Ensign Ro

This Story: Season 5 Episode 3 (production code 203)
TNG Overall: Episode 103
Trek Overall: Story 201, Episode 205
Airdate: 7 Oct 1991
Story by Michael Piller & Rick Berman
Teleplay by Michael Piller
Directed by Les Landau

Notes

• The first appearance of the Bajorans in the franchise.  For this episode only the name “Bajora” was used.
• The titular “Ensign Ro Laren” is played my Michelle Forbes, and is a semi recurring character through the rest of the series.  When Deep Space Nine was created, they wanted to move this character there and have her be a primary series lead. However Forbes did not want to commit to that, and the character of Kira Nerys was then created.
• Forbes had appeared in last season’s “Half a Life” as a completely different character.
• Bajor was originally supposed to have been occupied by the Romulans, but it was decided to go with the Cardassians as it was felt that the Romulans had been used too much lately.
• This was the first appearance of Mot, the Bolian barber (although we’ve seen other Bolians and other barbers before).
• Footage of the space station was re-used from the Season 1 episode, “11001001“, which itself is modified from the Search for Spock movie.
• The Cardassian uniform seen here is the same as their first appearance in “The Wounded“.  The next time they are seen, it is redesigned.

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