Welcome back to Character Insight! This week, we review the Sphere Builders, a recurring set of characters in Enterprise.
https://archive.org/details/CharacterInsightEp253
The Sphere Builders are the villains behind the Xindi-Earth conflict that dominates over an entire season of this show. Much like other top villains such as the Borg, the Sphere Builders try to destroy the Federation before it ever occurs because in a future timeline, the Federation foils this group's attempt to invade the Alpha Quadrant. That means lots of time travel mumbo-jumbo is in order to explain this race.
The Sphere Builders repeatedly appear to the Xindi following the destruction of the Xindi homeworld, and the Xindi refer to them as religious figures called The Guardians. The Xindi are guided to survive on habitable planets and then form multiple major weapons to attack Earth, all under the influence of the Sphere Builders. This includes the prototype weapon that kills 7 million people in the initial attack of Earth, as well as a bio-weapon and the ultimate weapon that leads the Enterprise to track down the Xindi to stop the threat.
QUOTE (from Harbinger):
Sphere-Builder Test Subject: "When the Xindi destroy Earth, my people will prevail!"
The key to undermining the Sphere Builders in the time traveling schemes was time agent Daniels, who helps the Enterprise crew by transporting them through time to stop the bio-weapon threat and also helping them uncover evidence to prove the long-term manipulation of the Xindi to the leadership of the Xindi. When this evidence causes some of the Xindi species to turn against the Sphere Builders, a final conflict emerges where the Builders try to destroy Enterprise while the Enterprise crew splits their attention between stopping the ultra weapon and disabling the Sphere Builder network, which creates the trans-dimensional space that allows these time travelers to exist in our realm.
I'll save the final conclusion of that battle to the main show, to avoid major spoilers for Mike and Darrell's trek through Season 3 of Enterprise. But it's a satisfying end to a long story arc.
The concept of a mastermind meddling race causing the conflict between the Xindi and the future Federation is an interesting idea for building a conflict, but unfortunately, this also draws in a metric ton of time-traveling shortcuts from the 26th Century and garbage writing. If you like the time travel stories and conundrums, you will love this. But if you don't, it will be a long road, getting from there to here.
We see five Sphere-Builders on screen, played by Josette Di Carlo, Thomas Kopache, Alina Andrei, Ruth Williamson, and Mary Mara. Kopache has had the most notable career of this group, with a regular role on The West Wing and appearances in movies like No Country for Old Men. However, Andrei has been a top stuntwoman for many years and her most recent work is on The Orville, which launched this week for the sci fi parody laughs.
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Contact me with segment suggestions @BuckeyeFitzy on Twitter! Thanks!
Monday, September 11, 2017
Monday, September 4, 2017
Character Insight No. 252: Lewis Zimmerman
Welcome back to Character Insight! This week, we return to the land of recurring characters with a profile of Dr. Lewis Zimmerman, from Voyager.
https://archive.org/details/CharacterInsightEp252
Lewis Zimmerman is a Starfleet scientist who becomes the leader in the field of holo-engineering. After 12 years of serving at the holo-programming center on Jupiter Station, he becomes the director of the station. His crowning achievement was the development of a long term medical holographic program, the holographic EMH.
We first discover Zimmerman in the Voyager episode Projections, where we learn that all Mark I first generation EMH's were based on him. Thus, we see Zimmerman as an older version of the holographic doctor we know so well.
In the DS9 episode Doctor Bashir, I Presume, we see Zimmerman trying to model Dr. Julian Bashir as the template for an improved EMH. When it is discovered that Julian's parents had him genetically engineered as a child, Zimmerman has to disqualify Bashir from being the template. Which is good because I don't think we could handle any more Julian Bashirs!
Zimmerman has a short dating relationship with Leeta on this episode, and when that breaks off, he has no trouble rebounding when he sees another good thing, as seen here:
QUOTE (from Doctor Bashir, I Presume):
Zimmerman: Perhaps I'm better suited to a life of solitary research...don't worry about me, I'll be fine. Excuse me, are you familiar with the ancient Earth text called the Kama Sutra?
