Christopher Judge

[Joel_Kirk]

Just out of the blue, looking up (and watching) the two episodes that Jolene Blalock was in on Hulu.com*...I found out that Christopher Judge wrote those two episodes.

A comment on Hulu.com mentioned that T'leac always gets the girls; which led me to believe the shows that Christopher Judge (since I also remembered the one other episode where he moves in temporarily with a human girl)...where purposely written for that purpose...

Salli Richardson....Jolene Blalock...and 'others'....

Regardless, I do like his character: Articulate, tough, 3-dimensional...etc...

I have to do it; the comparison to 'Berman' Trek: On Berman Trek, Judge probably would have been a Klingon (or some alien with loads of make-up or a human with some sort of handicap)...and he probably would have been paired in one or two episodes with a female character who is alien or human, but portrayed by a black woman...and he possibly would have been regulated as a background character...and so on..

A bit off-topic: I like the way even Richard Dean Anderson's character is the non-stereotypical leader. He only gets serious when he really needs to be. (Even in danger, he's making wisecracks...lol)

I remember in one episode where the team is about to go into a potentially dangerous mission, and O'Neill says something to the effect: 'Right now, I think I should say something uplifting, but I can't really think of anything now.' (Basically, he had the attitude of 'I don't want to waste your time; let's do this!')

Back on topic: I looked at Judge's wiki, and it looked like he was trying to get a series going with him in the lead.

Sidenote: The first time I saw him, was as a college 'asshole' in the film 'House Party 2'...

*Hulu.com is really having a lot of shows (classic, foreign, current) I've been looking forward to watching. I know have to find the time to watch everything!

 

[DarKush]

I do like how T'ealc was developed over the course of SG-1. He could've been written off as a noble savage character but to Judge's and the other writers's credit he became a pretty well rounded character and a standout among 'black' sci-fi characters.

It is possible that Judge would've been a Klingon if cast on Trek. Though I don't think that Worf was ever paired with a black actress on the show. Suzie Plakson, Marina Sirtis, Terry Farrell, Nicole DeBoer were all white. Also, I think the actress that played Ba'el was white, but I'm not 100% on that.

Now I think both Trek and Stargate have some hits and misses with their portrayal of black/non-white characters. I think Teyla was a far less interesting stab at T'ealc and Greer is an angry black man. One of the black characters that didn't fit the noble savage/fierce warrior archetype was the Sun-Francks character in Atlantis, and you see he didn't last long.

On the Trek side, I think Sisko is hands down the best developed black character in the entire franchise. Geordi's development was haphazard and he was often neglected, same as Jake Sisko. Uhura was more of a symbol/icon than a character IMO. Tuvok got a good amount of development, but unfortunately Mayweather was a step backward. We'll see if new Uhura is actually given something to do in the new Trek movies before I can pass judgment.

 

[Joel_Kirk]

I do like how T'ealc was developed over the course of SG-1. He could've been written off as a noble savage character but to Judge's and the other writers's credit he became a pretty well rounded character and a standout among 'black' sci-fi characters.

It is possible that Judge would've been a Klingon if cast on Trek. Though I don't think that Worf was ever paired with a black actress on the show. Suzie Plakson, Marina Sirtis, Terry Farrell, Nicole DeBoer were all white. Also, I think the actress that played Ba'el was white, but I'm not 100% on that.

Now I think both Trek and Stargate have some hits and misses with their portrayal of black/non-white characters. I think Teyla was a far less interesting stab at T'ealc and Greer is an angry black man. One of the black characters that didn't fit the noble savage/fierce warrior archetype was the Sun-Francks character in Atlantis, and you see he didn't last long.

On the Trek side, I think Sisko is hands down the best developed black character in the entire franchise. Geordi's development was haphazard and he was often neglected, same as Jake Sisko. Uhura was more of a symbol/icon than a character IMO. Tuvok got a good amount of development, but unfortunately Mayweather was a step backward. We'll see if new Uhura is actually given something to do in the new Trek movies before I can pass judgment.

