"Defiant"

[Kegek]

Kilana was hardly unique, and Keevan was a smarmy but funny Vorta. Neither of them were as interesting as Tom Riker, which showcased Jonathan Frakes' best skill as an actor: Being a jerk.

Brunt, true, was great, but he's a Ferengi. And Jeffrey Coombs. Can't compete with those. I saw "The Nagus" again the other day, nutty, psychotic episode.

 

[MyCylon]

Interesting. I didn't know that Frakes brought Combs aboard. That's DEFINITELY something to be grateful for.

Now I want to know who invited Alaimo and Robinson to the party so I can thank him or her as well

 

[Angel4576]

^^ Probably Berman/Piller who had Alaimo in mind. They'd already used him in TNG's Lonely Among Us, The Neutral Zone, The Wounded and Time's Arrow.

I'm sure there's a story around Robinson but I can't remember it.

 

[toughlittleship]

Yeah, it was one of them. They felt the original actor cast (whose identity is still a mystery to this day isn't it) as Dukat lacked "presence".

 

[Angel4576]

^^ I always wondered whether it was supposed to be Gul Evek who had the leading antagonist's role on DS9. They used him a couple of times towards the end of TNG.

 

[Anwar]

Didn't they bring Evek back for the premiere of VOY and killed him off there?

Robinson had auditioned for the part of Odo, but when Rene got the part they liked him enough to bring him back for Garak, who was to be a one-shot role. But they liked Garak so much they made him recurring.

 

[Brutal Strudel]

Dukat's "and that's saaad" is one of my favorite lines in all of Trek.

 

[AdmiralGarak]

Angel4576 said:
^^ I always wondered whether it was supposed to be Gul Evek who had the leading antagonist's role on DS9. They used him a couple of times towards the end of TNG.

No, the character was a one-shot character created for "The Maquis" two-parter. The powers-that-be reused him a few times because they liked him and it was a handy way to help tie the 3 series' Maquis stories together.

By the time Evek was created, Dukat was already the major Cardassian military figure on DS9. Even in the story which introduced Evek, Dukat was much more prominent.

Anwar said:
Didn't they bring Evek back for the premiere of VOY and killed him off there?

Yes, though I believe we only saw his ship being severely damaged. I don't remember it actually blowing up.

 

[Braxton]

While it's not considered canon, in the Dominion Wars game you go on a mission to rescue Tom Riker from the Cardassians. He is being tranported somewhere, I believe enroute to be killed or something similar.

 

[Unicron]

^^ Yeah, it's not entirely clear what happened to the Vetar. But the Trek Encyclopedia suggests it was either badly damaged or destroyed, and Evek was presumed killed.

 

[DS9Continuing]

^^^ But then Evek also turns up in A Stitch in Time, having survived.

 

[Kegek]

Dukat was always named Dukat. If the Evek actor was considered for him, the Evek character was not. Anyway, since the original Dukat actor was hardly satisfactory, it seems unlikely he would have returned in a semi-recurring role that spanned three series.

 

[patlandness]

Also Tom calls the Defiant a "tough little ship" in "Defiant". Will says the same thing about it in ST:FC.

Nice little bit of continuity.

 

[Angel4576]

Kegek said:
Dukat was always named Dukat. If the Evek actor was considered for him, the Evek character was not. Anyway, since the original Dukat actor was hardly satisfactory, it seems unlikely he would have returned in a semi-recurring role that spanned three series.

Apologies, it was the actor I meant, rather than the character, but as someone's already correctly pointed out, and something that I'd forgotton, Evek turns up in Season 7 of TNG, which of course ran parallel to DS9 Season 2, hence Evek wasn't even conceived as a character by the point at which DS9 was gearing up.

 

[Kolrad]

patlandness said:
Also Tom calls the Defiant a "tough little ship" in "Defiant". Will says the same thing about it in ST:FC.

Nice little bit of continuity.

"Little?"


"Defiant" is one of my favorite episodes too. I think it was an excellent use of the guest actor. Not only did it take a very unexpected route by doing a story about Tom instead of Will Riker, but the story managed to add some depth to both TNG (the development of the Tom Riker character) and DS9 (the very interesting things going on with the Cardassians). I really thought the whole thing was very cleverly done, and I still enjoy re-watching this one.

 

[Crewman6]

I'll throw in my love for "Defiant" as well. Love the episode.

What cracks me up, though, is that, as much as I might have wanted to see a follow up with T. Riker, most people seem to have been clamoring for a "Let's rescue Tom from the Cardassians" kind of plot.

Um, the guy was guilty as sin! It's not like he was unjustly imprisoned or anything. He invaded Cardassian unprovoked and destroyed outposts and ships, presumably at a major loss of life. The guy's a friggin' murderer, not a misunderstood hero.

He got off relatively easy.

 

[Nebusj]

Well, that may be technically true, but you have to understand: Cardassians don't respect life or peace or signed treaties the way the Federation does, and that's why we have to have ``rogue elements'' of the armed forces repeatedly attack them.

 

[Angel4576]

Re: the whole Maquis situation, weren't they founded in response to Cardassian aggression against the newly ceded colonies? Aggression that was militarily-backed?

The Cardassians didn't seem to be too concerned with aggression against civilian colonists, so IMO, you pays your money, you take your chances.

 

[MyCylon]

I think this was one of the things that made the whole Maquis story (among others) very interesting. One man's hero is another man's terrorist. It's very subjective in some instances.

 

[Angel4576]

^^ I can't really remember any poor or disappointing Maquis episodes;

Journey's End
Pre-emptive Strike
The Maquis
For the Uniform
For the Cause
Blaze of Glory
Defiant

Also, Eddington hit a little close to home with his diatribe;

Why is the Federation so obsessed with the Maquis? We've never harmed you. And yet we're constantly arrested and charged with terrorism. Starships chase us through the Badlands and our supporters are harassed and ridiculed. Why? Because we've left the Federation, and that's the one thing you can't accept. Nobody leaves paradise. Everyone should want to be in the Federation...You know, in some ways you're even worse than the Borg. At least they tell you about their plans for assimilation. You're more insidious. You assimilate people and they don't even know it.

Ron Moore's take on the Maquis;

All Human colonists were supposed to evacuate certain worlds in the DMZ as part of the treaty between the UFP and the Cardassians. Some colonists not only elected to remain behind, but also began a terrorist campaign against the Cardassians, which then prompted retaliatory strikes from Cardassia which in turn threatened to ignite a new war between Cardassia and the UFP. The Cardassian strikes were hitting innocent human settlements in addition to Maquis military camps, which forced the Fed to intercede. While not all the Maquis were living in Cardassian space, (some were in the DMZ and some were even on Federation worlds) the Cardassians certainly blamed the UFP for the Maquis raids just as the Feds blamed the Cardassian government for attacks perpetrated by Cardassian colonists.
That's the official rationale for the Fed campaign against the Maquis, but Eddington's statement that the real problem is that the Maquis have left the Federation and that *no one* leaves the Federation, has more than a kernel of truth in it. There's a sense of betrayal associated with the Maquis in the minds of the people in the Federation, regardless of whether that's an irrational feeling or not. Add to that sense of betrayal the fact that the Maquis have harassed and attacked several Federation targets over the years and you begin to see why the Feds refuse to turn a blind eye to this group.