Nana Visitor and Armin Shimerman Discuss Their Star Trek: Lower Decks Appearance: "It Was Surprising How That Music Affected Me"

Nana Visitor as Colonel Kira and Armin Shimerman as Quark in STAR TREK: LOWER DECKS' "Hear All, Trust Nothing". Images: Paramount / NASA.

OCTOBER 6, 2022 - Twenty-three years ago, the USS Defiant docked at Deep Space Nine for one last time.  It was an emotionally filled episode that left many fans wanting more.  

I personally have been saying since the first season of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine that “it is the best spin-off series of the franchise.”  We saw a group of people thrust together, Bajorans and Humans on a Cardassian space station, where there was friction, tension, and a lack of trust in each other and their motives.

They were at odds…

Seven years later we saw a family that hugged each other, cried together, and had a hard time going their separate ways as the characters grew emotionally, and intellectually, and truly became one with a united purpose. 

We saw a Starfleet where other cultures were readily embraced, a very real war with consequences, and an ensign that made it into Starfleet Academy against all odds, only to lose a leg in battle.  It was grittier, it was dimmer, and it was real.  And I still miss the show very much.

So, like many other “Niners” I was excited to see it back on screen in last week’s Star Trek: Lower Decks episode, “Hear All, Trust Nothing.”

I had the same reaction as many when the station pulled into view, the wormhole opened up and the familiar theme music began…

But, enough about me, what was it like for Nana Visitor and Armin Shimerman who both reprised their roles, and Kira and Quark, respectively?

Both of them said that when they saw the finished product, they got choked up when the music began.  

They also appreciated that the show took on more of a DS9 ‘tone’ over their usual slapstick, which made them feel more at home as well.

When asked if reprising their roles was difficult after 23 years, Visitor said it wasn’t at all, since Kira is always inside of her and ready to come out at any time. 

Shimerman likewise said that he was very comfortable coming back to Quark, but like others who watched the show, he said that his voice didn’t seem quite right.  He swears that he wore the teeth while doing the voice work, but he also states that they weren’t the ones that Westmore had made all of those years ago, as that set was stolen before the show wrapped. He wore ‘replacement’ teeth that had been made for him, so he attributes this to anything that seemed off in his voice work. 

Just a few quick quotes from the stars.

Visitor: I’ll tell you, seeing the station, and hearing the music when I watched the episode was surprisingly emotional. It choked me up. And then, of course, they’ve got a laugh right there, which I laughed right along with, so it got me right at the top with everything it could.

Shimerman: I agree with Nana—when I heard the music, I too was choked up. And of course the laugh came as well. It was surprising how that music affected me just being shown on national TV one more time.

Jump through the wormhole and head over to Trekmovie.com to read an excerpt from Cirroc Lofton’s podcast, The 7th Rule to read more of this as well as Kira’s connection with Shaxs (from LD), thoughts on Louise Fletcher, getting the cast back together and so much more.