Why did some characters get no love?

[Captain X]

And part of that formula was a sorry attempt at "recapturing TOS", which the "big three" focus was all about. DS9 did a much better job of using its cast of characters and developing them, which is why it remains the best example of the franchise, IMNSHO.

 

[number6]

And part of that formula was a sorry attempt at "recapturing TOS", which the "big three" focus was all about. DS9 did a much better job of using its cast of characters and developing them, which is why it remains the best example of the franchise, IMNSHO.

Apples and bananas. DS9 was not a network show. I think both did well at capturing the spirit of TOS, though DS9 did a far more subtle job of it.

DS9 worked as an ensemble piece because of the setting, imo. It enabled the writers to tell more stories about the people on the space station, versus the whole ship in danger/beam down and screw with the native culture/outwit the superior lifeforce sort of thing that TOS, VOY, TNG, and ENT usually dealt with.

Don't forget DS9 was not well recieved by hardcore Trek fans either. There were a great many dissenters on that whole tip as well. It is only in hindsight that some have appreciated the merits of that show.

 

[Seven of Five]

Yeah, I agree that it was a 'big three' that the producers were after in the first place. I think they did a decent enough job with Reed and Phlox - Phlocx in particular balanced the funny/stupid line a lot better than Neelix ever did. The development of Hoshi, but in particular Travis was very hit and miss. Anthony Montgomery wasn't the world's greatest actor, and I was a bit surprised that the character wasn't replaced in season 4 ala Kes/Seven of Nine to boost ratings. With a better actor, the writers may have been more inspired to write a better 'boomer' character. A space-experienced character would have been a nice foil for T'Pol.

 

[mythme]

They were planning on bringing Shran aboard permanently; maybe he would have replaced Travis.

I do like Reed; probably my favorite ENT character after Phlox. I think Dom did a great job with what was given to him. But frankly, I don't think there was a single episode given exclusively to him. I think "Minefield" was as close as it got. Even Mayweather had "Horizon" and "Favorite Son".

 

[TEACAKE'S PLEATHER DOME]

Reed did get a lot of airplay in Shuttlepod One.

I'm curious as to what reason there would be for Shran to join Enterprise. In what role? Answering to whom?

 

[mythme]

Probably much in the same way T'Pol was, as an observer after the signing of the Coalilition. Or perhaps he gets booted from the Andorian Guard for losing the Kumari and has no where else to go.

 

[Nebusj]

TOS was in the '60s, too. Hero/sidekick shows were popular back then because the characters didn't really matter.

Ask any screenwriter, and they will tell you that the characters always matter. Ask any kind of writer. Without character, there is no story.

Yes, but in The Original Series, the characters who actually had stories, the ones who actually needed to have reasonably consistent personality traits, were Kirk, Spock, and McCoy. Scott sometimes got to handle the subplot.

The star, Kirk, got to nearly invariably make the critical decision that resolved the problem. His sidekicks Spock and McCoy sometimes got to take that action.

Sulu, Chekov, Uhura, Kyle, Leslie, DeSalle, Chapel --- oh, they did things, yes, and generally moved the plot along, but their personalities didn't make a difference to how the stories worked out, and if one of the actors couldn't be there that week then, fine, they'd give the part to another actor and the effect would be negligible.

Would ``The Trouble With Tribbles'' have been substantially different if Sulu were the one shopping with Uhura rather than Chekov? Would ``The Doomsday Machine'' have been different had Uhura been the communications officer? Would ``That Which Survives'' have been different had Chekov rather than Sulu been stranded on the planet? No, not in any important way; and, as you can see, the stories don't depend on these unimportant characters. They depend on the star, Kirk, and his sidekicks.

 

[Penguin]

Actually, all of the characters except Archer got the shaft.

Trip was Comic relief for two seasons and didn't get any development until season three and then was left to drift for the rest of the series.

T-Pol was a Sex Kitten and got jerked around so much that her character was all over the p lace.


Hoshi, Travis and Reed did little but hold up the backround.

Enterprise needed to be a true Ensemble series. There was much that could have been done with each character.

Too damned much Archer andnot enough of everyone else.