Lower Decks that might have been...

[Arpy]

Youtube channel Target Audience just reacted to TNG’s “Lower Decks” and they loved it. I enjoy watching them experience Star Trek for the first time, in airdate order, and think about what it must have been like for myself watching it for the first time (so much of that time I’ve forgotten) just taking it in, loving it, before it became this bigger pastime for me. Just a great show I was genuinely engaged with. One thing I didn’t know was that Ben the waiter’s role was originally supposed to be Guinan but Whoopi Goldberg wasn’t available. It would have been such a different episode. Another thought they had was what if the show evolved into this its last seasons, where the main cast (who were looking to move on) guested? Might have been interesting. Lots of other places on the ship to explore as well that maybe they’d build new sets for (stellar cartography?) if the show went on another few seasons.

I’ve been thinking of a “lower decks” last few seasons on TNG and who might have starred/guested on it. Presumably, like in the episode, most of the characters would be new, but some that come to mind include:

1. Ogawa
2. Powell — Ogawa’s fiancé
3. Lavelle
4. Taurik
5. Vorik — Taurik's twin brother on VOY. Funnily enough, I thought the actor had Taurik down but Vorik needed work
6. Ben
7. Guinan and others on her staff
8. Ro
9. O’Brien
10. Keiko
11. Molly
12. Barclay
13. Robin Lefler
14. Mr. Mott and his all-Bolian barber shop
15. Minuet and other holograms
16. Gates — background extra/helm
17. Lt. Jae — background extra
18. Christy Henshaw — Geordi’s ex “Transfigurations”
19. Jenna Sora — Data’s ex “In Theory”
20. Guisi — played by a Huxtable kid on The Cosby Show, at ops in “Gambit”
21. Brossmer — middle aged transporter chief in “The Next Phase”
22. Duffy — engineer “Hollow Pursuits”
23. Sutter — the father from “Imaginary Friend”
24. Lt. Nara — alien in charge of nacelle room “Eye of the Beholder”
25. Sonya Gomez — engineer, spilled a drink on Picard in “Q Who”
26. Lt. Cmdr. Argyle — engineer “Where No One Has Gone Before”
27. Robinson — Teri Hatcher “The Outrageous Okona”
28. Barnaby — tactical “Descent”
29. Kaminer — abductee “Schisms”
30. Peeples — creeped out ensign “Night Terrors”
31. Troi’s boytoy — “Man of the People”
32. Dr. Selar — “The Schizoid Man”

…needs more aliens. We maybe saw the first Ferengi in Starfleet in “Future Imperfect” and the first Cardassian in “Parallels.” No reason some of them can’t show up here, though maybe we leave the first Ferengi bit for Nog on DS9. Or how about that Bolian in the gold uniform Samuel Clemens was startled by? Or maybe the series takes a shot at a Federation founding species Andorian or Tellarite — must be some somewhere on the flagship. Nevermind the dolphins…offscreen storyline with them, like chef on ENT or the ever weirder alien Vilix’pran on DS9?

 

[Paul Weaver]

Isn't this just a list of non-main characters on TNG with names (not even lines)?

You're including significant secondary characters (OBrien, Guinan, Barclay), but also characters with no lines (Jae - well maybe a "Yes Sir") or no names.

If you're including Argyle then surely you'd want Leyland T Lynch.

The Ferengi in Future Imperfect was a holographic creation. The Cardassian in Parallels was in a universe where it seems Bajor and Cardassia's history was swapped -- I would guess the Cardassian would have been a Ro style character.

 

[Clamp]

Youtube channel Target Audience just reacted to TNG’s “Lower Decks” and they loved it.

Sometimes those two are fun and sometimes they're just sweaty drunk assholes. Particularly the bigger one with dark hair.

