guinan star trek personality

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Guinan was an enigmatic bartender who ran Ten Forward , the lounge aboard the USS Enterprise -D . She was well known for her wise counsel, which proved invaluable many times. Guinan was an El-Aurian , a race of "listeners" who were scattered by the Borg . Q , however, once suggested that there was far more to her than could be imagined. ( TNG : " Booby Trap ", " The Measure Of A Man ", " Galaxy's Child ", " Q Who ", " Deja Q "; Star Trek Generations )

• 1.1 19th century
• 1.2 21st century
• 1.3 22nd century
• 1.4 23rd century
• 2 Aboard the USS Enterprise -D
• 3 After the USS Enterprise -D
• 4 Dealings with Q
• 5.1 Fencing
• 6.2.1 Jean-Luc Picard
• 6.2.2 Beverly Crusher
• 6.2.3 Wesley Crusher
• 6.2.4 Geordi La Forge
• 6.2.6 Ro Laren
• 7 Alternate timelines
• 9 Chronology
• 10.1 Appearances
• 10.2 Background information
• 10.3 Apocrypha
• 10.4 External links

Early life [ ]

Guinan was born on her homeworld sometime before the late 19th century . In her childhood, she had a Tarcassian razor beast as an imaginary friend. When she was troubled, she'd talk to it. She enjoyed imagining that she was curling up on its warm belly. As she grew older, she found that she talked to it less and less, but the idea of the creature always remained with her. ( TNG : " Imaginary Friend ")

As a mature adult, Guinan hid from her father on Earth (prior to the planet 's first official contact with an alien race), posing as a celebrated and obviously wealthy socialite in San Francisco , calling herself " Madame " Guinan. While there, she entertained such luminaries as Samuel Clemens . ( TNG : " Time's Arrow ")

19th century [ ]

Guinan and Data on Earth in 1893

In 1893 , Guinan encountered Data , from the 24th century , who claimed they were friends from the Enterprise . Guinan had no knowledge of this and when she expressed her absence of awareness about the situation, it allowed Data to quickly realize that he was dealing with the Guinan of this era rather than from his own time. She learned about his predicament and agreed to help in any way she could in stopping the Devidians and returning Data to the 24th century. She also met Jean-Luc Picard , William T. Riker , Geordi La Forge , Deanna Troi , and Dr. Beverly Crusher from Data's time. When Data prevented the Devidians from attacking them, he was decapitated but the rest of his body, along with Samuel Clemens and the Enterprise crew (sans Picard), traveled back to the 24th century. Picard stayed behind to make sure Guinan was all right. When Clemens helped Picard return, he saw to Guinan's wounds. ( TNG : " Time's Arrow ", " Time's Arrow, Part II ")

21st century [ ]

During the 21st century , Guinan owned a bar at 10 Forward Avenue in 2024 Los Angeles . She planned on leaving Earth, but met up with Picard, whom believed Guinan to be the Watcher . However, she led Picard to said watcher, Supervisor Tallinn . Guinan later helped Picard by contacting Q. However, to her confusion her technique did not immediately bring Q to her and Picard. She and Picard were then arrested by FBI agent Martin Wells . ( PIC : " Watcher ", " Monsters ")

In the FBI's custody, Guinan denied being an alien and called Agent Wells crazy. Guinan was then called to another room while Wells interrogated Picard personally. Guinan was later interrogated by Q , who complained about her summoning him. Guinan thought she sensed Q's fear about himself dying and that Q was unable to vaporize her by snapping his fingers. She demanded to know what his plans with Picard, but Q evaded her questions. She was then left in the room. Guinan was able to project herself into Picard's mind, telling him what Q said about all humans being stuck in the past. She then joined Picard and the two of them were let go by Wells. Guinan admitted to Wells that she was not from Earth and floated the idea that Wells was meant to encounter non-humans in order to eventually be there to help Picard. Guinan then wished Picard good luck and hope to meet him more properly. ( PIC : " Mercy ")

After her encounter with Picard, Guinan became a good friend to Cristóbal Rios , Teresa Ramirez , her son Ricardo , and Renée Picard who frequented her bar every time they were in Los Angeles. ( PIC : " Farewell ")

22nd century [ ]

Guinan had "some dealings" with Q sometime during the 22nd century and also other members of the Q Continuum , some of whom she said "were almost respectable." Her relationship with Q was evidently hostile. Centuries later, Q described Guinan as an "imp" and stated, " Where she goes, trouble always follows. " Around the 22nd century, Guinan, according to Q, went by another name. ( TNG : " Q Who ")

23rd century [ ]

Guinan assisted by Pavel Chekov in 2293 after being pulled from the Nexus

Following the destruction of her homeworld by the Borg in the 23rd century , Guinan became a refugee aboard the SS Lakul in 2293 . She, along with the rest of her ship, subsequently became caught in the Nexus , an experience she described as "being inside joy." She was rescued, among 46 others, shortly before the destruction of the ship by the USS Enterprise -B and assisted by Pavel Chekov . Along with most of the other El-Aurian refugees, Guinan was traumatized upon being pulled out of the Nexus. In 2371 , Captain Picard conferred with the "echo" of Guinan who remained in the timeless Nexus and, with her help, was eventually able to leave the Nexus. ( Star Trek Generations )

Aboard the USS Enterprise -D [ ]

Guinan in 2365

Guinan came aboard the Enterprise -D in 2365 , at Captain Picard's personal request. Guinan and Picard shared a long-time relationship, which, according to Guinan, went "beyond friendship and beyond family." ( TNG : " The Best of Both Worlds, Part II ") At that time, there were rumors among the Enterprise -D crew that she had met Picard when he was the commanding officer of the USS Stargazer . However, to protect the timeline, she lied by saying she only knew Picard after boarding the Enterprise . ( TNG : " The Child ")

In Ten Forward, Guinan kept a selection of alcoholic beverages for special occasions. These drinks included a bottle of Aldebaran whiskey given to her by Captain Picard. ( TNG : " Relics ")

Her quarters aboard the Enterprise -D were located on Deck 8 , Room 3150. She also had an office located on Deck 10, adjacent to Ten Forward. ( TNG : " Q Who ")

As lounge host, Guinan made herself available to anyone in need, especially to the senior staff , as an informal counselor .

In mid- 2366 , Lieutenant Commander Data believed spending time in Ten Forward, observing Human social interaction, would be beneficial for his android "offspring" called Lal . With Guinan's guidance, Lal worked as a waitress for a brief period. ( TNG : " The Offspring ")

Reverted to age twelve

No stranger to the phaser range , Guinan once beat Worf on Level 14, firing left-handed. ( TNG : " Redemption ")

Guinan defuses a tense situation in Ten Forward with the aid of a rifle

When, in 2367 , REM sleep -deprived crewmembers began to draft conspiracy theories about the Enterprise being unable to escape a Tyken's Rift , Guinan was able to defuse the situation, thanks to an energy-beam rifle she had acquired on Magus III . ( TNG : " Night Terrors ")

In early 2369 , Guinan, together with Captain Picard, Ro Laren , and Keiko O'Brien , was affected by an anomaly that caused them to revert to the bodies of twelve-year-olds due to the effects of a molecular reversion field . While Captain Picard temporarily stepped down from command , a group of Ferengi commandeered the Enterprise . Believing Guinan to be a child, they confined her to a classroom aboard the ship. She, Picard, Ro Laren, and Keiko O'Brien, however, with the help of Alexander Rozhenko , were able to devise a plan to retake the Enterprise from the Ferengi. ( TNG : " Rascals ")

Guinan sitting at Picard's desk in his ready room

Guinan in 2371

In 2371 , Guinan cautioned Captain Picard that Dr. Tolian Soran was seeking to return to the Nexus, which Guinan described as a doorway to a paradisiacal place. She also warned Picard that anyone who entered the Nexus would never want to leave it and that, should someone be forcefully taken away from the Nexus, their desire to return to it might make them extremely dangerous. When Picard was trapped in the Nexus shortly thereafter, an "echo" of Guinan that had remained there after the rest of her left the Nexus reminded him to focus on his mission: to prevent Soran from destroying the Veridian sun . With the help of Captain Kirk , Picard succeeded in stopping Soran and was able to escape from the Nexus. Guinan, meanwhile, was among many individuals who survived an emergency crash landing of the Enterprise . ( Star Trek Generations )

After the USS Enterprise -D [ ]

Guinan at the Riker-Troi wedding in 2379

After the destruction of the Enterprise -D, she attended the wedding ceremony of Deanna Troi and William Riker in 2379 . ( Star Trek Nemesis )

By 2401 , Guinan had returned to running a bar at 10 Forward Avenue in Los Angeles. She had adjusted her physical aging to appear older, as she had observed that Humans " don't like to be reminded of their mortality. " ( PIC : " The Star Gazer ")

Following Picard's return from 2024 , he visited Guinan who apologized for not telling him sooner about their meeting in the past. Guinan was sure that if she guided him right and set Picard straight, he'd circle around eventually. Guinan also thanked Picard for setting her straight first. Guinan then drew Picard's attention to a picture of Cristóbal Rios behind the bar and revealed that Rios and Teresa Ramirez had started a medical movement together, the Mariposas and led them through hard times to help those in need while Ricardo put together a team of the brightest minds in the world and they found a way to heal the ocean and clean the sky using the alien organism found by Renée Picard on Europa . Having become close friends with Rios and his family, Guinan shared funny stories of his life with Picard before revealing the details of Rios and Teresa's deaths. Guinan then joined in Picard's toast to family alongside Seven of Nine , Raffaela Musiker and Elnor . ( PIC : " Farewell ")

Later that year, Guinan decided to capitalize on the occasion of Frontier Day by selling small models of various starships Enterprise in her bar. ( PIC : " The Next Generation ")

In 2402 , the former senior staff of the Enterprise -D gathered at 10 Forward Avenue and stayed long past the bar's closing time. Geordi La Forge claimed that Guinan had been giving them " the side-eye for the last half an hour " and Deanna Troi speculated that Guinan was doing so because Beverly Crusher had drank too much of the bar's stock of bloodwine . ( PIC : " The Last Generation ")

Dealings with Q [ ]

Guinan's first meeting with Q aboard the Enterprise -D, in 2365

Guinan met Q again aboard the Enterprise in 2365, at which time Q was surprised to see her; he also questioned whether the name given was her current alias, indicating that she had used another name upon a previous encounter. He advised Picard to get Guinan off the ship, and added he would be more than pleased to "expedite her departure." In response, Guinan raised her hands, implying she had a special ability to defend herself from Q's powers. However, Guinan did not take any further action against Q as, before she could do so, he returned his attention to Picard with a dismissive taunt aimed at Guinan: " Enough about this creature; she's diverting us from the purpose of my being here. "

Although Q then remarked that Humanity was not ready for what awaited it, Guinan defended Humans, arguing that they "learn to adapt." As Q continued making his proposals to Picard, Guinan let off a snort of disgust, then protested Q's throwing the Enterprise into the verges of space.

After the encounter, Guinan talked to Picard about how Q had set a series of events in motion. Their contact with the Borg, she claimed, had come long before it should have. When they were ready, it might have been possible to establish a relationship with the Borg, but for then Humanity was only raw material to them. In addition, since the Borg were aware of their existence, they would be coming. Picard responded that Q might have done the right thing for the wrong reasons, as the Federation needed a good kick in its complacency to get it ready for what was ahead. ( TNG : " Q Who ")

A powerless Q meets Guinan; not a moment he had been looking forward to

Guinan's second encounter with Q while on board the Enterprise came a year later, in 2366 . Q was, at the time, stripped of his powers by the Continuum and requested asylum aboard the Enterprise , a request Picard reluctantly granted. When Data informed her that the captain and much of the crew were not yet convinced Q was truly Human, Guinan casually picked up a fork from beside a patron's plate on the bar and stabbed Q's hand. When the latter cried out in agony, Guinan commented, " Seems Human enough to me. " She told Q he was a pitiful excuse for a Human and the only way he was going to survive would be by the charity of others. After he was attacked by the Calamarain and lying on the floor of Ten Forward crying out for help, Guinan observed this dispassionately from a short distance away, remarking " How the mighty have fallen. " Q's powers were later restored by the other members of the Continuum. ( TNG : " Deja Q ")

Personal interests [ ]

Fencing [ ].

Picard and Guinan, shortly after Picard won their fencing match

In late 2368, Guinan was coached by Picard in fencing . In a series of matches later in November of that year, she lost the first match that day, saying she didn't think she liked the sport. Picard replied she liked it well enough two weeks prior, when she scored two touches on him.

They then took a moment to relax and soon found themselves talking about Hugh , the Borg drone Picard had allowed to be taken on board. To Guinan's question whether taking Hugh on board was wise, Picard replied it was an errand of mercy, and that Dr. Crusher decided for humanitarian reasons to care for him.

