This and That

[selenak]

Quote of the day
Michael Dorn, in the season 4 wrap-up documentary that comes with the DVDs: "I was the Heather Locklear of Star Trek."

I suppose the fact that I a) knew who H.L. was and b) what he meant by this before he explained it in the next sentence makes me really old.

Incidentally, they're getting better with these season-related documentaries, and it's nice to have some speculations confirmed. Robert Wolfe looks ridiculously young compared to the others - as if he were in his 20s, which since he was one of the headwriters of the show can't be true. Ira Behr looks and sounds endearingly like an old hippie. And why am I not suprised Little Green Men was one of his favourite episodes that season?

Meanwhile, looking for the third season of my other favourite space station which according to Amazon is out in the US, I learned it won't be available in Germany (or Britain, for that matter) before November. Grrr. Argh. All this talking about B5 makes me yearn for more eps in pristine DVD quality!

ajhalluk gives us even more Harry Potter fanon clichés to avoid here. Also, in her comment to my earlier entry persephone_kore shocked me by revealing there are stories and essays featuring Abusive!Ron. Ah well. Considering this is the fandom that created Misunderstood!Draco, I suppose I shouldn't have been surprised...

Comments

[gehayi.livejournal.com]

I remember Heather Locklear. Well, I remember her being pretty in a generically blonde and California sort of way. I recall her primarily as being famous for being famous.

However, I'm not sure what Michael Dorn (he played Worf, right?) meant by the statement that he was the Heather Locklear of Star Trek. He's not blonde as I recall, nor the epitome of a California girl, and according to friends who watched ST:TNG, he actually had talent.

I must explain something here: I never saw ST:TNG. The science fiction programmers in my area are ignorant troglodytes who believed--and yes, this was part of an announcement that went out with the cable bill--that ST:TNG was a cheap(er?), cheesy version of the original Star Trek and they, the programmers were going to "guard the citadel" against all incursions by inferior copies and "preserve the memories of Golden Age Science-Fiction."

Of course, that statement is pure dreck. ST: TNG was not cheesy and was more expensive than the original series, it was NOT an inferior copy (or a copy at all) and the original series most assuredly came along about twenty years too late to be considered "Golden Age Science Fiction." As for "guarding the citadel"--not really a TV programmer's job, would you say?

I don't know why they didn't just admit that they weren't buying the show because they weren't sure it would do well in the ratings, or because they couldn't afford it. Why the need to cloak themselves in pomposity?

Incidentally, they did eventually purchase ST:TNG, and promptly scheduled the show for the 1:00 a.m. to 2:00 a.m. time slot. Early Tuesday or Wednesday morning, as I recall. It languished there for about six months. After that, ST:TNG aired its finale.

So again I say--what DID Michael Dorn mean by that statement?

What he meant was...

[selenak.livejournal.com]

being in two shows at the same time. After TNG went off air, he of course continued to play Worf in the movies, but also, starting with ST:DS9's fourth season, on DS9.

(Hence, for example, an on-screen explanation in the movie "First Contact" as to why Worf is there at all.)

TOS as the One True Trek: I remember that annoying attitude. (Though not from programmers - yikes! -, just from fans.) True, TNG had a shaky first season, but then they scored, with the acting and the writing. Though my favourite of the Trek shows is DS9 (no surprise here, I suppose, after the eloges in my lj).

Re: What he meant was...

[kernezelda]

I saw TOS in rerun when I was a kid, and loved it. I loved Captain Kirk and Spock and Dr. McCoy and the rest, loved the Enterprise. ST had its flaws, but if you get past the sixties styles and attitudes, the storylines hold up for the most part.

ST:TNG took a while to find its stride, but it never once tried to be TOS. Sure, all the series have tackled the issues of the day with more or less success, but TNG had its own 'feel' and agenda.

ST:DS9 took almost a right turn to the Federation's benevolent 'Father Knows Best' attitude, giving us varied perceptions of the Federation from its own personnel and from outsiders.

ST:V tried to find a vision, but never really succeeded, I think. I stayed with the series for six long years, and there were some good moments, but not enough to counter the heavy, dull atmosphere overall.

Enterprise? Could not hook me for more than the first few episodes, which is really sad, 'cause I love Scott Bakula, and I'm a fan of the franchise.

Loyalty is not enough to keep me watching when I'm not being entertained. An entertainment series has a purpose, and Enterprise and Voyager both failed me in that regard.

[kernezelda]

I took his statement to mean that he was brought in to 'spice up' the show. Heather Locklear made the rounds of lots of shows, when their ratings started to slip or the writers felt additional sex appeal was necessary.

Season 4 of DS9 really did start off with a lot more bang than the first three seasons (which I attributed not only to writing, but to letting Avery Brooks have his way and shave his head, and bringing Worf in. Sisko seemed to project more power without hair, and Worf shook people up.

Well...

[selenak.livejournal.com]

...I do have a soft spot for the start of season 2, the three-parter which is DS9 doing Bajoran/Cardassian politics at its best. This being said, loved Way of the Warrior (see earlier entries) and season 4 in general.

I also agree that Worf shook things up, most importantly not in a manner which made it Deep Space Worf, though. It remained an ensemble show.

Avery Brooks and Sisko: just to play devil's advocate - he did project the same kind of power in season 3's Past Tense, completely with hair and sans beard. However, he wasn't playing Sisko there as much as Sisko playing Gabriel Bell, which I always thought was the first time Brooks cut loose with Sisko.

Generally speaking: Sisko is certainly more intimidating as a bald head.*g*