True (?): the cast did not get along!

[R. Star]

I find the previously mentioned concept of DS9 not having a movie because the acting staff didn't like each other amusing. For a payday of six/seven figures I'm sure they all would have gotten over it quick, like on so many other movies.

 

[Spock/Uhura Fan]

I don't know where the rumor started that the DS9 cast didn't get along. It's true that they weren't as chummy as the TNG cast was and that the DS9 set was much more subdued than TNG's. On the DS9 dvds, Nana Visitor said that guest stars sometimes were surprised at how quiet it was but the actors were very much focused on their work. A few year back I saw René Auberjonois at a convention and he mentioned that when the show started Rick Berman 'laid down the law' to the cast about being professional on set and getting the job done. Berman apparently was fed up with the rowdy nature of the TNG cast. Micheal Dorn has said that when he came on board that it was his mission to get the cast to loosen up a bit.

I have heard that many members of the cast had serious beefs with Terry Farrell. I don't know how true this is but at a convention Marina Siritis who was friends with Terry long before DS9 said she's sure a lot of the cast probably helped Terry pack her bags when she left the show.

As far as I know, beyond the original series the only cast that had serious issues with not getting along was Voyager. After Jennifer Lien was fired to bring on Jeri Ryan, Kate Mulgrew was furious and was pretty terrible to Jeri for the rest of the run. The rest of the cast got fed-up with it (though most of them weren't too close to Jeri either because most of their screen time went to her) and even Kate has admitted the only cast member that said goodbye to her on the last day of filming was Robert Picardo.

I'm new here too, so I'm glad you resurrected this thread.

I don't know much about Star Trek behind the scenes, so this is interesting to hear, especially the bit about Terry and Dorn. The series did have a little bit of a different energy when he came along, and I liked it. He seemed to fit right in. I really like Jadzia Dax, so I'm sorry the hear that the rest of the cast didn't like her. I've heard that she's not the easiest person to work with, but I hope that's not true.

It's too bad about Voyager, but I can believe it. There's a kind of tense energy with that series' cast interactions, and now I know why. Come to think of it, you can really feel how well the cast gets along with each series. DS9 was really laid back, so it's easy to believe that the set was quiet and very professional. TNG felt really energetic, and so it's easy to believe the cast cut up and had a good time on set.

Thanks for giving this thread a "bump."

That's what people tend to forget: it's a working relationship. They go in, the go out, and that's it, most of the time. Like in every workplace.

Don't be fooled by film and TV promotions where they jerk off each other when asked "how is it to work with XY?" Once filming wraps, most of them don't see each other again.

Lol. That's a good point. It's called "promotion" for a reason, and when actors are making the rounds for a film, they're still working, and I'd imagine it's their "job" to get along so that the movie is the focus.

 

[Spock/Uhura Fan]

I find the previously mentioned concept of DS9 not having a movie because the acting staff didn't like each other amusing. For a payday of six/seven figures I'm sure they all would have gotten over it quick, like on so many other movies.

I'm with you; I don't believe that for a moment. As we've already heard, and some may know, different parts of the cast (especially the ones that worked together the most) did get along, and I think they would have welcomed making a movie for that movie and the obvious reason of having work.

I really do wish they had made a follow up movie to DS9's finale. It didn't quite seem "final," to me, but that could be because I wasn't exactly ready for it to end. That, and the fact that I think they could have done and still needed to do more with the Emissary storyline.

I honestly don't know why they didn't make a DS9 movie. Bab5 got them, and I think DS9 was better.

 

[Captaindemotion]

^DS9 was better (IMHO) but don't forget that after it ended, Star Trek was still on the air with Voyager and they were still making TNG movies. Once B5 ended, so did that universe, until the short-lived Crusade show, so the movies were the only way of keeping B5 alive.

But don't forget that the B5 movies were basically rubbish. I don't think that they added anything to the show or its mythology. It would have been better served with the dignified end it got in the final ep of the show. While I'd like to see more DS9, I'd rather that it went out with the brilliant What You Leave Behind than with a series of pointless tv movies.

 

[mythme]

Like the show itself, there were factions -

The Ferengi group - Armin, Max, Aron, Wallace Shawn and Chase got along splendidly

The "bad guys" - Marc, Casey and Jeffery; as posted earlier they perform shakespeare together

Avery established a close relationship with Cirroc. He also was very fond of Brock Peters when he was introduced.

