Controversies between fans based on misunderstandings

My friend just got a orange kitten, so a group of Vulcans with orange skin (and black hair of course).

 

It's not really controversial, but it drives me nuts whenever I read someone writing about "Diana Troi". I've come across that several times, so it seems to be a common misunderstanding among some casual fans.

 

Was Tuvok the first black Vulcan we ever saw then? I've never really thought about it, it really isn't an issue.


And wasn't there a black Romulan in TNG? The Pegasus episode IIRC? So if there can be a black Romulan I don't see why there can't be a black Vulcan

 

No, Tuvok was not the first.

This Vulcan played by Beverly Hart was seen on screen in STV, 5½ years before VOY aired.

Yes, played by Michael Mack.

 

I think there's also a black Romulan among the Romulan leaders seen in Spock Prime's flashback in Star Trek 2009.

 

^Sirol, the Romulan who appeared in "The Pegasus," was played by an African American actor, who also appeared as a backup tactical officer in Generations.

--Sran

 

Well, there's a whole fun story that goes with that. When the black actor was cast to play a Romulan, LeVar Burton (who directed The Pegasus) expressed concerns over the existence of black Romulans, noting there hadn't been any previously. Make-up was applied to the actor to make him look white, until someone pointed out that Voyager, which was now seeking actors for its main cast was looking for a black Vulcan, thereby making it possible for there to be black Romulans.

 

So, I guess no one thought of Beverly Hart's character in STV? She often gets overlooked.

 

I thought I remembered reading something different about that. Going into the casting process they were looking mostly for "The Type" -- a middle-aged white actor who had sufficiently Vulcan-like features. But when they weren't able to find enough quality actors who fit that description, that's when they expanded their criteria to include younger black actors as well. Tim Russ was a quality actor who fit the expanded description so he was hired.

 

You could argue that in any planet with both warm climates and cold climates you could expect a variety of skin colors ranging from light to dark. Or, any planet with inhabitable areas at a wide variety of latitudes really.

I don't begrudge them not wanting to put a whole lot of extras in blue, green or purple makeup every episode.

 

That's pretty wild, Burton wanting to put a black actor in white-face!

 

Tim Russ is probably Voyager's most perfect casting decision. He's great at acting like a Vulcan.

 

The Vulcan page you link to, listing all unnamed Vulcans, shows a Vulcan 'maiden' from SFS, acted by a Suzy Born. The picture associated with her resembles Suzy Plakson a great deal. I wonder if the two of them could actually be the same person.

 

No indication they are on Memory Alpha, Wikipedia, or IMDB. So I wouldn't count on it.

 

I'd be willing to bet that if Suzie Plakson (birth name Susan Plaksin) made an uncredited appearance in a Trek movie made several years before she started screen acting, we'd have heard the story by now.

 

Indeed, there'd at least be some sort of mention on MA, IMDB, or Wikipedia. And as I note above, nothing of any sort came up there.

 

It is interesting to be reminded of the black Vulcan priestess. I don't know that I ever realized she was black, given how dark the cave she was in was (why would Amanda give birth in a cave? and how brief her scene was.
Still, that and the black Romulan both show that it wasn't all that shocking to have a black Vulcan on Voyager. I wish I'd known those facts at the time as I recall many discussions people had about Tuvok being black. I don't really like Tuvok that much, but race has nothing to do with it.

 

I accept that it's not her, having checked IMDb myself. But it's not implausible. Given her age, and the fact that she began her screen acting career a mere three years after SFS came out, which was after she graduated from college, it's something she could have done. Her big break was a revival of "Stop The World, I Want To Get Off" with Anthony Newley, probably on Broadway.

 

It wasn't really a cave, it was a "traditional birthing chamber," smack in the middle of a maternity hospital.

 

Same here, he just appears to be permanently annoyed. Not emotionless, but annoyed. What's up with that?