10 Times Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Went Woke
9. Showcasing Disability
For story writer Evan Carlos Somers, Melora was a personal project. As a paraplegic wheelchair user, Somers used his own experiences in attempting to get around while creating the challenges that Melora faces with the Cardassian-designed space station.
According to the Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Companion, Rick Berman and Michael Piller had originally intended to include a character 'used to living in a low gravity environment,' who would have been forced to use a wheelchair in areas of 'normal' gravity. While budgets prevented a regular addition to the show, Somers brought this idea back for his episode.
Melora faces some of the challenges that Somers faced in reality. He had worked in several environments that had been rampless, though perhaps without the jutting struts of DS9's architecture. She was given a slimmed-down wheelchair, though she still struggles with the exoskeleton designed to equalise gravity around her.
Though representing disabilities on screen has a patchy history, Deep Space Nine both succeeded, but could have gone further. Somers later reflected on the episode, lamenting some of the writing changes that occurred after he turned in his draft. He felt that it devolved into stereotypes, with Melora becoming the problem, rather than her colleagues, when it came to acclimatising.
Though Melora was an attempt to showcase disability in the workplace, from an idea submitted by a writer with direct experience, the result was an episode that paints the character as combative, while focusing on Bashir's reactions, rather than any lessons learned.