Picardo on Voyager Role, Roddenberry’s Vision, & New Trek Movie August 17, 2007
by Charles Trotter , Filed under: VOY , trackback 
In a couple new interviews Star Trek: Voyager star Robert Picardo talks on his time with Trek, his future projects and his thoughts on the new Star Trek feature. Picardo tells Seb’s Raw Takes that he initially did not have high expectations for his role as the Emergency Medical Hologram on Voyager, saying "when you accept a role that is described as ‘colorless, humorless, a computer program of a doctor’ you don’t necessarily have great expectations for how the character will develop.” The Doctor eventually became one of the break-out characters on the series and Picardo notes his thanks for how the show’s writers gave him "wonderful things to do” as his character grew and became more popular. The actor also endorsed Gene Roddenberry’s more optimistic view of the future, noting “we need more than ever to focus on the kind of hope and positive vision that Star Trek represents.”
Regarding the new Star Trek feature film Picardo seems very positive, saying “I think [Abrams is] a great talent and a really good choice to reboot the franchise. [Having] Kirk and Spock as younger men just completing their Starfleet training … is a very good notion to do with the franchise.” He went on to add that, although the characters will be recast, “if it revitalizes the franchise all of the Star Trek family will benefit from it.”
Future projects
Picardo reveals to Slice of SciFi that he has recently finished shooting for the live action film Ben 10: Race Against Time which will be on the Cartoon Network and will also appear in the new season of Stargate Atlantis as his recurring character Woolsey (pictured above). Picardo tells Seb’s Raw Takes that shooting on Stargate is “more relaxed” and “mellower” than his work on Trek.
For much more…
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Comments»
I thought Picardo was one of the funnier things in “Innerspace” a movie that I admit to having enjoyed.
And I won’t even say it.
Re 1:
I also enjoyed Innerspace, and was sad it didn’t become a big hit like other Spielberg produced films like Back to the Future.
I didn’t realize Picardo was in that movie. I’ll have to go back and watch it again…
THX he’s had some amusing movie parts. He also did the voice for the Jonny-Cab in the Schwarzenegger movie title escapes me at the moment.
I’ve seen him live. Class act. Very funny man.
he played a middle eastern arms dealer who was obsessed with western culture named ‘the cowboy’…very funny. Innerspace is a good film IMHO. Picardo is one of the more talented actors in Trek, and in my view the best actor on VOY.
I don’t know if he was the best actor on Voyager, but his was certainly the best character–which tells you everything you need to know about where that series went wrong. (And compared to the dullards on Enterprise, the Voyager crew were virtually Shakespearean.)
Picardo is right on about Trek’s essential optimism regarding the future. If Abrams manages to capture that aspect of the show’s vibe on film or HD video, he’ll already be halfway home.
I like Picardo. I still see Picardo as Johnny Cab in Total Recall (or at least the robotic face was modeled on him) every time I see him. I asked him if at the Star Trek 40th in Chicago last year. He admitted it was true.
I mispoke,….or mis typed. I asked him if my assumption was true. He said it was.
Robert Picardo was the best thing about Voyager.
Bla bla bla, positive future, Roddenberry’s vision, bla bla bla….
Action, Adventure, Excitement, Womanizing Captain! WHOOT! That’s what I want!
Trek has a fairly good record on casting. (I have one exception that I’ll skip here.)
Piccardo was excellent in China Beach. I think he said in another interview that that was the role that drew the Trek casting people to him for the EMH Doctor.
I’m trying to think whether any of the other characters on Voyager actually developed during the run of the series. Everyone else was pretty much the same from pilot to finale. Chakotay went through hell in the first two seasons (which was good writing) but then kinda settled down.
Anyway, I like Picardo wherever he pops up. (pun intended)
I had completely forgotten about Picardo in Total Recall. Yes, yes, I can see the resemblance. It all makes sense.
And I’m glad to make contact with other people who admit to liking Innerspace. So many years in hiding. Most people who watch it have no idea that Picardo is the cowboy, one of the funnier villians put on film. Martin Short was rather charming in it, too. I was also a big Fantastic Voyage fan, so this was right up my alley.
Innerspace fans (or appreciaters) unite!
yes, funny movie. Martin Short was on the cusp of being a main stream star back then.