The best episode featuring Zimmerman is Voyager's Life Line, where he is terminally ill and prepares a last will and testament giving everything holographic to Reginald Barclay. Barclay, who had established contact with Voyager, convinces the holographic Doctor to come try and treat Zimmerman. After refusing to be treated by an earlier model of the EMH, Dr. Zimmerman eventually backs down and the EMH cures him, while also showing the personality he has developed in working with the Voyager crew. It becomes almost a father-son relationship, and is another good character beat for the holographic EMH.
Zimmerman was an interesting character much in the vein of Dr. Soong, and his involvement on two concurrent series leads to good character development of Dr. Bashir and the holographic EMH. You can't ask much more than that in a small handful of appearances.
Lewis Zimmerman was played by Robert Picardo, just like the EMH. Picardo still acts today, and he can be found as host of the show The Planetary Post.
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Contact me with segment suggestions @BuckeyeFitzy on Twitter! Thanks!
https://archive.org/details/CharacterInsightEp252
Lewis Zimmerman is a Starfleet scientist who becomes the leader in the field of holo-engineering. After 12 years of serving at the holo-programming center on Jupiter Station, he becomes the director of the station. His crowning achievement was the development of a long term medical holographic program, the holographic EMH.
We first discover Zimmerman in the Voyager episode Projections, where we learn that all Mark I first generation EMH's were based on him. Thus, we see Zimmerman as an older version of the holographic doctor we know so well.
In the DS9 episode Doctor Bashir, I Presume, we see Zimmerman trying to model Dr. Julian Bashir as the template for an improved EMH. When it is discovered that Julian's parents had him genetically engineered as a child, Zimmerman has to disqualify Bashir from being the template. Which is good because I don't think we could handle any more Julian Bashirs!
Zimmerman has a short dating relationship with Leeta on this episode, and when that breaks off, he has no trouble rebounding when he sees another good thing, as seen here:
QUOTE (from Doctor Bashir, I Presume):
Zimmerman: Perhaps I'm better suited to a life of solitary research...don't worry about me, I'll be fine. Excuse me, are you familiar with the ancient Earth text called the Kama Sutra?
The best episode featuring Zimmerman is Voyager's Life Line, where he is terminally ill and prepares a last will and testament giving everything holographic to Reginald Barclay. Barclay, who had established contact with Voyager, convinces the holographic Doctor to come try and treat Zimmerman. After refusing to be treated by an earlier model of the EMH, Dr. Zimmerman eventually backs down and the EMH cures him, while also showing the personality he has developed in working with the Voyager crew. It becomes almost a father-son relationship, and is another good character beat for the holographic EMH.
Zimmerman was an interesting character much in the vein of Dr. Soong, and his involvement on two concurrent series leads to good character development of Dr. Bashir and the holographic EMH. You can't ask much more than that in a small handful of appearances.
Lewis Zimmerman was played by Robert Picardo, just like the EMH. Picardo still acts today, and he can be found as host of the show The Planetary Post.
-----
Contact me with segment suggestions @BuckeyeFitzy on Twitter! Thanks!
Tuesday, August 22, 2017
Character Insight No. 251: Eclipses and Stargazing
Welcome back to Character Insight! This week, I was one of many who traveled to watch the solar eclipse in its totality, so let's take a look at eclipses in Star Trek.
https://archive.org/details/CharacterInsightEp251
As primarily a visual phenomenon based on planets, eclipses are not seen much in the space faring stories of Star Trek. However, one eclipse does serve an important story role in the Voyager episode Ex Post Facto, where Professor Tolen Ren's wife expresses the importance of witnessing such an event a few years prior on their planet Banea.
QUOTE:
I haven't been married for years Tom...he treats me as a friend, a companion...he hasn't treated me as a woman since the day of the eclipse four years ago. He was very excited about the eclipse, don't ask me why.
