Summary
- Elizabeth Dennehy shares that the actors had no clue how TNG's iconic episode would be resolved.
- Dennehy and Jonathan Frakes had to play multiple facets of their characters' relationship due to the uncertainty.
- Shelby's role as Riker's First Officer added complexity, as the actors pondered if she was a hero or a villain.
Star Trek: The Next Generation's greatest Borg episode, "The Best of Both Worlds", was also a cliffhanger for the actors, says Elizabeth Dennehy. As the smart and ambitious Commander Shelby, Dennehy was one of Star Trek: The Next Generation's most memorable guest stars. A Borg expert, Shelby was a rival to Commander Will Riker (Jonathan Frakes). Yet Shelby became Riker's First Officer when he took command of the USS Enterprise-D after Captain Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) was assimilated by the Borg.
Elizabeth Dennehy appeared on The 7th Rule hosted by Cirroc Lofton and Ryan T. Husk to discuss Star Trek: The Next Generation's "The Best of Both Worlds, Part 1", which was TNG's first cliffhanger that rocked fans in the summer of 1990. Dennehy pointed out that the actors also "had no clue" how TNG's cliffhanger would be resolved, and that she and Jonathan Frakes played multiple aspects of Riker and Shelby's relationship at once in anticipation of what would eventually happen when they returned to film part 2 three months later. Read Dennehy's quote and watch The 7th Rule video below:
Something that I don’t think a lot of people realize is that we only had the first script. We didn’t have the second script. When we shot part one, we had no idea what was gonna happen. No clue. We were waiting too, those three months…
When Jonathan and I were talking about the relationship between these two characters… First of all, it was the first time they’d ever had a cliffhanger… One of the things we talked about was that we had no idea where this relationship was gonna go. And we had no idea if they were gonna end up falling in love with each other. Or was I a Borg in disguise? We had no clue. Was I a villain or a hero? So we had to kind of play all of that all at once in case of any option that they chose.
"The Best of Both Worlds" Was A Turning Point For Star Trek: The Next Generation
TNG was on fire and didn't look back after their Borg cliffhanger
Star Trek: The Next Generation's "The Best of Both Worlds" took the series to another level. After a rocky first season, TNG began producing excellent Star Trek episodes and loyal but skeptical fans gradually began to see the greatness of the series. But TNG's first cliffhanger was a paradigm shift. "The Best of Both Worlds Part 1" ending with Captain Picard becoming Locutus of Borg rocked viewers, who waited with bated breath throughout the summer of 1990 to see what would happen to Picard and the USS Enterprise-D. As did the cast of Star Trek: The Next Generation.
Star Trek: The Next Generation installing Riker as Acting Captain would have become permanent if Patrick Stewart's contract negotiations failed and he left the series.
"The Best of Both Worlds" continues to be recognized at the top of Star Trek: The Next Generation's best episodes and other Star Trek series have successfully utilized cliffhanger endings. Of course, the Borg became iconic and popular Star Trek villains. Elizabeth Dennehy didn't return to TNG after "The Best of Both Worlds" but she was unforgettable as Commander Shelby. Dennehy reprised her role in Star Trek: Picard season 3, with Shelby getting her first name of Elizabeth and leading the USS Enterprise-F as an Admiral. Following the blockbuster success of "The Best of Both Worlds," there was no turning back for Star Trek: The Next Generation becoming one of the greatest sci-fi TV series ever.
