Spoilers Star Trek: Deep Space Nine

[Ryujin]

According to Memory Alpha, changelings are capable of mimicking small electronics such as combadges.

As for accuracy, Odo is basically a baby changeling. He's only been self-aware for something like 30-40 years (it's not stated on-screen when he was discovered, but the scientist who experimented on him is still alive and not super-old), and changelings can clearly live for several centuries, possibly forever. So it's not strange that older and more experienced changelings can do things he can't.

And the sharing of memories, via The Great Link, would undoubtedly act to share experience and skill well beyond their natural ages. Odo didn't have the benefit of that.

 

[jian]

According to Memory Alpha, changelings are capable of mimicking small electronics such as combadges.

As for accuracy, Odo is basically a baby changeling. He's only been self-aware for something like 30-40 years (it's not stated on-screen when he was discovered, but the scientist who experimented on him is still alive and not super-old), and changelings can clearly live for several centuries, possibly forever. So it's not strange that older and more experienced changelings can do things he can't.

Odo was found by Dr Mora in infantile form in 2345, and DS9 starts in 2369. So if you consider Odo to be effectively 1 year old when found, he was only 25 at the beginning of DS9 (and basically a teenager when serving as its security chief under the Cardassians). Odo may act like he’s 50 (and his actor was 53 when DS9 started) but he’s actually much younger, and that explains a lot about his behaviour (his crushing on Kira, for example).

This is actually a pretty interesting line of thought. Rene Auberjonois was an amazing actor and his Odo was iconic, but would it have been better to have a younger actor? Or to have it stressed often (in much the same way that Dax’s characterisation often mentioned that she was 27 but she had two centuries’ worth of memories and experience) that Odo was in fact much younger than he pretended to be?

Because now we know this it seems very likely that Odo deliberately pretended to be older and more mature than he was (not unlike the First Doctor presenting as an old wise wizard, but later regenerations having got over that adolescent need to seem older). And yes, given that he was an enforcer for a brutal fascist regime for a decade when he was a teenager - it was his first job, poor lad - he was also much more traumatised and broken than he seemed. I think it’d have been nice to mention this during the flashback episodes.

 

[Staffan]

Odo was found by Dr Mora in infantile form in 2345, and DS9 starts in 2369.

I don't think 2345 is fully canon. As far as I can tell, it comes from a novel, not the TV show (at least according to Memories Alpha and Beta – Alpha only lists the date of his discovery as "mid-24th century", while Beta says 2345 and references a novel).

So if you consider Odo to be effectively 1 year old when found, he was only 25 at the beginning of DS9 (and basically a teenager when serving as its security chief under the Cardassians). Odo may act like he’s 50 (and his actor was 53 when DS9 started) but he’s actually much younger, and that explains a lot about his behaviour (his crushing on Kira, for example).

This is actually a pretty interesting line of thought. Rene Auberjonois was an amazing actor and his Odo was iconic, but would it have been better to have a younger actor? Or to have it stressed often (in much the same way that Dax’s characterisation often mentioned that she was 27 but she had two centuries’ worth of memories and experience) that Odo was in fact much younger than he pretended to be?

Because now we know this it seems very likely that Odo deliberately pretended to be older and more mature than he was (not unlike the First Doctor presenting as an old wise wizard, but later regenerations having got over that adolescent need to seem older). And yes, given that he was an enforcer for a brutal fascist regime for a decade when he was a teenager - it was his first job, poor lad - he was also much more traumatised and broken than he seemed. I think it’d have been nice to mention this during the flashback episodes.

As for Odo's appearance, it is based on Mora Pol, the scientist who originally studied him (and weren't always particularly gentle about it). It might also be related to a desire to present an aura of authority, as combined with his desire for order/justice. No-one takes a young lad seriously – I mean, there's a reason this is a meme:

 

[MarkB]

According to Memory Alpha, changelings are capable of mimicking small electronics such as combadges.

As for accuracy, Odo is basically a baby changeling. He's only been self-aware for something like 30-40 years (it's not stated on-screen when he was discovered, but the scientist who experimented on him is still alive and not super-old), and changelings can clearly live for several centuries, possibly forever. So it's not strange that older and more experienced changelings can do things he can't.

Plus other Changelings have regular access to the shared knowledge and experience of the Great Link, essentially sharing in their collective expertise.

 

[Gradine]

The female changeling does say she does the look to make Odo comfortable. Of course, it does not explain while all the rest do it. And even more so, why all the changelings not around DS9 do it.

