Cast the Characters of Trek Literature

Discussion in 'Trek Literature' started by Haval_Runa, Apr 10, 2006.

  1. TJ Sinclair

    TJ Sinclair Fleet Captain Fleet Captain

    Joined:
    Mar 26, 2000
    Location:
    There and back again...
    Olmos was up for the role of Picard, but turned it down, according to this recent interview on The View.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eF8v-M6zCDo

    Personally, I think it would have been disastrous.
     
  2. JD

    JD Fleet Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Jul 22, 2004
    Location:
    Arizona, USA
    Agreed. That would kick serious ass.
     
  3. ClayinCA

    ClayinCA Commodore Commodore

    Joined:
    Nov 3, 2005
    Location:
    California
    Yeah, I can't picture EJO as Picard at all. Apparently, Roddenberry also envisioned either William Campbell or someone like him as Picard, if I remember correctly. It was Bob Justman who "found" Patrick Stewart and pushed Roddenberry to cast him.

    I'd rather he'd played Tuvok, actually.
     
  4. TJ Sinclair

    TJ Sinclair Fleet Captain Fleet Captain

    Joined:
    Mar 26, 2000
    Location:
    There and back again...
    Yup.

    Definitely would have fit better with how the character was conceived. You rarely, if ever, got the centenarian-plus vibe from Tuvok. What a waste.
     
  5. ClayinCA

    ClayinCA Commodore Commodore

    Joined:
    Nov 3, 2005
    Location:
    California
    That was one of the things that initially had me interested in the character of Tuvok, when the series was first announced. And then they...totally forgot about it, apparently. Big, big shame.
     
  6. Christopher

    Christopher Writer Admiral

    Joined:
    Mar 15, 2001
    ^^According to what I read, they looked for older actors who could pull off a Vulcan persona, but didn't find anyone who fit the bill, so they went with Russ. Perhaps Freeman never auditioned for them. Or perhaps they couldn't afford him.
     
  7. William Leisner

    William Leisner Scribbler Rear Admiral

    Joined:
    Aug 17, 2003
    Location:
    Minneapolis, MN
    Morgan Freeman would have so overshadowed the rest of the cast, you never would have been able to see them in the Stygian darkness...
     
  8. Brefugee

    Brefugee No longer living the Irish dream. Premium Member

    Joined:
    Oct 12, 2007
    Or he didn't want to be a regular on long running TV programme!
     
  9. TJ Sinclair

    TJ Sinclair Fleet Captain Fleet Captain

    Joined:
    Mar 26, 2000
    Location:
    There and back again...
    I'm willing to bet that Mulgrew could go toe-to-toe with Freeman and hold her own, but the rest... nah. But then, for the most part... it wasn't that great anyway. Better writing and consistent characterization would have helped all around.
     
  10. JD

    JD Fleet Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Jul 22, 2004
    Location:
    Arizona, USA
    Huh, I didn't realize he was originally supposed to be that old.
     
  11. Christopher

    Christopher Writer Admiral

    Joined:
    Mar 15, 2001
    Well, Tuvok was explicitly over a hundred years old, as seen in the fact that he served aboard Excelsior under Sulu (although "Fury" erred and claimed he hadn't yet reached three digits). And as we saw with Sarek in "Journey to Babel," 100-odd years is early middle age for a Vulcan. Had Tuvok been the older mentor figure he was intended to be, say, played by someone in his 60s or thereabouts, that would probably have corresponded to a Vulcan around 180 or so.
     
  12. William Leisner

    William Leisner Scribbler Rear Admiral

    Joined:
    Aug 17, 2003
    Location:
    Minneapolis, MN
    ^ JD asked about Tuvok as he was originally conceived, though. Pulling out my copy of the VOY writers' guide for season 2, the character description says, "Tuvok has not lived long (for a Vulcan) but he has lived well, tasting of most of life's experiences. He married young, loves his wife deeply, and has four children -- three sons and a daughter." Very vague, but it doesn't sound like the producers decided that he was old enough to have served under Sulu until they conceived of doing "Flashback" in season 3.
     
  13. TJ Sinclair

    TJ Sinclair Fleet Captain Fleet Captain

    Joined:
    Mar 26, 2000
    Location:
    There and back again...
    Exactly.

    These two sentences are mutually exclusive. By the time the season two writers guide was written, Tim Russ had already been in the role for some time, and thus the character concept was altered. The season one writer's bible states how Tuvok was originally conceived.
     
  14. Christopher

    Christopher Writer Admiral

    Joined:
    Mar 15, 2001
    I distinctly remember that the early, pre-casting ideas for the Tuvok character were for an elderly mentor-figure type. I was very surprised when they cast someone so much younger than what the publicity had described. I remember thinking, "Well, I hope they at least put him in a grey wig."

    The VGR Companion reprints an early draft of the series bible, and it says:
    It also contains a different version of the passage Bill quoted:
     
  15. William Leisner

    William Leisner Scribbler Rear Admiral

    Joined:
    Aug 17, 2003
    Location:
    Minneapolis, MN
    No, actually, they are not. My possession and citing of a season 2 guide doesn't change or negate JD's question. But my most profound apologies to you for not having a season 1 guide. :rolleyes:
     
  16. Christopher

    Christopher Writer Admiral

    Joined:
    Mar 15, 2001
    ^^Sorry, Bill, but you're wrong. As my post above indicates, the version of Tuvok described in your Season 2 bible is very different from the original conception that JD was asking about.
     
  17. William Leisner

    William Leisner Scribbler Rear Admiral

    Joined:
    Aug 17, 2003
    Location:
    Minneapolis, MN
    Yes, I understand that. And again, forgive me for citing the information I had available to me. But I clearly stated where I was citing the information from, and did not claim it represented the original intent -- only that it predated the first on-screen reference to Tuvok's age, in "Flashback."
     
  18. Cicero

    Cicero Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Jan 14, 2002
    Location:
    Tanusha
    I don't know why, but she was immediately Abramowitz to me.


    One problem for Lt. Choudhury is the dearth of other-than-pale-skinned female Indian actors (nevermind those of the right age or height). Even actors as mildly darkly complected as Parminder Nagra see little prominent work on the Subcontinent.
     
  19. David Mack

    David Mack Writer Rear Admiral

    Joined:
    Jan 25, 2003
    Location:
    New York, NY
    Christopher and I frequently are at odds over our visualization of the Jasminder Choudhury character. When I thought her up, I was picturing someone like Rekha Sharma. Christopher had in mind someone taller, closer to Worf's stature. We've never really resolved the debate.
     
  20. Brefugee

    Brefugee No longer living the Irish dream. Premium Member

    Joined:
    Oct 12, 2007
    Maybe you should have a fight to the death to decide :devil: