Beloved 'Star Trek: Deep Space Nine' Actor René Auberjonois Dies at 79

René Auberjonois, who starred in "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine" as the shapeshifting Odo, died Sunday (Dec. 8) at age 79, a family member told The Guardian.

Auberjonois died in his Los Angeles home as a result of metastatic lung cancer, his son Rèmy-Luc Auberjonois told the publication. Auberjonois' death was confirmed

Among "Star Trek" fans, Auberjonois is best remembered for playing the Changeling Odo, who served as chief of security aboard the Deep Space 9 space station. Odo's naturally gelatinous state allowed him to assume multiple sorts of shapes. In the series, he appeared most often as a humanoid to better interact with the other crew members on the station. Odo rested, in natural form, inside a bucket.

According to "Star Trek" fan site Memory Alpha, Odo was known as a tough yet fair lawmaker who was even able to settle intercultural disputes during a nasty and lengthy war between the Bajorans and the Cardassians. That war formed much of the backdrop for the drama of "Deep Space Nine," which explored issues including life for refugees and the effects of post-traumatic stress disorder.

"Deep Space Nine," or DS9, as fans call it, was the dark horse of the "Star Trek" franchise during the early years of its 1993 to 1999 run. The 176-episode series was mostly set on a space station, which didn't allow for the usual ship-to-ship fights and interplanetary visits that "Star Trek" fans had previously enjoyed. DS9 also showed a more pessimistic side to the Trek universe than previous series, which leaned heavily toward optimism in the spirit of "Star Trek" creator Gene Roddenberry (who died in 1991).

DS9, however, quickly picked up its own set of fans, who, online and through fan conventions and gatherings, have followed Auberjonois and other DS9 actors for decades. Auberjonois was humble about his contribution to the series. "When I go to conventions, I don't talk in my Odo voice. I don't have makeup on," Auberjonois told The Birmingham (Ala.) News in 1996, according to The New York Times. "I'm just a guy with a receding hairline."

[Edited 12/15/19 13:28pm]

Looks like Riker will appear on the Picard series

i never knew this was him, of corse now i see it

FragileUndertow said:

i never knew this was him, of corse now i see it

Yup, also his voice is very recognizable. But he wasn't the only cast member of Benson that became a cast memeber of Star Trek. Ethan Phillips who played Pete was also a cast memeber of Voyager

Just picked up seasn 2 Blu Ray

kpowers said:

RIP Odo.

D.C. Fontana died a couple weeks ago, too.

https://www.nytimes.com/2...-trek.html

djThunderfunk said:

kpowers said:

Just picked up seasn 2 Blu Ray

Just binge-watched this with my better half and I thought it was great.

Not a die hard but still a fan of all of Star Trek through the years and these two seasons have been the best yet. Production value, acting, writing, just the whole thing has been movie-like to me.

The 3 movies starting from 2009 were really good and on this level as well.

Sorry, didn't mean to disrespect the thread with a sidebar.


RIP René Auberjonois

S2DG said:

Sorry, didn't mean to disrespect the thread with a sidebar.


RIP René Auberjonois

No disrespect. It's for remebering Odo and Star Trek news.

Looks like 7 of 9, Data, Troi and Riker will appear on Star Trek Picard

S2DG said:

kpowers said:

Just picked up seasn 2 Blu Ray

Just binge-watched this with my better half and I thought it was great.

Not a die hard but still a fan of all of Star Trek through the years and these two seasons have been the best yet. Production value, acting, writing, just the whole thing has been movie-like to me.

The 3 movies starting from 2009 were really good and on this level as well.

Sorry but destroying the timeline was not necessary at all. I like Discovery however I have a lot off issues with it. The biggest problem (besides changing the Kligons) is that this show should not be a prequel but take place way after Voyager.

kpowers said:

S2DG said:

Just binge-watched this with my better half and I thought it was great.

Not a die hard but still a fan of all of Star Trek through the years and these two seasons have been the best yet. Production value, acting, writing, just the whole thing has been movie-like to me.

The 3 movies starting from 2009 were really good and on this level as well.

Sorry but destroying the timeline was not necessary at all. I like Discovery however I have a lot off issues with it. The biggest problem (besides changing the Kligons) is that this show should not be a prequel but take place way after Voyager.

