Star Trek: DS9’s Odo and TNG’s Data were similar, but an abandoned plan for Rene Auberjonois in season 2 would have made them even more alike.

An abandoned plan for the character of Constable Odo (Rene Auberjonois) in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine would have made him more like Star Trek: The Next Generation‘s Lt. Commander Data (Brent Spiner) in one key way. Like Spock (Leonard Nimoy) before them, Odo and Data were alien characters who sought to understand more about what it meant to be human. However, while Spock and Data were aware of their origins, Odo’s own origin story was shrouded in mystery for the first two seasons of DS9.

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine seasons 1 and 2 did, however, reveal details about his early life. Discovered in his liquid form drifting through space near the wormhole, Odo came into the possession of Bajoran scientist Dr. Mora Pol (James Sloyan). Odo once told Lwaxana Troi (Majel Barrett) that he based his hair on Dr. Mora. DS9‘s producers had planned to go much further with the similarities between Odo and Mora in season 2, episode 12, “The Alternate”, in a manner similar to Data and his creator, Noonien Soong (Brent Spiner).

How DS9 Tried To Make Odo More Like TNG’s Data

The Star Trek: Deep Space Nine companion reveals that the original plan for “The Alternate” was to have Rene Auberjonois play both Constable Odo and Dr. Mora Pol. Brent Spiner had done the same thing in Star Trek: The Next Generation, playing both Lt. Commander Data and his creator, Dr. Noonien Soong, to great success. Years later, Robert Picardo would also do double duty as the EMH Doctor in Star Trek: Voyager and his creator, Dr. Lewis Zimmerman. However, due to a considerable logistical issue, it was decided that Rene Auberjonois wouldn’t play both Odo and Mora.

The main issue for “The Alternate” was that it would require extensive make-up work for Rene Auberjonois to play both characters in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. One particular scene in the episode sees an angry Odo lose physical stability, and begin to melt in front of Dr. Mora. If that weren’t complex enough, there would be the daily make-up required for Auberjonois to play Odo, combined with the additional make-up to transform the actor into a Bajoran scientist. It was estimated that the work involved would double the length of the shoot, and so James Sloyan was cast instead.

DS9’s Odo And TNG’s Data Did Have 1 Major Thing In Common

Rene Auberjonois didn’t follow in Brent Spiner’s footsteps by playing both “father” and “son” in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. However, Odo and Data did share one big thing in common. Both DS9‘s Odo and Star Trek: The Next Generation‘s Data effectively begin their stories as orphans. Odo was discovered drifting in space above Bajor, while Data was discovered abandoned on the planet Omicron Theta. Both Odo and Data then spent a considerable amount of time learning to become more human, with the intervention of scientific minds. And then, years later, when Odo and Data do find their origins, they also discover their evil counterparts.

In Star Trek: The Next Generation, it was Data’s evil brother Lore, while for Odo it was the Changelings, the so-called founders of DS9‘s anti-Federation. Both men had to reconcile their problematic relatives, as both Lore and the Dominion sought to destroy everyone that Data and Odo cared for. So, while Odo wasn’t as physically similar to Dr. Mora Pol as Data was to Noonien Soong, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine‘s Changeling Constable did share a very similar character arc to TNG‘s beloved android.