Deep Space Nine is the episode that changed Tony Todd’s life

Representative of the legendary genre Tony Todd died in 2024Leaving behind a legacy that includes the horror films “Candyman” and “Final Destination.” His deep voice has also earned him several villainous voiceover roles in geek franchises: Zoom season 2 of “The Flash” (Dubbed after James Earl Jones, the man in the suit is a perfect fit for Darth Vader– inspired speed), the Decepticon Dreadwing in “Transformers: Prime,” Venom in the video game “Spider-Man 2” from Insomniac, and many more.

Trekkies may recognize Todd too; He had a recurring role on “Star Trek: The Next Generation” and then “Deep Space Nine.” Korn, Worf’s Klingon brother (Michael Dorn). Korn’s last appearance was in the fourth season of “DS9,” titled “Sons of Mogh,” but Todd appeared in a better episode earlier that season. This will be the fourth season of “Star Trek: Deep Space Nine,” episode two, “The Visitor,” which was penned by prolific “Trek” writer Michael Taylor.

“The Visitor” is set many decades (and beyond) in the future, and stars Todd as the elderly Jake Sisko (usually played by Ciroc Lofton as a young man), the son of series hero Ben Sisko (Avery Brooks). It is also one of Best Deep Space Nine episodes.Todd himself said the episode “changed his life.” 2010 interview with StarTrek.com. “Not only in terms of showing up at the convention, but by the time that episode was over, the internet was just exploding and I remember sitting for hours basking in the glow of love that was written about that single episode,” Todd recalls.

“The Visitor” runs the typical 40 minutes of a “Deep Space Nine” episode, but it spans decades of Jake Sisko’s life. When the episode begins, he is visited by a young woman named Melanie (Rachel Robinson). You see, in the previous episodes, Jake decided he wanted to become a writer, and started working on a novel: “Anselm.” It turned out that he completed the book and it was successful, but then he stopped writing. Melanie, an aspiring writer, wants to know why. Use the framing device, as Jake explains the story of his “father’s death” to her.

Way back in the year 2373, Ben Sisko appears to have been vaporized before his son’s eyes during a warp accident aboard the Defiant. Only Sisko Sr no He dies; He has been thrown into a different dimension (“subspace”). Every now and then (sometimes years apart) and without warning, Ben returns to Jake for a few moments, then disappears again. You see, the title “Visitor” has a double meaning; Jake has two visitors, Melanie and his father.

Knowing his father is still out there makes it so worst To Jake because he can’t move on. He sacrifices his career, his marriage, and his life to save his father—first virtually, then literally. Against Ben’s pleas, Jake poisons himself in order to “sever the chord,” taking his father back to the moment he first disappeared: “For you and for the boy I was,” Jake explains. “He needs you more than you know.”

“The Visitor” truly showcases the magic of long-form television storytelling. It stands on its own as a strong episode, but it gains an extra boost from our knowledge of how close Ben and Jake are. Their relationship is an important part of both characters in the first three seasons and remains so in the next four seasons. By continuing “Deep Space Nine” after “The Visitor,” we see firsthand how Jake’s sacrifice, to give his father and his younger self a “second chance,” was worth it.

Todd’s performance as adult Jake is the heart of the episode, of course, and there’s a reason he plays it so beautifully that goes beyond just his talent. In the above interview, Todd explained the episode’s themes of loss, grief, and moving on that hit him in a personal place. When he first received the script for The Visitor, his aunt (the woman who raised him) had recently died at the age of 82. In his own words:

“I had just finished ‘Candyman 2′ and it devastated me because she was someone I talked to every day. Fortunately, she was able to see some of the beginnings of my success. But I was in shock and felt devastated.” I couldn’t work for four months and they sent me the script for The Visitor. It wasn’t a full show, but they sent it over for consideration and wanted me to come see it, so it was the role that got me out of bed, out of the house, and into the producers’ office. “

Todd got the role, and in order to play Jake’s grief over the loss of his father, all he had to do was channel his own emotions. He described acting in the movie “The Visitor” as “a kind of tribute to the fatherly figure in my life that I loved and cherished.”

If you need a good cry this upcoming Father’s Day, visit The Visitor.