They rose again for their second match in which they advanced and retreated a few times, parrying. Then Guinan lunged, stumbled and grabbed at her leg – apparently she had pulled a muscle. Picard lowered his foil and started toward her in concern. Suddenly Guinan was upon him, swiftly knocking the foil from his hand and scoring a touch upon his chest. " You felt sorry for me, " she said. " Look what it got you ." She did, however, after speaking with Hugh herself, change her opinion on the matter. ( TNG : " I Borg ")

Personal relationships [ ]

Guinan was born sometime prior to the 19th century, Earth calendar. Her father was seven hundred years old as of the 24th century . ( TNG : " Rascals ") In her life, Guinan married twenty-three times and had "a lot" of children . ( Star Trek Nemesis ; TNG : " Evolution ") She had a good relationship with her maternal uncle Terkim , who she described as " sort of the family misfit. " ( TNG : " Hollow Pursuits ") However, Guinan once had some relatively unusual (for her species) difficulty with relating to one of her sons, as he wouldn't listen to anyone. After several hundred years, Guinan managed to persuade him to open up to her, convincing him to do so just by listening to him, though she didn't initially realize she was thereby shaping him. ( TNG : " Evolution ")

Friendships [ ]

Riker "pretends" to be flirting with Guinan

Immediately upon coming aboard the Enterprise , Guinan was able to draw the attention of many people because of the mysteries surrounding her age and origin. Except for Captain Picard, none of the Enterprise crewmembers had met her, but she soon developed a friendly relationship with many members of its senior staff. ( TNG : " The Child ", " Time's Arrow ")

In 2365 , Guinan and Riker attempted to counsel Wesley Crusher regarding his relationship with Salia . As Riker pretended to flirt with Guinan, they proved their own advice inadvisable. ( TNG : " The Dauphin ")

Jean-Luc Picard [ ]

Guinan and Jean-Luc Picard shared a long-term relationship, which, according to her, went "beyond friendship and beyond family". ( TNG : " The Best of Both Worlds, Part II ") Picard also made a similar confession, stating that their relationship was something that went "far beyond friendship". ( TNG : " Time's Arrow, Part II ") She also once said to Geordi La Forge that she was attracted to bald men, because a bald man once took care of her in a time of need. ( TNG : " Booby Trap ") In return, Picard once remarked that Guinan was "very selective about whom she calls a friend". ( TNG : " Ensign Ro ")

Picard and Guinan talk about Data's rights as a sentient being. " ...the past always resonates in the present, and decisions made today reach into the future. "

Guinan often advised Picard in times of dilemma. In 2365, Data's rights as an individual were challenged when cybernetics expert Commander Bruce Maddox wanted to disassemble the android for study. Picard challenged Maddox's assessment before the local Judge Advocate General . As the hearing neared its end, Picard admitted to Guinan he feared he was losing the case. Guinan asked what Maddox would gain if he should be successful in disassembling and reassembling Data. Picard responded that he would possess the ability to build many more androids. He remembered Guinan's words that the decisions we make today have implications for the future, and so Picard reasoned that if it were decided that Data was indeed Starfleet property, all future androids would be also. Guinan noted there was an ancient word for that – slavery . Eventually, Picard won Data's case by pointing out that an entire race of Datas would be used as slaves – strictly against Federation principles. ( TNG : " The Measure Of A Man ")

Guinan also participated in several recreational activities with Picard. In 2367, she featured as cousin Gloria in one of Picard's Dixon Hill holonovels . She, however, was not much impressed with the program. ( TNG : " Clues ")

Besides joining Picard on the holodeck, Guinan occasionally shared a game of chess with him, and Picard also coached her in fencing in 2368, begun when she considered exercise to strengthen her arm. Shortly prior to their match, the Enterprise had taken on board a Borg drone, at that point named Hugh. Although Guinan initially questioned Picard's decision in that matter, she was convinced by La Forge to speak with the former drone. She could not help but acknowledge that this Borg was developing a personality, becoming an individual. Upon her conversation with Hugh, she convinced Picard to speak with him as well. ( TNG : " I Borg ")

Beverly Crusher [ ]

Beverly and Guinan talk about Wesley

In 2366 Beverly Crusher, seeing her son socialize with other teenagers, asked Guinan whether she had any children. Guinan replied she had a lot, and Crusher inquired whether she had ever had trouble with any of them. Guinan said she had with one who went through a phase when "he wouldn't listen to anybody" – something unusual "in a species of listeners." Asked how he had grown out of it, Guinan explained a mother shapes her child in ways she doesn't even realize, sometimes just by listening. ( TNG : " Evolution ")

When Crusher was relieved of duty in 2369 , Guinan visited her in her quarters, claiming she sought treatment for her tennis elbow , which she claimed was caused by an unsuccessful tennis match with Geordi La Forge. As Crusher began to talk about her recent actions, she explained she had illegally performed an autopsy on the Ferengi scientist Reyga , who had appeared to have committed suicide . As Crusher later found out, the Takaran scientist Jo'Bril had in fact murdered Reyga in order to discredit the Ferengi. Upon Guinan's encouragement, Crusher eventually discovered Jo'Bril's plan, prevented him from stealing Reyga's research data, and proved the technology was valid. She was exonerated and returned to duty shortly following the incident. In order to thank Guinan for her encouragement, Crusher presented her with a state-of-the-art tennis racket , upon which Guinan admitted she had never played tennis. ( TNG : " Suspicions ")

Wesley Crusher [ ]

In early 2365, Wesley Crusher was reluctantly preparing to leave the Enterprise and join his mother, who had departed to become head of Starfleet Medical . When he was staring out the windows of Ten Forward, Guinan approached him, asking him whether he wanted anything to drink. As they talked, Guinan asked him three more times during their conversation, and when Wesley pointed that out, she replied it was what she was expected to do, asking if he didn't always do what was expected of him. He tried to reply, because sometimes you have to consider others more than yourself. Guinan responded that the question was to know when to consider yourself more than others and to give yourself permission to be selfish. Their conversation made Wesley decide to stay on board the Enterprise after all. ( TNG : " The Child ")

Geordi La Forge [ ]

La Forge asks Guinan for advice after his date with Christy Henshaw went troubled. " Always room at the bar for another broken heart. "

Guinan would often advise, or rather cheer up, Geordi La Forge after one of his dates went poorly. Thus, in early 2366, La Forge sought her advice after his date, Christy Henshaw , admitted she was not in love with him. When La Forge asked about what Guinan sought in a man, she replied she was attracted to bald men, because long ago one saved her life (Picard had "saved" the 19th century Guinan by remaining with her as she was injured by a time portal, as help came by). La Forge went on explaining that he never knew what to say around women. When Guinan remarked that he did not appear uncomfortable at the time, La Forge replied that he wasn't "trying" when he was speaking with her. Guinan replied: " That's my point ", making him realize he was only uncomfortable when trying to chat up a girl. A few days later, La Forge found himself rather smitten with a holographic recreation of Dr. Leah Brahms . ( TNG : " Booby Trap ") A little over a year later, he got the chance to meet the real Dr. Brahms and found her much less charming than her holographic version. At the time, he again sought Guinan's advice. ( TNG : " Galaxy's Child ")

With ease, Guinan defeats Worf on the phaser range

In mid- 2366 Guinan first approached Worf, introducing him to the Terran beverage of prune juice . Although the drink was generally unpopular among Humans, Worf called it "a warrior's drink". As Guinan sat down at his table, she asked Worf why he always sat alone. Worf looked at her with vague irritation as the conversation was venturing into areas he preferred to avoid. Worf replied he would require a Klingon woman for companionship as Human females were too fragile. Despite Guinan's claim that she knew one or two women on board who might find him a bit tame, Worf laughed and refuted this as "impossible". Guinan teasingly called him a coward for not wanting to meet them, upon which Worf replied he was merely concerned for the safety of his crewmates. ( TNG : " Yesterday's Enterprise ")

When the Klingon Civil War erupted in 2367, Worf was torn between remaining in Starfleet service and joining Gowron against the House of Duras . While practicing their skills in the phaser range , Guinan asked Worf how his son, Alexander , was doing. Worf replied he was having difficulties adjusting to life on Earth, to which Guinan responded that the time would come when Alexander would find out what it really meant to be Klingon , just as the time had now come for Worf. Worf would later request a leave of absence, and with the help of Captain Picard would reveal Romulan assistance to the Duras cause in the civil war. ( TNG : " Redemption ")

Ro Laren [ ]

Guinan talks with Ensign Ro Laren

When the Bajoran Ensign Ro Laren came aboard the Enterprise in 2368, she immediately drew everyone's attention. After discussing Ro with La Forge, Guinan sat next to Ensign Ro in Ten Forward. Although Ro initially claimed she did not want any company, Guinan remarked that she would have stayed in her quarters if that were true. As they talked, Ro commented that Guinan was not like any bartender she had ever met, to which Guinan responded that Laren was unlike any Starfleet officer she had ever met and that this might be the start of an interesting relationship. Ro objected mildly to this, saying she never stayed anywhere long enough to make friends. Guinan said that she had just made one.

When Ro was later confined to her quarters, Guinan visited her there. Ro decided to confide in Guinan after her new friend told her that people like themselves, who had lost their homes, sometimes felt like they had no control over their own lives. Ro confessed she was in great trouble. Guinan advised that she herself had been in great trouble once and that she would still have been had she not trusted one man. This conversation was instrumental in Ro's decision to reveal to Captain Picard that Admiral Kennelly had made a pact with the Cardassians in order to eliminate Bajoran "terrorists". ( TNG : " Ensign Ro ")

When Guinan, Ro, Picard, and Keiko O'Brien were transformed into children, Guinan took the opportunity to enjoy her 'second childhood'. Ro, however, found the idea of 'enjoying' their current situation idiotic and pointless, particularly since Ro herself had not had much of a first childhood. Guinan took her feelings as a challenge, and during the time that followed tried to provoke Ro into enjoying their situation, such as jumping on the bed. Later, after they aided in defeating a group of Ferengi who had taken over the ship, La Forge and Data managed to return everyone to their proper age. Ro surprisingly now found herself reluctant to return to adulthood. When she didn't show up for treatment, Guinan went in search of her, finding her in her quarters drawing pictures of her mother with crayons. Guinan reminded Ro that she would need to 'grow up' again, but also said there was no rush, as she joined Ro in drawing. ( TNG : " Rascals ")

Ro remained on board the Enterprise and continued her friendship with Guinan until 2370 , when she decided to join a Maquis faction. ( TNG : " Preemptive Strike ")

Alternate timelines [ ]

Guinan in the alternate timeline

In an alternate version of 2366 that featured the Federation fighting a losing war against the Klingons , Guinan was still working in Ten Forward, though it was altered to befit the military nature of the timeline. She was the only one aboard who noticed the changes, which had followed upon the USS Enterprise -C arriving from the year 2344 . Data speculated that Guinan's species, El-Aurians, could perceive alternate timelines. Guinan advised Captain Picard to send the Enterprise -C back to its own time in order to restore the timeline, an idea Picard tried with success. ( TNG : " Yesterday's Enterprise ") Guinan remained aware of the now-reverted changes in the restored timeline. ( TNG : " Redemption II ")

Hologram [ ]

The hologram of Guinan

As part of Reginald Barclay 's holo-addiction , he created a recreation of the USS Enterprise -D including a holographic duplicate of Guinan. ( TNG : " Hollow Pursuits ")

Chronology [ ]

Guinan, pictured in the 1893 San Francisco Register on Earth

Appendices [ ]

Appearances [ ].

• " The Child " (Season 2)
• " The Outrageous Okona "
• " The Measure Of A Man "
• " The Dauphin "
• " Shades of Gray " (Archive footage from "The Dauphin")
• " Evolution " (Season 3)
• " Booby Trap "
• " Yesterday's Enterprise "
• " The Offspring "
• " Hollow Pursuits "
• " The Best of Both Worlds "
• " The Best of Both Worlds, Part II " (Season 4)
• " The Loss "
• " Galaxy's Child "
• " Night Terrors "
• " In Theory "
• " Redemption "
• " Redemption II " (Season 5)
• " Ensign Ro "
• " Imaginary Friend "
• " Time's Arrow "
• " Time's Arrow, Part II " (Season 6)
• " Rascals "
• " Suspicions "
• Star Trek Generations
• Star Trek Nemesis
• " The Star Gazer "
• " Watcher "
• " Monsters "
• " Farewell "

Background information [ ]

Costume continuity polaroids of Guinan's costumes

A sketch of Guinan by Durinda Rice Wood

Guinan was played by Whoopi Goldberg , who was first introduced in the episode " The Child ".

According to the script for "The Child", Guinan was pronounced "GUY-nun." [2]

Whoopi Goldberg got the role of Guinan after she expressed interest to the producers, being a fan of Star Trek: The Original Series – mostly due to Nichelle Nichols , one of the first black women to be regularly featured in an American television series. ( Trek: The Next Generation Crew Book , Trek: The Unauthorized Behind-The-Scenes Story of The Next Generation ) When Goldberg learned that her friend LeVar Burton had been cast in a role on the new Star Trek series, she asked him to tell Gene Roddenberry that she wanted to be on the show too, but the producers thought she was joking and did not take the request seriously. The following year, Goldberg took it upon herself to contact Roddenberry directly. ( Trek: The Next Generation Crew Book ) According to Roddenberry, Goldberg called him up and said, " I am a Star Trek fan, I was a Star Trek fan long before I was ever Whoopi Goldberg, and I'm wondering if there's some part I can play in your show. " ( The Star Trek Saga: From One Generation To The Next ) According to Maurice Hurley , Roddenberry and Hurley thought this was a joke by Goldberg and asked her if she would really work on The Next Generation ; Goldberg replied, " I am successful now and I can do what I like! " ("Mission Overview, Year Three – Whoopi Goldberg", TNG Season 2 DVD special features)

Roddenberry had originally intended the Enterprise 's bartender to be played by "the most beautiful girl in all creation." ( Star Trek 25th Anniversary Special ) When Whoopi Goldberg asked him for a role in his new Star Trek show, he gave it to her and rewrote the character in the process. ( Infinite Diversity in Infinite Combinations': The Multicultural Evolution of Star Trek , Heidelberg: Winter, 2004)

Guinan was named for Texas Guinan , a famed female saloon owner from Texas during the early 20th century. ( Star Trek Encyclopedia  (4th ed., vol. 1, p. 321); "Mission Overview Year Three – Guinan Returns", TNG Season 3 DVD special features) Goldberg described Guinan as primarily " a cross between Yoda and William F. Buckley , " but admitted that she put a lot of her own personality into the character as well. ( Trek: The Next Generation Crew Book ) She also had a backstory in mind to explain how Guinan knew Picard and how she had come to be aboard the Enterprise . " In my mind, " she explained, " I always believed that Guinan was the great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great, couple more greats, grandmother of Picard. And the reason she's on the ship is just to see how he's doing. 'Cause, you know, she can go anywhere at any time. " ( 50 Years of Star Trek )

In the first draft story outline of " The Best of Both Worlds ", only a single reference to Guinan was made, as she was stated to give "a little support" to a research team, consisting of Wesley Crusher , Geordi La Forge , and Data , while they figured out a potential tactical vulnerability in the Borg. [3] However, she doesn't do that in the final edit of the episode, in which she features in only one scene, where she instead has a chat with Picard.

Guinan wasn't mentioned at all in the story outline for " Family " (while that episode had the working title "Crossroads"), despite having one scene in that installment, too. [4]

As evidenced by the first draft script of TNG Season 6 outing " Relics ", Guinan was originally to have been included in that episode. She would have met Montgomery Scott and voiced a doubt about him claiming to have been drinking Scotch before she had been born. She eventually served Scott a green drink, the contents of which she was uncertain about. In the final draft of the script, though, Guinan's role in the episode was rewritten with a waiter and Data instead, the final version of the scene containing only a reference to Guinan. [5]

Regarding Guinan's taste for large hats, the first time she is seen without a hat is on the fencing court in " I Borg "; the first time she is seen without headgear of any kind is in Star Trek Generations . (When in Human costume, or disguise, in " Clues " or " Time's Arrow ", she has always accessorized with an era-appropriate hat.)

