Revealing interview with Wilson Cruz, Blu del Barrio, and Anthony Rapp about season 4

[Char Kais]

https://trekmovie.com/2021/11/08/in...anging-roles-in-star-trek-discovery-season-4/

There’s a tradition in Star Trek: there’s always a communications officer

Really? Was there?

So as of season four, can each of you say what is your position and role on the ship?

Anthony Rapp: I don’t know exactly

Blu del Barrio: I think they are sort of a mixed bag of science officer on top of everything else.

"I don’t know exactly"
"I think"

The actors don't know what role they are playing!

Anthony Rapp: Super math brain and algorithm and programming stuff.

"programming stuff"
"stuff"
Ok

Blu del Barrio: Math and programming. And I think history

"I think history"

Again, what is it with this "I think". Why does the actor not know this?

Wilson Cruz: Adira’s our secret weapon. For every problem that doesn’t seem solvable, we’ll just ask Adira!

Ok, as suspected, Adira is the new Wesley Crusher. That's at least something concrete.

 

[Lord Garth]

Really? Was there?

When wasn't there a Communication Officer in Star Trek? You're reaching to criticize stuff he said just for the sake of it in this particular instance.

If it looks like you're trying too hard to make your case, you probably are.

Ok, as suspected, Adira is the new Wesley Crusher. That's at least something concrete.

I hope not. Although, they are joined with a Trill Symbiont, so they probably have who knows how many lifetimes?

 

[fireproof78]

Really? Was there?

Yes.

 

[DaveyNY]

Perhaps they are being vague on purpose.

Wouldn't be the first time the Actors were guarding their answers before a season premier.

 

[fireproof78]

Perhaps they are being vague on purpose.

Wouldn't be the first time the Actors were guarding their answers before a season premier.

Hopefully yes, instead of the constant prying in to production secrets.

 

[Lakenheath 72]

There was no communications officer in DS9 or VOY, and there was a brief mention to a communications officer in TNG.

 

[Jayson1]

One's a doctor. The other two are science officers.

 

[UssGlenn]

When wasn't there a Communication Officer in Star Trek?

The only series with communication officers are TOS and ENT.

 

[Lord Garth]

The only series with communication officers are TOS and ENT.

*cough*bullshit*cough*

Worf and Yar were effectively Communication when they weren't doing Security on TNG. "Open a channel". Don't try to say that isn't true.

Communication fell to Tuvok in VOY, who was also Security Officer. Apparently the two positions were usually combined in the 24th Century. I think what's his name, the Bajoran Security Officer on the Cerritos in LD also handles communication.

I don't remember who hailed frequencies on DS9. Odo wasn't in Ops and didn't have a bridge station on the Defiant.

 

[fireproof78]

Dax usually.

 

[UssGlenn]

Worf and Yar were effectively Communication when they weren't doing Security on TNG. "Open a channel". Don't try to say that isn't true.

Communication fell to Tuvok in VOY, who was also Security Officer. Apparently the two positions were usually combined in the 24th Century.

That doesn't mean the positions were combined, it means the position of communication officer (at least as a bridge officer) was eliminated and the security officer took over the vestigial duties.

 

[Lord Garth]

That doesn't mean the positions were combined, it means the position of communication officer (at least as a bridge officer) was eliminated and the security officer took over the vestigial duties.

You basically said the same thing I said, you just put it in a different way. This is semantics.

 

[Char Kais]

That doesn't mean the positions were combined, it means the position of communication officer (at least as a bridge officer) was eliminated and the security officer took over the vestigial duties.

You basically said the same thing I said, you just put it in a different way. This is semantics.

No. That is an accurate description.
The position of communication officer did not exist in TNG DS9 and VOY. There was also no communications station on the bridge on ENT-D ENT-E and Voy.
Nobody is denying that somebody was in charge of communication.

 

[Lord Garth]

Awesome.

 

[Ryan Thomas Riddle]

TNG-VOY seemed to have hybrid or dual senior officer specialties. Nav and Helm were combined into Conn, etc.

I speculate security got hailing frequencies because the writers didn’t know what to do with Yar. Logically, it should’ve been Data as the Ops officer. Yet Data functioned more as the de facto chief science officer, a role both TNG and VOY also lacked.

 

[Tuskin38]

What a pointless thread.

 

[mdtauk]

Multidisciplinary roles, and intra-ship communications being managed by the computer - would negate the need for a single dedicated Communication officer, but the role of communicating to other departments, and co-ordinating is done by Operations I believe

 

[DaveyNY]

Uhura was so good at her job, that her expertise after her multi-year stint on the Enterprise resulted in a upgrade to all future Star Fleet ships communications arrays and computers.

Which resulted in there no longer being a need for a dedicated person manning a specific communication console.

 

[The Wormhole]

Again, what is it with this "I think". Why does the actor not know this?

Probably unsure of what can or can't be said without giving away spoilers. Although after taking a glance over the interview itself as opposed to the out of context quotes you provided, it seems to me that "I think" was just said as a natural conversational tool. People say "I think" all the time in daily conversation, even if saying something they are certain about.

But, you know, continue yelling at the clouds.

 

[Quinton]

I'm cool with this thread existing and all, because hey, you were civil about this and there's nothing wrong with expressing negativity toward the shows. But this is kind of a weird one, I think?

I saw someone say the same thing in that TrekMovie comments section and it's like yeah, okay, you do you, but I dunno that we need a thread with this quasi-illuminating track, as though anyone who isn't too hot on Disco is going to read this interview and not see what they want to see.

I'm willing to bet hearing the actors speak these lines in the interview would reveal a jovial tone to the proceedings that, dare I say, some folks would prefer not to realize.