But they didn't destroy THE timeline.

Everything made from 1966-2005 is "cannon.

Everything since then is split into two timelines: "prime" and "kelvin".
The 3 movies are "kelvin".
Discovery, Short Treks, Picard and presumably the other upcoming shows, are "prime".

So, the orignal "cannon" timeline isn't broken, it's unaffected by Discovery. It's the UNIVERSE itself that is broken. This is why Picard is not really a sequel to TNG. TNG is "cannon", Picard will be "prime".

Expect this to change with the recent CBS/Viacom remerger thing. Most likely they will find a way to fix the universe that Bad Reboot (oops, Bad ROBOT) broke.

That said, any Star Trek is better than most TV.

[Edited 1/1/20 17:03pm]

djThunderfunk said:

kpowers said:

Sorry but destroying the timeline was not necessary at all. I like Discovery however I have a lot off issues with it. The biggest problem (besides changing the Kligons) is that this show should not be a prequel but take place way after Voyager.

But they didn't destroy THE timeline.

Everything made from 1966-2005 is "cannon.

Everything since then is split into two timelines: "prime" and "kelvin".
The 3 movies are "kelvin".
Discovery, Short Treks, Picard and presumably the other upcoming shows, are "prime".

So, the orignal "cannon" timeline isn't broken, it's unaffected by Discovery. It's the UNIVERSE itself that is broken. This is why Picard is not really a sequel to TNG. TNG is "cannon", Picard will be "prime".

Expect this to change with the recent CBS/Viacom remerger thing. Most likely they will find a way to fix the universe that Bad Reboot (oops, Bad ROBOT) broke.

That said, any Star Trek is better than most TV.

[Edited 1/1/20 17:03pm]

Ok wasn't sure about prime and Kelvin. I'm anti-Kelvin time line

djThunderfunk said:

kpowers said:

Sorry but destroying the timeline was not necessary at all. I like Discovery however I have a lot off issues with it. The biggest problem (besides changing the Kligons) is that this show should not be a prequel but take place way after Voyager.

But they didn't destroy THE timeline.

Everything made from 1966-2005 is "cannon.

Everything since then is split into two timelines: "prime" and "kelvin".
The 3 movies are "kelvin".
Discovery, Short Treks, Picard and presumably the other upcoming shows, are "prime".

So, the orignal "cannon" timeline isn't broken, it's unaffected by Discovery. It's the UNIVERSE itself that is broken. This is why Picard is not really a sequel to TNG. TNG is "cannon", Picard will be "prime".

Expect this to change with the recent CBS/Viacom remerger thing. Most likely they will find a way to fix the universe that Bad Reboot (oops, Bad ROBOT) broke.

That said, any Star Trek is better than most TV.

[Edited 1/1/20 17:03pm]

There was no need to make the Kelvin time line.

kpowers said:

S2DG said:

Just binge-watched this with my better half and I thought it was great.

Not a die hard but still a fan of all of Star Trek through the years and these two seasons have been the best yet. Production value, acting, writing, just the whole thing has been movie-like to me.

The 3 movies starting from 2009 were really good and on this level as well.

Sorry but destroying the timeline was not necessary at all. I like Discovery however I have a lot off issues with it. The biggest problem (besides changing the Kligons) is that this show should not be a prequel but take place way after Voyager.

I've never tried to understand the relationship or timeline from show to show over the years.

Just like the production value and individual stories on both the movies and Discovery. Also thought the new Lost In Space was really well done for the same reasons.

S2DG said:

kpowers said:

Sorry but destroying the timeline was not necessary at all. I like Discovery however I have a lot off issues with it. The biggest problem (besides changing the Kligons) is that this show should not be a prequel but take place way after Voyager.

I've never tried to understand the relationship or timeline from show to show over the years.

Just like the production value and individual stories on both the movies and Discovery. Also thought the new Lost In Space was really well done for the same reasons.

Stories are good on Discovery. For the movies part 1 & 2 are ok, overated IMO. I like part 3 the best. Don't know if there will be a part 4 or not. They want to make part 4 where Captain Kirk meets his dad played by Chris Hemsworth. Ehhhhhhhhhhhhhh feels force, they are only doing it because they just want to use Chris Hemsworth. Production value for the set on the Enterprise for the first 2 movies is horrible, feels and looks like they are in an apple store.