#9… Yeah!
#8
I think all the VOY characters and actors started out interesting, but the only one who seemed able to maintain that til the end was Picardo. Even through the crappy writing he still managed to bring a lot of life and energy to the show.
I believe that he also played the alien charactor and his dad in the movie The Explorers. :-)
Very talented character-actor. He was especially creepy in THE HOWLING.
He’s good on stage too. A quick wit. Fast on his feet at the Trek conventions I’ve seen him at.
Expect to find Robert Picardo in most of Joe Dante’s cinematic efforts. He and Dick Miller are like Donte’s “Mercury Theatre Players.”
Is it any wonder why they had him appear in First Contact? I remember when he appeared on the screen, and the whole audience started cheering! I don’t ever remember that happening for Janeway in Nemesis…
The one thing I didn’t like about the EMH was how the writers always cheated their way out of plot problems with him by some piece of “tech” like the mobile emitter…
He’s funny in Dante’s “Matinee” which you should see!
Btw… The Doctor is one character they could easily bring back (in a DVD movie or what have you, thanks to his mobile emitter). Make that TITAN / Riker DVD movie and get Picardo on board!
I always was impressed with his performance in China Beach. Underappreciated actor.
20… It was a few years before they gave the Doctor the mobile emitter. I felt it actually enriched the character, as it allowed him to see the outside world first hand. It helped him in his development as a sentient being. I never felt that was a cheat.
I just want to give my thumbs up to James R Kirk for entry # 9. I agree completely!
…Even though my favorite Star Trek captain of all time is Kirk, one of my favorite episodes was “The Cage” because of the ” Action, Adventure, Excitement, Womanizing Captain! ” I think that show represents the heart of Star Trek.
I think that I’m probably alone on this one…??
Sorry I got off-topic but I just had to say it.
yea, off topic… wrong ship this time
I liked the idea of a (kinda) non-machine, non-organic crew member. The Doctor’s slightly wimpy, very sarcastic persona was a fun addition. more so than say… Neelix
The Doctor was and (is) a good character in Star Trek. Wasn’t he called up - his program for Star Trek - First Contact when the Borg were breaking through the door or was that a episode on Voyager?
Also….Trek fans I need your help. I use to watch the updated Star Trek episodes out of KWGN from Denver….but for some reason I don’t see them listed anymore at 12 Midnight
Were they pulled off due to reruns or sent to a different night? I went to their site but I couldn’t find any information. I’d appreciate any info on this as KWGN was my prime source when it came to Star Trek. Thank You!
Innerspace was funny and Picardo part was just as funny as Martin Short. Of course he had more hair back then which is why many people didn’t realize Picardo was in that movie.
27 -
You are correct, he had a rather humorous cameo in FC.
I agree that he was the best character on Voyager, if only because I think he grew the most, going from a simple holographic program to, well, a crew member like anyone else. He had a lot of funny moments, but could be serious and believable about issues like medial ethics, historical integrity, and even falling in love (with a former Borg, no doubt!). ‘Tinker, Tenor, Doctor, Spy’ was a hilarious episode IMHO.
And, Picardo was quite funny on The Wonder Years as well as the P.E. coach…
I can remember seeing Picardo on TV in the early 80’s in a “Taxi” episode and I think he played a part in “All In The Family” maybe someone can help me remember, gosh its been so long.
# 31: No…..I just checked - Mr. Picardo wasn’t ever in All In The Family…I did a Wikipedia
check to confirm it. I think he stood out in The Wonder Years. Can’t wait till that comes out on DVD.
#18
Who’s the guy who was the gun dealer in the first Terminator? I see him in everything Joe Dante directs. Including the Police Squad episode he did.
Re: Picardo - YES, The HOWLING. Great movie, great performance by Picardo. Patrick Macnee, John Carradine, Dick Miller, Kevin McCarthy, Dee Wallace, Forrie J. Ackerman, Roger Corman, Slim Pickens (!!!) … what’s not to like?
Is The Wonder Years coming out on DVD? I figured clearing the music rights would have priced that series out of DVD.
Fox is currently working on getting it out on DVD but like you mentioned the high costs of securing the rights is what is holding up the release now and delayed it in the past.
