C4 Comic Con - Jonathan Frakes - Quotes and Photos (Updated)

One of the special guests at the Central Canadian Comic Con (C4) was Jonathan Frakes, best known by Sci-Fi fans as Commander William T. Riker of Star Trek: The Next Generation. I took a lot of pictures, but as there was no video allowed, I had to depend on my terrible note-taking skills for quotes. Here are some of my favorites:

He was legitimately singing opera here. Seriously. It was amazing.

"When I first started on 'Star Trek,' I went to a convention in a little town called Syracuse, New York and everyone was still indignant that our show had come on the air because they were very heavy into Kirk and Spock and they really didn't like the idea of a new 'Star Trek.' I was waiting in the dealers' room to go on stage and at a dealer's table they were selling those action figures of the thinner versions of all of us... with Geordi LaForge $35, Picard for $50, a limited Data for $50 and the sign at the end of the table said, "buy any action figure and get Riker for free."

"I was more interested in where do you go to the bathroom on the Enterprise? What do you EAT? And why no POCKETS in the space suits? Don't get me started on my space suit. And what about this... (does an exaggeration of Riker's walk). Why did he walk like that all the time?"

"Wheaton is walking next to me and says, "you know Frakes, I can tell by the clothes that you wear and the music that comes out of your dressing room that, you used to be cool. Little shit."

"In real life, I play the trombone but I don't play it well. And on the show when you hear somebody playing the trombone and it sounds sort of not so good it's me. When you hear the trombone and it sounds really good on the show, that's Bill "

"Picard. Come on. Pfft, Kirk or Picard. You saw 'Generations.' Two captains in search of one good hairpiece."

" I wish 'Gargoyles' was STILL on the air! The greatest job. First of all, you go to work in your pajamas. Secondly, they've always got bagels and cream cheese. Thirdly, you sit around in a circle with other funny actors. It was a great gig. Marina, Data, um, Kate, Keith David, it was a great group. And it was one of those jobs where they would gather us all, like when we do the 'Family Guy' stuff they'd find us and we'd just have to do our lines. But with 'Gargoyles' we'd actually get together in the room and do the show. I liked that gig. I want it BACK!"

"So Nana Visitor... she sends Thomas Riker to some Cardassian prison and leaves him there for years! For years I was in the prison! ...Still in that bloody prison! I'll speak to her about that this evening."

"That was a great space bird." (after standing on one leg, other leg stretched out behind him, flapping his arms for about five seconds)

It's a really bad quality pic, but "That was a great space bird".

"In my country, we have wireless mikes." (after trying not to trip on the cord, and yelling at a Klingon (in Klingon!) who was trying to untangle it.)

"I try to encourage actors to find any other career... It's a really GLAMOROUS profession and it ALWAYS works out! EVERYBODY gets rich and you stay young FOREVER!"

"(Talking about Twitter) Spiner's got a million and a half, LeVar's got a million and a half, I just, I just joined, feel free to sign up. Jonathan S. Frakes. Who is that pretty girl who called me Franks when I came up here?" (He was, in fact, introduced as Jonathon Franks.)

"I'm not much of a Sci-fi fan, oddly enough... But I am enjoying Person of Interest."

"But oddly enough when Star Trek started, I didn't really know that we were joining part of the popular culture and thought we'd be under a rock or something. I didn't understand the power of the original Star Trek and didn't understand the passion. And then Roddenberry, may he rest in peace, was so great. He believed so heavily in his optimistic view of the future. I auditioned for 'Star Trek: The Next Generation' six times over several weeks, and each time as it got closer and closer to them finally making the decision I'd have to go into Gene Roddenberry's office and I'd sit there and he's sort of you know, he was like a coach. And he'd coach and say your audition is going to be great today, you're the guy I want to play Riker, and he said to me in the 24th century there will be no hunger, there will be no greed, and all the children will know how to read."

