TWITrek Character Insight No. 30: Ambassador Soval

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 Ambassador Soval from Enterprise.



Soval serves as ambassador for Vulcan to Earth during the era in which Earth refined warp drive and launched the Enterprise starship. Soval always expressed that Earth should use great caution in exploring the galaxy. His conservative nature led him to battle often with Jonathan Archer and his father Henry before his death.


Soval backed Captain Gardner to lead the Enterprise, but that advice was ignored and Archer led the ship into its first exploration journeys. Soval was a critical piece in the ongoing negotiations between Andorians and Vulcans, and he had to learn to work with Archer after the captain earned the trust of the Andorians. Soval was also a key reason why T'Pol was required to serve as first officer aboard the Enterprise, a role that served the crew of Enterprise well over time as opposed to being a hinderance.


Soval eventually admitted that he earned a respect of humans thanks to his many years serving as ambassador to the planet. His tough love approach seemed to work well, despite his cautionary advice often being ignored. Soval is one of only four characters to appear in all four seasons of Enterprise as a non-regular cast member. Soval appears on 11 total episodes, including several of the most important episodes of the Enterprise series.

The best episodes featuring Soval include Cease Fire, The Forge, and Awakening.

Our notable quotes this week comes from the episode The Forge (ENT 4):
"We don't know what to do about Humans. Of all the species we've made contact with, yours is the only one we can't define. You have the arrogance of Andorians, the stubborn pride of Tellarites. One moment, you're as driven by your emotions as Klingons, and the next, you confound us by suddenly embracing logic."
 
Actor: Gary Graham played Soval, and he is also known for appearances on the Alien Nation movies and more recently on The Jace Hall Show.

Until next time, live long and prosper...

TWITrek Character Insight No. 29: Kathryn Janeway

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 Captain Kathryn Janeway from Voyager.

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Janeway served as commanding officer aboard the Voyager, which enabled her to be the first Federation captain to traverse and explore the Delta Quadrant. Despite her humble beginnings as a farm girl born in Bloomington, Indiana (home of the Hoo-Hoo-Hoosiers), she grew up as a doubter and skeptic with a scientific mind thanks to the influence of her father. That let her strive to the highest ranks to Starfleet.


Janeway is the first female lead or captain in the Star Trek series, and that move came with some controversy. While some of the more vocal fanboys wanted another gung-ho male captain like Kirk or even Picard, Janeway continued to break barriers like Uhura on TOS. This was also a nod to Gene Roddenberry, who wanted female lead characters in TOS but was denied by 60's television executives.




Janeway's birthplace is a nod to Jeri Taylor, the co-creator of Voyager who was born there and went to Indiana University. Janeway was originally to be called Elizabeth Janeway, but legal aspects made the producers change the name away from that name because a well-known American feminist writer shared that name. French-Canadian actress Genevieve Bujold asked that the character be renamed to Nicole Janeway, but this name did not stick after Bujold quit the show after two days of taping.


Janeway loves coffee and prefers it black because once you go black, you never go back. Her obsession with the morning drink of choice for America's workforce has even led to Darrell parodying her in a twitter avatar. Janeway also holds the distinction of being the second Starfleet captain assimilated by the Borg, but she was saved from the worst of it by a neural suppressant developed by the Doctor.

The best episodes featuring Janeway include Basics, Prey, and Equinox

Our notable quotes this week comes from the episodes Deadlock (VOY 2) and Hunters (VOY 4):
"We're Starfleet Officers. Weird is part of the job."
"Coffee: the finest organic suspension ever devised... I beat the Borg with it."
 
Actor: Kate Mulgrew played Janeway, and she is also known for her extended role in over 400 episodes of the soap opera Ryan's Hope.

Until next time, live long and prosper...

TWITrek Character Insight No. 28: Miles O'Brien

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 Miles O'Brien from Deep Space Nine and The Next Generation.



O'Brien serves as transporter chief on the Enterprise-D before moving on to become Chief of Operations aboard Deep Space Nine. O'Brien was only a small role on The Next Generation television series, but the character was liked enough to make a major character on Deep Space Nine.

O'Brien was an enlisted personnel instead of a Starfleet officer, and the only one featured other than Janice Rand in TOS. That also led to his rank becoming something of an enigma and changing target. He was referred to as an ensign, a lieutenant, a Chief Petty Officer, and a Warrant Officer at different times.

The Deep Space Nine writers always included one or two "O'Brien must suffer" episodes in each season because his struggles while being a common man just trying to do his job resonated more with audiences that struggles of other characters.

O'Brien had a ritual when going into battle of recording a "goodbye" message to his wife Keiko and children, and he recorded at least 11 such messages in five years on Enterprise. O'Brien's closest friendship is with Dr. Bashir on Deep Space Nine, as these two friends frequently shared drinks and holosuite historical battle re-enactments.

In addition to his historical holosuite programs, O'Brien loved kayaking and playing music, serving as the cellist in a string quartet aboard Enterprise. O'Brien is the only character to appear in two series premieres and two series finales.

The best episodes featuring O'Brien include Tribunal, Hard Time, and The Wounded.

Our notable quote this week comes from the episode Tribunal (DS9 2):
I've been in service to the Federation - Starfleet - all my adult life. No one has ever questioned my loyalty. No one in my entire life has ever had cause to ask "Miles O'Brien, are you a criminal?" I took an oath to defend the Federation and what it stands for. I don't steal from them, I don't lie to them. I'm no angel; but I try to live every day as the best human being I know how to be. I need my little girl to wake up in the morning and look up at me and see a man she can respect. Until now, she always could. 
 
Actor: Colm Meaney played O'Brien. He also is known for his role on the movie Con Man and more recently as Doc Durant on Hell on Wheels.

Until next time, live long and prosper...

TWITrek Character Insight No. 27: Q

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 Q from The Next Generation and Voyager. (Samba Time)



Q is the most regular recurring character in The Next Generation, appearing in 8 episodes of that series. Q also appears in one episode of Deep Space Nine and three more in Voyager. Those appearances put Q alongside only Morn, Quark, and Evek as characters to appear in all three of these series.

Q serves as a recurring villain who puts humanity and the crew of the Starship Enterprise to various tests and games. In the end, Q turns out to benefit the Federation despite being terribly difficult to deal with. Underneath his pompous and obnoxious exterior, Q appears to have a hidden agenda to help the interests of humanity.

Q tried to get Riker to join the Q Continuum, and later tried to join the crew of Enterprise himself, but he was rebuffed on both occasions. Q introduces Picard's crew to the Borg nearly two years before the fatefukl encounter in "Best of Both Worlds," and he helps Picard realize the value of some events in his past that led him to have an artifical heart. Q insists that his trial of humanity is ongoing, probably evidenced by his continued appearances throughout DS9 and Voyager.

Q was the first character to use the word "trek" in an episode of Star Trek, doing so in the finale of TNG "All Good Things." He does not use the phrase "Star Trek" though. The name "Q" was used to honor the first president of the UK Star Trek fan club, Janet Quarton. It has been speculated that the Q character was based on an extension of the Trelane character seen in the TOS episode "the Squire of Gothos."

The best episodes featuring Q include Q Who, Deja Q, and All Good Things.

Our notable quote this week comes from the episode Deja Q:
"You're so stolid. You weren't like that before the beard."
 
Actor: John De Lancie played Q. He also played a long time role on Days of Our Lives, and recently appeared on Breaking Bad (insert Walter White).

Until next time, live long and prosper...