Why wasn't Suzie Plakson given regular role?

[lurok]

I'm new here and may have been discussed already, but been rewatching all trek series and of all the guest stars (apart from the great Combs) she's the one who's most struck me as deserving a regular role. OK, may not be the world's greatest actress but she's always fun and has lot of chutzpah. Anyone know why Dr Selar wasn't made regular, as would have been great replacement for Pulaski, who I prefer over Crusher (McFadden being least favorite Trek performer).

 

[od0_ital]

Gene Roddenberry probably didn't want a Vulcan character among the main characters, which is why they were only background aliens for the first couple of seasons.

 

[Trek Survivor]

Plakson has her fans, but I'm not one of them. I find her acting incredibly hammy, irritating and not all suitable for a Trek regular.

Very interestingly, the plan was for their to be a ROMANCE between Worf and Selar! (ironic, since Plakson then came back as Worf's old flame). Michael Dorn discussed it in an interview in the old Starlog TNG magazine... issue #7, I think.

 

[Therin of Andor]

Very interestingly, the plan was for their to be a ROMANCE between Worf and Selar! (ironic, since Plakson then came back as Worf's old flame).

Tracy Torme broke the news on these plans at a convention in Wellington, New Zealand, after he left the show. His plan was for a running gag/story arc stretched over three or four episodes, in which it becomes obvious that Worf is damaging himself. Then various characters realize he's just romancing someone according to Klingon traditions - hence the injuries - then finally it's revealed that the mystery partner is... Dr Selar, who's been treating his injuries all along.

The producers loved the idea of a Worf romance, and were impressed with Suzie Plakson as Selar, and with the potential for rapport between her and Dorn, but they preferred matching Worf with another Klingon, so Plakson was recast.

Selar had been mooted as a Bev replacement when they considered going with an alien doctor, but Roddenberry was very keen to have Diana Muldaur as a crusty, female version of McCoy.

 

[BillJ]

Maybe she wasn't accepting Roddenberry's advances?

 

[Satyrquaze]

^Harsh.

 

[Admiral Buzzkill]

I find her acting incredibly hammy, irritating and not all suitable for a Trek regular.

That's a self-contradictory sentence.

 

[Allyn Gibson]

Selar had been mooted as a Bev replacement when they considered going with an alien doctor, but Roddenberry was very keen to have Diana Muldaur as a crusty, female version of McCoy.

I'm not convinced this sentence makes sense, Ian. Are you saying that Selar was conceived of during the first season, even though she didn't appear until midway into the second?

 

[Trekker4747]

I find her acting incredibly hammy, irritating and not all suitable for a Trek regular.

Ummm. You realize TNG was spun-off from a TV series that stared William Shatner, right?

 

[Jetfire]

^
But he's the Shat! He gets a pass.

 

[SPCTRE]

I find her acting incredibly hammy, irritating and not all suitable for a Trek regular.

That's a self-contradictory sentence.

Oh snap!

 

[DS9]

I absolutley love Suzie and every role that she has done in Trek. Any sort of regular role would have been nice. I would have liked to see more of K'Ehleyr. Having her be a "main character" so to speak but not really kind of in the vain of how Keiko O'Brien is TNG and DS9. I think TNG could have benefitted from having an additional strong female character and I believe K'Ehleyr could have done that.

 

[Trek Survivor]

I find her acting incredibly hammy, irritating and not all suitable for a Trek regular.

That's a self-contradictory sentence.

LOL, good point. Maybe she would've fit right in!

 

[Warped9]

A recurring Selar could have been fun. As far as a recurring K'ehlyr I'm not so sure. One of the things that always bugged me about TNG was the way familiar characters and family kept showing up on the ship as if it were a cruise ship rather than an exploratory one on the frontier. To have K'ehlyr more regularly then it would have been better to simply have her onboard more permanently.

 

[Therin of Andor]

I'm not convinced this sentence makes sense, Ian. Are you saying that Selar was conceived of during the first season, even though she didn't appear until midway into the second?

If I'm remembering Tracy Tormé's convention comments correctly, he was in charge of the writing team when the production suddenly found itself in the season hiatus with no CMO. Tormé pushed to have an alien doctor. Roddenberry wanted a female McCoy type and pursued Diana Muldaur.

