Eggs with a side of Brooks
- Thread starter Ragitsu
- Start date
Indeed. I’d go further than not much difference and say no difference at all.
It’s often said that acting in a science fiction or fantasy production requires a certain amount of heightened theatrics and I think it’s very true. Brooks is no less nor more egregious in this regard than any other Star Trek lead.
Shatner has been mocked for a very long time for his acting choices. Basically everyone has done a Shatner. Never seen Stewart get knocked for his acting. Brooks is certainly someone who can chew scenario with the best of them and go very broad. I always liked it just like I did with Kirk and Q and other actors. Jack Black being another though not from Trek.
The thing is their was some racism in regards to Brooks acting, I believe in the early seasons. Why they wouldn't let him shave his head or grow a beard. In the DS9 documentary the studio guy even said something along the lines of them not wanting him to come off as to "street" which is of course racist code for being black.
I think the real reason was that Brooks had played an iconic character, Hawk, for a number of years, and Hawk was bald with a goatee. The producers wanted Sisko to look different. Once a few years had passed and Sisko was well established in his own right, it wasn't that big a deal.
I also think it was a little of both but we are also talking early 90's. You ha very few black leading men characters on tv. America was more racist at the time and this was also before the rise of cable and The Sopranos so shows were still aiming for a mainstream audience and couldn't take the chances they would be, after The Sopranos ushered in the golden age of tv.
Hello friends. This is my 1st post in THE TREK BBS.
I started watching Star Trek on TV at the late 60s.
Having already watched every other Star Trek show available (TOS, NG, VOY, movies, etc.), I have recently tried to finally watch DS9 and I have just (painfully) finished all episodes of Season 1. I was avoiding to do that for many years, because all my former attempts to watch a DS9 episode with this bad “actor” Avery Brooks as Commander Benjamin Sisco just made me very annoyed. I have never had problems watching and enjoying another Star Trek show ever, and I am watching Star Trek since a really long time. What is happening in DS9, having this specific “actor” on the show and watching him on screen, is something repulsive. I just can’t stand to continue watching DS9, Season 2.
I think Avery Brooks is not an actor at all. He could be possibly good in some other job, but in my opinion he is not qualified as being an actor. He simply seems to be unable to act normally, like any other actors we have seen in the franchise through the years. To avoid misunderstanding, I am not referring to the fact that he is a black man, because this is irrelevant. There are many good black actors and I can appreciate their acting performance. Tim Russ for one example, is a black man who gave us a very good acting performance as Tuvoc. Jake Sisco (as another example) is more normally acting on screen than his “father” Benjamin.
Avery Brooks can’t speak or laugh normally, like any other normal person easily can. He can’t move normally; he is unnatural stiff like he can’t really control his own body. His face expressions are always wrong, fake and inconsistent. That man on screen reminds me of a psychopath, who is trying to pass like a normal person, but it’s pretty obvious that he is not quite a normal person. All the other actors in DS9 perform pretty well, and the same also happens on all the rest Star Trek shows. Avery Brooks as Benjamin Sisco is a unique, bad exception in the franchise.
I am wondering how could Directors and Producers of DS9 TV show overlook such an awful acting, coming from a man who is claiming to be a professional actor. Why did they assign the important Station Commander role to such an unsuitable person ? There are thousands of talented black actors in USA and I can’t really understand why they chosen and thrown this inadequate “actor” against the “Star Trek, Deep Space 9” audience and fans. What is your opinion ?
I started watching Star Trek on TV at the late 60s.
Having already watched every other Star Trek show available (TOS, NG, VOY, movies, etc.), I have recently tried to finally watch DS9 and I have just (painfully) finished all episodes of Season 1. I was avoiding to do that for many years, because all my former attempts to watch a DS9 episode with this bad “actor” Avery Brooks as Commander Benjamin Sisco just made me very annoyed. I have never had problems watching and enjoying another Star Trek show ever, and I am watching Star Trek since a really long time. What is happening in DS9, having this specific “actor” on the show and watching him on screen, is something repulsive. I just can’t stand to continue watching DS9, Season 2.
I think Avery Brooks is not an actor at all. He could be possibly good in some other job, but in my opinion he is not qualified as being an actor. He simply seems to be unable to act normally, like any other actors we have seen in the franchise through the years. To avoid misunderstanding, I am not referring to the fact that he is a black man, because this is irrelevant. There are many good black actors and I can appreciate their acting performance. Tim Russ for one example, is a black man who gave us a very good acting performance as Tuvoc. Jake Sisco (as another example) is more normally acting on screen than his “father” Benjamin.
Avery Brooks can’t speak or laugh normally, like any other normal person easily can. He can’t move normally; he is unnatural stiff like he can’t really control his own body. His face expressions are always wrong, fake and inconsistent. That man on screen reminds me of a psychopath, who is trying to pass like a normal person, but it’s pretty obvious that he is not quite a normal person. All the other actors in DS9 perform pretty well, and the same also happens on all the rest Star Trek shows. Avery Brooks as Benjamin Sisco is a unique, bad exception in the franchise.
I am wondering how could Directors and Producers of DS9 TV show overlook such an awful acting, coming from a man who is claiming to be a professional actor. Why did they assign the important Station Commander role to such an unsuitable person ? There are thousands of talented black actors in USA and I can’t really understand why they chosen and thrown this inadequate “actor” against the “Star Trek, Deep Space 9” audience and fans. What is your opinion ?
