TWITrek Character Insight No. 36: Porthos

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 Porthos from Enterprise.
 


Porthos is Captain Archer's pet beagle, which he brings aboard Enterprise when he wins the right to command the starship for Earth. Porthos is a loyal companion that comes on many away missions with Archer, and the dog serves a much bigger role than what was attempted with Spot the cat in The Next Generation.

Porthos is one of a litter of four puppies, and the four were named after the Four Musketeers. Porthos was initially a source of irritation for T'Pol, whose Vulcan sense of smell heightened the distaste for having a dog onboard, but she came around more when Doctor Phlox gave her a nasal numbing agent to reduce her sense of smell.

Porthos turns out to be a helpful companion when he detects a camoflauged Borothan hiding unseen by Archer in his room. Porthos also brings some hilarity to the series in certain episodes, such as when two Ferengi try to establish communication with the dog via the universal translator.

Porthos appears at least in small roles in 43 episodes of Enterprise. Porthos is one of only four non-regular characters to be seen on all four seasons of Enterprise. Many times Archer is shown providing food to Porthos, as the dog whimpers and complains a lot if Archer does not bring him food on a regular schedule. Porthos loves cheese, although it often lands him in sickbay with gastrointestinal distress.

Our notable quote this week comes from the episode Cold Front:
"(Barking at Silik)."
 
Actor: Brannon Braga recalls that casting for the role of Porthos was the most fun he had at the beginning of the series. Three dogs played Porthos, a male named Prada and later two females named Breezy and Windy. Prosthetics and props were also used on many episodes because of strict labor laws on animals in television.

Until next time, live long and prosper...

TWITrek Character Insight No. 35: Tribbles

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 Tribbles, originally from TOS.
 


Tribbles were introduced when Cyrano Jones brings them aboard Enterprise to try and trade them.  These cute furball creatures are non-intelligent lifeforms that are born pregnant and asexually reproduce every 12 hours or so, generally having litters of 10 or more Tribbles.  As a result, one tribble can make a ship-load if left alone for too long.

I'm happy to report that I've been able to acquire one of these little guys to speak with us on the segment today.  Let's take a listen to what a tribble has to say when you touch it...(insert cooing noise).

Now that our nerves are thoroughly calmed, let's continue.  Tribbles and Klingons have a strong dislike for one another, and this possibly stems from each species' heightened sense of smell.  A tribble will bounce up and down angrily when in the presence of Klingons, and Klingons have unsuccessfully tried to exterminate the species.

Tribbles were made from a piece of "figure-eight shaped" fake fur, sewn up to make a ball about five inches in diameter and filled with foam.  Some tribbles were filled with decpaitated walking toy dogs to make the tribbles crawl, while others were filled with variable speed wheel with offcenter gearing to produce angry jumps when Klingons are around.
 
According to DeForest Kelley, the tribbles were a source of continued amusement on the TOS set.  He said "I guess everybody was still kind of tribble happy and every time we got to work a tribble in somewhere, we were working them in. Instead of pulling out a communicator, somebody would pull out a tribble. They'd continually pop up somewhere. Pull out a drawer and somebody would reach for something and there'd be a tribble there [....] It took weeks to get all the tribbles off the set."

Tribbles were so well loved by fans that Star Trek creators continue to drop these creatures in almost as often as the number 47.  They reappear in Deep Space Nine, Enterprise, Star Trek III, Star Trek Generations, a deleted scene in Star Trek VI, and the 2009 movie as well.
 
It is rumored that tribbles do not reproduce in cold temperatures, so I have put our tribble guest in a freezer to make sure that doesn't happen.  What's that noise...oh no, the power went out...(insert multiple cooing noises)...well that's all the time we have...see you next week, maybe...does anybody want a pet?

Until next time, live long and prosper...

TWITrek Character Insight No. 34: B'Elanna Torres

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 B'Elanna Torres from Voyager.
 


Torres serves as Chief Engineer aboard Voyager, a role that Torres has to earn during the first year of Voyager's stranding in the Delta Quadrant. Thanks to the calming influence of Chakotay, who served with her aboard the Maquis vessel that also was thrown into the Delta Quadrant, she proved her worth and became a loyal member of the Starfleet crew.

Torres is half-Klingon and half-human, which caused her to be alienated and insecure in her upbringing. Those qualities provide Torres with a huge chip on her shoulder that she carries in a visible way throughout Voyager, as this is a personality trait that is hard to break.

In one of the most unlikely pairings in Star Trek history, Torres falls in love with Tom Paris, a ladies man who is always looking for the next conquest when he starts on Voyager. However, both of these crew members have complementary flaws that end up bringing them closer together, thanks to the common understanding they share about things like tough family upbringings. Torres and Paris have a child at the end of the series.

The Torres character really started as an unruly teenager or girl in her young 20's, and she grows into a confident woman over the course of the series. In addition, the character holds the nickname BLT, although it is unclear if the L refers to an unknown middle name or the letter sound in the name B'Elanna.

Torres is the first female chief engineer as a regular cast member, but the first female chief engineer shown in a Star Trek series was Sarah McDougal on the Enterpise-D.

Our notable quote this week comes from the episode Barge of the Dead:
"I inherited the forehead and the bad attitude - that's it."
 
Actor: Roxanne Dawson played Torres, and she has not been very active in television or movies since Voyager. She did play in movies Guilty by Suspicion and Mortal Sins in the 1990s.

Until next time, live long and prosper...

TWITrek Character Insight No. 33: Weyoun

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 Weyoun from Deep Space Nine.
 


Weyoun was a diplomat and leader serving the Dominion during the Dominion War between the Alpha Quadrant and the Dominion. Weyoun was a vorta, which was a type of solid race that was cloned by the Dominion to be top-level servants where the Founders did not want to act themselves (such as in leadership of the warrior race the Jem'Hadar).

For example, the first iteration of Weyoun that the crew of Deep Space Nine comes into contact with is Weyoun 4, the fourth clone of the original. Weyoun dies five times during the Deep Space Nine series, although the character was not truly dead until the Cardassians killed the backup clone at the Dominion cloning facility before killing Weyoun 8.

Weyoun was a character created for the actor Jeffrey Combs, who had played a couple of other minor roles in the series before this major role. Weyoun was slated to be a minor character as well, but the writers liked the character so much that they decided to not leave him dead following the first death of Weyoun 4 in the episode To The Death.

Weyoun was a master politician, and he emits an air of confidence and justified in his actions, even when they seemed evil from the Federation side of the story. Weyoun had some depth thanks to the different versions of the clone, including Weyoun 6, who saw the error of his ways and tried to defect to the Federation under Odo's protection.

The best episodes featuring Weyoun are In the Cards and Treachery, Faith and the Great River.

Our notable quote this week comes from the episode Favor The Bold:
"Weyoun: If aesthetics were truly important, the Founders would have included it in our genetic makeup.
Major Kira: Or... they made a mistake.
Weyoun: Gods don't make mistakes! "
 
Actor: Jeffrey Combs played Weyoun, and he is also known for the Reanimator movies in the 1980s as well as other appearances on Star Trek Enterprise and The 4400.

Until next time, live long and prosper...