Healer Trek

Monday, July 22, 2013

TWITrek Character Insight No. 59: The Borg Cube

In this segment we have profiled characters stemming from pets to holograms, and aliens to gods. But for the 100th episode, we need to do something different and special. Thus, the Borg Cube becomes the first ship to be profiled on Character Insight. If you don't think a ship can be a character, just look at how the Enterprise is treated in the movies.

And that ship design is one of the things that makes the Borg such a distinctive enemy. The cube-shaped vessel looks imposing and impenetrable, with all the sharp edges bringing a contrast to the normally aerodynamic designs of Alpha Quadrant spacecraft. The design fits the Borg well, standing as a beacon of space efficiency and redundancy that makes the vessel difficult to defeat.

In addition to missile weapons, Borg cubes typically use tractor beams and cutting laser beams to hold opposing ships, drain shields, and cut into or destroy hulls. Borg cubes also have great defensive capabilities, including transwarp drive and highly adaptive shields. That keeps opposing forces on their toes against this formidable foe, as proven when 39 of 40 Federation ships were destroyed in the battle of Wolf 359.

Commander Shelby, who we profiled last week, estimated that 78% of a Borg cube could be destroyed before the entire cube becomes inoperable. The cube measures 28 cubic kilometers in volume, enough space to house hundreds of thousands of drones. The highly decentralized design enables the Borg to assimilate more races and incorporate them into the crew without any redesign of the ship. The Borg cube is utilitarian and mechanical, fitting the Borg personality like a glove.

Although the original foam core concept model for the Borg Cube was sold at auction for $900 back in 2010, the studio model used during TNG is still in the possession of Paramount Pictures and still makes public appearances. The model was scratch built layer by layer and covered with acid etch brassthat was and drawn and etched to form the distinctive exterior appearance.

Instead of a quote from the ship, here's a quote from the Borg at large:
"Resistance is Futile."

Actor: N/A

Until next time, live long and prosper...

Special Outro - Thanks for listening. Special congratulations to Mike and Darrell on reaching 100 episodes, and thank you for continuing to make Character Insight a part of your show. I can't wait to see where we Boldly Go on the next 100 episodes.

Monday, July 15, 2013

TWITrek Character Insight No. 58: Commander Shelby

Commander Shelby serves as the primary guest star character on The Best of Both Worlds, arguably the best episode of TNG and one of the high points in the entire Star Trek franchise. In that brief appearance, Shelby provided much debate on whether the crew of the Enterprise-D would change forever in Season 4 and an interesting look into what that alternative reality might look like. Shelby is only one of 3 characters to serve as first officer in this series, along with Riker and later Data.

Shelby is brought on board as an up-and-coming lieutenant commander who has served for some time as the leader of the Federation's defensive planning against the potential Borg invasion. Shelby learns of an offer for Commander Riker to become a captain of his own ship, and she assumes he will take it because she is so focused on advancement herself. That leads her to try and show off during an investigation of the Borg attack on a Federation colony, and her brash style contrasts with Riker's safe style. However, she is field promoted to first officer under Riker after Picard is captured and assimilated by the Borg.

Although Patrick Stewart and the rest of the crew did come back for Season 4 (and three more seasons after that), nobody knew that in the summer of 1990 when Picard's life and character hung in the balance. That's part of the genius of the episode, making a real change seem truly possible.

Given how impressive Shelby turns out to be in leading multiple away missions to the Borg cube, it really would have been interesting to see more storylines about her. Or even more compelling, how would such a brash first officer fit in over time with Picard or Riker as a guiding mentor and captain? Plus, a strong woman lead would have more clearly paved the way for others like Major Kira and Captain Janeway later.

Shelby never appears on screen again, but she is referenced in the DS9 episode where Jadzia and Worf get married. Shelby also appears as a character in the New Frontier novels.

Our notable quote this week comes from Best of Both Worlds, Part 1:
"If you can't make the big decisions, Commander, I suggest you make room for someone who can."

