Alexander Siddig Interview: He reveals anger over changes to Bashir

[Deckerd]

Re: Alexander Siddig Interview: He reveals anger over changes to Bashi

I liked him in the beginning when he was a wanker and I liked him in the middle when he was a genetically modified wanker and he was okay in the end when they forgot about the wanker part or maybe he just grew up and I very much liked him and Ezri getting together. One of the few Trek romances that really worked.

I agree with this. I think DS9 tried very hard not to have the 'character getting laid this week' scenario. They had more leeway to develop proper relationships but I never got any chemistry from Kira and Odo. It was much better when he was secretly moonstruck and she was oblivious.

 

[Deckerd]

Re: Alexander Siddig Interview: He reveals anger over changes to Bashi

I think a black captain and woman captain will be as far as they take it. Disappointed they went back to white male for ENT.

Star Trek has always pretended to be forward thinking and progressive, but I'm not sure it ever was. Thinking that having a female captain was making a big bold statement in a time when powerful female CEOs were already commonplace showed me just how far behind Trek actually was.

I think you're wrong. There are women astronauts today who say they were inspired by Janeway.

 

[Lighthammer]

Re: Alexander Siddig Interview: He reveals anger over changes to Bashi

But those weren't really milestones anyway. TOS had shown us black and latino Commodores, TWOK gave us a black starship captain, and TVH a black woman captain. That was more to do with how DS9 and Voyager were publicised.

And on that, while I don't remember too many column inches about Sisko's race, I do remember quite a bit of fanfare and backslapping about the bold decision to hire a woman to be the latest captain when Voyager came about.

I do wonder how much more diverse and progressive the show would have been had the writers had free reign, rather than having to get past the "small-c" conservatives who had the final word at Paramount. It's little things like the original intention of Frakes to have same sex couples in Ten Forward in 'The Offspring' (quickly shut down once word got out), The Blood and Fire debacle, and the amount of hand-wringing that preceded 'Rejoined'.

I guess that's what happens with first-run syndication, when it's not just one network you have to contend with. I can understand the ultra-cautious nature of many of the decisions in the early nineties, and I think it's easy now to forget how much has changed socially in that short time.

I think one could argue the reason that there weren't too many trumpets being herald for DS9 having a black captain has a lot to do with TPTB deciding on Avery Brooks only after the cast was technically already locked in. Avery Brooks, IIRC, didn't even apply for the part, Berman approached him.

With Voyager, it was determined they wanted a female captain much earlier in the process, though in fairness, they had considered a male captain at one point. I know Robert Picardo originally auditioned for that part, but unlike the fiasco with Siddig, they knew they wanted Robert Picardo on cast, just not as captain.

You know, after a fashion, that does make me sit back think about the what ifs of Picardo being the captain of Voyager. By the end of the season, I feel he was probably the one who pushed his limits most as an actor on that series and makes me really feel like he could have taken the lead role and done some awesome things with it. Oh the what ifs, lol.

 

[Tomalak]

Re: Alexander Siddig Interview: He reveals anger over changes to Bashi

I didn't think Voyager could try any harder to clone TNG, but imagine if they had a bald guy named Picard-o as the captain!

 

[Lighthammer]

Re: Alexander Siddig Interview: He reveals anger over changes to Bashi

I didn't think Voyager could try any harder to clone TNG, but imagine if they had a bald guy named Picard-o as the captain!

Touche

 

[Michael]

Re: Alexander Siddig Interview: He reveals anger over changes to Bashi

Imagine his full name appearing in the main titles:

Siddig El Tahir El Fadil El Siddig Abderrahman Mohammed Ahmed Abdel Karim El Mahdi

as Dr. Bashir

Sorry, I couldn't resist ...

Amazing name, by the way. I love it!

 

[Captain Clark Terrell]

Re: Alexander Siddig Interview: He reveals anger over changes to Bashi

^Well done.

--Sran

 

[JirinPanthosa]

Re: Alexander Siddig Interview: He reveals anger over changes to Bashi

In terms of progressiveness, Star Trek may have been behind the real world, but it was ahead of network television.

 

[Dale Sams]

Re: Alexander Siddig Interview: He reveals anger over changes to Bashi

I find it interesting how actors pull strings in season finales. Brooks changed his ending some. I *think* some others did.

I know a couple on Nu-BSG did.

 

[Captain Clark Terrell]

Re: Alexander Siddig Interview: He reveals anger over changes to Bashi

I find it interesting how actors pull strings in season finales. Brooks changed his ending some. I *think* some others did.

Brooks did it for two reasons:

1. He didn't want to perpetuate the stereotype of African American fathers abandoning their families.

2. He wanted to leave the door open for his character to return in the event of films or a TV movie.

--Sran

 

[Hober Mallow]

Re: Alexander Siddig Interview: He reveals anger over changes to Bashi

I think a black captain and woman captain will be as far as they take it. Disappointed they went back to white male for ENT.

Star Trek has always pretended to be forward thinking and progressive, but I'm not sure it ever was. Thinking that having a female captain was making a big bold statement in a time when powerful female CEOs were already commonplace showed me just how far behind Trek actually was.

I think you're wrong. There are women astronauts today who say they were inspired by Janeway.