"Deep Throat Nine" (As he called Deep Space Nine throughout the show)

"I started to look at the original show and at that time got the VCRs of the show and watched those. And my wife Jeannie Francis who is a big Kirk fan she had Kirk posters on her wall when she was a kid. And then I go home for Christmas after the first season to see my mom and dad in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania and I went out to the refrigerator to get a beer and a refrigerator was on the back porch and I go to the refrigerator and on the door is a poster -- this big -- a picture of Patrick Stewart. 'Oh, I just love Patrick Stewart.' Mom??! I'm in THE SAME SHOW! The other half of that picture is ME! 'He's so beautiful. And that voice… numba one… to BE!' (Imitating Patrick Stewart). Humbling."

"The 'Nemesis' movie was, my thoughts on why it didn't do well, awkward, be very careful Jonathan you are using your outside voice… speak diplomatically. I think that the core audience of our movies, which was you guys, wanted to see the Star Trek family which is Patrick and Brent, etc., And that movie was sort of about Thomas Hardy's character. The guy who was by the way, not only Inception, he's like the hottest thing. He's like a huge movie star now. And it's fabulous. He got his start in that movie. So I always thought that that movie, in addition to not being directed by me, was problematic because it was about a character who none of us really knew. I'm not sure that's what the problem was. I also think that Paramount with their infinite wisdom was really, incredibly, greedy, in terms of we had our show on the air, that they put Deep Throat--'Deep Space Nine' on the air, no, they put 'Voyager'then 'Deep Space' then 'Enterprise' and then we did 'Generations' and 'First Contact' and 'Insurrection' and there was just too much Star Trek. And 'Nemesis' was the first star trek movie to lose money. We made nine movies that all made money and as you know that's what projects into the future, so when 'Nemesis' stopped to make money the franchise came to a screeching halt until J.J. rebooted it brilliantly a couple of years ago. What's your theory about why it was a stinker? Or was it a stinker? Some people liked it."

"I'm serious. It's all work with me… Except for this one time. Michael Dorn, dear sweet turtle head, is up on the, you know, back end of the bridge, and old baldy is sitting there and I'm over here and the beautiful and talented Marina is over here. And Dorn had in his hand, because for years he's wanted to do this -- raw egg. So he leans over the bridge, and SMASHES it on Patrick's head. Albumin everywhere. Yolk down that British face. That's a lie. That's a boldfaced lie. It never happened. It would've been great though, right?"

"You know how we use to get hit by phaser fire from enemy ships? And we'd all rock around and be thrown around the bridge, and Marina would be over in her seat, and when we got hit her hair would lay back and she'd look over and her breasts would be full, and I'd be over here rocking and throwing my self around like Riker, and Patrick would be sitting over in his captain's chair, the ergonomically built for his back captain's chair, which was stolen by a fan at one point… And he would all be, very stoic. And under his breath, I heard this many times (imitating Patrick Stewart), "Oh Jonathan… Jonathan… 25 years in the Royal Shakespeare Company… FOR THIS??"

Just as I suspected (and was told by other Star Trek cast members), Jonathan Frakes is a very funny man and a great performer. At one point, a couple of people were attempting to take video of him talking. He walked to the front of the stage, leaned down, and yelled - "NO VIDDEEOOO!" It must have been a personal request, because video was permitted for every other guest.

I went and got a picture with him after the Q&A, which was very rushed and taken professionally. I looked up at him and said, "I love you". He hesitated for a moment before saying "and I you". I felt like a really big creep, but I don't really care. It was great seeing him, and he is just as handsome as ever. I just wish I could have been less awkward is his presence.

S'chn T'Gai Spock and James Tiberius Kirk

I got a few free cards at a convention about half a year ago from Star Trek Master Series (Skybox). Because of this, I had some doubles when somebody else gave me the complete set.

I also had a few random encyclopedias from the fifties and sixties (Young People's Encyclopedia) that were laying around my room taking up space. So I did the only creatively logical thing - I made the encyclopedias into sketch/scrap books and duct taped the extra cards onto a painted surface. I added names, and some phrases that I felt fit the character, what they believed, and how they were seen by others.

Two of my favorites were Spock's and Kirk's pages, because of their contrast. Spock's logic and Kirk's intuition - these opposite approaches compliment each other perfectly in every way.