Tormé wasn't able to get his Vulcan female as the new CMO, but he was able to insert her into "The Schizoid Man" script. He also proposed an arc to follow that introductory episode: two or three episodes with a running gag, the reveal to be that Selar and Worf had become an item.

Memory Alpha says:

• This episode is based upon two separate premises. The first story, by Richard Manning and Hans Beimler was entitled "Core Dump" and concerned Ira Graves and how he transmitted his consciousness into Data. However, in this version, the crew was aware of this procedure ahead of time. The second by Tracy Tormé was entitled "Ménage". Tormé elaborated, "I had wanted to do a story about Data having hidden memories of the dead colonists from the planet he came from..."
• After Manning and Beimler's pitch was sold to the producers, the rewrite was given to Tormé, who decided to merge the two premises. He noted, "A lot of the specifics from the show were taken from my original idea. It was a story I wanted to do, and I wanted to do it for Brent [Spiner], who I admire a great deal. This was really the only way I could do it."

Are you saying that Selar was conceived of during the first season, even though she didn't appear until midway into the second

Midway? It was episode six of Season Two. The season itself was delayed due to the writers' strike.

They weren't discussing Bev replacements during Season One. Until the production team decided not to renew McFadden's contract, it was Troi they were planning to drop.

 

[Morpheus 02]

Lurok, you should check my poll on whether K'ehlyr should have been a regular. SOme interesting thoughts.

 

[Ryan Thomas Riddle]

I'm not convinced this sentence makes sense, Ian. Are you saying that Selar was conceived of during the first season, even though she didn't appear until midway into the second?

If I'm remembering Tracy Tormé's convention comments correctly, he was in charge of the writing team when the production suddenly found itself in the season hiatus with no CMO. Tormé pushed to have an alien doctor. Roddenberry wanted a female McCoy type and pursued Diana Muldaur.

Tormé wasn't able to get his Vulcan female as the new CMO, but he was able to insert her into "The Schizoid Man" script. He also proposed an arc to follow that introductory episode: two or three episodes with a running gag, the reveal to be that Selar and Worf had become an item.

From interviews around and shortly after Tormé's stint on TNG, he was quoted as saying he wanted an alien doctor who told the absolute truth to a patient and didn't try to sugar coat things. But I don't think he ever mentioned that he particularly wanted the new doctor to be Selar or a Vulcan.

 

[Ro_Laren]

A recurring Selar could have been fun. As far as a recurring K'ehlyr I'm not so sure. One of the things that always bugged me about TNG was the way familiar characters and family kept showing up on the ship as if it were a cruise ship rather than an exploratory one on the frontier. To have K'ehlyr more regularly then it would have been better to simply have her onboard more permanently.

Are you saying that you did not like seeing minor characters reappearing or that you did not like seeing families on board? IMO, minor characters did not reappear enough. One of the strengths of DS9, nuBSG, and even Lost is that you saw minor characters reappear. As you said above, I would have no prob seeing Selar in more episodes. But, seeing that K'ehyler was supposed to be a diplomat (or something like that) they would definitely need to have plausible stories to bring her back for a lot of episodes. If she was on the ship too much it would not be believable.

As a side note, Dr. Selar is mentioned, though not seen, in the Season 3 episode Yesterday's Enterprise. There is a scene in the alternate timeline when we're in Ten Forward and hear someone on the ship wide intercom saying, "Dr. Selar, report to sickbay" (or something like that).

 

[Anji]

I don't think Dr. Selar would've worked out as the CMO. Spock's purpose on TOS was to explore what it meant to be human. On TNG that task was given to Data. Having another Vulcan may have clouded Data's character (the way Guinan did for Troi) and we may not have had such a well defined character. Given all the personalities of the main cast, I'm having a hard time seeing how she would fit into the dynamic.

Diana Muldaur is a fine actress and did a great job as Pulaski. She was unconventional, opinionated and didn't mind stirring things up when SHE felt it needed it. I always said a relationship between the irratic and emotional Pulaski with the stoic and corporate attitude of Picard would've made some damn good episodes.

And Plakson is an awesome actress in her own right, but only as K'ehyler would she have truly shined.

 

[Satyrquaze]

And Plakson is an awesome actress in her own right, but only as K'ehyler would she have truly shined.

Seconded. She would have made an excellent foil for most of the male characters.