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| Star Trek: The Next Generation |
Wendy Hughes enters the cultish world of the
Star Trek franchise as Lieutenant Commander Nella Daren, the new head of the Star Fleet's science department and potential love interest for the unflappable Captain Picard (Patrick Stewart).
Hughes adds to her gallery of classy, intelligent women with this one-off role, easily negotiating the world of sci-fi and turning this fleeting guest appearance into a memorable episode for Trekkers and Hughes fans alike.
As Larry Nemecek explains in
The Star Trek: The Next Generation Companion, this "slice-of-life" plot "sparkles from the chemistry between Stewart and actress Wendy Hughes" ...
"Ironically, Picard is seen wearing a shirt from "Captain's Holiday" (167), but unlike Vash, this time around the captain is given a real peer and equal in Nella Daren - a quality that Jeri Taylor felt gave the match-up "true substance and genuine warmth" the actors could play from. "The script was a pleasure and we had really turned-on performances" veteran
TNG actor Robert Weimer said "If we'd had only moderate performances it would have fallen flat."
(Source: p242, The Star Trek The Next Generation Companion: A Complete Show-by-Show guide to the Smash Television Series by Larry Nemecek, Pocket Books, 1995)
