Character Insight No. 346: Remembering Rene Auberjonois and His Roles

Welcome back to Character Insight! This week, we catch up on the sad news during my recent break and do a memorial segment honoring the life and career of Rene Auberjonois, who passed away in December.

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Auberjonois became the first regular cast member of any Trek spinoff show to pass away at the end of last year, and his contributions in acting will stand the test of time well beyond our realm of Star Trek. His family background is very interesting as his mother was a princess descended from the family of Napoleon Bonaparte. He grew up in New York City as the son of a journalist and the grandson of a painter, so his passion and connection to the arts began early in life.

As with many actors, he began his career on Broadway in many plays of the 1960's and 70's. His first breakthrough television role was as the memorable Clayton Endicott III on the comedy series Benson in the 1980's. During this time and the following years, Auberjonois became a regular face in many films and television shows, though mostly in smaller roles. One such small role was as Starfleet Colonel West in Star Trek VI, but his scenes were cut from the theatrical release of this film.

That opened the door of Trek to him, and he quickly earned the role of Odo, the chief of security aboard Deep Space 9. As the changeling Founders became a core nemesis in the DS9 story arc, it allowed Auberjonois to really stretch his legs in character development as we learned more about the other side of the conflict through Odo's own discovery of his kind. Although he had to endure long days in the makeup chair, usually alongside close friend Armin Schimmerman, he added a lot of gravity and acting chops to the show that raised the game of everyone else in the cast.

Auberjonois was considered strongly for the EMH role in Voyager, but his only other Trek role came in a guest appearance as a character named Ezral in Enterprise. Around this same time, he got to co-star with William Shatner in Boston Legal, which was a legal comedy spun off from another show he appeared in called The Practice. If you want to enjoy more of Auberjonois's work, I recommend this show highly, even as an attorney who generally dislikes legal shows.

Auberjonois was married for the final 56 years of his life and leaves behind two children, Tessa and Remy, who have also dabbled in their father's acting craft. As someone who was very quotable, we'll leave you with two of his quotes about life and acting:

- "If you do your job properly you usually learn a lot about yourself from any role you play."
AND
- "The best part is the part I'm working at the moment."

Rest in peace, Rene, and thank you for your great contributions to the growing tapestry of Star Trek.

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

Character Insight No. 345: Prepping for Star Trek Picard

Welcome back to Character Insight! I apologize for my absence over the holidays and past few weeks as I dealt with a bug that took my voice away with coughing fits most days, but I'm back for the new year just in time for new Trek.  To that end, This week, we provide some guidance on what to re-watch in preparation for Star Trek Picard, which launches later this week.

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Whether you are binging some content before Picard begins or you are seeking some filler to spend the long hours between each week's episode release, a good way to spend this time is watching the best Picard content previously released.  So with that in mind, and looking at some of the characters and themes that appeared in the trailers for the new show, here are some suggestions for episodes and movies to catch up on.  I've split these by some themes rather than by chronological order, as you may want to focus on particular themes especially after they come up in the new show.

Picard

Family, TNG S4

Tapestry, TNG S6

Starship Mine, TNG S6

All Good Things, TNG S7

These Picard-centric episodes provide some of the best glimpses we have into the multi-faceted Captain.  Family is probably the must-watch here for the new series, but the TNG finale also provides a similar future vision to what it appears we will end up with in the new series.  

Borg

Q Who, TNG S2

Best of Both Worlds, TNG S3/4

I, Borg, TNG S5

First Contact (movie)

For the Borg, these selections hit the beginning and the high points of Picard's interaction with them.  As it is confirmed that the former Borg drone Hugh will be in the series, the one episode you should definitely refresh is I, Borg.

Data

The Measure of a Man, TNG S2

Data's Day, S4

Descent, TNG S6/7

Nemesis (movie)

Turning to Data, I've selected a sampling showing the many investigations we have into Data's journey and desire to become more human.  The new series will certainly pick up on the threads left by Data's demise in Nemesis, but even the other movies Generations and First Contact are helpful in refreshing yourself on Data's storyline.

Romulans

The Defector, TNG S3

Unification, TNG S5

Face of the Enemy, TNG S6

Inter Arma Eni Silent Leges, DS9 S7

Star Trek (2009 movie)

Reading the earl grey tea leaves, it seems the Romulans will play a central role in the new series following the events of the Abrams 2009 movie, so that's required viewing.  Just like Klingons in Discovery, it may be helpful to have some background on what we know about how Romulans work, and that's why these episodes have been identified.  Of course, I would also expect the new series to provide its own background on Romulans if relevant.

Seven of Nine

Scorpion, VOY S3/4

The Gift, VOY S4

One, VOY S4

Infinite Regress, VOY S5

Finally, we also know Seven is coming back, and much like the Borg episodes, this selection both shows the high points of her character development and more background on the all-important Borg.  

Even if some of this material is not that relevant to the new series, it will be enjoyable to visit these high points in the series coming back together in the new show.  For those of us who grew up on TNG and the like, this is what we've been dreaming of, so let's get excited and enjoy the next chapter for our Captain and the rest.

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