Absolute worst character in DS9 History: Ezri Dax

I'm not sure how unlikeable it would have made him, at least to the audience, but I feel it would have been a stronger character moment. Worf always talks about the importance of the mission and how it's noble to die for the cause. I think he would understand and respect Jadzia's decision to stay behind, and that he might even agree with it given that this was apparently pretty important. It might not be particularly 'human' to let your wife die in order to make an important intelligence gain in wartime, but it is pretty Klingon, and Worf is a Klingon. If your alien characters aren't going to make decisions that conflict with typical human sensibilities, why even have them?

 

I think just about everybody, including the writers and producers, wishes Jadzia had died in Change of Heart...

 

Yes, Worf is a Klingon who behaves like almost no other Klingon.

 

Has it ever been explained why exactly Terry left the show?

 

Yes. She wanted to shift from regular character to recurring. In response, she was summarily shown the door.

 

In this interview with startrek.com she talks about how exhausted she was, and how she wanted to just be a recurring character in Season 7 instead of having to be in every episode.

Kor

 

Exactly.

 

She left because Rick Berman was being an ass and was unwilling to negotiate with her. He was also probably using misogyny. If you read app Farrell's interviews carefully, it becomes clear that the offer of becoming a recurring actor was a late tactic to remain on the show while pursuing other acting jobs. However, the situation started at the end of season 5 when she did not resign at her previous contract and wanted to negotiate: she felt that her value to the show had increased, which her contract should reflect.

 

The way the series was going the showrunners didn't require Dax to be in every episode so having Terry be a recurring part shouldn't have been a problem. Anyway, I don't think Ezri was absolutely the worst character, I'd rather Ezri in every episode than Rom.

 

The documentary has the, "If not for me you'd be working at K-Mart story" which she took personally as an actress and model. And it was notable to me absolutely no one disputed it was the kind of thing that would be said to her by the man who said it.

There's also a sense of entitlement it seemed that they wrote numerous opportunities for her to stay but not for her to be a recurring character like, "Dax accepted a job at Starfleet Intelligence."

 

Who is they? Farrell admits that she never proposed becoming a recurring character with ISB, the man who would make story decisions. Indeed, she admits she never discussed her negotiations with ISB at all.

 

To Farrell personally or her agent??? Glad to know your mind reading powers, along with intent, about Rick Berman targeting Ms. Farrell is effective while your powers seemed to go tilt with the showrunner Ira Behr.

Negotiations are made through the actor's representatives, not the actor and the Executive Producer.

 

Did you see the documentary? It cut out a lot of the chaff.

 

In the documentary it was depicted that Rick Berman was this horrible person to Farrell or it didn't work out; she wanted something, and the studio wanted something else??? No where in the documentary puts Berman in some dastardly depiction towards Farrell.

 

Just gonna say it; I suspect quite a few people just hate Ezri because she wasn't as conventionally attractive as Jadzia.

Because, in my opinion, if I compare the two characters...

Jadzia started out as incredibly boring and them morphed into a giant witch with a b who was defined almost solely by her relationship with Worf. And she was yet another character who fangirled(fanboyed, fanpersoned) the Klingon Empire, which was also the only basis her relationship with Worf had.

Ezri, on the other hand was, again, in my opinion, an interesting character, who I wished we could have had much, much sooner. We also learned more about Ezri in one season than we did about Jadzia (Jadzia, not "Dax") in six seasons.

 

I have to agree with you there, well not the boring depiction in the beginning, but I thought Jadzia lost her identity when she paired up with Worf. Also, she was performing less science duties and doing other things which for me I love and value a science officer on Star Trek, at the duration of the war I didn't feel she was necessary especially when Bashir took over some of the science duties when it was revealed he was a superman. I liked Ezri but I thought her involvement wasn't needed for the final season and with such a bloated cast already there, the main cast remaining could've had more screen time. I agree Ezri was interesting.

 

My summation was that Farrell left because the studio refused to negotiate with her and Berman used misogyny to demean her.

In the doc, she clearly states that that she felt no one was willing to "have a conversation" about her contract. In 50YM2, and in other interviews, Farrell talks about the "take it or leave it" offer, which she found unacceptable. She suggests that Berman was unwilling to talk to her. She also says that his secretaries demeaned her during this period, saying she had a small chest and she would be working at K Mart if it weren't for Star Trek.

In interviews, she says that is was years later when she first taller to Behr about the negotiations, at which point, in her words, he nearly vomited. In 50YM2, she says that she never discussed her wishes with Behr. Also kn 50YM2, Behr says he was kept in the dark about what was going on by both Berman and Farrell. He supposes that it is because everyone feared he would be enrage by what was happening.

On the Delta Quadrant podcast in 2013, Farrell says that she felt that she was more valuable to the show, which should either be reflected in her contract or she should be allowed to do work outside the show.

To whom did Farrell relay her request to be recurring? To Berman, who was probably not inclined to agree to it?

Of course, Berman has said little about this other than to deny the misogyny. It still leaves my summation largely intact.

Unfortunately, I think people get too wrapped up in why Farrell left. It's sad to hear her answer the same questions over and over. Fans should forgive her rather than continually ask her to justify her actions. She doesn't owe it to us to be Jadzia Dax for the rest of her life. She was, and is, entitled to do what was best for her and for her career. People leave television series. It doesn't need to be a big deal.

 

Okay Terry Farrell didn't have an agent, she represented herself and wanted to have a conversation with an Executive Producer who is working on more than one Star Trek property. The Secretaries were mean to her and misogynistic because of Rick Berman, this sounds like her truth and I am looking at the doc now to have more info. I guess because the accuser made these statements it has to be true because Berman isn't commenting on them. Without Rick Berman making any validity to it, it is hearsay, and I find it odd that the person who felt sick of Terry sharing this so-called revelation wrote such a disrespectful departure of her character, DS9 "Tears of the Prophets" and in meanwhile didn't know anything about the politics of what was going on???

Yeah, I guess Rick Berman ordered the treatment of that episode and Ira just did what the misogynist creeper wanted. Lets not forget Ira approved of the previous episode "The Sound of her Voice" had a better and formal ceremonial funeral for a character the DS9 crew barely knew. Yep, all Rick Berman, but Ira had nothing to do with the complete slap in the face of a beloved character in Tears. Blame Rick Berman where there's not evidence.

 

When actors leave shows, their characters are often killed off. There need be no malice in that kind of story. And given that Farrell, by her own admission, did not talk to the person in charge of narrative development that she wanted to have a different position on the show, there is no reason to believe Behr or any other writer thought she would come back.

 

Of course, because Star Trek doesn't believe in possibilities and opening the door for a way to give hope. Ira just wrote such a disrespectful episode because it suited the story and give no care or interest how the viewer would perceive it. The episode was mean to the actress and very disrespectful to a character who was there from the start of the series, but yeah, there was no reason to believe Behr thought she would come back. Even if Farrell was working on another show for the same studio and a stage away from the DS9 stage but to Ira and the writers there was no reason she would come back. Not even open the door in the story... just in case that maybe... she would have a change of heart... or the producers change of heart or the showrunners change of heart or the studios change of heart???

 

While not quite related, I liked what they did in the DS9 Relaunch novels with her character - changing her from counselor to command track after Ezri realized she could be so much more. I really need to finish those Mission Gamma novels, seriously. I'm on the second one.