News Discovery New Character Breakdowns

[Jayson1]

I kind of like the idea of giving her a sort of Pike chair. We just assume her condition is because of a issue with her legs. What if she has something Pike like that sort of works as a iron lung or resperator yet she can leave the confines of the chair for a limited amount of time before having to return to it.

Jason

 

[DaveyNY]

Can't we assume that the Artificial Gravity Plating could be adjusted or even turned off somehow, so that a "Non-Walking" person could just float up/down in a Jefferies Tube?

 

[eschaton]

Looking around on Memory Alpha, there were apparently more uses of wheelchairs in Trek than I remembered. Discounting use of wheelchairs for temporary reasons, Emory Erickson used one due to paralysis in ENT's Daedalus, prime Pike famously used one after his accident, TNG's Admiral Mark Jameson used one due to a debilitating disease related to old age (TNG: Too Short a Season) and Picard mentioned a teacher at Starfleet Academy who had used one since birth (TNG: The Loss).

Thus, it's basically been established in canon that humans still use wheelchairs due to paralysis in the 22nd century, and still use them for some reasons for long-term reasons by the 24th century. This is admittedly dumb, given we're already well on our way to curing paralysis, but lots of dumb things are in Trek's canon.

 

[Tenacity]

What about ... the Section 31 guy?

Hopefully thaty little extra scene will be the only appearance of anyone associated with S31. I liked S31 during DS9, but enough's enough.

I really hope we get more than we got from Georgiou and

Only if it's flashback to the non-mirror Georgiou, the mirror verison had her time in the sun, she now need to be a footnote in Trek history.

Having a disabled character is fine, but having her confined to a wheelchair is hella stupid

Maybe one of those wheelchairs that can "stand up" And the person is in a upright positions.

Is there going to be a insistance that the actor playing the disabled character, themself have the same disability as the character?

 

[cultcross]

Is there going to be a insistance that the actor playing the disabled character, themself have the same disability as the character?

Would certainly be nice. Disabled people are played by non disabled actors far too frequently, but at the very least they can have a disabled character who does not provide comic relief. That's something.

 

[CorporalCaptain]

special needs

lulz

 

[Tenacity]

Would certainly be nice. Disabled people are played by non disabled actors far too frequently ...

not sure i see this as a necessary action. i see the priority being getting the right actor for the role, regardless if they have the disability that the character possesses. it's acting.

 

[Refuge]

Having a disabled character is fine, but having her confined to a wheelchair is hella stupid...presentism at its best.

We're already well on our way to being able to use electronics to help those who are paralyzed walk. By the 23rd century there would clearly be some sort of more advanced brain-machine interface which would allow for it. It's also pretty likely biotech will advance enough to regenerate nerve fibers, and develop "cures" for most of the disabilities which make it difficult to impossible to walk without being paralyzed.

I had no issue with the wheelchair shown in a single episode last season, because I could see them used on a temporary basis until someone recovers or gets mechanically augmented.

In some ways the very science that is projected in Discovery makes giving a genuine role to a disabled actor/actress difficult. Like if Voq can be popped into Ash's skin and use of 'Borg' implants etc. In some ways I found Lorca's eye sensitivity at odds with the archaic treatment he was applying. I know the eye thing was mirror story related but it just fitted awkwardly.

 

[CorporalCaptain]

Kirk was allergic to Retinax V and needed glasses. No matter what the disability or medical condition, its existence can be justified with as much believability as anything else in Star Trek should it even ever need to be. The idea that literally no instances of any given condition could possibly exist in the future, especially Star Trek's, is itself unrealistically far-fetched.

It's therefore simply a question of what kind of story the writers want to tell. The idea that a person must experience a certain disability or condition that most everyone else doesn't have to is actually rather compelling from a dramatic perspective.

 

[Captain Crow]

Thus, it's basically been established in canon that humans still use wheelchairs due to paralysis in the 22nd century, and still use them for some reasons for long-term reasons by the 24th century. This is admittedly dumb, given we're already well on our way to curing paralysis, but lots of dumb things are in Trek's canon.

It's not dumb at all.

Cures don't always work for everybody. Maybe they're allergic to certain medications. Maybe their body just can't handle the stress or pain of having implants.

 

[Brainsucker]

Don't you guys feel it weird when the 21st century Earth is already capable to invent Exoskeleton technology to help disability person, but the 23rd and 24th century still use wheelchair like in 20th century? I don't blame the old Star Trek series as they didn't know about Exoskeleton, but for Discovery, it's definitely dumb.

 

[Laura Cynthia Chambers]

Disabled people are played by non disabled actors far too frequently,

It opens up writing possibilities, such as flashbacks to when the character wasn't yet disabled, aliens who give the disabled character temporary ability, dreams, etc. (though admittedly, they could always cast identical twins, one disabled and one not, for that - would that be the better solution?)

