Blog #18: More Star Trek 'What If?' Scenarios, Part III

- The actor who played 'The Traveller' in 3 episodes had auditioned for the role of Data. What would that have been like had Data been played by that actor and not Brent Spiner?

Brent Spiner is an amazing actor who can do both drama and comedy excellent. He made the character Data who he is and why he is so memorable and loved. And the actor who played the Traveller I'm not sure I have ever seen him in anything except that role. based on his performance in that role I think he would have played the character of Data more 'robot-like'. I'm thinking that based on Spiners acting range that the Writers wrote a lot for Data because of that, and probably wouldn't have for that other guy. TNG wouldn't have been as popular as it was without Brent Spiner.

Had to use this pic. Myself and my son with Brent Spiner at the 2012 Calgary Comic & Entertainment Expo

 

 

- What would DS9 have been like had DS9 been a Federation made star base and not an old Cardassian station?

This is one scenario I wish HAD happened. I remember as a small kid seeing the film 'Star Trek III' for the first time and being blown away by the massive Federation star base in Earth orbit. I wanted to see more of this place and all of it's inner workings. When DS9 was announced I had assumed it would be on a station like this one, and I was a little more than disappointed when the real DS9 was revealed. Don't get me wrong the old Cardassian station grew on me, but I often wonder what it would have been like to see one of those Federation stations used. It could have opened a lot of writing potential in my mind. Those stations are MASSIVE and could potentially hold a lot of people. Lots of people creates a lot of great story potential. Take 'Babylon 5' for example. It was a station 5 miles long and was so massive that they even had an underground on the station. B5 attracted all sorts of shady. Odo could have been kept more busy and Quark would have had more people to conspire with. I understand the writers and producers wanting a station with character, something not seen before in Trek, but the Federation station i think would have added so much more to the series writing.  

Would loved to have seen this Starbase used as DS9.

 

 

 

 - Did the DS9 series really need 'Ezri Dax' after the death of Jadzia???

I really liked Jadzia, and it was a shame that Terry Farrell left the series to be on the sitcom 'Becker', but the addition of Ezri Dax to the series in it's 7th and final season was not needed. She could have appeared on the first couple episodes sure, then she should have moved on with her life elsewhere. On a series like DS9 that is already full of characters and supporting characters the addition of the new Dax only took away from other established characters that deserved the screen time. Why establish a new character like that? Also no offense to the actress who played Ezri but she could not measure up to Jadzia both as a character and in acting ability.