The bridge of Star Trek’s U.S.S. Enterprise was surpassingly diverse for a 1960s television show. The first officer was an alien, the helmsman was Japanese, the navigator was Russian, and the communications officer was an African woman. Actress and singer Nichelle Nichols, played communications officer Lieutenant Uhura, whose name came from Uhuru, the Swahili word for “freedom.” At age 89, Nichols died Saturday night of heart failure in Silver City, New Mexico. Nichols was one of the first Black women featured in a major television series. 

It was a groundbreaking role that Nichols did not realize just how groundbreaking until she met a particular fan of hers. It was 1967, and reviews for the first season of Star Trek were not great. Nichols had bigger issues with the show. She found it demoralizing to see her lines cut and cut again. She had to deal with racist insults off set, as well as from executives who conspired to keep her from seeing her fan mail. At the end of the first season, Nichols recounted in her autobiography, she told the show’s creator she was done.

But the next day, at an NAACP function, a fan greeted her: Martin Luther King Jr. He told her how important her role was and how he and his family watched Star Trek faithfully and adored her in particular — the only Black character. Nichols thanked him, but said she planned to leave. 

“You cannot and you must not,” she recalls him saying. “Don’t you realize how important your presence, your character is? … Don’t you see? This is not a Black role, and this is not a female role. You have the first non-stereotypical role on television, male or female. You have broken ground. “… For the first time,” he continued, “the world sees us as we should be seen, as equals, as intelligent people — as we should be.”

Nichols stayed for the next two seasons of the series, lent her voice to an animated version, and appeared in a half-dozen Star Trek movies. She had the first interracial kiss in American television. She recruited for NASA. Through her work, she influenced Mae Jemison — the first Black female astronaut.

Nichols suffered a stroke in 2015 and was diagnosed with dementia in 2018. Last December, at San Diego’s Comic Con, Nichols made her last public appearance and was celebrated by NASA.

With the passing of Nichelle Nichols, one of Star Trek’s brightest stars has gone out. Hailing frequency closed.

There are certain actors that make my heart go pitter patter and can take my breath away when I see them on the screen. Wilson Cruz as Dr. Hugh Culber on Star Trek: Discovery is one of them, and the new uniform this season makes him even hotter. There’s something about these new uniforms that just look great, no matter who is wearing them, but back to Cruz. When he played Enrique “Rickie” Vasquez, a troubled, gay teen, in the short-lived series My So-Called Life, Cruz was the first openly gay actor to play an openly gay character in a leading role in an American television series. That was in 1994, and I was a junior in high school. While I may not have been out, or even understood that I was gay back then, Cruz still made an impression on me. So when he was cast in Discovery as a gay doctor, I was thrilled. Who better to play one of the first two openly gay Star Trek characters than such a groundbreaking actor. Also, while over the four seasons of Discovery Cruz’s role has become more important each year, his character in the fourth season seems to have really hit its stride. Dr. Bashir on Deep Space Nine and Dr. McCoy on the original Star Trek have always been my favorite Star Trek doctors, Dr. Culber has surpassed them.

There are other actors that always get me hot and bothered. One of those actors is Luke Macfarlane. You’re probably all going, “Who?” Macfarlane first notable role was as Scotty Wandell on ABC’s Brothers & Sisters from 2006-2011. He was the husband to Kevin Walker (played by Matthew Rhys), one of the “brothers” of the show. He was also a main character in the Sci-Fi Channel (and Canada’s Space Channel) show Killjoys from 2015-2019. Also, if you watch any Hallmark Channel Christmas movies, he’s on of their go-to actors. Most recently he was in the Micheal Urie and Kathy Najimy Christmas movie on Netflix Single All the Way as the gorgeous fitness/ski instructor James (see above picture). I watched the movie last night and enjoyed it. I have not seen Macfarlane in a lot of stuff since I had seen him in Killjoys, but when he came on the screen in Single All the Way, I think my heart literally skipped a beat.

