Spoilers Star Trek: Discovery 5x04 - "Face the Strange"

[Cr0sis21]

It was actually most likely due to contracts. The actors were all due to renegotiate their contracts and be due a pay rise. That's part of the reason Starfleet academy was greenlit because the cast would be cheaper and reuse the 32nd century assets.

I think it's really bizarre to be against representation in a tv franchise built on representing the other, whether they be Russian, Japanese, black or LGBT. Like what the actual fuck do you think star trek is about?

I am absolutely not against representation.
I just think it's a disservice to those being represented if that's blatantly the only reason why they're there.

 

[CorporalCaptain]

Adira's working out to be a fantastic character. So are Stamets and Culber. It's less clear to me what Gray's going to be like going forward.

 

[CorporalClegg]

Adira's working out to be a fantastic character. So are Stamets and Culber. It's less clear to me what Gray's going to be like going forward.

I bet they'll be more than just an ensign.

 

[eschaton]

I'd agree with those points. But I'd also add that in almost all previous ST series from TNG on, the majority of bridge characters were characters that we not only knew but knew extremely well. Their histories, parents, etc. They were very well developed. These people who we grew to know in detail were the ones handling the big crisis on the bridge.

I'm not sure I agree. Harry Kim was just one of many similar low-ranking characters on Voyager. Others at his level on the bridge were just nameless nobodies. And on DS9 really only Sisko, Dax and Kira worked in ops until the fourth season, when Worf came on the show.

 

[eschaton]

I am absolutely not against representation.
I just think it's a disservice to those being represented if that's blatantly the only reason why they're there.

Reminds me of this video:

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[cooleddie74]

O'Brien was frequently in Ops, but yeah, he wasn't officially stationed there.

 

[Nerys Myk]

I am absolutely not against representation.
I just think it's a disservice to those being represented if that's blatantly the only reason why they're there.

You know that's why Uhura and Sulu were in TOS, right? And probably why a disabled character, (Geordi) was in TNG.
Adira and Gray's "representation" has been fairly low key. As has Culber and Stamets. None have been in "very special episodes" about acceptance. it's just part of who they are, no different than say Michael and Book. Their roles in the plots of each season aren't dependent on gender. So, not seeing anything blatant

 

[UssGlenn]

You know that's why Uhura and Sulu were in TOS, right? And probably why a disabled character, (Geordi) was in TNG.
Adira and Gray's "representation" has been fairly low key. As has Culber and Stamets. None have been in "very special episodes" about acceptance. it's just part of who they are, no different than say Michael and Book. Their roles in the plots of each season aren't dependent on gender. So, not seeing anything blatant

TOS needed a helmsman and a comms officer. Discovery already had Saru, Tilly, and Stamets being the "solve the science problem of the week" characters.

 

[Nerys Myk]

TOS needed a helmsman and a comms officer. Discovery already had Saru, Tilly, and Stamets being the "solve the science problem of the week" characters.

Not why a helmsman or a comms officer. But why a black character and a Asian character. The reason is a memo from the advertisers asking for a more diverse cast.
Disco has always been science heavy. Its a science ship. Michael started as a science specialist.

 

[Cr0sis21]

You know that's why Uhura and Sulu were in TOS, right? And probably why a disabled character, (Geordi) was in TNG.
Adira and Gray's "representation" has been fairly low key. As has Culber and Stamets. None have been in "very special episodes" about acceptance. it's just part of who they are, no different than say Michael and Book. Their roles in the plots of each season aren't dependent on gender. So, not seeing anything blatant

It's not that they are blatantly anything. It's that the characters do nothing, and (especially with Gray) did nothing and then were written off.
Contrast them with Captain Angel on SNW.

 

[fireproof78]

Annoying character best served never to come back?

Please give me Adria over Angel!

 

[UssGlenn]

Not why a helmsman or a comms officer. But why a black character and a Asian character. The reason is a memo from the advertisers asking for a more diverse cast.
Disco has always been science heavy. Its a science ship. Michael started as a science specialist.

I nearly listed Michael in that list, but she'd moved on to mostly command stuff by the time Adira came on board. But my point was about the direction of the decision. On TOS they needed a comms officer, and then said, what diverse person can we put there (Alden then Uhura). Sulu is a little less straightforward he only has 2 lines in WNMHGB, and they clearly changed their minds about needing a scientist character other than Spock, but they killed their helmsman in that episode, so there was a vital void to fill. On Discovery they wanted to add a nonbinary character and did in the least creative way possible, yet another science person, of which they had 3 already, plus Burnham. Which meant that their role was entirely redundant.