In the Star Trek: Deep Space Nine episode " Rivals ", the writers, Jim Trombetta and Michael Piller , intended the character of Martus Mazur to be a son of Guinan. Guinan herself was to appear in the episode, but Whoopi Goldberg was unavailable. All the references to Guinan were removed and only Martus' status as an El-Aurian was retained. Although that episode was the first to name Guinan's species, she herself was not identified as an El-Aurian until Star Trek Generations . Guinan having a wayward son had been an idea floating around since The Next Generation . ( Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Companion  (p. 109)) Rumors that Guinan might appears on Deep Space Nine had been circulating as early as the opening of DS9 Season 1 . ( Trek: The Next Generation Crew Book )

Commenting on Guinan's absence in Star Trek: First Contact , Ronald D. Moore said, " We decided fairly early on that Guinan wouldn't be in the movie because she wasn't part of our storyline and we didn't want to shoehorn the character in. " ( AOL chat , 1997 )

Guinan was temporarily considered for inclusion in VOY Season 5 installments " 11:59 " and " Timeless ". In the latter case, the possibility of her appearing in "Timeless" influenced Brannon Braga to assign LeVar Burton as the episode's director early in the writing of the episode. " I had actually, on behalf of Brannon and the company, approached Whoop to see how she would feel about it, " Burton recalled. " They wanted to sort of take the temperature before they dove head first into the script. Whoopi was tickled at the prospect. " Since the writers found it too difficult to devise a story they felt was good enough to warrant Guinan being in it, the notion of including the character was left by the wayside. ( Cinefantastique , Vol. 31, No. 11, p. 51)

Apocrypha [ ]

Guinan makes brief contact with three stranded Iramahl in 1892 in Elusive Salvation .

The Star Trek: Stargazer novel Oblivion depicts Picard's first meeting with Guinan from his perspective, with Guinan currently in a deep state of depression after being torn out of the Nexus, tormented by her 'reunion' with her youngest daughter in the Nexus before her daughter was lost to the Borg. In the course of her encounter with Picard, Guinan is reminded that it is still possible to find joy in this universe, particularly when Picard risks his mission to rescue her.

In the novel Vendetta , Guinan is reunited with Delcara, the last survivor of a race decimated by the Borg, who settled with Guinan's people after her own were lost and came to consider Guinan a sister. However, by this point, Delcara has been consumed by her desire for revenge against the Borg, convinced that everything she touches is destroyed, to the point that she retrieves an advanced planet killer to use it against the Borg. Despite Picard and Guinan's efforts to appeal to who Delcara was before she was consumed by her desire for revenge, Delcara eventually traps herself in a time loop trying to push the planet killer to Transwarp to reach Borg space.

In the novel Engines of Destiny , it is revealed that Guinan was indirectly responsible for Montgomery Scott being on the USS Jenolen when it crashed on the Dyson sphere . In the course of the novel, Scott changes history by going back in time to rescue Kirk from the Enterprise -B, but this inadvertently results in a timeline where Earth has been assimilated by the Borg in the events of Star Trek: First Contact , although El-Auria has been spared. When the Enterprise -D goes back in time as well to try and intercept Scott, they encounter Guinan's alternate self, whose memories of the original timeline – including her meeting with Picard in San Francisco – help her recognize that history has been altered, accepting the assistance of the Enterprise in restoring history.

In the novel Greater than the Sum , Guinan returns to the USS Enterprise -E in the wake of a new Borg invasion, officiating at Picard's wedding to Beverly Crusher, but she departs the ship at the conclusion of the novel as she concludes that she can best serve Picard by letting him face his problems without her, rather than relying on each other out of fear.

In the Doctor Who crossover comic Assimilation² , Guinan and the Eleventh Doctor are the only characters able to sense that their two respective universes were forcibly merged. She also assures Picard that the Doctor can be trusted and that they're going to need his help, with Picard saying the Doctor reminds him of Guinan in their similar mysterious natures, which Guinan takes as a complement. Later, Guinan explains to the Doctor Picard's past with the Borg and why he refuses to help them to defeat the Cybermen .

In the novel Indistinguishable from Magic , Guinan joins the crew of the USS Challenger to be there for Geordi La Forge, who is on temporary assignment there from the Enterprise -E. She sensed from her Nexus self that she needed to be there for him, and wound up being instrumental in helping him cope with his opportunity for a relationship with Leah Brahms, and most importantly, solving the mystery behind his mother's disappearance years ago.

External links [ ]

• Guinan at StarTrek.com
• Guinan at Memory Beta , the wiki for licensed Star Trek works
• Guinan at Wikipedia
• 2 Star Trek: The Next Generation
• 3 USS Enterprise (NCC-1701-G)

The Untold Truth Of Star Trek's Guinan

Star Trek: The Next Generation doesn't boast as many recurring characters as other Star Trek shows , but what it lacks in quantity, it makes up for in quality.  TNG 's recurring characters are some of the most memorable of the franchise. There's the trickster Q , the cybernetic Borg, and one of the most intriguing characters in the history of  Trek  — Whoopi Goldberg's Guinan.

Introduced early in  TNG 's second season, Goldberg would reprise the role close to 30 more times during the series, as well as in the Star Trek movies Generations and Nemesis . In all that time, few recurring  Trek  characters proved as mysterious as the  Enterprise 's bartender. As much as we know about Guinan, there's so much we don't. Even though her official role on Starfleet's flagship doesn't go beyond serving drinks, time and again she not only proves herself capable of so much more, but it's hinted she knows and can do more than any of us have ever imagined. So let's do our best to chip away at the edges of this enigmatic figure and see how deep we can get into the untold truth of  Star Trek 's Guinan.

Guinan is part bartender, part therapist

As the Enterprise 's bartender, we usually find Guinan in Ten Forward, the bar/lounge where many of the ship's crew members go to relax and where Guinan sees what's troubling them, no matter how hard they try to hide it. After all, Guinan is part of a nomadic species called El-Aurians. Her people are known as listeners, and members of other species often find themselves compelled to unload their problems on any nearby El-Aurians. It's not a trait all El-Aurians value, but Guinan embraces her role and offers her centuries-won wisdom whether it's asked for or not.

Guinan somehow knows exactly what demons are at her patrons' doors, and she always knows what to say and exactly how to say it. When she sees Worf's (Michael Dorn) adoptive parents gazing out the window of Ten Forward in "Family," she knows they need a friendly stranger to tell them just how constant they are in their son's thoughts. In "The Measure of a Man," when Captain Picard ( Patrick Stewart ) fights to protect the rights of his synthetic officer Data (Brent Spiner) , it's Guinan's words about how Data's potential status as Starfleet's property could lead to "whole generations of disposable people" that help Picard realize what's at stake. 

Sometimes, Guinan's silence speaks louder than anything. In "Evolution," when Wesley (Wil Wheaton) confides in Guinan that a high-tech project of his may be wreaking havoc on the Enterprise  and asks her not to tell anyone, it's Guinan's silence that reminds Wesley that he already knows what he should do.

She's a woman of many years and many talents

We don't know how old Guinan is, but we know she's old —  very  old, by human standards. With a few noteworthy exceptions, at any given time she's likely  the  oldest person on the  Enterprise . In the two-part "Time's Arrow," Data finds Guinan in 19th-century America as an acquaintance of the famous author Samuel Clemens, better known as his alias Mark Twain. So she's at least 500 years old, and it's likely you can add at least 100 or so years on that since she's an adult when Data sees her while time-traveling. From her cameo in  Star Trek: Nemesis , we know she's been married 23 times, and while we don't know exactly how many children she has, towards the end of "Evolution," she puts the number roughly at "a lot." 

Guinan's many years have afforded her time to learn a lot of things you wouldn't necessarily expect of her upon first glance. For example, during  TNG , she proves that she's not timid about using firearms under the right circumstances. In "Redemption," when she interrupts Worf's shooting range program to remind him of his responsibilities to himself and his son, she first asks to join him in target practice. When Worf warns her that he practices at level 14, Guinan says, "I guess I could come down to that level for a while." She beats his score easily, before doling out some much-needed wisdom.   

Guinan has a mysterious sixth sense

Guinan has a mysterious sixth sense, and the members of the  Enterprise  crew have learned to trust it. For example, in "Q Who," when Geordi (Levar Burton) notices that Guinan seems preoccupied, he asks her if everything is alright. She says, "I don't know," and even though he's off-duty, that brief answer is all Geordi needs to hurry back to engineering to check on the ship.

Guinan's intuition is more important than ever in one of the very best TNG episodes , "Yesterday's Enterprise," when the arrival of the time-lost Enterprise -C changes the timeline so that, among other things, Starfleet is fighting a losing war against the Klingons and Tasha Yar (Denise Crosby) — who was killed in the first season — is still alive. While all of the other characters react as if the events of their time are normal, Guinan is overcome with the sense that something is wrong. In particular, the presence of Tasha disturbs her, as Guinan intuitively senses Yar doesn't belong there. 

Some fans believe her sixth sense is explained by 1994's Star Trek: Generations . Early in the film, Guinan and other El-Aurians are beamed out of a place called the Nexus, in which time has no meaning. When Picard later enters the Nexus, he finds an "echo" of Guinan there. It's the existence of this echo that some people think allows her to sense when there's something wrong with the timeline.

For unknown reasons, she's an enemy of Q

More than any other scene in  TNG , an interaction in season two's "Q Who" hints that there's a lot more to Guinan than we know. When the trickster entity Q (John de Lancie) brings Captain Picard to Ten Forward, Guinan and Q recognize each other, and they're  not  buddies. Q calls Guinan "an imp" whom trouble follows. When he hears Picard use Guinan's name, Q asks if that's what she's calling herself now — suggesting she's used other names in the past. 

But arguably the most intriguing thing about the scene is that Q seems genuinely threatened by Guinan. He offers to remove her from the Enterprise ,   and Guinan raises her hands in response, suggesting she could somehow protect herself from Q. Considering the absolutely godlike things we've seen Q accomplish, the notion that Guinan could defend herself against such unthinkable power is very intriguing.

During her time on the  Enterprise , Guinan doesn't reveal darker feelings for many people, but Q is a definite exception. In the later episode "Deja Q," when Q says he's been de-powered by the Q Continuum, Guinan tests his claim by stabbing him in the hand with a fork. However, we never learn exactly how Q and Guinan first met or under what circumstances, though at the 2016  Star Trek  50th Anniversary Convention, Whoopi Goldberg suggested they may have dated, even joking one of her children could be half Q.

Her ties to Picard go 'beyond friendship, beyond family'

There's been a good deal of speculation about the nature of the relationship between Guinan and Jean-Luc Picard. And as most things go when it comes the enigmatic El-Aurian, we don't have any firm answers. 

A few hints are dropped here and there during  TNG  that Picard and Guinan's relationship might have at one point been romantic. After Picard is assimilated by the Borg in "The Best of Both Worlds," Guinan tells Will Riker (Jonathan Frakes) that her ties to Picard go "beyond friendship, beyond family." Granted, that doesn't necessarily mean there's anything intimate going on. Guinan could just mean they have a very close friendship. However, in the earlier episode "Booby Trap," as she's talking to Geordi about his relationship woes, Guinan confesses she's attracted to bald men, and of course,  TNG  does have one pretty well-known bald guy.

But Goldberg has a different insight. The actress said Gene Roddenberry had suggested to her that, because of Guinan's age, she could be the ancestor of other characters on the show. At the 2016  Star Trek  50th Anniversary Convention,  she told the crowd , "I always assumed Picard was one of my great-great-great-great-great grandkids." Though never confirmed in any of the series or movies, it's an interesting idea, and were it to prove accurate, it opens up the question of whether or not Picard knows she's his ancestor.

Whoopi Goldberg was inspired by another Star Trek character

One of the main reasons Goldberg worked so hard to get a role on  TNG  was the inspiration she found in the form on Nichelle Nichols' Lt. Uhura. The communications officer on the first  Star Trek  series was a rarity in 1960s television — a black woman who wasn't only in space, but who was one of the most important members of the crew.

Nichols told NPR in 2011 that she had the chance to meet Goldberg for the first time while the latter was working on  TNG . She said Goldberg told her when the young actress first saw Lt. Uhura on TV, she happily ran through the house yelling that there was a black woman on TV, "and she ain't no maid." Nichols said, "And that did something to my heart, so I knew that I had made the right decision."

By "the right decision," Nichols referred to an encounter she had with Martin Luther King, Jr during which the historic activist insisted she could not — as she was considering — leave the cast of  Star Trek.  King told Nichols that because of her presence on the show, for the first time on television, African-Americans were "being seen the world over as we should be seen." He added because of her,  Star Trek  was the only show he and his wife allowed their children to watch. 

Guinan was one of Gene Roddenberry's last gifts to us

Gene Roddenberry, the creator of both  Star Trek  and  TNG , died in 1991, a little over a month before the release of the final original crew-only  Trek  film,  Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country .  TNG  continued on for three more years ,  and more regular series and films would be inspired by the utopian narrative Roddenberry forged in 1966. 

And on a 2020 episode of  The View , Goldberg and Patrick Stewart confirmed that the enigmatic alien bartender who gave so much of her wisdom to the  Enterprise  crew was the last recurring character Gene Roddenberry created for  Trek  before his passing. On The View ,   Goldberg said , "I think [Guinan] might have been the last character that Gene created. That he actually created. I think that might be mine." Stewart agreed, saying, "I would say the true lasting character that we saw again and again and again." And it's fitting that a man whose creative expression was so concerned with the future would create, for his final addition to  TNG , a character who would potentially see further into the future than any of his other  Trek  creations.

We almost met one of her sons

If you've watched  Star Trek: Deep Space Nine , you almost met one of Guinan's children. In the DS9  second season episode "Rivals," we encounter Martus Mazur (Chris Sarandon), an El-Alurian con artist. Mazur doesn't embrace his species' role as "listeners." For the most part, he uses his "listening" to con strangers out of as much money as he can get, but otherwise, he resents being the object of unwanted conversation. According to  The Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Companion , Mazur was originally meant to be Guinan's son. Goldberg was going to reprise her role as Guinan in the 1994 episode, presumably to help clean up after the havoc Mazur wreaks. When scheduling prevented her from appearing, all mention of Guinan was removed from the script. 

