Ensign Ro

[Kinggodzillak]

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.

I would never have wanted to trade Kira for Ro, and I say that with Ro being my fave TNG character. Kira's not only my fave character of the entire franchise, but also my favourite fictional character of all time ever. She had such a great journey and Nana did so much phenomenal work (best Trek actor of all time? Yes, no question) that the show would have been so much less without her.

Plus, if Forbes had gone to DS9 I would never have got to meet Nana, and that was one of the most important and meaningful experiences of my life. Not to mention huggyful.

 

[doubleohfive]

Kira > Ro.

I might have felt differently had Forbes signed on to DS9 and we never got the brilliant performance from Nana Visitor, but being that Forbes didn't sign with the show and we did get Visitor in the role, it's hard to imagine.

 

[Kobayshi Maru]

The problem with Ro is that she was never given a chance to develop as a character. I think she would have been terrific.

But to just give one example. I thought Ro's rapport with the old man in Preemptive strike was so much more convincing than Kira's in Progress.


It was a similar situation and it was handled better in the former than it was in the latter.

 

[RandyS]

I'm in the middle of watching Season 5 and I had forgotten that Ensign Ro was a pretty good character.

I know she was kinda like O'Brien in that she was cool enough to keep around, but not committed enough to include in the main credits.

What a shame.

I thought she had a lot of potential.

I was never a Wesley hater, I liked him overall, but Ensign Ro was a nice replacement.

Too bad Michelle Forbes didn't hang around, because she did a great job, particularly in her debut "Ensign Ro", "Disaster", and Conundrum.

If I remember correctly, she was slated to be in DS9, but declined and so instead we got Kira.

I liked Kira, but it would've been cool to have Ro in more Trek episodes.

Anyone agree/disagree?

Yes, I agree, but I also agree that Kira was good too.

 

[borgboy]

I love Kira/Nana and Ro/Michelle both. I don't see this as a competition, both are amazing.
I would've loved for Ro to have continued as a recurring character on DS9, they could've gone in a different direction for her than Kira took to make room for both - with Ro recurring, Kira full time.
I just watched Ensign Ro again tonight, and Ro is really excellent in that. I loved her friendship with Guinan too. Ro's bad attitude and outsider status really shakes up the show when they give her a chance. The Maquis storyline was really interesting with shades of grey that complicated the franchise in a way that made things more interesting.

 

[EnriqueH]

I love Kira/Nana and Ro/Michelle both. I don't see this as a competition, both are amazing.
I would've loved for Ro to have continued as a recurring character on DS9, they could've gone in a different direction for her than Kira took to make room for both - with Ro recurring, Kira full time.
I just watched Ensign Ro again tonight, and Ro is really excellent in that. I loved her friendship with Guinan too. Ro's bad attitude and outsider status really shakes up the show when they give her a chance. The Maquis storyline was really interesting with shades of grey that complicated the franchise in a way that made things more interesting.

Yeah, I didn't mean to make it sound like a Ro vs. Kira thing. It was more of a curiosity thing how it would've played out *IF* Ro had been in it instead of Kira.

Kinda how we speculate how Pike would've played out if he had stuck around, or how I have sometimes said I would've liked a few more Pike episodes. That has nothing to do with my feelings toward Kirk, who is my favorite character in the franchise and probably my all time favorite hero. I don't like Pike anywhere near as much as I like Kirk, but I still like Pike and would've enjoyed seeing some more episodes with him in it.

Make sense?

 

[Orphalesion]

The Maquis plot-line was dropped far too quickly on DS9. It was an incredible waste to just kill them off-screen.

I'm also glad we had Kira instead of Ro. Not that Ro wasn't a good character, but Nana Visitor seemed so involved with her character, contributed so many ideas and details that created Kira as we saw her on screen. She was phenomenal. Her passion for the role shows in her performance. Not sure if we would have gotten that with Forbes.

But it would have been very cool to have her instead of B'elanna, just for the continuity. And the Seska plot-line would have been more powerful that way. No only would Ro's "friend" have betrayed her, but she would have been a Cardassian, one of the people who occupied her planet and slaughtered her own people, all along. Ro would have wiped the floor with Seska.

 

[BillJ]

I never liked Nana Visitor's acting. I'd have probably been more interested in DS9 if Michelle Forbes had come over.

 

[Kobayshi Maru]

I never liked Nana Visitor's acting. I'd have probably been more interested in DS9 if Michelle Forbes had come over.

I think her acting was uneven, it could be inspired at times but other times it would just be a little off, as if she wasn't sure what her character was supposed to feel.

 

[Taelon]

I never liked Nana Visitor's acting. I'd have probably been more interested in DS9 if Michelle Forbes had come over.

I think her acting was uneven, it could be inspired at times but other times it would just be a little off, as if she wasn't sure what her character was supposed to feel.

In cases like that, I would put the blame on the director of that episode rather than the actor. When the performance is consistently bad, then the fault probably lies with the actor.

 

[suarezguy]

Ro was a good character, adding some interesting sparks to the show and other characters, but was underused and underdeveloped after her first few appearances; "Preemptive Strike" was a good though rushed conclusion. Have to agree that Kira was a much better character, both in general and in the role of first officer/second in command.

 

[dub]

Yeah, I didn't mean to make it sound like a Ro vs. Kira thing.