Episode 1 of Picard dropped.

I'll respect kpowers is waiting for BD/DVD and try not to spoil.

That said, I'm surprised at how much I liked it. Yes, it's produced by the same people that broke the universe, but as it's set after everything we've seen before, it doesn't conflict with continuity like Discovery did. And unlike the recent Short Treks, the writers/producers seem to understand the characters.

I could nitpick it but overall it was very enjoyable and I'm excited to see where it goes.

Reviewers who've seen the first 3 eps have let it out that there are more Star Trek F-bombs to come.
As I've said before, I'm against this.
Star Trek should be a show for families, FuckBombs are unnecessary.

kp, did you watch Season 2 of Discovery yet? How about The Orville? Also, check out Avenue 5.

[Edited 1/24/20 7:49am]

On a related note, in one of these threads we discussed Space 1999. I hadn't seen much of it at the time but I shared my opinion that it was "boring". That wasn't a popular opinion, LOL.

I think all I had seen at that time was a "movie" that was made for home video from re-edited clips of the show. I hated it.

Recently I had the opportunity to watch the series from the beginning.

I liked season 1, didn't love it like Star Trek, but had fun with the kitchy vibe and most especially LOVED the theme song. It's been added to my iPod because I love the changes from orchestral to disco funk. That's my theme song jam now.

I stopped watching after 6 or 7 episodes of season 2 which was very different from season 1. From the beginning there is a new theme song which sucks in comparison. That and the cast changes and difference in style... BORED me.

So, yeah Season 1 is cool, Season 2 not so much.

djThunderfunk said:

On a related note, in one of these threads we discussed Space 1999. I hadn't seen much of it at the time but I shared my opinion that it was "boring". That wasn't a popular opinion, LOL.

I think all I had seen at that time was a "movie" that was made for home video from re-edited clips of the show. I hated it.

Recently I had the opportunity to watch the series from the beginning.

I liked season 1, didn't love it like Star Trek, but had fun with the kitchy vibe and most especially LOVED the theme song. It's been added to my iPod because I love the changes from orchestral to disco funk. That's my theme song jam now.

I stopped watching after 6 or 7 episodes of season 2 which was very different from season 1. From the beginning there is a new theme song which sucks in comparison. That and the cast changes and difference in style... BORED me.

So, yeah Season 1 is cool, Season 2 not so much.

Oh lots of drama behind the scenes of that, will tell you more when I have time.

djThunderfunk said:

Episode 1 of Picard dropped.

I'll respect kpowers is waiting for BD/DVD and try not to spoil.

That said, I'm surprised at how much I liked it. Yes, it's produced by the same people that broke the universe, but as it's set after everything we've seen before, it doesn't conflict with continuity like Discovery did. And unlike the recent Short Treks, the writers/producers seem to understand the characters.

I could nitpick it but overall it was very enjoyable and I'm excited to see where it goes.

Reviewers who've seen the first 3 eps have let it out that there are more Star Trek F-bombs to come.
As I've said before, I'm against this.
Star Trek should be a show for families, FuckBombs are unnecessary.

kp, did you watch Season 2 of Discovery yet? How about The Orville? Also, check out Avenue 5.

[Edited 1/24/20 7:49am]

Think I'm on episode 5 or so. They are dragging out introducing Spock. The gay doctor came back to life, kind of a stretch I guess but they wanted to continue the relationship with the Chief Engineer. Didn't make sense that Enterprise crew wore the red/blue/yellow uniforms because even Kirk didn't wear them in the second pilot. I kind of wish Discovery will stop doing year long story lines and do some exploring, also it's season 2 and there is no real Captain of Discovery yet?

kpowers said:

djThunderfunk said:

Episode 1 of Picard dropped.

I'll respect kpowers is waiting for BD/DVD and try not to spoil.

That said, I'm surprised at how much I liked it. Yes, it's produced by the same people that broke the universe, but as it's set after everything we've seen before, it doesn't conflict with continuity like Discovery did. And unlike the recent Short Treks, the writers/producers seem to understand the characters.

I could nitpick it but overall it was very enjoyable and I'm excited to see where it goes.