There are many gay actors that I love, and a few that aren’t gay, that make my heart go pitter patter. One that never fails me is Colton Haynes. I have been in love with him since I first saw pictures of him making out with another male model in the now defunct XY Magazine. Years later, he was in Teen Wolf and Arrow. What’s amazing about Haynes is that he’s been a successful model and actor but has also suffered from severe anxiety all of his life. Sadly, he dealt with that anxiety with drugs and alcohol, but as I understand it, he is finally sober and doing well these days.

So what actors, particularly gay ones, make your heart go pitter patter?

For Jeffrey Bowyer-Chapman, Canada’s Drag Race (CDR) should have been a dream come true. He was raised in a tiny town in Alberta and had no previous major television credits to his name. The 36-year-old actor and model — whose biggest credit was playing a manipulative reality TV producer on Lifetime’s UnREAL — was chosen to sit among its panel of judges. The openly gay and biracial Bowyer-Chapman already was familiar to CDR fans the world over having appeared a handful of times as a guest judge on VH1’s RuPaul’s Drag Race (RPDR) and RuPaul’s Drag Race All-Stars. “There’s something about drag that I’ve always been so enamored by,” he said. “Drag is magic.”

But the dream quickly turned into a glittery nightmare. In a recent interview, Bowyer-Chapman discussed his exit from the program where he alleged racism from the CDR producers, as well as a toxic fanbase that prompted his abrupt exit from the program. Bowyer-Chapman had served as one of the permanent judges in the first season of the series, a spin-off of the popular American show, RPDR. He exited the job prior to Season 2 following a campaign of online blowback for his comments as a judge although he cited “scheduling conflicts” as the official reason for his departure. Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter, Bowyer-Chapman explained that American producers convinced him to accept the job as a judge on the Canadian show, but that the toxic work environment drove him to leave.

Upon arriving on the Canadian set, Bowyer-Chapman encountered a new group of local producers, and very different attitudes about his involvement. “I came into CDR with a false sense of security because I had built trust with the producers of the American show,” he said. “But this was a different set of producers. And I think they were trying to create something impactful and prove themselves along the way. There were many instances where I should have paid attention to my intuition and spoken up. And I didn’t.”

The problems began almost immediately when a “white, gay, male showrunner” pulled Bowyer-Chapman aside and told him just before he was to meet the queens for the first time that he was the “man-candy for the queens to drool over.” Apparently, all the judges had signed very ironclad contracts stating they would not fraternize with any of the contestants or the crew off-set. They were to have no personal relationships, dialogue, or contact with the queens whatsoever other than when they were filming. Bowyer-Chapman said in his introduction to the drag contestants, “the queens were flirting with me and being suggestive in some ways. My walls went up immediately. I realized there were different expectations being put on me that were not being placed on the rest of the cast, and nobody was going to protect me.”

The harassment from the showrunner continued, as Bowyer-Chapman’s boss explained he needed to play the role of the “sassy” judge on the panel. Bowyer-Chapman said, “Being told that from a white person, ever, as a Black person, it’s like a dog whistle. It’s like what is said of Black women and of Black queer men meaning you’re the hot-headed, opinionated one who’s going to tell it like it is and not give a shit about what anybody has to say. And that’s not who I am.” He also attributes that environment, at least in part, to a lack of Black talent behind the camera. “There really was no Black talent,” he said. “We’re walking onto a set of CDR day one, and the showrunner is telling me how diverse the crew was as he’s giving me a tour. And I didn’t see one Black person.”