It's inevitable, my friend.

I loved Ro and I loved Kira. I'm glad Forbes didn't do DS9 because we wouldn't have had Kira and Nana Visitor, both of whom I fell in love with over the course of the series. And I'm so relieved Ro didn't go on Voyager because I fear she would have turned into a very bland/inconsistent character.

Someone mentioned up the thread that Ro was largely forgettable. I have to disagree. She was at least memorable enough for me to think to myself "bring her back please," and for me to be disappointed when she didn't come back. And there was a very believable and interesting relationship forming between her and Picard. Sort of a teacher/student perhaps father/daughter sort of thing from what I remember? And beyond Picard, she was one of those characters (actresses) who had chemistry with just about every male she passed by. Now I think if we had Ro from the beginning instead of Yar, that might have been cool.

 

[Kobayshi Maru]

I never liked Nana Visitor's acting. I'd have probably been more interested in DS9 if Michelle Forbes had come over.

I think her acting was uneven, it could be inspired at times but other times it would just be a little off, as if she wasn't sure what her character was supposed to feel.

In cases like that, I would put the blame on the director of that episode rather than the actor. When the performance is consistently bad, then the fault probably lies with the actor.

I wouldn't be too sure about that, actors, like all artists are sometimes inspired and sometimes they are not. Of course the very talented are always inspired, even when they play bad parts.

How about a quote on that last one:

"There are no small parts, only small actors." - Constantin Stanislavski

 

[borgboy]

I don't recall hearing that Ro could've filled Torres's role on Voyager. That is very intriguing! I like Torres, but at least in my imagination I think Ro could've had a more dynamic role, and the tie to TNG could've helped draw in more viewers.

 

[Kobayshi Maru]

I don't recall hearing that Ro could've filled Torres's role on Voyager. That is very intriguing! I like Torres, but at least in my imagination I think Ro could've had a more dynamic role, and the tie to TNG could've helped draw in more viewers.

If this was the Ro that betrayed Picard, she may have had to be confronted with that at some point in the story.

 

[borgboy]

The Maquis issues on Voyager were never explored to it's fullest potential. Having a character like Ro on screen where we had followed her story arc as a Maquis prior to Voyager would've added a lot to the story, as well as having a major Bajoran character would've added to the Maquis story, as the Bajorans were a really important part of the Maquis. Instead we got Seska, who's a great character, but could've benefited from having a real Bajoran to interact with. That would've enhanced the betrayal if we could've seen them practicing their faith and culture together.

 

[Kobayshi Maru]

The Maquis issues on Voyager were never explored to it's fullest potential. Having a character like Ro on screen where we had followed her story arc as a Maquis prior to Voyager would've added a lot to the story, as well as having a major Bajoran character would've added to the Maquis story, as the Bajorans were a really important part of the Maquis. Instead we got Seska, who's a great character, but could've benefited from having a real Bajoran to interact with. That would've enhanced the betrayal if we could've seen them practicing their faith and culture together.

Well, she was a cardassian spy. That certainly added to the complexity of the intrigue.

 

[doubleohfive]

I think part of it can be attributed to the regime change over the years at Voyager. When the show started, it was, effectively, Piller and Taylor running the writer's room. As the show went on, it became Taylor on her own, then Taylor and Braga, and then ultimately Ken Biller, when Braga left to develope Enterprise with Rick Berman.

So what, you might ask? The point I'm trying to make is simply that different writers running the show brought different objectives and different storylines they wanted to tell. Piller and Taylor may have had all kinds of ideas and intentions they wanted to develop on the series but which also never saw fruition because they were abandoned or simpy never developed further when the writers left. Too, Biller and Braga were much younger writers than Piller and Taylor, so naturally there would be a different perspsective they brought to the show. What may have been the thrust of the seres in the beginning would no longer be viewed as all that necessary or relevant to the series in season seven, on the whole.

All of this is, of course, conjecture on my part. Take it as you will. Whether it was the best course for Voyager (the series) to take is certainly up for debate, but in terms of the real-world implications, I could easily see this as being part of why we got what we got.

 

[JD5000]

...writers...objectives...storylines...ideas....intentions...

Well said.

 

[Kobayshi Maru]

I think part of it can be attributed to the regime change over the years at Voyager. When the show started, it was, effectively, Piller and Taylor running the writer's room. As the show went on, it became Taylor on her own, then Taylor and Braga, and then ultimately Ken Biller, when Braga left to develope Enterprise with Rick Berman.

So what, you might ask? The point I'm trying to make is simply that different writers running the show brought different objectives and different storylines they wanted to tell. Piller and Taylor may have had all kinds of ideas and intentions they wanted to develop on the series but which also never saw fruition because they were abandoned or simpy never developed further when the writers left. Too, Biller and Braga were much younger writers than Piller and Taylor, so naturally there would be a different perspsective they brought to the show. What may have been the thrust of the seres in the beginning would no longer be viewed as all that necessary or relevant to the series in season seven, on the whole.

All of this is, of course, conjecture on my part. Take it as you will. Whether it was the best course for Voyager (the series) to take is certainly up for debate, but in terms of the real-world implications, I could easily see this as being part of why we got what we got.

Still, even with a change of writers the show remained pretty much the same as it was.