 

[The Wormhole]

One of the things I liked about Teal'c was that as time went on, he learned more about Earth culture. He was commenting on things like The Simpsons, comparing situations to Star Wars and so on. Too often in sci-fi we have aliens who just never seem to get humans, despite liiving and working among them for years. So to see Teal'c become familiar with Earth was a welcome breath of fresh air.

 

[Sisko_is_my_captain]

True, I also liked Teal'c's curiosity. I think it was one of his more charming characteristics. I can't imagine Worf, for example, being that curious about human culture, but at the same time, Worf was clearly equally as interested in Klingon culture as Teal'c was in human culture. Teal'c was, after all, mostly human, so for him, Earth was more akin to a foreign country, rather than an alien world. Makes sense that he was interested in how we roll down here on E-world.

 

[OmahaStar]

One of the things I liked about Teal'c was that as time went on, he learned more about Earth culture. He was commenting on things like The Simpsons, comparing situations to Star Wars and so on. Too often in sci-fi we have aliens who just never seem to get humans, despite liiving and working among them for years. So to see Teal'c become familiar with Earth was a welcome breath of fresh air.

He's not the only one. Another alien, Martin Lloyd, was so tuned into the pop culture that he created a tv series, a movie, and then a second tv series, all on Earth.

 

[DarKush]

True, I also liked Teal'c's curiosity. I think it was one of his more charming characteristics. I can't imagine Worf, for example, being that curious about human culture, but at the same time, Worf was clearly equally as interested in Klingon culture as Teal'c was in human culture. Teal'c was, after all, mostly human, so for him, Earth was more akin to a foreign country, rather than an alien world. Makes sense that he was interested in how we roll down here on E-world.

To be fair, Worf was raised by humans, in an alien culture, that he understood quite well. So, I think he had a different journey and he had identity issues that Teal'c didn't. Worf had grown up among humans so I don't see why he should have a curiosity about them. He probably knew humans better than Klingons, so he wanted to understand Klingons.

I think the idea of aliens learning about human culture is something fairly standard in sci-fi. To be honest, I would rather see more of the opposite, humans immersing themselves in alien cultures. To me, it seems like many sci-fi shows have humans coming in and 'infecting' alien cultures with their own. The aliens have to adapt to human culture, have to learn human ways. Human culture is often considered superior or essential, even if in some of these sci-fi stories Earth isn't the most powerful planet. I would rather see humans actually decide to learn from aliens more than we usually see on sci-fi shows.

 

[Joel_Kirk]

Late, late reply to these comments.

Good comments(as I gave two thumbs-up, but I just wanted to add something).

Though I don't think that Worf was ever paired with a black actress on the show. Suzie Plakson, Marina Sirtis, Terry Farrell, Nicole DeBoer were all white. Also, I think the actress that played Ba'el was white, but I'm not 100% on that.

I think there was a comment somewhere (during the time of DS9) that questioned if Dorn didn't have the turtle on his head and the make-up, would they have had him paired up with Terry Ferrell? (The same with the other actresses listed).

I always thought it was a double-standard when they put the O'Briens onscreen, but acted like blacks don't mingle with non-blacks (Asians, whites, Hispanics, etc...)

With Judge, we see him as a handsome, strong, man (who just happens to be portrayed by a black actor)...no silly make-up; and he gets the girls, who are portrayed by women of various backgrounds.

My hero.

Still, as aforementioned, good comments Darkush...

And, possibly also aforementioned, Stargate SG-1 is one of many shows I have to catch up on...

 

[DarKush]

I'm not quite sure I agree with you JK. I think Trek's black characters mingled with characters from other races quite a bit. We saw almost all the black characters have some down time hanging out with characters from other races on all the Treks.

I have mixed feelings about the portrayal of interracial relationships (black-white in particular) in many TV shows and movies. More on that in a moment.

