LogFAQs > #933595388

16. Miles OBrien
We need an engineer character for our new show.
Okay, bring in that one recurring engineer guy from TNG no one really cares much about.
You mean Barclay?
No, the other one.

Ever wonder what Colm Meaney thought of that episode of TNG where they meet Space Irish? Probably the same thing he thought when that DS9 episode with the psychic aliens who materialize whatever youre thinking about had a script that said OBrien materializes a leprechaun because obviously Irish people think about leprechauns all the time, and he forced the writers to change it to Rumpelstiltskin.

Chief OBrien is the best accidental character ever. He went from literally an extra to a main character, appeared in two series premieres and finales, and married a Japanese hate ghost.

Fun fact: Miles OBrien is the Star Trek character with the second highest number of appearances, after Worf. Funner fact: I just made that up without checking, but its probably true. Ill level with you: this character is probably only this high because of a webcomic.
https://chiefobrienatwork.com/
Its the only webcomic in history that dares to ask What does Chief OBrien do when hes manning the transporter room and no one needs transporting? And why does he even have to do this job when the computer can do it just as well? The answers turn out to be unimaginably depressing.

To me, the definitive Chief OBrien moment isnt his friendship with Bashir, or how the writers tried to make him into the normal guy, or how he always got **** on by stories that needed a victim. No. to me, the definitive Chief OBrien moment is in Best of Both Worlds Part 2, when Geordi was written in the script as being the guy analyzing Locutus using a computer gizmo. At the last moment, LeVar Burton had to pull out, so they hastily stuck Chief OBrien in the scene. During the scene, Locutus goes crazy and starts beating up extras and trying to kill the other characters. The camera shifts to OBrien for one second, and they probably intended for Geordi to look alarmed and go help, but because OBrien isnt as big a star and because Colm Meaney isnt as good an actor, OBrien just looks over at a crazy Borg beating up a security guy, gives a look that can only possibly read as Glad thats not my job, and goes back to his computer. That, to me, is the ultimate OBrien move.

---

Not changing this sig until I decide to change this sig.
Started: July 6, 2005