It later became important for Tom Paris to recall this and other information when he is accused of the Professor's murder and is implanted with false memories of the alleged murder to punish him for these alleged crimes. The eclipse was a turning point in the marriage, and that helped Tuvok discover the motive and proof to exonerate Tom Paris of the charge.
Other than visuals referring to eclipses in the Enterprise theme credits or the visuals of other credits, there are no other references that can be found to such phenomenon. It's just one part of stargazing that has not received a ton of play on Star Trek, as there are many more phenomenon to experience when out there amongst the stars.
Stargazing more generally has certainly been shown in many contexts in Star Trek. We see Captain Archer stargazing on a Risa shore leave, and also Trip investigating a stellar nursery from a telescope on Earth in various Enterprise episodes. Kamin from The Inner Light also builds a telescope, as noted on the episode insight a couple weeks ago. Voyager also showed both humans and aliens stargazing as well, perhaps most notably in the episode Blink of an Eye, where Voyager is spotted by an observatory on an alien world when the ship is stuck in orbit of the planet.
Stargazing and enjoying event like eclipses are all about exploration and discovery of the universe around us, so it makes sense that we see references to the same in Star Trek thanks to the central theme of the show. We might have to wait 7 years in America to see another eclipse, but we have far less time to wait to enjoy new Star Trek, and so we go on discovering and exploring.
-----
Contact me with segment suggestions @BuckeyeFitzy on Twitter! Thanks!
https://archive.org/details/CharacterInsightEp251
As primarily a visual phenomenon based on planets, eclipses are not seen much in the space faring stories of Star Trek. However, one eclipse does serve an important story role in the Voyager episode Ex Post Facto, where Professor Tolen Ren's wife expresses the importance of witnessing such an event a few years prior on their planet Banea.
QUOTE:
I haven't been married for years Tom...he treats me as a friend, a companion...he hasn't treated me as a woman since the day of the eclipse four years ago. He was very excited about the eclipse, don't ask me why.
It later became important for Tom Paris to recall this and other information when he is accused of the Professor's murder and is implanted with false memories of the alleged murder to punish him for these alleged crimes. The eclipse was a turning point in the marriage, and that helped Tuvok discover the motive and proof to exonerate Tom Paris of the charge.
Other than visuals referring to eclipses in the Enterprise theme credits or the visuals of other credits, there are no other references that can be found to such phenomenon. It's just one part of stargazing that has not received a ton of play on Star Trek, as there are many more phenomenon to experience when out there amongst the stars.
Stargazing more generally has certainly been shown in many contexts in Star Trek. We see Captain Archer stargazing on a Risa shore leave, and also Trip investigating a stellar nursery from a telescope on Earth in various Enterprise episodes. Kamin from The Inner Light also builds a telescope, as noted on the episode insight a couple weeks ago. Voyager also showed both humans and aliens stargazing as well, perhaps most notably in the episode Blink of an Eye, where Voyager is spotted by an observatory on an alien world when the ship is stuck in orbit of the planet.
Stargazing and enjoying event like eclipses are all about exploration and discovery of the universe around us, so it makes sense that we see references to the same in Star Trek thanks to the central theme of the show. We might have to wait 7 years in America to see another eclipse, but we have far less time to wait to enjoy new Star Trek, and so we go on discovering and exploring.
-----
Contact me with segment suggestions @BuckeyeFitzy on Twitter! Thanks!
Monday, August 14, 2017
Character Insight No. 250: The Best of Ben Sisko
Welcome back to Character Insight! This week, we celebrate the 250th installment of this segment by closing out the Best Of series for Deep Space Nine with the station commander, Benjamin Sisko.
https://archive.org/details/CharacterInsightEp250
For no reason in particular, when I started this segment over five years ago, I decided to start with one of the commanding officers, and so Ben Sisko was originally covered in segment number 1. It's been a long road getting from there to here, but I'm happy to bring us back to Sisko and cover his best moments to finish up this series on DS9 main characters.