Reviewers who've seen the first 3 eps have let it out that there are more Star Trek F-bombs to come.
As I've said before, I'm against this.
Star Trek should be a show for families, FuckBombs are unnecessary.

kp, did you watch Season 2 of Discovery yet? How about The Orville? Also, check out Avenue 5.

[Edited 1/24/20 7:49am]

Think I'm on episode 5 or so. They are dragging out introducing Spock. The gay doctor came back to life, kind of a stretch I guess but they wanted to continue the relationship with the Chief Engineer. Didn't make sense that Enterprise crew wore the red/blue/yellow uniforms because even Kirk didn't wear them in the second pilot. I kind of wish Discovery will stop doing year long story lines and do some exploring, also it's season 2 and there is no real Captain of Discovery yet?

Reserving comments until you finish the season.

kpowers said:

djThunderfunk said:

On a related note, in one of these threads we discussed Space 1999. I hadn't seen much of it at the time but I shared my opinion that it was "boring". That wasn't a popular opinion, LOL.

I think all I had seen at that time was a "movie" that was made for home video from re-edited clips of the show. I hated it.

Recently I had the opportunity to watch the series from the beginning.

I liked season 1, didn't love it like Star Trek, but had fun with the kitchy vibe and most especially LOVED the theme song. It's been added to my iPod because I love the changes from orchestral to disco funk. That's my theme song jam now.

I stopped watching after 6 or 7 episodes of season 2 which was very different from season 1. From the beginning there is a new theme song which sucks in comparison. That and the cast changes and difference in style... BORED me.

So, yeah Season 1 is cool, Season 2 not so much.

Oh lots of drama behind the scenes of that, will tell you more when I have time.

Yeah, I watched a documentary about all that. The alien chick was cool looking, but I just got bored and gave up on it.

djThunderfunk said:

On a related note, in one of these threads we discussed Space 1999. I hadn't seen much of it at the time but I shared my opinion that it was "boring". That wasn't a popular opinion, LOL.

I think all I had seen at that time was a "movie" that was made for home video from re-edited clips of the show. I hated it.

Recently I had the opportunity to watch the series from the beginning.

I liked season 1, didn't love it like Star Trek, but had fun with the kitchy vibe and most especially LOVED the theme song. It's been added to my iPod because I love the changes from orchestral to disco funk. That's my theme song jam now.

I stopped watching after 6 or 7 episodes of season 2 which was very different from season 1. From the beginning there is a new theme song which sucks in comparison. That and the cast changes and difference in style... BORED me.

So, yeah Season 1 is cool, Season 2 not so much.

Well from what I read during the first season there were bunch of guest directors who all had their vision of what the show should be, thus internal conflict was happening on the set. Because of that Barry Gray (who did the music for season 1) did not want his music used for season 2. The person who made the uniforms for season 1 also didn't want their outfits used for the second season. They change the set because it took along time to set up the lighting so they used a smaller set, thus main mission became command center. With all the changes taken place producer Gerry Anderson was not happy with them and reffered to Space 1999 as series 1 and series 2 and not season 1 and season 2. One of the complaints by TV critics was that the actors were all stiff so for season 2 They had the commander and the doctor in a romantic relationship. Their relationship felt forced even though they were married during this time. They also decided to trim the cast and did not explain what had happended to them. There has been many fan fiction made in which they wrote Paul, Kano and Professor Bergman were lost in an Eagle accident. They weren't planning on bringing back Alan Carter (played by Nick Tate) but Nick Tate called several times and asked when were they going to start shooting season 2. They had a change of heart and decided to bring him back because Carter was a fan favorite. Space 1999 was popular in Italy and helped in funding for season 2. Because of this they created the character of Tony. They wanted more action so they brought in an Alien "Maya" and dubbed her the Wonder Woman of Sci-Fi. Ratings were good enough for a third season but things and funding fell apart. There was even talk of a spin off series for Maya. Well I love season 1 and season 2 fell short. But there are a few stand out episodes for season 2 for me. The immunity Syndrome to me was the best episode of season 2. It had the feel of season 1. You might not have seen this episode because it was the 2nd to the last episode to be aired. The Bringers of Wonders is also a great episode. It's the only 2 part episode of Space 1999. It kind of reminded of the movie Green Slime. The Exiles and All that Glister were other episodes that I like from season 2

Didn't knew if anyone mentioned this yet

Barbara March, TNG, DS9�...Away at 65

Another Star Trek celebrity has ascended to Sto-vo-kor.

