• Welcome! The TrekBBS is the number one place to chat about Star Trek with like-minded fans.
    If you are not already a member then please register an account and join in the discussion!

What main cast members if any do you think were bad actors?

I think the key there was that Frakes didn't have to try modeling his character after Stephen Collins' performance of Will Decker in TMP. Roddenberry intended for Riker to be Decker 2.0, but as Decker's character wasn't fleshed out that well due to his appearing only in TMP, there wasn't much for Riker to go on. Once it was decided that Frakes could play Riker differently- and Gene was pushed aside (again)- his performance improved.
Who from the show said this?
 
The one who immediately springs to mind is Scott Bakula. He was definitely not Captain material.

Although I didn't regularly watch Enterprise, I just watched "In a Mirror, Darkly," for the first time, because I like anything having to do with the universe of the Terran Empire and what followed it--usually.

Two letters (and a hyphen) for Bakula:


P-U!
 
Never realized the disdain for Beltran among a lot of Trek fans

He doesn't really raise an eyebrow for me either way
 
Who from the show said this?

It's based on information I pulled from the Star Trek Encyclopedia. The concepts for Decker and Ilia were recycled as Riker and Troi because Roddenberry liked the characters and wanted to find a way to use them again. Much of Riker's behavior during TNG's first season was modeled after Decker, though Frakes was allowed to move away from this as the show progressed.

--Sran
 
To me, a huge problem is a lack of story arc, so some initially cool character backgrounds were hardly touched upon, and "goal" for them to grow. Writers also forgot past episodes, and never used "flashbacks" as not only a creative way for a clip show, but also to show how the character "realisitically" grew.

So C.E. Evans mentioned Mayweather's original conception. He would have still worked as a young Ensign, but then show him more knowledgeable, such as treating a certain alien in a way THEY would be accustomed too (as opposed to T
Pol's Vulcan logic) or tricking a crew member into eating a certain alien dish.

On the other hand..Ensign Kim should have had a promotion (and that being a huge part of the episode)/ He could have also coached the Borg kids...treating them like he would have liked as a new Ensign.

To me...it's the writing and lack of character vision by the showrunners.
 
Well I would have promoted Kim when Paris was demoted. It would have changed the character dynamics between those two, as it wasn't uncommon for those two characters to be put together.
 
I wouldn't say he's a bad actor because he does very occasionally show some talent, but Robert Beltran as Chakotay is one of the most obvious examples of someone just being there for the pay cheque.
 
Never realized the disdain for Beltran among a lot of Trek fans

He doesn't really raise an eyebrow for me either way

Kind of similar with me. He could do well, like in Equinox, but most of the time he was just phoning it in.

It was the writers fault though, they had this great oppertunity with the character but just made him a lap-dog.
 
Grace Lee Whitney's performance in Voyager's "Flashback." I mean, I appreciated seeing her reprise her character, and actually have some meaty scenes as Janice Rand for the first time since she left TOS...

... but Holy Expletive. If it wasn't Whitney-as-Rand for the 30th Anniversary festivities, she never would have been cast otherwise. Her "performance" was painful to watch.
 
Never realized the disdain for Beltran among a lot of Trek fans

He doesn't really raise an eyebrow for me either way

Kind of similar with me. He could do well, like in Equinox, but most of the time he was just phoning it in.

It was the writers fault though, they had this great oppertunity with the character but just made him a lap-dog.

I agree. I never got the hate for him. Sure by a point he is phoning it in...but he is quite solid and a likable mainstay throughout the show. Its the writers fault that Chakotay was marginalized.
 
From what I've heard of Beltran's other stuff he is a good actor. But he did not act well in Voyager. In the episodes where he had an adventure role like Shattered or Waking Moments he did fine. Just his chemistry with the other actors wasn't there when he needed to be emotional.
 
I never thought much of Alexander Siddig's acting in DS9, especially the early seasons... but he's delivered some excellent performances in his post-DS9 career.
 
^ this. He did improve a lot (as did Visitor). I defend Blalock on same grounds.

I'd say of all the shows - even TNG, which I'm not a fan of but had good actors - Beltran is probably my vote for worst actor (though occasionally he rose to the occasion). McFadden a close second.

Shame no poll though.
 
It wasn't just the material, there was an occasional really bad actor. Crosby couldn't act her way out of a wet paper bag.
 
So C.E. Evans mentioned Mayweather's original conception. He would have still worked as a young Ensign, but then show him more knowledgeable, such as treating a certain alien in a way THEY would be accustomed too (as opposed to T
Pol's Vulcan logic) or tricking a crew member into eating a certain alien dish.
The only reason why Mayweather was made an ensign was because they ultimately went with a younger actor than Keating. Montgomery seemed about the right age to be an ensign to them (or at the very least, not the same rank as Lieutenant Reed). But I think that also made the idea of a young ensign telling older officers what to do less appealing to the writers and producers.
 
I can echo Jolene Blalock. I'm not going to match her against Leonard Nimoy because that isn't fair, but Tim Russ took an emotionless Vulcan and made him interesting week after week with tone, mannerisms etc. Blalock spent the first two seasons pouting, played a broken drug addicted T'Pol way over the top in season three, before finally finding a groove in Season 4. But by that point, she was in such a deep hole that she had to get back to ground level. Her SG1 performance was even worse and I pity Christopher Judge for having to play off that.
 
If you are not already a member then please register an account and join in the discussion!

Sign up / Register


Back
Top