It's been a long road ...

On Wed, 10 Sep 2003 21:26:34 GMT, Bruce Palmer
wrote:

Anyway, there was a similar ep of DS9 that made me stop watching it. There was
this chick in a wheelchair who visited the station.

...."Melora". She was originally intended to be a regular member of the
cast, but was dropped quite late in the development phase when some
bean counter pointed out that the effects budget just for her zero-g
scenes would be expensive. The way I understand it - and Mike or Rick
can clarifiy this if they're lurking - Melora was written into a
one-shot appearance to test the waters to see if they could bring the
character for season 2. Apparently the viewer reaction wasn't too
positive, so the idea was scrapped(*).

Of course, I've yet to comprehend why floating someone on wires is
more expensive than Odo turning into goo via CGI...

(*) One comment I heard at a convention back then - one where Siddig
was still using his original name - was that the dislike for the
character stemmed from one of the prevailing views the non-handicapped
tend to take towards the handicapped. Specificially, if technology can
either aid or even cure the disability, why are there those who refuse
the treatment and instead insist that the rest of the world adapt to
their needs without them making any changes to themselves whatsoever?
Granted, we can go seriously OT on this one and debate until we're
blue in the face, but the reaction to Melora's desire to remain
"gravity-challenged" went along those lines according to a lot of
fans.

OM

--

"No ******* ever won a war by dying for | http://www.io.com/~o_m
his country. He won it by making the other | Sergeant-At-Arms
poor dumb ******* die for his country." | Human O-Ring Society

- General George S. Patton, Jr

On Wed, 10 Sep 2003, OM wrote:


Of course, I've yet to comprehend why floating someone on wires is
more expensive than Odo turning into goo via CGI...

It depends on how frequently they were planning the scenes with her
floating about versus the use of CGI morphing for Odo. Having an actor or
actress on wire rigs is not exactly the easiest of things, and I'am sure
there would be insurance and union related costs thrown in for good
measure, too.
-Mike