First...Sisko's romantic choices were pretty much in standard line with most of the other Trek captains. Most of them didn't date outside of their race, with the exception of Archer (with Captain Hernandez) and the possible exception of Kirk (if you count the Kirok episode and the Elaan of Troiyus episode; however both times Kirk wasn't in his 'right mind'; even the famed interracial kiss with Uhura was the result of Kirk being forced to do it.) But Picard, Sisko, and Janeway all had intraracial romances (even the aliens they were sometimes paired with shared the same skin color).

Of the other black characters...We never got to see Uhura in a relationship but Geordi was paired with at least one black actress and one white actress and he pined for Dr. Brahms, played by a white actress. Tuvok was paired with a black actress. Mayweather's girlfriend was white. New Uhura is of course kicking it with Spock. Even though I am inclined to agree with you that if Michael Dorn had not been in makeup he might not have been paired with the actresses he was paired with, or they wouldn't have all been white, I can't say the record is clear though that he would definitely not have been. I think having Dorn as a Klingon opened up the chance to explore his relationships and even sexuality in a way that black sexuality is rarely explored, positively anyway in the media.

I once read that LeVar Burton had some complaints about being a eunuch on TNG, with which I agree. When Data, an emotionless android, gets laid in Season 1 and Geordi finally gets a mind rub around Season 6, yeah, he's a eunuch. Throughout that time Picard, Riker, and O'Brien all were in relationships or it can be assumed 'got some'. Not sure about Wesley. All too often black characters are not depicted in functional, loving, or sexual relationships. If they have a partner rarely are they showed being affectionate or having sex. I mean, you get the 'player/pimp' types or the sexual deviants, but rarely are black Alpha males depicted on TV. Usually black characters are subordinate to white characters. They are the sidekick, the best friend, etc. Rarely are they well rounded and have lives of note outside of the concerns of their white friends.

For DS9, Sisko broke this mold. To a lesser degree, I think Teal'c broke this mold too. Though Andromeda was a show of questionable quality, I loved Tyr because he's one of the few black characters that challenged the main white character for Alpha male status and damn near won. And he got Beka Valentine.

About interracial relationships...I think it comes from a noble place to depict interracial relationships but at times I feel it goes too far. I would like to see more positive, functional intraracial relationships among blacks. There's so much negativity about black relationships in the media, it would be good to see more of them on screen, because they do exist. I think the desire to go the interracial route underlines the notion that blacks can only find happiness somewhere else and not among each other. I think that's a pernicious idea. I also think the interracial route allows many of the white writers to not have to do their research and get the feel and timbre of black people/black life. Just throw a black person in a largely white environment, with a white partner, and pretty much detach that person from 'black' things and there you go. I'm not against interracial relationships, I just think they are sometimes overrepresented in media depictions.

 

[Kai Winn]

New Uhura is of course kicking it with Spock.

still don't understand how they solved the pon-farr problem. sex only once in seven years, and with a male who behaves, well, odd when he's horny, i don't know which human female would want this.

 

[backstept]

With Judge, we see him as a handsome, strong, man (who just happens to be portrayed by a black actor)...no silly make-up

umm . . . they painted him gold

 

[The Wormhole]

^^They actually stopped that in the 8th season, as indicated by a joke in the episode Citizen Joe.

 

[DarKush]

New Uhura is of course kicking it with Spock.

still don't understand how they solved the pon-farr problem. sex only once in seven years, and with a male who behaves, well, odd when he's horny, i don't know which human female would want this.

Well, that's an interesting predicament you've pointed out. I was under the impression that Vulcans could have sex whenever they liked and Pon Farr was more of the result of the choice many made to follow the path of logic. I mean, T'Pol wasn't in Pon Farr when she had sex with Trip on ENT's episode "Harbinger". I thought Pon Farr was the result of the stringent Surakic mental discipline. Perhaps it altered brain chemistry or the Vulcan physiology in a way that led to them getting Pon Farr. I mean, there's no indication that the Romulans suffer from Pon Farr, though to be fair there's nothing to suggest that they don't either.

 

[David cgc]

New Uhura is of course kicking it with Spock.

still don't understand how they solved the pon-farr problem. sex only once in seven years, and with a male who behaves, well, odd when he's horny, i don't know which human female would want this.