In a departure from the US version of the show, the Canadian version outfitted judges with earpieces to get suggested snarky comments from producers. Judges also got a list of suggested negative criticisms from producers ahead of time, and were required to record them so editors could drop them into a show at will. The policy made Bowyer-Chapman uncomfortable as it forced both him and the other judges to constantly deliver negative criticism. “Even if we didn’t have anything negative to say, you had to come up with something negative.”  He said he realized the producers were portraying him as aggressively negative after the first episode. Tensions hit a new level several episodes into the season when Bowyer-Chapman had a terse exchange with the contestant, Jimbo. The moment, in which Bowyer-Chapman told Jimbo to “use time better, maybe,” became an instant meme, and prompted fans to create a Change.org petition to have Bowyer-Chapman fired from the show. The petition didn’t garner anywhere near its signature goal, but the moment started a campaign of online bullying that would follow Bowyer-Chapman the rest of the season. 

“My inbox was flooded with people telling me I was too mean. I didn’t know what I was talking about. Just a lot of blatant racism. Their public profiles read ‘Black Lives Matter,’ but their DMs were all about how my Black life didn’t matter. All of us were locked in our homes, riddled with anxiety … and then to be experiencing this hate and verbal violence and emotional assaults, this just blatant racism at the same time from my own community? It was really hard.” Bowyer-Chapman’s co-judges felt some of the backlash, too — but whereas judge, Brooke Lynn Hytes (who said of one contestant’s piñata-like outfit, “I should … beat you with a stick”) already had competed in a season of RPDR, and earned the right to critique, Bowyer-Chapman was viewed as an interloper with no expertise in the field. There also was the matter of race. “There was a lot I experienced that Brooke Lynn just couldn’t have, because Brooke Lynn is a white man.”  

Amid the harassment, RuPaul himself reached out to comfort Bowyer-Chapman. He also advised the then-judge to leave Twitter over the ongoing harassment. “We had conversations about his experience in this world and this industry as a Black, queer man. As a drag queen,” Bowyer-Chapman recalled. “All the hate and trolling and vitriol he’s experienced his entire life. And it’s really heartbreaking, but he’s experienced it for so many years and he’s so clear-headed about it. He has learned to not take it personally.” Still, when Season 2 of CDR rolled around, Bowyer-Chapman opted to leave to accept a role on another series though not before he “called a lot of attention to the bullshit that occurred behind the scenes and the stuff that happened online and their inaction.”

Crave, the network that airs CDR, released a statement regarding Bowyer-Chapman’s departure and the campaign of online bullying. “In light of the social media attacks and bullying that Jeffrey experienced during season one, we put measures in place to mitigate this for future seasons. This includes a dedicated social media consultant to work with Crave to continue monitoring conversations in real-time.” RuPaul declined to comment, but his relationship with Bowyer-Chapman remains good, and he already has taped an appearance on an upcoming season of RPDR. For Bowyer-Chapman, though, the lesson is clear: “That’s what happens when it’s only white, cisgender people behind the scenes making the decisions. That’s what happens.”

Wilson Cruz, who plays the gay doctor Hugh Culber on Star Trek: Discovery and is openly gay himself, took to Twitter to bring attention to an incident that occurred during his appearance for Star Trek Day on September 8. Cruz voiced his frustration with a homophobic Star Trek fan that harassed him during a recent appearance.

In the tweet, Cruz wrote, “I wonder if this was the moment on stage when I heard a ‘fan’ on Star Trek Day refer to me with a homophobic slur,” Cruz wrote, captioning an image of himself smiling on stage. “Still smiling, though. You’ll never kill my joy.”

There are more Trekkies who are homophobic than you would think would be the case. They were outraged when on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine there was a kiss between two women (which was not a gay kiss—it’s complicated), and they have voiced their disdain over the LGBTQ+ characters on Star Trek: Discovery and the possibility of LGBTQ+ characters on Star Trek: Picard. During the early years of Enterprise there were constant rumors that one of the characters would come out as gay, but with the backlash from this homophobic group of fans, it never materialized. Only recently has the Star Trek universe begun to embrace LGBTQ+ characters, and it’s about time. 

The majority of fans are not homophobic, but the ones who are seem to be quite vocal. Cruz’s tweet sent Trek fans rushing to defend Cruz and slam event organizers for not doing more to curb the hate. Cruz then returned to Twitter to defend the event and calm his fans.

