Star Trek Episode Named For Guest Actor The Show Couldn’t Get
One dubious honor for Star Trek is that this franchise is responsible for some of the weirdest episode names in television history. This includes inscrutable Latin titles and the occasional reference that audiences would almost certainly not get. A great example of this is The Next Generation episode “The Schizoid Man,” which was named after an episode of The Prisoner because producers tried–and failed–to secure that show’s star for a guest role.
The Schizoid Man
Before we talk about its strange name inspiration, we need to discuss what “The Schizoid Man” was all about. The story revolves around Dr. Graves, a dying scientist who longs to cheat death.
Since he taught Data’s creator everything he knows about cybernetics, he is able to put his mind in Data’s body, but he eventually relinquishes control and shuffles off this mortal coil, but not before depositing all of his extensive knowledge in the ship’s computer.
Part of what makes “The Schizoid Man” so memorable is Dr. Graves, who was brought to life with killer performances by both W. Morgan Sheppard and Brent Spiner.
However, the casting for this guest character was almost very different. The producers originally wanted the role to be played by Patrick McGoohan, and the name of the episode is a reference to this attempted casting.
Patrick McGoohan
While his name might not ring any bells for younger audiences, McGoohan was the star of The Prisoner, a 1967 television series that aired at the same time as Star Trek: The Original Series.
The premise of this show is that McGoohan plays a British intelligence officer whose resignation causes his abduction and relocation.
He wakes up in a strange village on the coast where everyone has numbers instead of names, and he must find a way to escape without getting killed or re-captured by the high-tech enforces who ensure that none of the residents can leave this mysterious village.
Homage To The Prisoner
So, what does The Prisoner have to do with the naming of TNG’s “The Schizoid Man” episode? In short, this was also the name of the eighth episode of this Patrick McGoohan show.
The writers wanted McGoohan to play Dr. Graves, and the episode title was going to be a winking reference to the actor’s most famous role. Obviously, they couldn’t get McGoohan, but the title homage to The Prisoner remained.
Sean Connery
Weirdly enough, “The Schizoid Man” wasn’t the only occasion where Star Trek named something after an actor that they failed to cast. The most famous example of this is in Star Trek: The Final Frontier, where Kirk and crew encounter a godlike being on the planet Sha Ka Ree.
They are led by the renegade Vulcan Sybok, and producers wanted him to be played by Sean Connery. That didn’t happen, but the name of the planet stayed as a reference to the actor. Phonetically, “Sha Ka Ree” deliberately sounds like “Sean Connery.”
It’s Too Bad
In retrospect, it’s regrettable that Star Trek: The Next Generation couldn’t get Patrick McGoohan for “The Schizoid Man.” The Prisoner is an amazing show that has had a profound influence on entire generations of showrunners and filmmakers. As huge fans of his show, we can’t help but think it would have been perfectly fitting to have its star help usher in a new generation of Star Trek fans.
