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Faran Tahir is "Federation Captain" |
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Written by Derek Kessler on
Saturday, 01 March 2008
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 And unlike the non-lead Starfleet captains of days past, he's not going to be a wimp, buffoon, or whatnot. He'll be what any of us would expect from any Starfleet captain - an officer and a leader of men. While the role of Federation Captain hasn't had a name put to it, TrekMovie.com has put a name behind it: Faran Tahir, a 44-year-old Pakistani actor that has had roles in 24, The West Wing, Charlie Wilson's War, and the upcoming Iron Man film.
Though we don't have a name to put to Tahir's captain, TrekMovie has confirmed that his character is a new one (i.e. not Robert April), and that he's commanding a ship that is not the Enterprise (possibly an older ship design). As Roberto Orci has said before, he was troubled by the lack of 'real' Captains in Starfleet, in particular characters like Harriman (Generations), Styles (The Search for Spock), and Terrell (Wrath of Khan) all came across as mere plot devices so that Kirk and crew could shine as the real heroes of the story.
Additionally, Faran's role continues a Star Trek tradition of placing the percieved modern enemy on the bridge. Just like in TOS where Gene Roddenberry put Pavel Chekov on the bridge at the height of the US-USSR cold war, JJ Abrams is placing an apparently strong middle-eastern man as a starship captain in a time where contemporary films have developed a tendency to take the easy path of putting an easy-to-hate stereotypical Arab in the villain's role (a part that Faran has played in 24, Iron Man, and a variety of other roles).
Discuss: TrekUnited Forum
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"Please, Spock, do me a favor and don't say it's `fascinating.'"
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