“Listen, y’all… I really don’t blame the event. I only heard it,” Cruz wrote.” Couldn’t point them out, so chose to ignore it. I DON’T blame the EVENT at all! That day wasn’t about them and it wasn’t about me. It was about Star Trek, it’s legacy, it’s ideals, it’s visionary creator…”

“I REALLY didn’t mean for this to blow up,” he continued. “It just means we have work to do. Let’s do it and move beyond this trivial moment. They’ve received enough attention, as it is. I’m grateful for ALL of your care. I forget sometimes how much this fandom can go to bat when it wants!”

Star Trek: Discovery has won wide praise for including the first explicit LGBTQ+ characters in the history of the long-running franchise. Alongside Cruz, actor Anthony Rapp plays Hugh Culber’s husband Paul Stamets, while actor Blu Del Barrio portrays the couple’s adoptive trans/nonbinary teen, Adria. Trans actor Ian Alexander also has a recurring role as Adria’s former love, Gray Tal. Also, openly gay comedian Tig Notaro plays Engineer Denise “Jett” Reno who in an early episode discussed the death of her wife.These homophobic Trekkies don’t understand the basic philosophy of Star Trek. Gene Roddenberry, the creator of Star Trek, built Star Trek around the idea of differences and coming together despite them. When you compare the diversity of Star Trek: Discovery to Star Trek: The Original Series, Star Trek has come a long way, and I believe Roddenberry would be happy with the diversity presented in the franchise. On the bridge of the original USS Enterprise, there was a black woman, an Asian man, and a Russian during the height of the Cold War. Star Trek has come so far, yet there is still much work to be done. Progress has and is being made. No matter what century the show takes place in, we are seeing a true normalization of diversity.

There are a lot of Star Trek fans out there who hate Star Trek: Discovery, but those same people have hated every new Star Trek series and movie. Some fans you can never make happy. However, while the Star Trek universe is one of diversity, equality, and free of discrimination, there have always been those who fought against that vision because the Star Trek universe really does boldly go where no show has gone before. Star Trek has continually broken barriers, but Star Trek: The Original Series (1966–1969), Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987–1994), Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (1993–1999), Star Trek: Voyager (1995–2001), and Enterprise (2001–2005) all held back on the topic of LGBTQ+ individuals. 

It was rumored throughout the production of Enterprise that there would be a gay cast member, but it never materialized. Deep Space Nine did feature a same-sex kiss in theepisode “Rejoined” (Season 4, Episode 6). The episode first aired on October 30, 1995, and the kiss was between two female characters: Lieutenant Commander Jadzia Dax and scientist Lenara Kahn. Both characters were members of the Trill society, and the kiss was not meant to be a lesbian kiss. Let’s just say, it was complicated because they were a joined species.

However, Discovery has gone where no Star Trek has gone before with LGBTQ+ characters. The premiere of Discovery included a very prominent male same-sex couple, Lt. Commander Paul Stamets and Dr. Hugh Culber, who are played by openly gay actors Anthony Rapp and Wilson Cruz. The two characters kissed shared the first gay kiss in Star Trek history near the end of season one. The show also featured a widowed lesbian engineer, Denise “Jett” Reno, played by out actress Tig Notaro. Season 3 of Discovery premiers on October 15 and will introduce the 54-year-old sci-fi franchise’s first-ever transgender and non-binary characters. Like Stamets, Culber, and Reno, the characters will be played by actors who are LGBTQ+. In fact, the actors actually are trans and non-binary in real life. 

Trans actor Ian Alexander will play Gray, a Trill, the same species as Jadzia Dax and Lenara Kahn. Non-binary actor Blu del Barrio will make their debut by playing the non-binary character Adira, an intelligent and introverted teenage amnesiac whose coming-out story will mirror del Barrio’s own real-life coming out.  They will befriend Discovery’s gay couple, Stamets and Culber.

Del Barrio told GLAAD, “I honestly cannot speak highly enough of Ian. I absolutely love him, and it was so fun working alongside him. Having him join the show with me was a godsend.” Del Barrio continued, “It’s pretty overwhelming joining a show with such a well-known cast going into its third season. So, I was so thankful to have his support whenever I was freaking out. He’s a talented, hardworking actor, and an all-around magnificent human being, so it was a joy having him as a partner.”

I think it is wonderful that Discovery continues to feature inclusivity in the show. The third season of the series follows the crew of the USS Discovery transported 930 years into the future and among a highly advanced but troubled society in dire need of their help. It appears that the Federation is only a shadow of its former self. The above trailer for the season depicts a Federation banner from the future with just six stars, suggesting only a handful of planets remain as part of the organization. The trailer also suggests that Starfleet no longer exists. In the preview, David Ajala’s Cleveland Booker notices Burnham’s emblem and refers to Starfleet as a “ghost.” The rest, we will just have to wait until October 15 to see what’s going to happen. If it’s anything like previous seasons, we won’t fully know what’s going on until at least several episodes into the season.

One of my favorite characters in the Star Trek universe is a Cardassian. In general, the Cardassians were not known as the nicest of races. Captain Edward Jellico, who was briefly in command of the Enterprise-D, said of them, “Cardassians are like… timber wolves… predators… bold in large numbers… cautious by themselves… and with an instinctive need to establish a dominant position in any social gathering.” The Cardassians were similar to the Romulans in their xenophobic tendencies, and also shared the Romulan belief there is no such thing as luck. Like the Breen, they treated their prisoners with little tolerance or sympathy; they had no qualms using torture to extract information. Some Cardassians were even known to enjoy torturing their prisoners whether there was information to be extracted or not. 

Ideal Cardassian life was one of complete loyalty and servitude to the State and to the family. Like the Chinese, family was the building block of Cardassian society, and as such, the hierarchical system of respect also applied to one’s rulers and one’s family. The Cardassian government was assumed by its citizens to be omniscient, omnipotent, and benevolent; the government was anything but benevolent. An example of the Cardassian approach to life was found in their jurisprudence and criminal trials in which the conclusion was always determined beforehand: the ruling of each case was a guilty verdict; the purpose of the proceeding was not justice in the Human sense, but instead bringing the offender to recognize the power and benevolence of the State. A trial, therefore, was an opportunity for the State to reveal how someone’s guilt was proven by what they considered, “the most efficient criminal investigation system in the quadrant.” 

Almost all Cardassians lived in fear of the Obsidian Order, the chief intelligence agency of the Cardassian Union, whose constant surveillance had led to the sudden elimination of numerous “traitors.” It was said The Order was so efficient a Cardassian citizen couldn’t sit down to a meal without each dish being duly noted and recorded including its preparation and the exact measurement of each ingredient. Dr. Julian Bashir wondered what happened to people who ate something that was “not in agreement” with the Order, and Odo noted that people had “disappeared” for less. Every Cardassian home was equipped with surveillance equipment to keep an eye on its citizens. Only members of the Central Command, the military leaders of Cardassia, could turn off the cameras and only occasionally. The Order was the ultimate Big Brother.

Some of the alien races of Star Trek, especially the enemies of the Federation, had an equivalent in Earth history especially during the Cold War era of The Original Series. The Klingons represented the Soviets, the Romulans were like the Communist Chinese, the Cardassians were representative of Nazi Germany, the Bajorans similar to the persecuted Jews of Europe. Cardassians took control of Bajor in 2319 establishing the Bajoran Occupational Government. Initially, the Bajoran people offered them little resistance. However, the Cardassians rapidly pacified the planet and began a coordinated scheme of strip-mining, forced labor, slavery, and genocide. The brutality of the Cardassian military drove many Bajorans to form a resistance to the Occupation. Using guerrilla and terrorist tactics, the resistance continually harassed Cardassian forces. Under constant attack and unable to subdue the Bajoran resistance, facing pressure from both internal civilian elements in the Cardassian Central Command and from the Federation, the Cardassians withdrew from Bajor in 2369. However, many Cardassians, such as Gul Dukat, continued to want to regain control of Bajor and to exterminate its people.

