Ideal TV Show Characters

[Kirok]

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Ineti
[B]I'd like the captain to be male, and of a species other than human."

I wonder if this is realistic, a non-human lead. I'm assuming here that the captain would be the lead or at least one of the big main characters. I wonder if it would change the tenor of a ST series to have the captain be like Sisko, but more so: in charge, but not at all the focus...sort of like what Pres. Bartlett was going to be like in West Wing - on the show only every once in a while... or maybe he's there every week but he's a jerk!


"I'd like to have a female XO who's strong enough to take command, but also has a nice feminine side (akin to Kira)."

I was so disappointed when they announced ST:TNG and I found out that Roddenberry STILL hadn't gotten around to having a female #1. Grr. And Janeway was so...is there a word for it? Disappointing?

"I'd like to see a good mix of human races represented in the main characters."

Yes, definitely. One of the minor problems I have with Enterprise...

"I'd like to see Trek stretch and take a chance by having two of the characters in a same-sex relationship."

Wouldn't that be something?! Of course, I always figured Data would be bi if he gave it any thought...

"Since the series would be post-Voyager (and thus post-DS9), I'd like to see a Ferengi and/or a Bajoran in Starfleet, at a decent rank."

If they could do something interesting with the Ferengi again, I'd be up for that. The character shouldn't be too Quark-like or Nog-like...or Rom-like for that matter.

[Kirok]

Originally posted by KillerWhale
I'd like to see a Cardassian Starfleet officer...! After all, the Federation will want to absorb the Cardies at some point...

Tha's a greta idea, sez I. I wonder what position he would serve? For some reason I'm imagining a Cardassian Science Officer (okaym they don't really seem to have those anymore), Tactical/Security Officer, or as Engineer.

[Lt Cmdr Matt]

Startrek needs a CHief Science officer that is not a first officer..or Vulcan

[Kirok]

Originally posted by qerlin
I'd like to see an Andorian captain; someone with a more military bent."

"Some other background race than the one's that have gotten a bunch of attention -- like the Betazoids, KLingons, etc... Maybe the cat guys.

Funny - I'm gearing up to run a game and I think we're gonna have an Andorian captain!

as for the second point, hat's a tough call. I think they've avoided doing cat people because they would look too much like a cast member of CATS. I wonder if they could pull off a Gorn. It can't be anything which is special effects dependent - those cost too much money for a weekly show. How often did we actually see Odo morph? Answer: not nearly as often as we wanted to.

[Kirok]

Originally posted by Perrryyy
At the risk of sounding politically correct, I'd like to see another disabled character, a la Geordi or Melora (and yes I know I'm beating a dead horse here), preferably in a high profile situation (on the bridge).

Maybe an individual who had a Christopher Pike-like incident as a child, joins SF and has to adapt / be strong willed in order to make it on a starship.

JMBO (just my biased opinion).
YMMV

this begs the question - what ought the disability be? What's great about ST is that some one like Geordi is blind, and it's a complete non-issue. It about it and hit people in the head with it.
The Melora chaarcter isn't a bad way to go, or a parapalegic....huh, why not give them an exoskeleton that makes them completely functional and make them the Security/Tactical Officer? I think there's a lot to do with a character like that on the rare occasion when you would want to make a point of their condition.

[Kirok]

Originally posted by kimq
Let's combine some of what has been suggested so far:

CO - Andorian male, militant, Dominion War veteran
XO - Human female, humanitarian, strong/feminine
Science - Parapalegic, repulsor-lift chair equipped with tricorder and other scientific field equipment
Conn - Human female, WWII fighter pilot tactics

I took some liberties here and there. I totally agree with having a Cardassian on the show. The two roles I see the character fitting into might be security officer or bartender of "Ten Foward."

The same sex thing would have to be introduced once the major characters have been ironed out. Perhaps one between the XO and the conn officer?

I don't think making the disabled character's disability such a big deal is such a good idea. See my post regarding this.

There's something about this Conn officer that I like. Definitely a case where casting would make all the difference, because she doesn't seem to have a special trait like (alien, disabled). Ditto for the XO - let's flesh them out?

Let's avoid the Garak-level character for the Cardassian and make him a major character? I think having him/her be the 10-Forward person would be a little too much like a cross between Garak and Quark. I'd like to see a Cardassian as the chief engineer or Tactical/Security officer - right after the Dominion War, the latter is more...dramatic...

[Kirok]

Originally posted by Ineti
So we still need the following:

Medical
Counselor
Ops
Engineering
Security

How about taking the plunge and make the Cardassian a female Engineer? I think making the Cardie a security officer would "feel" too much like Worf in TNG.

I'd like to see a Vulcan counselor as well (either gender).

a Vulcan Counsellor - now that's good! What sort of a Vulcan becomes a ccounsellor and gets an assignment with a bunch of humans (and others)? Very interesting....

I wonder if the female Cardassian engineer would be too reminiscent of Torres on Voyager, though.

[Kirok]

Originally posted by Sea Tyger
...

