Brooks in "Far Beyond The Stars"

[Jbarney]

I watched probably 95 percent of DS9 when it was on television. Over the years I have watched countless episodes over and over again but I stayed away from this one.

Last night I rewatched it. Wow. There have been times when I thought Avery Brooks was competing with Shatner for the "pause acting" award, but he turned it one hell of a performance. The episode was fun, I bet most of the actors loved the chance to go a few weeks without the regular make-up.

Brooks was outstanding.

 

[Anwar]

The breakdown at the end NEARLY becomes laughable but still manages to get our sympathy knowing the context of everything he's going through.

Though the blatant hypocrisy of the writers and Sisko in this episode when you get to "Pal Moonlight" irks me.

 

[Too Much Fun]

Wow, that post sure didn't go where I thought it was going. On the contrary, I thought this episode was the best example of Brooks channeling Shatner's worst acting tendencies. His final lines 'out-Shatner' Shatner in how fake, overdone, and irritating they sound with the inappropriate pausing and stressing certain words too much.

I liked about 85% of this episode, but when he went crazy in the office and then made his 'wistful' reflection back on the station at the end, I thought he mucked the episode up so badly that I can't ever watch it again because of how much those scenes make me cringe.

If anything, I think this episode exposed his weaknesses as an actor. I liked him in a lot of others, but I thought he gave his worst performance ever in those last two scenes (he did fine until them, though). I was so appalled by the climax and end that I wrote a scathing review of it on IMDB.

 

[Navaros]

Brooks flip-out scenes in FBTS were incredibly hokey & unbelievable due to very bad acting on Brooks' part. Brooks commits similar terribad acting in WYLB when he screams "I WILLLLLLLLLLLLL!!!!!!!!!!!" at Dukat. Brooks also displays yet more terribad acting in "Our Man Bashir".

I don't see what Shatner has to do with it though. Everyone always complains about Shatner performing bad acting in TOS, yet I've never seen any examples of this.

Brooks definitely hammed it up way too much in the aforementioned examples, though.

 

[Too Much Fun]

Brooks also displays yet more terribad acting in "Our Man Bashir".

I don't see what Shatner has to do with it though. Everyone always complains about Shatner performing bad acting in TOS, yet I've never seen any examples of this.

Brooks definitely hammed it up way too much in the aforementioned examples, though.

I think what I'd rather say is that he tends to do the stuff that Shatner gets criticized for, but I don't mind it so much when Shatner does it, because Shatner makes it seem more natural. Shatner pauses at odd times when reciting dialogue and maybe stresses words in places where you wouldn't expect one too, but when you watch him, you get the feeling he's doing that because he can't help it. It's just his way.

Brooks, on the other hand, just looks like he's trying too hard and it's embarassing to watch. I give him a free pass for "Our Man Bashir", though, because in that case he was supposed to be hammy. He was playing the most blatant stereotype of a Bond villain that the writers could come up with, so him being over-the-top in that case was the right acting choice, and it's actually one of my favourite pieces of acting by him in the whole series, along with his creepy psycho killer schtick in "Facets".

It's when he's overdoing it as he's trying to be taken seriously like in "Far Beyond the Stars" and "In the Pale Moonlight" that he annoys me...not when he's playing other characters (rather than Sisko) who are supposed to seem nutty and overemotive.

 

[Anwar]

There's a reason Brooks is considered Trek's number 2 Ham after Shatner...

 

[anti-matter]

I agree with the OP.

In the past Brooks took a beating from a lot of poster for 'over acting'. But they often fail to take into consideration the Prophets engineered this torment because he temporarily lost his way over his grief of the mounting deaths.

It was a great story illustrating how far his people came and now that he was sitting in the big chair...he had to make the big decisions without regret.

 

[CorporalClegg]

Oh Dear...

 

[JarodRussell]

You obviously have never seen a nervous breakdown of someone.
Brooks nailed it. Perfect and very believable.

 

[toughlittleship]

To me, Jeff Combs says it best in the Companion:

"Avery was spectacular. There was a scene toward the end where he falls apart with the camera right in front of his nose. It was just riveting"

 

[Praetorian]

I thought he was brilliant!

 

[Destructor]

I'm amazed that anyone would call FBTS hamming it up. The final breakdown scene moves me to tears every time I see it- even thinking of it wells me up a little.

 

[Thestral]

I agree with all those who say he was brilliant. Hammy in no way - you can maybe make that accusation some places about Brooks, but not FBTS. All those who deride his performance are welcome to your opinion, but it's wrong in this case. Brooks did a magnificent job portraying a man who has been truly broken and shattered, breaking to pieces in front of us.

 

[Nerys Ghemor]

Wow, that post sure didn't go where I thought it was going. On the contrary, I thought this episode was the best example of Brooks channeling Shatner's worst acting tendencies. His final lines 'out-Shatner' Shatner in how fake, overdone, and irritating they sound with the inappropriate pausing and stressing certain words too much.

I liked about 85% of this episode, but when he went crazy in the office and then made his 'wistful' reflection back on the station at the end, I thought he mucked the episode up so badly that I can't ever watch it again because of how much those scenes make me cringe.

If anything, I think this episode exposed his weaknesses as an actor. I liked him in a lot of others, but I thought he gave his worst performance ever in those last two scenes (he did fine until them, though). I was so appalled by the climax and end that I wrote a scathing review of it on IMDB.

THANK YOU.

I completely agree.

I also think this episode, while supposedly a "ballsy" move on the part of the writers and producers--tackling The Race Issue--achieved exactly the opposite of what they intended.

