Space Cases - Cast

Cast

• Theresa James "T.J." Davenport (Cary Lawrence) is the children's vice principal, but serves as their teacher aboard the Christa. Davenport takes herself and the rest of the universe a little too seriously. She has a habit of fainting at the first sign of danger, but on several occasions has stood strong in the face of terrible danger, even though she ends up bluffing some of the time.
• Commander Seth Goddard (Paul Boretski) is a former Stardog, and fought in the Spung War. Busted in rank from Captain and forced to teach the "Space Cases," Goddard is tough enough to whip the kids into shape, though his rigidity sometimes entices the kids to provoke him and Miss Davenport with practical jokes. He has a long and bitter rivalry with a space pirate named Reaver. It is revealed in the second season episode "Long Distance Calls" that Goddard was busted in rank for "almost starting a war" with Reaver. Goddard's backstory is one of the least explained in the series, and Reaver's appearance in the episode (whose entrance into the plot is explained by the creation of a communications device that the Christa's crew has possession of and Reaver wants to steal) raises more questions than answers. For example, Reaver can hold his own in a fight against Radu, who is Andromedan and allegedly has the strength of ten Earth men. Reaver even, for a time, 'psychically' combats Suzee who, up to this point in the series, never had problems pitching her consciousness into another entity to control them.
• Harlan Band (former Mighty Morphin Power Rangers star Walter Emanuel Jones) is a human from Earth, and is attending the Academy to become a Stardog like his biological father, who was killed by an Andromedan during the Andromedan War. Because of this, he is often antagonistic and prejudiced against Radu, at least during Season One. Harlan is headstrong and the self-appointed leader of the students, acting as pilot on the bridge. However, he is extremely overconfident, which sometimes leads to his endangering the crew. Harlan displays advanced martial arts and gymnastics skills. Jones is also credited as stunt coordinator in an episode of Space Cases.
• Catalina (Jewel Staite) is a rainbow-haired female ship's engineer from Titan, a moon of Saturn. Saturnians possess evolved vocal patterns, giving them and Catalina the ability to release destructive sonic screams. Though hers have disabled missiles, floored large attackers and assaulted the ship and all its contents, Catalina considers her powers to be "nothing" compared to the really skilled Saturnians who are known to shatter buildings with a single sonic blast. Catalina is often heard using the term "Grozit" which appears to be a Saturnian non-vulgar expletive, similar in usage to the word "Heavens," in context such as "Heavens, no/Grozit, no." Series co-creator Peter David has used the curse "Grozit" in his Star Trek: New Frontier novels and Captain Marvel comics. Initially, Catalina carries on conversations with Suzee, a person whom she explains is an invisible friend that no one else can see, but her crewmates initially believe Suzee to be an imaginary friend, despite Catalina's insistence to the contrary. In the Season 1 finale, "On the Road to Find Out", Suzee is explicitly revealed to be a real person, played by Rebecca Herbst. It is explained that Suzee existed in another dimension, on a planet called Yensid. In Season One, Catalina explains that their brainwaves are attuned to the same sonic frequency, allowing them to speak and even see each other as though they are in the same room (Catalina even turns to face Suzee as she talks to her). Catalina even tells the others that she can see Suzee, but no one else can. In Season Two, when Suzee and Catalina trade places, Catalina lives at Suzee's home and is not present on the ship in the same manner that Suzee seemed to be during Season One. During the second season, Suzee explains that something blocks off her ability to communicate with Catalina inter-dimensionally, which may have something to do with the reason why Suzee can't see Catalina the same way Catalina saw Suzee in Season One. Jewel Staite would again play a young engineer on a spaceship years later in the cult television series Firefly.
• Radu (Kristian Ayre) is a being from a planet called Andromeda (most people assume this to mean that he is from the Andromeda Galaxy). He has no real family, since Andromedans are hatched from eggs. Radu has super-sensitive hearing and superhuman strength, just as all Andromedans do, which was the reason behind the Spungs enslaving them and starting the Andromedan War. Radu suffers from an inferiority complex; as such, he tries his very hardest to get people to like him. The Andromedan culture is based on uniformity of mind and purpose, making Radu's desire to have a family and be his own person an anomaly of character. Radu has an appreciable sense of direction, which makes him the best candidate for the ship's navigator, forcing him to work in conjunction with the pilot, rival Harlan Band. Andromedans not only possess an internal temperature, but an internal barometric pressure as well. It is possible, when ill, for an Andromedan to have snow come from their ears. Radu has a significantly greater molecular density than most humanoids, which accounts for his superior strength, stability and long hair (which is nearly impossible to cut). In the episode "Desperately Seeking Suzee," the Christa is knocked around, and the entire crew is thrust about except for Radu who stands comfortably still with his arms crossed. He is also more patient,logical and realistic than the rest of the crew, especially Harlan.
