Character Insight No. 239: Best of Odo

Welcome back to Character Insight! This week, we continue the Best Of series for Deep Space Nine with a look at Odo, the station security chief.

https://archive.org/details/CharacterInsightEp239

Odo is a shapeshifter, which comes in handy when playing the general detective and law man role on a space station as lively as Deep Space 9.  His dry wit is one of the key components establishing a feel and theme for this version of Star Trek.  For example, in the episode Necessary Evil, Odo shares his candid thoughts on human record keeping in a murder investigation.

QUOTE (from Necessary Evil, S2):
Odo: Commence station security log, stardate 47282.5 - At the request of Commander Sisko, I will hereafter be recording a daily log of law enforcement affairs. The reason for this exercise is beyond my comprehension, except perhaps that Humans have a compulsion to keep records and lists and files. So many in fact, that they have to invent new ways to store them microscopically...Everything's under control. End log.

The Federation and humans are not the only race that draws the wit of Constable Odo, as shown in this short exchange while investigating a classic "Whodunit" murder attempt on Elim Garak's life in the episode Improbable Cause.

QUOTE (from Improbable Cause, S3):
Commander Sisko: The question still remains, why would the Romulans want to have Garak killed?
Odo: I don't know. Considering those uniforms of theirs, you'd think they'd appreciate a decent tailor.

We learn a good bit of backstory in what drives Odo to be so dedicated to his job and his role on the station in the episode Things Past.

QUOTE (from Things Past, S5):
Odo: I was too busy, too concerned with maintaining order, and the rule of law. I thought of myself as the outsider, a shapeshifter who cared for nothing but justice. It never occured to me that I could fail. But I did...I allowed three innocent men to die.

Even though many of his appearances are chasing down common crook activities of folks like Elim Garak and Quark, Odo eventually finds a love interest in the latter seasons with Major Kira Nerys.  In the funny episode His Way, Odo learns love tips from Vic Fontaine, the holodeck club singer, and finds a way to make them work.

QUOTE (from His Way, S6):
Major Kira: Now, are we gonna have dinner together or not?
Odo: And if we do, then what?
Major Kira: I don't know, maybe we could go dancing.
Odo: And after that, I suppose you'll expect me to kiss you.
Major Kira: Well, it's possible.
Odo: Well then, who needs dinner? Why don't I just get it over with and kiss you right now?

Odo was played by Rene Auberjonois, who has had a long and successful acting career in film and in the theater, highlighted by winning the 1970 Tony Award for best featured actor in a musical.  It fits with his lineage, with his father being a Pulitzer Prize nominee author and his grandfather being a famous Swiss impressionist painter.

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Character Insight No. 238: What to Expect from ST Discovery

Welcome back to Character Insight! This week, we discuss the new trailer for Star Trek Discovery and what we should expect from a character side this fall.

https://archive.org/details/CharacterInsightEp238

As covered on a special additional episode of this show last week, the first full trailer for Star Trek Discovery dropped 2 minutes of substantive clips and content for us to finally see last week.  This is finally a first glimpse into some of the characters and story that will soon be added to Star Trek television canon.

Two of the bigger name actors case for the show are Michelle Yeoh as Captain Georgiou and Sonequa Martin-Green as the lead, first officer Michael Burnham.  So it should come as no surprise that these two are featured heavily in the trailer right off the bat.

QUOTE:
Burnham - "Captain, where are we going? We have no map, and you can't set a course without a star."
Georgiou - "It's hard to imagine you've served under me for seven years."

These two also are seen arguing about Federation policy in conflicts later, as Burnham insists that sometimes the Federation must fire first.  Even in just this brief glimpse of a trailer, we can see interesting threads of personality differences developed between what is stated to be a long time captain and officer beneath her. 

This is also an interesting allegory for the show as a whole, as Star Trek tries to figure out whether it is an action-based blockbuster as done in the recent movies, or a slower-paced discovery show more typically done in older versions of television Trek.  We simply don't know where these 15 episodes will come out, which is up from the original episode count of 13.  But one thing is certain, change is inevitable as storytelling and the way TV shows are constructed has changed dramatically in the last decade, let alone over the last 50 years.

With such a limited episode count compared to TV shows from over a decade ago, character development is often handled only in present, with limited back story provided only in lines like the one quoted earlier.  It seems likely that we will not have deep dive B-stories into secondary ensemble cast members, as the plot must continue to move forward quickly.  Instead, we will have short lines like this one about the most compelling new race seen in the trailer.

QUOTE:
New crewmember - "My people were biologically determined for one purpose alone, to sense the presence of death. I sense it coming now."

That's still plenty interesting, if it's not just used as a repeating trope for upcoming conflict.  But it remains clear that modern television, particularly anthology type shows like this where casts may only stick around for one short season, does not have time for character development in the same ways as old Star Trek.  It will be interesting to see how that changes our attachment to the crew characters, as some shows like Breaking Bad and Fargo tend to do characters very well, while other modern shows skimp on the premise.

The trailer gives us a good glimpse of the visuals, and they look modern and great except for being a little on the dark side with a side of lens flares.  While story is still effectively unknown, we can already see a difference in how characters will be handled and developed, and that's something I look forward to covering more on this segment as the show beams to us later this year.  At the end of the day, we all hope it's a great show, but at least Trek will be tried once again with modern TV format and sensibilities, which is a step in the right direction.

If you want to see those lead actors in their other works leading up to Discovery, check out Martin-Green on the last three seasons of The Walking Dead, and Yeoh on the movies Tomorrow Never Dies, and the Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon series.

