Let's talk about Ben Sisko
- Thread starter wade8069
- Start date
Awesome. Doing a Christian/Hebrew-themed main story arc in a franchise know for it's anti-religious views I still think is one of the ballsyest moves a show has ever done. It was so un-PC in time and series obsessed with it. Especially considering how he was easily the most flawed and human of all the captains.
Without. He just looks like a badass without hair.
Absolutely. His performance in "Far Beyond The Stars" drove me to tears. It was awesome to see his character go from quiet and easy going, but bitter, after thought to hardened military leader to religious figure.
He was a little too subdued early on at times for my tastes, but he eventually came into his own.
One of my favorite characters of all time.
hmm... I think this ought to be interesting
1.Added an interesting dimension to the character and the universe.
2. Better with hair, a hairless Ben Sisko would have looked weird.
3. I have no real issues with his acting. Brooks made the character and I enjoyed Sisko, he was my favourite character on the show so Brooks' acting played a big part in that.
4. Yes, Brooks headlined the show well.
5. Good bloke and a bloody good cricketer.
2. Better with hair, a hairless Ben Sisko would have looked weird.
3. I have no real issues with his acting. Brooks made the character and I enjoyed Sisko, he was my favourite character on the show so Brooks' acting played a big part in that.
4. Yes, Brooks headlined the show well.
5. Good bloke and a bloody good cricketer.
Overall, I have never been an AB fan. I felt that he was the least compelling of all the Captains (no flames please, I am a big DS9 fan!). He had plenty of good moments but I felt that too often he squandered opportunities with his stilted acting. When he did a good job I was left wondering why we did not see that sort of work from him more often. He clearly put a lot of effort into "Emissary" and the result is fantastic, but as time went on I felt like he was just sleepwalking his way through things.
As for his hair, it never mattered to me one way or the other.
He suffered from some of the problems Janeway and Archer did; as the show went on the secondary charaters became more interesting than he was. On DS9, Colm Meaney, Rene Auberjonois, and Armin Shimmerman just did great work on whole episodes at a time, and were very compelling to fans. Even lesser characters like Garak and Gul Dukat could carry whole episodes in a very compelling way that Brooks' Sisko had trouble with.
I'm not trying to trash the guy, but for me has always been the weakest of the Captains, and I say that as someone who is watching the series through from start to finish, with great enjoyment, again as we speak, so I have been thinking a lot about this.
In the beginning, I didn't like it, but after a few seasons I started liking the entire emissray thing.
Without.
It was a bit overdone at times, but I liked it.
I found Sisko one of the least interesting characters on the show, but that's not because I don't like him, but because the others are even more interesting.
As somebody already pointed out, this is something we had really seen in great detail in any Star Trek series. I do like the way that this storyline complimented the Dominion War towards the end of the series.
Don't care.
Didn't bother me.
Yes.
Certainly of the five captains, the only one we've seen thrust into a full-out wartime situation. A good commanding officer, willing to make the difficult decision and a good wartime officer.
* What do you think about his role as the Emissary?
I ended up liking it- turned out to be useful. I thought I wouldn't... but I especially liked how it turned out that he could do his duty and that, while Kai Winn couldn't even get that right due to her ambition and selfishness.
* Was he better with hair or without??
Better? Hair changes no one, but I did happen to like the turn from around the time he happened to shave his head. But he looked younger with hair.
* Did you like Avery Brooks' acting?
Yep
* Was he good in the "main" role on DS9??
Thought he was great.
* What do you think of The Sis-ko in general?
Great- he led, he was balanced, he cooked... he was tough, didn't take nonsense, sent the Dominion packing more than once, fell and got up...
I ended up liking it- turned out to be useful. I thought I wouldn't... but I especially liked how it turned out that he could do his duty and that, while Kai Winn couldn't even get that right due to her ambition and selfishness.
* Was he better with hair or without??
Better? Hair changes no one, but I did happen to like the turn from around the time he happened to shave his head. But he looked younger with hair.
* Did you like Avery Brooks' acting?
Yep
* Was he good in the "main" role on DS9??
Thought he was great.
* What do you think of The Sis-ko in general?
Great- he led, he was balanced, he cooked... he was tough, didn't take nonsense, sent the Dominion packing more than once, fell and got up...