Actor: Elizabeth Dennehy played Commander Shelby, and her interview on the Fathom Evens Best of Both Worlds DVD is very enlightening to see an outsider's perspective of filming with the TNG actors and crew. Her biggest role outside TNG was a recurring role on Charmed in the middle of the last decade, as she has been mostly a guest actress for many television shows since 1988.

Until next time, live long and prosper...

Monday, July 1, 2013

TWITrek Character Insight No. 57: Nyota Uhura

Similar to the prime timeline, Uhura serves as communications officer aboard the U.S.S. Enterprise under Captain Pike, then under Spock and Kirk. Uhura was a gifted student at the academy focusing on xenolinguistics, which gave her the opportunity to be posted aboard the Enterprise as a cadet. Her immediate ability to speak Romulan in Star Trek 09 and Klingon in Into Darkness is the very reason she immediately grabbed this position for good on the flagship.

Although her role on the ship remains the same in this Abrams timeline, the writers have had a bit more free spirit with Uhura than they have with other characters. First and foremost, Uhura is romantically involved with Spock in this timeline. That makes for some great human condition dialogue outside that well-worn trio of Bones-Kirk-Spock that was relied on in TOS. Plus a little dash of romance helps sell movies (why else would Carol Marcus be introduced in Into Darkness?), so don't expect it to go away anytime soon.

Uhura also finally received a canonical first name, although the writers decided to have a bit of fun with this as well. Kirk tries for three years to learn Uhura's first name to no avail, but Spock lets it slip before he beams with Kirk to take out Nero and his ship in Star Trek 09. Thus, we now have it on record that Uhura's first name is Nyota, which means "star" in Swahili.

The origins of the Nyota name stem back to Gene Roddenberry and Nichelle Nichols though, as an author of a Star Trek history book and writers guide asked them for the name well after filming was done on TOS. The name Nyota was a suggestion from the author, but both Roddenberry and Nichols loved it. Thus, we end up with a name that means "star of freedom," a fitting name for a character who broke boundaries for gender and race in the beginning of this series.

Nyota has seen far more screen time as the love interest for Spock and as the balancing of the ensemble crew has been better done by Abrams than others before him. She even saw some legitimate battle in Into Darkness, taking on the Klingons on Kronos before later beaming down to help Spock finally subdue John Harrison at the climax of Into Darkness. Thus, she is rapidly becoming an even more well rounded character in this timeline.

Our notable quote this week comes from the Into Darkness:
"You brought me on this mission because I can speak Klingon. So let me speak Klingon."

Actor: Zoe Saldana plays Uhura in the Abrams timeline. Saldana can also been seen starring in Avatar and in a smaller role back in Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl.

Until next time, live long and prosper...

Monday, June 24, 2013

TWITrek Character Insight No. 56: Nog

Nog is the only son of Rom, who is Quark's brother and one of the waiters who works in Quark's Bar on DS9. Rom is left as a single father to Nog as a result of being swindled out of all his money by his former father-in-law, and Nog is thus forced to learn and adhere closely to the Rules of Acquisition. As a result, Nog has plenty of time to find himself in adventures and shenanigans on the station.

Without many other children on the station, Nog immediately becomes close friends with Jake Sisko after the Federation takes over the Terok Nor station and redubs it Deep Space 9. Although these two characters often get into shenanigans in silly episodes such as holodeck stories, these characters share a real bond that is rarely seen between child characters of long-running shows. Honestly, Nog and Jake bring a refreshing twist to the character development used significantly along the long story arcs of DS9.

Although Rom his father would prefer a long profitable life as a Ferengi businessman, Nog strikes out on his own trail in an effort to avoid his father's fate if business goes bad. Nog's path takes him to Starfleet Academy as a Federation cadet, although the Ferengi had not yet joined the Federation at that time. Nog ends up being the first Ferengi in Starfleet, serving a similar role for this series as Worf and Spock.