As with most commanding officers and leads, there are so many high points in the character development of Ben Sisko. One of the best episodes in Deep Space Nine is The Visitor, which focuses on the special bond Jake and Ben Sisko share as son and father. Ben is always providing life advice and guidance to Jake, who we see as an adult and a young man in this alternate timeline episode.
QUOTE (from The Visitor, S4):
Captain Sisko: I'm no writer; but if I were, it seems to me I'd wanna poke my head up every once in a while and take a look around, see what's going on. It's life, Jake. You can miss it if you don't open your eyes.
In the episode In The Pale Moonlight, Sisko hits a personal low point as he goes to any means necessary to bring the Romulans into the Dominion War to help the Federation. His personal logs recounting this turn of events is some of the darkest and most interesting moments we see from a captain or commanding officer in all of Star Trek.
QUOTE (from In The Pale Moonlight, S6):
Captain Sisko: So... I lied. I cheated. I bribed men to cover the crimes of other men. I am an accessory to murder. But the most damning thing of all... I think I can live with it. And if I had to do it all over again - I would. Garak was right about one thing: a guilty conscience is a small price to pay for the safety of the Alpha Quadrant. So I will learn to live with it... Because I can live with it...
In a unique episode called Far Beyond the Stars, Sisko deals with visions in which he is Benny Russell, an African-American science fiction writer in the 1950s dreaming up and writing the Deep Space Nine story as science fiction. The other main actors on the show also take roles in these visions as other human characters, which allowed for us to see more of their depth outside alien contexts. This take on metafiction allows for a commentary on the importance of science fiction in our current era.
QUOTE (from Far Beyond the Stars, S6):
Captain Sisko: I have begun to wonder. What if it wasn't a dream? What if this life we're leading - all of this, you and me, everything - what if all of this... is the illusion?
Joseph Sisko: That's a scary thought.
Captain Sisko: I know, I know... But maybe, just maybe, Benny isn't the dream. We are. Maybe we're nothing more than figments of his imagination. For all we know, at this very moment, somewhere, far beyond all those distant stars, Benny Russell... is dreaming of us.
Sisko broke the mold of what we previously knew as Starfleet commanders, and that was a great thing for the future of this franchise. He's certainly one of my favorites, so the Emissary of the Prophets is a fitting end to the Best Of series for DS9.
Ben Sisko is played by Avery Brooks, who has the most fantastic interview with Bill Shatner in the documentary The Captains. He has passion for music and theater, and he's been a professor in the theater department of Rutgers University for 40 years. He even taught courses while he played Sisko, sometimes sending lessons by video to his students with him still in his uniform from filming!
-----
https://archive.org/details/CharacterInsightEp250
For no reason in particular, when I started this segment over five years ago, I decided to start with one of the commanding officers, and so Ben Sisko was originally covered in segment number 1. It's been a long road getting from there to here, but I'm happy to bring us back to Sisko and cover his best moments to finish up this series on DS9 main characters.
As with most commanding officers and leads, there are so many high points in the character development of Ben Sisko. One of the best episodes in Deep Space Nine is The Visitor, which focuses on the special bond Jake and Ben Sisko share as son and father. Ben is always providing life advice and guidance to Jake, who we see as an adult and a young man in this alternate timeline episode.
QUOTE (from The Visitor, S4):
Captain Sisko: I'm no writer; but if I were, it seems to me I'd wanna poke my head up every once in a while and take a look around, see what's going on. It's life, Jake. You can miss it if you don't open your eyes.
In the episode In The Pale Moonlight, Sisko hits a personal low point as he goes to any means necessary to bring the Romulans into the Dominion War to help the Federation. His personal logs recounting this turn of events is some of the darkest and most interesting moments we see from a captain or commanding officer in all of Star Trek.
QUOTE (from In The Pale Moonlight, S6):
Captain Sisko: So... I lied. I cheated. I bribed men to cover the crimes of other men. I am an accessory to murder. But the most damning thing of all... I think I can live with it. And if I had to do it all over again - I would. Garak was right about one thing: a guilty conscience is a small price to pay for the safety of the Alpha Quadrant. So I will learn to live with it... Because I can live with it...