* What do you think about his role as the Emissary?
Loved it. The journey Sisko took through the course of the show IMHO was amazing. It was fascinating to watch how he slowly came to accept not only the death of his wife but also his own life - including being The Emissary.
* Was he better with hair or without??
Without.
* Did you like Avery Brooks' acting?
Absolutely. One of my favorite actors on Trek.
* Was he good in the "main" role on DS9??
Absolutely. Brooks has such an amazing presence on screen. It's easy to believe he's a leader and a father.
* What do you think of The Sis-ko in general?
"The Sisko" rocks
.
Loved it. The journey Sisko took through the course of the show IMHO was amazing. It was fascinating to watch how he slowly came to accept not only the death of his wife but also his own life - including being The Emissary.
* Was he better with hair or without??
Without.
* Did you like Avery Brooks' acting?
Absolutely. One of my favorite actors on Trek.
* Was he good in the "main" role on DS9??
Absolutely. Brooks has such an amazing presence on screen. It's easy to believe he's a leader and a father.
* What do you think of The Sis-ko in general?
"The Sisko" rocks
.
Emissary- Sometimes Yes, sometimes NO
He should have Embraced it
Hair- Without
Acting -Yes
But... Sisko was bald by choice!
I thought he was fantastic.
I liked both looks.
Loved it in Emissary. There were bits I didn't like later on in the series, but on the whole I think Brooks is a spectacular actor.
Brooks himself was good, but the writers didn't seem to know what to do with him. After Emissary they kind of ignored him for a while.
A very human character, and a believeable military leader.
Wow, I had the complete opposite reaction. I thought it was his worst performance and I lost a lot of respect for his acting after it. That nervous breakdown at the end is, in my opinion, the most embarassing moment I've seen in DS9. So sappy and overplayed. And whoever criticized his acting for being stitled is dead on. That's the perfect word I've been trying to come up with for what's wrong with his acting much of the time. Maybe the best example is in that very same episode when he does the monologue at the end and tries to sum up the message of the episode with poignance. His exaggerated dramatic pauses in that scene would make Shatner cringe. As for the rest of the questions...
I don't like it. I prefer my Star Trek without religion, and I felt that the Emissary/Prophets/Bajoran politics/religion angle really dragged the show down. I generally found episodes dealing with these subjects dull, with the exception of the one where Kira and Sisko bond as Sisko believes he's dying and Kira explains that she's always been intimidated by his status as a religious figure ("Starship Down"?). I like how Sisko is reluctant to being the Emissary at first and eventually grows to accept and even feel proud of the role. It's nice as an example of how open and accepting he is towards other cultures, but the concept itself bores me.
It can't be explained, but somehow the character and the way it was played both very obviously improved exponentially from the moment Sisko showed up bald. Hairless Sisko and Brooks are a million times cooler than their predecessor. It's like becoming bald was a rebirth.
Like I said, there were times like "Far Beyond the Stars" when I thought it was laughably awful, but I generally found Brooks' acting endearing in how mannered it was. It reminds me very much of Shatner, who is prone to going over-the-top and looking like he's trying too hard when he attempts to intensify the drama. In both cases, the actor's flaws are forgivable because in spite of them, they still exude a ton of charm and charisma.
He may be hammy at times, but Brooks is lovable for it, so it's okay. My favourite Brooks acting was when he played evil/possessed characters. As "Mirror Sisko", "Dr. Hippocrates Noah" in "Our Man Bashir", and "Joran" in "Facets" he was unforgettably hilarious. Maybe he missed his true calling in comedy. I think when it came to being serious he often fell short and just couldn't carry the weight of a big dramatic scene or moment, but time and time again he succeeded brilliantly at playing scenes for laughs.
Yes, this is the one area where I only have positive things to say. I believe the character worked splendidly as the lead in a series. I think he makes a wonderful captain because as a captain, he has some of the best qualities of both Picard and Kirk. Like Picard, he is thoughtful, patient, and wise in dealing with others (and bald
), and like Kirk he is passionately aggressive about his beliefs, fiercely driven towards his goals, brave, and very affectionate towards his friends. He's a bit too melodramatic sometimes, but most of the time is very admirable and a pleasure to watch due to how simultaneously tough and sweet he is. Hell of a father, family man, leader, and friend.