 

[UssGlenn]

yeah, but how many disabled actors are there that have non-disabled identical twins? I'm reminded of the Orange is the new Black pre-trans twin brother flashback, which was just sheer luck, and unknown at time of casting if I remember correctly. Excluding casting based on anything but race makes me uncomfortable because there's no clear place to draw a line. Do we need to find an actor with ALS to play Lou Gehrig? How does he play baseball early in the movie? Sighted people can't play blind people (goodbye Geordie). Chinese people can't play Japanese, Americans can't play Germans. You can only play a mother if you have kids in real life. etc

 

[cultcross]

We've discussed it before in this forum, but the key is representation, and whether there is an issue with actors of that category getting work, which is worsened by casting people outside that group to play them.

Disabled actors fit that definition - they are normally overlooked even for disabled parts. For example, the prominent disabled character in Glee was not played by an IRL wheelchair user, and for no real reason - the character is always shown in the chair.

Mothers and Americans probably don't. There's a sliding scale.

I find it helpful to think of it by flipping it around. How likely is it that a production will hire an actor who uses a wheelchair for a character that doesn't? So if parts for characters in wheelchairs also go to actors who don't need them, you've pretty much pushed disabled actors out of work.

 

[Jayson1]

We've discussed it before in this forum, but the key is representation, and whether there is an issue with actors of that category getting work, which is worsened by casting people outside that group to play them.

Disabled actors fit that definition - they are normally overlooked even for disabled parts. For example, the prominent disabled character in Glee was not played by an IRL wheelchair user, and for no real reason - the character is always shown in the chair.

Mothers and Americans probably don't. There's a sliding scale.

I find it helpful to think of it by flipping it around. How likely is it that a production will hire an actor who uses a wheelchair for a character that doesn't? So if parts for characters in wheelchairs also go to actors who don't need them, you've pretty much pushed disabled actors out of work.

Just how many disabled actors are out their with a SAG card? How many would also be a women and have a disability that would fit this role, especially since we don't even know what the disability is? We know she will need a wheelchair but we don't know why she will need it. Or what they plan on doing with the character. Will she be needed to walk in a flashback or be cured in a episode only for the cure to backfire. How many are going to also be good actors who people will like. Maybe you got one lady who is good at drama but sucks at comedy but they want someone who can do comedy. We know less compared to what we do know right now which is very little.

Of course this brings up the issue is should writers feel the need to alter characters so a actor can play a role even if it changes the plans they wanted for the character. We know this happens at times but it's usually to cater to a star or maybe they discovered someone who has changed their entire idea on what they want to do with the characters. You go in thinking you want the character to be male but then a women impresses and you change gears. Who knows what the casting people saw in all the people they must have looked at for the role. DId any disabled actors go up for the part? Who were they looking for on the casting sheet?

Jason

 

[Refuge]

Don't you guys feel it weird when the 21st century Earth is already capable to invent Exoskeleton technology to help disability person, but the 23rd and 24th century still use wheelchair like in 20th century? I don't blame the old Star Trek series as they didn't know about Exoskeleton, but for Discovery, it's definitely dumb.

Yes. Discovery gives us spore drive technology and a Klingon in a human skin and... a wheelchair. Really??

 

[Jayson1]

From what we have seen from tech you would think the ability to help people who can't walk would most likely be more evolved than needing a wheelchair but that's never a good reason to do something. It's more interesting for drama and symbolism and all that to still use a wheelchair. Even when Nog lost a leg and the grew him a new one they were smart to give him a cane and to have him say he still feels pain. You don't want tech to take away human experiences. I just wish they still let people wear glasses. I'm always a fan of characters in glasses. It would be a nice human element to mix into a world full of high level tech that exists in Trek. Like how books are also still around and all music died at some point and people only listen to classical music or public domain stuff or a variety of rocking flute based jams. Even the Klingons listen to opera! That's like thinking a bunch of punk rockers or going to really dig some hip cool Amy Grant songs.

Jason

 

[Tosk]

Don't you guys feel it weird when the 21st century Earth is already capable to invent Exoskeleton technology to help disability person, but the 23rd and 24th century still use wheelchair like in 20th century? I don't blame the old Star Trek series as they didn't know about Exoskeleton, but for Discovery, it's definitely dumb.

The only dumb thing is the notion that you give up something that works just because something else comes along. Not every problem has the same solution. Giving up the wheelchair completely is as silly as the idea of not using wheels on anything ever again thanks to anti-grav tech. Heck, why do people still use paper now that we don't need it any more?

 

[Refuge]

The only dumb thing is the notion that you give up something that works just because something else comes along. Not every problem has the same solution. Giving up the wheelchair completely is as silly as the idea of not using wheels on anything ever again thanks to anti-grav tech. Heck, why do people still use paper now that we don't need it any more?

Nah. A wheelchair is actually dumb for the technology of Discovery's timeline.

 

[Tosk]

Nah. A wheelchair is actually dumb for the technology of Discovery's timeline.

Sure. Just like people using bicycles is dumb for our current timeline. I mean, what the hell are people doing riding around on centuries old technology? It's crazy.