Cranky:    In Star Trek: Insurrection, Humor and Action mix in a scene featuring an old Gilbert and Sullivan song.
Stewart:   I resisted Gilbert and Sullivan. We all have those cultural icons which we don't get. I don't get the Marx Brothers, for instance. I tried and I don't get it. Laurel and Hardy, yes!, I get that. Three Stooges, yes.

Cranky:    Did Mike Judge let you know about the Riker and Picard dream sequence?
Stewart:   No, but they sent me one of the cels, which I'm very very proud of and have framed on my wall. I also think I have the largest collection of B&B merchandising. I actually did my estate planing recently and bequeathed my entire B&B T-shirt collection to my son. Anyway, enough of that.

Cranky: So tell us about Gilbert and Sullivan
Stewart:   This is how it goes with putting movies together. Michael came up with this idea of "OK how do we distract Data? take him off guard with something that might just distract him for a moment". What he wrote was Shakespeare, rehearsing him in a scene from King Lear. Oh God it was deadly. It was nice, I mean King Lear's a great play but it's not the moment you wanted to have there. I don't recall whose idea it was but "maybe it's musical" came up. First of all, I said, anything that Tony Bennett sings is what we should do, because Brent has this beautiful tenor voice. They said it's obvious and corny and Rick is always reluctant to make 20th century references so overtly. And then Michael came up with the G&S. Now, just like the Marx Brothers, I don't get G&S. Never have. But I thought wait a minute I know what they should sing! Picture Picard and Data singing [click for the song]. And they said "no that's vulgar, Patrick." And they came up with this song which I resisted and fought and said no it's boring but I was wrong. It's totally successful. So that's how the G&S came about. It works nicely. You're right, the counterpoint of the G&S and what they're actually doing is charming.

Cranky:    Is this your finest singing performance on Star Trek?
Stewart: [thinks about it] I did have this idea for an episode in which -- heh heh heh -- it would be sort of karaoke night on the Enterprise [we laugh] No. Serious. Not really karaoke, but the officers would entertain the crew. I don't know if in the American Services they do this, but in the British Army there are these traditions where everything getting turned upside down and I always wanted to sing "Don't Fence Me In," wearing a cowboy hat and we're around a campfire. Again, that's something that never happened.

Cranky:    It did in one of the movies . . .
Stewart: No, no, no. They sang "Row row row your boat".

Cranky:    Well, they had a campfire. All in keeping with what feels like a Trek Western.
Stewart:   Insurrection was to have had more. We have numerous references; obviously The Magnificent Seven. There was a time where we really were going down an Alamo road, which I thought was terrific. I still kind of regret that we didn't pursue that idea a little bit more. I wanted us to defend the village to the death. Down to the last phaser round (if you can have rounds of phasers. I'm not sure if you can). It's interesting how all these things evolve and some things get taken up and some things get left aside. It's all set up by Brent's "Saddle up. Lock and load." The reference there.

Cranky:    Very western
Stewart:   Indeed it is. It's Alan Ladd preparing to ride into town in Shane when Van Heflin doesn't know that he's going...

Cranky:   Jonathan Frakes says Picard is very Gary Cooper
Stewart:   Really? He's obviously in a very good mood this morning. In the past he's seen me as Gabby Hayes. [we laugh and Stewart does a Gabby Hayes impersonation]

Page 4