Of course Alex and Nana

Terry being younger and less experienced an actor than nearly everyone else made her the "odd-woman out". Probably why she fit in with Michael Dorn when he came along; she probably had a more cavilier, fun-loving attitude which Dorn was accustomed to on TNG.

I think the ones who didn't become "chummy chummy" were the more "seasoned actors" like Rene and Colm. Not that they weren't friendly, they just kept it more professional. I do believe Colm was also making a number of movies like Con Air both in America and in Ireland during his DS9 days so he had a lot on his plate.

I also believe I read that Louise Fletcher never quite understood her role, its place in the series or Star Trek in general which made scenes with her a bit awkward.

 

[Spock/Uhura Fan]

^DS9 was better (IMHO) but don't forget that after it ended, Star Trek was still on the air with Voyager and they were still making TNG movies. Once B5 ended, so did that universe, until the short-lived Crusade show, so the movies were the only way of keeping B5 alive.

But don't forget that the B5 movies were basically rubbish. I don't think that they added anything to the show or its mythology. It would have been better served with the dignified end it got in the final ep of the show. While I'd like to see more DS9, I'd rather that it went out with the brilliant What You Leave Behind than with a series of pointless tv movies.

I never saw any of the B5 movies for just that reason. Anyone I came across that watched them said they were bad.

I don't know if 1-3 DS9 movies would have been pointless if good ideas and good writing were behind them. The creative team for that series was able to write approx. 180 episodes of great stories, with only a few that I wasn't fond of. That's something, especially in an era where it's now pretty much unheard of to see a television series get a full 26 episode season. You have some shows now, like Game of Thrones, where it takes almost a year to see just 10 episodes. I'm not complaining because their all movie quality eps that shoot in multiple real locations. I'm just saying things are different.

I honestly think that when reality television came in and really dominated things, that's when a lot of quality scripted writing (and I know they say some of the reality stuff is "scripted" too) went out. I can't think of much on network tv that's worth watching right now. Seems like all the good stuff is on cable. Whoa, I guess I just changed the topic, lol.

Anyway, I think at least one movie exploring why Sisko needed to ascend or what have you, and how that might bring a lasting peace and harmony or something to the Alpha and Gamma quadrants could have been nice. As it ended, and it did end well, it just didn't seem like being Emissary was that big of a deal aside from its symbolism, and only the Bajorans, as a people, were truly interested in that.

I also believe I read that Louise Fletcher never quite understood her role, its place in the series or Star Trek in general which made scenes with her a bit awkward.

I think that actually worked in her character's favor if it's true. Those awkward moments just made it all the more believable that she should have never been Kai and that she didn't know what she was doing as a leader.

 

[DevilEyes]

Like the show itself, there were factions -

The Ferengi group - Armin, Max, Aron, Wallace Shawn and Chase got along splendidly

The "bad guys" - Marc, Casey and Jeffery; as posted earlier they perform shakespeare together

Avery established a close relationship with Cirroc. He also was very fond of Brock Peters when he was introduced.

Of course Alex and Nana

Terry being younger and less experienced an actor than nearly everyone else made her the "odd-woman out". Probably why she fit in with Michael Dorn when he came along; she probably had a more cavilier, fun-loving attitude which Dorn was accustomed to on TNG.

I think the ones who didn't become "chummy chummy" were the more "seasoned actors" like Rene and Colm. Not that they weren't friendly, they just kept it more professional. I do believe Colm was also making a number of movies like Con Air both in America and in Ireland during his DS9 days so he had a lot on his plate.

Rene and Nana seem to be very good friends, at least that's the vibe they gave in conventions and whenever they read a play together in those cons. Nana also said that the cast were like a family, and that for her, meeting with those people is like meeting up with old friends from college; that DS9 was for her what college experience is for some people.

Siddig mentioned going to bars with Colm Meaney. They seemed to get along pretty well.

It's a big cast though - I can't see everyone getting to spend time with everyone. It was probably just the people who got to work with each other the most.

 

[DS9forever]

Michael Dorn commented on this in a recent Star Trek.com interview. Check out the answer to the question "How different a set, how different an experience was TNG versus DS9 for you?"


http://trekweb.com/articles/2012/08...tic-Comedy-the-Discuss-TNG-and-DS9-Sets.shtml