G
Gul Sengosts
Guest
I guess part of the problem was how the character was created (or how imagine it). In my opinion, one of the reasons for TNG's bumpy start was that the characters were underdeveloped when they started filming. In the early episodes they all feel like empty shells that have yet to find content, it feels like too little thought had gone into them, and so early on they feel somewhat lost, unsure yet who they are or why they're there, even Picard.
It feels like: this time, we want a wise, considerate captain, so Picard. But we also need some Kirkish guy for the action and who gets the girls, so Riker. We want a Klingon on the bridge because ongoing progress and message of peace, so Worf. We'll have a prodigy child who shows the adults a thing or two so the kids will love it, thus Wesley. We want some not-Spock who raises questions about the human condition, so Data. We want someone whose disability is negated by awesome future tech, so Geordie. We want a tough woman who breaks with traditional gender roles, so Tasha. And so on. Alright, let's go shooting.
They forgot to flesh out any character or give them a backstory that's more than crude outlines, and so it was pretty hit and miss, some characters developed well and found their place and identity with time, others didn't. Tasha left partly because the character never took off, Beverley was dropped after season 1 to be replaced with not-Bones Dr. Pulaski, another ill-conceived character with her pointless and unprovoked animosity towards Data, a too obvious desperate (and failed) attempt at reviving the McCoy/Spock chemistry.
Where I see Deanna in this: I suspect that whoever conceived that character had made some great experience with therapy and wanted to have a space therapist on board. Her space power would obviously be being an "empath". However that power very soon turned hazardous from a writing point of view, since having someone on the bridge who can sense intentions and sincerity of anyone they encounter is a serious spoiler/plot killer. So she soon found herself mostly stating what anyone could easily see anyway, making her the infamous Counsellor Obvious.
I imagine writers often didn't know what to do with her, and instead had to write around her: how can I make a plot that Deanna won't uncover too early with her psy powers? I imagine that encouraged writers to sideline her, seeing her rather problematic than helpful.
If I recall correctly, it wasn't until the beginning of season 5 when they started to really treat her as a core character and give her more focus, and put an end to her role as Counsellor Obvious. A few years earlier it wouldn't have surprised me if they'd just got rid of her like Tasha and Beverley.
It feels like: this time, we want a wise, considerate captain, so Picard. But we also need some Kirkish guy for the action and who gets the girls, so Riker. We want a Klingon on the bridge because ongoing progress and message of peace, so Worf. We'll have a prodigy child who shows the adults a thing or two so the kids will love it, thus Wesley. We want some not-Spock who raises questions about the human condition, so Data. We want someone whose disability is negated by awesome future tech, so Geordie. We want a tough woman who breaks with traditional gender roles, so Tasha. And so on. Alright, let's go shooting.
They forgot to flesh out any character or give them a backstory that's more than crude outlines, and so it was pretty hit and miss, some characters developed well and found their place and identity with time, others didn't. Tasha left partly because the character never took off, Beverley was dropped after season 1 to be replaced with not-Bones Dr. Pulaski, another ill-conceived character with her pointless and unprovoked animosity towards Data, a too obvious desperate (and failed) attempt at reviving the McCoy/Spock chemistry.
Where I see Deanna in this: I suspect that whoever conceived that character had made some great experience with therapy and wanted to have a space therapist on board. Her space power would obviously be being an "empath". However that power very soon turned hazardous from a writing point of view, since having someone on the bridge who can sense intentions and sincerity of anyone they encounter is a serious spoiler/plot killer. So she soon found herself mostly stating what anyone could easily see anyway, making her the infamous Counsellor Obvious.
I imagine writers often didn't know what to do with her, and instead had to write around her: how can I make a plot that Deanna won't uncover too early with her psy powers? I imagine that encouraged writers to sideline her, seeing her rather problematic than helpful.
If I recall correctly, it wasn't until the beginning of season 5 when they started to really treat her as a core character and give her more focus, and put an end to her role as Counsellor Obvious. A few years earlier it wouldn't have surprised me if they'd just got rid of her like Tasha and Beverley.
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I'm not sure if he's actually smoking that thing in Elementary, Dear Data, but Kirk smokes Martia's cigar in Undiscovered Country lol
