Monday, August 19, 2019

MONDAY MEMORIAL TVXOHOF TRIBUTE - LURSA, HOUSE OF DURAS



We interrupt our regularly scheduled showcase for the TV Western to conduct another Monday Memorial TVXOHOF Tribute.  Sadly, actress Barbara March has passed away, so we’re going to honor her by inducting her most famous character into the Television Crossover Hall of Fame.
LURSA DURAS

From Star Trek. Com

The fierce Klingon, Lursa, sister of B'Etor (Gwynyth Walsh), in the ‘Star Trek: The Next Generation’ episodes "Redemption," "Redemption, Part II," and "Firstborn," the ‘Star Trek: Deep Space Nine’ entry “Past Prologue,” and the TNG feature “Star Trek Generations”. March also provided Lursa's voice for the video game “Star Trek: The Next Generation — Klingon Honor Guard”, and, frequently alongside Walsh, was a fan favorite at Trek conventions worldwide. March's husband, Alan Scarfe — himself a three-time Trek guest star — confirmed on Facebook that she passed away on August 11 at the age of 65.


March was best known for her Trek work, and she relished both the Lursa role and the fan base's enduring embrace of her character. "It's amazing," she told Ian Spelling in 1994, during an interview for the official “Star Trek Generations” magazine. "We were really surprised by how popular Lursa and B'Etor are. I think it's because, in one sense, these women have a great deal of power. They're very emotional, almost a bad Laurel and Hardy team. They're rebellious, strong, and can kick butt, and there just aren't that many female characters on television who control things like the Duras sisters try to do. I think all of these aspects, and the chemistry between Gwynyth and I, have helped the characters really catch on. It was wonderful to create a character on ‘Star Trek’ because she wasn't a stereotypical cardboard cutout."

From Treknews. Net
Another 'Star Trek' celebrity has ascended to Sto-vo-kor.

We have learned that Barbara Scarfe (credited as Barbara March), the actress who played the magnificently evil Lursa, one of the Duras sisters, passed away after a battle with cancer.
Together with her Klingon sister B’Etor, she wreaked havoc in episodes of ‘Star Trek: The Next Generation’ (“Redemption” – part I and II, “Firstborn”) and ‘Star Trek: Deep Space Nine’ (“Past Prologue”). She also starred in the feature film “Star Trek: Generations”.

From Memory Alpha;
Lursa was a female Klingon officer of the 24th century Klingon Empire and member of the House of Duras. She was the elder of the two Duras sisters, herself and B'Etor, sister of Duras and daughter of Ja'rod. Through Duras, she had a nephew, Toral. She was the mastermind behind her family's fight to head the Klingon Empire.
Together with Be'tor, she was responsible for the beginning of the Klingon Civil War in 2367. With the assistance of the Romulans, Lursa and B'Etor plotted to install Toral, the illegitimate son of Duras, on the throne of the Klingon High Council. She attempted to persuade Jean-Luc Picard, who was the Arbiter of Succession, to rule in favor of Toral. When Picard supported Gowron, she and her sister took up arms against Gowron. Their attempt was defeated when the Federation blockaded delivery of supplies from the Romulans. When the Romulan involvement was exposed, Lursa's support evaporated. (TNG: "Redemption", "Redemption II")

The Duras sisters were also responsible for selling bilitrium to Bajoran Kohn-Ma terrorists in 2369. This plot was revealed through investigation by Elim Garak and Julian Bashir. They did this in order to obtain capital to rebuild their forces. (DS9: "Past Prologue") Another capital-raising scheme had them seizing a Pakled magnesite mine on Kalla III, overseen by the Dopterian Gorta, and selling its explosive ore to a Yridian, Yog. In 2370, they were also falsely accused of plotting to kill Worf and his son. During that same year, she was pregnant with her first child. (TNG: "Firstborn")
In 2371, the sisters worked with El-Aurian scientist Tolian Soran and raided a Romulan outpost to acquire trilithium in exchange for Soran's trilithium weapon. Lursa died above Veridian III when her Bird-of-Prey was destroyed by the USS Enterprise-D. (“Star Trek Generations”)

It may not be Sto-Vo-Kor, but you are welcome in the TVXOHOF, Lursa of the House Duras.


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