 

[fireproof78]

Not why a helmsman or a comms officer. But why a black character and a Asian character. The reason is a memo from the advertisers asking for a more diverse cast.
Disco has always been science heavy. Its a science ship. Michael started as a science specialist.

Indeed. And people are actually moving around, vs. staying as one role for a show's run.

Discovery feels like a breathing workplace.

 

[Nerys Myk]

I nearly listed Michael in that list, but she'd moved on to mostly command stuff by the time Adira came on board. But my point was about the direction of the decision. On TOS they needed a comms officer, and then said, what diverse person can we put there (Alden then Uhura). Sulu is a little less straightforward he only has 2 lines in WNMHGB, and they clearly changed their minds about needing a scientist character other than Spock, but they killed their helmsman in that episode, so there was a vital void to fill. On Discovery they wanted to add a nonbinary character and did in the least creative way possible, yet another science person, of which they had 3 already, plus Burnham. Which meant that their role was entirely redundant.

And Saru has been XO for most of the run, not the "science guy". Spock was pretty much just the XO in WNMHGB. And in command mode in the Cage too, when his job was "First Lieutenant". Placing Sulu at helm put the diversity front and center so they can show the advertising guys they listened. Not seeing why more science guys is a bad thing. They like the science collab scenes and collab scenes in general. And frankly, Stamets' shift from Spore Drive Guy to jack-of-all sciences and engineering guy is a bit annoying. Spock had the same problem, especially when he would step on Scotty's toes. So I'm not bothered by Adira being a "blueshirt". At least they didn't kick a bridge crew co-star out and place them there.
I guess Adira could have been made a security officer. That was a open slot. Mulling it over, Science or Engineering is a good fit story wise, though. Having multiple Ops, Helm, Comm or Tac officers in a scene makes less sense than scientists and engineers. So they made the right choice,

 

[Cr0sis21]

I nearly listed Michael in that list, but she'd moved on to mostly command stuff by the time Adira came on board. But my point was about the direction of the decision. On TOS they needed a comms officer, and then said, what diverse person can we put there (Alden then Uhura). Sulu is a little less straightforward he only has 2 lines in WNMHGB, and they clearly changed their minds about needing a scientist character other than Spock, but they killed their helmsman in that episode, so there was a vital void to fill. On Discovery they wanted to add a nonbinary character and did in the least creative way possible, yet another science person, of which they had 3 already, plus Burnham. Which meant that their role was entirely redundant.

That wasn't even the original intention. They didn't know Blu was NB until a few episodes in. Thus the awkwardly shoehorned pronoun conversation.

 

[UssGlenn]

That wasn't even the original intention. They didn't know Blu was NB until a few episodes in. Thus the awkwardly shoehorned pronoun conversation.

are you sure about that? got any quotes from production staff?

 

[CorporalCaptain]

By the way, is this the first episode whose title is a David Bowie lyric?

 

[Cr0sis21]

are you sure about that? got any quotes from production staff?

Quotes from Blu themselves. Which is why the earlier episodes referred to Adira as "her".

What makes it all the more remarkable is that this is not only Del Barrio’s first TV role — cast while Del Barrio, now 23, was finishing their final year in drama school — but when they were cast as Adira, Del Barrio had barely started the coming out process themselves as non-binary.

“I understood myself to not be cisgender,” Del Barrio says. “But it was not something that I was talking about with a lot of people, it was definitely still in my own brain. My plan was, like, I’ll graduate, and then I’ll figure all of this out. Instead, this [show] happened, which, in turn, helped me figure this out!”

 

[The Rock]

I normally hate "clip show" episodes of shows but I liked this one because this was a nice twist on clip shows. The actual characters themselves went back in time to take part in old clips! Well not really old clips, but like stuff that happened in the past! Cool episode and I also liked how it tied into that one Short Trek that I thought was declared non-canon until now.

 

[UssGlenn]

Quotes from Blu themselves. Which is why the earlier episodes referred to Adira as "her".

That very article makes it clear that the Character of Adira was conceived as non-binary before Blu was cast.

Even though Del Barrio had told almost no one about their gender identity, months before the “Discovery” audition was even a possibility, their agent had the presence of mind to ask them if they’d ever want to submit for non-binary roles.

“I took a really long pause before just really quietly being like, ‘Yes, that’s okay. You can do that,'” Del Barrio says. “But I wasn’t expecting to book anything that soon. I think that was the reason why I was comfortable auditioning. I wanted to explore myself within these auditions, but I wasn’t expecting to actually book a job.“

While TV producers cannot outright ask prospective actors about their sexuality or gender identity, they can specify both for the character in question.