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Post by Sabel on Dec 9, 2001 0:40:54 GMT -5
Alright, this is not Trek BBS, so we are not going to blast anyone away, space'em or in any way injur them. Pick one character from each of the Trek series that in your opinion could have just vanished and it not had any effect upon the show. Yes, I remember Picard's quote about pulling one thread untangling the tapestry of your life. So, if you want to vote that no character could have been done without that is OK.
TOS: I believe that Chekov could have been removed without any damage to the show. This was a tough one for me, because I actually think Uhura and Sulu could have gone too. However, I left them because of their representation of minorities. Chekov did not represent a minority. He was basically put on the show to appeal to the crowd that liked "The Monkees". Had Walter Koenig actually been Russian then I might change my opinion.
TNG: Troi. I think that the role that Troi filled on the ship could have been done just as well by a semi-recurring character. The episodes in which she was center stage could have been given to Crusher or a guest star.
DS9: This is hard because DS9 is my favorite. Chief O'Brien. The chief's role could also have been filled by a semi-recurring character or guest star. His participation in the show was not central to the story arc. The other characters were.
Voyager: First I should say that I am not a fan of Voyager and only watched the first three seasons. However, I think we could have dumped Harry Kim.
Enterprise: That's right, only 1/2 way through the season and I am dumping someone. Mayweather(the boomer). See, he is so forgetable that I am sure I spelled his name wrong.
Ok your turn!
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Post by Hermione on Dec 9, 2001 1:02:52 GMT -5
TOS--I don't think that Chekov was meant to represent a minority but an idea: someday the Cold War might be over and the threat of nuclear war gone. That said, I agree that getting rid of him would probably have been easiest.
TNG--Crusher actually had less to do than Troi, didn't she? But a counselor probably is less necessary than a doctor.
DS9--I admit, I didn't watch too much of this show. But how important was Quark to the central plotlines? (Just curious; all I ever hear about his role on the show is how bad the Ferengi comedy episodes were.)
Voyager--I like Harry, but he didn't do all that much in the next four seasons, either.
Enterprise--It's Mayweather, and yes, he hasn't done a lot to justify his presence. Although if the supposedly faulty universal translators continue working as well as they do, Hoshi Sato may not be all that necessary, either.
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Post by Ana Ng on Dec 9, 2001 1:31:43 GMT -5
TOS: I'll go with the crowd. Chekov. I'd have gone with Sulu, but Kirk himself the Enterprise just wasn't right without a Sulu at the helm. TOS is probably the easiest one to choose from, since it was mostly a Kirk/Spock/McCoy show. After all, they were the only actors mentioned in the opening credits. TNG: This one surprised even me. And it pains me. Really, I'm not going with which characters I *like* the most, but with the character that the show could have survived without. I guess we can't pick Wesley, because the producers dumped him for us. So I'm going to go with Geordi. Don't get me wrong, I really LIKE Geordi. That being said, his character was, in my opinion, underdeveloped, and less integral to most of the plots. This is no slight to Levar Burton, he's a wonderful actor, and again, it's no slight to Geordi- I really did like Geordi! But, most of the time, all he did was fix the ship. He wasn't on the bridge most of the time, and that usually made him less a part of the storylines. Ergo, the show would have still been a good show without him, albeit not as good a show as it was. DS9- This one is really hard. I loved each and every character on DS9. They all filled very specific roles, yes, even Quark. The intentions of the writers for Quark was always that he *was* the station. He was there before the show started, and he was there after the show ended. So I can't go with him. My next thought is Jake, because he wasn't a part of the crew.. but then I think back on some really nice Jake moments, namely "The Visitor" and "In the Cards" and I don't want to let him go. Plus, I think it was really nice that Sisko was a father, it distinguished him from the other captains in Trek. So I'm really going to cop out with this one. I'm dumping Ezri. She was only there a year anyway, no major damage done. VOY- Poor Harry. I vote for him, too. ENT- The British guy.. Reed is his name, right? It's hard to pick someone now. I'm really not attached to any of these characters yet. I'm sure that will change as the show matures. But, as of this moment, Porthos is still my favorite
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Post by Sabel on Dec 9, 2001 1:37:58 GMT -5
Thanks, I am going back to change Merriweather to his righful name. However, first I will reply to your post.