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Character Insight No. 237: Best of Jadzia Dax

Welcome back to Character Insight! This week, we fire up another Best Of series of segments with the Deep Space Nine TV series.  We begin this week with the best of Jadzia Dax.

https://archive.org/details/CharacterInsightEp237

Jadzia is a science officer serving for Starfleet aboard DS9, and she's a joined Trill with seven lifetimes of experience in her symbiont.  She provides an interesting mix of youthful exuberance and great wisdom serving on Sisko's crew.  In the episode Playing God, we learn much more about her Trill background when she mentors another potential Trill host.

QUOTE (from Playing God, S2):
Lieutenant Jadzia Dax: Jadzia Dax is not Curzon Dax. But I am Dax. And I'm slowly coming to terms with what that means to me. Sometimes it means gambling or wrestling; sometimes it means waking up an initiate, before he slides into the middle of the pack and gets overlooked.
Arjin: [surprised] You're giving me another chance?
Lieutenant Jadzia Dax: You are the only one who can give yourself another chance. You can't simply do this anymore, to meet other people's expectations - not your father's, not your teachers', and not mine. You need to discover what Arjin wants out of life, out of joining.

With a previous host Curzon, Dax was close friends with Commander Sisko.  That allows Dax to be the voice of wisdom and reason to talk Sisko off ledges, such as in the episode In the Pale Moonlight.

QUOTE (from In The Pale Moonlight, S6):
Lt. Commander Jadzia Dax: But before I plunge my people into a conflict that will kill millions of loyal Romulan citizens, I need something more concrete than the self-serving argument of a Starfleet officer. I need proof of Dominion duplicity. Not more words. Proof.
Captain Sisko: [chuckles acknowledging] Very good, old man. You would have made a decent Romulan.
Lt. Commander Jadzia Dax: I prefer the spots to the pointed ears.

Curzon Dax was also close with some Klingons, which makes for a great dichotomy when Jadzia also shares in those same relationships.  In the episode Blood Oath, she honors one of Curzon's promises but shows no hesitation to explain where she differs from her Klingon friends.

QUOTE (from Blood Oath, S2):
Kang: If we cannot reach the Albino, we can at least die an honorable death trying to reach him - a death a Klingon Dahar Master deserves.
Lieutenant Jadzia Dax: You know what, Kang? I think you Klingons embrace death too easily. You treat death like a lover. I think living is a lot more attractive.

Speaking of Klingons, it's relationships from past lives like this that likely lead to her romantic pairing with Commander Worf when he joins the show.  Opposites attract, although both have the wit and strength to survive Klingon lovemaking sessions as alluded to in the episode Let He Who is Without Sin.

QUOTE (from Let He Who is Without Sin, S5):
Odo: Actually, I believe Commander Dax has been treated for seven muscle pulls, two contusions and three cracked ribs. The only person who spent more time in the infirmary over the past few weeks is Commander Worf.
Captain Sisko: [to Dax] Isn't there any way that... the two of you could, um... erm... you know...
Lt. Commander Jadzia Dax: Make love?
Captain Sisko: ...without injuring yourselves?
Lt. Commander Jadzia Dax: Interspecies romance isn't without its danger. That's part of the fun.

Jadzia Dax was played by Terry Farrell, who was born in Cedar Rapids, Iowa just like yours truly.  She retired from acting in 2003 and lived as a stay-at-home mother in Pennsylvania and New York for over a decade.  However, she has just recently started acting again in 2017, so keep an eye on her for future projects.

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Contact me with segment suggestions @BuckeyeFitzy on Twitter! Thanks!

Character Insight No. 236: Sarah Sisko

Welcome back to Character Insight! This week, we review Sarah Sisko, a recurring character from the final season of Deep Space Nine.

https://archive.org/details/CharacterInsightEp236


Sarah Sisko was the mother of Commander Ben Sisko, although he was not aware of this until he was in command of the DS9 station and in his 40s.  As described on the segment a few months ago on Ben's father Joseph Sisko, we find out in the episode Image in the Sand that Sarah had been possessed by a Prophet and forced to give birth to an Emissary, AKA Ben, shortly after marrying Joseph. 

She leaves Ben and Joseph after the Prophet stops possessing her, so she's not an active part of Ben Sisko's life.  However, she lives on in a sense thanks to the Prophet that had taken her over, as that Prophet continues to use Sarah's appearance and voice when interacting with Ben Sisko.  Indeed, this Prophet calls Ben "my son" and seems to have a parental kinship with the Commander, unlike any other Prophets we see in the episodes of this show.

QUOTE (from Shadows and Symbols):
Sarah Sisko: The Sisko's path is a difficult one.
Sisko: But why me? Why did it have to be me?
Sarah Sisko: Because it could be no one else.

The latter appearances of Sarah, which is really the Prophet that previously possessed Sarah, are an interesting mix of self-serving actions on behalf of the Prophets and motherly advice.  For example, Sarah warns Ben against marrying Kassidy Yates, although as far as the show is concerned, that marriage works out just fine in the end.  Sometimes parental figures can be wrong about such things!

However, there's also a good deal of guidance given by Sarah to Ben Sisko on tracking down and defeating the Pah-Wraiths who are trying to imprison the Prophets and take over the wormhole for themselves.  Aside from the Dominion War conflict that spans the final two seasons of this show, Sarah Sisko and the Prophet emulating her are vital characters who advance Ben Sisko to achieve all that was expected of the Emissary.  She does not provide much backstory to Ben Sisko, but she is key in the character arc and development.

Sarah Sisko was played by Deborah Lacey, who has also guested on many other shows over her 35 year career.  Lacey played Carla in Mad Men, which is what she is likely best known for outside Star Trek and these other bit roles on television.

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Contact me with segment suggestions @BuckeyeFitzy on Twitter! Thanks!