When Stewart called his fellow actors into a meeting to discuss their messing around, he took it very seriously. He “lectured the cast” and apparently even told Denise Crosby, who played Tasha Yar, “We are not here, Denise, to have fun,” when she suggested that they needed to have fun sometimes. This, of course, sent the assembled cast into delirious laughter, which made Stewart storm off and slam his trailer door. After a little while, co-stars Jonathan Frakes and Brent Spiner were at the door, and they helped fix the whole situation by explaining that episodic TV was a lot different than theater, and they cut back on the horseplay a bit. Ultimately, the cast helped Stewart learn how to exist as a part of a big TV ensemble. In his own words:
“Jonathan Frakes was principally responsible for this, and it’s no surprise that he evolved into an excellent director. His manner on set is always relaxed, with a twinkle in his eye — he so enjoys the work even as he goes about it seriously. I did my best to emulate his approach, because I recognized that one of my problems was that I had an anxious desire not only to work seriously, but to be seen as working seriously.”
That seriousness was a problem, but it seems that trying to imitate Frakes’ easy-going nature was the solution. By looking to his co-star and friend, he started to relax a little bit, and it helped bring the entire “Next Gen” cast closer.