Star Trek's Jonathan Frakes Loved The Borgs - But A Producer Couldn't Care Less

When it comes to all-time great villains in "Star Trek," it's futile to ignore the Borg. The cybernetic entities sought to assimilate sentient beings into their hive mind, making them a formidable science-fiction threat. Fans and actors on "Star Trek" shows alike love seeing Borg-centric storylines, but not everyone enjoyed their appearances.

Trekkies will want to seek out Edward Gross and Mark A. Altman's book, "The Fifty-Year Mission: The Next 25 Years: From The Next Generation to J.J. Abrams." It contains many excellent quotes from people who have worked on the franchise over the years, including intriguing dialogue between Jonathan Frakes, who plays William Riker on "Star Trek: The Next Generation," and long-time "Star Trek" producer Rick Berman. In one section, Frakes praises the Borg: "The Borg were the greatest invention we had on the series."

Berman held the opposite opinion. "I'm not a big fan of the Borg," he asserted. "I find them very two-dimensional, in a way. They are faceless characters without personality and without specific character traits." He proceeded to call them a "one-beat group of bad guys" although he admitted the Borg-centric episode, "Best of Both Worlds," was great. Everyone's entitled to an opinion, and Berman's views haven't stopped the Borg from gaining a prominent place in the franchise, even becoming the antagonists of one of the best Star Trek movies ever — "Star Trek: First Contact."

The first appearance of the Borg came in the "Star Trek: The Next Generation" episode, "Q Who." Since that time, they've gone on to star in a number of other Star Trek media, and it's easy to see why the hive mind is such an appealing antagonist. The Borg want to assimilate everyone in the name of perfection, thereby stripping individuals of their free will. Over time, wrinkles started to show within the Borg mythology, particularly with Seven of Nine (Jeri Ryan), a former Borg drone who ends up joining Starfleet.

The Borg weren't necessarily the first time a hive mind concept came into pop culture, but they certainly embodied the concept spectacularly. The foes have popped up on numerous "Best Of" lists, including attaining the number two status on Rolling Stone's list of the top Star Trek villains. Simon Vozick-Levinson wrote of the Borg, "Can anyone who's seen 1990's classic two-part episode "The Best of Both Worlds" forget the moment when we first saw [Picard] as the creepily dead-eyed Locutus of Borg? Just face it — resistance is futile."

The Borg's influence has even extended into other science-fiction properties. "Rick and Morty" brought the hive mind Unity (Christina Hendricks) into the characters' lives, and Unity maintains an alliance with another hive mind, Beta-Seven (Patton Oswalt). Beta-Seven even has physical characteristics similar to the Borg with cybernetic enhancements. Rick Berman may have thought the Borg were "one-beat," but it's a beat that's seen a lot of use.