Published Feb 4, 2015
17 Years Later... "Who Mourns for Morn?"
17 Years Later... "Who Mourns for Morn?"
Today, February 4, marks the 17th anniversary of "Who Mourns for Morn?", the popular Deep Space Nine episode that centered on the apparent death of Morn (Mark Allen Shepherd), the super-talkative—though never doing so on screen—barfly at Quark's. The hour is funny and heartfelt, with plenty of inside jokes for the audience, some more obvious than others.
Some facts and tidbits to consider:
- Morn was a Lurian.
- As production on "Who Mourns for Morn?" approached, rumors on the set varied from day to day about Morn's fate. He'd live. He'd die. He'd fake his own death. Apparently, the writers seriously considered killing off Morn, until someone (Penny Juday) pointed out that it'd be like killing a sports team's mascot. And so Morn survived.
- In a guest blog Shepherd wrote two years ago forStarTrek.com, he noted that several references in the episode came directly from his relationships with cast, crew, writers and production people. "I used to practice Tai chi chuan, a Chinese martial art, on the set in between shots that I was needed for," he explained. "So, in 'Who Mourns for Morn?' when Dax and Worf are talking, on their way to the memorial service for Morn, Worf says "Morn was an excellent sparring partner. I will miss our weekly combat in the holosuites," it came from my practice of Tái Chi. Even the 'Matador' painting that Morn had hanging in his quarters was somehow related to that. I think I told one of the writers or someone on the set that Tái chi chuan was like a matador in a bullfight by analogy."
- The Bajoran sitting in Quark's chair, keeping "it warm for Morn," is none other than Mark Allen Shepherd.
- The art work of Morn on the counter at Quark's? It's by none other than Mark Allen Shepherd, who actually created several pieces of art seen on DS9.
- Michael Westmore and his team were nominated for an Emmy Award in the Outstanding Makeup category for their work on this episode.
- It's in this show that Quark mentions that latinum is actually a liquid, which explains why it's pressed inside of gold.
- The talented character actor Gregory Itzin played Hain, who stakes a claim to Morn's money and property. Itzin had previously portrayed Ilon Tandro on DS9 and also guest starred as Dr. Dysek on Voyagerand as both Captain Sopek and Admiral Black on Enterprise.
- This was the second of six Star Trek episodes helmed by Victor Lobl. For DS9, he'd previously directed "For The Uniform" and later did "In the Pale Moonlight" and "Prodigal Daughter." He also called the shots on the Voyager hours "The Killing Game, Part II" and "The Omega Directive."
- 4.96 million viewers watched "Who Mourns for Mourn" in its initial airing.
