The cast of Star Trek: The Next Generation reunited over the weekend at the Calgary Comic & Entertainment Expo, and the highlight of their panel was a heartfelt speech from Wil Wheaton about his decision to leave the show.

Wheaton:

I left Star Trek: The Next Generation when I was 18-years old and initially I thought it was a really smart business career move. In some ways it was and in more ways it wasn't. What I wasn't prepared for was how much I was going to miss the people on this stage and how much I was going to miss the spacesuit that I hated wearing and the helmet hair, that I couldn't stand putting on.

Wheaton's admission ended with hugs all around and a little bit of ribbing from LeVar Burton, who said, "To tell you the god's honest truth, you were a pain in the ass, but I'm glad you're here, because you're our pain in the ass."

Writing about the event on his blog, Wheaton said, "After twenty years, I finally got to say this."

[treknews.]