What an odd thread.
It's rather bizarre to claim that he's not an actor at all, as if he is some imposter who tricked his way into the role. He had a quite successful TV career before DS9, and an even longer theatre career.
I can appreciate his acting style can be a bit jarring, but there have been far worse performances in Trek - Beltran sleepwalking through Voyager and Shatner at his hammiest come to mind.
It's rather bizarre to claim that he's not an actor at all, as if he is some imposter who tricked his way into the role. He had a quite successful TV career before DS9, and an even longer theatre career.
I can appreciate his acting style can be a bit jarring, but there have been far worse performances in Trek - Beltran sleepwalking through Voyager and Shatner at his hammiest come to mind.
Oh look, another “There something wrong with Avery Brooks” thread. We hadn't have one of those in … what, two days? 
I don't know, maybe try to get out more, would be my recommendation to you. It seems like you haven't really had the opportunity to meet other kinds of people, who might behave a little different from what you're used to. You'll find that Avery Brooks is not so unusual after all.
For future reference, if you have to preface you stating your opinion with “I'm not a racist, but …” it usually doesn't quite do the trick and people might still perceive your opinion as racist.
Well, that's not an unhinged thing to say at all. Normal words from someone just normally not liking an actor.
I don't know, maybe try to get out more, would be my recommendation to you. It seems like you haven't really had the opportunity to meet other kinds of people, who might behave a little different from what you're used to. You'll find that Avery Brooks is not so unusual after all.
ok.
C
Captain pl1ngpl0ng
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I think Avery Brooks played the Sisko character very well,
i enjoyed him in the series as a leader, a friend and as a father.
Is he black?..... i never even noticed.
i enjoyed him in the series as a leader, a friend and as a father.
Is he black?..... i never even noticed.
Brooks had a dramatic style that stood out when a scene called for emphasis and emotion. The intonation in his voice was unconventional. Ham? Yep, could certainly be construed as such. He had flair - as many classically trained actors do. He also happens to be my favorite Captain alongside Kirk.
Speaking of which - for the hammiest of the hams, you needn't look any further than The Shat Man.
Speaking of which - for the hammiest of the hams, you needn't look any further than The Shat Man.
Well if that's the case, congratulations to Avery on a masterful job pulling the wool across the eyes of Casting Directors & Executive Producers over the decades and landing several high-profile gigs, along with winning acclaim from Trek fans across the world for his role as Benjamin Sisko.
The only thing in Hollywood to top that mind-boggling feat is Akiva Goldsman convincing anyone he's a good writer.
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Real sci-fi allows more theatrical flair and creativity.
Also add in that future humanity will not act in the way that contemporary people do.
Not to mention, the 1990s were transitional between more theatrical styles and more "natural".
Trek's leads have also always had a theatrical edge. As I recall, Shatner, Stewart, and Brooks all have professional training in Shakespearean backgrounds. There's nothing out of the norm with their performances. I don't know Mulgrew's or Bakula's, or any of the others, but it's already a moot point.
But I'm used to the different acting styles, possibly in part to having watched a lot of BBC shows as a kid - where lots of classically-trained theater actors have worked under. "Different" is not synonymous with "bad". If you want "natural acting", any generic soap opera will do.
Also add in that future humanity will not act in the way that contemporary people do.
Not to mention, the 1990s were transitional between more theatrical styles and more "natural".
Trek's leads have also always had a theatrical edge. As I recall, Shatner, Stewart, and Brooks all have professional training in Shakespearean backgrounds. There's nothing out of the norm with their performances. I don't know Mulgrew's or Bakula's, or any of the others, but it's already a moot point.
But I'm used to the different acting styles, possibly in part to having watched a lot of BBC shows as a kid - where lots of classically-trained theater actors have worked under. "Different" is not synonymous with "bad". If you want "natural acting", any generic soap opera will do.
Didn't you watch Far Beyond the Stars?
How many actors have we seen in Star Trek franchise over the years ? Many hundreds maybe, from 1966 up to 2023 ?
I am not talking about soap-operas here, I am talking specifically about Star Trek.
Now please name (because I can’t remember) even a single one of those Star Trek actors who was possibly acting nearly as badly as Avery Brooks in Benjamin Sisco role.
I can understand that some people like DS9 as a TV show but look at him; the unnatural way he speaks and moves doesn’t remind me of a human Commander. He rather reminds me of some kind of a malfunctioning robot, desperately needing some serious repair on its processors and subsystems ! Actually the Ferengi Quark is acting far more naturally and humanly than the supposedly “human” Sisco !
I am not talking about soap-operas here, I am talking specifically about Star Trek.
Now please name (because I can’t remember) even a single one of those Star Trek actors who was possibly acting nearly as badly as Avery Brooks in Benjamin Sisco role.
I can understand that some people like DS9 as a TV show but look at him; the unnatural way he speaks and moves doesn’t remind me of a human Commander. He rather reminds me of some kind of a malfunctioning robot, desperately needing some serious repair on its processors and subsystems ! Actually the Ferengi Quark is acting far more naturally and humanly than the supposedly “human” Sisco !
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