While the Cardassians were a brutal race, they sometimes showed signs of being a kind and warmhearted people. One of the most complex characters in Star Trek history is one of my favorites, Elim Garak. He was the Cardassian tailor and Promenade shopkeeper of Garak’s Clothiers who lived on Deep Space Nine. He first appeared in the episode, “Past Prologue” where he introduced himself to Dr. Bashir who believed Garak was a spy. As soon as I saw this conversation, I knew Garak would be an interesting character. He proved to have some of the best lines in the series beginning with this: after Garak asks Bashir to stop by his shop if he desires new apparel or some interesting conversation, Bashir says, “You’re very kind, Mister Garak.” To which Garak replies, “Oh, it’s just Garak. Plain, simple Garak.” Right away viewers knew there was nothing plain or simple about Garak. He had previously been an agent of the Obsidian Order but had been exiled to Terok Nor, the Cardassian name for Deep Space Nine. 

The true reason for Garak’s exile is never revealed during the series. When he does tell Bashir why he was exiled, he tells him three different stories all involving a man named Elim which Bashir later learns is Garak’s first name. When Bashir asks Garak, “Of all the stories you told me which ones were true and which ones weren’t?” Garak replies, “My dear Doctor, they’re all true.” Bashir says, “Even the lies?” to which Garak replies in his standard obfuscation, “Especially the lies.” Garak once told Bashir, “Truth is in the eye of the beholder, Doctor. I never tell the truth because I don’t believe there is such a thing. That is why I prefer the straight-line simplicity of cutting cloth.” Garak believed, “Lying is a skill like any other. And if you want to maintain a level of excellence, you have to practice constantly.” Bashir once tried to tell Garak the fable of “The Boy Who Cried Wolf.” While Bashir believed the moral to be that lying too much will cause people to never believe a person, Garak retorted he believed the point was, “That you should never tell the same lie twice.” As his father, Enabran Tain, the one-time head of the Obsidian Order once said of him, one of Garak’s basic philosophies is, “Never tell the truth when a lie will do.” Garak once explained his belief that, “the truth is usually just an excuse for a lack of imagination.”

Garak, though, was more than just a pathological liar. Played by Andrew Robinson, originally a stage actor, he is also known for his portrayals of the serial killer Scorpio in the crime film, Dirty Harry (1971); Larry Cotton in the horror film, Hellraiser (1987); and as the title character in the ABC television film, Liberace (1988). Without Robinson, the character of Garak never would have become as intriguing as it did. In fact, the character might have had only one appearance in the series. Robinson commented, “Garak is one of those guys, we all know someone a bit like him who you can’t trust as far as you can spit. The moment you see him you put your hand on your wallet, and the moment he opens his mouth you know he’s going to lie to you, but yet, somehow, you’d rather be in his company than with almost anybody else. He’s a charming rogue, you can’t deny it. Even I get sucked in by him. Although it’s me playing him. When I see Garak on TV, I swear to God this is true, I’m fascinated.” Robinson also said of the character, “He’s all subtext. If a smart guy like Garak says he’s ‘plain and simple’, you realize he’s not plain and not simple. There is a lot going on. Regardless of how innocuous or simple each line is, there’s always something going on underneath that belies the line. And his eyes and the tone of his voice say something different than the words he’s speaking. It’s not an easy thing to work with subtext, but when you do it well, you really get people’s attention.”