They do not speak of it to outsiders

 

[jian]

The female changeling does say she does the look to make Odo comfortable. Of course, it does not explain while all the rest do it. And even more so, why all the changelings not around DS9 do it.

I forgot about Laas, who’s also one of the Hundred and looks much like Odo (and the Female Changeling) despite not having met either before. Yeah, I’m going to go with “it’s the consistent baseline appearance Founders use to signal their divinity to their worshippers, and both Odo and Laas remember instinctively how to take that form as a default.”

 

[pukunui]

I may have to go back and rewatch the ending, but I feel like the changeling in the early season 4 episode who sabotages the Defiant doesn't resemble Odo in the moments before Odo accidentally kills him. (Also, I assume that has consequences for Odo down the track?)

 

[trappedslider]

(Also, I assume that has consequences for Odo down the track?)

It does

 

[Willie the Duck]

The one thing I wish they'd explained is why all the Changelings look like Odo, when Odo is attempting to look like the scientist who raised him. I wish they'd thrown in at least a brief explanation of "we took on this form to try and convince you to stay" or something.

Mora Pol shows up twice. The 'look like the scientist that raised him' bit appears to be a reference to being a brown haired Caucasian with slicked-back hair. Odo's 'Madame Tussauds in a heat wave' look is clearly not part of looking like Pol. It could be some kind of default form (perhaps to signal their godhood to Jem'Hadar and the like) that Odo stumbles into. It could also just be what's easiest. It could also be that Odo is 'bad with faces' in that he, personally, is not satisfied with the results and so would rather stick with something obviously not an attempt at realism. Really what they needed to do was give Salome Jens' character a different hairstyle when not interacting with Odo, and that would have about covered it.

Odo was found by Dr Mora in infantile form in 2345, and DS9 starts in 2369. So if you consider Odo to be effectively 1 year old when found, he was only 25 at the beginning of DS9 (and basically a teenager when serving as its security chief under the Cardassians). Odo may act like he’s 50 (and his actor was 53 when DS9 started) but he’s actually much younger, and that explains a lot about his behaviour (his crushing on Kira, for example).

This is actually a pretty interesting line of thought. Rene Auberjonois was an amazing actor and his Odo was iconic, but would it have been better to have a younger actor? Or to have it stressed often (in much the same way that Dax’s characterisation often mentioned that she was 27 but she had two centuries’ worth of memories and experience) that Odo was in fact much younger than he pretended to be?

Because now we know this it seems very likely that Odo deliberately pretended to be older and more mature than he was (not unlike the First Doctor presenting as an old wise wizard, but later regenerations having got over that adolescent need to seem older). And yes, given that he was an enforcer for a brutal fascist regime for a decade when he was a teenager - it was his first job, poor lad - he was also much more traumatised and broken than he seemed. I think it’d have been nice to mention this during the flashback episodes.

It certainly is interesting to think about. Star Trek in general doesn't do as much with age as it could -- possibly for the best.

Makeup is one thing, you want a blurry animal you need to use cgi, super-expensive (and very slow) in those days.

It was certainly in the era of 'we could do that with CGI... you sure you don't want any guest speaking roles this episode?' I just noticed recently that some of the shots of Galaxy class ships in DS9 still have attachment points for the third nacelle they added for All Good Things... because they modded the actual ship model. Easy to forget how much of that was practical.

 

[Mustrum_Ridcully]

Mora Pol shows up twice. The 'look like the scientist that raised him' bit appears to be a reference to being a brown haired Caucasian with slicked-back hair. Odo's 'Madame Tussauds in a heat wave' look is clearly not part of looking like Pol. It could be some kind of default form (perhaps to signal their godhood to Jem'Hadar and the like) that Odo stumbles into. It could also just be what's easiest. It could also be that Odo is 'bad with faces' in that he, personally, is not satisfied with the results and so would rather stick with something obviously not an attempt at realism. Really what they needed to do was give Salome Jens' character a different hairstyle when not interacting with Odo, and that would have about covered it.

It certainly is interesting to think about. Star Trek in general doesn't do as much with age as it could -- possibly for the best.

It was certainly in the era of 'we could do that with CGI... you sure you don't want any guest speaking roles this episode?' I just noticed recently that some of the shots of Galaxy class ships in DS9 still have attachment points for the third nacelle they added for All Good Things... because they modded the actual ship model. Easy to forget how much of that was practical.

I never noticed the nacelle attachment points, but I think the nacelle mounted phaser banks I did notice.