Aside from Stewart, what actor/actress killed it in S1?
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I liked Cabrera in his comical moments as the holos but less so as Rios. Pill was splendid, even through her character, man, I still don’t like her. This is always a tough question because I usually notice actors more when they’re failing to fool me. When everything’s going right, I’m usually thinking about the characters.
Pill, Ryan, and Cabrera. I hope Raffi can get more development and maybe stop calling Picard "JL" and I thought Elnor was the most disappointing character of the season. I went in thinking he was Samauri Guy, and at the end of the season I think he's a clown. He didn't really do anything.
I honestly think Lulu Wilson did one hell of a job as Kestra. She was able to hold her own with the likes of Stewart and she really stole every scene she was in. As far as main actors I also agree that Pill was excellent but I truly can’t stand her character.
I don’t know if it’s the actress or the director, but I thought Oh was really subtle when she did show emotion, and as a half-Romulan, half-Vulcan spy chief, it worked for me. That said, her ears were too Satyr-like, sticking out too wide, and the sunglasses...the sunglasses...the sunglasses....
I was delighted by the returning actors — all of them. I may be wrong about this but I think acting now is more nuanced than back in the day, and some of the newer actors sold it more for me than the older ones. That said, they all did fairly well. Two quibbles were Frakes being a little too happy-go-cavalry at the end and Spiner, well, doesn’t sell cyberneticist, but, yeah, really good.
EDIT: Oh, I forgot Sutra. Yeah, she sucked. No subtlety at all. At least Rizzo we knew was eeeeevil (and that was problematic too), but Sutra shouldn’t have been so obvious.
I was delighted by the returning actors — all of them. I may be wrong about this but I think acting now is more nuanced than back in the day, and some of the newer actors sold it more for me than the older ones. That said, they all did fairly well. Two quibbles were Frakes being a little too happy-go-cavalry at the end and Spiner, well, doesn’t sell cyberneticist, but, yeah, really good.
EDIT: Oh, I forgot Sutra. Yeah, she sucked. No subtlety at all. At least Rizzo we knew was eeeeevil (and that was problematic too), but Sutra shouldn’t have been so obvious.
Orla Brady (Laris) was magical, and it was disappointing that she did not find a way into the finale. Of the regular cast, Michelle Hurd did a phenomenal job with a complex part.
Yes! Laris was so good in the “premiere trilogy” episodes and I was hopeful that she would return somehow in the ending. But the door isn’t closed; I would imagine there’s a decent chance we’ll see those two at least for a few scenes next season now that Picard’s (initial) mission has ended.
Out of the main cast, there wasn’t really anyone whose acting I disliked. If we’re counting Jeri Ryan (which technically isn’t true but she was about as prominent this year as Michelle Yeoh was on Discovery last year) then I’d say her performance is my favorite. If we aren’t counting Ryan, I’d give it to Alison Pill. But there wasn’t a weak point. If there is one thing about modern Trek I will argue in favor of to high heaven if anyone claims otherwise, it is that the casting has been on-point.
Outside the leads, I’ll note that two of my friends found Peyton List a woefully mediocre actress but I thought she was... fine. She wasn’t exactly given the deepest material to work with. I enjoyed hating Narissa and cheered when Seven disposed of her. Star Trek has certainly had better antagonists but hey.
I didn't like Raffi all that much but I'm not sure whether it was the actor or the material she was given. She just seemed kind of all-over-the-place like she's not quite sure who or what she wants to be. Maybe that's the point of the character though, hard to say.
Otherwise I thought all the acting was phenomenal and the small roles were particularly memorable. (Kestra, Hugh, JLP's doc buddy, Laris and Zhaban)
Otherwise I thought all the acting was phenomenal and the small roles were particularly memorable. (Kestra, Hugh, JLP's doc buddy, Laris and Zhaban)
I'm going to go out on an 'unpopular opinions' limb here and say Alison Pill was definitely the weak link in the cast as Jurati. It didn't help how they wrote the character--one Tilly is more than enough, guys. Maybe it was more of the writers' fault, but I don't feel like the actress was up to the role. For example, her anguished face looked more like acute constipation. Imagine Mary Wiseman in the role! I think she would have knocked it out of the park.
