Posts Tagged ‘Sisko’
Guide to the recurring characters of Star Trek, Deep Space Nine – Part 1
In the 40 years of Star Trek there have been five TV series with that name. Star Trek Deep Space Nine was the third. The story was set on a space station near a planet called Bajor and the only stable wormhole in the Star Trek Universe.
There were less than ten regular characters as well as more than ninety recurring characters. The recurring characters appeared in anywhere from three episodes to 91 episodes, depending on the character. Some were major characters that had an impact on the show’s story and some were minor characters, usually in the form of relatives of the regular characters.
The recurring character that holds the record for most appearances was the alien named Morn. He was in 91 episodes, including the first and last episodes of the series. Unlike all of the other recurring characters, Morn just sat in Quark’s bar and never uttered a word.
The Humans
Keiko O’Brien was the wife of Chief O’Brien. She was a Starfleet botanist who was working on the USS Enterprise when she met and married Miles O’Brien. When the O’Briens began living on DS9, Keiko was concerned about her daughter’s education so she started a one-room school with herself as the teacher. When the threat of a Dominion attack forced her to close her school she took a job with an agro biology expedition of Bajor. Keiko and Miles had two children together, Molly and Kirayoshi. Keiko appeared in nineteen episodes and Molly appeared in eleven.
Kasidy Yates was a civilian freighter captain who began dating the station commander, Capt. Ben Sisko. As their relationship progressed, Kasidy took a job with the Bajoran Ministry of Commerce and began living on the station. As the series came to an end, Kasidy and Ben were married and expecting their first child together. Kasidy was in fifteen episodes.
Vic Fontaine was a character in one of Dr. Bashir’s holographic programs. He was a Las Vegas lounge singer from the 1960s and knew he was a hologram. Vic played an important role in Nog’s recovery after Nog lost his leg in battle. (see below)
The Ferengi
Rom is one of the Ferengi characters that lives on the station. He is Quark’s brother and Nog’s father. For the first few seasons of DS9, Rom worked for his brother at Quark’s bar. In season four, Rom became an engineer in the Bajoran militia. He worked for Chief O’Brien and quickly proved that he was not the idiot that his brother thought he was. Rom proved to be a vital part of the crew when his self-replicating mines
Botanist, Deep Space Nine, Dr Bashir, Freighter Captain, Kasidy Yates, Lounge Singer, Miles O Brien, Ministry Of Commerce, Name Star, O Briens, S Education, Sisko, Stable Wormhole, Star Trek, Star Trek Deep Space Nine, Star Trek Universe, Station Commander, Uss Enterprise, Vegas Lounge, Vic Fontaine |
TV show reviews: Star Trek – Part 3
We watched the first episode of DS9 now that we’re done with TNG. My thoughts on the first eppy are as follows:
* Incredible acting with ALL of the cast EXCEPT for Avery Brooks (Sisko) and his now departed wife (character-wise). Those two could not be more emotionless. Their portrayals of grief, happiness, love, romance, and sadness were so forced it actually annoyed me to the point that I was mocking Sisko’s constant hand gestures, which as much as he tried, didn’t add any realness to his expressions. The other cast members really shined, even the minor ones.
* I like the comedic nature of Bashir, the humbleness of Dax, and the hardheaded Bajoran Kira (which had many similarities to Ro). Odo is still hard to read for me, I haven’t found any appeal to him yet other than his powers as a Changeling. His persona seemed extremely serious and detached in the first episode.
* The first episode wasn’t that captivating to me, except for some of the minor action. I was dying for it to be over, it was too drawn out and long.
Of course, these are my initial reactions to the first episode. My boyfriend swears that everyone loves Avery’s acting, but I do not and I hope that it improves or I will not be too thrilled with him being the main character. (I’m already missing Picard) I’m also sure people will say it will get better, and I’m sure it will… just my first experience wasn’t too great. I felt that way about TOS, and goes to show how I changed my mind towards the middle of the series.
