Why did they keep bringing back Leeta?

[ananta]

DS9 had an outstanding extended cast of characters and actors…and Leeta. I could never quite figure out why the writers thought she was worth keeping around? It was nice seeing Rom happy I guess. But we never really got to know the first thing about the character. She was incredibly one dimensional.

What are your thoughts?

 

[Tosk]

What are your thoughts?

That I liked Leeta and was happy to have her added to the roster.

 

[Oddish]

No issues with her, though she wasn't the best developed character. Mostly she was the woman who dumped Bashir for a Ferengi.

 

[Michael]

Leeta’s extended presence actually highlights one thing I absolutely adore about how they ran Deep Space Nine: I feel like more than on other shows the writers allowed themselves to fall in love with small or one-off characters and promote them to (semi-)regular status. Leeta as a character was never particularly deep, but Chase Masterson had a ton of charm and some very capable comedic timing. It’s cool that they recognized that and keep bringing her back.

 

[Orphalesion]

I think Leeta was a great character. Especially once she started her relationship with Rom. Sure she wasn't a starfleet officer, but there were always little bits of to her character that made her likeable. I particularly liked how, as soon as her relationship with Rom got serious she started to make an effort to get close to Nog, started to worry about him, and started to take part in his hopes and fears. It was never directly focused on, but it's shown in the ways Leeta reacts to him.

 

[Oddish]

Leeta’s extended presence actually highlights one thing I absolutely adore about how they ran Deep Space Nine: I feel like more than on other shows the writers allowed themselves to fall in love with small or one-off characters and promote them to (semi-)regular status. Leeta as a character was never particularly deep, but Chase Masterson had a ton of charm and some very capable comedic timing. It’s cool that they recognized that and keep bringing her back.

That is true. If Star Trek Voyager's writers had been half as willing to keep bringing back minor characters and letting us get to know them better, it would have been an infinitely superior series.

 

[Bad Thoughts]

One dimensional? Maybe the squeaky voice, but the character did a good job showing how to survive in what was an exploitative environment. She could be sexy, dippy, protective, encouraging, etc. Moreover, the actress could bolster the comedy.

 

[Orphalesion]

That is true. If Star Trek Voyager's writers had been half as willing to keep bringing back minor characters and letting us get to know them better, it would have been an infinitely superior series.

I think the problem with Voyager would have been that in many cases the minor characters would have ended up more interesting than half the "main characters"

 

[Frontis]

Oh, I liked Leeta. And honestly I have to say, there was no unnecessary character in DS9 at all. And that's what makes the series so ingenious.

 

[fireproof78]

Did Leeta's presence take away anything by appearing?

 

[Poltargyst]

Because she was a good and enjoyable character?

 

[Oddish]

I think the problem with Voyager would have been that in many cases the minor characters would have ended up more interesting than half the "main characters"

A shovel would have been more interesting than some Voyager characters.

 

[kkt]

That is true. If Star Trek Voyager's writers had been half as willing to keep bringing back minor characters and letting us get to know them better, it would have been an infinitely superior series.

True but it would be hard to explain many minor characters showing up repeatedly when Voyager is making tracks at warp 9+ for the Alpha Quadrant.

 

[Frontis]

Voyager missed to go deeper into characters.

 

[Smellincoffee]

Cynical answer is eye candy, same reason Marina Sirtis, Jeri Ryan, and Jolene had to wear those ridic catsuits.

 

[Tosk]

True but it would be hard to explain many minor characters showing up repeatedly when Voyager is making tracks at warp 9+ for the Alpha Quadrant.

The ship had 140 people on board. Plenty of opportunities for recurring characters.

Leeta as a character was never particularly deep, but Chase Masterson had a ton of charm and some very capable comedic timing.

Just like Brunt. The character isn't deep, Combs has a ton of charm, and is good at comedy.

 

[Guy Gardener]

No issues with her, though she wasn't the best developed character. Mostly she was the woman who dumped Bashir for a Ferengi.

Nope.

She dumped a Changeling for a Ferengi.

Poor Bashir thinking about all the makeup intercourse waiting for him when he finally escapes from that Dominion prison camp, but that is not what is waiting for him in his hearth. It's Rom howling like a humpback whale, heard clearly through miles of corrugated foam rubber, space age sound proofing, half a station from their bedroom, with his genetically engineered super hearing.

 

[ananta]

Surprised to see how popular she is. I’m rewatching and just saw “Dr Bashir, I presume” and I have a feeling she maybe grows on me slightly during rewatches later in the series.

Not that I hate her or anything. It’s just for the first few seasons she’s in it, it’s a case of I genuinely forgetting the character even exists until she suddenly makes an appearance and I remember “oh, yeah, she’s a thing. I wonder why…”

Given it’s the Berman era, let’s face it, I wouldn’t be surprised if she was there at least partly as cleavage and eye candy. Although I never thought her hairstyle was particularly flattering. Although it did contribute to the quirky, cartoonish aesthetic of the character.

 

[Oddish]

True but it would be hard to explain many minor characters showing up repeatedly when Voyager is making tracks at warp 9+ for the Alpha Quadrant.

The ship had 140 people on board. Plenty of opportunities for recurring characters.

Tosk beat me to the obvious answer. As it was, Voyager had maybe seven main characters, three main characters in name only, a few recurring characters who weren't developed, and 125 cardboard cutouts. Even the Maquis were short haired clean shaven human men and women with Starfleet approved hairstyles. Even when they tried to come up with distinctive characters in "Good Shepherd", and new arrivals in "Equinox", they were forgotten by next episode.

So yes, I'll take a Leeta, who might seem like a pointless addition. Ditto a Vic, a Brunt, a Damar, and so many other DS9 characters who unexpectedly kept coming back.

 

[Guy Gardener]

Tosk beat me to the obvious answer. As it was, Voyager had maybe seven main characters, three main characters in name only, a few recurring characters who weren't developed, and 125 cardboard cutouts. Even the Maquis were short haired clean shaven human men and women with Starfleet approved hairstyles. Even when they tried to come up with distinctive characters in "Good Shepherd", and new arrivals in "Equinox", they were forgotten by next episode.

So yes, I'll take a Leeta, who might seem like a pointless addition. Ditto a Vic, a Brunt, a Damar, and so many other DS9 characters who unexpectedly kept coming back.

There was a barber on PIcard's Enterprise, as a luxury, but I think most people get a trim from sticking their head in the replicator, which is a little disgusting, considering I'm fairly sure that the replicator is also the toilet.