Kira's changing look

[ninetofive]

Was anyone else annoyed by the fact that they 'femininized' Kira to the point where she was forced to kick ass in ridiculously impractical heels and that stupid comb-over hairstyle?
I really wasn't buying that a tough cookie like Kira would bother with crap like putting on makeup and doing her hair each morning etc. In fact, I think that a person like Kira would dislike princesses/girly girls and affectation in general.

 

[Eric Cheung]

I believe it was meant to suggest that she was moving to a more administrative role when she got promoted to corporal and ass-kicking (at least the physical kind), was more the exception than the rule. When she went to Cardassia in the Final Chapter she was in a standard Starfleet uniform which is much more appropriate for violence preparation.

 

[startrekwatcher]

I think the changing hair colors/hairstyles were more Nana's doing. Anyone who follows her career will tell you Nana loves trying new hairstyles and coloring her hair.

Personally I thought she looked best in season seven but looked great in seasons five/six. I never much cared for the short hair on her especially the way she wore in much of the third season.

 

[captcalhoun]

she was promoted to Colonel not Corporal. which would be a major demotion in any man's army.

pun completely intended

 

[Eric Cheung]

My bad. I stand corrected.

 

[Mark_Nguyen]

Hair and makeup are one thing. But what about her uniform? It got changed frequently enough, and at least halfway through the series it was to the point that NO ONE ELSE in the Bajoran militia wore remotely similar uniforms.

Mark

 

[Admiral Buzzkill]

Was anyone else annoyed by the fact that they 'femininized' Kira to the point where she was forced to kick ass in ridiculously impractical heels and that stupid comb-over hairstyle?

Lots of people were, at the time.

They also changed the material that her uniform was made out of to something that tailored and stretched in a slightly more form-fitting way.

The changes to Kira were done for the same reason that Worf was brought onto the show and that several other changes were made at the same time (let's have a war with the Klingons; altering the main title theme): an attempt to reverse the series's steady decline in the Nielsen ratings. It didn't really work.

 

[Eric Cheung]

Again it's a combination of Nana Visitor probably looking for something more comfortable (save for the boots perhaps), the changing of her role on the station, and the growth of her character where she was more able to balance her fighting spirit with a sometimes more pragmatic approach. Remember she was hired as a liason officer at the beginning of the series anyway. Changing her look probably coincided with her gradual comfort in her position. She started out with a short hairstyle because she wanted to be ready to pull out a Bajoran phaser at a moments notice, but by season seven she knows that she's supposed to be negotiating with Romulans and stuff.

And honestly, until I read about it in the Companion and online I didn't really notice anything but the hairstyle, which again signified a more formal role on the station.

 

[Navaros]

Kira kicking ass was always ridiculous, regardless of her looks.

The way she "knocks Damar out cold" by hitting him in the back is absurd. The way everyone on DS9 knocks out the bad guys during fights by grabbing their wrist with their other hand and then boffing the bad guy with their mystical uber hand-on-wrist (this move which apparently bestows magical butt-kicking powers) boffing super move is equally ridiculous.

This is a systematic problem with DS9 having ridiculous fight choreography, not a problem with Kira's looks.

 

[JoeZhang]

Kira kicking ass was always ridiculous, regardless of her looks.

The way she "knocks Damar out cold" by hitting him in the back is absurd. The way everyone on DS9 knocks out the bad guys during fights by grabbing their wrist with their other hand and then boffing the bad guy with their mystical uber hand-on-wrist (this move which apparently bestows magical butt-kicking powers) boffing super move is equally ridiculous.

This is a systematic problem with DS9 having ridiculous fight choreography, not a problem with Kira's looks.

hum... I sense a thread in general coming on...

 

[Janeway4Prez]

I thought what was fun about 'Deep Space Nine' was the fact that they did actually FIGHT, even if it was corny and unbelievable, rather than relying on phasers to do the fighting for them. I remember Kira fighting in 'Way of the Warrior' where she gets stabbed or something and keeps on ticking. It was nice to see a female character in Trek get down and dirty along with her male counterparts, something that made Kira one of my favorite female characters.

Also, it would have been a bit dull if Kira stayed the same for seven seasons. We saw her become a better leader through the years, soften up, let herself fall in love and be a bit feminine but as season 7 showed, she never lost that edge to her. I agree with one of the earlier posters; she did look her best in season 7, especially in a Starfleet uniform. I recommend people read the Deep Space Nine Relaunch book series; truly some good entertainment and continuation that features more growth of Kira Nerys' character following 'What You Leave Behind'.

 

[shatastrophic]

Kira kicking ass was always ridiculous, regardless of her looks.

The way she "knocks Damar out cold" by hitting him in the back is absurd. The way everyone on DS9 knocks out the bad guys during fights by grabbing their wrist with their other hand and then boffing the bad guy with their mystical uber hand-on-wrist (this move which apparently bestows magical butt-kicking powers) boffing super move is equally ridiculous.

This is a systematic problem with DS9 having ridiculous fight choreography, not a problem with Kira's looks.

Agreed. Kira/Visitor is all of what, five feet tall? Probably weighs 90 to 110 pounds. It would be like kicking my 11 yr old nephew's ass. But at the same time she is a beautiful lady. She is one of the only women who can get away with the short hair. Which is why I though she was spectacular in season 7 when she grew it out.