Similar to the track Wesley Crusher takes in TNG, we see Nog transfer from a kid on board to a Starfleet officer. Once Nog returns as a cadet and ensign from the Academy, he is immediately involved significantly with the ongoing Dominion War. This includes Nog's use as an advance scout, although Nog loses his leg and needs a biosynthetic replacement from battling with the Jem'Hadar.

Nog is the most frequent recurring character on DS9 behind Morn, with 46 appearances all including speaking roles. Nog is shown wearing six different rank insignias, which ties him with Commander Geordi La Forge for the higher number of distinct ranks held during episodes of a series.

Our notable quote this week comes from the episode Heart of Stone:
Nog: According to Ferengi bylaws, section 105, subparagraph 10: "Upon reaching adulthood, Ferengi males must purchase an apprenticeship from a suitable role model." I choose you.
Commander Sisko: You want to be *my* apprentice?
Nog: That's right. I want to be the first Ferengi in Starfleet! Now, who do I see about getting a uniform?

Actor: Aron Eisenberg played Nog throughout the entire Deep Space 9 series. Eisenberg has not acted since 1999, although he enjoyed an 11 year acting career including small appearances on shows like the Wonder Years and Tales From The Crypt.

Until next time, live long and prosper...

Monday, June 17, 2013

TWITrek Character Insight No. 55: Christopher Pike

Pike is the Captain of the new flagship the U.S.S. Enterprise during the time when James Kirk and his future crewmates go through Starfleet. Indeed, Pike is the driving force behind convincing the Kirk of this timeline to leave his podunk Iowa life and shoot for the stars like his late father George did. Although Pike challenges Kirk on many occasions, he is a mentor and friend that was vital to Kirk's development as a true Captain deserving of the command chair.

Pike sees the great potential in young Kirk even when many others see nothing but brashness and inexperience, and that leads Pike to promote Kirk and to rally behind him when others in power (including Spock) would send him to the brig or back to the Academy for more training. By continuously taking the volatile Kirk under his wing, Pike instills wisdom into the new captain that sinks in just in time before John Harrison murders many Starfleet leaders including Pike in the beginning of Into Darkness.

Pike rose to the rank of Captain in just four years, which was the fastest anybody had achieved that feat until Kirk came along. Pike challenged the young potential cadet to do better than his father and himself, and Kirk does just that by taking over the flagship as Captain in a mere three years. Pike also has the distinction of being the first major Starfleet character to die and stay dead in the Abrams Timeline (too bad we didn't have some extra magic blood laying around...).

Assuming a third movie is made, it will be interesting to see how Kirk grows without the steady hand of Christopher Pike at his side. Spock will eventually have to stop relying on Spock Prime, but at least his mentor is still around when required.

One similarity with the Pike in the prime timeline is that the character gets badly injured enough to be put in a wheelchair, Abrams timeline Pike by Nero's torture and the Prime timeline Pike by a baffle plate explosion and delta particle radiation poisoning. Pike meets a grim end in both timelines, although his importance as a mentor and possible father figure to Kirk in the Abrams timeline makes him much more critical than just being the predecessor to Kirk.

Our notable quote this week comes from Star Trek 09:
""Your father was captain of a starship for twelve minutes. He saved eight hundred lives, including your mother's and yours. I dare you to do better."

Actor: Bruce Greenwood took on the role of Pike in the Abrams timeline. Greenwood had been previously known for many television appearances over the past three decades as well as roles in I, Robot and Deja Vu.

Until next time, live long and prosper...

Monday, June 10, 2013

TWITrek Character Insight No. 54: Nero

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 begin a series of segments reviewing the characters of the Abrams timeline to celebrate the release of Star Trek Into Darkness. Fair warning, this segment is going to have some <> for the next few weeks.

Let's start with Nero, the Romulan villain from Star Trek 2009.

Nero is the captain of a Romulan mining vessel from around the year 2387, which follows nearly 10 years after the return of the U.S.S. Voyager and 20 years following the end of TNG. Nero is on a mining mission on his vessel the Narada when a supernova caused the destruction of his home planet Romulus. Nero stood helpless as he watched his pregnant wife and unborn child die with the rest of Romulus, as Spock did not arrive to form a black hole to stop the supernova in time.

