TWITrek Character Insight No. 85: Leeta

This is the latest installment in a series of "Character Insight" articles regarding the rich history of characters in the Star Trek universe.  An audio version will appear on the This Week in Trek podcast, available for direct download here.
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Welcome back to Character Insight!  This week, we profile Leeta, the Bajoran dabo girl who works at Quark's Bar on DS9.
 
 

Although Leeta begins the series happily employed working at the dabo table distracting gamblers while they lose money playing the roulette-like game, she ends up leading the charge against Quark's wrongful practices by joining a guild union. That led her to help Rom step up to his boss and brother, which was the beginning of an eventual romance between the Bajoran and the Ferengi.

Before that, Leeta makes close friendships with Jadzia Dax and Dr. Bashir, and she even takes part in a sacred trill ritual as a result of these friendships. Leeta was an amateur sociologist, which may explain why she made friends easily and found herself in interesting social settings like the dabo table. She also turns out to be the perfect resource when Quark needs to learn how to impersonate a Ferengi woman in one of the most ridiculous episodes of the series.

Leeta also starred in the Take Me Out to the Holosuite baseball episode though, so it is difficult to decide which episode is the dumbest featuring this character. That being said, her romance late in the series with Rom once he finally confesses his love makes for some better stories, especially compared to the star Season 7 coupling of Ezri and Julian.

Leeta was never given a full name in her 16 appearances, although it is posited in the DS9 books that she does not know her family name due to being an orphan. Leeta starts as another Bajoran face in the crowd, but she helps bring the intended local flavor to this Star Trek series.

The quote of the week is from Ferengi Love Songs:
Leeta: I hate him.
Major Kira: No you don't.
Leeta: All he loves is latinum.
Major Kira: No he doesn't.
Leeta: Cancelling that wedding was the best thing that ever happened to me.
Major Kira: No it isn't.
Leeta: I'm so glad he's out of my life.
Major Kira: No you're not.
Leeta: Major - you haven't been listening to me.
Major Kira: Yes I have. That's how I know you love him.
Chase Masterson played Leeta, and she was recently in the Starzinger trilogy as well as a main character in the Fist of the North Star trilogy.

Until next time, live long and prosper...

TWITrek Character Insight No. 84: Guinan

This is the latest installment in a series of "Character Insight" articles regarding the rich history of characters in the Star Trek universe.  An audio version will appear on the This Week in Trek podcast, available for direct download here.
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Welcome back to Character Insight!  This week, we profile Guinan, the recurring character and barkeep on TNG.
 
 

Guinan is the mysterious bartender of Ten Forward, the crew's relaxation and gathering place on the Enterprise-D. Guinan's race was scattered by the Borg many decades before her service on the Enterprise, and this intimate knowledge of Starfleet's ultimate enemy proves to be very helpful as she counsels the senior staff and Captain Picard.

Guinan and Picard shared a relationship that was said to go back many years and go well beyond mere friendship. As a result, she serves as his closest mentor during some of the Captain's toughest moments, including defending Data as a sentient being and dealing with the Borg. Guinan enjoyed many pastimes with Picard, including holonovels, chess, and fencing.

The bartender in Season 2 was originally scripted to be played by an incredibly beautiful woman, but the inclusion of Whoopi Goldberg made the character so much more than a pretty face could have offered. Goldberg brought even more established star power to the cast while interjecting much of her own unique personality into the character. That results in what Goldberg describes as a cross between Yoda and William F. Buckley, which sounds about right for Guinan.

Goldberg actually had to hound Gene Roddenberry as a fan of the show to be let on as a recurring character. He thought the movie star was joking, but she had true passion thanks to the historic groundbreaking role played by Nichelle Nichols in TOS and her friendship with Levar Burton, who was also on the show. Guinan is known for her extravagant big hats, which Whoopi had a big hand in crafting as well.

Guinan shows up in 29 episodes and 2 movies, which makes her the most prevalent recurring character behind only Miles O'Brien.

The quote of the week is from Ensign Ro:
Guinan: I heard you got grounded.
Ensign Ro Laren: I really don't feel like talking right now.
Guinan: Come on, sure you do.
Ensign Ro Laren: Why is it every time I tell you something, you tell me I mean the exact opposite?
Guinan: Because you're one of those people who's got their poles reversed.


Whoopi Goldberg played Guinan, and she can now be seen daily on a morning talk show The View, as well as on Twitter @Whoopigoldberg.

Until next time, live long and prosper...

TWITrek Character Insight No. 83: Reginald Barclay

This is the latest installment in a series of "Character Insight" articles regarding the rich history of characters in the Star Trek universe.  An audio version will appear on the This Week in Trek podcast, available for direct download here.
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Welcome back to Character Insight!  This week, our subject is Reginald Endicott Barclay III, the recurring character from TNG and Voyager.