Strongest cast member besides JL? Definitely Auntie Raffi, honey. Michelle Hurd killed it. If the writing had been up to par and the character had been given more space to breathe, she could have easily taken over the show from Sir Patrick. I went in expecting to dislike the character based on what I had read, and she ended up being my easy favorite. She's the one character I could see fitting in on my beloved DS9 without a hitch.
The rest?
I thought Santiago Cabrera did fine with what he was given. The holograms were a cute conceit and he clearly enjoyed playing each one. The show needed a Han Solo type, and he played it well. Another example of a character that could have been so much more with five or six more episodes.
I liked Harry Treadway as Narek, damn it. If the writers hadn't completely dropped the ball with him in the last two episodes, he could have had an epic heel/face turn. But he disappeared in Part 2, so...oh well. Must have decided to stay on the Borg cube, looking for his sister...
...who was terrible. Peyton List was awful, and the character she played was awful. Go watch Youtube clips of Marc Alaimo and try again. Writers, throw away the "How to Write Cardboard Villains" guidebook.
I thought Evan Evagora did well with what he was given, which was not much. I would have played up his relationship with JL a hell of a lot more, but the writers seemed intent on rushing the story through in ten episodes (and practicing some truly horrific time management along the way).
Isa Briones? Absolutely enigmatic and haunting as Dahj, a big wet fart as Soji. Again, I truly feel that was the writers' fault as opposed to hers. She did a good job as the evil sexbot, too. I hope Soji gets a personality upgrade next season, because Briones deserves it.
Jeri Ryan did a serviceable job as Seven of Nine. Nothing extraordinary, but it was good to see her again. Jonathan Del Arco was amazing as Hugh, though. Definitely the character with the most heart (sorry, Elnor). A shame the show felt the need to kill him off.
Frakes and Sirtis? They both did a fine job, and Sirtis was surprisingly good (heartbreaking, even). And where the hell did Lulu Wilson come from? She did such an amazing job. Just the way she acted with her eyes alone...that kid has got to be going places in Hollywood.
There's more, but those are the ones I wanted to touch on the most. A generally good cast that got completely screwed by some rushed, wtf-level writing. Such a waste. But I'll be glad to see them again in Season 2.
Strongest cast member besides JL? Definitely Auntie Raffi, honey. Michelle Hurd killed it. If the writing had been up to par and the character had been given more space to breathe, she could have easily taken over the show from Sir Patrick. I went in expecting to dislike the character based on what I had read, and she ended up being my easy favorite. She's the one character I could see fitting in on my beloved DS9 without a hitch.
The rest?
I thought Santiago Cabrera did fine with what he was given. The holograms were a cute conceit and he clearly enjoyed playing each one. The show needed a Han Solo type, and he played it well. Another example of a character that could have been so much more with five or six more episodes.
I liked Harry Treadway as Narek, damn it. If the writers hadn't completely dropped the ball with him in the last two episodes, he could have had an epic heel/face turn. But he disappeared in Part 2, so...oh well. Must have decided to stay on the Borg cube, looking for his sister...
...who was terrible. Peyton List was awful, and the character she played was awful. Go watch Youtube clips of Marc Alaimo and try again. Writers, throw away the "How to Write Cardboard Villains" guidebook.
I thought Evan Evagora did well with what he was given, which was not much. I would have played up his relationship with JL a hell of a lot more, but the writers seemed intent on rushing the story through in ten episodes (and practicing some truly horrific time management along the way).
Isa Briones? Absolutely enigmatic and haunting as Dahj, a big wet fart as Soji. Again, I truly feel that was the writers' fault as opposed to hers. She did a good job as the evil sexbot, too. I hope Soji gets a personality upgrade next season, because Briones deserves it.
