That was a bad decision! One of the things I love about TOS was that it's all over the place, from the tightest suspense to the most farcical comedy, and with bits of comedy thrown into suspenseful situations. Which BTW is true to life, when people work in incredibly stressful situations, like having to save the Federation or the entire universe every damn week, they use humor as a coping mechanism, usually dark and inappropriate humor.
So IMHO the show's lack of humor not only made it less fun to watch, and made the characters a bit less likeable and less people I could identify with, but it also took the edge off of some of the more suspenseful situations, made everyone just a bit less human and believable. Now I don't mean I wished Picard was cracking jokes, Picard's lack of humor is totally believable and acceptable, he's the captain who never lets himself unclench for a single solitary moment. But Riker being the only person in the large ensemble cast who had a sense of humor? That just isn't believable!
And that's one of the many reasons I liked Reg, he brought some laughs.
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JosephQCat (706)
a year ago
For Dwight Shultz to appear the producers probably had to have a very substantial story ready to get his commitment. If he indicated that he would appear for a few minutes in a half dozen episodes each per season I don't doubt that the producers would readily agree to that. I would imagine that story approval mattered to get actors such as James Sloyan and Malachi Throne to appear. We as fans tend to think that an actor's career is entirely based on television and film but the reality is quite a number devote time to the stage plus theater and enjoy it. That the craft comes first and the money second.
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