Vulcans are more than capable of being intimate whenever they damn well please, it's just they have to every seven years, whether they've been celibate or not in the meantime.

 

[Brikar99]

New Uhura is of course kicking it with Spock.

still don't understand how they solved the pon-farr problem. sex only once in seven years, and with a male who behaves, well, odd when he's horny, i don't know which human female would want this.

Vulcans are more than capable of being intimate whenever they damn well please, it's just they have to every seven years, whether they've been celibate or not in the meantime.

Logic dictates that the needs of the many to get freak-ay every so often outweighs the needs of the few to hold it in for the better part of a decade.

 

[DonIago]

I just met CJ at New York Comic Con. Seems like a pretty cool (and buff!) guy. I was able to take a picture of him, though unfortunately couldn't take one -with- him. Felt kind of bad that the line for him was rather short, especially compared to the line for James Marsters...where short is also an applicable term, though in a different manner.

 

[Joel_Kirk]

I'm not quite sure I agree with you JK. I think Trek's black characters mingled with characters from other races quite a bit. We saw almost all the black characters have some down time hanging out with characters from other races on all the Treks.

I have mixed feelings about the portrayal of interracial relationships (black-white in particular) in many TV shows and movies. More on that in a moment.

First...Sisko's romantic choices were pretty much in standard line with most of the other Trek captains. Most of them didn't date outside of their race, with the exception of Archer (with Captain Hernandez) and the possible exception of Kirk (if you count the Kirok episode and the Elaan of Troiyus episode; however both times Kirk wasn't in his 'right mind'; even the famed interracial kiss with Uhura was the result of Kirk being forced to do it.) But Picard, Sisko, and Janeway all had intraracial romances (even the aliens they were sometimes paired with shared the same skin color).

Of the other black characters...We never got to see Uhura in a relationship but Geordi was paired with at least one black actress and one white actress and he pined for Dr. Brahms, played by a white actress. Tuvok was paired with a black actress. Mayweather's girlfriend was white. New Uhura is of course kicking it with Spock. Even though I am inclined to agree with you that if Michael Dorn had not been in makeup he might not have been paired with the actresses he was paired with, or they wouldn't have all been white, I can't say the record is clear though that he would definitely not have been. I think having Dorn as a Klingon opened up the chance to explore his relationships and even sexuality in a way that black sexuality is rarely explored, positively anyway in the media.

I once read that LeVar Burton had some complaints about being a eunuch on TNG, with which I agree. When Data, an emotionless android, gets laid in Season 1 and Geordi finally gets a mind rub around Season 6, yeah, he's a eunuch. Throughout that time Picard, Riker, and O'Brien all were in relationships or it can be assumed 'got some'. Not sure about Wesley. All too often black characters are not depicted in functional, loving, or sexual relationships. If they have a partner rarely are they showed being affectionate or having sex. I mean, you get the 'player/pimp' types or the sexual deviants, but rarely are black Alpha males depicted on TV. Usually black characters are subordinate to white characters. They are the sidekick, the best friend, etc. Rarely are they well rounded and have lives of note outside of the concerns of their white friends.

For DS9, Sisko broke this mold. To a lesser degree, I think Teal'c broke this mold too. Though Andromeda was a show of questionable quality, I loved Tyr because he's one of the few black characters that challenged the main white character for Alpha male status and damn near won. And he got Beka Valentine.

About interracial relationships...I think it comes from a noble place to depict interracial relationships but at times I feel it goes too far. I would like to see more positive, functional intraracial relationships among blacks. There's so much negativity about black relationships in the media, it would be good to see more of them on screen, because they do exist. I think the desire to go the interracial route underlines the notion that blacks can only find happiness somewhere else and not among each other. I think that's a pernicious idea. I also think the interracial route allows many of the white writers to not have to do their research and get the feel and timbre of black people/black life. Just throw a black person in a largely white environment, with a white partner, and pretty much detach that person from 'black' things and there you go. I'm not against interracial relationships, I just think they are sometimes overrepresented in media depictions.

