Alternative Casting for Star Trek: TNG

[dewline]

Go read this item by Warren Ellis.

Then tell me what you think of the list of candidates in the included casting memo.

Comments

[radargrrl.livejournal.com]

Bunty Bailey as Tasha Yar...I wonder what Morten Harket would have thought about that.

[dewline.livejournal.com]

I had to look her up. Then discovered that I'd seen her work in music videos. No idea how to answer the question you're posing, though...

[radargrrl.livejournal.com]

Specifically, this video:

[jackolantern.livejournal.com]

This one's still my favorite.

[radargrrl.livejournal.com]

Durn...it's blocked up here. What should I have been seeing?

[jackolantern.livejournal.com]

Sorry; "Total Eclipse of the Heart", the literal version.

[jackolantern.livejournal.com]

I've seen this a few other places, and I'm still surprised that almost no one (but me) has commented that Worf's not on the list, unless it's more common knowledge than I thought that he wasn't in the original series bible (Roddenberry mentioned a "Klingon Marine", but generally gave the impression that it would be a semi-regular role like O'Brien). Fun fact: Worf has more appearances, due to being in both TNG and DS9, than any other character in the franchise.

As to alternative castings: well, who knows? I think that often there's a kind of synergy between particular writers and particular actors that can create great character arcs in some cases (whether it's that the actor inspires the writer to create more depth, or the writer who inspires the actor, or both), and in others the opposite happens and the character never really realizes their potential. A couple of examples from DS9: When Jeffrey Combs (who had auditioned for the part of Riker, as well) was cast as Weyoun, the writers were so impressed by his performance that they retconned the Vorta to be clones so that they could bring him back; this later became a crucial plot point in one of my favorite episodes, "Treachery, Faith, and the Great River." Also, Dr. Bashir was one of the least liked Star Trek characters since Wesley Crusher, and really didn't have much of a background, until season 5, when it was revealed that he was genetically engineered--a bit no-no in the Federation. All of a sudden, he had a character arc with real meat on it.

[dewline.livejournal.com]

Worf really was a "last minute" addition to the roster, so no surprise that he didn't show up on the initial list. And given your fun fact, there is an irony in that. Possibly the most popular character of the modern Trek pantheon, certainly the best-travelled, and given the least thought at first.