We have learned that Barbara Scarfe (credited as Barbara March), the actress who played the magnificently evil Lursa, one of the Duras sisters, passed away on Sunday after a battle with cancer.

Together with her Klingon sister B’Etor, she wreaked havoc in episodes of Star Trek: The Next Generation (“Redemption” – part I and II, “Firstborn”) and Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (“Past Prologue”). She also starred in the feature film Star Trek: Generations.

Barbara was born on October 9, 1953 in Toronto. After graduating from the University of Windsor she began working as a stage actress. It was during this time that she met her future husband and fellow actor Alan Scarfe, who has guest starred in episodes of The Next Generation and Voyager

Outside of Star Trek March has appeared in episodes of L.A. Law and Night Heat. She was also a renowned theater actress having played roles such as Lady Macbeth and the Duchess of Malfi in prestigious stage productions. She was also a prolific writer. Her works include television episodes, poems, plays, novellas.

In recent years, March became a staple of Star Trek conventions—even appearing on stage occasionally in full Lursa makeup.

Barbara Scarfe is survived by her husband Alan and children Jon and Tosia. Barbara passed away 8/11/19

[Edited 1/25/20 7:36am]

kpowers said:

djThunderfunk said:

On a related note, in one of these threads we discussed Space 1999. I hadn't seen much of it at the time but I shared my opinion that it was "boring". That wasn't a popular opinion, LOL.

I think all I had seen at that time was a "movie" that was made for home video from re-edited clips of the show. I hated it.

Recently I had the opportunity to watch the series from the beginning.

I liked season 1, didn't love it like Star Trek, but had fun with the kitchy vibe and most especially LOVED the theme song. It's been added to my iPod because I love the changes from orchestral to disco funk. That's my theme song jam now.

I stopped watching after 6 or 7 episodes of season 2 which was very different from season 1. From the beginning there is a new theme song which sucks in comparison. That and the cast changes and difference in style... BORED me.

So, yeah Season 1 is cool, Season 2 not so much.

Well from what I read during the first season there were bunch of guest directors who all had their vision of what the show should be, thus internal conflict was happening on the set. Because of that Barry Gray (who did the music for season 1) did not want his music used for season 2. The person who made the uniforms for season 1 also didn't want their outfits used for the second season. They change the set because it took along time to set up the lighting so they used a smaller set, thus main mission became command center. With all the changes taken place producer Gerry Anderson was not happy with them and reffered to Space 1999 as series 1 and series 2 and not season 1 and season 2. One of the complaints by TV critics was that the actors were all stiff so for season 2 They had the commander and the doctor in a romantic relationship. Their relationship felt forced even though they were married during this time. They also decided to trim the cast and did not explain what had happended to them. There has been many fan fiction made in which they wrote Paul, Kano and Professor Bergman were lost in an Eagle accident. They weren't planning on bringing back Alan Carter (played by Nick Tate) but Nick Tate called several times and asked when were they going to start shooting season 2. They had a change of heart and decided to bring him back because Carter was a fan favorite. Space 1999 was popular in Italy and helped in funding for season 2. Because of this they created the character of Tony. They wanted more action so they brought in an Alien "Maya" and dubbed her the Wonder Woman of Sci-Fi. Ratings were good enough for a third season but things and funding fell apart. There was even talk of a spin off series for Maya. Well I love season 1 and season 2 fell short. But there are a few stand out episodes for season 2 for me. The immunity Syndrome to me was the best episode of season 2. It had the feel of season 1. You might not have seen this episode because it was the 2nd to the last episode to be aired. The Bringers of Wonders is also a great episode. It's the only 2 part episode of Space 1999. It kind of reminded of the movie Green Slime. The Exiles and All that Glister were other episodes that I like from season 2

Yeah, I didn't make it that far. I think I turned S2E7 off half way through and just stopped.

Season 1 was fun though, and that theme song will be with me for life. LOVE it!

djThunderfunk said: