Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, September 7, 1993 TAG: 9309030067
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: 2 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Ian Spelling
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
That's an issue many Trekkers are heatedly debating as "Next Generation" warps into its seventh and final season.
After all, Worf has helped birth a baby, played cowboy with his son Alexander and even taken a mud bath in recent seasons.
"Basically, he has mellowed quite a bit," says Michael Dorn, the actor who portrays the Enterprise's resident Klingon.
"He's still gruff, sarcastic and surly. He's still a Klingon, but he has mellowed some, matured and become a lot more responsible."
Though unflaggingly loyal to his captain and fellow crew members, Worf remains something of an enigmatic outcast, still uncomfortable with humans (despite having been reared by human stepparents) and still longing to learn more about his Klingon heritage.
This season viewers can expect to see more drastic character changes designed specifically to address Worf's soft spots.
"Every year I try to do something different with Worf," the 40-year-old actor says by phone from his trailer on the Paramount lot.
"This year I'm playing him out on the edge. He's almost more Klingonlike or Worflike than he was the first season.
"I'm playing him at that fine line between sanity and insanity. He's still wonderful to play, but he'd become almost too mellow. I'm going to bring that edge back."
Since July, when the "Next Gen" cast returned to the set, most episodes have focused on Troi, Data, Picard, La Forge and Riker.
"I've had some Worf scenes, but not a Worf episode yet," Dorn says. "Worf is in `Descent, Part II' [the season opener] but he's not prevalent. Basically, you'll see the cliffhanger's resolution, which will be fantastic."
Dorn, who was born in Luling, Texas, and reared in Pasadena, Calif., never set out to be an actor. He left Pasadena City College to pursue a career as a rock musician, a passion he enjoys to this day, along with piloting his own jet plane.
When rock 'n' roll failed to pay the bills Dorn turned to acting - after receiving some encouragement from a friend's father who was an assistant director on "The Mary Tyler Moore Show."
He started out as an extra on such TV programs as "The MTM Show" and "WEB" and soon landed small parts in "Rocky" (1976) and "Demon Seed" (1977). By 1980 he was playing Officer Jed Turner on the TV series "CHiPS," a job that lasted three years.
During the early '80s Dorn did countless bit parts on everything from "Falcon Crest" to "Hotel" and played recurring characters on the soap operas "Capitol" and "Days of Our Lives." He also portrayed a lie-detector expert in the hit film "Jagged Edge" (1985).
Then came "Next Gen."
"I thought it might last five years, maybe six, but seven years? No way," Dorn says, laughing. "I never had any idea."
And now "Next Gen" films are just around the nebula.
"Movies are a different world than television," says Dorn, who bridged "Trek" generations by portraying Worf's grandfather in the "Trek"-classic film "The Undiscovered Country" (1991).
"We won't have the constraints, things we can't do on television. And the things we can do on television will look even better on the movie screen. It should be great.
"You'll probably see an even better `Next Generation' than you've ever seen before."
\ CON CALENDAR Sept. 17-19
Outside-Con 6 at the Montgomery Bell State Park in Dickson, Tenn. (Call 615-552-2130.)
Tricon '93 at the Ramada Inn in Schenectady, N.Y., featuring Michael Dorn and Wil Wheaton. (518-372-7118)
Ascension Con II at Lehigh Community College in Schnecksville, Pa., featuring James Doohan. (Sept. 18, 215-799-1169)
Trekfest '93 at the Holiday Inn Medical Center in Houston, featuring Bjo Trimble. (Sept. 18; 713-527-WARP)
\ TREK ALERT
If you have Trek news or trivia to share - or if you have questions relating to "Star Trek" - write to Ian Spelling, in care of the Features Department, Roanoke Times & World-News, P.O. Box 2491, Roanoke, Va. 24010-2491.
by CNB