• Bova (Rahi Azizi) is from Uranus. His race possesses an extra appendage: a small, pronged antennae growing from their forehead which can generate powerful blasts of electricity. Bova has an incredible metabolism that supplements his advanced energy production, which is the reason for his incredible appetite. He will eat nearly anything, and is always hungry. Being from Uranus, and thereby "the butt of every joke," he is consistently pessimistic in every situation, a Uranian cultural trait. Bova is responsible for operating and monitoring the Christa's shields. The nature of Bova's name is never explained, but in the Season Two episode "Long Distance Calls," when Bova's father, Benn, calls to speak to his son. This is a reference to science fiction writer Ben Bova. (It is assumed that Uranusians have only one name.)
• Rosie Ianni (Paige Christina) is from Mercury, and has the ability to produce vast amounts of heat at will. At the beginning of the series, she wore a helmet to help her control this ability, but it was removed in subsequent episodes, revealing her inherent bald head, which is a trait of all Mercurians. Rosie is the mothering influence within the crew, always trying to make sure that her fellow cadets are happy and getting along (because Mercury is so close to the Sun, all Mercurians have a tendency to 'look on the bright side' of things). She serves as a doctor/scientist, and has a tendency to adopt seemingly cute things that turn out to be troublesome for the crew. At one point in the series, Rosie temporarily took on the power to generate telekinetic energy blasts, on top of her fire-based powers.
• Thelma (Techno Human EmuLating MAchine) (Anik Matern), the mysterious ship's only native inhabitant, is an android who often malfunctions, owing in no small part to the fact that her memory chip, a small gem residing in her forehead, is cracked. (It is unclear whether the crystal was cracked when Harlan stepped on it, or if the damage was preexisting.) She has a habit of taking things too literally, and often does not realize moderately obvious things. In season 2, her appearance changes to reflect the altered appearance of the Christa following the emergency crash on a planet. Her color changes from copper to silver and her gem changes from amber to saphire.
• Suzee (Rebecca Herbst) is Catalina's best friend, and is believed to be imaginary by the crew throughout Season One. Following Catalina's apparent death at the end of Season One, Suzee joins the crew in her stead. Suzee's hair is similar to Catalina's, but is longer and actually shows up as colored streaks interspersed through her predominantly brunette hair. She is very intelligent (she is said to be "smarter than a million books" in the revised opening title sequence that includes her character) and has two sets of gills just beneath both sides of her clavicle that allow her to breathe in any atmosphere, though not in the vacuum of space. A bit overconfident herself, and sometimes at odds with Miss Davenport for being treated like a child despite not officially being one of her students, Suzee is also a telepath who can read others' minds and project her consciousness into other people's minds in order to possess their bodies. This ability even extends to sentient computers, such as Pezu in the series finale "A Friend in Need". Suzee often acts as a rival to Harlan, though as the season progresses a possible love interest seems to develop between them. However Rosie once accidentally blurts out that Suzee likes Radu the best of all the crew members. Moreover, Radu and Suzee appear to be more at ease with one another, and it is evident that Suzee also prefers him rather than Harlan.
• Elmira (Katie Emme McIninch) is a frequent ally of the Christa crew. She is a Spung oracle and as such, the crew did not trust her at first (especially Radu). Due to Spung society having a low opinion of their women, Elmira ran away from home years ago. Despite her upbringing, she is quite gentle and pleasant, if rather secretive. Although Radu at first despises her for her origins, the two grow close and kiss twice. It is revealed in the Season One finale that she is Warlord Shank's daughter. It is interesting to note that she gives the first foreshadowing of Catalina's later "death" when she predicts that someone new will come and Catalina will disappear.
• Warlord Shank (George Takei), is a Spung commander who is a deadly space pirate and adversary for the crew of the Christa, having elite Spung officers under his command. He first appears in his Killcruiser when he intercepts and threatens to destroy the Christa after discovering that his daughter Elmira, a Spung princess and love interest of Radu, could be on board. Shank develops into a major villain throughout the run of the series.