Robert Picardo’s acting made the Doctor come to life in Voyager, the highlight of the show for me in many ways. Don’t see any reason why he couldn’t be brought back for a potential Star Trek Titan movie.
I can’t see why Paramount doesn’t open its eyes and develop a new Star Trek series with Captain Riker. You would think that they could come up as some decent storylines as that seems to be a major hurdling block for any NEW Star Trek whether its a film or series.
The same thing goes with a series with Sulu - that could be still be done but you can 100% certain that Paramount will let that opportunity get away too. Its too bad that they don’t take the time to develop it - Lord Knows they have the money.
They should film either series ASAP and upon the success of the next movie release or put up for bid their latest show. I think its a great idea myself.
Does anyone have info on TOS-Remastered out of Denver - KWGN? Did they drop it from their Saturday night (12 Midnight) lineup? Or was it moved? I went to their site to look for info but I didn’t (couldn’t) find any information regarding the show. Can someone help me in this area? I’m asking only because its my prime source for viewing.
A Captain Sulu series could have been great. Would have been a great series, I think.
yea a sulu series would have been good. but i say they could get away with riker , i mean the titan novels are good , and i like thats its just set after the tng movies, i mean i dont mind the moves going back a bit , and enterprise was good for the most part , but i hope they dont start a new series in the 26th century or something , just have it with rikers . or some other captain after nemsis , the feds and klingon and even the roms all fairly at peace , i mean we still have th borg , the domiainon and other “evil” races, plus with all the tech voyager brought back , they could start putting slip stream on ships and having them crossing the galaxey sooner . i would love tha series
Yeh!! Captain Sulu…get’s the man in every episode! Sorry couldn’t help myself!!
Good Lord, since when did a “positive view of the future” become something negative or mock worthy??
What the hell is wrong with people today anyway? Are people so despondent and unhappy in their miserable little existence that they react negatively when someone dares to hope for something better for the future of humanity?
What especially kills me is the “Gene Roddenberry and his social utopia” qoutes condemning the man for daring to envision a united humanity not limited to petty squabbles over God damn natural resources or politics, or religion. And thats a BAD thing? There sure as hell must be alot of warmongers and bigots running around today because I can’t for the life of me figure out how people getting along could remotely be considered a BAD thing or something worthy of mocking. The only remote way I can envision anyone having ANYTHING remotely negative or condescending to say about a positive future or a united mankind, or social utopia, is if you are some sort of leech profiteer that BENEFITS from human death, disease, plague, famine, or peace.
Cowboy diplomacy and “action, adventure, excitement” etc is good in MOVIES and fiction, not real life when real peoples lives are involved and there are real risks. It’s real easy to celebrate “action,adventure, death, destruction, and war” from your God damn couch in your living room.
Gene Roddenberry, or hell anyone, that dares to dream of a positive future for humanity needs to be EXALTED and have statues erected to them. Who gives a shit whether they themselves lived their dream, they had hope and dreamed it and included everyone, yes even warmongers would fit into the equation, only I suspect they wouldn’t in such an era profit very much from conflict.
Hmm……Ok - Where are the listings for each State - regarding the updated program schedule for TOS? I looked and couldn’t find that either. I must be having a bad day.
Thanks for all the help….and have a nice weekend.
As someone who first got into Trek by watching Voyager, I have a particular affinity for those characters. Robert Picardo was one of the best things about the show. His role as the EMH would have been pretty thankless, but the Doctor enjoyed the most growth as a character, which Picardo must have found particularly satisfying. I’m also glad to see that he recognizes how important the new movie is to the franchise; any new viewers the movie draws in might be motivated to see what else Trek has to offer.
Also, I would like to point out that I too have seen Innerspace and enjoyed it.
This is probably the longest post I’ve ever written on this site, and, ironically, I had to type it out using the stylus on the Nintendo DS web browser.
#41, No kidding! Some of the Roddenberry comments I’ve noticed on the site are borderline BASHING.
The positive future for an improved humanity is the keystone of Trek. It’s okay to appreciate all of the more badass elements of the franchise more than the fact that there’s a shrink in TNG, but for pete’s sake, either lay off the guy or trade in your tricorder for a lightsaber.
