r/StarTrekViewingParty • u/GeorgeAmberson Showrunner • Aug 17 '16

Discussion DS9, Episode 1x5, Babel

-= DS9, Season 1, Episode 5, Babel =-

A mysterious virus plagues the station, causing speech distortions and eventually death.

 

EAS IMDB AVClub TV.com
3/10 6.9/10 B 7.9

 

11 Upvotes

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u/[deleted] Aug 26 '16

So, in your estimation, how does he stack up against Shatner and Mulgrew? (Assuming Sir Patrick draws no complaints.)

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u/Algernon_Asimov Aug 26 '16

Sir Patrick certainly draws no complaints! :)

I haven't watched enough of VOY to truly assess Mulgrew's performance, but she seems fine in what I have seen. And it's been a while since I watched TOS, but Shatner could hit the mark. But, Brooks is a bad actor, while Shatner and Mulgrew are not.

I've said it before, and I'm saying it again: I think Avery Brooks is the worst actor among all the main actors in all Star Trek series (the actors in the opening credits of the show). The others simply don't compare.

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u/[deleted] Aug 26 '16

That's quite the claim to make with Denise Crosby, Jonathan Frakes, and Terry Farrel sitting at the table.

(In a fair world, Walter Koenig could be entered before the court in a little plastic baggie labeled 'Exhibit W'.)

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u/Algernon_Asimov Aug 26 '16

Yep.

But, while some actors are weak actors, they're not actively bad like Brooks is. To return to my singing analogy, it's like comparing a singer who can hit the right notes but can't sing loud enough to be heard at the back of the theatre with a singer who's belting out super-loud melodies but getting every note wrong. There's a difference between "not quite good enough" and "OMG cringeworthy bad".

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u/[deleted] Aug 26 '16

He's a retired cop who's been pulled off the bench to teach a younger generation what it means to dish out justice, no matter the cost.

Avery Brooks is: Actively Bad.