Jonathan Frakes Interview: Star Trek Discovery Season 4

Warning: SPOILERS for Star Trek: Discovery Season 4, Episode 6 – “Stormy Weather.”

Jonathan Frakes returns behind the camera to direct Star Trek: Discovery season 4’s 6th episode, “Stormy Weather.” As they try to find answers about the Dark Matter Anomaly that threatens the galaxy, Captain Michael Burnham (Sonequa Martin-Green) and the USS Discovery are trapped in a subspace rift and have to find a way to escape with their lives. Of course, Frakes is a beloved Star Trek icon who portrayed Commander Will Riker on Star Trek: The Next Generation, and he’s also directed numerous episodes of Star Trek as well as reprised Riker on Star Trek: Picard and in the animated comedy, Star Trek: Lower Decks.

Screen Rant interviewed Jonathan Frakes about his experience directing the riveting Star Trek: Discovery episode, “Stormy Weather,” working with Discovery‘s talented cast members Sonequa Martin-Green, Ian Alexander, and Blu del Barrio, and his next Star Trek commitments, both as a director and as Riker.

Screen Rant: This episode, “Stormy Weather,” was pretty spectacular. “Stormy Weather” is basically a bottle episode. Was it easier to direct the episode since everything took place on the standing Discovery sets?

Jonathan Frakes: Most Star Trek shows are bottle shows. (laughs) I love the [Discovery’s] bridge. Some [directors] are intimidated by it. I love the expanse of the bridge. I like the comfort of the bridge, I like the amount of movement you can avail yourself of because the characters [on the bridge] rarely move. It gives you an opportunity to move the camera. Sonequa [Martin-Green] and I had two or three days to shoot the climax [on the bridge] so that was all done in the proper time sequence [of the episode]. We had a ball.

[This episode] was my first time on the lounge set, Discovery’s Ten Forward. I shot most of that with Ian [Alexander, who plays Gray Tal] so we were able to introduce that [set] and what it was capable of providing. [Discovery’s] sets really provide the type of filming that [producers] Olatunde Osunsanmi, Alex Kurtzman, Michelle [Paradise], and the show, in general, really encourage. A cinematic approach. So we take advantage of the grandeur of the sets and we embrace some of the J.J. Abrams lens flares that are built into many of the sets. There are opportunities to catch a light behind someone briefly and that enhances [the shot] and gives it some of that Trekkian style.

I’ve always loved Sonequa Martin-Green’s performance as Michael but Captain Burnham is a real force this season. Having directed her before Michael became Captain and after, how has she raised her game, in your opinion?

Jonathan Frakes: She’s an astounding actor and an astounding human being, as I’m sure others have told you. One of the things that significantly changed in season 3, and I did a number of episodes with Sonequa in season 3, is the character of Michael Burnham felt less guilty and less raw, and she questioned herself less. As Michael’s confidence built, Sonequa revealed more of her personal confidence, and spirit, and passion, and spirituality.

As I wrote to Michelle when I watched the first two episodes of [Discovery] season 4, when Burnham smiles as she does now that she’s in this somewhat healthy but complicated relationship with Book [David Ajala], the whole screen lights up. The smile speaks to a peace and to a joy that Michael is obviously not familiar with, and I think the audience feels it with her. I would attribute some of that to the decision Sonequa made to interpret the writing, which was quite intentional, in terms of her finding confidence and trying to shake off some of the guilt and rage and fear that drove her for the first couple of seasons.

And also, they went 900 years into the future so you can shake a lot of that s*** off, as they say, and leave a lot of it in the past! (laughs)

Season 4 feels a lot closer in tone to your show, The Next Generation, and the overall vibe of classic Star Trek.

Jonathan Frakes: I just caught up [on season 4]. I thought exactly the same thing!

There seem to be more moral and ethical questions in the season 4 scripts.