 

[Photon]

I didn't like the butch-Kira to begin with, but I must admit she looked white hot in that SF uniform at the end of S7.

 

[Anthony Sabre]

The cast fight during WOTW was fun to watch. Only problem is that just about everything they did was non lethal, excluding Worf. Yet Ops is littered with fallen Klingon warriors at the end.

 

[Rex Racer]

I didn't think Nana was that tall, so was shocked when walking around a convention earlier this year to see her walk through the door. Drop-dead gorgeous, and easily almost 6 feet tall. Maybe she was wearing heels or something, but I was seriously shocked by how tall she is. Still not sure she could knock Damar out, but still... PS - she looks even better now than she did on DS9.

 

[shatastrophic]

I didn't think Nana was that tall, so was shocked when walking around a convention earlier this year to see her walk through the door. Drop-dead gorgeous, and easily almost 6 feet tall. Maybe she was wearing heels or something, but I was seriously shocked by how tall she is. Still not sure she could knock Damar out, but still... PS - she looks even better now than she did on DS9.

Your right, most sites state she is 5 feet 8 inches tall! If it is true then she is defiantly taller than i thought which makes her even more attractive! What i really didn't know that wowed me is that she is about to be 51. I have seen her in recent photos and she looks great, she has good genes.

 

[Admiral Buzzkill]

Again it's a combination of Nana Visitor probably looking for something more comfortable (save for the boots perhaps), the changing of her role on the station, and the growth of her character ...

No. It was purely marketing-driven, part of an effort to "juice up" the show a bit. IIRC Visitor was no more pleased than many of her fans by the changes in her character's appearence and role - at the time, there was actually some concern that she was going to be eclipsed by Worf/Dorn.

FROM FREEDOM-FIGHTER TO FEMME-FATALE... A WARRIOR IN THREE-INCH HEELS???

Do the changes this season in Major Kira's appearance bother you?

You should know that these changes were initiated at the behest of
Viacom,
the Paramount parent company, in an attempt to attract the "Baywatch"
audience.

You are an intelligent, loyal Star Trek fan. What can you do?

Write.

Send a letter to Viacom...

A little contemporary history

I think you don't understand. Ron D. Moore claimed that it was Nana's
choice to change the outfit. That was a blatent untruth. Nana herself
told me that she had asked for a "minor" change to relieve the
constrictive nature of the old costume but was VERY unhappy with the
result, especially the boots. She fought very hard to get it changed back
or to the minor changes she WANTED. No avail.

So, it was NOT her choice, and the very point of this appeal is to GET
the fan support you are talking about.

 

[asp7485]

I remember reading that at the start of the fourth season, the cast was asked if there was anything they would like changed or modified. Nana Visitor mentioned she wanted a uniform that allowed for more movement. Thus, a new, sleeker uniform was created for her. It is odd that no other Bajorans wore anything similar, but the redesigned uniform was so close to the originals that it never really bothered me. Plus, its in-keeping with the conventions of the Star Trek univerise. The beautiful female lead always gets to wear whatever she wants - as long as its form fitting and/or revealing!

Even though Kira's uniform was tight, and Nana Visitor looked fantastic, I never felt she was played as the show's sex symbol. Even Jadzia, who was very open with her sexuality, was not truly made up to be the sex symbol. They were certainly very attractive women, but they didn't have to show their cleavage on a regular basis (Troi) or wear extremely form fitting catsuits (Seven). They were very respectable characters.

As for Kira beating people up, I always wondered if she would actually be able to fight as well as she did. I'm sure she was a physically strong woman and saw her share of fights in the resistance. Perhaps she beat up plenty Cardassians twice her size in her day, so taking on Damar or Rosot was second nature to her? It may not have been plausable, but it sure was pleasurable to watch Kira kick some butt!

-Aaron

 

[indranee]

I didn't think Nana was that tall, so was shocked when walking around a convention earlier this year to see her walk through the door. Drop-dead gorgeous, and easily almost 6 feet tall. Maybe she was wearing heels or something, but I was seriously shocked by how tall she is. Still not sure she could knock Damar out, but still... PS - she looks even better now than she did on DS9.

Your right, most sites state she is 5 feet 8 inches tall! If it is true then she is defiantly taller than i thought which makes her even more attractive! What i really didn't know that wowed me is that she is about to be 51. I have seen her in recent photos and she looks great, she has good genes.

that, and she's a dancer.

I've always loved butt-kicking Kira. unrealistic at times, no doubt, but delicio in every way.

 

[Flying Spaghetti Monster]

As for Kira beating people up, I always wondered if she would actually be able to fight as well as she did. I'm sure she was a physically strong woman and saw her share of fights in the resistance. Perhaps she beat up plenty Cardassians twice her size in her day, so taking on Damar or Rosot was second nature to her? It may not have been plausable, but it sure was pleasurable to watch Kira kick some butt!

-Aaron

I don't know. In the resistance she probably used a gun, but physically she wasn't as much a threat as she talked herself up to be. She got beat up - and beat up badly, because she attacked first before being flattened
- by a smaller female from a PLEASURE PLANET in INVASIVE PROCEDURES

And more than just her pride got hurt... in her next scene she seems to be in pain with broken ribs, and the girl that defeated her asked her if she was okay, and warns her not to try that again.