A captain riker series would be awesome. I’m sure Frakes would do it, and characters from TNG, DS9, and VOY could guest star once in awhile…..I’d definitely go for it.
zzzzzzzzzzzzzz is it dec 08 yet?
I always thought Picardo was too talented for Trek, great actor
The problems with voyager for me, was, 1. too many main characters. Nine to be exact. TNG has the same problem originally, but finally worked it’s way down to seven, much like TOS.
Too many main characters for the shows setup, “lost in space”.
2. It never lived up to the potential it set up for itself in the pilot. The culture clash between The Federation officers and the Maquis rebells; There should have been constant clashes for at least the fist few years. But instead, almost immediately, everybody was “old friends”. We should have seen sparks between Chakotay and Paris, as it was set up in the first episode, but never followed through on. Those two should have been at each others throats for a few years, then gradually become the best of friends. We also should have seen more sparks between Janeway and B’Elanna. Granted we got that kind of relationship later between Janeway and Seven of Nine. It provided a dynamic much needed to a show which fell into a comfortable groove far to early.
The show should have featured Janeway, The Doctor, B’Elanna, Chakotay and Seven of Nine (yeah I know, but cat suit aside, that character was one of the most interesting to watch in Trekdom.) The other characters should have been kept in the periphery to augment the story lines. That can be done, and still allow for character development of periphery characters.
Too many chefs in the kitchen….
3. Where was the threat? They were far, far away from home and out of their comfort zone, yet you never really sensed a life and death situation. All the aliens they encountered were really no different than the ones you could run into a Quarks bar, and most were technologically inferior to Voyager. That, to me, was a disappointment. Every week should have been, “New Worlds”…”New Aliens”…”New Threats”. There should have been a sense of, “will they make it this time!”, but there wasn’t. Rambo broke a sweat more often than these guys did!
The show should have been; “A culture clash between former enemies (the maqui and starfleet), forced to work together in a fight for survival in an unknown part of the universe, as they attempt an impossible journey back home!”
Rant over.
I think the Doctor, Seven of Nine, Tom Paris, B’Lanna were develope well. Robert Picardo was an excellent actor. I think the whole cast of Voyager was excellent. Even when the episode was bad they made the show worth watching.
Robert Picardo was great in ‘The Wonder Years’ as Coach Cutlip. In fact he was one of the best parts of that show in the early seasons. To wax nostalgic…
#48
I agree completely, I thought Paris, Neelix and Kim were just there to annoy me *personally* and even Tuvok just grated most of the time. There was the odd episode that worked but it was the end of Trek for me and I stopped watching it from around season 4 to be honest, only dipping in occassionally and rarely enjoying it much. Considering I bought all of Season 1 on DVD, it was all a huge let down.
#49
you could be correct as Paris, as I stopped watching eventually so maybe it just rocked for the last couple of seasons… I did see the Borg’ed up ship and thought that was a great touch but it really suffered for being stuck in the ‘Trek Sandbox’ that shows like Babylon 5 and latterly BSG thrive without.
Why not spend a whole season or two with a busted ship and from then on half the crew are dead? Oh, because syndication must be served by having all episodes work as stand alone and you can’t confuse the audience.
It’s a shame, it could have been great.
He’s one of the very few non-TOS characters you could get in to a TOS era movie without stomping over canon, but it’d still be too much of a stretch of credulity I think.
Doh, DVD = VHS there… wishful thinking or something…. and I bought S2 as well if I recall… all long sold off to the 2nd hand shop…
Sadly, On all shows with ensemble casts it will get to a point where you only have a few characters that get the majority of screen time. In Trek, the best example is hwen the TNG cast crossed over to films. Dr Crusher was practically non-existent as most of the screen time went to Picard or Data.
“even Tuvok just grated most of the time..”
-Trekkie - August 18, 2007
Same here. Not because of the actor or even the character, but because the writers seemed to disregard the Vulcan identity. Vulcans went from being a logical race with out emotion (from TOS), to just being repressed grouches (on Voyager). Tuvok just came across as a cranky old man. I kept picturing him yelling, “Get out of my yard , damn kids!”