In a unique episode called Far Beyond the Stars, Sisko deals with visions in which he is Benny Russell, an African-American science fiction writer in the 1950s dreaming up and writing the Deep Space Nine story as science fiction. The other main actors on the show also take roles in these visions as other human characters, which allowed for us to see more of their depth outside alien contexts. This take on metafiction allows for a commentary on the importance of science fiction in our current era.
QUOTE (from Far Beyond the Stars, S6):
Captain Sisko: I have begun to wonder. What if it wasn't a dream? What if this life we're leading - all of this, you and me, everything - what if all of this... is the illusion?
Joseph Sisko: That's a scary thought.
Captain Sisko: I know, I know... But maybe, just maybe, Benny isn't the dream. We are. Maybe we're nothing more than figments of his imagination. For all we know, at this very moment, somewhere, far beyond all those distant stars, Benny Russell... is dreaming of us.
Sisko broke the mold of what we previously knew as Starfleet commanders, and that was a great thing for the future of this franchise. He's certainly one of my favorites, so the Emissary of the Prophets is a fitting end to the Best Of series for DS9.
Ben Sisko is played by Avery Brooks, who has the most fantastic interview with Bill Shatner in the documentary The Captains. He has passion for music and theater, and he's been a professor in the theater department of Rutgers University for 40 years. He even taught courses while he played Sisko, sometimes sending lessons by video to his students with him still in his uniform from filming!
-----
Contact me with segment suggestions @BuckeyeFitzy on Twitter! Thanks!
Tuesday, August 8, 2017
Character Insight No. 249: Best of Worf
Welcome back to Character Insight! This week, we return to the Best Of series for Deep Space Nine with a look at Worf, who joined the series as a strategic operations officer following his days on Picard's Enterprise in TNG.
https://archive.org/details/CharacterInsightEp249
Unlike almost every other character, Worf is a known quantity when he joins the DS9 crew in season 4. Commander Sisko brings him in to serve as an expert and liaison on Klingons as the tensions between the Cardassians, the Federation, and the Klingons were maximized at this point.
In his initial episode, The Way of the Warrior, we see Worf struggle with his old ship's destruction and conflicts between his Klingon heritage and his Federation duties. However, Jadzia Dax immediately takes a liking to him, and the beginnings of romance are already present in this first appearance during a holodeck scene.
QUOTE (from The Way of the Warrior, S4):
Lt. Commander Jadzia Dax: [ordering two holo-bat'leths for herself and Worf] I thought you might be tired of fighting holograms.
Lt. Commander Worf: It would not be a fair match.
Lt. Commander Jadzia Dax: I'll go easy on you.
QUOTE (from The Sword of Kahless, S4):
Lt. Commander Worf: It is done.
Lt. Commander Jadzia Dax: Good. It's for the best.
Kor: I hope you're right. It could be lost for another thousand years.
Lt. Commander Worf: When it is destined to be found... it will be.
Worf plays a critical role in defusing some of the Klingon conflicts and then later counseling the Empire to be a useful ally in the Dominion War. One climax of his involvement occurs in the episode Tacking Into the Wind, in which he tries to convince Gowron to avoid a costly attack based solely on anger and vengeance, and ends up having to duel him to remove him as Chancellor of the Empire.
QUOTE (from Tacking Into the Wind, S7):
Lt. Commander Worf: We cannot attack Sarpedion.
Gowron: I decide what can and cannot be done!
Lt. Commander Worf: You rule without wisdom and without honor. The warriors that are gathered here will not say this to you, but I will. You are squandering our ships and our lives on a petty act of vengeance!
Gowron: I should have known better than to trust you again. If you were a true Klingon, I would kill you where you stand!
Other big highlights include the unique wedding with Jadzia in the episode You Are Cordially Invited, and the time Worf snaps the neck of one of the Dominion's Weyouns in the episode Strange Bedfellows. As interesting as Worf's character was in TNG, he elevates to be one of, if not the best, main character on DS9.
