Episode Behind the Scenes

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Rick Berman claims the show was specifically designed to introduce a sharp-edged character. He says "The other characters in the cast are relatively homogenous; some might even say bland, so we wanted a character with the strength and dignity of a Starfleet officer but with a troubled past, and edge."
   
Michelle Forbes was asked to play the recurring character after she made a strong impression in season four's "Half a Life".
   
Harley Venton's transporter officer character is named Collins in the script, but named Hutchinson eight shows later in "Hero Worship".
   
Although unknown at the time, a lot of the material from this episode would lay the foundations for the new Star Trek series, Deep Space Nine.
   
Rick Berman talks about the Bajorans: "The Kurds, the Palestinians, the Jews in the 1940s, the oat people from Haiti - unfortunately the homeless and terrorism are problems in every age."
   
The Bajoran Canyon scenes were shot in Bronson Canyon near the area used in the previous episode, "Darmok".
   
The Bajoran nose piece used by Michael Westmore was derived from the Ornaran and Brekkian makeup seen in "Symbiosis".

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