Background on my Star Trek experience: I’ve seen the series in ST order for the first time. I’m not done yet! The ones I’ve seen are in this order – Enterprise, The Original Series, The Original Series Movies, The Next Generation, The Next Generation Movies, and the first episode of Deep Space Nine which is what this review is about solely. I will write more as I progress into the series.
Avery Brooks, Bajoran, Bashir, Cast Members, Dax, Deep Space Nine, Ds9, Eppy, First Experience, Hand Gestures, Humbleness, Initial Reactions, Kira, Portrayals, Realness, Sadness, Series Background, Sisko, Star Trek, Star Trek Experience |
Deep Space Nine’s Emissary
From what I have seen of Avery Brooks, he is a talented, charismatic “movie actor.” Every single movie I’ve seen him in, whether it is a theatrical release or a TV movie of the week, he immediately grabbed my attention — and at times even stole the spotlight away from the major leads.
Just watch Roots: The Gift, American History X, and 15 Minutes, and you’ll see what I mean. His strong voice, and the soul-searching look in his eyes makes you want to know more about the character he’s portraying. Brooks put all his creative energy and experience into the portrayal of Ben Sisko in “Emissary,” and at times, I believe that he had a tough time measuringup to his tour-de-force performance in the pilot episode. Brooks is truly great when his character takes center stage, as opposed to just twiddling around in the background.
I do have to pointout that when DS9 first premiered, Avery Brooks didn’t get much fanfare (unlike Kate Mulgrew and Scott Bakula), and after the pilot episode, the character of Sisko was under-utilized for 2 full seasons. Also, the fact that Brooks was catapulted into an unfamiliar “Trek environment” (i.e. a space station), his was the first Trek main character without the presence of the beloved “captain’s chair.” Without the big chair, wandering around the station, making sure “his town” was in tip-top shape, where was Brooks supposed to draw his inspiration from: Andy Griffith? Finally, those initial DS9 jumpsuits looked unflattering on Brooks. Those casual jumpsuits may look good on actors who appear youthful (i.e. Farrell, El Fadil), but for someone with more of a square-jawed look and mature demeanor (i.e. Brooks, Meaney), it just makes them look less professional — which can translate into the viewers’ eyes as being “less responsible” (although, that certainly wasn’t the main intent of the producers).
I believe that when Brooks grew his trademark goatee, and shaved his hair, this gave him confidence, and the viewers were immediately drawn to his newfound charisma. It also helped balanceout his look on the show. Brooks’ “mature-looking baldhead and goatee” was an effective contrast against his “youthful-looking costume” Since he looked older, he started acting older — whereas Commander Sisko seemed like “a big brother” to his crewmembers, Captain Sisko definitely had the presence of a patriarchal figure (ala Patrick Stewart of TNG). I found this approach much more effective. Furthermore, the character of Sisko started to become the central focus of the show around 3rd season, leaving behind Bajoran-themed storylines in favor of Federation-themed plotlines. By the 4th season premiere — Avery Brooks finally arrived! 
It’s a shame that there are some viewers out there who judge Brooks by his under-written performance during DS9’s 1st and 2nd seasons. At that point, the writers didn’t get his character down, the producers didn’t get his look down, and placed him in an unfamiliar Trek-environment. If viewers were able to give Patrick Stewart a chance after 2 lousy seasons of TNG, I believe that Brooks deserves the same when it comes to DS9. Brooks has without a doubt proven himself effective in the role of Benjamin Sisko, and it would be a waste of his time and energy to prove himself to all the naysayers out there…He’s got better things to do.
Avery Brooks, Center Stage, Creative Energy, Deep Space Nine, Demeanor, Emissary, Fadil, Fanfare, Force Performance, Goatee, Jumpsuits, Kate Mulgrew, Look In His Eyes, Movie Actor, Pilot Episode, Scott Bakula, Sisko, Theatrical Release |