Stewart took it very seriously when he called a meeting of his fellow actors to shake things up. She “taught the cast a lesson” and apparently even told Denise Crosby, who plays Tasha Yar, “We’re not here to have fun, Denise” when she suggested they should have fun sometimes. This, of course, caused the assembled cast to break out into wild laughter, which resulted in Stewart quickly running away and slamming the door of his trailer. Soon co-stars Jonathan Frakes and Brent Spiner were at the door and helped smooth the whole situation out by explaining that episodic television was very different from theater and toned down the horseplay a bit. After all, the cast helped Stewart learn how to exist as part of a major TV group. In his own words:
“Jonathan Frakes was primarily responsible for this, and it’s no surprise that he has turned into an excellent director. His demeanor on set is always relaxed, there’s a twinkle in his eye; he loves his job so much, even if he takes it seriously. I did my best to emulate his approach.” , because I realized that one of my problems was that I had an anxious desire not only to work seriously, but also to appear to work seriously.”
This seriousness was a problem, but it seems that trying to emulate Frakes’ easy-going nature was the solution. When he looked at his co-star and friend, he began to relax a little, and this helped the entire “Next Generation” cast become closer.