Good points; but according to your post, it seems like you are focusing mainly on black/white relationships. However, blacks also date people that are non-white.

The world is a big place with people of different backgrounds. I feel too many people are focused on the 'black/white paradigm.' There are black/Asian relationships (which I personally would like to see more of)...black/Hispanic...etc. Many of which, I would also like to see in literature as well as onscreen.

Some of my projects (that I'm slaving away at; pun not intended) depict primarily black male/Asian female relationships; and I look to depict some Asian male/black female relationships...as well as black male/black female relationships....

Granted, it is good to see healthy black relationships, but it'll be cool to see black characters who have healthy relationships that are non-black...(and, as aforementioned, those non-black relationships can also be non-black/non-white partners). We see this in many films with white male actors, who romance women of different backgrounds; but it becomes an issue, or a time for discussion when black males do so.

Things are changing, ever slowly but surely...thank goodness.

Still, I'm reminded of the situation with 'Hitch' starring Will Smith: The producers or distributors (I forget which) thought people would think of the film as a 'black film' if Smith was opposite a black actress; and it would create controversy if he was opposite a white actress. They eventually went with the 'safe' choice of Eva Mendez, a Hispanic actress. (Interestingly, there would be no mention of the white male actor kissing up on Asian actress Navia Nguyen in the same picture).

And I have to disagree about Worf, since (again) it is kind of sad if they would have had to put heavy make-up on an actor (who is black) to 'explore' black sexuality. Michael Dorn is a handsome guy; they didn't have to put a turtle on his head to do so...(Not too mention, it was cliched to have black males as Klingon's at that time in the show). Too, I would also think it's sad to equate blacks with Klingons.

Moreover, the Archer/Captain Hernandez couple can be argued to be a
'white' couple since Hernandez could probably be counted as a 'white' Hispanic...similar to Captain Esteban in ST III.

Now, with all that said, we could equally have intra- and inter-racial relationships involving African-Americans/Africans/black folk that show 'us' as 3-dimensional individuals; and, I felt that Christopher Judge did that; and even though he was painted gold(?!!) in one or a couple of episodes...he was, as aforementioned, a visibly black male who was composed...tough...articulate...good-looking...strong-willed...etc..who romanced the ladies.

I just met CJ at New York Comic Con. Seems like a pretty cool (and buff!) guy. I was able to take a picture of him, though unfortunately couldn't take one -with- him. Felt kind of bad that the line for him was rather short, especially compared to the line for James Marsters...where short is also an applicable term, though in a different manner.

Interesting...

I've seen Christopher Judge in interviews (and, as aforementioned I first saw him in House Party 2) and it's funny to see how different his demeanor is from his StarGate character.

 

[DarKush]

With black/non-white relationships in Hollywood it's a bit more complicated to me. I think we've seen a bit of this at times. Particularly when it comes to black men. It's a bit easier to pair a black man with a Hispanic or Asian woman than a white woman for the some of the reasons you've already pointed out. Hitch is an example. In fact I think Eva Mendes is something of a go-to for black male love interest. She's been with Denzel in two films and Will in one. One recent example of the Latina-black connection was the Forrest Whitaker-Carlos Mencia wedding comedy.

With black women, I'm not sure. It seems far more easier today to see white men/black women on screen. I mean, Halle Berry's movie love interests are predominately white men. We've also seen Sanaa Lathan, Thandie Newton, Rosario Dawson, Rashida Jones, and Kerry Washington paired with white men. As for black women, non-white men, I'm struggling to think of some good examples. Off the top of my head I can only think of John Cho and Gabriel Union from Flash Forward, but I know there are other examples. There was another example of an Asian man/black woman but I just can't recall where I saw it from. Though I think some of the lack of black women and non-white men, or even scant black women as love interests period might come from seeing black women as undesirable, unless they are biracial like Halle Berry, Paula Patton, or Alicia Keys. Or they are light skinned, like Beyonce or Rihanna.