This is why I think the Seven of Nine character should have been focused on instead of Tuvok. And it didn’t have to be Jeri Ryan playing the part, though she did a fine job. But the role was the Spock/Data role of that show. And it represented a progress of that particular slot in the Trek Universe. From Spock, a humanoid struggling with emotion, to Data, an android longing for emotion, to Seven, a cyborg whose struggle is a combination of the former two. It allowed for a a familiar theme, yet from a new perspective. The potential of that kind of character was there from the first time the Borg were introduced. It was a bit regressive to go back to a Vulcan for the part. In fact, on Voyager, Seven of Nine was more Vulcan than the Vulcan!
#53
I Agree. What made TNG stand out, was that it found it’s own groove. It was, in many ways, Days of Our Lives set in space. And I don’t mean that disrespectfully, it’s just that the premise of the show and the environment presented of 24th Star Fleet, allowed for the show to explore the characters, as much as it explored outer space.
Voyager on the other hand, presented a premise completely different. The environment was shaken up and the characters were thrown outside their comfort zone. The show would have been better served in presenting a few characters whose attributes were directly represented by how their varying personalities aided,( or encumbered), Voyagers quest to get back home.
Paris, Neelix, and Kim could still have seen ample character development over 7 years. I mean ensign Ro from TNG seemed to have a fully fleshed out character even though she was only in a handful of episodes.
Like I said earlier, I think Voyager suffered because it became to comfortable far to early.
Just my opinion….
I alwas called Voyager, My Three Bobs ;)
Picardo’s been in every Joe Dante movie ever made, well, not Gremlins 1, unless he was playing a Gremlin, heh heh heh heh heh heh heh heh.
Actually he might of been at the Inventor’s Convention with Jerry Goldsmith and Robbie the robot, I need to check that, again.
- W -
* Joe Dante Fan *
regarding another Voy actor….anyone seen Tim Russ in Die Hard 4? I swear he just plays Tuvok in that..the same stilted performance…when i saw it i was like ‘WTF Tuvok?’ and then i noticed he didnt have pointed ears..
W -
* Joe Dante Fan *
I’m in the minority of people who think The Burbs was one of the best comedies of the 80’s.
I never understood why some people just didn’t ‘get it’!
Re: Captains Riker and Sulu - its a shame Paramount didn’t think a bit more outside the box with Star Trek before Enterprise went off the air and the studio sold off its Star Trek prop/costume/model/set warehouses. Paramount seems to have only considered Star Trek projects in terms of live action movies or full-blown television series, instead of considering a Direct-to-DVD project or a TV movie miniseries. Either of those would have been ideal for a Captain Sulu or Captain Riker project, especially a miniseries or TV movie, back when Paramount had its own television “network”. If it had been successful, there could have been a continuing series of TV movies, say every November, February and May.
#48, 53
The thing is, DS9 proved you could do a large ensemble and still give everyone their moments. Voyager just didn’t know how to do it. They’d finally give Chakotay a story, but there’d be no meat to it. TNG wasn’t sure how to balance it out either, but I think it was the lessons of that show that taught the DS9 guys how to do it right.
59.I don’t think Takei could have carried a show as a lead.He’s never been a lead character.Riker is ,well,not even as interesting as Picard.So where do You go with it?Do a spin off on a show that’s trending down or dead with a secondary character?
no to tv movies or straight to dvd…c’mon this is star trek not Babylon 5…besides if Paramount had gone down that route thered be no big budget movie happening
“besides if Paramount had gone down that route thered be no big budget movie happening ”
Why assume it must be one or the other? Since it was never tried, we’ll never know, but I think there was certainly a possibility of a successful small-ish budgeted direct-to-DVD movie or TV movie at the same time Voyager or Enterprise were on the air. Some of you are apparently assuming I was suggesting a TV movie or a direct-to-DVD project *instead* of a regular tv series or a theatrical film, when I was rather suggesting that those were untapped and unexplored avenues that Paramount could have looked into *in addition* to the traditional television and film branches of “The Franchise”. There was obviously never going to be a Captain Riker or Captain Sulu big-budget theatrical film or ongoing TV series because the audiences just aren’t there, but I think there was possibly a viable audience for those projects as smaller budget TV movie or direct-to-DVD projects, aside from the ongoing film and television development that was going on in the late ’90s and early 2000s. Since nobody tried, I guess we’ll never know, but no, snake, I’m not saying that post-Enteprise cancellation, Star Trek should have focused on direct-to-DVD-only projects instead of theatrical releases. I’m saying that 5 or 10 years ago, it was an option to tell more stories with different characters in the Star Trek universe. I think that was the likeliest route for people who wanted to see a Riker or Sulu project produced, but I guess for fans like you, its big-budget TV and movies or nothing? There’s not room in your world for both?
