Nicole deBoer as Ezri Dax

Nicole deBoer had the unenviable fortune of following in Terry Farrell's footsteps. Ms. Farrell was an established Trek actress, and was popular amon fans—due largely to her willowy and statuesque good looks, no doubt. I was curious to see how her replacement would fare, and was pleasantly surprised at the results.

I was impressed. Ms. deBoer infused this role with charm and fresh-faced enthusiasm, and she quickly became one of my favorite characters. Ms. Farrell's Jadzia Dax was beautiful yet hardnosed warrior, and an intellectual to boot. Nicole deBoer's Ezri Dax did not lack for any of Jadzia's intelligence, but she was a softer and more sympathetic character... and Ms. deBoer's portrayal lent credibility to that role.

We can thank the writers that they didn't just reduce Ezri to a Jadzia clone. Indeed, I think it was an inspired choice to make her a junior counselor-type, instead of a scientist or a warrior. Nevertheless, I think one has to give Nicole credit for making this role a believable one. It's often difficult to accept new characters, especially when the original has been around for six years. In this case though, while I had no desire to see Jadzia leave, I thought that Ezri's entry was a welcome change.

Admittedly, it doesn't hurt that Ezri was just darned cute. In fact, while most male fans seem to prefer Jadzia, I thought she was the more attractive of the two—DS9's Mary Ann Summers, rather than their Ginger Grant.

That's not all that deBoer brought to the table, though. In fact, what I liked most was her natural expressiveness, which lent a certain down-home appeal to Ezri Dax. I'll say more about that shortly.

Other interests:  elispot | natural sciences