Sonya Gomez

[Jon1701]

You know, I liked her.

She certainly had a bit of something about her. Even though she gets some fairly clunky dialogue in Q-Who she manages to stand out.

Any idea why she was dropped? It mentions in the TNG companion that she was, but she's never been any more than a footnote. I'm trying to work out what the problem is with her.

I suppose the only thing you could say was that she looked a bit too much like Troi. Maybe the audience could have got confused.

Anyone ever hear the real reason?

 

[WillsBabe]

I don't think I ever came across the reason she was dropped. Personally, I didn't like her. Nowadays I'm neutral one way or the other, but at the time I disliked her because she seemed to be too much of a Mary Sue character.

 

[Kegek]

I believe the idea was to keep her around as a romantic interest for Geordi. I don't know why she was dropped, I rather liked her as well. I don't really see any resemblance to Troi; okay, they're both dark haired... but the similarities between the rather serene empath and the klutzy engineer end there.

 

[Forbin]

I've been in love with Lycia Naff since I first saw her on Fame, and right thru her brilliant 3-breasted hooker on Total Recall. I was delighted to see her join the TNG cast, and crushed when she disappeared.

 

[Jon1701]

I believe the idea was to keep her around as a romantic interest for Geordi. I don't know why she was dropped, I rather liked her as well. I don't really see any resemblance to Troi; okay, they're both dark haired... but the similarities between the rather serene empath and the klutzy engineer end there.

Oh, I meant at a glance.

You know what TV executives are like. Looks-wise she is quite exotic.

It's just a pity, they were clearly setting her up as a recurring character but for reasons we'll probably never know they had a rethink. I suppose it could have been anything really - the actress may have changed her mind. Though, given her lack of being in anything (three titted alien women aside) since then - I doubt that is the case.

 

[Smiley]

It may be because "Samaritan Snare" is not as popular as "Q Who," but I don't remember Gomez setting the screen on fire in her second appearance.

I'm happy with her starring role in the Corp of Engineers series. Even if she had been a main credits star in later seasons (doubtful), she would not have gotten as much development onscreen as she did in those stories.

 

[M'rk son of Mogh]

I don't think I ever came across the reason she was dropped. Personally, I didn't like her. Nowadays I'm neutral one way or the other, but at the time I disliked her because she seemed to be too much of a Mary Sue character.

You think she "plays a major role in the plot on such a scale that suspension of disbelief fails due to the character's traits, skills and abilities being tenuously or inadequately justified. Such a character is particularly characterised by overly idealized and clichéd mannerisms, lacking noteworthy flaws, and primarily functioning as wish-fulfillment fantasies for their authors"?

 

[Red Ranger]

I don't think I ever came across the reason she was dropped. Personally, I didn't like her. Nowadays I'm neutral one way or the other, but at the time I disliked her because she seemed to be too much of a Mary Sue character.

You think she "plays a major role in the plot on such a scale that suspension of disbelief fails due to the character's traits, skills and abilities being tenuously or inadequately justified. Such a character is particularly characterised by overly idealized and clichéd mannerisms, lacking noteworthy flaws, and primarily functioning as wish-fulfillment fantasies for their authors"?

I have to admit I'm also mystified by how Sonya Gomez can be called a Mary Sue character, esp. from two appearances! BTW, Lycia Naff plays the pivotal role of Dixie the hooker in Lethal Weapon. If you've seen the movie, you know why I say her role is pivotal. -- Red Ranger

 

[Forbin]

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0619031/

Lycia seems to prefer writing to acting these days:

Lycia Naff began her Hollywood career as a lead dancer on the T.V. series "Fame" (1982). She was given the opportunity to act on the series. That's when the acting bug bit. After three seasons on "Fame", Lycia went on to star in a number of plays, including "Closely Related" at the Southcoast Repertory Theatre, for which she received an Honorable Mention award from the L.A. Times. Lycia temporarily ended her acting career 13 years later, after receiving an Emmy Award nomination for Best Performance in a TV movie for her starring role in _"The Perfect Date."(1990)_ Lycia took a hiatus to become a journalist, having worked at top newspapers and magazines, including the Miami Herald and People Magazine.

Currently, Lycia is the proud owner of two white bunnies, Stinky and Walter, and is content writing for national magazines and acting in national commercials in Los Angeles. She made her stage comeback in a play at the Actor's Playpen in Hollywood in 2005. She is also a member of the Open At The Top Theatre Company at the NOHO Arts Center.

 

[WillsBabe]

I don't think I ever came across the reason she was dropped. Personally, I didn't like her. Nowadays I'm neutral one way or the other, but at the time I disliked her because she seemed to be too much of a Mary Sue character.

You think she "plays a major role in the plot on such a scale that suspension of disbelief fails due to the character's traits, skills and abilities being tenuously or inadequately justified. Such a character is particularly characterised by overly idealized and clichéd mannerisms, lacking noteworthy flaws, and primarily functioning as wish-fulfillment fantasies for their authors"?

Maybe she doesn't fulfill that definition of Mary Sue, but nevertheless, her demeanor and so forth irritted me at the time. Maybe Mary Sue isn't the term I'm looking for. Maybe irritating as hell might be more what I was thinking.

 

[RAMA]

I like your current avatar babe

 

[WillsBabe]

^ Ditto! RAMA's girls are always buff.

 

[Mr. Fergy]

I wonder what happened to her Character on ST:TNG?

 

[matthunter]

I wonder what happened to her Character on ST:TNG?

She was brought back in the Star Trek: Starfleet Corps of Engineers novels, wasn't she?

 

[M'rk son of Mogh]

I don't think I ever came across the reason she was dropped. Personally, I didn't like her. Nowadays I'm neutral one way or the other, but at the time I disliked her because she seemed to be too much of a Mary Sue character.

You think she "plays a major role in the plot on such a scale that suspension of disbelief fails due to the character's traits, skills and abilities being tenuously or inadequately justified. Such a character is particularly characterised by overly idealized and clichéd mannerisms, lacking noteworthy flaws, and primarily functioning as wish-fulfillment fantasies for their authors"?

Maybe she doesn't fulfill that definition of Mary Sue, but nevertheless, her demeanor and so forth irritted me at the time. Maybe Mary Sue isn't the term I'm looking for. Maybe irritating as hell might be more what I was thinking.

lol, I can totally get behind that. She's best of the best, on the flagship of the Federation, and she's acting all unprofessional with our first meetings of her.

(It's just bothering me all over the internet, I find, that as soon as someone doesn't like a character, they mislabel them as a Gary Stu/Mary sue. Own person pet peeve, is all. )

 

[Timo]

I think it goes into the heart of this thread, really: if a guest character acts like a main character, then that by the above definition is Mary Sue...

Timo Saloniemi

 

[M'rk son of Mogh]

I think it goes into the heart of this thread, really: if a guest character acts like a main character, then that by the above definition is Mary Sue...

Timo Saloniemi

Not by a long shot. See Guinan and Barclay.

Besides, Gomez didn't solve any problems to inherit that name. She spilled coffee on the captain and lost it a bit when things got tough. That's pretty much all she did.

 

[Kegek]

I think it goes into the heart of this thread, really: if a guest character acts like a main character, then that by the above definition is Mary Sue...

Not by a long shot. See Guinan and Barclay.

Yeah. On the reverse end, Wesley Crusher - who was a regular of the series - is a classic example, indeed a canonical one, of a Mary Sue.

A Mary Sue is generally an author surrogate character gone bad. I didn't think Sonya Gomez was that exceptional; nor do I feel her appearances revolved around her too much. Arguably the writing was trying a little hard to make her seem interesting; but I think that went well with her overly forthright and overly talkative character. So I can see why one would consider her irritating...

 

[Defcon]

I wonder what happened to her Character on ST:TNG?

She was brought back in the Star Trek: Starfleet Corps of Engineers novels, wasn't she?

Yes she is a regular character there (technically the e-Books are novellas). She's the first officer of the U.S.S. da Vinci and the head of the SCE team on board.

Her Memory Beta article (including some heavy spoilers for the series)

 

[Forbin]

I thought I went a little more realistic (imho) with her in my fanfic. I have her still an ensign at 29, continually passed over for promotion because of her somewhat flakey personality and lack of self-confidence.