Re-occuring Characters - Who Should Have Returned?
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That's who I was going to put. I quite liked Dr M'Benga and it would have been nice to see him in more episodes. I also wondered about Yeoman Barrows. I suppose her case is a little like Reilly's in the sense that they were in one or two episodes and that was all.
I would have liked to have seen yet more controversy on a return visit to Starbase 11 with Samuel T. Cogley having to again step-up to defend truth, justice and another member of the Enterprise crew.....provided they got the same writer to pen the episode. I would have loved to see Elisha Cook JR, an excellent and underrated character actor, deliver another unforgettable 60-second gem of a speech as the suspense builds. Classic drama would be the result - TOS style.
Cyrano Jones, Kevin Reilly, Janice Rand, Federation Pain-in-Kirk's-Butt extrordinaire Mr Barris and of course Kor, Koloth and Korax. I would have loved to see the Romulan Commander return, perhaps finding out she is a federation spy in the Romulan Empire.
Oh, forgot about him, yes a must.
Oh, forgot about him, yes a must.
Yep, another vote here for M'Benga. Other actors who made a good impression during their short stays were :
Grant Woods as Kelowitz (3 appearances)
Michael Barrier as Desalle (3 appearances)
John Winston as Kyle (a dozen or so appearances)
Now we know Riley got his second appearance because the actor was under contract to Desilu, and they needed to get some work out of him, and we know Mr. Kyle got written into scripts because Coon was a fan of the actor (and the actor was his local barber I believe!), but what about the M'Benga's, Desalles, etc? Was it a conscious decision to add continuity by having these guys re-appear? I mean someone must have seriously cared about this show to go to the trouble to make M'Benga the regular fill-in doctor despite it being a year between his appearances. Ditto bringing back Lt.Palmer to fill in for Uhura more than once.
Ok, there were some continuity mistakes made with the characters on the next rung down (the tertiary characters - Leslie, Johnson, Hadley, Lemli etc) but overall, the idea of recurring minor characters added so much depth to TOS, and whoever insisted this was done, and kept a crew roster of characters, their ship board roles and the actors who played them etc, deserves some major credit.
Maybe the scene with his name wasn't used? I'm just saying I read an interview with David L Ross where he mentioned about no one caring that Galloway had seemingly returned from the dead.
As happened in the latter series, the tertiary characters were often played by the main casts' stand-ins, photo doubles and stunt people. They were usually standing around the set in uniform anyway. They were often responsible for remembering their characters' names, ranks, shirt colours, etc. Some didn't care about the continuity and just did as they were told and wore what they were given.
On TOS, there was also some kind of rule about stunt guys not working on two productions for different studios in the same week (or something), so some guys rotated through several pseudonyms that appeared on daily call sheets.
By the way, Shatner himself named Mr Leslie and Mr Lemli (who both worked as his stand-ins, too, IIRC). Shatner's production company, Lemli Music, was named for his three daughters, Leslie, Melanie and Lisabeth. Lemli got a first name - "Roger" in "The Changeling" http://memory-alpha.org/wiki/The_Changeling_(episode)- when Scotty addressed Roger Holloway's character by that name.
Leslie's not a human, he just looks like one. He's really from an alien race that can resurrect from the dead multiple times. Lazarians. They reside on the far side of the plothole.
I would have liked to see Helen Noel again... and again... and again. And how about an aquatic adventure? We've seen Starfleet environmental suits, but how about Starfleet diving suits? The aliens could be a cross between the Gorn and the Creature from the Black Lagoon.
The proper 2nd answer is Harcourt Fenton Mudd. He really needed a Season 3 appearance. I'm also wondering what a Star Trek '80s era film would be if it crossed the Wrath of Khan with Mudd as the primary villain. I like Christopher Lloyd (Doc Brown, Judge Doom, Professor Plum), but his Klingon as a villain, while decent, is no Harry Mudd.
Someone who never appeared, but would have been an interesting guest-star and really livened up an episode would be Vincent Price.
How about the neural parasites controlling tribbles? Combine the cutest creature in the galaxy with the ugliest! Or how about "Arena II" featuring the return of 2 of the most prominent aliens in Season 1 as they duke it out at Vasquez Rocks: the Gorn Captain and... Balok! I would guess Trelane would be officiating this one, not the Metrons.
And Kara from Sigma Draconis VI. Alas, we didn't get the adventures on the 2 other inhabited planets in that star system. We could of had:
"Spock's Heart"- Spock must be kept alive when a world of tin robots steal his heart. Kara can chant "Heart and heart? What is heart?" and McCoy can say "Dammit Jim, I always said this green-blooded devil has no heart, but these bastards went too far!". When asked to fix Spock, he can say "Dammit Jim, I'm a doctor not a wizard. He needs blood flowing through his veins, not yellow brick roads". And during surgery: "Nurse... scapel... forceps... ruby slippers". If it focuses on McCoy more than Spock, it can be "For the Title is Long, and I Have Reached the Word-Count Limit".