You are right about Quark not being central to the strong arc that ran through DS9. Not Quark by himself that is. DS9 did an excellent job of fleshing out some of the species that we were only briefly introduced to in TNG. The Bajorans and Ferengi especially(along with the Betazeds a little).
It would be hard for me to invision DS9 without the Ferengi, this including: The Grand Negus, Rom,Nog,Liquidator Brundt,Moogi and Quark. Quarks bar was also a prime set location for action and drama.
I know that a lot of people did not like the funny Ferengi episodes. However, I enjoyed them immensely. Were they roll on the floor hilarious, no. But they had their moments and their uses as well.
First use of Funny Ferengi: To help break the tension of a very intense show with a little humor.
Second: To save money from the budget of one episode to be used on episodes involving massive special effects.
Bringing the Chief and Keiko over from TNG was to help with some continuity in the Trek universe. We actually see someone getting transferred and what their life is like afterwards. Also, the Chief helped bring in some of the TNG fans who might have only started watching to see him.
I can agree with your point about Crusher, except I would certainly want a doctor on the ship. Now, for those days when I was feeling a bit down or lonely I could always go talk to the lovable,easily approachable and sensitive Captain Picard or if he was not around then I am sure that Worf's door would always be open.
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Post by Sabel on Dec 9, 2001 1:43:25 GMT -5
I certainly think there will be some votes for Reed as well. By the way, NO ONE better even think of dumping Porthos. Save that stuff for Trek BBS. We love animals here!! ;D ;D
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Post by AlexanderTheGreat on Dec 9, 2001 3:39:44 GMT -5
TOS - I haven't seen enough episodes to pick a character, but from the few I have seen it seems that the triumvirate of Kirk, Spock and Mccoy were the main focus.
TNG - I know most will pick Troi, but I just can't do it, I like her too much, and on a Galaxy class starship, I can see why her postion was so vital. I just wish she had a little more command experince/training. So i guess that all characters were needed to make TNG the show that it was, though from what i have read, season 2 (with Pulaski) showed that the doc could have been a recurring character.
Deep Space Nine - Being my favorite series, it's quite hard to pick one character, since i felt they all were so vital, even Quark. If you remember back to Emmisary, Sisko actually "blackmailed" Quark into remaing on the station (Sisko said Nog could get out of trouble if Quark stayed).
Quark played an important role in his own way as his bar encouraged ppl to visit the Promenade and other businesses to open up. It was also a central meeting place for the crew. I also thought the Ferengi eps were ok, and gave us insights into Ferengi culttrre. Unlike TNG where they were one dimensional, DS9 fleshed them out more.
Maybe I would have made Jake (he was an important character, and i don't see why ppl say he was useless, he had some great eps eg. "Visitor") recurring and Garak regular.
Voyager - For me, it's a lot easier to pick for Voyager. I would have gotten rid of Harry Kim. He was actually my favorite character in the first few seasons. But after a while he just became a "button pusher" sitting behind the Ops console. I really felt unhappy that the writers hadn't tried harder to develop my favorite character.
The reality is that a "nobody nameless officer" could have worked at Harry's console in half the eps and it would not have made a difference to the outcome of the ep. I wish TPTB got rid of Harry instead of Kes actually. Kes could have been in episodes about the Doc, and she could have been there to help the Doc develop, as well as Neelix. Maybe Seven could have worked at the Ops console. And if Harry died Tom would be closer to Chakotay - this way Voyager could still mirror the O'Brien Bashir friendship on DS9.
Even though I really liked his character at the start, and had high expectations, towards the end Kim did become superflous and dispensable. I also wished they did more with Neelix, and gave him more of a purpose to be there.