Jonathan Frakes: Yup. I completely agree. I think that’s a great credit to Michelle Paradise and her writing team. It goes back to [Gene] Roddenberry saying [Star Trek] is a family show. It’s about a family and that family happens to live on a ship. And for the family on Discovery, some of the family members have experienced loss. That pain is shared.

Some of the family members are obsessed. Certainly, Anthony Rapp’s Stamets has become completely obsessed with work. His partner [Dr. Culber, played by Wilson Cruz] is, ironically, a shrink who could help him. Their pillow talk has this wonderful ‘bringing your work home’ vibe that I think everyone can relate to.

There’s also Zora [Annabelle Wallis], an artificial intelligence with emotions. That sounds awfully familiar to Data but a different take as well.

Jonathan Frakes: It has a lot of Data, doesn’t it? Aspiring to have sentience and aspiring to have human emotions. There’s a wonderful actress who plays Zora I directed before Annabelle Wallis voiced her and it was very, very useful. [In the episode], there’s a small couplet of actors, meaning Michael, Saru [Doug Jones], and Zora in the elevator [scene] and, obviously, Zora plays a significant role in the last act.

But as Zora’s sentience and character has been revealed, as the season goes on, I think it’s intriguing that the other characters on the show treat Zora with respect and a certain level of politeness and civility that one doesn’t associate with talking to Siri or a computer or Alexa. I think it’s very clever what’s happening with Zora, frankly.

I also wanted to ask you about working with Ian Alexander as Gray, who is crucial to helping Zora in this episode. Ian and Blu del Barrio are amazing talents considering they don’t have as much acting experience.

Jonathan Frakes: I had Blu [to direct] when they first came to the show. In their first episode, they played a scene with Stamets. And Anthony Rapp looked at me, and I looked at Anthony, and it was so clear that they had ridiculous awareness, and talent, and presence. I think it was their first experience on camera. They had just come out of drama school in England. It was so clear. Anthony and I have become very friendly. We spend a lot of time on set together with a lot of actors. I’ll never forget the moment we were in the corridor [during Blu’s scene], and we looked at each other and we were like, “Holy s***! This is brilliant casting!”

And then, I had not [directed] Ian until episode 6. Ian and I were in the Discovery lounge set with, essentially, Zora as the second character in the scene, and the Steadicam. We explored the space, explored the relationship. I believe Ian has had much more on-camera experience than Blu. So I was less surprised by his awareness. It’s a great character and [Adira and Gray] is a great relationship on the show. [Discovery] has couples that are so relatable and so beautifully represent what’s going on in the world. I’m very proud of Discovery and I think a lot of people who work on it are also for some of those very same reasons.

You’re known as every Star Trek cast’s favorite director. Are you also directing any episodes of Picard season 2 or 3?

Jonathan Frakes: I am indeed! I did a number of them in [Picard season] 2 and I’m just finishing editing a couple of [episodes I directed] in [season] 3. I love being on that show as well. And I’m booked to [direct Star Trek:] Strange New Worlds [season 2], which I missed out on [season 1] because of the pandemic.

Riker has also made an amazing comeback in Picard and Lower Decks. I especially love your wildman version of Riker on Lower Decks.

Jonathan Frakes: I give [Star Trek: Lower Decks creator] Mike McMahan complete credit for pulling that off. I am so pro-Lower Decks and so pro-that particular “Five, six, seven, eight!” Riker, I can’t even tell you.

I hope season 2 isn’t the last we’ll see of him on Lower Decks or Riker in live-action.

Jonathan Frakes: I’ve got more on Lower Decks. I just did a watch-along on Lower Decks with Mike McMahan and Jack Quaid, who serves on Riker’s Titan [as Ensign Boimler].

Yes! William and Brad Boimler. Maybe one day, we’ll get the Rikers and the Boimlers to team up together on an Away mission.

Jonathan Frakes: (laughs) Oh my God, what a team!

Star Trek: Discovery streams Thursdays on Paramount+.

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