Garak was also one of the most sexually ambiguous characters in Star Trek history. Robinson stated in an interview, “I started out playing Garak as someone who doesn’t have a defined sexuality. He’s not gay, he’s not straight, it’s a non-issue for him. Basically, his sexuality is inclusive. But, it’s Star Trek, and there were a couple of things working against that. One is that Americans are very nervous about sexual ambiguity. Also, this is a family show; they have to keep it on the ‘straight and narrow’ so I backed off from it. Originally, in that first episode, I loved the man’s absolute fearlessness about presenting himself to an attractive Human being. The fact that the attractive Human being is a man (Bashir) doesn’t make any difference to him, but that was a little too sophisticated, I think. For the most part, the writers supported the character beautifully, but in that area, they just made a choice not to go there, and if they don’t want to go there, I can’t, because the writing doesn’t support it.” Ira Steven Behr, the executive producer of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, commented, “I wish we could have done a little bit more with the Garak character…. I mean, he was clearly gay or queer or however you want to say it. I think I would have loved to have taken that and seen where that went and how that affected his relationship with Bashir.” I would have loved for the show’s creators to have explored that part of Garak. It took twenty-five more years before we saw LGBTQ+ characters in Star Trek: Discovery. There had been a few hints, or even winks, to LGBTQ+ characters. It could have come sooner and been bolder with Garak’s character, and we wouldn’t have had to wait twenty-five years.

Behr once said, “Garak is a mystery wrapped in an enigma. So, who he is, what he really is, who the hell knows? And I think it took a more sophisticated audience to really get behind that kind of a character, because back in the day, it seemed anyway, that mystery and … I don’t want to say subtlety, but something along those lines … that’s not what people wanted, they wanted their TNG good, bad, everything very clear, everything very clean, everything very understandable. And at the end of the day, everything was safe. Everything was basically safe. And Garak is not a safe character. The fact that now he’s so popular says something about how the audience has matured. And that’s a good thing.” Hans Beimler, a writer, producer, and script editor of many Star Trek: The Next Generation and Star Trek: Deep Space Nine episodes, commented, “To me, the guy that embodied the show was Garak. He was a fuckin’ spy, man! He was a bad guy in a way. But you got to know and understand him. And he got to know us and understand us. Even appreciate us. He wasn’t such a bad guy at the end of the show.”

Garak had been intended to be a one-off character; Robinson said he first portrayed the character, because he needed money that month to pay his bills. The producers were impressed with Robinson’s performance and decided to develop the character after Robinson agreed to return. The decision to incorporate Garak into more of the series led to Garak becoming a pivotal character transforming him into someone of importance, of unusual complexity, and of resonance. Garak became known throughout the series for the ruthlessness of his past with the Obsidian Order, but at various times, he uses contacts on Cardassia to help Starfleet and even the Bajorans. He was known to be a witty conversationalist and a skilled tailor, but underneath his friendly and charming exterior, he was a proficient assassin, saboteur, and expert liar able to adapt to a variety of situations. Occasionally, he was used by Starfleet as a backchannel to the Cardassians when a direct message was not possible. By the end of the series, he was a different man. 

On numerous occasions, Garak was seen to have internal conflicts between his morals and his obligations to the Cardassian Central Command. One of my favorite episodes is, “In the Pale Moonlight.” This episode shows the Federation on the brink of losing the Federation-Dominion War. With mounting losses and the specter of defeat, Captain Sisko must put aside his Federation morals in an attempt to turn the tide of the war.  Sisko enlists Garak’s help to “persuade” the Romulans to join the Federation/Klingon alliance. Deep down, Sisko knew Garak could do things that he, morally, could not. Garak tells him at the end of the episode, “That’s why you came to me, isn’t it, Captain? Because you knew I could do those things that you weren’t capable of doing. Well, it worked. And you’ll get what you wanted: a war between the Romulans and the Dominion. And if your conscience is bothering you, you should soothe it with the knowledge that you may have just saved the entire Alpha Quadrant, and all it cost was the life of one Romulan senator, one criminal… and the self-respect of one Starfleet officer. I don’t know about you, but I’d call that a bargain.”