Ensign Ro

[Orphalesion]

Nah, conceptually the character was created for an episode of TNG, the producers liked what they seen enough to write her into a few more episodes, and then they went into the creation of DS9 on the assumption that Ensign Ro would cross over, just like O'Brien did. If they ever had any kind of grand plan for the character when they first created her, it was never communicated to the actress.

Wow. Originally I was quite surprised at that because of the whole back-story with the Bajorans and Cardassisans made it seem like they were already setting up for DS9.

However, it likely just seemed that way in hindsight, if Ro and the Bajorans had not appeared again, they would be no more complex than Tasha's back-story or the various species of Borg victims Voyager met.

 

[2takesfrakes]

Michelle Forbes was young, hot, talented and she had plans for herself. I don't blame her, at all, for wanting a more satisfying career for herself than doing STAR TREK for a few years and then resigning herself to signing knick-knacks and embarassing photographs at conventions for the rest of her life. I love the Ro character, solely because it was Michelle Forbes playing her. TNG had many of the biggest stars in Hollywood at that time come and go, especially actresses like Kristin Dunst and Ashley Judd and Terri Hatcher. All these people wanting to have STAR TREK on their résumé and then went onto very successful careers of their own. I hold nothing against them for using STAR TREK as a stepping stone. In fact, it only validates just how successfull TNG was at the time, doesn't it? And I know that even though Forbes may have found the Ro character to be rather "thin," I do know for a fact that it did open other doors for her, as there were those in a position to hire her who were suitably impressed with her beauty and talent ...

 

[EnriqueH]

That's the thing though, she didn't go on to achieve what Dunst, Judd or Hatcher accomplished.

Not even close.

She'll probably have to go to the conventions anyway and sign those knick-knacks, as you put it.

 

[2takesfrakes]

Michelle Forbes has certainly stayed busy and her portfolio is very diversified. She's not a superstar, no. But she continues to be in demand for various projects and that's not too bad, at all. She just seems so together. Personally, I do not see her ever making convention appearances ...

 

[DWF]

While Ro was a fan favorite I don't think Michelle Forbes liked the character very much. And while she didn't want to commit to DS9 she did become a regular on Homicide and she would later return to science fiction as Admiral Cain on the new Battlestar Galactica.

 

[Lance]

Michelle Forbes has certainly stayed busy and her portfolio is very diversified. She's not a superstar, no. But she continues to be in demand for various projects and that's not too bad, at all. She just seems so together. Personally, I do not see her ever making convention appearances ...

Yeah, this all the way. I don't blame her one little bit for making the choice she did. In fact, I think she made absolutely the right decision, because it's what she wanted to do. Rather than, as other actors might, being tempted by the notion of seven years of solid work, but playing a single part over such a long length of time, Forbes instead clearly appreciated the diversity of being able to play lots of smaller, but much more varied, roles in many other projects.

Being a lead actor in a TV show, especially something like Star Trek, can lead to major league burn-out. And while that's okay for some people, Forbes at that point in her career, as a very young actress, obviously weighed all these things up, and decided it just wasn't for her at that stage in her life. Good call.

Having said that...

And while she didn't want to commit to DS9 she did become a regular on Homicide and she would later return to science fiction as Admiral Cain on the new Battlestar Galactica.

... later in her career, of course, having gotten a substantial body of work under her belt, she then felt more confident to make decisions about long-term prospects. Things like Homicide and nuBSG were obviously a part of that.

Forbes situation is very different to a Denise Crosby or Terry Farrell, actresses who simply felt they were 'bigger' than this Star Trek phenomenon and ended up blowing up their careers through their demands. Forbes, as far as I've ever been able to tell, has always been quite humble about her time as Ensign Ro. She simply didn't feel that being a TV series regular was something she wanted to do at that point in her life. And fair enough, I say.

 

[WillsBabe]

Michelle Forbes was young, hot, talented and she had plans for herself. I don't blame her, at all, for wanting a more satisfying career for herself than doing STAR TREK for a few years and then resigning herself to signing knick-knacks and embarassing photographs at conventions for the rest of her life.

You usually get to the nub of the issue!

I like Ro. She's fiesty and pretty and a bit butch. I like that about her. She's pretty much most of the things Tasha wasn't but was probably supposed to be. Would have liked to have seen her in the movies someone. If only to admire her in her movie uniform.

 

[Kobayshi Maru]

I like the actress very much, but don't like the Character all that much though. Too bad she didn't want to play Kira or B'lana. She would have been better at it than those who got the parts.

 

[Kronos]

The character was great until the end, then a traitor, I like to think the Dominion dealt with her in their usual fashion.

 

[Orphalesion]

I like the actress very much, but don't like the Character all that much though. Too bad she didn't want to play Kira or B'lana. She would have been better at it than those who got the parts.

She wouldn't have played Kira or B'ellana, she would have played Ro, just Ro working as the Bajoran Security Officer on DS9 or the Chief Engineer on VOY.

You might notice that Kira and B'ellana are still kind of made of the same cloth as Ro, Kira in particular started out as almost a copy before developing into her own.

 

[Lance]

I like the actress very much, but don't like the Character all that much though. Too bad she didn't want to play Kira or B'lana. She would have been better at it than those who got the parts.

