Whoopi Goldberg is one of only a handful of people to achieve the “EGOT” (winning an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony) and remains active to this day as co-host of the popular daytime show The View, but she still has fond memories of her time on Star Trek: The Next Generation and she may not have said goodbye to Trek entirely.

Goldberg letting the world know she is ready to return to Trek

Whoopi Goldberg was a guest on this week’s episode of David Tennant’s new podcast (yes the former Doctor Who star has a podcast). She made some news during the pod, saying she once unsuccessfully pitched the idea of being the first female Doctor for Doctor Who, but she also talked about Star Trek. After being asked about her time on The Next Generation, Goldberg told the story about how she was a fan of Star Trek: The Original Series as a young girl as it showed there was a future for women of color in the character of Uhura, something very rare for science fiction of the era. Then in the 1980s after her friend LeVar Burton told her he was to join a new Trek show, she asked him to let the producers know she was interested.

On the podcast, Goldberg recalls that because she was becoming a big star, the producers didn’t believe she was really serious until she personally called Star Trek: The Next Generation creator Gene Roddenberry. After being convinced, Roddenberry created the character of Guinan for her and she appeared in 29 episodes over five seasons as well as two of the TNG feature films. Goldberg said she was especially proud that this was the last character Roddenberry created for Star Trek. Speaking of her time on the show, she said “For me, it was one of the best gigs ever because Star Trek was to me a really meaningful show.”

On the podcast, Tennant suggested that with Patrick Stewart returning to Star Trek, maybe she could as well. Here is the exchange:

Tennant: You could presumably go back to Star Trek. Patrick Stewart is back at it. Goldberg: I know, but, you know, they have not asked me. Tennant: You need to ask them again. They would probably think you are kidding. Goldberg: Well, I don’t know. Maybe. I will. I’ll put it out there. Tennant: Well, this could be it. We are putting it out there. Goldberg: All right. We are putting it out there right now.

This isn’t the first time Goldberg has expressed excitement about the upcoming Star Trek show. Two weeks ago Patrick Stewart was a guest on The View, where Goldberg introduced him as “my captain” and they talked briefly about his return to Trek before letting him plug his new movie The Kid Who Would Be King.

Guinan 2399?

The untitled Jean-Luc Picard Star Trek show is currently in pre-production with filming expected to start in Los Angeles in April. So far there have been no indications that the show will include any other characters from The Next Generation. Over the fall, a number of Stewart’s co-stars had made it known that they didn’t expect to return for the show. The series, set 20 years after the events of Star Trek: Nemesis, is described as something very different than Star Trek: The Next Generation, highly serialized and very character-driven. However, a role for Goldberg is certainly not out of the question. Picard and Guinan were shown to have a very close bond on TNG, and she could still play an important role in his life in 2399. And based on Guinan’s appearances in the past (TNG “Time’s Arrow”) and the film Star Trek: Generations, her race (El-Aurian) is known to live very long lives.

Keep up with all the news on the Picard show and other upcoming Star Trek TV shows here at TrekMovie.com.