“Star Trek: The Next Generation” lasted for seven seasons from 1987 to 1994, and would go on to inspire four feature films from 1994 to 2002. But Spiner apparently always had one eye on the door throughout those first seven years. Data was beloved by fans, and some might say he’s the second most important character on “Next Generation” after Patrick Stewart’s Captain Picard. Regardless, Spiner thought about quitting often. When asked if he ever got a little sick of playing the same character week after week, Spiner replied:
“Well, definitely … I did that every year. Seriously. Every year at the end of the year, I thought, ‘Yeah, I don’t know if I’m going to come back and do another year. I’m going to get out of this contract.'”
This might be an attitude left over from the troubled early days of “The Next Generation.” Some older viewers may recall that there was a lot of skepticism about the show, because a contingent of fans felt that “Star Trek” wouldn’t be able to persist without the original cast involved. There was also a lot of tumult behind the scenes as the show’s creator and various producers vied for control, exacerbated by a writers strike. In 1987, the general consensus was that “Next Generation” might make it to the end of its first season and then be canceled, doomed to remain a footnote in the “Star Trek” canon.
In was in that spirit that Spiner agreed to take the job. The gig paid well, and Spiner would probably be able to get away from the franchise after a year. He wasn’t a Trekkie or anything. He just wanted the money, as any working actor might.