“I don’t think Takei could have carried a show as a lead.He’s never been a lead character.Riker is ,well,not even as interesting as Picard.So where do You go with it?Do a spin off on a show that’s trending down or dead with a secondary character?”
No, I’m suggesting Paramount could have tested the concept of a TV movie or a direct-to-DVD release with a small-ish budgeted, one-off Sulu or Riker or similar project to see what kind of audience there might have been for those, in addition to the regular weekly series and motion picture series that were already ongoing. No, I don’t think Sulu could have sustained 22 hours per season, but I think its possible he could have sustained a 2 hour DVD movie in 1998, or that Riker & Troi could have sustained 3 TV movies-of-the-week on UPN in 2003 or 2004.
A bit of a shameless plug (hope Anthony doesn’t mind), but if anyone is interested in Bob’s past and upcoming works, I have a filmography page for him ( http://www.angelfire.com/stars3/rpicardo/ ). It contains info on all of his films and major TV shows (that I know of). Then, of course, there’s always Bob’s Memory Alpha article ( http://memory-alpha.org/wiki/Robert_Picardo ), which is a featured page.
That said… how did this discussion go from Picardo to petitioning/rejection of a Sulu or Riker series? :-P
#25 Tom-
No you’re not!
Picardo is such an immense talent.
Too bad they started writing the Doctor as such an irritating character as VOY went on… but hell, they ALL got irritating!
Duane Boda, TOS-R eps are on KWGN Denver at 10PM Mountain Time on Saturday nights. They were moved up to 10 after just a few weeks, if I remember correctly.
It’s an astute observation to notice the resemblance between Robert Picardo and “Johnny Cab” from Total Recall.
I just watched this clip, and, while I can hear the resemblance now, I NEVER would have guessed it, without it having been suggested:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IjRXyWFLkEY
#67: Hobbster: Thank You So Much! You’re a life saver….WOW! IF one was looking for someone to fill in the role of Science Officer in a new Star Trek Series….Riker & The Titan. It would be you….why? Because like Spock…..you have the answers…Thanks again!
64 OK .Sorry Yeah.I agree.It would have tied up story lines or sent secondary characters off well.Sustained some interest also.
JC - August 18, 2007
59.I don’t think Takei could have carried a show as a lead.He’s never been a lead character.
I disagree. He may not be proven in that role yet but I thought…what was it eh 6th movie?…….really added a whole new dimension to his character. It really showed Takei acting. “Tell Starfleet,…whereabouts Enterprise unknown.
“You got a hearing problem Mister?”
Totally agree with you steve 623, Paramount has a very limited imagination sometimes when it comes to Trek
Star Trek: Titan would have a built-in audience on TV. TNG is what audiences loved, and Riker and Troi would all be welcomed back. Put Worf on there as the first officer, and get the Doctor (from Voyager) on there too. Throw in Picard for at least ONE CAMEO in the premier wishing his friends well and it would rock.
What would not rock is a new series with a new Captain and crew. Take what works and go with it. We don’t need another ST: ENTERPRISE!
One thing I would hate to see is a series taking place during TOS. I feel TOS should be exclusive to Kirk and Spock, and be left for the movies. Sulu in the late 23rd century on Excelsior would rock, but nothing during the original 5 year mission.
If you had asked me yesterday if there was any reason to watch Voyager ever again I would have said “No” without hesitation. After reading these remembrances of Picardo as the EMH (MarkI) I would be inclined to watch some of the Doctor -centric episodes again. Without doubt the most interesting character on the show.