Barclay is a highly-talented systems diagnostic engineer who works his way onto the Starfleet flagship thanks to his technical skills. His people skills leave a lot to be desired though, which leads him to have trouble fitting into the Enterprise crew.

Barclay's personality problems also drive him to holodeck addiction, which is an interesting take on a new type of substance abuse. Still, he overcomes this addiction with the help of his coworkers both on the Enterprise and again after succeeding in contacting the Voyager crew in the Delta Quadrant. Indeed, Reg's successes are what gives him the small amount of confidence he needs to overcome most of his problems, which is a strong lesson for all viewers.

Barclay ends up playing a critical role in fashioning strategies to save the Enterprise from the Borg as well as from the Moriarty program from the holodeck. His intuition and rigid focus also lead to the success of The Pathfinder Project in communicating with and helping Voyager in the quest to return home to the Alpha Quadrant. He also helps save Zefram Cochrane's warp flight in the movie First Contact, a rare movie appearance for a recurring character.

Reg is a cat lover, and he is the only person other than Data who Spot the cat will find acceptable to take care of her. Although his mix of ridiculously high intelligence and sorely lacking social skills is a stereotypical mix of traits for a character, his struggles and stories make him very relatable to viewers. Which is exactly what Gene Roddenberry had in mind when he requested such a character be added as a recurring TNG character.

Barclay appears in 11 episodes, which makes him the most prevalent recurring character features in two different series behind only Q, who starred in 12 episodes of three different series. Barclay does show up in a movie though, which is something the Q character cannot claim!

Our notable quote this week comes from the episode Hollow Pursuits:
Barclay - "You know, the people that I create in there are m... more real to me than anyone I meet out here. Except... maybe you, Commander."
La Forge - "I need you out here, Reg – now more than ever.
Actor: Dwight Schultz played Barclay, and he is best known outside Star Trek as Howling Mad Murdock on The A-Team [insert theme].

Until next time, live long and prosper...

TWITrek Character Insight No. 82: Ezri Dax

This is the latest installment in a series of "Character Insight" articles regarding the rich history of characters in the Star Trek universe.  An audio version will appear on the This Week in Trek podcast, available for direct download here.
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Welcome back to Character Insight!  This week, our subject is Lieutenant Ezri Dax from DS9.



Dax serves as counselor aboard the Deep Space Nine station in the seventh and final season of the show. Ezri is a joined Trill, the ninth host of the Dax symbiont, and this provides her with the life experiences of prior joined trills, including longtime cast member Jadzia Dax.

Before joining the Dax symbiont, Ezri had decided to not undergo training to be a joined trill. However, she is forced into the duty after the Dax symbiont almost dies in the return trip to Trill following Jadzia's death during the Dominion War. Ezri struggles with the transition to being a joined trill, and her journey to find herself leads her to team with Benjamin Sisko and later become part of the DS9 crew.

Ezri was easily the focus of the most stories in Season 7, as the role of a counselor to others and the investigation of how a young person deals with integrating 8 lifetimes of experience were fresh and deep story sources to pull from. This includes a bumpy road in making and mending relationships with other crew members like Worf, who was married to Jadzia. However, Ezri ends up in love with Dr. Bashir, and the two play cat-and-mouse with one another until right before the end of the series.

One of the more interesting Trill stories comes when Ezri investigates a murder of a coworker Hector Ilario. She performs the Rite of Emergence to let Dax's sixth host Joran take over and help her track the killer, and she struggles to keep control over the violent and irrational former host who turned into a murderer while hosting Dax. Ezri makes for a compelling character because she is a counselor who has a ton of personal issues to work out herself while helping others.

Ezri is the one of the few Star Trek characters who is clearly left-handed, like Worf. Ezri is also one of only two main characters since TNG to not appear as a hologram, but she likely would have if given another season! Ezri was also the only main cast member to not be made into a Playmates action figure, but this has since been reconciled for Ezri fans.


Ezri also stars as one of three ship captains with Jean-Luc Picard and William Riker in the best Star Trek book miniseries I have ever read, the Borg epic entitled Star Trek Destiny.

Our notable quote this week comes from the episode What You Leave Behind:
Lieutenant Ezri Dax: I take it we'll be the Spartans?
Doctor Bashir: Fighting to the last man.
Lieutenant Ezri Dax: Just like the Alamo.
Doctor Bashir: Exactly.
Lieutenant Ezri Dax: Have you talked to a counselor about these annihilation fantasies?
Doctor Bashir: Do you think I should?
Lieutenant Ezri Dax: M-m. I'll set up a session for you tomorrow.
Doctor Bashir: What about tonight?
Lieutenant Ezri Dax: Tonight we defend the pass.

Actress: Nicole de Boer played Ezri, and she can also be seen in the movies Cube and Stephen King's Dead Zone.