...And Introducing Reggie Jackson as Geordi LaForge

[Sean]

Star Trek fans know that Jeffrey Hunter was the original captain of the Enterprise, and Genevieve Bujold shot scenes as Captain Janeway. But did you know that Yapphet Kotto was a contender for Captain Picard? There's a casting memo for TNG that reveals a bunch of actors who were under consideration for various roles.

* Most surprising is that both Wesley Snipes and Reggie Jackson were considered for Geordi, which would've taken the character in a completely different direction.

* Yappet Kotto as Captain Picard -- I dunno. I love him as an actor, but he'd be more in the Kirk/Sisko tradition of captains who don't take crap.

* Denise Crosby was the only actress considered ... for Troi.

*Rosalind Chao (Keiko O'Brien) was a contender for Tasha.

* My favorite, Jenny Agutter as Dr. Crusher. Wow. I'll be in my bunk.

[Paul]

I read somewhere that it was thought that Dr Crusher walked like a stripper - I had no idea you could recognise a stripper by her walk :)

But Agutter stripped so many times for her roles perhaps she would have made that role .... better?

[Craig]

It's interesting Worf wasn't mentioned in the list, but became a more important character than Tasha.

[Sean]

Craig wrote: "It's interesting Worf wasn't mentioned in the list, but became a more important character than Tasha."

Worf was intended as a minor recurring character, sort of like the engineers before Geordi took over. Roddenberry didn't want to focus on races from the original series and only had Worf there to show that the Klingons weren't bad guys anymore. But the writers knew fans would want to know about Worf and kept writing more and more scenes for him.

Once Worf came to prominence, Yar became redundant -- even though realistically a ship would have a separate head of security and tactical officer, plotwise they were always saying the same thing. Just watch the early episodes and note how many scenes go like this:

Yar: I recommend we raise shields and attack.

Worf: I concur, captain. A first strike is the best option.

Once Denise Crosby realized what was going on, she asked to be let go. As a career move, it was a big mistake, but it really was the best thing for the show.

[Craig]

Thanks Sean. Interesting. I remember that dynamic when I think back. By the way, many of those guys were at DragonCon. Ms Crosby seemed a bit touchy and left one of the panels. It was fun to hear them talk about their experiences on the show.

[Craig]

Sean wrote: My favorite, Jenny Agutter as Dr. Crusher. Wow. I'll be in my bunk.

I didn't remember Jenny Agutter so i googled her. As soon as I saw her pic I thought "Logans Run" I looked that up on IMDB. 1976. I feel so old.

[Paul]

"Logan's Run, the sexiest film ever!"

Ross, Friends

[Tashfeen]

I think I remember reading that Tim Russ was actually the runner up for Geordi's character.

[Ben]

(Setting, Engineering. Characters: LaForge and Q):

LaForge: Q, ever play roullette?
Q: On occasion.
LaForge: Well let me give you a word of advice: always bet on black!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cSFIvs...

[Peter Freeman]

In concurrence with what Sean said, the actress (I can't remember her name) who played Yar eventually realized her mistake and asked to return many times to the show. Finally they let her back as a Romulan character. It's fascinating the foresight people lack.