Worf was played by Michael Dorn, who continues to act today but has plenty of other interesting passions. For example, he is a member of the Air Force Aviation Heritage Foundation, and he also owns and operates an old Air Force T-33 trainer jet, his own starship if you will.
-----
https://archive.org/details/CharacterInsightEp249
Unlike almost every other character, Worf is a known quantity when he joins the DS9 crew in season 4. Commander Sisko brings him in to serve as an expert and liaison on Klingons as the tensions between the Cardassians, the Federation, and the Klingons were maximized at this point.
In his initial episode, The Way of the Warrior, we see Worf struggle with his old ship's destruction and conflicts between his Klingon heritage and his Federation duties. However, Jadzia Dax immediately takes a liking to him, and the beginnings of romance are already present in this first appearance during a holodeck scene.
QUOTE (from The Way of the Warrior, S4):
Lt. Commander Jadzia Dax: [ordering two holo-bat'leths for herself and Worf] I thought you might be tired of fighting holograms.
Lt. Commander Worf: It would not be a fair match.
Lt. Commander Jadzia Dax: I'll go easy on you.
QUOTE (from The Sword of Kahless, S4):
Lt. Commander Worf: It is done.
Lt. Commander Jadzia Dax: Good. It's for the best.
Kor: I hope you're right. It could be lost for another thousand years.
Lt. Commander Worf: When it is destined to be found... it will be.
Worf plays a critical role in defusing some of the Klingon conflicts and then later counseling the Empire to be a useful ally in the Dominion War. One climax of his involvement occurs in the episode Tacking Into the Wind, in which he tries to convince Gowron to avoid a costly attack based solely on anger and vengeance, and ends up having to duel him to remove him as Chancellor of the Empire.
QUOTE (from Tacking Into the Wind, S7):
Lt. Commander Worf: We cannot attack Sarpedion.
Gowron: I decide what can and cannot be done!
Lt. Commander Worf: You rule without wisdom and without honor. The warriors that are gathered here will not say this to you, but I will. You are squandering our ships and our lives on a petty act of vengeance!
Gowron: I should have known better than to trust you again. If you were a true Klingon, I would kill you where you stand!
Other big highlights include the unique wedding with Jadzia in the episode You Are Cordially Invited, and the time Worf snaps the neck of one of the Dominion's Weyouns in the episode Strange Bedfellows. As interesting as Worf's character was in TNG, he elevates to be one of, if not the best, main character on DS9.
Worf was played by Michael Dorn, who continues to act today but has plenty of other interesting passions. For example, he is a member of the Air Force Aviation Heritage Foundation, and he also owns and operates an old Air Force T-33 trainer jet, his own starship if you will.
-----
Contact me with segment suggestions @BuckeyeFitzy on Twitter! Thanks!
Monday, July 31, 2017
Character Insight No. 248: Best of Ezri Dax
Welcome back to Character Insight! This week, we return to the Best Of series for Deep Space Nine with a look at Ezri Dax, the main character who joined the show for the final season when the Dax symbiont needed another host following Jadzia's death.
https://archive.org/details/CharacterInsightEp248
Ezri Dax serves as a Lieutenant counselor aboard the station, and she's got plenty of personal adjustment and baggage to work through as she mixes her young host with the decades of experience Dax has. Ezri was the only Trill available to join with the symbiont when an emergency happens while trying to return to the Trill homeworld, which leads to the adjustment issues as alluded to in the episode Shadows and Symbols.
QUOTE (from Shadows and Symbols, S7):
Ensign Ezri Dax: [nods] I lay down on that operating table one person and I woke up a completely different person - well, I should say eight different people. I was not prepared for this at all. I mean you're supposed to get years of training and preparation before you get joined and all I got was a 15-minute lecture from the ship's surgeon and he wasn't even a Trill...
Sisko: I'm starting to see the problem.
QUOTE (from Strange Bedfellows, S7):
Lt. Commander Worf: I realize, Jadzia saw physical love differently than I do. To her it could mean many things, but to me it was a deeply spiritual act. When I made love to you... my motives were not spiritual. It was an unworthy impulse.