 

[Adventerprise]

* Serial self-injury cliff diver Kristin
* Spot
* Sutter and his daughter Clara
* The Potts brothers, Jake and Willie, and their parents
* Marissa, Jay Gordon, and Paterson

 

[AntonyF]

1. Ogawa
2. Powell — Ogawa’s fiancé
3. Lavelle
4. Taurik
5. Vorik — Taurik's twin brother on VOY. Funnily enough, I thought the actor had Taurik down but Vorik needed work
6. Ben
7. Guinan and others on her staff
8. Ro
9. O’Brien
10. Keiko
11. Molly
12. Barclay
13. Robin Lefler
14. Mr. Mott and his all-Bolian barber shop
15. Minuet and other holograms
16. Gates — background extra/helm
17. Lt. Jae — background extra
18. Christy Henshaw — Geordi’s ex “Transfigurations”
19. Jenna Sora — Data’s ex “In Theory”
20. Guisi — played by a Huxtable kid on The Cosby Show, at ops in “Gambit”
21. Brossmer — middle aged transporter chief in “The Next Phase”
22. Duffy — engineer “Hollow Pursuits”
23. Sutter — the father from “Imaginary Friend”
24. Lt. Nara — alien in charge of nacelle room “Eye of the Beholder”
25. Sonya Gomez — engineer, spilled a drink on Picard in “Q Who”
26. Lt. Cmdr. Argyle — engineer “Where No One Has Gone Before”
27. Robinson — Teri Hatcher “The Outrageous Okona”
28. Barnaby — tactical “Descent”
29. Kaminer — abductee “Schisms”
30. Peeples — creeped out ensign “Night Terrors”
31. Troi’s boytoy — “Man of the People”
32. Dr. Selar — “The Schizoid Man”

My god... you've discovered the character list for an episode of the Academy series.

 

[Arpy]

Isn't this just a list of non-main characters on TNG with names (not even lines)?

You're including significant secondary characters (OBrien, Guinan, Barclay), but also characters with no lines (Jae - well maybe a "Yes Sir") or no names.

Huh? They’re people who’ve been on the show and could be utilized given their “lower deck” status. It would be fun? I mean Genevieve O'Reilly was cast for a bit part as Mon Mothma in the Prequels 20 years ago primarily for looking like the original, then was cut from the movie altogether, and just delivered an iconic performance as one of the stars of Andor. Let people surprise you.

And try to get what you can out of everybody, including extras, why not? I forget who it was who said recently that they got their part by being the guy in the audition room who just read opposite the actors actually auditioning until one day they just asked him if he wanted to do the part he was reading to them.

If you're including Argyle then surely you'd want Leyland T Lynch.

Nope. That’s who you’d want. Thanks for playing. Have another?

The Ferengi in Future Imperfect was a holographic creation. The Cardassian in Parallels was in a universe where it seems Bajor and Cardassia's history was swapped -- I would guess the Cardassian would have been a Ro style character.

That’s why I said “some” of them could show up here. The Ferengi was a hologram (not that that meant there weren’t others that might have applied) and the Cardassian was from an alternate universe but that doesn’t mean individuals can’t find themselves in interesting places. Worf was the first Klingon, why not a Cardassian? A lot of interesting storytelling for such a character given everything the galaxy was about to go through with the Cardassian Union.

 

[Arpy]

Keeping in mind that most of the characters would likely be new…

An episode could be Jeremy Aster (Worf’s “The Bonding” brother) coming to visit and it be a B-story with him and Alexander. Alexander is jealous of how Worf treats him, a kid not much older than him, almost as an equal, and he sabotages a date Jeremy has with Clara, Ensign Sutter’s daughter from “Imaginary Friend.” Sutter the angry father and Worf argue and it’s a regretful Alexander who has to artfully talk them down, kindling an early interest in diplomacy, the path future Alexander followed (like his mother) in “Firstborn.”

The A-story could be about Sutter under pressure from La Forge to install new sensors on the Enterprise for a risky maneuver near the Romulan Neutral Zone. He and young Taurik are rivals for an opening for Duffy’s old spot in the department now that Duffy is assistant chief engineer. At the end of the episode Taurik, who surprise(!) was replaced with a Tal Shiar agent months earlier (turning past storylines on their heads) kills Sutter, sabotages the new sensor array, and nearly gets a crippled Enterprise captured during the risky maneuver if not for some senior officer level security precautions in place by Worf “Taurik” wasn’t aware of. The episode ends with Aster and Clara mourning their new bond, and a still undiscovered Taurik promoted to Duffy’s Lt. spot.

 

[Mojochi]

IMHO, The most underappreciated character in all of TNG, that could easily have been given a boost in screen time somewhere, was Martinez, who was observed serving in sickbay from 2365 to 2375, which means he served on the D & the E, under Crusher, Pulaski & likely Selar. I don't even know WTF that guy did. Was he a nurse, a PA, a medical tech?