I'm not opposed to interracial relationships on screen of any type, however, I do still feel we need to see more healthy intraracial relationships, and that could also span across the African diaspora. I think we can have both intraracial and interracial relationships portrayed. It's real, its happening, and it should be explored, but hopefully not at the expense of showing black love. It doesn't have to be a zero sum game.

As I said I think we need to see more of the variety and complexity among blacks and their various cultures and experiences on screen. At times, I feel that the focus on interracial relationships usually has the black person adapting or fitting into the other races culture, or there is a more stereotypical meeting of cultures which still puts black culture in a low light for laughs. I think an intersection of races and cultures is an interesting thing, but hopefully the characters in your projects will learn something from the blacks besides how to dance, rap, act 'ghetto', or in general be 'cool', and we will learn more from Asians, for example, than martial arts.

Regarding Worf I don't think they were exploring black sexuality per se with the Klingons. I was saying that it made it easier for them to show Dorn being sexual since he was technically an 'alien' as opposed to a black man. Good point about Archer-Hernandez, but I was trying to give the ENT folks the benefit of the doubt. One thing about ENT that disappointed me was that I was hoping for a Travis-Hoshi relationship. It was even hinted at in Season 3, IMO, but they never followed up on it. I thought they had nice chemistry.

Regarding Teal'c we are in agreement. He was handled better than any other black character in Stargate period and just about any black character in the history of sci-fi TV or movies; don't want to call it on literature. He has to rank in the Top Five.

 

[Joel_Kirk]

With black/non-white relationships in Hollywood it's a bit more complicated to me. I think we've seen a bit of this at times. Particularly when it comes to black men. It's a bit easier to pair a black man with a Hispanic or Asian woman than a white woman for the some of the reasons you've already pointed out. Hitch is an example. In fact I think Eva Mendes is something of a go-to for black male love interest. She's been with Denzel in two films and Will in one. One recent example of the Latina-black connection was the Forrest Whitaker-Carlos Mencia wedding comedy.

With black women, I'm not sure. It seems far more easier today to see white men/black women on screen. I mean, Halle Berry's movie love interests are predominately white men. We've also seen Sanaa Lathan, Thandie Newton, Rosario Dawson, Rashida Jones, and Kerry Washington paired with white men. As for black women, non-white men, I'm struggling to think of some good examples. Off the top of my head I can only think of John Cho and Gabriel Union from Flash Forward, but I know there are other examples. There was another example of an Asian man/black woman but I just can't recall where I saw it from. Though I think some of the lack of black women and non-white men, or even scant black women as love interests period might come from seeing black women as undesirable, unless they are biracial like Halle Berry, Paula Patton, or Alicia Keys. Or they are light skinned, like Beyonce or Rihanna.

I'm not opposed to interracial relationships on screen of any type, however, I do still feel we need to see more healthy intraracial relationships, and that could also span across the African diaspora. I think we can have both intraracial and interracial relationships portrayed. It's real, its happening, and it should be explored, but hopefully not at the expense of showing black love. It doesn't have to be a zero sum game.

As I said I think we need to see more of the variety and complexity among blacks and their various cultures and experiences on screen. At times, I feel that the focus on interracial relationships usually has the black person adapting or fitting into the other races culture, or there is a more stereotypical meeting of cultures which still puts black culture in a low light for laughs. I think an intersection of races and cultures is an interesting thing, but hopefully the characters in your projects will learn something from the blacks besides how to dance, rap, act 'ghetto', or in general be 'cool', and we will learn more from Asians, for example, than martial arts.

Regarding Worf I don't think they were exploring black sexuality per se with the Klingons. I was saying that it made it easier for them to show Dorn being sexual since he was technically an 'alien' as opposed to a black man. Good point about Archer-Hernandez, but I was trying to give the ENT folks the benefit of the doubt. One thing about ENT that disappointed me was that I was hoping for a Travis-Hoshi relationship. It was even hinted at in Season 3, IMO, but they never followed up on it. I thought they had nice chemistry.

Regarding Teal'c we are in agreement. He was handled better than any other black character in Stargate period and just about any black character in the history of sci-fi TV or movies; don't want to call it on literature. He has to rank in the Top Five.