Captain Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) kept a pet fish in his ready room on Star Trek: The Next Generation, a fact that Patrick Stewart hated. Beginning with TNG's feature-length premiere, Captain Picard kept a lionfish named Livingston in a spherical fish tank in his ready room. Livingston appeared in an impressive 86 episodes of TNG, more than most of the show's other recurring characters. Many visitors to Picard's ready room, from Lt. Commander Data (Brent Spiner) to Borg drone Hugh (Jonathan Del Arco), stopped to appreciate Livingston.
Livingston was the first recurring pet to appear on Star Trek, but would be followed by several furry and non-furry friends over the years. Data later adopted a cat named Spot in season 4 of Star Trek: The Next Generation, and Captain Jonathan Archer (Scott Bakula) brought his dog Porthos along for his historic mission in Star Trek: Enterprise. By the time of Star Trek: Picard, Jean-Luc had acquired a pitbull named Number One, a pet that better suited Patrick Stewart.
The Reason Patrick Stewart Hated Picard’s Pet Fish In Star Trek: TNG
Would People Of The 24th Century Still Keep Fish On Display?
In a 2011 interview with StarTrek.com, Ronny Cox, who portrayed Captain Edward Jellico in the TNG season 6 two-parter "Chain of Command," revealed why Patrick Stewart disliked having Livingston in Picard's ready room. Stewart felt that the people of the 24th century would no longer keep animals in captivity for display. Star Trek has always been about celebrating diversity in all its forms and illustrating that even species vastly different from humans deserve to be treated with dignity. In the context of this utopian future, it does feel odd to keep a tropical fish on display.
In "Chain of Command," Captain Jellico orders Livingston removed from the captain's ready room, as "sort of a bone" the production team threw to Patrick Stewart.
Interestingly, Star Trek has pointed out the questionable morality of keeping living creatures in captivity since its original unaired pilot, "The Cage." In it, Captain Christopher Pike (Jeffrey Hunter) encounters the powerful Talosians, who keep a variety of life forms (including humans if they got their wish) in a menagerie on Talos IV. Star Trek: Lower Decks poked fun at this idea in the season 4 episode "I Have No Bones Yet I Must Flee," in which the crew of the USS Cerritos visit Narj's Miraculous Menagerarium. All things considered, Patrick Stewart makes a solid point.
Another Star Trek: TNG Actor Hated His Character’s Pet
Brent Spiner Was Not Overly Fond Of The Cats Who Portrayed Spot
According to the Star Trek: The Next Generation Companion, Brent Spiner was the one who proposed that Data should have a pet cat, but he may have come to regret that decision. Spiner has joked that the cats playing Spot were regularly difficult to work with. This is not particularly surprising, as cats are notoriously difficult to train, and this likely meant scenes with Spot took numerous takes to get right. Throughout TNG's seven seasons, Spot was portrayed by six different cats (Monster, Brandy, Bud, Tyler, Spencer, and Zoe), although it's unknown which one was best at taking direction.
Despite the difficulties the various cats playing Spot caused on set, it was ultimately a smart decision to give Data a pet. Giving Data a cat allowed TNG to explore another aspect of the android's journey to find his humanity, and it's difficult to imagine that Data does not experience emotion after watching his scenes with Spot. Data clearly cares about his beloved pet, as evidenced by the fact that Spot remains on his mind even decades later in Star Trek: Picard season 3. Regardless of how the actors felt about their pets, Livingston and Spot helped make Star Trek: The Next Generation feel a little more like home.
