Shooting the Atari commercial, it seems, happened literally the day before the shoot for “Children of the Corn.” Franklin did not wear a wig for the commercial, meaning a hair stylist had to give him very square bangs and pointed sideburns. He then jumped on a plane and flew to Iowa where he likely expected a wig or a new hairdo for his role as Isaac. The filmmakers, however, were fond of his Vulcan hair. He said:
“I had just done a commercial for ‘Star Trek.’ Atari. I was a Vulcan. And so they did the fake ears and they did the haircut with the horrible thing like this [straight bangs] And when I landed in Sioux City for ‘Children of the Corn’ the next day, they looked at it and they go, ‘That kinda works. It’s weird and creepy. Keep it!’ And I’m like, ‘Okay!’ You can see I’ve got these weird bangs and the V [sideburns], and it’s because I did a Vulcan the day before!”
Franklin would also return to the “Star Trek” universe in the “Star Trek: Voyager” episode “Critical Care” (November 1, 2000). In that episode, the Voyager’s holographic doctor (Robert Picardo) was kidnapped and forced to work in a plague-ridden hospital on a distant alien world. The hospital is overseen by a computer that allocates care and supplies based on caste and not on medical need. Naturally, the doctor is morally outraged. Franklin played Kipp, a merchant who was victimized in a trading scam run by the evil Gar (John Kassir).
It was a small role, but 17 years after his Atari gig, Trek paid him again.