How important was the casting of Patrick Stewart in the success of the series?

I would say that the casting of Patrick Stewart made up at least 50%, if not more, of our success. Not because he's a great actor, which he is, but because Patrick was not going to be in anything that he wasn't 100% proud of.

He would fight to change dialogue, to make it better. He was totally professional and consequently, because of the trickle down effect, if this wonderful actor cared so much about the product, then we all cared about the product, and we all wanted it to be the best that it could be. As far as I'm concerned, he personified what a captain should be - he was like the touchstone for all of us, I think.