The Entire Star Trek: The Next Generation Cast Will Receive The Saturn Lifetime Achievement Award
The respectable Saturn Awards were first launched in 1973 by the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Films, and have been presented annually ever since.
"Star Trek: The Next Generation" has won multiple Saturns in the past, notably winning Best Genre Series twice during its initial run. Additionally, Patrick Stewart and Brent Spiner won Saturns for their acting, playing Captain Jean-Luc Picard and Lieutenant Commander Data respectively. Frustratingly, no other member of the show's venerated ensemble won Saturns for their performance.
Until now. As announced by TrekMovie, a special Lifetime Achievement Saturn award will be given to Stewart, Spiner, Marina Sirtis, Gates McFadden, Michael Dorn, LeVar Burton, Jonathan Frakes, and Wil Wheaton. That group represents the core ensemble of "Star Trek: The Next Generation," with most of them having appeared in all seven seasons of the TV series and in four movies. Also, all of them have returned to the franchise for guest appearances "Star Trek: Picard," including a reunion for that show's third season. A Saturn is a way for the sci-fi community to acknowledge just how important "Next Generation" has become in the fabric of popular culture, and recognize how important the cast was to the show's staying power.
A special ceremony will be held on February 4, 2024, and eager fans will be able to watch a broadcast on the website ElectricNow.tv. Kevin Feige, the head honcho of Marvel Studios, will present the award to Stewart, Spiner, Sirtis, McFadden, Dorn, and Wheaton. Sadly Frakes and Burton will not be able to attend.
The statement
The Saturn Awards issued the following statement to TrekMovie, explaining the honor they are bestowing:
"The Lifetime Achievement Award is usually presented to an individual for their contributions to genre entertainment. Top luminaries like Stan Lee and Leonard Nimoy, Mr. Spock himself, have received this top honor. It's not new, but we extended this award to cover the entire cast of 'Star Trek: The Next Generation,' due to its continued influence on the face of general television. It was originally doomed to failure since it was following in the footsteps of the original 'Star Trek,' yet it carved its own identity, and its diverse cast was light years ahead of its time!"
That "doomed to failure" statement will ring true for those present in 1987 when "Next Generation" first aired. There was a lot of skepticism about a "Star Trek" spinoff that didn't involve the cast of the original series in any way, and production on the show was notoriously rocky for its first two seasons. But, as stated, "Next Generation" forged its own identity quickly, and now might be considered the purer version of Gene Roddenberry's initial vision; "Next Generation," even more than the original series, is devoted to diplomacy, peace, and multiculturalism.
Various "Star Trek" shows have, in toto, been nominated for 15 Saturns just this year, a record for the series. Both "Star Trek: Picard" and "Star Trek: Strange New Worlds" were nominated for Best Science Fiction Television Series, and "Star Trek: Lower Decks" was nominated for Best Animated Series. Trek actors Stewart, Frakes, Jeri Ryan, Celia Rose Gooding, Amanda Plummer, Paul Wesley, Anson Mount, Ethan Peck, Jess Bush, Todd Stashwick, and Ed Speleers have also been nominated.