Jeri Ryan did a serviceable job as Seven of Nine. Nothing extraordinary, but it was good to see her again. Jonathan Del Arco was amazing as Hugh, though. Definitely the character with the most heart (sorry, Elnor). A shame the show felt the need to kill him off.
Frakes and Sirtis? They both did a fine job, and Sirtis was surprisingly good (heartbreaking, even). And where the hell did Lulu Wilson come from? She did such an amazing job. Just the way she acted with her eyes alone...that kid has got to be going places in Hollywood.
There's more, but those are the ones I wanted to touch on the most. A generally good cast that got completely screwed by some rushed, wtf-level writing. Such a waste. But I'll be glad to see them again in Season 2.
I liked Rios more than I thought I would.
Seven was my favorite character on VOY and is one of my favorites on PIC.
Musiker has potential that I don't think has been fully brought out yet.
Elnor is believe-able as a late-teen / young adult who's lived a sheltered life but is also a warrior.
Soji's growing on me but, somehow, I liked Dahj better.
The one I'm the most lukewarm about is Juarti. I like the character but I think they've mishandled her. It's a whole can of worms I don't want to get into, so I'm not going to.
Seven was my favorite character on VOY and is one of my favorites on PIC.
Musiker has potential that I don't think has been fully brought out yet.
Elnor is believe-able as a late-teen / young adult who's lived a sheltered life but is also a warrior.
Soji's growing on me but, somehow, I liked Dahj better.
The one I'm the most lukewarm about is Juarti. I like the character but I think they've mishandled her. It's a whole can of worms I don't want to get into, so I'm not going to.
I'm glad I'm not the only one. I really wish we had followed Dahj instead of Soji (or the characters' personalities had been reversed). Credit to Briones for playing three characters so differently and so well. She's an able successor to Spiner, for sure.
Yeah not feeling that, thought she did a great job. I have been a fan since I discovered her on Newsroom.
One thing that stuck out to me while watching Nepenthe was how much Marina Sirtis had improved her craft. I thought it was her best performance as the Troi character to date.
Indeed. So sad she's going through so much personal stuff lately.
Agreed. 10000x agreed.
That's being charitable.
I agree that Dahj was better, but not that Soji was bad. Also, the "Sexbot", Sutra, was the weakest Briones character. I'm thinking that was down to direction and writing, though.
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Rizzo/Narissa is not on par with villains like Seska or Dukat.
I didn't like Jurati much, but her character improved. She hat great scenes with Picard in the last episode with Picard. I don't buy her romance with Rios, though.
Maddox and Icheb were cannon fudder with Maddox being the source of one of the most epid threads here in the forum. But not with the actor who played him in Picard.
I like all the Rios holograms. And Santiago Cabrera's fondness of soccer was well-integrated like Patrick Stewart's fondness of Shakespear in TNG.
Seven and the Fenris Rangers: Seven has changed since returning to the Alpha Quandrant with Voyager. At least they put her out of her catsuits.
Soji was great - but her Android counterpart was ridiculous.
I was surprised that I was wore interested in the Romulans than in the Borg. With Jonathan del Arco they added a great character - who was killed off to early.
Raffi was great with all ther strength and problems and how she meshed with the La Sirena crew. It was not Raffi, but Seven and Rios drinking in the end....
I didn't like Jurati much, but her character improved. She hat great scenes with Picard in the last episode with Picard. I don't buy her romance with Rios, though.
Maddox and Icheb were cannon fudder with Maddox being the source of one of the most epid threads here in the forum. But not with the actor who played him in Picard.
I like all the Rios holograms. And Santiago Cabrera's fondness of soccer was well-integrated like Patrick Stewart's fondness of Shakespear in TNG.
Seven and the Fenris Rangers: Seven has changed since returning to the Alpha Quandrant with Voyager. At least they put her out of her catsuits.
Soji was great - but her Android counterpart was ridiculous.
I was surprised that I was wore interested in the Romulans than in the Borg. With Jonathan del Arco they added a great character - who was killed off to early.
Raffi was great with all ther strength and problems and how she meshed with the La Sirena crew. It was not Raffi, but Seven and Rios drinking in the end....
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