Handicapped Space: Melora

A little while ago, I wrote a post about disabled characters in science fiction movies and programs, and why there's probably a lack of them.

I've recently started binge-watching Star Trek on Netflix. I'm up to Deep Space Nine, the franchise's third series and my favourite. About halfway through the first season, I found the episode that's inspiring this post: Melora.

The episode's title character is Melora Pazlar, a Starfleet ensign newly-assigned to Deep Space 9. Melora's species is from a low-gravity planet, meaning that in "standard" gravity, she's disabled and requires aides like crutches, a wheelchair, and walking-frame.

The episode starts with DS9's main crew ensuring that the station meet's Melora's needs. Ramps are being installed and barrier-free quarters are being set up. Apparently the Cardassians, the species in the show that built the space station, weren't big on accessibility.

During a quick brainstorming session, the crew even propose the idea of Melora beaming from place to place via the station's transporter (as in "Beam me up, Scotty") as a means of getting around. An idea that I, as a physically disabled Star Trek fan, would have died to see!

The rest of the episode mostly involves Melora trying to do things on her own, putting people at arm's length, then accepting help from members of the crew, including Dr. Bashir and Dax, the station's medical specialist and science officer. Melora and Bashir even form a relationship.

There are a lot of the same tropes and cliches associated with many disabled characters, like bitterness, ableism, and acceptance, but done with a sci-fi twist. The best part, in my opinion, was the transporter bit, but another stand-out scene was one where Bashir develops a treatment (cure) for Melora that would enable her to walk unassisted in standard gravity environments. She's excited at first, but eventually decides against it, saying that the cure would forbid her from ever returning to her home planet and would technically make her a whole separate species, not human, but also not her own.

Reading more about the character and episode online, I found a couple interesting little trivia bits:

•  The actress who played Melora prepared for the role by taking a wheelchair through a shopping mall
•  The writer who created the character was disabled, and drew on his own experiences during the process
• Although she only appears once on-screen, Melora figures more-prominently in Star Trek novels set after the TV shows and films

I've said repeatedly in this blog that whenever I find something that combines disability with my various geeky interests, there will probably be a post about it, and since Deep Space Nine is one of my all-time favourite shows, this was just plain fun to watch and write about.

Cheers!