It's possible Mazur was at least partly conceived much earlier than his DS9  appearance. In the 1989  TNG  episode "Evolution," when Dr. Crusher (Gates McFadden) asks Guinan if she had trouble relating to any of her children, Guinan says there was one who "wouldn't listen to anybody." She adds it took "several hundred years" before she "managed to bring him around." Maybe she didn't "bring him around" as well as she thought she did? The fact that Michael Piller is one of the two credited writers on both "Evolution" and "Rivals" adds at least a little fuel to the theory. 

She was named after an old-timey actress

Because of her reputation as a comedic actor, Whoopi Goldberg's early campaigning to join the cast of  TNG  wasn't taken seriously . When Gene Roddenberry realized Goldberg wasn't playing a practical joke on the Trek  crew, he chose a name for Goldberg's character that not only reflected Guinan's profession but had meaning for women in film.

The Enterprise  bartender Guinan is named after the real-life Texas Guinan , a vaudeville actress, film producer, and speakeasy hostess and singer. The real Guinan appeared in over 30 silent films between 1917 and 1921. She also appeared in a pair of sound films, 1933's  Broadway Thru a Keyhole and 1929's  Queen of the Night Clubs. In the 1929 film, she played a fictionalized version of herself. 

It's most likely that Roddenberry was tapping into her "queen of the night clubs" reputation when naming Goldberg's character. Texas Guinan's prohibition-era hostess work included her well-known catch phrase, "Hello, sucker! Come on in and leave your wallet on the bar." Goldberg's Guinan never got to use that line, though considering her different tone — and the fact that money apparently doesn't exist in  TNG 's Federation — it's probably for the best.

Guinan wants to be on Discovery

The 2017 premiere of  Star Trek: Discovery  began a new era for the franchise's television life, and that fact didn't escape Whoopi Goldberg. As early as a year before  Discovery 's release, Goldberg made it clear she wanted to be a part of this new age of  Trek  storytelling. At the 2016  Star Trek 50th Anniversary Convention, Golberg told the crowd she was campaigning for a spot on the new series, and that she was starting a new Twitter hashtag —  #BringBackGuinan  — to help her cause. Rod Roddenberry, the  Star Trek  creator's son and a producer on  Discovery , was there and seemed receptive to the idea. 

While Discovery takes place before the events of the original Star Trek series, there's no reason Guinan's appearance on Discovery would hurt continuity or need any kind of time travel to be facilitated. As Goldberg said, "The great thing that Gene did for me was he wrote a character that can appear anytime, anywhere." From  TNG 's two-parter "Time's Arrow," we already know Guinan was alive during Earth's 19th century. If that's the case, then she's  somewhere  in the galaxy during the events of  Discovery . Time will tell if we ever get to see the El-Aurian interact with Michael Burnham (Sonequa Martin-Green) or anyone else on the  Discovery  crew.

Guinan will return in Star Trek: Picard

In January 2020,  Star Trek: Picard premiered on CBS All Access with Patrick Stewart reprising his role as Jean-Luc Picard, now retired from Starfleet but called back to adventure after a mysterious young woman shows up at his home in France. The day before  Picard 's premiere, Stewart appeared on  The View  —  of which Whoopi Goldberg is a co-host —   and he didn't come just to promote but to recruit. 

Shortly after sitting down, Stewart said, "I have something I need to bring up, if that's okay. I'm here with a formal invitation." The invitation was for Goldberg to reprise her role as Guinan on the second season of  Star Trek: Picard . Goldberg's response was immediate and emotional. She shouted, "Yes, yes!" and embraced Stewart. During the rest of the segment, she seemed to be having trouble holding back tears. " Star Trek was one of the great experiences from the beginning to the end," Goldberg told the audience. "I had the best, best, best time. Best time ever."

As of the writing of this article, the first season of  Picard  has yet to conclude. So we'll have to wait and see how much time Guinan gets in season two and whether or not any of the many questions about Guinan will be answered. Considering the mystery surrounding the character is one of her more appealing traits, it's tough to decide whether we want any answers or not.

Star Trek: Guinan & El-Aurians, Explained

The wisest bartender on the Enterprise comes from a species of unique long-lived aliens with fascinating capabilities.

Most Star Trek aliens are created to serve a specific purpose in an episode or story arc and are gradually fleshed out over the years. Some don't get the benefit of future adaptations. The rare exceptions often involve a fan-favorite newcomer from an unnamed species. Guinan was introduced without any suggestion of her species, but the series gradually unveiled the El-Aurians she came from.

Guinan is one of the most beloved supporting characters of the Star Trek franchise. Those who haven't seen much of the series might not know her name, but they've seen Whoopi Goldberg in her collection of hats. She was a considerable draw, regularly bringing in more viewers when she appeared. Her role in the show was small, but her story was revealed slowly.

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Who are the El-Aurians?

Of all the alien species on Star Trek , few look as human as the El-Aurians. There are no visible biological differences between El-Aurians and humans. They easily blend into groups of humans . Long before humans knew about the existence of aliens, El-Aurians visited Earth and mingled. El-Aurians even possess multiple genetic phenotypes with distinct eye, skin, and hair colors. This is somewhat rare among Star Trek aliens, as most share almost identical traits. Though El-Aurians look exactly like humans, they possess unique abilities that set them apart.

El-Aurians are known for their perceptive abilities. El-Aurians can hear and see beyond the bounds of time and space. They can detect fluctuations in the timeline and disruptions in history. El-Aurians are frequently negatively affected by temporal disturbances. They experience "time sickness," the way many feel motion sickness . Their listening skills don't end at the boundaries of time and space. They can find the specific sonic resonance of any action or word. El-Aurians can manipulate reality through sound. They can also experience limited telepathy and project themselves into the minds of others. Their lives tend to be hundreds of years long. A lot of El-Aurians used their power to act as advisers or confidants, while others became con artists.

Who is Guinan?

Guinan is best known as the bartender of Ten Forward, the finest lounge on the USS Enterprise-D. She dispenses sage advice to the crew, often helping people when they need it most. Her identity was unclear in her early appearances, but many argued that she was more complicated than she seemed. Guinan was born sometime around the 1800s. She first met Data, Picard, and their friends in 1893, when the Enterprise crew went back in time. She and Mark Twain helped everyone get back to their correct timeline. In 2024, she opened up a bar at 10 Forward Avenue in Los Angeles, California. She met Picard there again in a snafu with an alien-obsessed FBI agent. Jean-Luc's ancestor Dr. Renée Picard frequented her establishment. Guinan's unique relationship with Jean-Luc Picard defined her time with Starfleet.

Guinan and Picard shared a decades-long relationship that appeared hard to pin down. It was described as more than friendship and beyond the bonds of family. The show occasionally teased a romantic element to their partnership, but it's usually framed as a platonic partnership. Picard recommended Guinan for the Enterprise after years of quiet friendship. She picked up fencing and chess, befriended most of the crew, and gave excellent advice to whoever would listen. She stayed part of the captain's life well into Star Trek: Picard .

What happened to the El-Aurian?

Around 2265, while Guinan lived far from the El-Aurian homeworld, the Borg Collective attacked . Many El-Aurians were assimilated, but many more died fighting. The unknown population of El-Aurians in the universe was reduced to hundreds. Over 400 refugees tried to escape to Earth in 2293. They were exposed to the Nexus, which corrupted most of their minds. The 47 who could be convinced to leave were saved in a mission that almost killed Captain Kirk . The few remaining El-Aurians were scattered across the universe. Though their population was decimated, El-Aurian's long lives allowed them to change that. Guinan, for one, had at least 23 husbands over her long life. She never revealed how many children she had, nor were they depicted in any media, but she admitted to mothering many kids. The El-Aurian suffered much, but long lives allowed them to bounce back more easily than most.

Guinan is an unexpected icon of the Star Trek franchise. Her species offers many unique and interesting elements to the universe. Writers could find many fascinating stories in the lives of El-Aurians. Their powers remain partially unexplored, and any series could use a character like Guinan in a supporting role. Star Trek has an impressive ability to turn characters that could feel one note into beloved icons and expand their stories into something that affects the entire universe. The El-Aurians may have been absent from most of the series, but they had a tremendous impact on the main cast.

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‘Star Trek: Picard’: How the Actor Playing Young Guinan, Ito Aghayere, Stepped Into Whoopi Goldberg’s Shoes (EXCLUSIVE)

SPOILER WARNING: This story discusses specific events in Season 2, Episode 4 of “ Star Trek: Picard ,” currently streaming on Paramount Plus .

As even casual fans of “Star Trek: The Next Generation” know, one of the beloved sci-fi show’s most meaningful relationships was between Capt. Jean-Luc Picard ( Patrick Stewart ) and the proprietor of the main bar on the U.S.S. Enterprise, Guinan ( Whoopi Goldberg ). The characters mean so much to each other that Stewart moved Goldberg to tears when he invited her to join him on the “TNG” sequel series “Star Trek: Picard” while appearing on an episode of “The View” in January 2020.

The Season 2 premiere of “Picard” wastes little time in bringing Goldberg back as Guinan, with a lovely scene in which the two old friends throw back some strong hooch in Guinan’s bar on Earth, as she attempts to soothe Picard’s wounded psyche.

It turns out that scene wasn’t just an exercise in nostalgia, either. After his reunion with Guinan, Picard finds himself plunged into a horrific alternate timeline in which the Federation doesn’t exist, the Earth is the center of a violent totalitarian empire, and Jean-Luc Picard has risen to power as a ruthless and bloodthirsty conqueror. So with the rest of the show’s main cast — all of whom also retain their memories of how things used to be — Picard travels back in time to 2024 to the point where he believes the timeline diverged irrevocably from its true path.

And that’s how, in Episode 4, “Watcher,” Picard finds himself stepping back into Guinan’s bar, where he comes face-to-face with a young Guinan. As the exclusive clip below illustrates, instead of Goldberg, however, the character is played by actor Ito Aghayere (“Carol’s Second Act”).

In her exclusive first interview about the role with Variety , Aghayere reveals that playing Guinan was the fulfillment of a lifelong dream to be a part of “Star Trek” — especially “The Next Generation.”

“I watched all of ‘TNG’ as a kid, primarily because my parents are immigrants, and they’re very conservative,” she said in a Zoom interview. “As a kid growing up, there were very few shows that they would let us watch without having to care what it was about, or understand what it was about.”

She laughed. “I don’t think I told Patrick — as I probably should have — but they thought he looked really smart and intelligent,” she said. “So they were like, ‘Eh, she’s gonna learn something, let them watch it.’ I couldn’t watch ‘Power Rangers,’ but I could watch ‘Star Trek.'”

Rather than pour him a drink, Aghayere’s Guinan is so deeply disillusioned with humanity that she pulls a shotgun on Picard when he reveals he knows she’s a member of a long-lived alien species called El-Aurians. But as much as she enjoyed shooting the scene, as a “TNG” devotee, Aghayere also noticed that it seemed strange that her Guinan does not recognize Picard at all when he steps into her bar.

That’s because in the two-part “TNG” episode “Time’s Arrow,” Guinan first meets Picard in 1893 San Francisco, part of a twisty time-travel plot line that is launched when the severed head of the android Data (Brent Spiner) is discovered after its seemingly spent 500 years buried in a California cavern. So Aghayere said she asked executive producer and showrunner Terry Matalas about why Guinan wouldn’t recognize Picard in 2024 if she’d met him so memorably in 1893.

“I think what Terry does in terms of storytelling when it comes to time travel is just brilliant,” she said at first with a smile. “I don’t think he ever got me a clear answer on it. And I think…” She paused for a long time. “I never will.”

Fortunately, a representative for Paramount Plus did provide a rather head-squeezing answer from Matalas on this question: “Guinan does not recognize Picard in 2024. Fans might be briefly confused by this because she did meet him on Earth in 1893 in ‘The Next Generation.’ The reason that she doesn’t recognize Picard is that he’s traveled from a future in which Starfleet doesn’t exist, and therefore the whole thing with Data’s head in ‘Time’s Arrow’ never happened.” In other words, the alternate reality Picard was too busy conquering and never traveled back in time to 1893, so he never met Guinan then.

Time travel shenanigans aside, Aghayere talked with Variety about how much Guinan meant to her, how she approached playing the role, and what surprising gift cemented her own friendship with Stewart.

When you were first watching “The Next Generation,” what do you remember of your feelings about Guinan and who she was?

Oh, man, I just thought she was so cool. I have to paint a picture of you what it was like back then: I had braces until I was a freshman in college, so I was the epitome of a Black nerd. So watching Whoopi just steal scenes right out from under Patrick Stewart — I love you, Patrick — but just stealing scenes left and right. It just felt so empowering to watch her do that. Looking back now, I just think this woman completely encapsulated the kind of Puck-like quality of [being] both mischievous and omniscient. She wasn’t in that many episodes, so to have such a pivotal impact on the series is quite remarkable. As a kid, every time I saw, “And guest starring Whoopi Goldberg,” I was like, “Yes! She’s back! It’s going to be a good one!”

So given your abiding love for the show and this character, what was your reaction when you first learned it was not only “Star Trek: Picard,” but the role was a younger Guinan?

It was actually quite strange. I found out the normal way: My reps were like, “There’s this role, we have no idea what it is. But it looks interesting, read it.” At the time, my character’s name was Gwen. I had no idea she was Guinan. They were dummy sides — it was a scene that was written that had the same dynamic and the same relationship to the actual scene from the episode, between a person named John and a woman named Gwen. All I knew is that when I read the scene, it felt like I understood her. I understood her bitterness and her disappointment and her fear to hope in the world. That’s what locked me in, just to the story that she seemed to be telling, which resonated with me as a Black woman in America. It felt like a story I wanted to tell.

But did you know it was for “Star Trek,” at least?

I had no idea that it was “Star Trek.” I found out maybe two callbacks in that it was “Star Trek.” It was one of those things where I was like, No way . There are very few moments in an actor’s career where you get to be in the thing that you loved as a kid. Usually those things end — as they should. Unless you’re [auditioning for] “Grey’s Anatomy” and were born in 2000. So it didn’t sink into me until I was doing my final test with producers. It was at that point of the pandemic where my now-husband and I couldn’t be in the house anymore. So I was at Mount Zion National Park in some hotel room with my laptop stacked on top of the suitcase, stacked on top a case of water, doing this really heartfelt scene. I think it was with Terry Matalas, the showrunner. And at that point, in that moment, I was like, this is legit . This is “Star Trek.”

How did that feel?

It was lovely, because the thing about “Star Trek” is that they don’t shy away from delving into really reflective topics that shed a light on the world that we live in. There’s this moment where Guinan lets loose on “John,” and she’s just like, “Your privilege blinds you from my pain.” And it’s just, ahhh — what more can I say, as a Black woman? It just went there for me. So to be able to be with people who are writing about something that still resonates with me as a 33-year-old woman was cathartic. To be able to tell stories that are still relevant in a universe that means a lot to me — it was just unreal.

What really struck me in your performance is that your Guinan is in a much different place than Whoopi Goldberg’s — she’s much more emotionally demonstrative and distraught. How did you work on connecting on what Whoopi had done in the role while differentiating yourself?

Rewatching her episodes, it gave me a lens into the future of who this character would be. In some ways, what I did was reverse engineer what someone has to grow into in order to be Whoopi’s Guinan. What wisdom doesn’t she have access to, what optimism does she not subscribe to, so that she can have a place to go? What does she not know yet that she will come to learn to be the enigmatic, wise counselor that she is in “TNG”?

One of the things that I did was go through all of the different moments through “TNG” where Whoopi’s Guinan mentions things about loss, things about her history, things about her pain. I took note of every moment where she hints at a past pain. That allowed me to strip that down into its component parts. What wisdom do I have now, but isn’t applied in the best way? You know, and I think that’s why this story can happen, because I need the Picard of Whoopi’s timeline to at least get me going along the path of where Whoopi’s Guinan ends up.

What is something you wanted to emulate physically from Whoopi’s performance as Guinan?

I think Whoopi had this beautiful stillness to her work. I took that to be that to come from a place of confidence and an ease with which she exists in her body. She sits in the center of herself, in each moment. You never see her fidgeting. You never see her move around. I wanted to use that. I think that is key to who this person is, but in 2024 Guinan, I think that stillness is used as a weapon. It is the precursor to a threat, to an attack. It is aggressive. It’s not out of a place of ease, it’s out of a place of, “I’m going to gauge what I need to do to protect myself.” It is selfish in many ways. It’s not giving in the way that I think Whoopi’s Guinan is.

Did you get to meet Whoopi?

I didn’t because of the pandemic. There were so many stops and starts with closures and people getting sick, so pretty much no one shot anything in sequence. It was a lot of bouncing around. I think they’d hoped at one point that it could work out. I’m still holding out hope. I think eventually we’ll make a connection.

You did, of course, meet Patrick Stewart since all your scenes were with him. What was that like for you?

He is such a generous actor, on and off the screen. One of our first scenes together, besides having to go there calling him out on his privilege as Jean-Luc, I also had to pull a shotgun on the man and look calm doing it. And, I mean, he has a “Sir” in front of his name. He was just ready for it. He was like, “Bring it! Bring it!” And such a sweet soul.

A friend of mine had told me he really likes this yeast thing, Marmite. Because I have family in the U.K., I know it, and I hate it. It’s awful. But it’s hard to get here. I was at a store and I saw it and I was like, I wonder if it’d be cheesy to get him like a little jar of Marmite? It’s so random — why would some random person you’re working with just hand you a jar of Marmite? And so, the first time we met, we’re outside and I have this jar of Marmite in this bag. I’m like, “Patrick, you don’t know me. But here’s the Marmite.” He lost it! He was like, “Oh, my goodness, Marmite! I love this stuff! Who told you?” That was how we started. He just brought this joy. He doesn’t have to be kind and warm and generous. And he does. It was just thrilling.

This interview has been edited and condensed.

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The Legendary Saloonkeeper Who Was the Real-Life Inspiration for Star Trek’s Guinan

Whoopi goldberg’s character was based on texas guinan, a larger-than-life texas girl turned power player in prohibition-era new york.

A 1919 advertisement in  Moving Picture for films with actress Texas Guinan. Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons .

by Carol Stabile | April 9, 2020

In an emotional scene , earlier this year actor Patrick Stewart stopped by “The View” to ask co-host Whoopi Goldberg to join the cast of “Star Trek: Picard” for its second season, and reprise the role she had played in “Star Trek: The Next Generation” back in the 1980s. Goldberg hadn’t been an original member of that cast either, although she was a longtime fan of “Star Trek.” In fact, she credited the series with sparking her interest in acting , mainly because it was the first time, she had not only seen “a beautiful black woman who was the communication officer” of a ship and not a housekeeper, but “black people in the future.”

If Goldberg was drawn to “Star Trek” because its cast included a powerful black woman of the future, in crafting a character for Goldberg on “TNG,” creator Gene Roddenberry conjured a name from the past. He named the bartender who blended mysticism with shrewd wit “Guinan,” after the once legendary Texas Guinan, a larger-than-life Texas girl turned emcee of some of the most exclusive speakeasies in Prohibition-era New York City.

Although Guinan may be forgotten today, her name was once as familiar as Whoopi Goldberg’s. Born Mary Louise Cecilia Guinan in 1884, Guinan took vaudeville by storm in her 20s, she starred in silent films in her 30s, and in her 40s, she was an influential impresario. An entrepreneur and a business woman, who ran nightclubs considered hubs of political and cultural power in New York City, Guinan alleged she was once thrown out of France for being too hot to handle.

Guinan grew up in Waco, Texas, where her parents ran a grocery before turning their hands to running a horse and cattle ranch. Her childhood consisted of riding horses, roping cattle, and shooting guns, skills that prepared her for a world of entertainment—Buffalo Bill’s Wild West show, pageants, and spectaculars—that was already beginning to disappear, just as she mastered it.

Promotional picture of Texas Guinan. Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons .

After a brief stint in Colorado, Guinan moved to New York City, where she quickly found work in vaudeville. When a get-rich quick scheme involving a weight-loss scam went sour in 1913, Guinan left for Hollywood, performing in two-reelers, generally of the Roman-riding, gun-toting variety. Buxom, outspoken, already in her 30s, and by the standards of the day, old, it was hard to imagine Guinan as a damsel in distress. Judging from the look on her face and the set of her jaw in films and photos from the era, it was more likely that Guinan would make the outlaws rue the day they’d set eyes on her.

Guinan emceed in L.A. before returning to New York City, where she partnered with bootlegger Larry Fay, conducting business in their speakeasies perched at the center of the room, armed with a clapper and police whistle. While rumrunners sold pricy pints of whisky from back hallways, Guinan’s patrons listened to “her girls” sing and dance. Guinan, meanwhile, greeted customers with her trademark “Hello, suckers” or zippy one-liners like “You may be all the world to your mother, but you’re just a cover charge to me.”

Guinan flaunted Prohibition-era laws. Busted for violating the Volstead Act on more than one occasion, she defiantly wore a necklace made of tiny gold padlocks around her neck, an in-your-face statement against federal investigations and harassment. After she was found not guilty of violating the Volstead Act in 1927, federal agents—who had already condemned her as a “moral pervert”—dogged her footsteps, arresting her again the next year for violating a new curfew law.

Like many professional women, Guinan hungered for financial independence. Ambitious and independent, she refused to play by the rules of her era. And she wasn’t shy in expressing this desire. Of an actor she was involved with in Hollywood, Guinan recalled: “I should have taken him like Grant took Richmond. … I was the one woman who could take [him] and leave him where I found him. I was out to take not be taken. He taught me one thing, though, that the sweetest things in this life are obtained by the work of one’s own hands.”

At the time, men who were creating and curating media legends only saw the boobs and the busts and the bucks. But there was far more to Guinan’s story than that. An animal lover who refused to eat meat, Guinan was a teetotaler who never drank alcohol, preferring coffee. Despite her risqué reputation, she only married once, to newspaper cartoonist John J. Moynahan. When she wasn’t on the road, Guinan lived with her mother, father, brother, and pets in Greenwich Village.

To be sure, Guinan was no saint, but she was no “ blonde bombshell ” either. She was a New Woman, not in a Mary Pickford, girl with the curls kind of way, but with the moxie of a devoted New Yorker. Until Guinan broke into the nightclub business, emceeing was pretty much the exclusive province of men. Guinan opened doors for other women in burlesque and vaudeville, admiring women who also struggled to control their images and make headway as managers and owners. Guinan met Mae West in the teens, when they were struggling performers in New York’s vaudeville stagehouses, and they remained friends for the rest of Guinan’s life. She was frenemies with evangelist Aimee Semple McPherson, alternately admiring and antagonizing her, and wanted to play McPherson on the big screen.

At a time when few women stood up to theater owners and producers, Guinan fought for pay equity. In 1928, she won a $26,000 award from Duo Art Productions, when the company was ordered to pay her the difference between the wages promised her for starring in the revue Padlocks of 1927 and the amount they actually paid her. When Guinan joined protests against the Mastick Law in 1930, which eliminated overtime for women working in factories and department stores, she told the crowd “the law was intended to keep women out of jobs in which they competed with men.” At 46, Guinan knew a thing or two about laws intended to exclude women from jobs reserved for men. When Guinan died unexpectedly of dysentery in 1933, 12,000 funeral goers came to the Campbell Funeral Church on Broadway. Women who came from very different walks of life but shared the experience of being paid less than men gathered to comfort each other.

Because of her outsized reputation and early death, there were some halfhearted efforts to turn her life into the stuff of legend. Shortly after she died, Guinan served as the basis for the character Maudie that Mae West played in Night After Night (1932). A film biography of Guinan’s life, starring Betty Hutton and titled Incendiary Blonde (1945), characterized her as a rough and tumble starstruck tomboy, enamored by the prospect of wearing a white gown with a sequined head dress, with two silver pistols at her side. Martha Raye starred in a musical flop based on Guinan’s life— Hello, Sucker! —in 1969. In 1995, Bette Midler said she’d been cast in “a star vehicle directed by Martin Scorsese about the legendary New York saloonkeeper Texas Guinan.” Mostly, these versions made Guinan’s story fit into one Hollywood loved to tell about women caught in its hungry star machine: they loved the sexism of Hollywood, they’d sell their very souls for stardom, they wanted it, they asked for it, even if what they were said to want ended more like Sunset Boulevard than It Happened One Night .

But in the mid-1950s, Guinan’s story had a chance at a different kind of telling when Vera Caspary began shopping a project based on the Texas girl turned emcee of some of the most exclusive speakeasies in Prohibition-era New York City. If Caspary’s name also has you scratching your head, that’s because hers is another that few other than film buffs or historians would recognize today. In the 1940s and 1950s, however, Caspary enjoyed successes of her own, as a bestselling novelist and prolific screenwriter. In fact, one of her trademark novels about independent-minded working girls was made into the Academy Award-winning film Laura .

Caspary was drawn to stories about women who had come before her, whose struggles had in part paved the way for her own successes. That made Guinan a natural choice for a project. Caspary, a fan of live entertainment, had, in fact, been a regular at Guinan’s clubs in the late 1920s, where she watched as Guinan “bawled at patrons to give each little girl a big hand.”

Though Guinan had been dead for nearly 25 years when Caspary started working on her story, she remained a touchstone for women eager to tell stories about women who had opened doors before them. In Caspary’s script, Guinan figures as a boss who refuses to let her “girls” be sexually harassed—“In my club no gentleman pulls a girl’s fringe without a license.” She wants love, but on her own terms. And she’s a “hard-headed business woman” who, when asked why she “can’t be a normal woman,” launches into a tirade:

Normal, huh! Listen, Mister, where I grew up the neighborhood was full of normal women. Good , normal women. Worked like dogs seven days a week. For what? On Saturday night a kick in the teeth from the drunken bums that called themselves normal husbands. No, thank you.

But by 1957, Caspary was forced to give up on the project. All her efforts to get a formal contract for “the Texas Guinan story,” she told producer Hal Stanley, “have been in vain.” At a time when film and television were narrowing the definition of what counted as a normal woman, it would hardly have done to have someone like Caspary—who held unorthodox views of her own—make a film celebrating another woman who had refused to put up with someone else’s definition of normal.

It’s a shame Caspary never had the chance to make her version of Guinan’s story. And while Roddenberry’s shout-out to Guinan in 1987 was a sweet Easter egg of a tribute for those who got the reference, this oblique nod to a hidden figure doesn’t really satisfy those who’d like to see more stories appear on the screen about those who struggled against sexism in the industry and onscreen in the past and who—even if it was for a fleeting moment—enjoyed some measure of success.

So when Guinan appears, perhaps behind the bar of the Ten Forward, on the next season of “Picard,” raise a glass in tribute to Texas Guinan and Vera Caspary and tell the person next to you about them. And while you’re at it, think about why—nearly a century later—we still know so little about Guinan, Caspary, and women like Gertrude Berg , Gypsy Rose Lee , Hazel Scott , Fredi Washington , Lois Weber , and others who worked to transform media industries and, in doing so, change the stories we tell about the past and the future.

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Star Trek: 10 Biggest Mysteries About Guinan

What is the story behind one of Star Trek's most famous big-hatted bartenders?

Guinan first appeared in Star Trek in the second-season opener of the Next Generation. The episode, the Child, introduced this deep and mysterious character, who according to Gene Roddenberry, had an intensely deep relationship with Captain Picard. It would take a further four years for this relationship to be truly explored.

However, from her first moment on-screen, Guinan invited all manner of questions from the audience. Who was she, really? Where was she from? What kind of alien was she? Some of these questions would be answered, while some still remain up in the air.

Whoopi Goldberg has been confirmed to return in Star Trek: Picard, with several recent clues, dropped that suggest she will appear in the upcoming second season. While that has yet to be confirmed, there is a rather large challenge of advancing her story and deciding how much, if anything, of her past the show will discuss. Ever the helpful fella, this writer has compiled a list of the biggest mysteries that Guinan is surrounded by, with as many answers as possible. Though, much like the character herself, take every sentence with a pinch of salt...

10. Who Were Her Twenty Three Husbands?

Guinan was present at the wedding of Will Riker and Deanna Troi in 2379. There, she quips to Geordi that she was done with marriage, as twenty-three was the limit for her. Assuming that each of these marriages were binary, in that they were Guinan with one other partner (though who's to say that's how El-Aurian marriages work), then that is a heck of a lot of shopping for new hats.

However, there is nothing said about twenty-three divorces. This introduces the question - how does this arrangement work for El-Aurians? Are they similar to Denobulans, in that they can marry several partners at the same time, who can in turn marry several partners. This would certainly help to keep the cost down.

Perhaps they are time-specific in how the arrangements work. For example, we know that Guinan has at least one son. Though it is never stated exactly how old he is, meaning that any of the twenty-three partners could potentially be the father, could the arrangement not be - one wedding, one child, dissolve and move on?

How do El-Aurian marriage ceremonies work? Why, after all of the years that Guinan appeared to be single on the Enterprise-D, would she elect to remain single forevermore?

Writer. Reader. Host. I'm Seán, I live in Ireland and I'm the poster child for dangerous obsessions with Star Trek. Check me out on Twitter @seanferrick

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• Sweepstakes

See Whoopi Goldberg reprise her beloved Star Trek role as Guinan on Picard

The cohost of The View originated the role on Star Trek: The Next Generation.

Editor at Large for Entertainment Weekly, host of Outlander Live! on EW Radio, and Mark Harmon enthusiast. Yes, I know the guacamole is extra.

The latest trailer has dropped for the upcoming season of Paramount+'s Star Trek: Picard , and it comes with a visit from an old friend. Somebody prep the Earl Grey!

Whoopi Goldberg is back as Guinan, the role she originated on Star Trek: The Next Generation from 1988 to 1993. But before she helps Picard ( Patrick Stewart ) understand the change in time, she's going to need some piping hot tea.

"Your answers are not in the stars," she says to Picard. "And they never have been."

The trailer also features a lovely view of downtown Los Angeles and a little boy who gets an unwanted face massage. And what's in that ampule, Q ?

Goldberg's starring role on Picard seems to hearken back to a 2020 appearance by Stewart on The View . "I'm here with a formal invitation, and it's for you, Whoopi," Stewart said at the time. "Alex Kurtzman, who is the senior executive producer of Star Trek: Picard , and all his colleagues, of which I am one, want to invite you into the second season."

"I've said this on the show before, but Star Trek was one of the great experiences, from the beginning to the end," Goldberg said, who appeared to choke up. "I had the best, best, best time ever."

The season 2 cast of Picard includes Alison Pill, Isa Briones, Santiago Cabrera, Annie Werschling, Jeri Ryan, Isa Briones, Evan Evagora, Michelle Hurd, Orla Brady , and Brent Spiner. On the season, Picard and his crew will travel to the past in an attempt to solve the ills of the 21st Century.

Picard will begin its second season on Thursday, March 3. New episodes will drop weekly on Thursdays. The series is already in production on the third season.

Watch the season 2 trailer below.

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Related content:

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Picard’s new Guinan reveals how she rebooted a Star Trek icon

Ito Aghayere was a Next Generation fan as a kid, but her take on the character isn’t just fan service.

Ito Aghayere didn’t want to point a gun a Patrick Stewart.

But in the script, when Jean-Luc walks into her Los Angeles bar, Ten Forward, in 2024, she has no idea who he is. Playing the role of Guinan, she’s suspicious he knows that she’s really an alien, and so, she pulls a gun on him. But, as a childhood fan of The Next Generation , Aghayere was nervous about holding up Jean-Luc Picard.

“Do I have to point a gun at Sir Patrick Stewart?” Aghayere says with a laugh, recalling the moment on set. “I was like, ‘Patrick, I don’t know how I’m going to do this.’ And he was like, ‘Yes, you can.’ He’s just like, ‘I’m ready. Are you?’”

Ahead of the debut of Picard Episode 4, Inverse caught up with Aghayere to discuss her fresh take on the younger Guinan, her love of The Next Generation , and why this character is so different than the one we’ve known before. Spoilers ahead.

WHAT’S YOUR FAVORITE TIME-TRAVEL MOVIE? Click here to help us rank all the ones on Netflix .

For those who remember Guinan and Picard’s cozy relationship in The Next Generation , Aghayere’s version of the famous Enterprise bartender is a shocking, refreshingly grounded new take on the character.

“She’s 400 years younger than Whoopi's Guinan ,” Aghayere explains. “She shoots from the hip, literally. It was a really fun experiment for me as an actor to strip away all the parts from the Guinan that I knew and loved.”

Aghayere adds, “[Whoopi Goldberg] was my guiding light in figuring out the math of how I subtract all of the things that she knows and all of the things that let her be able to be so generous toward the people in her community and the Enterprise. What does that look like to be in the inception stages of that person who you will become?”

Ito Aghayere and Patrick Stewart in Picard Season 2, Episode 4, “Watcher.”

Thanks to the topsy-turvy changes, Guinan hasn’t met Picard yet in this time, not even through old-school time travel. And so, what was once a place of comfort for two characters — as evidenced by Whoopi Goldberg’s return in the Season 2 debut — is now a source of conflict.

In one moment in the episode, Aghayere’s Guinan reminds Picard that “people that look like you” experience the world differently. This particular reminder of how racism is (mostly) gone in Picard’s era but still all too common in the 21st century is something The Next Generation would probably never directly address. And part of Aghayere’s goals in crafting the new Guinan was to make sure that her surroundings were an authentic depiction of what it would be like for a Black woman to own a bar in Los Angeles in what is, roughly, present day.

“There was one iteration of the bar that perhaps didn't, at the time, have the elements that would make it look like it was owned by Black woman,” Aghayere says.

“She’s not taking any of this lightly.”

She wanted to make sure the bar represented a “kaleidoscopic vision” of the character, complete with representations of Jazz icons like Ella Fitzgerald and Sarah Vaughan, who Aghayere says in her “wheelhouse.” After collaborating with director Lea Thompson and production designer Dave Blass — before they built the set — Aghayere says she was able to imbue the 2024 Ten Foward with something that felt “actually mine.” When Aghayere first walked into the bar, she was at home.

“I actually cried,” Aghayere says of her first time walking into the bar, which later functioned as an actual pop-up bar in Los Angeles this past month. “It's such a gift when you can walk into a space, and you don't have to do any work — especially as a person of color — to try to insert yourself into that room. Everything had been thought of, even down to the Polaroids on the wall. They actually let me sneak a Polaroid of my husband in there!”

In the context of this episode of Picard, however, Guinan is on her way out. She’s packing up and giving up on humanity, which strikes her as racist and hopeless.

“Change is too damn slow,” Guinan tells Picard in the episode. For Aghayere, she thinks this feeling of angst and frustration is universal, especially in our real lives in 2022.

Guinan is done with how terrible humans are in the 21st century. Picard tells her there’s still hope, but she’s not so sure.

In fact, when Aghayere first auditioned for the role, there was no indication that she was playing Guinan in a new version of Star Trek. All she knew was that her character was “Gwen” and was being bothered by a man named “John.” Still, in those pages, she was able to channel her own “emotional truth” to the role.

“Even before I knew it was Star Trek, [the writing] gave me a touchstone into emotions and experiences that I had, and I think a lot of people can relate to,” Aghayere says. “Because it's not just unique to me as a Black woman, it's universal. Angst and hopelessness are things that many people in many demographics have felt in various ways over the last few years. So that’s what I brought to it.”

Guinan agrees to help Picard by the episode's end, but she doesn’t stick around to hold his hand as the other Guinan would have. This version of the character is taking care of herself first.

“She is not trusting. She has been hurt,” Aghayere says. “She’s not taking any of this lightly.”

So, what’s next for Guinan? Will she reappear before the end of Picard Season 2? Just like the original Guinan, Aghayere can keep a secret or two. Beyond this appearance in Episode 4, she can’t and won’t reveal a thing.

“All I can say is that it all remains to be seen.”

Star Trek: Picard Season 2 airs new episodes on Thursdays on Paramount+.

Ryan Britt's new book on the history of Star Trek's biggest changes. From the '60s show to the movies to 'TNG,' to 'Discovery,' 'Picard,' Strange New Worlds,' and beyond!

• Science Fiction

The Real Person Who Inspired Guinan On Star Trek

If you're a "Star Trek: The Next Generation" fan, you know the character of Guinan played by Whoopi Goldberg. She's the bartender and host of the Ten Forward aboard the USS Enterprise -D. Guinan is hundreds of years old, and from a race of "listeners" called the El-Aurian. It makes her the very best person on the Enterprise to go to for advice. Everyone has been in front of Guinan at some point, particularly Captain Jean-Luc Picard who considers her to be closer than family. She'll return in " Star Trek: Picard " season 2 .

Goldberg got the job when her co-star LeVar Burton let the executives know that she was interested in being on the show. When she spoke to "Star Trek" creator Gene Roddenberry, he rewrote the role of the Enterprise bartender for her. 

What you might not know is that the role is based on a real bartender, actress, and entrepreneur named Texas Guinan. 

From Showgirl to Movie Star and Back Again

Texas Guinan was born Mary Louise Cecilia Guinan in Texas on January 12, 1884, and was set on becoming an actress. She grew up on a ranch, learned to shoot and rope and ride horses. She attended the American Conservatory of Music in Chicago for two years, and then joined a " Wild West " show. She married John J. Moynahan in 1904 — but it only lasted for two years. (Guinan on "Star Trek" was married 23 times .) 

Texas Guinan moved to New York City to pursue her dream of performing and was often in vaudeville's "Gibson Girl" shows. Though she performed a lot, she was lured away by a talent scout and moved to Los Angeles in 1917 to be a movie star. The nickname "Texas" had by then become the name she was known by.

In Hollywood, she did a few films, primarily playing a female gunslinger, and ended up starting her own production company, Texas Guinan Productions in 1921. Unfortunately, it only lasted a year. At that point, Guinan moved back to New York and ended up signing at the Beaux Arts Hotel , where she managed to become the emcee of ceremonies — something women rarely did at the time. 

Hello Suckers!

What Texas Guinan is really remembered for, however, is her work in speakeasy clubs in the 1920s. She'd already gotten a reputation for saying, "Hello suckers," when people came in — and became famous for that line in the process. She moved from club to club  for a while, but after meeting bootlegger and racketeer Larry Fay, she joined his El Fay Club . There, she sat on a stool in the center of the room with a whistle. She coined another phrase during that time, calling someone from out of town spending big a "Big butter-and-egg-man." (We'd probably refer to them as "weekend warriors" today.) 

The police closed the El Fay, and Guinan ended up at the Del Fay, then the Texas Guinan Club, the 300 Club, the Club Intime, and Texas Guinan's Salon Royale. Hey, you've got to stay ahead of the law, right? She didn't always manage it, though — getting arrested more than once for working and operating a speakeasy, but nothing stuck. 

In an interview with MyHarto , Goldberg mentions one of her famous catchphrases. Goldberg says, "He [Gene Roddenberry] wrote my character, Texas Guinan, she's based on, who had a great bar in New York in the '20s and she greeted everyone by saying, 'Hello suckers' ... So we couldn't do that to the extraterrestrials."

Texas Guinan returned to the stage and had her own review called "Padlocks of 1927," and made two more movies before taking her review on the road. France wouldn't let her perform the show there, so she decided to call it "Too Hot for Paris," and toured the Western United States and Canada. Unfortunately, she eventually contracted amoebic dysentery and passed away at the age of 49 in 1933.

Texas Guinan's life may have been significantly shorter than the "Star Trek" version of Guinan, but oh my, did she make the most of her life.

Guinan (Star Trek)

Guinan / ˈ ɡ aɪ n ə n / is a recurring character in the Star Trek franchise, portrayed by American actress Whoopi Goldberg . The character first appeared in the television series Star Trek: The Next Generation and went on to appear in Star Trek: Picard and the films Star Trek Generations and Star Trek: Nemesis . She was also played as a child by Isis Carmen Jones in the episode " Rascals " and a younger version of the character by Ito Aghayere in Picard . [1]

Appearances

Reception and commentary, external links.

Guinan is a bartender in the Ten-Forward lounge aboard the starship USS Enterprise -D . The character first appears in the second-season opening episode " The Child ", and makes recurring appearances during the next four seasons. Guinan was partly inspired by the Star Wars character Yoda , and is said to be hundreds of years old with corresponding wisdom and insight which she often uses to defuse difficult situations or comfort other characters.

Following the departure of Denise Crosby from the role of Tasha Yar during the first season of Star Trek: The Next Generation , established actress Whoopi Goldberg believed there was a vacancy for a female actress on the series. [2] She had been a lifelong fan of Star Trek , [3] having been inspired to become an actress by Nichelle Nichols ' appearances as Uhura in The Original Series . [2] Goldberg later recalled that she first saw an episode of the series in her youth and after Uhura appeared on-screen, she went running through her house shouting "Come here, mom, everybody, come quick, come quick, there's a black lady on television and she ain't no maid!" [4] Goldberg approached her friend LeVar Burton , who played Geordi La Forge in The Next Generation , [2] but the producers of the series ignored her, by one account believing they were being pranked until Goldberg telephoned the production office directly. [5] However, executive producer Rick Berman later recalled it was Goldberg's manager who made the call, inviting him and series creator Gene Roddenberry out to lunch with Goldberg to discuss her appearing on the series. [6]

At the time, plans were already underway to add a lounge set to the series. [7] Named Ten-Forward, it was created to have a setting where the crew of the USS Enterprise -D could be shown interacting with each other as well as other aliens in a more casual setting. [8] At the lunch between Berman, Roddenberry and Goldberg, she explained that Star Trek was the only futuristic science fiction series at the time she knew of that featured black people prominently. She asked whether they had already cast the new Doctor, [6] following the firing of Gates McFadden from the role of Beverly Crusher . [5] Roddenberry and Berman instead suggested the creation of a new character specifically for Goldberg. [6] [9] Goldberg was unable to commit to appearing as a permanent member of the cast, which fit in with plans for Ten-Forward as they were not expecting the lounge to appear in every episode. [8]

The character of Guinan was based on Mary Louise Cecilia "Texas" Guinan , a prohibition -era emcee and owner of the 300 Club in New York City . While the name was adopted, the characterization was changed to a worldly mystic, in line with Yoda from the Star Wars franchise. [8] [9] Gene Roddenberry , the creator of Star Trek , had envisaged the character Guinan as extremely old, leading Goldberg to suggest that she could be the ancestor of some of the other characters on the series. [10]

When Goldberg made her first appearance as Guinan, in the episode " The Child ", she was credited as a "Special Guest Star" alongside Diana Muldaur who appeared throughout the second season as Doctor Katherine Pulaski . [3] [5] Guinan-centric episodes would end up being scheduled throughout the rest of the run of The Next Generation to coincide with the future availability of Goldberg, who at the time was continuing to appear in films and other work. In one instance, for " Imaginary Friend ", Guinan was written in at short notice, taking lines originally intended for other characters after Goldberg became available at short notice unexpectedly. [11] [12]

There were plans to introduce a son of Guinan at some point in The Next Generation , but this never occurred. The idea was resurrected during the writing process of the Star Trek: Deep Space Nine episode " Rivals ", with the character of Martus Mazur originally intended to be Guinan's son. After Goldberg was unable to make a guest appearance, the relationship between the two characters was written out. However, the first time that the El-Aurian species was mentioned by name was in this episode, but this may have been inspired by the scripts for Star Trek Generations which the writing team would have seen by that point in the production of the series. [13]

Goldberg would go on to become intrinsically linked to Star Trek , and a personal friend of creator Gene Roddenberry , subsequently being one of the eulogists at his funeral in 1991. [14] During the initial production of Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country , she met with director Nicholas Meyer to discuss appearing as a Klingon in the film. This was vetoed by actor Leonard Nimoy , [15] who had taken the lead on arrangements for the film, [16] as with Christian Slater already set to appear in the film he did not want to be overwhelmed with celebrity cameos. [15] She later described Guinan as a combination of Yoda, herself and Andrei Sakharov , adding that she was "more grateful for Star Trek now as a mother and grandmother" and described the prospect of Star Trek , saying "We all need to believe there is a good, positive future for us." [17]

Goldberg stated at her first Star Trek convention in 2016 that she wishes to return to the franchise and appear on Star Trek: Discovery in the future since the character was specifically designed to be able to appear at any point in the timeline. [10] Returning actor-character combinations are famous in the Star Trek franchise, and popular also; TNG's " Unification " (1991) diology featuring Leonard Nimoy as Spock in Part II brought in the highest Nielsen ratings (15.4) of that season, and the highest for TNG except for the pilot and finale [18] (see also Star Trek crossovers ). During a January 22, 2020, appearance on The View , the talk show of which Goldberg is a co-host, Patrick Stewart helped realize Goldberg's wish, inviting her to appear as Guinan during the second season of Star Trek: Picard , and she ultimately appeared in the second season. [19]

The decision was made to feature Goldberg prominently in the first feature film based on The Next Generation , Star Trek Generations . This was due in part to her being far more well known to the general public than the majority of the main cast, [20] having won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress at the 63rd Academy Awards in 1991 for her role in the film Ghost . [5] During the course of the film, the character is revealed to be an El-Aurian for the first time. [20] Upon arriving on the first day of production of Generations , Goldberg began looking around the set for Nichols, having expected her to be there since it was a cross-over film between The Original Series and The Next Generation . It was later reported by Walter Koenig that Goldberg was annoyed as she saw that the fans wanted a scene with Guinan and Uhura together. [21] Nichols did not appear in Generations .

Producer Rick Berman was noted as being "extremely sensitive" about who interacted with Whoopi on the set, according to the book The Making of Yesterday's Enterprise by Eric A. Stillwell . [22] In one instance where a co-writer of Yesterday's Enterprise talked with Whoopi, Berman found out about it and said he did not want this kind of interaction which was oriented towards the production office. [22]

In "Rascals", Guinan's younger self is played by Isis Carmen Jones, who also played Whoopi's character as a child in the film Sister Act (1992). [23] [24] [25] Guinan works in Ten-Forward and is one of Picard's friends, and they often chat about problems the ship is having. [26]

Guinan made her first appearance in the second season opening episode " The Child " on November 21, 1988, on first-run syndicated television. During the course of the episode, she gives advice to Wesley Crusher ( Wil Wheaton ) about whether he should leave the ship to join his mother when she transferred to Starfleet Medical on Earth. [5] In this episode, she refers to meeting Captain Jean-Luc Picard ( Patrick Stewart ) for the first time when she came on board the Enterprise -D, something which would later be ignored and discounted. [27] She made further appearances in the second season, including in " The Outrageous Okona " where she advises Data to use the holodeck to help him better understand comedy, [28] and again in the Data-centric episode " The Measure of a Man ", [29] as well as " The Dauphin " where she and Commander William Riker ( Jonathan Frakes ) attempt to explain flirting to Acting Ensign Wesley Crusher ( Wil Wheaton ). [30]

The first revelation of Guinan being something more than a simple barkeeper came later that season in the episode " Q Who ". After Q ( John de Lancie ) sends the Enterprise -D across the galaxy, causing them to encounter the Borg , she trades barbs with the omnipotent being who reveals that he knows Guinan from past encounters and suggests she may have been known by other names in the past. Q attempts to remove Guinan from the Enterprise, only to have her hold up her hands to him in response implying she possessed the power to do battle with him or at the very least to defend herself. She also informs Picard that the Borg drove her species into near extinction over a century earlier. [31] She returned once more in the second episode of the third season , " Evolution ", in which she explains she has many children, [32] and later in the season in " Booby Trap " where she reveals that she finds the heads of bald men attractive. [33] She once again comes face to face with Q in " Deja Q ". [34] Guinan is central to the plot of " Yesterday's Enterprise ", when the timeline is changed after the USS Enterprise -C appears from a spatial rift. Guinan is the only member of the crew who is aware that something has changed, and believes that Lieutenant Tasha Yar ( Denise Crosby ) should not be on the ship. The timeline is restored when the Enterprise -C re-enters the rift. [35]

Guinan appears in " The Best of Both Worlds " part one, where she and Captain Picard mull over his tactics defending the ship from a Borg vessel, contemplating the potential end of human civilization. Guinan assures Picard that, based on her experience with the Borg, "humanity will survive" even if only a handful of humans live to "keep the spirit alive". Guinan also plays a role in the second part which started the fourth season . She advises Commander William Riker ( Jonathan Frakes ) in his predicament in dealing with the Borg-assimilated Picard. She tells him that her relationship with Picard "goes beyond friendship and beyond family", but advises Riker that he must find a way to stop the assimilated Locutus by not thinking like Picard. [36] She appears in the following episode broadcast, which follows up on Picard's experiences as a Borg, " Family ". [37] In " The Loss ", Guinan advises Counselor Deanna Troi ( Marina Sirtis ) when she loses her empathic senses, telling her that she still has her skills as a counselor to rely on. [38] Guinan joins Picard in his holodeck program Dixon Hill in the episode " Clues ". [39] Her other appearances in the season included " Galaxy's Child ", " Night Terrors " where she reveals she keeps a rifle behind the bar, [40] " In Theory ", [41] and the first part of " Redemption " where she scores higher than Klingon Security Chief Worf ( Michael Dorn ) on a firing range on the holodeck. [42]

Her first appearance in the fifth season comes in the first episode, the second part of "Redemption". [43] In " Ensign Ro ", she strikes up a friendship with Ensign Ro Laren ( Michelle Forbes ) which would continue for the rest of the other recurring character's appearances in the series. [44] In " Imaginary Friend ", Guinan discusses the nearby nebula with Data in Ten-Forward. In the following episode, " I, Borg ", Guinan objects to the presence of the Borg known as Hugh on the Enterprise -D. [11] Further revelations of Guinan's backstory are made in the season finale, the first part of " Time's Arrow ", when after travelling back to 19th century San Francisco , California , Data discovers a photograph of Guinan in a local newspaper. Meanwhile, on the Enterprise -D, Guinan advises Picard that he must lead the away team to travel through a temporal rift to save Data in the past. [45]

Central to the plot of the second half of "Time's Arrow" which opened the sixth season , Guinan meets Picard for the first time in her timeline and works with him and Samuel Clemens to prevent a plot by the aliens of Devidia II. [46] In " Rascals ", alongside Picard, Ro, and Keiko O'Brien ( Rosalind Chao ), her body is de-aged to that of a child following a transporter accident, where the younger Guinan was portrayed by actress Isis Jones. Guinan reveals that her father is still alive at the time, having previously been hiding from him on Earth during "Time's Arrow". [47] In " Suspicions ", she advises Doctor Beverly Crusher ( Gates McFadden ) on whether to trust her instincts when a Ferengi scientist is killed during an experiment on board. [48]

Guinan is originally from El-Auria. Her people, sometimes called "listeners", had been scattered throughout the galaxy after the Borg invaded their homeworld. As a refugee aboard the El-Aurian vessel Lakul , she is rescued from the Nexus by the USS Enterprise -B . This is part of the opening act of Star Trek Generations , the 1994 film made after the series' seven-year run concluded. Guinan did not appear in the next two Star Trek films ( First Contact and Insurrection ).

Guinan reveals in Nemesis that she has been married 23 times. She states in " Evolution " that she has many children, including a son who went through a phase when "he wouldn't listen to anybody"—something unusual "in a species of listeners". Guinan appears in the second season premiere of Star Trek: Picard , when Jean-Luc Picard visits her at her bar in Los Angeles .

Guinan appears in 29 episodes of Star Trek: The Next Generation , five episodes of Star Trek: Picard and in two theatrical films, Generations (1994) and Nemesis (2002).

Star Trek: The Next Generation

• " The Child "
• " The Outrageous Okona "
• " The Measure of a Man "
• " The Dauphin "
• " Shades of Gray "
• " Evolution "
• " Booby Trap "
• " Yesterday's Enterprise "
• " The Offspring "
• " Hollow Pursuits "
• " The Best of Both Worlds " (Parts 1 & 2)
• " The Loss "
• " Galaxy's Child "
• " Night Terrors "
• " In Theory "
• " Redemption " (Parts 1 & 2)
• " Ensign Ro "
• " Imaginary Friend "
• " I, Borg "
• " Time's Arrow " (Parts 1 & 2)
• " Rascals "
• " Suspicions "

Star Trek: Picard

• "The Star Gazer"

Among the episodes with Guinan, "The Measure of a Man", “Yesterday’s Enterprise”, and the two-part episode "The Best of Both Worlds" received noted acclaim, and an extended cut of "The Measure of a Man" was released in 2012.

In Star Trek Generations , released in 1994, Guinan explains the Nexus to Picard. [49]

In this 2002 Star Trek film, Goldberg reprises her role as Guinan. In Star Trek: Nemesis , Guinan has attended the wedding between Riker and Troi. [50]

The character Guinan, looking like the TNG character, appears in various TNG comics series including: [51] A line and ink style Comic version of Guinan appears on the cover of Star Trek: The Next Generation Special "Good Listener/A True Son of Kahless" published September 1, 1993. [52]

• 80 issues from 1989 to 1996
• Three issues 1993-1995
• Five issues 2008-9 [53]
• Eight issues in 2012 (Crossover with Doctor Who franchise)

The first novel to include Guinan was Strike Zone by Peter David , published in March 1989. [54] This novel included elements from both Star Trek (1966–69) and the new Next Generation show [54] The later Stargazer novel Oblivion features Picard's first meeting with Guinan when he was still captain of the Stargazer , where the meeting helps Guinan overcome her severe depression after she was pulled out of the Nexus.

"This was one of my greatest experiences, I’ve said this on the show before, Star Trek was one of the great experiences from the beginning to the end. I had the best, best, best time – the best time ever"

Whoopi Goldberg [55]

Lina Morgan in her article for Syfy Wire on Guinan's quintessential moments, described her as "easily one of the best characters in the history of Star Trek ". [56] His list of moments consisted of the one in "The Measure of a Man" where Guinan explains slavery to Picard; the time that she stabbed Q with a fork in "Deja Q"; the discussion she has with Commander Riker in "The Best of Both Worlds" part two and her lack of sympathy for the Borg in "I, Borg". Roth did state that his favourite moment came in the second part of "Time's Arrow" where she and Picard are trapped in the cave and the sexual tension between the pair, comparing the relationship between that of River Song and The Doctor in Doctor Who whereby they meet each other for the first time but out of sequence. [56]

Terry J. Erdmann and Paula M. Block state in their 2008 book Star Trek 101 that the key Guinan episode is "Yesterday's Enterprise". [57] They describe her role in the episode as that of a Greek chorus to explain that a change has taken place in the timeline. [58]

Film reviewer Roger Ebert described Guinan as "the Enterprise's resident mystic". [49]

In 2016, SyFy rated Guinan as among the top 21 most interesting supporting characters of Star Trek , noting that she was a mysterious character that kept audiences guessing. [59] In 2017, IndieWire rated Guinan as the 3rd best character on Star Trek: The Next Generation , noting her as a "fascinating character". [60] In the summer of 2019, Screen Rant suggested that Guinan could get her own series more easily, due to the character being hundreds of years old there would be many, many stories to tell. [61] In 2018, CBR ranked Guinan the 8th best recurring character of all Star Trek . [62]

In 2018, Screen Rant ranked Guinan as one of the top eight most powerful characters of Star Trek , remarking "Guinan is one of Star Trek’s greatest enigmas." [63] In July 2019, Screen Rant ranked Guinan the 7th smartest character of Star Trek . [64]

