15 Star Trek Actors Who Directed Episodes

Gates McFadden had a pretty short and sweet career as a Star Trek director, being responsible for one episode of TNG, 'Genesis.'

McFadden actually started her show business career in choreography and puppetry, working on several Jim Henson productions. She branched out into stage acting and teaching, including dance and stage combat. She appeared in a few movies before being cast as Dr Crusher, and returned to teaching and TV acting after TNG ended.

Although McFadden only directed one episode, it was a doozy. Genesis was a very special-effects driven episode, detailing what happened when the various crew members of the Enterprise devolved into other life forms due to a virus that infects the ship. Almost every main cast member ends up wearing some type of prosthetic, and Dr Crusher herself ended up blinded by venom sprayed by a proto-Klingon Worf (which conveniently removed her from the plot and gave her more time to devote to directing.)

Reception to the episode was mixed; some critics thought it was a classic ST episode, bordering on horror, and others thought it was just plain stupid. If nothing else, it remains memorable.