The captain and first officer of the NCC-1701D spent time at the SF Ball in Bournemouth last weekend, discussing their recent projects and their memories of Star Trek: The Next Generation.

Ian M. Cullen of Sci Fi Pulse attended the gathering, reporting that while the actors did not appear together, Patrick Stewart (Picard) and Jonathan Frakes (Riker) were both entertaining, with Frakes being described as "hilarious and very energetic" while Stewart's "dry British wit reaped equal rewards."

Stewart, who called for tea at one point, noted that when he was asked what he thought Picard's drink of choice should be in pilot episode "Encounter At Farpoint", he had said "lapsaang soo chong." The producers had never heard of it, so "we settled for something a little less sophisticated in Earl Grey." He spoke about his recent voiceover work for Steam Boy, a Japanese anime which ironically is set closer to Stewart's birthplace in England. He described the film as an exploration of the power of steam, in late 19th century London and Manchester, saying, "the quality of the animation is unlike anything I've seen before."

The actor also confirmed that a third X-Men film was "an absolute certainty" though he did not expect the film to begin shooting until late summer. The role of Professor Xavier, he said, came about because he was shown the cover of a comic book and inquired as to why his face was on the cover. "I'd never heard of X-Men," he admitted, saying that initially he felt that he should not play another iconic role but a couple of meetings with director Bryan Singer changed his mind.

Reflecting upon The Next Generation, Stewart cited "Inner Light" as his personal favorite episode because he got to work with his son Daniel, but said he was particularly impressed by "The Measure of A Man" because he found the script and the questions it posed very powerful. This was, he added, the first directorial effort of Frakes, who appeared the next day and confirmed that he and his wife in the Star Trek universe, Marina Sirtis (Troi), would appear in the finale of Star Trek: Enterprise.

Frakes said that he was looking forward to seeing his old friends on the production crew - in addition to acting, he directed several episodes of the series and two films in the franchise - but described as "bittersweet" the knowledge that this may be the last episode of televised Star Trek for quite some time.

The actor said he was as anxious as anyone to learn what had happened to Lieutenant Thomas Riker, the accidental clone who appeared on Deep Space Nine and ended up in a Cardassian prison. He told humorous stories about fellow cast members and noted that he had recently recorded director's commentary for the rerelease of Star Trek: Insurrection on DVD.

For more, including Frakes' reaction to comments on his recent Thunderbirds, see the original article at Sci Fi Pulse.

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