I'm in the mood for Seska!
- Thread starter WarpTenLizard
- Start date
That’s pretty much exactly what happened - Michael Pillar was the one who was pushing for an expanded recurring cast. But he stepped down as showrunner after season two, and incoming showrunner Jeri Taylor was not interested in any of those things, so, when Part 2 was written, they were taken off the board as “resolution.”
I really have to wonder what Voyager would have ended up looking like had he stuck around for even one more year, make those aspects actually baked into the fabric of the show.
Piller saw how DS9 was doing with a group of recurring cast and felt it could be done with VOYAGER, which he would be absolutely right. The premise of VOYAGER actually made it more likely to have recurring characters because it's a relatively small, singular crew.
Jeri Taylor not wanting to have recurring characters kind of fits... if you look at all the episodes she was credited with in seasons 1 and 2 ("CARETAKER", "EYE OF THE NEEDLE", "ELOGIUM", "THE 37's", "PERSISTENCE OF VISION", "ALLIANCES", "INVESTIGATIONS", "RESOLUTIONS"), the vast majority either don't have any recurring characters or are killed off. "ELOGIUM" and "ALLIANCES" are the only real exceptions, and as rarely as we saw Wildman in the show (Naomi appeared far more often), she might as well have been killed off. Or given the Carey treatment.
The one recurring character they did make during her time as main showrunner was Vorik, and even he was virtually never used after she stepped down. Which, by the way, was a clear case of nepotism... Alexander Enberg is her son.
Jeri Taylor not wanting to have recurring characters kind of fits... if you look at all the episodes she was credited with in seasons 1 and 2 ("CARETAKER", "EYE OF THE NEEDLE", "ELOGIUM", "THE 37's", "PERSISTENCE OF VISION", "ALLIANCES", "INVESTIGATIONS", "RESOLUTIONS"), the vast majority either don't have any recurring characters or are killed off. "ELOGIUM" and "ALLIANCES" are the only real exceptions, and as rarely as we saw Wildman in the show (Naomi appeared far more often), she might as well have been killed off. Or given the Carey treatment.
The one recurring character they did make during her time as main showrunner was Vorik, and even he was virtually never used after she stepped down. Which, by the way, was a clear case of nepotism... Alexander Enberg is her son.
So... Voyager's opening credits say CREATED BY RICK BERMAN & BRANDON BRAGA & JERI TAYLOR...
Berman vetoed the actual year of hell...
Taylor wiped out most of the potential recurring characters...
Braga gave us concepts like "someone gotta be duh ensign"...
Explains a few things, right?
Berman vetoed the actual year of hell...
Taylor wiped out most of the potential recurring characters...
Braga gave us concepts like "someone gotta be duh ensign"...
Explains a few things, right?
You're right, it's quite the RIDDLE.
Actually, Michael Piller co-created VOYAGER with Berman and Taylor, not Braga. He was a producer for season 1, supervising producer for season 2 and 3, co-executive for season 4, executive producer/showrunner for season 5 and 6, and consulting producer for season 7 while he and Berman were creating ENTERPRISE at the time for its premiere the next fall.
I actually preferred her as the snarky 'Bajoran' before the big reveal. I would have liked it if they had her stick around and randomly sleep with Chakotay from time to time, with it inevitably ending badly for poor Chuckles each time. Like he knows she's really bad for him and he *shouldn't*, but he doesn't have great self control around her.
Regarding Cardassians in general, they must have really flexible DNA. Most species, if they want to have a child with a partner from another species, some medical assistance is involved. Cardassians are presumably able to interbreed with Bajorans, humans, and Kazon without too much difficulty.
I think too that Seska's human condition was only a temporary thing and that she must have required a human DNA infusion to stay that way. Nothing to do with the savagery or ignorance of the Kazon Nistrim!
I prefer Seska in her Cardassian incarnation to be honest! I found her so much more attractive somehow...
JB
I prefer Seska in her Cardassian incarnation to be honest! I found her so much more attractive somehow...
JB
That Seska got pregnant by Cullah was a bit of a surprise to me.
I think the main reason why Voyager overtook DS9 for second place in my favorite series list a while back (well after the conclusion of Voyager's run, though) is that, by the fourth or more likely the fifth season, DS9 started to feel, quite oddly, a bit claustrophobic. If there was an espionage problem, then Garak had to be involved, because there were of course no other competent spies around. If there was some sort of illegal activity occurring within 100 light years, naturally Quark was at the center and Odo was in charge of the investigation. The same people routinely showed up at the station representing the same interests or sectors of the Federation and other powers. And then there was the mandated raktajino reference (ugh) in just about every script and other by-the-numbers silliness. Everything just seemed too small for a space station in what was, I believe, supposed to be a high-traffic area because of the wormhole and the growing importance of Bajor - plus the ever-present threats of the Cardassians and the Dominion.
So then you analyze Voyager, and they *clearly* missed an opportunity to have the same sort of writing approach in a setting where it would have made far more sense, just as Farscape One noted above. But I don't dock for a potential missed opportunity (on VOY) as much as I do for an affirmative creative decision (on DS9) that just didn't work out for me. (Plus, I adored Mulgrew and Ryan and their characters; they may have detested each other at the time, but neither one of them let it detract from absolutely fantastic acting that still resonates with me quite strongly. And even though the Paris/Torres/Tuvok/Chakotay/Kim/Neelix ensemble surrounding Janeway, Seven and the Doctor was highly underdeveloped, I enjoyed them all.)
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Like I said, Cardassians are genetically flexible. Look at Ziyal, and others like her. I doubt they were planned events. So apparently, Cardassians can impregnate or be impregnated by other species as easily as they can other Cardassians.
Aside from Sloane. And Bashir, but it's debatable how competent he was.
I liked them as well. It was sad that such potential was wasted. But except for the character driven DS9, every series has had underutilized characters.
- Scotty, Uhura, Chekov, and Sulu didn't really start coming into their own until the TOS movies.
- Beverly Crusher was seen a lot, but Pulaski saw more character growth in one season than she saw in six. And Deanna and Geordi weren't used much either.
- Travis Mayweather never made any mistakes, and didn't do much else. And Hoshi and Reed could have been used more.
Voyager might have missed some slam dunks in terms of potentially growable characters (they could have done nearly anything with Harry, and they eliminated half of B'Elanna's potential growth in the second episode), but they weren't much worse than other Treks in terms of focusing on certain characters.
Voyager did the same with Janeway's java addiction.
And Ocampan too but I still find it a bit annoying.
I found Seska sexier as a Cardassian than a Bajoran too, I think the straight nose ridges aren't as flattering on everyone like on Ro and Kira.
I told myself that when she ran away to the Kazon, she knew she'd have to have sex with Cullah but didn't want to get pregnant with his baby so she stole Chakotay's sperm in order to pre-impregnate herself as a form of birth control so she wouldn't end up having a Kazon baby, and somehow she screwed up.
I told myself that when she ran away to the Kazon, she knew she'd have to have sex with Cullah but didn't want to get pregnant with his baby so she stole Chakotay's sperm in order to pre-impregnate herself as a form of birth control so she wouldn't end up having a Kazon baby, and somehow she screwed up.
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