Star Trek: Picard season 3 is mainly remembered for serving as a Star Trek: The Next Generation reunion, but another show brought Patrick Stewart and company back together 14 years before that. Star Trek: The Next Generation's cast was largely unchanged throughout its seven-season run, although there were some changes to the lineup. Picard's final season brought the most iconic TNG cast back together for a 10-episode legacy sequel to their beloved sci-fi show. It was exciting for Trekkies everywhere, but an entirely different project had already beaten Star Trek to the punch.
Even though Star Trek: Picard season 3's cast was incredibly recognizable, the show's updated aesthetic led to a different atmosphere and overall feel when compared to Star Trek: The Next Generation. Nevertheless, they both exist in the prime Star Trek timeline, combining to form what is still quite a small corner of the larger franchise. Airing in 2023, Picard season 3 was a landmark occasion that had been a long time coming, but arguably made a little less special by the cast having already worked together since they stepped away from their Star Trek roles.
Family Guy's "Not All Dogs Go To Heaven" Reunited Star Trek: The Next Generation Cast In 2009
Picard season 3 wouldn't happen until 2023
2002's Star Trek: Nemesis was the last time the cast of The Next Generation reprised their roles as an ensemble until 2023, when they returned to make Picard. However, they did all appear in Family Guy season 7, episode 11, "Not All Dogs Go to Heaven." Seth MacFarlane's show built Stewie Griffin's Star Trek-adjacent storyline around the presence of Patrick Stewart, Jonathon Frakes, Michael Dorn, and the other original members of TNG's cast. Playing fictionalized versions of themselves, the TNG cast spent the day with Stewie after being abducted by the evil genius baby and his matter transporter.
Stewie ends up hilariously disillusioned with his plan when it turns out that every member of the TNG cast is hard to deal with, leading to some great moments in the episode. In a way, "Not All Dogs Go to Heaven" is a more complete reunion of The Next Generation's cast than Picard season 3 was. The Family Guy episode also briefly included Denise Crosby, who initially played Tasha Yar in The Next Generation before being killed off and being brought back for the occasional guest appearance. Tasha, understandably, never appeared in Star Trek: Picard.It only took seven years for Seth MacFarlane to bring The Next Generation's cast back together after Nemesis, but it would then be another 14 years before Star Trek: Picard would do the same. Ignoring Family Guy's 2009 episode for a second, it took a total of 21 years for Picard to canonically bring the USS Enterprise's crew back together. To delve even further into certain statistics, TNG began in 1987, meaning from the date the pilot episode aired, it would take 36 years before Patrick Stewart and company bowed out at the end of Star Trek: Picard's final season.
"Not All Dogs Go To Heaven" Remains The Biggest Of Many Star Trek References In Family Guy
Seth MacFarlane loves Star Trek, and it's obvious
Pretty much every Seth MacFarlane show is filled with Star Trek references, but Family Guy is particularly fond of borrowing from the iconic sci-fi franchise. Patrick Stewart himself reprised the role of Captain Picard on other occasions in Family Guy outside "Not All Dogs Go to Heaven." The animated comedy has also parodied characters and scenes from Star Trek: The Original Series, although MacFarlane doesn't appear to have close ties with the cast of William Shatner's show, as those moments place different actors in the role of Captain Kirk and company.
It's pretty obvious from watching Family Guy, and even MacFarlane's other shows like American Dad!, that the creator is a massive Star Trek fan. If the endless references in his animated shows aren't enough to highlight this trait, the fact that Seth MacFarlane created The Orville as a clear tribute to Star Trek definitely outs him as a Trekkie. The Orville isn't part of the same canon as Star Trek: The Next Generation or Star Trek: Picard, but it is right on the cusp of being so due to how faithful MacFarlane's space opera is.
