Ensign Sonya Gomez Was Supposed To Be A Much Larger Part Of Star Trek: TNG

Lt. Commander Geordi LaForge almost had a girlfriend in Ensign Sonya Gomez

Lycia Nash portrayed Ensign Sonya Gomez on two episodes of Star Trek: The Next Generation. She stood out in one, "Q, Who," where she said please to the food replicator when asking for a cup of hot chocolate. LaForge heard her and told her she didn't have to say please or thank you to computers. Her nerves got the best of her, and she began to chatter how about how excited she was to be on board the Enterprise. Well, that was supposed to be the beginning of a beautiful relationshp. But Gomez ploughed into Captain Picard, spilling hot chocolate all over them both, creating a comical moment.

In an interview with Startrek.com, [via SlashFilm] Nash revealed that her part in The Next Generation was originally pitched as much larger. In fact, she was going to be LaForge's love interest. But when it came time for the relationship to start, Gomez was told the character was "more comic relief than love interest."

Ensign Sonya Gomez was going to be the reason why LaForge had a risky surgery to restore his eyesight.

So producers needed someone who wasn't written so comically to play the part, and Nash, who said she was super-bummed, was out. This doesn't seem fair to Nash. If the producers intended to bring her back as a love interest for LaForge, why did they write her comically to begin with? And even so, the character could have still had that comedic energy and have fallen in love with Geordi and he with her. What did her being funny have to do with love?

Sonya Gomez returned to Star Trek: Lower Decks as Captain Gomez, commander of the USS Archimedes, but the producers' decision to have her play her part in "Q Who" a certain way cost her the opportunity for a much larger role.