Lieutenant Ezri Dax: Worf, we're not gods or prophets. We're people. We make mistakes.
Although the show writers definitely took advantage of the new fertile storytelling ground they had with a new character in the final season, the dramatic push to the end of the Dominion War storyline kept this from being overdone. However, the rapid development of Ezri's character included her own romance that had plenty of false starts, this time with Dr. Bashir. They finally admit their feelings and become a couple right before the end, as shown in the episode What You Leave Behind.
QUOTE (from What You Leave Behind, S7):
Lieutenant Ezri Dax: We have to get up.
Doctor Bashir: Are you sure?
Lieutenant Ezri Dax: It's a big day.
Doctor Bashir: [sighs] It was a big night. Cleared up a lot of unanswered questions.
Lieutenant Ezri Dax: Such as?
Doctor Bashir: Such as, just how far these spots really go down.
As the DS9 crew never had a regular counselor, it was interesting to see one added to the mix in the final season. Ezri was no Jadzia, but in some ways, that was yet another interesting twist in this most unique of the Star Trek series.
Ezri Dax was played by Nicole de Boer, who continues to act today after overcoming shyness as a child with stage acting in Toronto, Canada. Some of her most notable work outside Trek includes as a regular on The Dead Zone and more recent bit roles on Reign and Private Eyes.
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https://archive.org/details/CharacterInsightEp248
Ezri Dax serves as a Lieutenant counselor aboard the station, and she's got plenty of personal adjustment and baggage to work through as she mixes her young host with the decades of experience Dax has. Ezri was the only Trill available to join with the symbiont when an emergency happens while trying to return to the Trill homeworld, which leads to the adjustment issues as alluded to in the episode Shadows and Symbols.
QUOTE (from Shadows and Symbols, S7):
Ensign Ezri Dax: [nods] I lay down on that operating table one person and I woke up a completely different person - well, I should say eight different people. I was not prepared for this at all. I mean you're supposed to get years of training and preparation before you get joined and all I got was a 15-minute lecture from the ship's surgeon and he wasn't even a Trill...
Sisko: I'm starting to see the problem.
QUOTE (from Strange Bedfellows, S7):
Lt. Commander Worf: I realize, Jadzia saw physical love differently than I do. To her it could mean many things, but to me it was a deeply spiritual act. When I made love to you... my motives were not spiritual. It was an unworthy impulse.
Lieutenant Ezri Dax: Worf, we're not gods or prophets. We're people. We make mistakes.
Although the show writers definitely took advantage of the new fertile storytelling ground they had with a new character in the final season, the dramatic push to the end of the Dominion War storyline kept this from being overdone. However, the rapid development of Ezri's character included her own romance that had plenty of false starts, this time with Dr. Bashir. They finally admit their feelings and become a couple right before the end, as shown in the episode What You Leave Behind.
QUOTE (from What You Leave Behind, S7):
Lieutenant Ezri Dax: We have to get up.
Doctor Bashir: Are you sure?
Lieutenant Ezri Dax: It's a big day.
Doctor Bashir: [sighs] It was a big night. Cleared up a lot of unanswered questions.
Lieutenant Ezri Dax: Such as?
Doctor Bashir: Such as, just how far these spots really go down.
As the DS9 crew never had a regular counselor, it was interesting to see one added to the mix in the final season. Ezri was no Jadzia, but in some ways, that was yet another interesting twist in this most unique of the Star Trek series.
Ezri Dax was played by Nicole de Boer, who continues to act today after overcoming shyness as a child with stage acting in Toronto, Canada. Some of her most notable work outside Trek includes as a regular on The Dead Zone and more recent bit roles on Reign and Private Eyes.
-----
Contact me with segment suggestions @BuckeyeFitzy on Twitter! Thanks!