The quote on Spock's page is Surak's - "Can you return life to what you kill? Then be slow to take life." This is one of my favorite quotes, and I have used it before here. The script down the right side is found on most diplomatic Vulcan robes, as well as Spock's meditation robes. It has been suggested that Rata Tafar Tapan (Concept Discipline Process) appearing together as a trinity may have the poetic meaning ‘Branches entwined form the tree’. The symbol on the left is "ozhika" or "logic".

Spock's family name was given as "S'chn T'gai" in one of my favorite Star trek novels, "Ishmael".

 

For Kirk's page I wanted to use a quote that represented him in a significant way, but one that came from the show. I decided to use the quote "intuition, however illogical, is recognized as a command prerogative" from the episode "Obsession". I got kind of bored half way through doing this page, so it is very plain and uninspired compared to Spock's.

The art for these cards was done by the wonderful Keith Birdsong.

William Shatner Appreciation - The Greatest Canadian

It's Canada day (for another half an hour, anyways), the perfect time to reflect on one of the greatest Canadians of all time - the wonderful Mister William Shatner. And so I sit in front of the television next to the window, listening to the fireworks and gathering up some of the photos I have on file in preparation for what is to come: a cornucopia of Shatner photos and quotes (sans Kirk) in appreciation of his value and talent.

People say that William Shatner has no talent - that he can't act. I disagree. I feel that he is a great actor - he just puts his own style into it! We can recognize his pattern of speech anywhere - he delivers his lines like a Shakespearean actor. Dramatic. With flair.

Let us go on now - read his words, gaze upon the handsome face of an ultimate entertainer - a writer, an actor, a producer, and a father. You can do it, you can do it nine times.

Speaking of Shakespearean acting... Shatner as Hamlet.

"If you make a fool of yourself, you can do it with dignity, without taking your pants down. And if you do take your pants down, you can still do it with dignity."

"In my proudest moments, I think I had a real hand in the creative force of making "Star Trek." But most of the time, I don't think about it."

"No, I don't regret anything at this point. That may change on the next phone call, but at the moment I don't regret anything."

"Sci-fi films are the epic films of the day because we can no longer put 10,000 extras in the scene - but we can draw thousands of aliens with computers."

"There's an ecstasy about doing something really good on film: the composition of a shot, the drama within the shot, the texture... It's palpable."

"Writing is truly a creative art - putting word to a blank piece of paper and ending up with a full-fledged story rife with character and plot."

“Don't just shove food into your mouth. Taste the flavor exploding in your mouth. Appreciate the texture. Honor your food with the time you take.”

“Captain Kirk never burped out his lines, nor did he simply SPEAK! as IF! Every! Other! SYLlable! WAS! of DIRE! ImPORTance!”

“How do I stay so healthy and boyishly handsome? It's simple. I drink the blood of young runaways.”

"I don't want people to know me. I want them to believe my version."

"My boy, that was a TV show. I used a stunt double. I always use a stunt double. Except in love scenes. I insist on doing those myself."

"Here's something pompous - you take your day and artistically create it, so every moment has an artistic flavor."

"Given the freedom to create, everybody is creative. All of us have an innate, instinctive desire to change our environment, to put our original stamp on this world, to tell a story never told before. I’m absolutely thrilled at the moment of creativity – when suddenly I’ve synthesized my experiences, reality, and my imagination into something entirely new. But most people are too busy working on survival to find the opportunity to create. Fortunately, I’ve been freed by reputation, by the economics of success, and by emotional contentment to turn my ideas into reality. I’ve discovered that the more freedom I have to be creative, the more creative I become."

"I'm a performer, comedian, entertainer, writer and director."

"I think the supernatural is a catch-all for everything we don't understand about the vast other parts of life that we cannot perceive."

"I hate flying, flat out hate its guts."

"But if you want to know the truth, the weirdest thing that has happened has been my discovery that people who attend the conventions are filled with love."

"Acting is easier - writing is more creative. The lazy man vies with the industrious."

"I enjoyed reading all the classic authors like Isaac Asimov and Bradbury."

"If you read my books, especially the Star Trek books and the Quest for Tomorrow books, you'll see in them the core theme of the basic humanistic questions that Star Trek asked."

"I guess the disc jockey thought I was trying to sing or something so ... they had fun with it. But the reality was that it was something, there was a concept behind it."

