I met Tony Todd at a horror film convention yesterday. On the way there I decided that if he wasn't too busy I was going to tell him that of all the good, great, or terrible things he's been in, this single episode of Deep Space Nine is my most favorite. This episode made me cry like a baby. I only saw it once, back when it originally aired, but I still get choked up thinking about it twelve years later. I never knew my father and this story made me feel how acutely that absence has impacted my life. Silly, I know. But that's the true power of art; and yes, sometimes television is art.
I didn't know if he would even remember being in it. I didn't know if it meant as much to him as it did to me. I didn't know if he would smirk at my trek-geekiness.
When I stepped up to select a picture for him to autograph, I noticed one of the pictures was from an episode of Voyager that I'd forgotten he was in. He asked if I liked Star Trek and I admitted that I did.
Then he said "Have you seen The Visitor?" I won't go into details because they're not mine to share, but as he explained his personal connection to the story, I realized that this episode may actually mean more to him than it does to me. And it means an awful lot to me.
If you watch only one episode of any Star Trek series ever, make it this one.
I didn't know if he would even remember being in it. I didn't know if it meant as much to him as it did to me. I didn't know if he would smirk at my trek-geekiness.
When I stepped up to select a picture for him to autograph, I noticed one of the pictures was from an episode of Voyager that I'd forgotten he was in. He asked if I liked Star Trek and I admitted that I did.
Then he said "Have you seen The Visitor?" I won't go into details because they're not mine to share, but as he explained his personal connection to the story, I realized that this episode may actually mean more to him than it does to me. And it means an awful lot to me.
If you watch only one episode of any Star Trek series ever, make it this one.