Tuesday, July 25, 2017
Character Insight No. 247: Musical Instruments
Welcome back to Character Insight! This week, we congratulate Mike and Darrell on 300 episodes, and celebrate the centerpiece of The Inner Light with a review of musical instruments featured on Star Trek.
https://archive.org/details/CharacterInsightEp247
Star Trek has many core ideals, one of which is the exploration of other worlds and species, as well as celebrating the commonalities and differences found. One commonality among many different cultures is music, and we see many different musical instruments and devices over the journeys of the crews of Star Trek. According to Memory Alpha, we have already seen nearly 30 alien musical instruments over the history of Star Trek, to go along with a healthy dose of 25 or so familiar human musical instruments.
Sometimes these instruments serve as an important centerpiece or memorable contributor in episodes. Certainly Picard's Ressikan Flute from his 40 years of experience in The Inner Light fits this bill, as does the Betazoid chime that Homn brings along in multiple Lwaxana episodes in TNG.
Other times, they simply give more character to alien worlds or Federation crew members. The Vulcan lute is seen played on multiple occasions by Spock and Tuvok, and the well-known trombone is played often by jazz fan William Riker. It definitely appears that music has not lost any importance in the 23rd and 24th Century, but quite the opposite.
Although not typically thought of as a musical instrument, the voice of some characters is on full display with talent for singing. Uhura was known to sing a tune at times on TOS, and the character development of the holographic Doctor on Voyager depended in large part on a passion for singing and music. One of my favorite episodes is Virtuoso, in which the Doctor must decide whether to stay as a musical performer on a planet with a technically advanced civilization who adores him and had not heard music before Voyager arrived.
Although we see the usual gamut of string, wind, and percussion instruments on the show, Star Trek is always looking towards the future, and this came in so-called mental instruments that were played or controlled by thought and a touch of the hand. Examples of this are the Enaren musical instrument from Voyager's Remember, and the Aldean musical instrument in TNG's When The Bough Breaks. It will be interesting to see if musical tech follows some other tech shown on Trek to become a reality.
Congratulations again to Mike and Darrell, and here's to another 300 episodes with fun musical interludes.
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Contact me with segment suggestions @BuckeyeFitzy on Twitter! Thanks!
https://archive.org/details/CharacterInsightEp247
Star Trek has many core ideals, one of which is the exploration of other worlds and species, as well as celebrating the commonalities and differences found. One commonality among many different cultures is music, and we see many different musical instruments and devices over the journeys of the crews of Star Trek. According to Memory Alpha, we have already seen nearly 30 alien musical instruments over the history of Star Trek, to go along with a healthy dose of 25 or so familiar human musical instruments.
Sometimes these instruments serve as an important centerpiece or memorable contributor in episodes. Certainly Picard's Ressikan Flute from his 40 years of experience in The Inner Light fits this bill, as does the Betazoid chime that Homn brings along in multiple Lwaxana episodes in TNG.
Other times, they simply give more character to alien worlds or Federation crew members. The Vulcan lute is seen played on multiple occasions by Spock and Tuvok, and the well-known trombone is played often by jazz fan William Riker. It definitely appears that music has not lost any importance in the 23rd and 24th Century, but quite the opposite.
Although not typically thought of as a musical instrument, the voice of some characters is on full display with talent for singing. Uhura was known to sing a tune at times on TOS, and the character development of the holographic Doctor on Voyager depended in large part on a passion for singing and music. One of my favorite episodes is Virtuoso, in which the Doctor must decide whether to stay as a musical performer on a planet with a technically advanced civilization who adores him and had not heard music before Voyager arrived.
Although we see the usual gamut of string, wind, and percussion instruments on the show, Star Trek is always looking towards the future, and this came in so-called mental instruments that were played or controlled by thought and a touch of the hand. Examples of this are the Enaren musical instrument from Voyager's Remember, and the Aldean musical instrument in TNG's When The Bough Breaks. It will be interesting to see if musical tech follows some other tech shown on Trek to become a reality.
Congratulations again to Mike and Darrell, and here's to another 300 episodes with fun musical interludes.
-----
Contact me with segment suggestions @BuckeyeFitzy on Twitter! Thanks!
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