"Spock's Courage" or perhaps "The Red Commbadge of Courage"- Spock's courage is taken from him and a team comprised of Scotty, some hot lady in blue, and 2 redshirts & 1 yellowshirt are trapped in a canyon with fierce lion creatures and an ionic storm keeps them from beaming out, and every time a window opens, Kara distracts the bridge crew with her astonishingly stupifying lines, like "Is tuna, like chicken of the sea?" and "Beware space tuna!". Only Spock can rescue them with his patented Vulcan deathgrip, but it is the first time the Vulcan has met his match, and thy name be fear.
I would have liked to see Helen Noel again... and again... and again. And how about an aquatic adventure? We've seen Starfleet environmental suits, but how about Starfleet diving suits? The aliens could be a cross between the Gorn and the Creature from the Black Lagoon.
The proper 2nd answer is Harcourt Fenton Mudd. He really needed a Season 3 appearance. I'm also wondering what a Star Trek '80s era film would be if it crossed the Wrath of Khan with Mudd as the primary villain. I like Christopher Lloyd (Doc Brown, Judge Doom, Professor Plum), but his Klingon as a villain, while decent, is no Harry Mudd.
Someone who never appeared, but would have been an interesting guest-star and really livened up an episode would be Vincent Price.
How about the neural parasites controlling tribbles? Combine the cutest creature in the galaxy with the ugliest! Or how about "Arena II" featuring the return of 2 of the most prominent aliens in Season 1 as they duke it out at Vasquez Rocks: the Gorn Captain and... Balok! I would guess Trelane would be officiating this one, not the Metrons.
And Kara from Sigma Draconis VI. Alas, we didn't get the adventures on the 2 other inhabited planets in that star system. We could of had:
"Spock's Heart"- Spock must be kept alive when a world of tin robots steal his heart. Kara can chant "Heart and heart? What is heart?" and McCoy can say "Dammit Jim, I always said this green-blooded devil has no heart, but these bastards went too far!". When asked to fix Spock, he can say "Dammit Jim, I'm a doctor not a wizard. He needs blood flowing through his veins, not yellow brick roads". And during surgery: "Nurse... scapel... forceps... ruby slippers". If it focuses on McCoy more than Spock, it can be "For the Title is Long, and I Have Reached the Word-Count Limit".
"Spock's Courage" or perhaps "The Red Commbadge of Courage"- Spock's courage is taken from him and a team comprised of Scotty, some hot lady in blue, and 2 redshirts & 1 yellowshirt are trapped in a canyon with fierce lion creatures and an ionic storm keeps them from beaming out, and every time a window opens, Kara distracts the bridge crew with her astonishingly stupifying lines, like "Is tuna, like chicken of the sea?" and "Beware space tuna!". Only Spock can rescue them with his patented Vulcan deathgrip, but it is the first time the Vulcan has met his match, and thy name be fear.
anyone but Lazurus
Imagine him doing the "Space, the final frontier..." voice over (possibly with the laugh from the Thriller voice over at the end...)
I would have loved to see Barry Russo as Commodore Wesley ("The Ultimate Computer") leading a task force of starships on an emergency mission, with Kirk as his TF XO.
It would've been great to see returns for Kevin Riley, and for Kelotwitz. And yes, by all means bring back Harry Mudd and Cyrano Jones.
I may be the odd man out on this, but I would've loved to see Mira Romaine ("The Lights of Zetar") promoted to either Lt. Cdr. or Cdr. and put in charge of Memory Alpha. It would be neat to see her interacting with Flint. ("Requiem for Methuselah"). I also would not mind seeing Memory Alpha shown as operational and playing a role in interstellar diplomacy, kind of like an early version of DS9. It would be great to see Galactic High Commissioner Ferris there. ("The Galileo Seven").
As far as Kirk's old flames go, it would've been great if you could take a modern story like A FEW GOOD MEN and send it back in time to the '60's, having Areel Shaw and Sam Cogley go at it again, this time making their roles more morally ambiguous.
On the bridge, we need more ladies in the limelight. Put Uhura in command for a change, and put Rhada ("That Which Survives") at the helm and maybe Ensign Jana Haines ("The Gamesters of Triskellion") as well. It would be hilarious to see Barbara Luna reprise her role as the "this universe" version (read: clueless) of Lt. Marlena Moreau. ("I was just assigned last week...") And let's not forget Marianna Hill as Dr. Helen Noel. She could out-shrink Troi any day. It would be great to see Rand again, but no longer as a yeoman. I would want to see her in one of those engineering-red jumpsuits, with a sonic screwdriver in her hand, working for Scotty. I would also want to see Nurse Chapel in a "marine" green version of that jumpsuit, as part of a recon party.