• List of Star Trek: The Next Generation characters
• List of Star Trek: The Next Generation cast members
• Star Trek (film series)
• 1 2 3 Reeves-Stevens & Reeves-Stevens 1998 , pp.   78–79.
• 1 2 Robb 2012 , p.   139.
• ↑ "Goldberg, Whoopi" . StarTrek.com. Archived from the original on August 11, 2017 . Retrieved March 22, 2018 .
• 1 2 3 4 5 Nemecek 2003 , p.   64.
• 1 2 3 Altman & Gross 2016 , pp.   153–154.
• ↑ Reeves-Stevens & Reeves-Stevens 1998 , p.   81.
• 1 2 3 Reeves-Stevens & Reeves-Stevens 1998 , p.   84.
• 1 2 Pascale, Anthony (2009-08-26). "Rick Berman Talks 18 Years of Trek In Extensive Oral History" . TrekMovie.com . Goldberg initially wanted to replace Gates McFadden as ships doctor for Season 2, but it was felt she wasn't right for that role so they created new "Yoda-like" character of Guinan
• 1 2 Kooser, Amanda (August 5, 2016). "Whoopi Goldberg shares 'Next Gen' secrets at her first Star Trek convention" . CNET . Archived from the original on August 6, 2016 . Retrieved March 22, 2018 .
• 1 2 Nemecek 2003 , pp.   200–202.
• ↑ Altman 1994 , p.   16.
• ↑ Erdmann & Block 2000 , p.   109.
• ↑ Nichols 1994 , p.   133.
• 1 2 Meyer 2009 , p.   211.
• ↑ Gross & Altman 1993 , p.   139.
• ↑ Nicholson, Lee Anne, ed. (1996). "100 Influential People in Star Trek". Star Trek: 30 Years . London: BBC Magazines. Radio Times Collector's Edition: 35.
• ↑ " [ TNG ] Season 5-6 Ratings Archive" . TrekNation.com . 19 January 2001. Archived from the original on 2001-01-19 . Retrieved April 22, 2018 .
• ↑ Vary, Adam B. (January 22, 2020). "Patrick Stewart Invites Whoopi Goldberg to Join 'Star Trek: Picard' Season 2" .
• 1 2 Robb 2012 , p.   152.
• ↑ Nichols 1994 , pp.   309–310.
• 1 2 Stillwell, Eric A. (2008). The Making of Yesterday's Enterprise . Lulu.com. p.   76. ISBN   978-1-4357-0256-1 – via Google Books.
• ↑ "Isis Carmen Jones" . IMDb . Retrieved April 22, 2018 .
• ↑ Okuda, Michael ; Okuda, Denise (1999). The Star Trek Encyclopedia: A Reference Guide to the Future . New York: Pocket Books . p.   180 . ISBN   978-0-67103-475-7 .
• ↑ Turan, Kenneth (2007). Now In Theaters Everywhere: A Celebration of a Certain Kind of Blockbuster . New York: Public Affairs. p.   149. ISBN   978-1-58648-506-1 .
• ↑ Perlich, John R.; Whitt, David (2008). Sith, Slayers, Stargates & Cyborgs: Modern Mythology in the New Millennium . Peter Lang. p.   181. ISBN   978-1-4331-0095-6 .
• ↑ Nemecek 2003 , p.   65.
• ↑ Nemecek 2003 , p.   69.
• ↑ Nemecek 2003 , p.   76.
• ↑ Jones & Parkin 2003 , p.   95.
• ↑ Nemecek 2003 , pp.   85–86.
• ↑ Nemecek 2003 , p.   101.
• ↑ Nemecek 2003 , pp.   105–106.
• ↑ Nemecek 2003 , p.   113.
• ↑ Jones & Parkin 2003 , p.   109.
• ↑ Nemecek 2003 , pp.   138–139.
• ↑ Nemecek 2003 , pp.   142–143.
• ↑ Nemecek 2003 , p.   150.
• ↑ Nemecek 2003 , p.   154.
• ↑ Nemecek 2003 , pp.   156–157.
• ↑ Nemecek 2003 , p.   166.
• ↑ Nemecek 2003 , pp.   168–169.
• ↑ Nemecek 2003 , p.   175.
• ↑ Nemecek 2003 , pp.   176–177.
• ↑ Nemecek 2003 , p.   205.
• ↑ Nemecek 2003 , pp.   214–215.
• ↑ Nemecek 2003 , pp.   223–224.
• ↑ Nemecek 2003 , p.   246.
• 1 2 Ebert, Roger (November 18, 1994). "Star Trek: Generations Movie Review" . www.rogerebert.com .
• ↑ "Star Trek – Nemesis" . Rotten Tomatoes . Retrieved April 22, 2018 .
• ↑ "Guinan (Character)" . Comic Vine . Retrieved April 22, 2018 .
• ↑ "Star Trek: The Next Generation Special #1 - Good Listener/A True Son of Kahless (Issue)" . Comic Vine . Retrieved April 22, 2018 .
• ↑ "Star Trek: The Next Generation: The Last Generation (Volume)" . Comic Vine . Retrieved April 22, 2018 .
• 1 2 McAvennie, Michael (April 1989). "Umpire of the "Strike Zone" " (PDF) . Starlog . No.   141. pp.   54 –55, 64 . Retrieved September 7, 2014 .
• ↑ "Patrick Stewart invites Whoopi Goldberg to come on board for Star Trek: Picard season 2" . Radio Times .
• 1 2 Roth, Dany (September 27, 2017). "Star Trek TNG: Guinan's 5 most quintessential moments" . Syfy . Archived from the original on December 25, 2017.
• ↑ Erdmann & Block 2008 , p.   65.
• ↑ Erdmann & Block 2008 , p.   72.
• ↑ Granshaw, Lisa (2015-05-08). "The 21 most interesting Star Trek supporting characters" . SYFY WIRE . Archived from the original on 2019-06-26 . Retrieved 2019-06-26 .
• ↑ Miller, Liz Shannon (2017-09-30). " 'Star Trek: The Next Generation': Ranking the Crew, From Picard to Pulaski" . IndieWire . Retrieved 2019-03-21 .
• ↑ "Star Trek: 10 Next Generation Characters We Hope Get Their Own Spin-Off" . ScreenRant . 2019-06-02 . Retrieved 2019-06-03 .
• ↑ "Star Trek: Ranking the 20 Best Recurring Characters" . CBR . 2018-12-28 . Retrieved 2019-06-25 .
• ↑ "Star Trek: 8 Most Powerful (And 8 Worthless) Characters, Ranked" . ScreenRant . 2018-01-18 . Retrieved 2019-07-15 .
• ↑ "Star Trek: The 10 Smartest Characters, Ranked" . ScreenRant . 2019-07-08 . Retrieved 2019-07-24 .

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" Family " is the second episode of the fourth season of the American science fiction television series Star Trek: The Next Generation , and the 76th episode overall. It was originally released on October 1, 1990, in broadcast syndication. It was written by Ronald D. Moore, from an idea by Michael Piller. It featured additional work taken from a spec script by Susanne Lambdin. "Family" was directed by Les Landau.

" Sarek " is the 23rd episode of the third season of the American science fiction television series Star Trek: The Next Generation , and the 71st episode overall. It was originally released on May 14, 1990, in broadcast syndication. The story for the episode was created by Marc Cushman and Jake Jacobs, with the teleplay written by Peter S. Beagle. "Sarek" was directed by Les Landau.

Jean-Luc Picard is a fictional character in the Star Trek franchise, most often seen as the captain of the Federation starship USS  Enterprise   (NCC-1701-D) . Played by Patrick Stewart, Picard has appeared in the television series Star Trek: The Next Generation ( TNG ) and the premiere episode of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine , as well as the feature films Star Trek Generations (1994), Star Trek: First Contact (1996), Star Trek: Insurrection (1998), and Star Trek: Nemesis (2002). He is also featured as the central character in the show Star Trek: Picard (2020–2023).

" Q Who " is the 16th episode of the second season of the American science fiction television series Star Trek: The Next Generation . The episode first aired in broadcast syndication on May 5, 1989. It was written by executive producer Maurice Hurley and directed by Rob Bowman. "Q Who" marked the first appearance of the Borg, who were designed by Hurley and originally intended to appear in the first season episode "The Neutral Zone".

Several characters within the Star Trek franchise, primary and secondary, often made crossover appearances between one series and another. This included appearances of established characters on premiere episodes of new series, a few long-term transfers from one series to another, and even crossovers between Trek films and television. A few crossover appearances, such as that of Spock on The Next Generation and the time-travel of the crew of Deep Space Nine to the era of The Original Series were especially lauded by both fans and critics.

The second season of the American science fiction television series Star Trek: The Next Generation commenced airing in broadcast syndication in the United States on November 21, 1988, and concluded on July 17, 1989, after airing 22 episodes. Set in the 24th century, the series follows the adventures of the crew of the Starfleet starship Enterprise -D . Season two featured changes to the main cast, following the departure of Gates McFadden. Diana Muldaur was cast as Dr. Katherine Pulaski for a single season before the return of McFadden in season three. Academy Award winner Whoopi Goldberg also joined the cast after pursuing a role from the producers.

The third season of the American science fiction television series Star Trek: The Next Generation commenced airing in broadcast syndication in the United States on September 25, 1989 and concluded on June 18, 1990 after airing 26 episodes. Set in the 24th century, the series follows the adventures of the crew of the Starfleet starship Enterprise -D . This season featured the return of Gates McFadden as Dr. Beverly Crusher after she was replaced by Diana Muldaur for the second season. The season also saw the debut of several actors who would reappear in the same roles and others throughout the franchise, such as Dwight Schultz as Lt. Reginald Barclay, and Tony Todd as Kurn.

• Altman, Mark (1994). Captains Log Supplemental . London: Boxtree. ISBN   1-85283-399-8 .
• Altman, Mark; Gross, Edward (2016). The Fifty-Year Mission: The Next 25 Years . New York: Thomas Dunne Books. ISBN   978-1-25008-947-2 .
• Ayers, Jeff (2006). Voyages of Imagination . New York: Pocket Books. ISBN   978-1-41650349-1 .
• Berkmann, Marcus (2017). Set Phasers to Stun: 50 Years of Star Trek . London: Abacus. ISBN   978-034914-115-2 .
• Erdmann, Terry J.; Block, Paula M. (2000). Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Companion . New York: Pocket Books. ISBN   978-0-67150-106-8 .
• Erdmann, Terry J.; Block, Paula M. (2008). Star Trek 101 . New York: Pocket Books. ISBN   978-0-743-49723-7 .
• Geralty, Lincoln (2008). The Influence of Star Trek on Television, Film and Culture . Jefferson, NC: McFarland. ISBN   978-0-786-43034-5 .
• Gross, Edward; Altman, Mark A. (1993). Captain's Logs: The Complete Trek Voyages . London: Boxtree. ISBN   978-1-85283-899-7 .
• Jones, Mark; Parkin, Lance (2003). Beyond the Final Frontier . London: Contender Books. ISBN   978-1-84357-080-6 .
• Meyer, Nicholas (2009). The View from the Bridge: Memories of Star Trek and a Life in Hollywood . New York: Viking. ISBN   978-0-670-02130-7 .
• Nemecek, Larry (2003). Star Trek: The Next Generation Companion (3rd   ed.). New York: Pocket Books. ISBN   0-7434-5798-6 .
• Nichols, Nichelle (1994). Beyond Uhura . New York: G. P. Putnam's. ISBN   0-3991-3993-1 .
• Reeves-Stevens, Judith; Reeves-Stevens, Garfield (1998). Star Trek: The Next Generation: The Continuing Mission (2nd   ed.). New York: Pocket Books. ISBN   978-0-67102-559-5 .
• Robb, Brian J. (2012). A Brief Guide to Star Trek . London: Robinson. ISBN   978-1-849-01514-1 .
• Van Hise, James; Schuster, Hal (1995). The Complete Trek: The Next Generation . Pioneer Books. ISBN   978-1-55698-377-1 .
• Guinan at Memory Alpha
• Borg children: Azan
• Voyager crew: Ayala
• Michael Jonas

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Producing Picard - Meet Young Guinan

A closer look at the iconic character's latest

Spoilers for season two, episode four of Star Trek: Picard to follow!

Star Trek: Picard 's Patrick Stewart and Ito Aghayere (Guinan) reflect on this week's major moments.

Star Trek: Picard streams exclusively on Paramount+ in the U.S. and is distributed concurrently by Paramount Global Content Distribution on Amazon Prime Video in more than 200 countries and territories. In Canada, it airs on Bell Media’s CTV Sci-Fi Channel and streams on Crave.

This New 'Star Trek: Discovery' Character Is a Deep-Cut 'Deep Space Nine' Reference

Callum Keith Rennie's Captain Rayner is not Vulcan or Romulan after all.

The Big Picture

• Callum Keith Rennie joins Star Trek: Discovery as Kellerun Captain Rayner, revealing the obscure species from Deep Space Nine .
• Rayner's Kellerun backstory is crucial to Rayner's characterization and mission, with the showrunner promising a focus on his personal history.
• Discovery continues the tradition of exploring one-off alien races with new characters, adding depth and diversity to the final season.

Veteran actor Callum Keith Rennie will join the cast of the final season of Star Trek: Discovery as the alien Captain Rayner, and now we know what species he is. Fans have speculated that Rayner's pointed ears mark him as a Vulcan or a Romulan, but a new interview reveals that he is a member of the Kellerun, an obscure species from Star Trek: Deep Space Nine . TrekCore.com has the details from SFX Magazine's feature on Discovery 's upcoming fifth season , which will premiere on Paramount+ early next month.

Rayner's species will apparently be important to his characterization and the mysterious mission he joins the USS Discovery crew for, as they race against time in the show's final bow. Says showrunner Michelle Paradise , "He’s Kellerun, which is a minor planet mentioned in one of the other iterations… we learn more about his personal backstory and how that plays into who he is, and why he is how he is. We learn about that as the season goes on, and the planet he’s from has a lot to do with that." It won't be the first time an important character on Discovery comes from a one-off alien race; Commander Nhan ( Rachael Ancheril ), who debuted in the series' second season, is a Barzan, a race that had up to that point only appeared in the third-season Next Generation episode "The Price".

Who Are the Kellerun?

The Kellerun made their first and (so far) only appearance in "Armageddon Game", which first aired in 1994 as part of Deep Space Nine 's second season. A species with distinctive large, pointed ears, they had been at war for centuries with their neighbors, the T'Lani, in a conflict that utilized the Harvesters, deadly biological weapons. After the two races made peace with each other, Starfleet sent in Deep Space Nine crew members Dr. Julian Bashir ( Alexander Siddig ) and Miles O'Brien ( Colm Meany ) to help dismantle the remaining Harvesters. However, the Kellerun and T'Lani insist that all knowledge pertaining to the Harvesters must be destroyed - which means killing Bashir and O'Brien, too. The two have to make a desperate race for survival as their friends try to save them from the two alien species.

Although the Kellerun did not appear on the series again, the episode established Bashir and O'Brien's friendship, which endured for the rest of the show's run. Canadian actor Callum Keith Rennie is a veteran of science fiction productions, having starred in Battlestar Galactica , Impulse , The X-Files , Jessica Jones , and The Umbrella Academy . Discovery will be his first Star Trek appearance.

Star Trek: Discovery 's fifth and final season will premiere April 4, 2024 on Paramount+ , wehere past seasons are also streaming. Stay tuned to Collider for future updates, and watch the trailer for Discovery 's fifth season below.

Star Trek: Discovery

Taking place almost a decade before Captain Kirk's Enterprise, the USS Discovery charts a course to uncover new worlds and life forms.

Watch on Paramount+