I disagree with the CO/XO thing. IMO, I'd reverse the races, making the captain Centauran. He's human enough for the audience to identify with him, but brings a completely different culture to the show. He's a DQ veteran (meritoriously promoted), but the Sovereign is his first real command and he initially struggles with the awesome responsibility of commanding one of the Federation's most powerful weapons.

By contrast the female Andorian XO is a battle-tested veteran (we can say this is the third ship she has XO'd). While she's still feminine, she's shrewd and wily -- a master strategist.

Those are just my thoughts on the CO/XO matter.

While there's no way we could probably ever get a Kzin character on the show (copyright stuff), a Caitian (or Regulan) character with CGI legs (to manage the digitigrade look) might do well at, say, engineering.

I like the way you think on the CO/XO thing. A nonhuman captain, if he/she is a major character, would be a hard sell, I think, but the Centauran thing solves that but puts an interesting spin on him. He could still have a very universally Human approaches to things, but with a slant of our choosing (since we know little about Centaurian culture), a slant that would serve the theme of the show (which I assume would be "exploring the great unknown"

Plus, a strong yet feminine XO with blue skin - sexy.....

[Kirok]

Originally posted by Dan Gurden
I totally agree that an LGT relationship DOES sound just like a cheap arsed ratings grabber, in exactly the same way that Seven and T'Pol were slammed for uneccesary sex appeal...

So while the networks will not allow a male gay relationship on prime-time TV... Buffy has paved the way for a Lesbian one.

Trouble is, that;
a - its already been done. Yawn.

I think that FIRST. The characters must be cemented and original, rather than looking for what initially appears to be cheap re-hashes of older characters.

- Science close to being original, having only been a guest star in an episode... But still been done before.

I very much agree with all of this, and the Science Officer sounds like something out of one of that spate of nerd/genius movies from the 80s. Here's my point:

Chekov was a Russian officer on the bridge of a starship (on a tv show in the middle of the Cold War), and no one on the show made mention of it.

Uhura was a female black officer on the bridge of a starship (in a time when race had become a very prominent issuein the US), and no one on the show made an issue out of it.

Geordi was born blind, but it is rarely mentioned or comes up as an issue.

This is how Star Trek addresses these things - issues that we have now are NO LONGER AN ISSUE in the 23rd or 24th century, because a) we've gotten over all that BS, and b) we have all kinds of supertechnology and instant resources that helps to put everyone on an equal footing. Having a parapalegic in a hover chair with gizmoes and widgets to offset his/her "disability" is, IMHO, a very non-ST approach to the issue.

Am I off my rocker here? Sorry if I am. Just my thoughts

[Perrryyy]

Originally posted by Kirok
this begs the question - what ought the disability be? What's great about ST is that some one like Geordi is blind, and it's a complete non-issue. It about it and hit people in the head with it.
The Melora chaarcter isn't a bad way to go, or a parapalegic....huh, why not give them an exoskeleton that makes them completely functional and make them the Security/Tactical Officer? I think there's a lot to do with a character like that on the rare occasion when you would want to make a point of their condition.

Good question. I gave up on this thread from a disability stanpoint, mainly because IMO, the major disabilities have been done.

/me tosses science officer back into the pool.

[Cdr Scot II]

Originally posted by Perrryyy
Good question. I gave up on this thread from a disability stanpoint, mainly because IMO, the major disabilities have been done.

/me tosses science officer back into the pool.

Speaking of pools ... way out left-field here, but what about a CGI/prosthetic dolphin as a character, with some sort of vocoder tech to allow speech? It would allow the show to address mobility/"accessibility" issues, assuming that the character normally wears a CG harness and 'wet-suit' uniform with built-in waldoes. It would also broaden the scope of the show a little (maybe more exploration of water-worlds, zero-G environments, etc). And there'd be lots of scope for subtle dolphin humour of 'dumb humans'.

BTW, for those who don't have access to the Star Trek TNG Technical Manual, the plans for the Enterprise includes a tank for dolphin navigators, so it's canon if that's important to you.

I suppose the resemblence to Seaquest DSV might put some people off, but I think it'd be different enough to work - think the dolphin crews in David Brin's Uplift books .

[Ineti]

Originally posted by Cdr Scot II
BTW, for those who don't have access to the Star Trek TNG Technical Manual, the plans for the Enterprise includes a tank for dolphin navigators, so it's canon if that's important to you.

I don't recall seeing them or hearing them mentioned in an episode.

In my Trek world, they're not canon. YMMV

[Perrryyy]

Originally posted by Cdr Scot II
BTW, for those who don't have access to the Star Trek TNG Technical Manual, the plans for the Enterprise includes a tank for dolphin navigators, so it's canon if that's important to you.

I suppose the resemblence to Seaquest DSV might put some people off, but I think it'd be different enough to work - think the dolphin crews in David Brin's Uplift books .

While I have no doubt that the Dolphin tank plans appear in the TNG tech manual, most Trekophiles (gee I love that word) only consider what's been seen on screen (ie in the movies or episodes) to be true ST canon. Again, YMMV.

The resemblance to Seaquest is cool. I'm not sure if the same apparatus belongs in Trek. Again YMMV.