She wouldn't have played Kira or B'ellana, she would have played Ro, just Ro working as the Bajoran Security Officer on DS9 or the Chief Engineer on VOY.

You might notice that Kira and B'ellana are still kind of made of the same cloth as Ro, Kira in particular started out as almost a copy before developing into her own.

As much as I admire Ro, I wouldn't trade Kira Nerys for her. I actually think Forbes passing on DS9 was one of those 'happy accidents' that made the show much stronger, because Nerys was a more independent character by nature (Ro, for better or worse, was a Starfleet officer just like Sisko). Major Kira opened up so many more story-telling possibilities than Ro.

I'm less certain about B'Elanna, though. I like Roxan Dawson's portrayal of Torres very much, but there is a part of me that wonders if Ro would have bought a frisson more tension to the Voyager ensemble, having turned her back on Starfleet so thoroughly in TNG, would she have been less 'Torres' and maybe more like the pre-reveal Seska? Agitating more for the Maquis cause than the Starfleet one, and more thoroughly distrusted by people like Janeway precisely because she walked away from Starfleet the way that she did... would you turn your back on her for even one second after that?

Also, a lot of what made Ro work so well on TNG was her interactions with Guinan. I think the character would miss something without that kind of core friendship (one person who trusts her) going on.

 

[Kobayshi Maru]

I like the actress very much, but don't like the Character all that much though. Too bad she didn't want to play Kira or B'lana. She would have been better at it than those who got the parts.

She wouldn't have played Kira or B'ellana, she would have played Ro, just Ro working as the Bajoran Security Officer on DS9 or the Chief Engineer on VOY.

You might notice that Kira and B'ellana are still kind of made of the same cloth as Ro, Kira in particular started out as almost a copy before developing into her own.

Well, they ruined that when they (the writers) made her betray captain Picard.

 

[Kobayshi Maru]

I like the actress very much, but don't like the Character all that much though. Too bad she didn't want to play Kira or B'lana. She would have been better at it than those who got the parts.

She wouldn't have played Kira or B'ellana, she would have played Ro, just Ro working as the Bajoran Security Officer on DS9 or the Chief Engineer on VOY.

You might notice that Kira and B'ellana are still kind of made of the same cloth as Ro, Kira in particular started out as almost a copy before developing into her own.

As much as I admire Ro, I wouldn't trade Kira Nerys for her. I actually think Forbes passing on DS9 was one of those 'happy accidents' that made the show much stronger, because Nerys was a more independent character by nature (Ro, for better or worse, was a Starfleet officer just like Sisko). Major Kira opened up so many more story-telling possibilities than Ro.

I'm less certain about B'Elanna, though. I like Roxan Dawson's portrayal of Torres very much, but there is a part of me that wonders if Ro would have bought a frisson more tension to the Voyager ensemble, having turned her back on Starfleet so thoroughly in TNG, would she have been less 'Torres' and maybe more like the pre-reveal Seska? Agitating more for the Maquis cause than the Starfleet one, and more thoroughly distrusted by people like Janeway precisely because she walked away from Starfleet the way that she did... would you turn your back on her for even one second after that?

Also, a lot of what made Ro work so well on TNG was her interactions with Guinan. I think the character would miss something without that kind of core friendship (one person who trusts her) going on.

She would have been a more credible replacement for B'lana (so to speak) as she was a member of the maquis at the end of TNG.

 

[thinklikeaborg]

Ensign Ro was a bit intense! I am pretty neutral on her. She had a tendency to over-act which was distracting.

 

[DWF]

And while she didn't want to commit to DS9 she did become a regular on Homicide and she would later return to science fiction as Admiral Cain on the new Battlestar Galactica.

... later in her career, of course, having gotten a substantial body of work under her belt, she then felt more confident to make decisions about long-term prospects. Things like Homicide and nuBSG were obviously a part of that.

Forbes situation is very different to a Denise Crosby or Terry Farrell, actresses who simply felt they were 'bigger' than this Star Trek phenomenon and ended up blowing up their careers through their demands. Forbes, as far as I've ever been able to tell, has always been quite humble about her time as Ensign Ro. She simply didn't feel that being a TV series regular was something she wanted to do at that point in her life. And fair enough, I say.

Forbes became a regular on Homicide in 1996 two years after her last performance as Ro on TNG.

 

[JeffinOakland]

I liked her because she was the 1st Starfleet member who was the slightest bit cynical about Starfleet and the Federation. It added a note of plausibility to the environment.

 

[Ithekro]

I know she made an impression of some sort back then since I still use her family name: IthekRo. I've been using "Ro" as a callsign since her first appearance I think.

 

[EnriqueH]

Oh, yeah, she played Admiral Cain. I forgot about that.

As I recall, she was good in the role.

 

[Kobayshi Maru]

Ensign Ro was a bit intense! I am pretty neutral on her. She had a tendency to over-act which was distracting.

That she did!

 

[Kobayshi Maru]

I liked her because she was the 1st Starfleet member who was the slightest bit cynical about Starfleet and the Federation. It added a note of plausibility to the environment.

You have a point.