Why Star Trek's Gene Roddenberry Gave Jonathan Frakes A Beard As Riker

The first two seasons of "Star Trek: The Next Generation" were a fraught time in the franchise's history. Show creator Gene Roddenberry wanted to retain total control over the proceedings, leading to a lot of head-butting between him and the other executives working on the show. To make matters worse, Roddenberry's personal lawyer, Leonard Maizlish, was sneaking into offices at night and changing already-approved scripts to his own liking. "Next Generation" gained a lot of attention in its first two years, but many Trekkies will say without hesitation that they are the worst seasons of the show. 

It certainly didn't help matters that the Writers Guild of America went on strike in March 1988, lousing up production on "Next Generation." Season two debuted on November 21, 1988, and the rest of the season was rushed or had to use incomplete scripts. The season is only 22 episodes, rather than the standard 26.

Producer Maurice Hurley was promoted to showrunner for the second season, and he was also notoriously tempestuous. He famously had a weird beef with actress Gates McFadden, and he had her fired. There were a few notable highs in season 2 — "The Measure of a Man" and "Q Who" are standouts — but multiple stinkers as well.

Notably, Commander Riker (Jonathan Frakes) appeared with a brand new beard, a feature he would carry through "Star Trek: Insurrection" a decade later. The beard, it turns out, wasn't a decision by the showrunners, but something Frakes grew while walking on picket lines. In the oral history book "The Fifty-Year Mission: The Next 25 Years: From The Next Generation to JJ Abrams" edited by Mark A. Altman and Edward Gross, Frakes recalled the meeting behind the beard, and how Hurley ... kinda liked it.

Frakes also confessed that he hates shaving, and would have preferred wearing a beard anyway. When he didn't have to shave, he gave up on it. Frakes stood in solidarity with the striking writers and marched on picket lines with them for many days, letting his beard grow as he pumped his fist in the air. The strike lasted 153, making it the longest in American history (the 2023 strike ended after 148 days). 

While the strike was going on, Frakes was frequently called to the Paramount offices to discuss his role with Roddenberry, Hurley, and executive producer Rick Berman. Frakes felt unkempt, but it seems that the Great Bird of the Galaxy himself liked the new look, using a unique adjective to describe the new beard. The three men then began to brainstorm what kind of beard Commander Riker might grow, and they began mentally shaving and trimming him to their hearts' content. Frakes said: 

"The writers' strike happened second season, and I hate to shave, so I let the beard grow. During the strike we had a meeting with Roddenberry and Berman and Hurley, who was the producer at the time, and Roddenberry kept looking at me and said, 'I really like this, it looks nautical.' What ensued was this bizarre executive beard trimming contest. It became absurd in terms of the length and the shape and everything else. Gene wanted the beard to be decorative and it stuck and I'm very glad to have it. Fortunately, my wife liked it, or else I'd have had real problems." 

The final beard is non-decorative, and even rather conservative. The look stuck, and Frakes has kept the beard pretty much ever since ("Insurrection" notwithstanding). He has never looked more nautical.