* What do you think about his role as the Emissary?
- Didn't like it very much. So I could have done without.
* Was he better with hair or without??
- Without, most definitely.
* Did you like Avery Brooks' acting?
- Couple of times I felt like he was "overacting" a little (being a little too melodramatic), but in general he does a good job with Sisko.
* Was he good in the "main" role on DS9??
- He was not as charismatic leader as Picard or Janeway, but he grew on me. I liked him more in later seasons.
* What do you think of The Sisko in general?
- I like him. I didn't get into his character the same way as I did to Picard's and Janeway's, but in general he was a cool dude. His passion and dedication shone through and I found it believable.
- Didn't like it very much. So I could have done without.
* Was he better with hair or without??
- Without, most definitely.
* Did you like Avery Brooks' acting?
- Couple of times I felt like he was "overacting" a little (being a little too melodramatic), but in general he does a good job with Sisko.
* Was he good in the "main" role on DS9??
- He was not as charismatic leader as Picard or Janeway, but he grew on me. I liked him more in later seasons.
* What do you think of The Sisko in general?
- I like him. I didn't get into his character the same way as I did to Picard's and Janeway's, but in general he was a cool dude. His passion and dedication shone through and I found it believable.
I think they did some really good stories on the subject and it was certainly original for a Trek series, but the storyline itself could have been better handled, particularly the final confrontation with Dukat.
Without. The hair didn't make a difference to his character, but his characterisation was much better during seasons 4-7. I can understand why Brooks wanted to leave after the first season because his character didn't do much more than normal captainy things for a long time.
I am one of the people who cringes at his break-down in Far Beyond the Stars, and there was one or two other occasions where I felt he overplayed the role, but most of the time I felt he did a great job. I have no more complaints about Brooks than I do about Stewart or any of the other captains.
I think he was a mix of Kirk and Picard with none of the things that I found annoying about Janeway and Archer. He developed really well during seasons 3-7 and I think he was great as the main character.
He is The Sisko.
I think it's clear that when he fully embraced the role of the Emissary, his priorities were to Bajor and his faith and no longer to Starfleet. This is fine, but it rendered him a weak captain for the federation.
No preference.
Very much. I don't think the casting could have been better.
I wanted to see more conflict from his role as Emissary. He's a Starfleet officer and the Federation has always struck me as atheist, if tolerant.
Now the commander of a very strategic outpost during wartime has gone off the reservation and is babbling about being a religious figure for people who aren't even part of the Federation. Under the influence of the so-called "gods" of this religion, he advises those people to stay neutral, even though this is not in the Federation's interests.
Sooo...it didn't even occur to Starfleet that Sisko might be a traitor or a dupe? They just said, "whatever you say, Ben. Okay by us." Huh.
Even if you buy that, the writers missed potential for some good drama.
Oh, and I vote No Hair.
Now the commander of a very strategic outpost during wartime has gone off the reservation and is babbling about being a religious figure for people who aren't even part of the Federation. Under the influence of the so-called "gods" of this religion, he advises those people to stay neutral, even though this is not in the Federation's interests.
Sooo...it didn't even occur to Starfleet that Sisko might be a traitor or a dupe? They just said, "whatever you say, Ben. Okay by us." Huh.
Even if you buy that, the writers missed potential for some good drama.
Oh, and I vote No Hair.
1. At first, I didn't care for the idea, as the Bajoran-centric shows were usually my least favorite. However, it was gutsy that they thrust a Starfleet officer into the reluctant role of religious figure, even messiah. And it helped his character deal with the Bajorans in an easier way, as his status as the Emissary gave him unique sway over Bajoran politics and spiritual matters.
2. I actualy prefer him in his second look: Hair and a circle beard.
3. At times, Brooks' acting could approach hambone proportions, but he also did some fine work. I think his offbeat delivery put some people off, but I think he was powerful in the role.
4. Absolutely he was good in the main role. I most liked his relationship with Jake.
5. Now, I never liked that whole "The Sisko" thing. I thought it was dumb. I just wish the Prophets just called him "The Emissary."
Red Ranger
Dusty Ayres
Commodore
Yes to everything.
Similar threads
- Locked
