ThisStar Trek: The Next Generationcrew member appeared in the pilot episode before being promptly forgotten. WhileTNG’stwo-part premiere, “Encounter at Farpoint,” established many aspects that continued throughout the series, some elements didn’t quite stick. Captain Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) and the crew of the USS Enterprise-D would go on to become as beloved as the cast ofStar Trek: The Original Series,butit took time for the show to find itself.Lt. Tasha Yar (Denise Crosby) would only stick around for the first season ofTNGand Dr. Beverly Crusher (Gates McFadden) would leave the show and then return.
Star Trek: The Next Generation’score castwas more or less established from the beginning, but season 1 cycled through several Enterprise crew members who only made one or two appearances. For example, multiple chief engineers popped up throughoutTNGseason 1, before Lt. Commander Geordi La Forge (LeVar Burton) earned the position at the start of season 2. In “Encounter at Farpoint,” the USS Enterprise-D sets off on its official first mission, which is soon interrupted by John de Lancie’s Q.A crew member named Lt. Torres, portrayed by Jimmy Ortega, played a role in this mission,but never appeared onTNGagain.
Lt. Torres Acts As A Stand-In For Geordi During Star Trek: The Next Generation’s Pilot
Torres Mans The Ops Station When Q First Appears On The Enterprise-D
InStar Trek: The Next Generation’s series premiere,Lt. Torres serves on the USS Enterprise-D bridge as the flight control officer,replacing Geordi when he leaves the operations station. At the beginning of “Encounter at Farpoint,“Torres sits at ops when Q first appears,announcing that"something strange"has appeared on the"detector circuits.“Torres then brings the Enterprise to a full stop when a mysterious barrier appears in front of the ship. When Q appears on the bridge, Torres attempts to fire his phaser at him, unaware that it would be ineffective on the god-like being.
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Q notices Torres approaching, even from behind, and orders him to stop.Q then freezes Torres, blasting him with frigid air and causing the lieutenant tofall to the floor encased in ice crystals. Torres is then rushed to sickbay, where he later makes a full recovery. Not only does Torres play a role in the introduction of one ofStar Trek’sbest recurring characters, but he also receives a name in his first scene. This sets Torres up to be a significant character, but he is never seen or mentioned again after “Encounter at Farpoint.”
Jimmy Ortega Has Appeared Elsewhere In The Star Trek Franchise Too
Jimmy Ortega’s appearance as Torres inTNG’spilot remains his only creditedStar Trekappearance, but he also played small roles in episodes ofStar Trek: VoyagerandStar Trek: Enterprise. InVoyagerseason 7, episode 13, “Repentance,” Ortega served as the stunt double for F.J. Rio, who portrayed a Benkaran prisoner named Joleg.Ortega also popped in inEnterpriseseason 3, episode 3, “Extinction"as a Decon Agent who tried to killCaptain Jonathan Archer (Scott Bakula), Ensign Hoshi Sato (Linda Park), and Sub-Commander T’Pol (Jolene Blalock). Ortega’s Agent is killed by his fellow agents after his decon suit rips, infecting him with a deadly virus.
Jimmy Ortega’s Lt. Torres helped make Q’sStar Trek: The Next Generationentrance memorable.
Ortega is an actor and stuntman who has been involved in numerous popular television shows and films since he began performing in 1979.He has served as a stunt performer in films such asPredator 2,Tombstone, Ocean’s Eleven, Spider-Man 2,andTerminator: Dark Fate. As an actor, he has appeared in episodes ofMagnum P.I., Dragnet, Days of Our Lives, ArrestedDevelopment,andWalker. Ortega also appeared in the 2012A-Teamfilm, as well as 2022’sBabylon. Jimmy Ortega’s Lt. Torres helped make Q’sStar Trek: The Next Generationentrance memorable, and it’s a shame the character never appeared again.
