Gul Dukat being Nice...

[DGCatAniSiri]

Well, when you've got fans who root for one of the shows top villains, yeah, it's got to feel like 'whoa, we REALLY did too good of a job humanizing him. Need to do something about that.'

Like it was said - Dukat was basically Hitler, especially for the Bajorans. Nana Visitor was really upset with any occasion where the writers played some sexual tension between Kira and Dukat, since for Kira, if they were interacting that same way barely a handful of years before, Dukat could have had her, no matter what she felt. But the audience wasn't looking at Dukat as a villain. At worst, he was an anti-hero. This despite being one of the leaders of the main villainous group and his past as the Bajoran equivilant of Hitler.

Frankly, I liked Dukat being nice in the middle then returning to bad guy status. To me, it really worked that way, because at that point, you knew he COULD be one of the good guys, but instead chose to go down the other path for his own greater glory.

 

[Nerys Ghemor]

Frankly, I liked Dukat being nice in the middle then returning to bad guy status. To me, it really worked that way, because at that point, you knew he COULD be one of the good guys, but instead chose to go down the other path for his own greater glory.

Yes! You really articulated why it is I didn't mind the red-eye plot like so many people here. The tragic element remains because it was all about his CHOICES. He had so many points--even AFTER all he did to Bajor--to turn himself around. (It's happened before...think of who St. Paul was before he was a saint!) He could've been a redemption story, and he came so close...but he didn't, and almost literally cast his soul into Hell at the very end by his own hand.

 

[Red Ranger]

Hmm. This debate about Dukat's character among the creators is fascinating, and I'd love to know more about Marc Alaimo's thoughts on his take on Dukat.

Yeah, could you see Dukat ever becoming a regular like Scorpius on Farscape? Not with the limited imagination of some of TPTB at DSN! At times, I saw Dukat as a Cardassian anti-hero, even though he was played more like a straight villain. Look at the pride he shows in the ep with the Maquis when the Vulcan Sakonna is unable to mind-meld with him. He truly is proud of his Cardassian military upbringing and identity.

I also see Dukat as an example of that old saying, "We're all heroes in our own minds." People who commit heinous acts wind up engaging in all kinds of moral contortions to justify their actions. He really believed he was Bajor's savior, so it was rather fitting that he would fall prey to the anti-Prophets. He had a messianic complex, to be sure. Is such a person completely evil?

Red Ranger

 

[indranee]

Red, didn't you use to start your posts with "people"? I liked that

I met Marc Alaimo once in a quite lengthy setting (back in 1998) and got to speak with him about his character and about DS9 in general and he was quite firm in his belief that Dukat should be a multidimensional villain with enough shades of gray. Alaimo was a Shakespearean actor and was really going for the nuance and loved the character and its interactions with other characters like Sisko, Garak, Kira etc.

I also seem to remember a couple of Star Trek Mags coming out with interviews with him where he reiterated what he told me. check back issues, you should find some.

 

[Nerys Ghemor]

Man, you are SO lucky to have gotten a chance to sit down with Mr. Alaimo like that!!

Shakespearean actor, you say? Not surprising--but I'm curious, does he still do any theater? I'd pay BIG money to see that...!

 

[indranee]

no, not any more, he's pretty much retired I believe.

he did some voice work in 2006. you can IMDB him.

yes, I am so glad I went to that con. I don't go to too many. it was a NoVaCon in 1998 and I went to a dinner with some stars of DS9, and got to sit next to him at the table during dinner and then hang out at the bar in the hotel. Casey Biggs (who played Damar) was also there. the whole group stayed at the bar until about 2am, at which point we were all playing darts. the conversation was really interesting because I believe Alaimo was a bit sozzled toward the end and we got to know quite a bit about his thoughts on the show and the characters.

I seem to remember that he's most proud of his role as Iago (in Othelo) on stage in Milwaukee.

 

[Nerys Ghemor]

Ohh, wow...what a privilege you had! I know I would enjoy speaking with him very much--from all descriptions, he sounds like a very smart guy who probably is very interesting to listen to.

While it's a shame he's retired, I would say he's earned his time to relax, for all the great work he did.

 

[indranee]

he has earned it I agree but we're all selfish...