 

[UssGlenn]

I forget who it was who said recently that they got their part by being the guy in the audition room who just read opposite the actors actually auditioning until one day they just asked him if he wanted to do the part he was reading to them.

That would be Harrison Ford getting the Part of Han Solo.

 

[Arpy]

IMHO, The most underappreciated character in all of TNG, that could easily have been given a boost in screen time somewhere, was Martinez, who was observed serving in sickbay from 2365 to 2375, which means he served on the D & the E, under Crusher, Pulaski & likely Selar. I don't even know WTF that guy did. Was he a nurse, a PA, a medical tech?

He’s actually a personal favorite background player lol I’ve talked about him before and people didn’t know who I was referring to so I left him off this list. I’m glad you know him too lol

He’s a little older, maybe a romantic interest for Brossmer? Or, hell, Barnaby.

 

[Riley]

These characters, even the one's that are just background actors with names and no lines, are vastly more interesting than the TNG regulars were by season seven. Well, by season five, technically, but we're focusing on the end of the show.

It would have been very interesting to see the series continue but without a focus on the main characters. They could still get the spotlight for movies (despite those being awful) but the series "Star Trek The Next Generation" could have continued. Eventually, some of these lower decks characters would get promoted and maybe transfer off the ship, but if the series progressed throughout the 90s, maybe the main cast could have retired and some of the lower deck types could have filled those roles. Imagine, TNG going on for decades...I honestly would have preferred this with Phase Two. Decker, Ilia, and other new characters would grow in importance as the original cast/crew moved on. Spin-offs could have still happened, but the refit Enterprise could have continued another thirty years or so and a new cast could have revitalized the show with the introduction of an Excelsior Class Enterprise-A.

 

[Arpy]

I imagine the main crew transitioning to being guest stars maybe in 20-25% of episodes, rarely all in the same room together so you can spread them all in most episodes of the season. Except maybe like in one episode where a lower decker is called into the Observation Lounge to present or ne at the helm the ship during a specific mission.

I don’t know how you’d transition the crew off the ship given this specific one is the flagship though. I mean, you could kill Data off earlier, Worf’s on DS9, you could move Riker to his own command on the Titan, then Picard to an ambassadorial position and get new (less expensive) blood on the show and moving up the ranks.

…you could also not kill Data but have him go off in a mission looking for other artificial lifeforms out there. I think the novel Immortal Coil was about a secret society of them under the radar of the biologics….cool storyline to get him off ship and maybe play it out on the Big Screen.

 

[Arpy]

In sickbay you could keep Dr. Crusher as department head (the character was underserved anyway, and you could do stories with civilians in her plays and crew when she’s in charge of the bridge—Lavelle, Barnaby, Taitt who she’ll request/mentor), but you could focus there more on stories with Ogawa, Powell, Dr. Martin, Dr. Selar, Nurse Martinez, medical technician and part-Romulan Simon Tarses, and others.

Lots of civilians to interact with on the ship as well and maybe this is when we get more of a sense of them. Keiko and the arboretum staff, the various Bolians at Mott’s barber shop, in Ten Forward you have Guinan, Ben, that blond waiter who brought Scotty synthehol, and the Bolian waiter in GEN, among others.

One wonders what kind of operation the mysterious Guinan runs there, the characters and relationships she surrounds herself with. Is the unusual looking Bolian from GEN half something else and ostracized by his people and the other more traditional Bolians at Mott’s? Is he an ex-con looking to start a new life Guinan was willing to accommodate but who the ever watchful Barnaby (Javert) is wary of?

Maybe one story would be a flashback to when Guinan was young, played by the actress from “Rascals.” Maybe it could be her first visit to Earth (if El-Auria was too costly to build) sometime in the 1700’s. Maybe she got to “know” Thomas Jefferson as a young man and influence his ideas on “unalienable human rights.”

Then there’s a now dating-aged Harry Bernard who maybe’s into Marissa Flores, but she has the hots for dreamy Ensign Jake Kurland, fresh out of the Academy and visiting his parents on the Enterprise. His mother is Deltan and it turns out is super friendly with Guinan.