This causes Nero to seek vengeance against all those who did not help his home planet, including Spock and the Federation. Nero is pulled through the black hole with Spock back in time to the 23rd Century, where he waits until he can effect the same planet-destructing fate on Spock's home world Vulcan. This time travel leads Nero to destroy much of the Federation fleet on the day of Jim Kirk's birth, altering the timeline of the original Enterprise crew to the Abrams timeline.

Unlike other Romulan villians we have seen, Nero's face is tattooed heavily and this is explained as a modified mourning ritual in the prequel comic Star Trek: Countdown. Romulans would paint their faces with their grief on the death of loved ones and as the paint fades away, so does the time for grieving. Nero contorts this to tattoos because he believes his grief will never go away.

Nero is actually the second Romulan movie villain in a row, following Shinzon in Nemesis. However, while Shinzon had significant political aspirations and purposes to his villainy, Nero is simply a demented angry survivor of a natural disaster.

Although the character of Nero is provided much interesting backstory in the comics associated with Star Trek 09, most of the material this backstory was based on was cut from the movie, including imprisonment by Klingons on Rura Penthe following damage to the Narada caused by George Kirk's suicide attack. That's a shame, as it causes this character to be pretty undeveloped and poorly written compared to other villains like John Harrison and Khan.

Our notable quote this week comes from Star Trek 09:
"Kill him? I'm not gonna kill him. I'm gonna make him watch."

Actor: Eric Bana played Nero, and his other interesting roles include an anchor on Finding Nemo and Bruce Banner on the highly-panned 2003 Hulk movie. He will star in upcoming movies Closed Circuit and Lone Survivor.

Until next time, live long and prosper...

Sunday, June 2, 2013

TWITrek Character Insight No. 53: Tuvok

Tuvok is tactical and security officer for Captain Janeway, and he serves as second officer following the combination of crews with the Maquis leads to Chakotay becoming the new first officer. Similar to the role Spock plays for Captain Kirk, Tuvok is the most trusted and logical guide for the Captain during the seven-year stranding in the Delta Quadrant. Tuvok exudes these qualities even more than Spock because Tuvok is the first full Vulcan main character on any of the shows.

Tuvok enters Starfleet at a young age as a result of the desires of his parents, and his first three years under Hikaru Sulu on the Excelsior makes him wary of humans and how they believe everyone can be positively influenced to be like them. After 50 years away from Starfleet, Tuvok comes back a changed man after living the family life and realizing the mistakes he made as a youth in judging humanity too soon.

One of Tuvok's passions in herbology, and he is a prize-winning orchid breeder. His passion for plants causes him to form a bond with Neelix, who is the most unlikely of friends for a brooding Vulcan. Of course, the transporter accident that temporarily combined these two characters into Tuvix also helped them understand and bond with one another on a level not understood by others.

Tuvok also is one of the only major characters (including Picard) to be assimilated by the Borg. However, just like Picard, Tuvok survives the ordeal and comes back to the regular Vulcan life he had before assimilation thanks to his Starfleet crewmates. Despite being a married family man, Tuvok does have a couple of brief romantic endeavors when it seems that his return to the Alpha Quadrant is hopeless.

In addition to orchids, Tuvok spends his free time meditating frequently and studying Earth-based martial arts. Tuvok would make an interesting match for a Klingon warrior like Worf, although we never get to see him engage in such interesting combat.

Our notable quote this week comes from the episode Meld:

"Sitting here, attempting to meditate, I have counted the number of ways I know of killing someone using just a finger, a hand, a foot. I had reached 94 when you entered."
Actor: Tim Russ played Tuvok, and he earned the role after narrowly losing out to Levar Burton for the Geordi La Forge role in TNG, and after playing various roles in TNG, DS9, and Generations. Russ continues to be a prolific actor, most recently appearing in iCarly and the upcoming movie Monster School.

Until next time, live long and prosper...