I think that's great, but there were already female astronauts long before Janeway.

Sorry, I couldn't resist ...

Perfect

 

[Trek Survivor]

Re: Alexander Siddig Interview: He reveals anger over changes to Bashi

Siddig was considered for the role of the captain, but was NEVER promised anything - either verbally or, more importantly, contractually - by Berman to that effect. Siddig did certainly not turn up to filming expecting to be Sisko! Honestly, the "Berman-Bashing" seems to permeate every thread around here!

 

[bbailey861]

Re: Alexander Siddig Interview: He reveals anger over changes to Bashi

Imagine his full name appearing in the main titles:

Siddig El Tahir El Fadil El Siddig Abderrahman Mohammed Ahmed Abdel Karim El Mahdi

as Dr. Bashir

Sorry, I couldn't resist ...

Amazing name, by the way. I love it!

That's great. I hope someone shows him this screencap. I'll bet he'd enjoy it.

 

[JirinPanthosa]

Re: Alexander Siddig Interview: He reveals anger over changes to Bashi

I doubt Siddig would have been as upset if it weren't a really dumb twist, or if it made any sense with his established character.

If anything it undermined the most likable things about him. He didn't achieve his successes because of dedication and hard work, he was another souped up Star Trek whiz kid. He didn't botch his pre ganglionic nerve because of his self sabotaging insecurities, he did it to throw people off the track. That took awesome things about Bashir and made them lame. It was a really, really bad twist.

 

[Trek Survivor]

Re: Alexander Siddig Interview: He reveals anger over changes to Bashi

I doubt Siddig would have been as upset if it weren't a really dumb twist, or if it made any sense with his established character.

If anything it undermined the most likable things about him. He didn't achieve his successes because of dedication and hard work, he was another souped up Star Trek whiz kid. He didn't botch his pre ganglionic nerve because of his self sabotaging insecurities, he did it to throw people off the track. That took awesome things about Bashir and made them lame. It was a really, really bad twist.

Really good points, completely agree.

 

[TheRoyalFamily]

Re: Alexander Siddig Interview: He reveals anger over changes to Bashi

I doubt Siddig would have been as upset if it weren't a really dumb twist, or if it made any sense with his established character.

If anything it undermined the most likable things about him. He didn't achieve his successes because of dedication and hard work, he was another souped up Star Trek whiz kid. He didn't botch his pre ganglionic nerve because of his self sabotaging insecurities, he did it to throw people off the track. That took awesome things about Bashir and made them lame. It was a really, really bad twist.

Really good points, completely agree.

And I completely disagree. I like that they made the super-genius, super-accomplished very young doctor have a character reason for being so (even if it was a retcon), and not just because plot. Now it made sense that this relative kid was up for major awards and curing incurable diseases, besides for the fact that he happens to be a major character on the show. The other shows got around that by other ways (either with an older, experienced doctor (TOS, TNG, ENT) or with a computer (VOY)), but DS9 didn't have that excuse until we got this reveal.

 

[dub]

Re: Alexander Siddig Interview: He reveals anger over changes to Bashi

If anything it undermined the most likable things about him.

Depends on your POV, but to me this reveal made him more likable. He's not perfect after all. He's been forced to hide this secret his entire life or risk losing everything. He already had a strained relationship with his parents because of it. Our whiz kid doctor was severely flawed as a child, and his dad had him "fixed." Now he has to face this dark secret again. Now he has to tell his friends. Now he must live with the stigma. Suddenly there's a reason to have sympathy for the guy. And parents pushing too hard in one way or another -- now many of us can actually relate to him too. It was a beautiful episode that added much-needed depth to this character. And it also added a layer of humor to his relationship with O'Brien. IMO.

 

[JirinPanthosa]

Re: Alexander Siddig Interview: He reveals anger over changes to Bashi

Distant Voices is the episode that gave Bashir complexity, and the genetic twist paved over it.

 

[Beta-Z]

Re: Alexander Siddig Interview: He reveals anger over changes to Bashi

Sorry, I couldn't resist ...

Amazing name, by the way. I love it!

Looks amazing!
Wish they would do this on the Blu-rays then.

 

[Terra Pryme]

Re: Alexander Siddig Interview: He reveals anger over changes to Bashi

Distant Voices is the episode that gave Bashir complexity, and the genetic twist paved over it.

That's one of several episodes that prove that making Julian an enhanced human was DS9's biggest continuity problem. After all, the Lethean who telepathically attacks him certainly should have known his secret and used it against him in that episode.

Another episode would be "The Quickening" when Bashir said he was capable of sewing up his teddy bear at age 5. Since in "DBIP", he mentions he was enhanced around his 7th birthday, it's very unlikely he'd have been able to patch up the bear if he were deficient and uncoordinated 2 years before that.

You could even add "Q-Less" to the list if you play your cards straight. Someone as omnipotent as Q would certainly know the secret and could have slipped in a little hint in the scene he induces Julian to sleep over the remaining part of that episode. When the Doc departs from that scene, Q could have said something like "You're still inferior to the likes of me no matter what they did to you." Being it was in the first season, that would leave viewers wondering what he was talking about with the answer finally coming 4 seasons later.