I just don't 'get' the decision to kill off Ariam - to get rid of a character that was conceptually different to any character that's gone before, as well as one that was as visually striking as Ariam seems inexplicable to me. And to essentially replace a unique character like that with such a generic character as Nilsson (no offence Nilsson)!? I find it an odd choice to have made.
The actress playing Nilsson was the original Ariam - but in terms of character Nilsson replaced Ariam as the Spore Drive Operations Officer. Nilsson just seems like such a downgrade in terms of story opportunities compared to her predecessor was that it seems like a shame. You've got this visually striking, cybernetically enhanced and augmented human, something we've never seen as part of a bridge crew, and you replace her with 'just another person'.
The actress playing Nilsson became allergic to the prosthetics used for Airiam which is why she switched roles.
Outside of the Real Life reasons, I think Airiam's memories (along with the 10,000 years of data scrolls) help to serve as the basis for Zora.
You’re living up to your name. :-) They never really used her until the episode she died. She was just cool window dressing. I’d be happy if they dived a little deeper into any of the bridge crew.
The point of the op, perhaps, is why did she switch to a bland character. A human with three lines per season, vs a robot with 3 lines per season. Albeit Nilsson is very very attractive, but I'd still rather see a love scene with Airiam. "Car crash" beats "sexy" every time. I suppose short of making Sara a voice actor to a cgi character, any new "alien" or weirdo character she might become, whet ever paint, mask or widget she might have to affix to herself, might flare up a new allergy. Unless the plan is to make her become a new Character every season, like Jeff Coombs, until her body reaches a new gel or latex tolerance to whatever adhesive they are slapping on her face.
I think it’s safe to assume that the real world reason was probably due to the impracticalities of the makeup: it looked like it would have been a nightmare to wear. Probably wasn’t worth it for what was basically just a bridge extra. Although there are other extensive makeups on the show, the fact they had to recast the actress once was probably reason enough to ditch the character. it’s a shame though. Even when she didn’t have any lines, I loved the way she made a sound like a cat’s purr when she moved!
She was virtually a nameless extra until the episode she died. So much so, I imagine few realised she was recast between seasons.
Do you think so? I'd say I've offered an opinion in a measured way and given reasons for it - I certainly don't think I've come across as angry. But whatever works for you!
Ariam was "just another person" anyway. Indeed, up until the episode where she died firmly established she was indeed a cybernetically augmented human, there was contradictory information available on the internet from each of the show's the writers in which she was either a cybernetically augmented human, and augmented alien, or part of a race of cybernetic aliens. Granted her and Detmer were the most visually distinctive in the first season, but let's not pretend Ariam had any sort of depth before she underwent Death Episode Character Development.
Someone had to die, or space is too safe. Keeps audience on their toes. I like not knowing, every episode, that everyone will be ok. It made sense with their AI plot. Saves on makeup costs/time.
It's a shame she didn't survive, or as I suggested at the time, they just beam her onto the ship and keep her in suspended animation. Then they can revive her in the 32nd century and use super-duper technology to remove her cybernetics and restore her Sara Mitich appearance. Then they can have an episode somewhere devoted to exploring any identity crisis now that she was fully human after being 75% robot for a time.
I just figured they thought doing that much makeup on a regular basis was too much work for a character that didn't have a particularly significant role (until her final arc). Especially since they brought back the original actress to play her (non-augmented human) replacement. Did they ever say why they switched actresses in the first place?
Yes, as already mentioned earlier in this thread, Sara Mitich, the original actress, had an allergic reaction to the makeup. So in the second season a new actress was cast as Ariam and Mitich was recast as Lt. Nilsson. Then Ariam was killed off and Nilsson replaced her on the bridge so that Mitich could rejoin the bridge gang.
A few people here like to think that any opposing views must come from an angry person. I guess it's their way of dismissing other people's views instead of accepting them as equally valid. Happens all the time XD