What's the deal with Michelle Forbes & Teri Garr?

[Mutara Nebula 1967]

Did Michelle Forbes opt our of TNG Season 6 the way she later opted out of what could have been an incredible run on DEEP SPACE 9?

And Teri Garr-I still have the STARLOG somewhere in which she refused to talk about STAR TREK and have heard (unconfirmed) she would not allow IDW to use her likeness for the JOHN BYRNE ASSIGNMENT EARTH comic. Did Roddenberry try and sleep with her on the casting couch and she's got an eternal hatred for all things Trek?

 

[M'Sharak]

 

[Ryan Thomas Riddle]

Did Michelle Forbes opt our of TNG Season 6 the way she later opted out of what could have been an incredible run on DEEP SPACE 9?

I always thought that Forbes just didn't want to commit to any series, TNG or otherwise.

And Teri Garr-I still have the STARLOG somewhere in which she refused to talk about STAR TREK and have heard (unconfirmed) she would not allow IDW to use her likeness for the JOHN BYRNE ASSIGNMENT EARTH comic. Did Roddenberry try and sleep with her on the casting couch and she's got an eternal hatred for all things Trek?

I don't recall anything from Inside Trek and my copy is in storage. Personally, I always got the impression that Garr was embarrassed by her work on "Assignment: Earth."

 

[Jack Bauer]

Did Michelle Forbes opt our of TNG Season 6 the way she later opted out of what could have been an incredible run on DEEP SPACE 9?

She wanted a career in movies instead of working in tv at that time. It didn't work as well as she hoped which is why she later became a regular on Homicide.

As for Teri Garr I think she viewed Star Trek as just a silly little show she guest starred on years and years ago.

 

[cmdr_forst]

I assume either Michelle Forbes was busy with other projects during the sixth season of Star Trek: The Next Generation (the way Whoopi Goldberg was often unavailable) or the writers never came up with compelling stories for the character. The companion for the series may touch upon this.

As for Teri Garr, I suppose she considers her work on Star Trek to be just another job, nothing special, and does not want to be known primarily for one episode of a series she appeared in 1968. There are probably a lot of actors who would not enjoy being remembered for a single role or a single guest appearance and thus shy away from discussing it.

 

[OmahaStar]

What I've heard ...

Forbes - The character was created on TNG so that she could transfer over to the spin-off. When she declined the regular roll, she was removed from TNG as "punishment" then brought back at the end of the series for one last show.

Garr - I've heard repeatedly from others that she says she was never in Star Trek, but that she filmed a pilot episode that never went to series. While that's true (A:E was to have been a Trek spin-off and it never went beyond that), I don't know if that's really how she feels. She's certainly signed quite a bit of Trek stuff over the hears - trading cards, etc. And she's got a wicked sense of humor about her, so it could just be her joking. I dunno.

 

[Kryton]

Forbes went on to do "Swimming With Sharks", an amazing movie also starring Frank Whaley and Kevin Spacey. See it ASAP if you haven't already.

 

[Anthony Sabre]

What I've heard ...

Forbes - The character was created on TNG so that she could transfer over to the spin-off. When she declined the regular roll, she was removed from TNG as "punishment" then brought back at the end of the series for one last show.

If that's true then Trek writers are a vindictive bunch. Jadzia was killed off cause Terry Farrell took another job. And they even banished her from the series ending montage.

 

[Unicron]

No, she didn't give permission to use any clips of Jadzia in "What You Leave Behind." Since Terry portrayed Jadzia, using said clips amounted to using her image. Therefore no clips of her were used in the montage.

 

[Kryton]

Terry didn't entirely suck on "Becker", by the way...she just didn't particularly shine, either.

 

[Jack Bauer]

What I've heard ...

Forbes - The character was created on TNG so that she could transfer over to the spin-off. When she declined the regular roll, she was removed from TNG as "punishment" then brought back at the end of the series for one last show.

I'm pretty sure she just refused to return. I remember reading that Jeri Taylor had to work hard to persuade her to return for Preemptive Strike.

 

[Robert Maxwell]

No, she didn't give permission to use any clips of Jadzia in "What You Leave Behind." Since Terry portrayed Jadzia, using said clips amounted to using her image. Therefore no clips of her were used in the montage.

And that wasn't just her being a bitch about it, either. If I remember correctly, she was pissed because they used some clips of her in a different episode, without her permission. That's why she declined to give them permission for the finale.

 

[cmdr_forst]

Terry didn't entirely suck on "Becker", by the way...she just didn't particularly shine, either.

I thought she was great on Becker, personally.

 

[Kryton]

I think she was probably heavily underwritten. I liked the show, overall, but I can't say I'm certain it ever really knew what it wanted to be.

Terry did what she could with what she had to work with.

Her best work? Probably in the movie "Back to School"...just 'cause mid-20s-year old TF was super hawt.

 

[Unicron]

And that wasn't just her being a bitch about it, either. If I remember correctly, she was pissed because they used some clips of her in a different episode, without her permission. That's why she declined to give them permission for the finale.

Yes, that was another factor.

 

[Admiral Buzzkill]

Actually, Forbes was added to TNG to replace Wil Wheaton - early on, there was the potential for her to become a regular cast member.

 

[Kryton]

Hey Dennis: You DID see "Swimming With Sharks", right? As an "insider" how'd you appreciate it?

 

[EEE]

I think she was probably heavily underwritten...Terry did what she could with what she had to work with.

I think her character finally started coming into it's own when she had the character of Worf to play off of.

 

[TGTheodore]

If that's true then Trek writers are a vindictive bunch. Jadzia was killed off cause Terry Farrell took another job. And they even banished her from the series ending montage.

Now, now .. that would be producers and showrunners, not the writing staff.

--Ted

 

[Kryton]

I think she was probably heavily underwritten...Terry did what she could with what she had to work with.

I think her character finally started coming into it's own when she had the character of Worf to play off of.

While I completely appreciate your point, the quote of me was in reference to Ms. Ferrell's role on the sitcom "Becker" (which she ALSO left before it ended) and not about her time on DS9.