"TV shows usually take a break during the summer. I, on the other hand, do not."

"Your question implies that one has control of a career, and you don't. You don't have control of anything."

I will conclude all of this with an amazing quote that just sums everything up perfectly:

“I am not a Starfleet commander, or T.J. Hooker. I don't live on Starship NCC-170...[some audience members say 'one'], or own a phaser. And I don't know anybody named Bones, Sulu, or Spock. And no, I've never had green alien sex, though I'm sure it would be quite an evening. [Pomp and Circumstance begins playing] I speak English and French, not Klingon! I drink Labatt's, not Romulan ale! And when someone says to me 'Live long and prosper', I seriously mean it when I say, 'Get a life'. My doctor's name is not McCoy, it's Ginsberg. And tribbles were puppets, not real animals. PUPPETS! And when I speak, I never, ever talk like every. Word. Is. Its. Own. Sentence. I live in California, but I was raised in Montreal. And yes, I've gone where no man has gone before, but I was in Mexico and her father gave me permission! My name is William Shatner, and I am Canadian!”

We love you, William Shatner - Happy Canada day, everyone!

Leonard Nimoy Appreciation - Pics and Quotes (1)

I absolutely adore Leonard Nimoy. He is constantly amazing me with his acting, music, directing, and photography. He even has some books of poetry out there.

He is a very talented, very handsome man. He deserves everything he has obtained. Right now I am going to focus on Leonard and his work (sans Spock) and his words of nostalgia and wisdom. (Click images to enlarge - some of them look very strange compacted.)

Leonard with his first wife, Sandi.

Leonard got into photography when he was thirteen.

"A neighborhood friend showed me how it was possible to go to a camera shop and pick up chemicals for pennies... literally... and develop your own film and make prints."

From Mission: Impossible. Obviously.

"If you're talking about fine art work, then I think you have to ask yourself some pretty deep questions about why it is you want to take pictures and what it is you want to say."

"I became hooked on the idea of being able to shoot an image and process it myself, and end up with a product."

I just love it when he smiles.

"I'm attracted to images that come from a personal exploration of a subject matter. When they have a personal stamp to them, then I think it becomes identifiable."

"What I'm exploring right now is the subject of my own mortality. It's an area that I'm curious about, and I'm researching it to see if there's a photographic essay in it for me. If images don't start to come, I'll go to something else."

That look says everything.

Intellectual and sensitive - Believing in love and art and spirituality.


"Some words having to do with the death of the people in the World Trade Center attack had been added, and when I got to it, I had this overwhelmingly emotional experience. I struggled to get through the words; tears were streaming down my cheeks."

 
"The miracle is this: the more we share the more we have."

"I deal with this spiritual issue every day - either shooting or processing or sorting or discussing or having conversations - I'm in constant contact with it."

From The Sun Also Rises

"I'm touched by the idea that when we do things that are useful and helpful - collecting these shards of spirituality - that we may be helping to bring about a healing." 

"It's a photographic essay on the subject of the Shekhina, which is the feminine presence of God, the feminine aspect of divinity. This is not some figure that is a foggy mist in a cloud somewhere. I have depicted her as being a flesh-and-blood woman."

So epic.

 "My wife and I are affiliated with a temple here in Los Angeles. We feel very close to the congregation and to the rabbi, who happens to be my wife's cousin and who I admire greatly. I talk to him regularly but I consider myself more spiritual than religious."

The quality here looks really bad when it is small... click to see high res.

Science and the universe will always have a special place in his heart...


"Other times, you're doing some piece of work and suddenly you get feedback that tells you that you have touched something that is very alive in the cosmos."

"That is the exploration that awaits you! Not mapping stars and studying nebula, but charting the unknown possibilities of existence."

The master director. He directed the two best ST movies, in my opinion.

This is merely part one, as I have many other scanned pictures and quotes to share. I will leave you now with my favorite Simpsons quote:

"Hello, I'm Leonard Nimoy. The following tale of alien encounters is true. And by true, I mean false. It's all lies. But they're entertaining lies, and in the end, isn't that the real truth? The answer... is no."