The point of Star Trek, and DS9, as I understood it, was to show that our descendants could all just be HUMANS...not just A Black Man / A White Woman / A ______ Person In Space. In other words, a truly post-racial society. The most powerful statement they could possibly have made is the one that they did make up until this point--that frankly, my dear, no one gave a damn about the color of someone's skin. That it wasn't even worthy of mention as far as the other humans...or even the aliens, were concerned.

Throwing all of the crap of the 20th/21st century back in people's faces didn't accomplish any of these goals. Not in the slightest.

 

[The Grim Ghost]

I know I'll probably get flamed for this, but I can't stand Far Beyond the Stars. It's on my top 10 worst DS9 episodes list.

Brooks performance in it is so terrible...I can't even begin to take it seriously.

I will never understand the love this ham-fest gets.

 

[flemm]

Brooks did a magnificent job portraying a man who has been truly broken and shattered, breaking to pieces in front of us.

I agree. From what I can tell, when Brooks needs to stretch toward extreme emotion of whatever kind, he tends to call upon a more theatrical style, with the big gestures and expressions that are necessary on stage. I guess one could criticize him for not sufficiently adapting his style to the intimacy of the television camera, but it works for me. Television acting is often so inhibited.

The rhythm of his speech also doesn't bother me (quite the opposite, generally speaking), and he doesn't remind me of Shatner

Anyway, it's always fascinating to read these opinions that differ so vividly from my own

As for Far Beyond the Stars specifically, it's not among my favorites, but I do enjoy the "maybe we have been watching Bennie's stories all along" angle that it brought to the series.

 

[Thestral]

I also think this episode, while supposedly a "ballsy" move on the part of the writers and producers--tackling The Race Issue--achieved exactly the opposite of what they intended.

The point of Star Trek, and DS9, as I understood it, was to show that our descendants could all just be HUMANS...not just A Black Man / A White Woman / A ______ Person In Space. In other words, a truly post-racial society. The most powerful statement they could possibly have made is the one that they did make up until this point--that frankly, my dear, no one gave a damn about the color of someone's skin. That it wasn't even worthy of mention as far as the other humans...or even the aliens, were concerned.

Throwing all of the crap of the 20th/21st century back in people's faces didn't accomplish any of these goals. Not in the slightest.

This is a return of sorts to what Star Trek was originally about in many cases - a look at our own society through a science-fiction lens, telling stories that resonate with today by dressing them in alien makeup. A la Bele/Lokai. The difference is, FBtS drops the pretence - we're telling you a story about ourselves, about the troubles that black authors (let alone black folk) had to go through. Avery Brooks had - has, I would say - a real concern for modern society and the difficulties affecting his community, and the history that goes along with it. FBtS is metanarrative in intent, just as it is somehow metanarrative in plot. The Star Trek Universe may be truly post-racial in Sisko's time, but the world we live in is not. Science fiction isn't just about telling stories set within a fictional universe, it's also often reflective of ourselves. Starfleet doesn't need to be reminded of the difficulties facing the black community in the 20th/21st Century, but the audience does. How else can we work towards a better future unless we're able to look squarely at our sordid past?

I agree. From what I can tell, when Brooks needs to stretch toward extreme emotion of whatever kind, he tends to call upon a more theatrical style, with the big gestures and expressions that are necessary on stage. I guess one could criticize him for not sufficiently adapting his style to the intimacy of the television camera, but it works for me. Television acting is often so inhibited.

The rhythm of his speech also doesn't bother me (quite the opposite, generally speaking), and he doesn't remind me of Shatner

Theatrical style, I agree.

 

[Nerys Ghemor]

Kestrel--There comes a point where you have to put aside the bitterness, the anger, and the unhealthy fixation on the past. There are still some jerks out there on both sides, but the ONLY way we are going to move ahead is if we STOP making each other slaves to the sins of our fathers.

And yes. I use that word deliberately.

 

[CorporalClegg]

You obviously have never seen a nervous breakdown of someone.
Brooks nailed it. Perfect and very believable.

This topic comes up at least once a year, and every time it does someone brings this up. But it's true.

Having witnessed someone very close have such a breakdown right in front of me, I can say Brooks's performance was spot on.

What people tend to forget is, anyone in such a position has completely lost all control of his faculties. His brain has become a sinkhole for stress and fatigue that has collapsed to the point his whole "world" is about to be sucked in. In this case, the only release valve the brain has is to let loose the ID.

At this point, the ID HAS to be heard, but it doesn't know how to express itself. So, it acts out in a very exaggerated, amplified, and skewed manner. On the surface, this might appear like a very theatrical, overdone performance.

Of course, in most cases, the brain finds solace and contentment in this "Performance," and as a defense, decides to let the ID out whenever times get tough or awkward. In turn, the ID molds this "performance" into a completely new character.

To see someone with a severe case of schizophrenia, it almost looks like he's putting on a whole theatrical show all by himself. If often looks like one giant ham fest.

 

[Jbarney]

I know I'll probably get flamed for this, but I can't stand Far Beyond the Stars. It's on my top 10 worst DS9 episodes list.

Brooks performance in it is so terrible...I can't even begin to take it seriously.

I will never understand the love this ham-fest gets.

Don't get me wrong, I think there are some awful scenes over the course of DS9 where Brook's acting was the main problem. In fact some of the most popular episodes (a couple of lines in Sacrifice of Angels for example) have lines by Brooks that are just....yuck.

That said, I was impressed by FBTS, and I had not seen the episode for several years. Just a matter of opinion, I guess.