I’ve long thought, and this was with some consideration, that Voyager’s main problem was that the writers were afraid to write much conflict into the characters, or make things hard on the crew. You’re 70 thousand light years from home with two crews that have diametrically opposed philosophy. That should have been a fodder for a lot of development. Instead, after the first season, it just disolved into a sort of Star Trek TNG type of story. Voyager should have gone for more epic storylines, more conflict in characters, etc.
I can tell you why they didn’t though. first was that they had no goal for the series. Shows like B5 had a storyline sketched out well in advance. Sure they built episodes on around the storyline, but it was all within that framework. Later on in Voyager, it seemed like they just were floating all over the place. It didn’t seem to have much of a solid direction.
Added to that was the lack of real conflict. We always kne wthe crew would be fine. I remember seeing Year of Hell and going “Finally!” Finally the ship gets beat to heck, and the crew gets injured and messed up. They should have been doing that all along. And yes, that level of conflict would have made some fans complain about “messing with Roddenberry’s vision,” but the truth is, Roddenberry never put forward that there wasn’t conflict or that people didn’t screw up. His was a vision of working things out, finding a way and humanity achieving greatness by moving past the stumbling blocks of our flawed society. What greater mway to present his vision but by showing a crew with opposite philosophies who come together and learn to respect and admire one another despite their issues?
THAT show would have been a heck of a lot moe watchable. Unfortunately, Star Trek since TNG has always been fairly sterile.
I watched Voyager more regularly than any of the other Trek spinoffs, and while it had its shortcomings, I liked the characters enough to be inspired to write a Voyager screenplay which I submitted through their “slush pile” process. It was returned to me, apparently unread, a year after I submitted it.
All that to say, writing the dialog for The Doctor was by far the most fun. (Chakotay and Neelix were the ones who got the short end of the stick in my script.) Picardo really stood out in that show. He’s got the goods.
Scott B. out.
I’ve actually always enjoyed Voyager. The characters overcame their differences rather hastily, but I didn’t mind it as much as a lot of other fans, and found it encouraging that in the face of adversity they managed to come together, especially since like as not, if they hadn’t they wouldn’t have succesfully gotten home. As for the fact that you always knew they’d be alright — it did get ridiculous sometimes when the ship should by all means have been destroyed (hull integrity down 80%, decks 8-15 nearly completely destroyed, decks 1-8 compromised, etc) and then seemed fine the next episode, but really, what were they supposed to do? There weren’t any starbases in the delta quadrant, and the series producers had to get them home, so they had to keep the ship alive somehow.
I guess what made me really like voyager despite some of its short-comings, though, was the fact that it was more of an exploration series than TNG and DS9 were; I felt like DS9 and, to a lesser degree, TNG got too political. Other than the Maquis on board the ship, being in the delta quadrant let the ship have a “blank slate” to work with in terms of discovering new alien races rather than working the politics of trying to coexist with races already familiar to us. (Nothing against TNG or DS9, I just didn’t enjoy the focus on interstellar politics they often had.)
“it did get ridiculous sometimes when the ship should by all means have been destroyed (hull integrity down 80%, decks 8-15 nearly completely destroyed, decks 1-8 compromised, etc) and then seemed fine the next episode, but really, what were they supposed to do? There weren’t any starbases in the delta quadrant,..”
-77. Etha Williams - August 19, 2007
Which is what I was referring to. The fact that they were alone, and out of their comfort zone (no star bases, ports etc..) should have given the show an edge-of your-seat- ‘will they make it this time or not’-'tune in next week to find out, kinda atmosphere. I mean, each week, new planets, worlds, aliens and a constant struggle for supplies or to keep the ship running with very little in the way of “spare parts”. Two crews with wildly differing philosophies and goals, learning, gradually, to work together, perhaps feeling that if they made it home, the war was back on…. That’s what I thought it would be from the pilot, but alas it wasn’t. I never once doubted that the Enterprise and all her salaried cast members would make it home just in time fro sweeps week circa Voyagers 7th year.
“I never once doubted that the Enterprise and all her salaried cast members would make it home just in time fro sweeps week circa Voyagers 7th year.”
Whoops! that should be Voyager not Enterprise.
#78 — I can see where you’re coming from. I guess it never really bothered me, possibly because I watched it in reruns anyway, so I definitely knew how it would end up.
