Was it good for you?
Paramount
On TV, “Star Trek” tends to — generally speaking — skew more toward ethical dilemmas and discussions of morality. Each “Trek” gathers groups of resolute, mature, clear-thinking individuals and puts them in board rooms and around tables to discuss possibilities. “Trek” is best when it’s talky. The “Trek” movies, by contrast, tend to be very action-forward, featuring resolute “villains” whom the “good guys” will merely have to fight. And the Borg Queen is one heck of a movie villain. She can read the minds of both Picard and Data (Brent Spiner), and tries to seduce them both into the collective, convincing them to join of their own volition. Later, in her episode of “Voyager,” Krige uses the same slinky, metallic seduction techniques on Captain Janeway (Kate Mulgrew) and Seven of Nine (Jeri Ryan).
Krige acknowledges that the Queen, as a character, is something of a force of nature, starting with her casual omnisexuality, a term that, Krige admits in the AV Club interview, she wasn’t initially familiar with. She was also concerned that the character’s outsize presence might not be appropriate for American network TV:
“It was very terrifying, frankly, to shift mediums, to shift from an enormous screen down to a television screen. I thought to myself, ‘Will she even work in this little space?’ Two nights before, it dawned on me that I was working with two women and not two men. I called the producer and said, ‘She’s with two women.’ He said, ‘Don’t worry. Think of her as omnisexual.’ And I thought, ‘Okay.’ It was only after that I realized I didn’t know what omnisexual was.”
In the future, with so many species and genders in the galaxy, one must become omnisexual.
It Was ‘Terrifying’ To Bring Star Trek’s Borg Queen To TV
Paramount
By Witney Seibold/Aug. 7, 2022 11:59 pm EST
The Borg changed quite a lot upon the release of “Star Trek: First Contact” in 1996. In Jonathan Frakes’ feature film, the Borg were no longer a collective, but a beehive, complete with drones, workers, and even a queen. The Borg were now sweaty and malevolent, and, most notably, had an emotional leader that could be negotiated with. This sweaty, negotiable version Borg would remain throughout the rest of Trek, with scheming, manipulative Borg Queens appearing on both “Star Trek: Voyager” and “Star Trek: Picard.”
The Borg Queen was originally played by Alice Krige, who created a character that was both threatening and weirdly seductive. While other actresses played additional Borg Queens (Susanna Thompson played the role in three episodes of “Voyager,” Annie Wersching in the second season of “Picard”), they were both emulating Krige, who would also reprise the role for “Endgame,” the series finale of “Star Trek: Voyager.” In an interview with The AV Club, Krige was invited to reminisce on the Borg Queen, and contemplate what it was like to move from film to TV.
Was it good for you?
On TV, “Star Trek” tends to — generally speaking — skew more toward ethical dilemmas and discussions of morality. Each “Trek” gathers groups of resolute, mature, clear-thinking individuals and puts them in board rooms and around tables to discuss possibilities. “Trek” is best when it’s talky. The “Trek” movies, by contrast, tend to be very action-forward, featuring resolute “villains” whom the “good guys” will merely have to fight. And the Borg Queen is one heck of a movie villain. She can read the minds of both Picard and Data (Brent Spiner), and tries to seduce them both into the collective, convincing them to join of their own volition. Later, in her episode of “Voyager,” Krige uses the same slinky, metallic seduction techniques on Captain Janeway (Kate Mulgrew) and Seven of Nine (Jeri Ryan).
Krige acknowledges that the Queen, as a character, is something of a force of nature, starting with her casual omnisexuality, a term that, Krige admits in the AV Club interview, she wasn’t initially familiar with. She was also concerned that the character’s outsize presence might not be appropriate for American network TV:
“It was very terrifying, frankly, to shift mediums, to shift from an enormous screen down to a television screen. I thought to myself, ‘Will she even work in this little space?’ Two nights before, it dawned on me that I was working with two women and not two men. I called the producer and said, ‘She’s with two women.’ He said, ‘Don’t worry. Think of her as omnisexual.’ And I thought, ‘Okay.’ It was only after that I realized I didn’t know what omnisexual was.”
In the future, with so many species and genders in the galaxy, one must become omnisexual.
Krige acknowledges that the Queen, as a character, is something of a force of nature, starting with her casual omnisexuality, a term that, Krige admits in the AV Club interview, she wasn’t initially familiar with. She was also concerned that the character’s outsize presence might not be appropriate for American network TV:
In the future, with so many species and genders in the galaxy, one must become omnisexual.
“It was very terrifying, frankly, to shift mediums, to shift from an enormous screen down to a television screen. I thought to myself, ‘Will she even work in this little space?’ Two nights before, it dawned on me that I was working with two women and not two men. I called the producer and said, ‘She’s with two women.’ He said, ‘Don’t worry. Think of her as omnisexual.’ And I thought, ‘Okay.’ It was only after that I realized I didn’t know what omnisexual was.”
Endgame
Krige admits that the character had become such a powerful archetype that it kind of took over. Something about the mechanical cenobite suite, the unusual makeup headpiece she wore, made the Borg Queen into an entity unto herself. Krige, at that point, let the character assimilate her, saying:
“It was wonderful to experience her in a completely different context. And, quite frankly, no matter how many times they get rid of her, I think they are kidding themselves. She’s out there. She was created. She cannot be destroyed. What a fascinating character she is. I have never asked them, and I would love to know, if they had any idea she was going to become an absolute archetype.”
Krige will return as the Borg Queen in “Star Trek: Lower Decks,” albeit as a humorous voice cameo.
