SCIFIHISTORY.NET
  • MAINPAGE
  • About
  • Reviews
  • December
  • November
  • October
  • September
  • August
  • July
  • June
  • May
  • April
  • March
  • February
  • January

Stardate 10.29.2021.A: In Memoriam - Camille Saviola

10/29/2021

0 Comments

 
Picture
Truth be told, I wasn't one of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine's biggest fans in its early days.

While I enjoyed the show's effective two-hour premiere episode, I thought the program all-too-quickly found itself mired in so many half-baked stand-alone episodes, and these hours never really presented this new corner of the Trek universe in such a way that compelled me to want to know more.  It's true that newly launched programs have an uphill battle to establish its new characters easily -- especially with a franchise with a fanbase as fervent as Star Trek's can be -- and I just thought most of these adventures missed their respective marks.

One of my biggest complaints were these -- ahem -- pesky Bajoran people.  Go back and look at some of DS9's earliest hours; maybe you'll agree that it was hard to tell whether they were going to be the Federation's ally or enemy.  Sure, we had the big, bad Cardassians to focus on as a main baddie (though that focus shifted as the show evolved), but I found the Bajorans equally troublesome.  They just never seemed happy, always serving more as a thorn in (then) Commander Benjamin Sisko's side while all he and his crew were trying to do was make the galaxy a better place.  Heck, even the station liaison Major Kira vacillated between a collaborator and a 'pain in the ass' in those early days; so I think it's understandably how I saw that world at the time.

Still, there was this Kai Opaka ...

Played by actress Camille Saviola, Opaka was the lone wolf of a Bajoran whose presence I enjoyed.  She only had two appearances in the first season (two more in later seasons after that), but her character had a kind of patience and grace one does find in good spiritual leaders of our day.  Though limited to not a wealth of dialogue, it was clear to see that she was designed more as an anchor for these times of crisis; and I was glad to see her stick around a bit.  As the show's storylines grew and even shifted from short form storytelling to long form, I did 'make peace' with Bajor -- learning more about a people has that effect on me.  I suspect that acceptance may've come earlier if writers had given audiences more Opaka!

Alas, sad news reached me this morning that Ms. Saviola has shaken off her mortal coil and is no longer with us.  It's sad to see anyone go, but I couldn't help but think about her time on the small screen and smile.  Her contribution to Star Trek should always be remembered.

As always, thoughts and prayers go out to her family and friends in their time of need.

​-- EZ
0 Comments

Your comment will be posted after it is approved.


Leave a Reply.

    Reviews
    ​Archive
    ​

    Reviews

    birthdays
    Archive
    ​

    January
    February
    March
    April
    May
    June
    July
    August
    September
    October
    November
    December

    mainpage
    ​ posts

    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    May 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    March 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014

    RSS Feed

Proudly powered by Weebly