Better that Michelle Forbes wasn't in DS9?
- Thread starter JesterFace
- Start date
"Duet" is an episode that truly lets the character and actor shine. If its not in fans' top ten episodes of the franchise then there's something wrong with them
I love Star Trek, I love DS9, and Kira is one of my top 3-4 characters in the franchise.
But I’ve never understood why “Duet” is held in such immaculate regard. It was good.
Not even in my top 20, though.
^ Firstly, DS9 is the pinnacle of Trek and that is a hill I am willing to die on.
Kira is an amazing character (my favourite of the franchise) and her arc is superb to watch as it unfolds over seven years.
Lastly, that's why IDIC is important. If we were all the same then life would be boring, for example I don't get all the hype around "The Inner Light", it's good but it's not one I'm chomping at the bit to watch.
Kira is an amazing character (my favourite of the franchise) and her arc is superb to watch as it unfolds over seven years.
Lastly, that's why IDIC is important. If we were all the same then life would be boring, for example I don't get all the hype around "The Inner Light", it's good but it's not one I'm chomping at the bit to watch.
I'm not sure that any of the two actresses were any better than the other, IMHO they had different acting styles.
I felt that Nana, at least in DS9, had a very melodramatic style of acting where she was able to convey emotion directly and was suited to the way TV was at the time where stories were confined to to be told in about 42 to 45 minutes. Michelle, however used physical presence and body language to convey emotion which was more suited to the big screen where actors and actresses had more 'physical space' as movie scenes were shot.
These two styles are demonstrated on nuBSG where Nana's cameo involved lying in a bed and she was able to wonderfully convey the emotion of her character in such a confined space. In contrast, Michelle dominated the scenes she was in with her presence, taut, almost like a wild animal pacing up and down in a cage, and she used silence a lot when pausing between pieces of dialogue where you could imagine the cogs turning in her head so to speak as she mentally weighs the pros and cons of the tough decisions her character has to make.
Thankfully now TV is being shot in a 'cinema style' where emotional scenes are played out to it's maximum affect rather than condensed to take into account of TV show pacing and actors and actresses are able to bring the necessary nuances to their characters.
It would have been interesting to see the two together...
One novel series had Ro survive the destruction of the Maquis. The Bajoran militia were happy to enlist someone who detested Cardassians as much as they did. And then Bajor finally joined the Federation, and the Bajoran militia were combined into Starfleet. So she was right back where she started, and working alongside Col. Kira.
One novel series had Ro survive the destruction of the Maquis. The Bajoran militia were happy to enlist someone who detested Cardassians as much as they did. And then Bajor finally joined the Federation, and the Bajoran militia were combined into Starfleet. So she was right back where she started, and working alongside Col. Kira.
I was a big fan of Ro on TNG, and before I started DS9, I was disappointed to learn that she had passed on the role. Now that I'm 2 seasons in to DS9, though, Kira is by far my favorite character of the main cast and I think Nana Visitor is a fantastic actor who brings a lot to the role. I do wish we could have had them both -- I think, like others have said, that the interplay between Kira and Ro, two Bajoran women with very different lives and perspectives, would have brought a lot to the series.
In my head canon, Jadzia was only recently Joined with Dax before coming to DS9, so her manner in the beginning is a result of that, with Jadzia trying to deal with all the previous lives and portray the ideal she had in her head about what being Joined meant. Then over time as she got to know the other previous Hosts and Dax she began to embrace them more readily and learning to enjoy her life and make the most out of it.
Totally agree with Kira though, from Day One the writers and Nana had her figured out.
Helps that they never felt the need to put them in Lycra workout gear and spend a whole scene stretching for the camera. Good Lord was that uncomfortable to watch.
Although... I know some people will disagree, but Ezri has always given me strong manic pixie dream girl vibes. Feel like she accomplished for DS9 what Seven accomplished for VOY, but in the opposite way.
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Doesn't hurt that Nana Visitor would be extremely attractive no matter what she wore (as would many of the others, but I do have to let my own bias show).
Oh, totally. I don't think there's anything wrong with a character wearing a sexy outfit in a situation where it makes sense, but it drives me nuts when it's clear the only reason is "to give the fans something to drool over." I try and rationalize it when I can -- my partner and I have established a headcanon that Lursa and B'Etor's stupid boob windows are actually a proud Klingon tradition that shows you're such a powerful warrior you can expose your vital organs to attack without fear.
I don't think every female character needs to be attractive or played by an attractive actress (I think we've had plenty of average-looking men on Trek) but as a woman attracted to women I do find pretty women kicking butt in sensible outfits to be the best of both worlds for fanservice
You can explain the boob windows that Lursa and B'etor just used sexuality as a tool to manipulate. They even tried to do that with Picard when they kidnapped him.
Well they did put Kes in catsuits for the last stretch of Season 3 (Starting in Before and After, when she also grew her hair out)
And they also made Kira's uniform more form fitting and gave her high heels in Season 4.
Was Kes' hair not because Jennifer had started to have a bad reaction to the prosthetics glue for the ears? Her new wardrobe does seem to come out of nowhere, though maybe its part of some sort of pre-elogium hormonal development where she's seeking to attract suitable mates.
Kira's new uniform sticks out like a sore thumb. They should've switched over the entire Militia uniforms for the new style.
Yes the hair was apparently Jennifer Lienn's real hair and used to cover up her ears because she developed an allergic reaction to the glue. Honestly I think they should have always used her natural hair and just styled it around her alien ears, because the pixie cut wig not only looked terrible, but just made her look like a blond Vulcan.
But her new hair style did coincide with a change in wardrobe to those form-fitting jumpsuits.
But yeah it's possible that the plan might have been to show that Kes had reached full maturity/adulthood. Sadly we'll never know for sure, due to her departure from the series.
Agreed. If they decided to overhaul Kira's uniform, they should have overhauled all the Militia uniforms. I mean I understand why they might have wanted to, because that pink and red was a terrible color combination.
Though nothing would excuse the high heels..
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I'm likely in the minority here, but I find the uproar over Kira's season four uniform to be very overblown. During the first three season, Visitor's outfit was very tight in places that the production wanted to highlight, namely her lower half. Too often the cameras were set to lower levels in order to get a good look at Visitor's lower half. That didn't chance with the new outfit. Moreover, Terry Farrell said in a recent interview that Visitor was very conscious of the heigh differences between herself and the rest of the cast and demanded higher heels. Perhaps Farrell was misrembering. On the whole, the production was continuously trying to sexualize Visitor, and the season four uniform was just another step in the process.
