TNG Rewatch: 5x03 "Ensign Ro."

[JirinPanthosa]

The Cardassians have a two name system, this is confirmed when we learn that Garak's first name is 'Elim'.

 

[The Old Mixer]

Pulaski or Ro, I was never a big fan of the idea of bringing in one new character to "shake things up". If they wanted some conflict in the crew, they should have introduced a little between the established characters.

One notable role for Forbes was Admiral Cain in BSG. She was really good in that. She's had a prolific TV career since the late 90s.

She was also George's GOTW in "The Big Salad".

 

[Marc]

Ro was considered to be used in Deep Space Nine but Forbes declined, deciding to pursue other projects. Which, really, is a shame. Other than her stint in Season 2 of 24 I can't say I really recall seeing her in anything else of note.

Producers tried twice. DS9 was a no go, and then they were able to bring her back for Preemptive Strike (only her second episode post season 5) to tie her with the Maquis in the event she changed her mind so they could add her to Voyager.

Her film career seemed to end around the late 90s, and has some a ton of TV work since then. One notable role for Forbes was Admiral Cain in BSG. She was really good in that. She's had a prolific TV career since the late 90s.

Been re-watching BSG so was re-reading the BSG Wiki for Pegasus and about getting Forbes to play Cain. Seems she was concerned after a few TNG eps about being typecast so was a bit reticent to play the Colonial Admiral.

 

[MikeS]

Ro was considered to be used in Deep Space Nine but Forbes declined, deciding to pursue other projects. Which, really, is a shame. Other than her stint in Season 2 of 24 I can't say I really recall seeing her in anything else of note.

Lost. As an Oceanic Airline PR employee.

Did we ever get any further backstory to the incident that caused eight officers to die? Was it a misunderstood issue?

 

[MakeshiftPython]

If Ro was on VOY, I'm pretty sure she would have been in the Torres role.

 

[Marc]

If Ro was on VOY, I'm pretty sure she would have been in the Torres role.

but then we wouldn't have had her role in the DS9 relaunch novels.

 

[MakeshiftPython]

No big deal there.

 

[Marsden]

Here's something I sort of noticed and wondered in this episode:

In this episode when Picard welcomes her aboard he greets her as "Ensign Laren" and we're told that, traditionally, Bajorans place their family name before their given name. (Though some have... "Westernized" (for want of a better term) this order to better fit in with apparently how the rest of the galaxy does it.) So Ro is more properly addressed as "Ensign Ro", "Ro" being her family name, Laren being her given name.

While this is certainly an interesting detail to put into the episode it stands out odd for several reasons:

First: It suggests that the "galactic standard" for a person's name is Given Name:Family Name, since Ro says that many Bajoran switched the order to better fit in. With all of the species in the galaxy do Bajorans really stand out in how they organize their name?

Secondly: You know, I honestly struggle to think of an alien species in Trek that even has a two-name system for naming people. The Betazoids seem to have a two-name structure and there may be a couple others but, by and large, it seems most of the aliens we meet over the course of the franchise seems to be that they only have a given name and are usually referred to as [given name] son-of [father's given name.]

The only exception to this being Worf who has a last name, the family name of his adoptive parents but mostly refers to himself as "Worf son of Mogh" and his son is "Alexander son of Worf."

But how many characters can you think of that weren't human, Betazoid or Bajoran who had a first name and a last name rather than just a given name?

What I don't understand is that Picard, who is a major history buff and always presented as educated on all subjects, is the one to make the mistake. He knows Bajorans were civilized before Humans but doesn't know they write their names like some East Asians?

Also, I find TNG's attempts at "exoticness" to be so mundane, Wow, they use the family name first, how different and remarkable.

 

[jimbotron]

How many don't know that many Asian cultures have last name + first name? A lot I'd wager.

Interestingly, after Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, the actress was billed as Zhang Ziyi (last + first), but later changed it to the Westernized version of Ziyi Zhang.

 

[LMFAOschwarz]

I never got the fascination with Ensign Ro. The way Michelle Forbes played her seemed so similar to the way she played Timicin's daughter in that other episode, the name of which escapes me. She came across to me as angry, bitter and surly. Maybe that's just a specialty of hers, I don't know. But it just wasn't at all engaging to me.

 

[BillJ]

How many don't know that many Asian cultures have last name + first name? A lot I'd wager.

But I imagine people that have studied that culture would know and the episode makes it seem like Picard has studied the Bajora.

 

[Marsden]

How many don't know that many Asian cultures have last name + first name? A lot I'd wager.

How many ignoramuses are there out there, a lot I'd wager. However, I never thought Picard was supposed to be one of them. And depending on the ignorance of the audience to make something "exotic" is still pathetic.

But I imagine people that have studied that culture would know and the episode makes it seem like Picard has studied the Bajora.

That's what I was trying to say.

Picard was never shown to be uneducated. Geordie or Worf or Riker or almost anyone else could have been the one to make the "mistake" Picard should have been the one correcting them.

 

[Ithekro]

Picard might have studied Bajor, but knowing the traditional way to say someone's name might not be in with that sort of study. If one studies Japan via textbooks, one probably won't notice the way the names go unless it is pointed out. They are people's names, but without the context, or perhaps the writer of that text not knowing (or intentionally reversing to order so it can be understood by Federation readers) how is Picard suppose to know?

That and other Bajorans had "westernized" their names, so if might have been uncommon to encounter a Bajoran or texts on Bajorans that didn't have their names in "western fashion".

 

[Trekker4747]

Yeah, it seamed the "Eastern" way to saying the name wasn't very common and done by "traditionalists" so it was probably just assumed that all Bajorans did it the "Western" way. Ro and the group she introduced Picard too were sort of "extremists" who preferred the "Eastern" way of doing things.

Still doesn't quite explain why the "Western" way is such an automatic way to do it when there's so many alien cultures out there, certainly Given Name:Family Name isn't the default way to do it in all of the galaxy? As noted, it's not even the default way to do it on Earth.

ETA:

Work, work, work. Work has been nuts for me the last few days.

I'll get the next episode up probably Thursday, and then will try and to get back on the Tuesday schedule after that.

 

[MikeS]

Why did the writers choose to stop using "Bajora"?

 

[LMFAOschwarz]

Why did the writers choose to stop using "Bajora"?

Mmm...good question, sort of like how the original series stopped using 'Vulcanian'.

 

[MikeS]

I suppose it could have been that the crew in this episode were saying it incorrectly because of their lack of knowledge? Similar to the naming situation?

 

[jimbotron]

Why did the writers choose to stop using "Bajora"?

Mmm...good question, sort of like how the original series stopped using 'Vulcanian'.

And thank goodness the Klingon homeworld stopped being called Kling.