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Post by Gnom on Dec 9, 2001 9:33:58 GMT -5
TOS - Chekov the pet Russian
TNG - My ab fab series, so this is painful... I don't have anything against the character otherwise, but I, too, have to go with Geordi for the reasons Ana_Noel already mentioned. Also, Data could have filled his function without much difficulty.
VOY - I'd like to say 7 of 9, but since this was about disappearance that would not have effect upon the series, I'll say Harry Kim.
DS9, Enterprise - Insufficient information.
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Post by Christina on Dec 9, 2001 10:11:13 GMT -5
Oh boy.
Well, Chekov
Umm, Worf wouldn't have made too big a hole in the series if he'd gone.
DS9 my mind's a blank. Probably all of them
Voy, well, Harry in the main. (Or most of them after what'sherface came on board)!
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Post by Zeph on Dec 9, 2001 12:10:59 GMT -5
Tough choice....here we go... TOS....It came down to Chekov or Uhura, and I really like them both, They both had a lot more impact in the movies (especialy the scene with them both in TVH..."I"m looking for the nuclear wessals")but overall impact in the show...Chekov. TNG WES...oh right cant vote for him, Oh OK Pulaski....darn that dosent count either.Oh heck Troi, Think Geordi was a little more important than she was. DS9 This is a fair vote....Nog...Yes the first Ferengi in Starfleet, And he had some great moments...but thats the weakest I can think of in a great show. TNG Neelix, Yes he left two epps before the end, but he could have left two years before and i might not have cared. Enterprise...This is easy Mayweather(to this point of the show) Not Reed I love his love of blowing things up , And DEFINITELY NOT PORTHOS!!!!!
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Post by Sabel on Dec 9, 2001 23:50:00 GMT -5
The Vote so far:
TOS: Chekov 6 Anybody but the BIG THREE 1
TNG: Troi 4 Geordi 2 Worf 1 Pulaski(The Dr. character) 1
DS9: Chief 1 Quark 1 Nog 1 Ezri 1 Jake(sort of) 1 All of them 1
Voyager: Kim 6 Neelix 1
Enterprise: Mayweather 3 Reed 1
Chekov and Kim are in the lead!!
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Post by AlexanderTheGreat on Dec 9, 2001 23:59:31 GMT -5
The Vote so far: TNG: Troi 4 Geordi 2 Worf 1 Pulaski(The Dr. character) 1 are in the lead!! Hey guys. Please don't pick Troi. She was soo nice
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Post by Ana Ng on Dec 10, 2001 1:43:04 GMT -5
Hey guys. Please don't pick Troi. She was soo nice Hey, I agree. Marina Sirtis is the only "Trek celebrity" I've ever met, and I came away from the experience a much bigger Troi fan. Truly a nice and classy lady. And actually, Troi's character was very closely tied to Riker's character.. so I really don't think the show would have been the same without her.
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Post by Andorian_Incident on Dec 12, 2001 7:05:00 GMT -5
Okay, here are my picks:
TOS: Chekov--I had to do that one TNG: Crusher--actually a toss up between Crusher and Troi, but Troi has had so many votes already, I wanted to be different. DS9: Jake--another toss up between Jake and Nog, but as the series got going, they actually gave Nog quite a bit to do, whereas Jake just kinda fizzled out. Voyager: Kim--another Chekov Enterprise: Phlox, with Mayweather a close second.
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Post by Holodoc on Dec 12, 2001 12:04:41 GMT -5
Checkov. That irritating scream of his was reason enough. ;D
The other one is... well, let's just say I got my wish where Wesley was concerned.
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Post by Aurian on Dec 13, 2001 6:14:41 GMT -5
Checkov! I can't belive they put him there to appeal to anyone...
It took me years into Babylon 5 before I could accept Croenig....
In TNG... wooo's it gonna be? I only really detested Pulanski.
DS9. Quark made my skin crawl.
Voyager.....cough*neelix*cough
Enterprise... No opinion.
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