I have always had a desire to see the Enterprise re-visit Space Station K-7, perhaps as part of some mission involving interstellar diplomacy. Whit Bissell was great as Lurry, and Guy Raymond was amusing as the bartender/trader. It would be great to see Nilz Barris again, on or off K-7.
It would also be wonderful to bring back some TOS Klingons, as TAS tried to do. I would love to see Kor, Kraas, Koloth, Korax, Kang and Mara. It would be even more interesting to see TOS/TAS-era Romulans. I would love to see the female Romulan Commander, since stripped of her military rank, become a free-agent pirate and spy. And it would be neat to see Tal become a full commander and give both Kirk and the Klingons heartburn with schemes of his own.
Of all the Starfleet brass appearing in TOS, I thought Commodores Stone and Mendez were the most outstanding characters. Of course, they were the most substantial roles of that type. I would love to see either of these characters promoted either to admiral or to some senior non-uniformed position.
Perhaps expanding on the notion of stories of interstellar diplomacy and intrigue, I would love to revisit the planet Neural ("A Private Little War"), Capella IV ("Friday's Child"), Eminiar VII/Vendikar ("A Taste of Armageddon"), and/or planet IV of System 892 ("Bread and Circuses") and any of the characters therein.
And here's a silly idea for the Phase II folks, as if they would be interested: imagine the role of Yeoman Tamura ("A Taste of Armageddon") reprised by Hiromi Oshima.
It would've been great to see returns for Kevin Riley, and for Kelotwitz. And yes, by all means bring back Harry Mudd and Cyrano Jones.
I may be the odd man out on this, but I would've loved to see Mira Romaine ("The Lights of Zetar") promoted to either Lt. Cdr. or Cdr. and put in charge of Memory Alpha. It would be neat to see her interacting with Flint. ("Requiem for Methuselah"). I also would not mind seeing Memory Alpha shown as operational and playing a role in interstellar diplomacy, kind of like an early version of DS9. It would be great to see Galactic High Commissioner Ferris there. ("The Galileo Seven").
As far as Kirk's old flames go, it would've been great if you could take a modern story like A FEW GOOD MEN and send it back in time to the '60's, having Areel Shaw and Sam Cogley go at it again, this time making their roles more morally ambiguous.
On the bridge, we need more ladies in the limelight. Put Uhura in command for a change, and put Rhada ("That Which Survives") at the helm and maybe Ensign Jana Haines ("The Gamesters of Triskellion") as well. It would be hilarious to see Barbara Luna reprise her role as the "this universe" version (read: clueless) of Lt. Marlena Moreau. ("I was just assigned last week...") And let's not forget Marianna Hill as Dr. Helen Noel. She could out-shrink Troi any day. It would be great to see Rand again, but no longer as a yeoman. I would want to see her in one of those engineering-red jumpsuits, with a sonic screwdriver in her hand, working for Scotty. I would also want to see Nurse Chapel in a "marine" green version of that jumpsuit, as part of a recon party.
I have always had a desire to see the Enterprise re-visit Space Station K-7, perhaps as part of some mission involving interstellar diplomacy. Whit Bissell was great as Lurry, and Guy Raymond was amusing as the bartender/trader. It would be great to see Nilz Barris again, on or off K-7.
It would also be wonderful to bring back some TOS Klingons, as TAS tried to do. I would love to see Kor, Kraas, Koloth, Korax, Kang and Mara. It would be even more interesting to see TOS/TAS-era Romulans. I would love to see the female Romulan Commander, since stripped of her military rank, become a free-agent pirate and spy. And it would be neat to see Tal become a full commander and give both Kirk and the Klingons heartburn with schemes of his own.
Of all the Starfleet brass appearing in TOS, I thought Commodores Stone and Mendez were the most outstanding characters. Of course, they were the most substantial roles of that type. I would love to see either of these characters promoted either to admiral or to some senior non-uniformed position.
Perhaps expanding on the notion of stories of interstellar diplomacy and intrigue, I would love to revisit the planet Neural ("A Private Little War"), Capella IV ("Friday's Child"), Eminiar VII/Vendikar ("A Taste of Armageddon"), and/or planet IV of System 892 ("Bread and Circuses") and any of the characters therein.
And here's a silly idea for the Phase II folks, as if they would be interested: imagine the role of Yeoman Tamura ("A Taste of Armageddon") reprised by Hiromi Oshima.
Presumably, one or the other of them was promoted/transferred somewhere. Weren't they both supposedly in command of Starbase Eleven?
^ It was never made clear what positions Stone and Mendez were holding. It's possible that both could've been succeeding commandants of Starbase 11. It's also possible that Stone was a starship support services administrator and that Mendez was simply stationed physically at the base, with command of the starships in this sector. That would mean neither man directly commanded the base itself.
Commodore Mendez was in charge of Starbase 11. Commodore Stone was Port Master. There appears to be a difference.
You know, the whole Mendez/Stone thing has bothered me since I was, like, ten years old. Thanks for providing several good explanations!
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