews & more » The Memo That Never Was To Be Seen […]

    Reply
  2. Wesley Snipes Was Almost Geordi La Forge, And Other Star Trek: TNG Casting Fun | Gizmodo Australia says:
    August 26, 2010 at 5:05 am

    […] the veracity of this list is certainly in question; the originating site, Slice of SciFi, isn’t very forthcoming with its provenance. And a few of the people who ended up on the show […]

    Reply
  3. Next Generation casting and a Halo Reach short | SciFiNow says:
    August 26, 2010 at 11:11 am

    […] today. First up, we have this little gem of an internal memo, released several years ago on Slice Of Sci-Fi but only just picked up by other […]

    Reply
  4. Biggest Loser has a Star Trek connection!- Matthew McNutt says:
    August 26, 2010 at 10:27 pm

    […] the nerd and trekker in me flipped when I saw this over on the Slice of Sci-fi blog today.  It’s a casting memo that was never supposed to get out listing the actors and […]

    Reply
  5. Geordi La Snipes « Vault 13 says:
    August 27, 2010 at 7:17 am

    […] [Slice of SciFi via Letters of Note via Gizmodo] […]

    Reply
  6. What If?… Star Trek: Next Gen and its potential cast | Fan Rants says:
    August 27, 2010 at 11:41 am

    […] (source) Contributed by: Johnny on August 27, […]

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Generic selectors
Exact matches only
Search in title
Search in content
Post Type Selectors
Filter by Categories
Audio Productions
Awards News
Book News
Book Reviews
Columns
Comics News
DVD News
DVD Reviews
Entertainment Business News
Events
Fan Films
Fan Productions
Film News
Film Reviews
Gaming News
Geeky, Funny & Weird
Human Interest
Interviews
Music News
On Stage
Online Entertainment News
Science News
Slice of SciFi
Slice Video News
Space News
Specials
Technology News
TV News
TV Reviews

Subscribe to Podcast

Apple PodcastsGoogle PodcastsiHeartRadioStitcherPodchaserTuneInRSS

Listen to Slice of SciFi

iTunes
iHeart Radio
Player.FM
RSS
 
  • Movie & TV Reviews

Recent Comments

  • Bb on Reviewing “Return to Sender”: “I HATED she killed Bennie the dog. Bennie recognized that Miranda is off kilter. Both Miranda and Finn are serious…”
  • Neil Ottenstein on Rom-Com Horror: “Reginald the Vampire”: “Renewed! https://deadline.com/2023/01/reginald-the-vampire-renewed-for-season-2-at-syfy-1235222353/”
  • DanVzare on “Halloween Ends” Wraps Up the Franchise Well: “Did we watch the same movie? Don’t get me wrong, I enjoyed the movie. But I enjoyed it because it…”
  • DS9 Forever on Ira Steven Behr talks “Deep Space Nine” at SDCC: “I really miss DS9. Everything that Picard is doing now, DS9 did 25 years ago. And better.”
  • Cindy Van Wyhe on Culinary Talk: The Star Trek Cookbook: “What I heard on the podcast sounded intriguing 🙂”
Tweets by Slice of SciFi
death to humans 160x600
Save 10-50% on in-stock toys at TFAW.com.

Slice of SciFi
415 Pisgah Church Rd #302
Greensboro NC 27455
602-635-6976

Artwork:
Slice of SciFi spiral logo designed by Tim Callender

Theme Music:
Slice of SciFi music and themes
courtesy of Sci-Fried

Sister Sites:
Writers, After Dark
Horror Happenings
SciFi Shop Talk
Slice of SciFi TV

Copyright © 2005–2023 · Magazine Pro Theme On Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in