I do agree that it could have been improved if the struggle to survive were more emphasized, even if we did feel confident that Voyager would get home on time, and it was by no means without its flaws. The producers could definitely have worked with the premise better, but I enjoyed what they did with the show, if not how it tied in with the premise (if that makes any sense at all).
been a trekkie for many years. my favorite is voyager. i actually cried when the last episode was shown. ds9 was 2nd favorite. enterprise was okay, but when they abruptly stopped the show, it pissed me off, and i have never understood why. not having a star trek series on tv was devastating. in my opinion trek series were the best thing on tv period. nice to know another movie is coming. but to see a much older kirk is going to take some getting use to. still love janeway though. strong female captain. we needed that.
#81 — What I especially liked about Janeway as a strong female captain was that the show didn’t constantly try to remind us that she was a Strong Female Character (TM). She was just there, like any good captain, and she happened to be female. It was well done, IMO.
(But then there was 7 of 9 and her catsuits…whichever crew member decided to suit her up in that needed to spend some more holodeck time venting his sexual frustrations instead of taking it out on innocent crewmates’ wardrobes ;>.)
etha, ditto on janeway as strong female captain. i thought she was wonderful. women are as capable as men in leadership. i have always wondered if i could be as strong as janeway character. you are right about sevens costumes. but considering that her body is darn well perfect, she could carry it off. still, at times i was embarrassed for her. down right suggestive. tngs troi should not have worn the tight fitting suits either, because like most females, she was not perfectly proportioned. but i did not hold it against her. troi was one of my favorites on tng. loved her hair when she wore it loose.
Don’t get me wrong, I enjoyed looking at 7 as much as the next person…I’m just saying that she looked more like a character out of someone’s holodeck fantasy than an actual crewmember. And I think it’s hilarious that none of the crewmembers ever even commented on how ridiculous her “uniforms” were.
My favorite troi costumes in terms of sheer ridiculousness were the bizarre dresses that had a low-cut starfleet uniform top. What was going on with that? I didn’t like her hair much when it was really curly, but it was beautiful later on (especially in Nemesis).
Has anyone noticed how Picardo seemed to feature highly in almost EVERY episode from the final two seasons in Voyager?
He was just about bearable when he was restricted to Sick Bay, but once he was out he seemed to find himself in EVERY scenario. In Morning Briefings (which would be COMMAND OFFICERS, of which The Doctor was NOT, and the same can be said for both NEELIX and SEVEN OF NINE, neither of who had commissions). In the latter episodes The Doctor was also seen ON THE BRIDGE with his own work station !
It did not matter WHAT the respective story was THE DOCTOR was somehow involved. It did not matter WHERE the story was based THE DOCTOR would be involved! On more than one occasion Janeway instructed the crew to ’switch off unnecessary power drains and programs’ OH GOOD, I thought, The Doctor will not be in episode! How WRONG I was to believe he was just a computer program, and what used to REALLY rile me was when he used to ARGUE that he was not !
They should have either kept the EMERGENCY MEDICAL HOLOGRAM (He is NOT a Doctor,Technician, Engineer, Commissioned Officer etc) in SICK BAY, or better still DELETED his program after Season 1, just before they booted Neelix out the nearest airlock.
From his SMUG GRIN, to the arrogant manner in which he talks. The Doctor for me is quite simply the most IRRITATING Star Trek character of all time, and I do NOT blame the programme makers for this exclusively.
Watch the latter episodes of Season 6 and all of 7 and you will see this character CHALLENGING orders, and on more than one occasion SHOUTING at the Captain when he did not agree with something she has commanded him to do. What made it even more ridiculous was when Janeway usually ‘came round’ to the way he was thinking, and changed her mind !
For me Voyager started to go down the pan from the start of Season 6 onwards, when The Doctor seemed to take over the show. The downward spiral for the Star Trek franchise continued as ENTERPRISE was awful, but at least it did not have Robert Picardo, and his damn Doctor in it .
Also, how could ANYONE have cried at the end of Voyager? I felt ZERO empathy for ANY of the characters. I was on the understanding that the program makers did this on purpose. I was in floods at the end of TNG and DS9, but VOY? In the words of Quark … ‘NAAAA ‘