Posted in: Star Trek, TV | Tagged: Ezri Dax, Jadzia Dax, Michael Dorn, Nicole de Boer, paramount, star trek, star trek: deep space nine, Terry Farrell, Worf

Star Trek Needs Live-Action Series with Alien Lead: Young Worf & More

It's hard to believe that despite the 55-year history of Star Trek with its 11 series, nine of which are live-action that we never had an alien species become the lead. I mean there's a wealth of diverse species that became a part of Starfleet, but no non-humans were ever the main focus. Kirk, Picard, Sisko, Archer, Janeway, Burnham, and Pike are all human character leads. I think we're about due for a change if those like Akiva Goldsman, Michelle Paradise, and Alex Kurtzman are open to expanding the franchise even more on the live-action front. I have two examples that are easy to sell. Of course, I'm talking about Worf and Dax.

How About a Young Worf Star Trek Series?

With such a focus around the pre-Kirk era with Enterprise, Discovery, and now Strange New Worlds, I think we should have a pre-Next Generation era series. I mean it's such a seldom explored timeline that's only been dealt with less than a handful of times in live-action. Yes, there are novelizations that expand on that, but really one of the easiest-selling stories should be the one of Worf. Played by Michael Dorn on TNG series and films and Deep Space Nine, expanding on his character especially as the first Klingon in Starfleet would be well within the brand. Author Peter David wrote three books as part of the Starfleet Academy series released around the time when TNG was nearing its end. The uphill battles and adversity literally write themselves since the Kirk-era was largely defined by the Federation's war with the Klingons. As the orphaned Klingon child, Worf was raised by human parents. Casting younger actors in the roles would definitely expand existing storytelling opportunities that would derive natural tensions from humans and Klingons alike not to mention the character's inherent struggle to live in both worlds. While there are plenty of fans who love to see a Captain Worf series, I can see Dorn having a significant involvement in an upcoming season of Picard instead.

The Many Lives of Dax

The story of Dax fans saw in DS9 revolved around two characters in Jadzia (Terry Farrell) and Ezri (Nicole de Boer), who are Trill. The species is symbiotic where they share the memory of previous hosts. Discovery introduced another Trill that bonded to a human host during season three in Adira played by Blu del Barrio. There's certainly a wealth of stories to be had from the lifetimes the symbiote experienced. With the recent outpouring of love of the Voyager cast finding their way back to the Star Trek canon, I have no doubt there is similar interest in the crew that once resided in the Bajoran station. Continuing Dax's story as a commanding officer in a separate adventure lends itself to so many possibilities whether writers decide to continue to tell Ezri's story (with Jadzia dying on DS9), have a new host leading a ship, a Jadzia prequel, or previous host prequel. De Boer is still active as recently on ITV's Private Eyes and the 2021 feature Range Roads.

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