The Importance of Kira Nerys

Star Trek fan Sophia wrote a stirring tribute to the importance of Kira Nerys in science fiction and on television that every Nana Visitor fan should read:

And that gift of Nana’s for a controlled performance of wild, complicated, sometimes self-contradicting emotion is what makes Kira Nerys as important as she is.

And Kira Nerys is important because she breaks the mold in which Ro Laren is stuck. Kira Nerys is a Tough Girl who shoots first and asks questions later, who’s all instinct, all impulse, and who is also entirely, availably emotional. And that part of her, the part of her that’s all feeling, is seen by the other characters and by the frame of the show as her strength. ‘Her presence,’ as Terry Farrell put it, ‘is her strength.’ You just do not see that on TV, that combination of toughness with feeling. (The sole other example I can think of is late-series Gabrielle of Xena: Warrior Princess.)

(read the full essay here…)

VIDEO: Nana Visitor & Sister Zan Prepare Eggplant Steaks

Nana and her sister, Zan, prepare Eggplant Steaks coupled with their mother’s tomato sauce in this cooking video from her YouTube channel. Also, there’s dancing.

VIDEO: Nana Visitor Makes Pumpkin Stew

Nana prepares Pumpkin Stew for Sunday dinner in this cooking video from her YouTube channel.

VIDEO: Nana Visitor and Son Django Go to the Farmer’s Market

Follow along as Nana and her son/camera man Django go to the Farmer’s Market in Corrales, NM, to choose items for Sunday dinner: Pumpkin Stew and Caramel Apple Pie. (And a tomato for lunch.)

VIDEO: Nana Visitor Teaches Us to Make Guacamole

A couple of years ago, a fan from Australia asked Nana for a recipe for guacamole. Rather than type out a recipe, Nana decided to film herself preparing the simple dip (son Django was the camera man). Her sister saw it and proposed a series of cooking videos, and Kitchen Witches was born! This week we’re featuring the video with just Nana, then in future weeks we’ll continue with the entire series.

VIDEO: Nana Visitor at DeepCon (Italy) Part 6

Nana was guest at DeepCon in Italy March 14-17, 2013. A kind soul recorded her Q&A session and posted it on YouTube for us to enjoy. In the final video of this series, part 6, Nana addresses the DS9/Babylon 5 feud, working with Sandra Bullock in the TV version of Working Girl, and her cooking career with her sister:

VIDEO: Nana Visitor at DeepCon (Italy) Part 5

Nana was guest at DeepCon in Italy March 14-17, 2013. A kind soul recorded her Q&A session and posted it on YouTube for us to enjoy. Here’s part 5 in which Nana discusses Broadway roles she’d cast herself in, her experience on stage, post-DS9 roles, and more:

VIDEO: Nana Visitor at DeepCon (Italy) Part 4

Nana was guest at DeepCon in Italy March 14-17, 2013. A kind soul recorded her Q&A session and posted it on YouTube for us to enjoy. Here’s part 4 in which Nana talks about her experience with fan fiction, Kira’s relationship with Odo, and her own moments of being starstruck:

VIDEO: Nana Visitor at DeepCon (Italy) Part 3

Nana was guest at DeepCon in Italy March 14-17, 2013. A kind soul recorded her Q&A session and posted it on YouTube for us to enjoy. Here’s part 3 in which Nana talks about getting “a different kind of attention” when she played the Intendent in the alternate DS9 universe:

VIDEO: Nana Visitor at DeepCon (Italy) Part 2

Nana was guest at DeepCon in Italy March 14-17, 2013. A kind soul recorded her Q&A session and posted it on YouTube for us to enjoy. Here’s part 2 in which Nana reveals which item she kept from the DS9 set (no one tell Rick Berman!):