Deleted dialog from an episode of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine would have drastically changed how viewers perceived two previously unconnected Star Trek: The Next Generation characters. As a spinoff from TNG, it was understandable that DS9 featured many crossover appearances from characters like Q (John de Lancie) and Thomas Riker (Jonathan Frakes). The addition of Michael Dorn to the cast of Deep Space Nine in season 4 further solidified the show’s links to TNG and pushed the character of Lt. Commander Worf in new and interesting directions, and allowed TNG characters like Chancellor Gowron to recur.

With the exception of series regular Chief O’Brien (Colm Meaney), Star Trek: Deep Space Nine only featured Star Trek: The Next Generation characters in guest spots before Worf turned up. Two semiregular TNG guest characters were Lwaxana Troi (Majel Barrett) and Admiral Nechayev (Natalia Nogulich), who each appeared in a handful of episodes of DS9. Troi and Nechayev never shared a scene, but information cut from DS9 season 3, episode 10, “Fascination”, directed by Avery Brooks, would have revealed a hitherto unknown link between them.

Star Trek: DS9 Almost Revealed TNG’s Lwaxana Troi & Admiral Nechayev Were Friends

“…the sister I never had.”

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine season 3, episode 10, “Fascination” is the first Lwaxana Troi episode since the Federation entered into the Cold War with the Dominion. In the episode, Lwaxana is attending the Bajoran Gratitude Festival, but is really there to comfort Odo (Rene Auberjonois) after he discovered his people were the Founders of the Dominion. The Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Companion reveals that dialog cut from the shooting script would have explained how Lwaxana came to learn about the Changelings. In the broadcast episode, Odo and Lwaxana’s interaction plays out like this:

LWAXANA: Officially I’m here as the Betazoid representative to the Gratitude Festival. But the truth is, I came to see you, you poor sweet tortured man.

ODO: Excuse me?

LWAXANA: I know the torment you must be going through. To spend your whole life searching for your people only to discover that they’re the leaders of that awful Dominion.

ODO: You heard about that?

LWAXANA: Odo, don’t worry. I’m here to help you.

In the shooting script, however, there was a line of dialog about Lwaxana Troi having friends in high places. One of these friends was Admiral Nechayev, whom Lwaxana Troi describes as “the sister I never had.“ Although it’s a throwaway gag that never made it into the finished episode, the concept of Lwaxana and Nechayev being friends dramatically changes how you see Star Trek: The Next Generation‘s Admiral.

How DS9’s Deleted Scene Changes Troi And Nechayev In Star Trek: TNG

“There has been a certain amount of tension between us in the past.”

In each of her Star Trek: The Next Generation and Star Trek: Deep Space Nine appearances, Admiral Nechayev is always portrayed as a tough, no-nonsense authority figure. So much so that in Star Trek: TNG season 7, episode 20, “Journey’s End”, Captain Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) is desperately trying to repair their working relationship. If DS9 had revealed that Nechayev and Lwaxana Troi were “sisters” then it would shed new light on her antagonistic relationship with Captain Picard. Perhaps Admiral Nechayev is so stern with Captain Picard because of how he had previously spurned Lwaxana Troi’s advances.

Despite her initial ambivalence toward him in her first Star Trek: The Next Generation appearance, Lwaxana Troi pursued Picard in “Manhunt”, forcing him to take refuge in the holodeck. It’s easy to imagine, therefore, that Lwaxana would recount Picard’s cowardly behavior over drinks with Admiral Nechayev, coloring her opinion of the Enterprise captain as a result. In many ways, it’s a shame that Star Trek: Deep Space Nine cut the line about Lwaxana and Nechayev’s friendship as it reveals that, stern as she may be, TNG‘s admiral clearly knows how to let her hair down.

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  Star Trek: Deep Space Nine

  Where to Watch

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  Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, also known as DS9, is the fourth series in the long-running Sci-Fi franchise, Star Trek. DS9 was created by Rick Berman and Michael Piller, and stars Avery Brooks, René Auberjonois, Terry Farrell, and Cirroc Lofton. This particular series follows a group of individuals in a space station near a planet called Bajor.

  Cast

  Avery Brooks
  , Rene Auberjonois
  , Cirroc Lofton
  , Colm Meaney
  , Armin Shimerman
  , Alexander Siddig
  , Nana Visitor
  , Michael Dorn
  , Nicole de Boer
  , Terry Farrell
  , Andrew Robinson

  Release Date

  
  January 3, 1993
  

  Seasons

  7

  Writers

  Michael Piller
  , Ira Steven Behr
  , Ronald D. Moore

  Showrunner

  Michael Piller
  , Ira Steven Behr

  Where To Watch

  Paramount+

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• 

  Star Trek: The Next Generation

  Where to Watch

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  Star Trek: The Next Generation is the third installment in the sci-fi franchise and follows the adventures of Captain Jean-Luc Picard and the crew members of the USS Enterprise. Set around one hundred years after the original series, Picard and his crew travel through the galaxy in largely self-contained episodes exploring the crew dynamics and their own political discourse. The series also had several overarching plots that would develop over the course of the isolated episodes, with four films released in tandem with the series to further some of these story elements.

  Cast

  Patrick Stewart
  , Marina Sirtis
  , Brent Spiner
  , Jonathan Frakes
  , LeVar Burton
  , Wil Wheaton
  , Gates McFadden
  , Michael Dorn

  Release Date

  
  September 28, 1987
  

  Seasons

  7

  Writers

  Rick Berman
  , Michael Piller
  , Brannon Braga
  , Jeri Taylor
  , Ronald D. Moore

  Showrunner

  Rick Berman
  , Michael Piller
  , Jeri Taylor

  Where To Watch

  Paramount+

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