Robert Picardo Talks To TrekMovie About ‘Femme Fatales’ & His ‘Hope’ To Get Into Next Star Trek Movie

On Friday night Star Trek: Voyager’s Robert Picardo will be back on TV, this time on Cinemax’s sexy anthology series Femme Fatales. We have a new preview of this and other Femme Fatales Season 2 episodes. Plus Picardo talks to TrekMovie about the episode and about meeting JJ Abrams.

 

Preview of Bob Picardo on Femme Fatales

Check out Bob Picardo on Femme Fatales

The episode "Bad Science" premieres tonight on Cinemax and repeats throughout the week.

Picardo talks Femme Fatales and meeting JJ Abrams

Picardo has also made some news in the UK media, while helping promote next Monday’s premiere of Star Trek: Voyager reruns on the CBS Action channel. He is being reported to have indicated that he is "hoping for a Star Trek cameo" in the next JJ Abrams movie, and being quoted saying "Well, it’s always possible that they’ll use one of us. I’ve met JJ, he was very kind and complimentary to me, and I know he watched the show because he’s a fan of Star Trek. Nothing is impossible."

Much is being made of this comment so TrekMovie reached out to Picardo who said more is being made of this encounter than is really warranted, noting:

I met JJ at the Saturn awards two or three years ago…he indicated he knew who I was and he liked my work and said something like "hopefully we get to work together some time" so that was the extent of it. I complimented him on the [Star Trek] movie and that was it. I wouldn’t necessarily hang one of my children’s tuition on that encounter.

Picardo says if there he has a real hope with Abrams it is that the producer might tap him for a part in one of his many TV series. Would he want to be in the next Star Trek sequel? "Name me a Star Trek actor that wouldn’t be open to being in a Star Trek feature, if they are still living and probably most of the dead ones too" he quipped.


Robert Picardo on "Femme Fatales"

Picardo also talked to TrekMovie about tonight’s episode of Femme Fatales saying at first he was a bit reluctant to do a late night show on Cinemax, but he assured TrekMovie "don’t worry, I don’t have any nude scenes, no one wants to see that." The actor says that he was convinced to do the show once he read the script which he said was "exceedingly impressive" and after he talked to show co-creator Mark Altman (well known as a big Star Trek fan). Picardo was was especially attracted to playing the antagonist in the episode  noting "he is a really bad guy and it is a lot of fun for an actor to sink your teeth into those kinds of roles."

In the episode Picardo plays investor Ford Hawks whose company is funding experiments into teleportation. Picardo quips "yeah, they were doing an episode on creating the first transporter so I fit right in, there is even a Star Trek mention in the episode." 


Robert Picardo on "Femme Fatales"

The episode also features special effects by Emmy-winner Adam "Mojo" Leibowitz who worked on both Battlestar Galactica and Star Trek: Voyager. Femme Fatales was created by Steve Kriozere (NCIS, Necessary Roughness) and Mark A. Altman (writer/producer of the Star Trek love letter Free Enterprise and more recently a producer on Castle).


Effects shot from Femme Fatales episode "Bad Science" – featuring Picardo

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a cameo would be nice

Dear God that show looks bad.

Great actor!

I met Mr. Picardo at Majel’s funeral. He is a great guy and a talented Actor. Hope he gets on one of J.J.’s shows.

The Romulans had stolen copy of the holodoc on the ship Nero used to upgrade the Narada. It was the only piece of tech the Klingons were able to extract from the ship, and when they revived the crew of the Botany Bay they needed someone with knowledge of human anatomy to assist them. Not having someone, they settled on some thing. Then, when Khan killed all the Klingons and took over he decided the doctor could be useful to him as well.

Anthony, the headline is a bit of a tease.

Anyone remember his performance in the movie Innerspace?

It would be great if Mr. Picardo appeared in the third Trek movie.

I remember him in Gremlins 2.
An underrated movie, I think.

T’pol or Archer need to do a cameo

8 Vultan~

I also remember him in “InnerSpace” (1987); with his cowboy hat.
Another silly but underrated little movie… ;-D

I met Picardo at Planetfest 2004 in Pasadena (just out in the audience). He’s on the board of The Planetary Society (which I’ve been a member of for about 16 years or so). He gave me an autograph. Nice man. ;-)

#11

Yes! Innerspace was a fun little movie.

I also remember his brief stint on Home Improvement as an annoying neighbor. Before his hologram days.

Cool that you got to meet him. Even cooler you’re in The Planetary Society. Where’s your next meeting? Olympus Mons? :D

12. Vultan

What about his days as Coach Cutlip on The Wonder Years? That’s where I first saw him.

#13

D’oh! Of course! Coach Cutlip, the terror of Kevin Arnold’s gym class.
Don’t know how I could forget that….

Wasn’t he also one of the garbage collectors in The ‘Burbs?

Great movie

:)

No he wants in on another ST movie. I never would have guessed. That all these old ST veterans say. They just don’t seem to get it. The gravy train has moved on.

16. Ha. I like Picardo, but, personally, I really, really, really don’t want Berman’s Trek to bleed into this new universe. That, and we’ve been cameo’d to death (even First Contact, which I mostly like — overdid it with the cameos) .

Why do the previous actors feel entitled to be in the new J.J Trek movies?

The only actor who has definitely said no is Patrick Stewart. He said that he’s satisfied with all that had been done with the Picard character.

I just want the next movie(s) to feature the new cast. It’s time for them to lead the way. No more appearances from past Trek actors.

Cool new embiggenerizer.

It would be awesome if the Doctor (or another EMH MK I) could be in the new movie, even though it wouldnt really make sense a century before Lewis Zimmerman was born. But, hey, Dr. Soong had an identical ancestor in the 22nd century. Maybe Dr. Zimmerman had an identical ancestor in the 23rd century who invented the EMH in the new timeline.

@18 RDR

I agree.

The new cast should be leading the way forward with the new movies.
I would personally find it insulting if I was part of a new cast but had regular “guest” cameos from previous Trek actors unless they were a large integral part of the storyline.

Nothing wrong with hearing the odd reference to other Trek characters though (so long as its subtle and appropriate, such as the Admiral Archers beagle, etc)

# 12 Vultan~

Cool that you got to meet him. Even cooler you’re in The Planetary Society. Where’s your next meeting? Olympus Mons? :D
_________________________________

That’s the proposed site for our 2032 meeting! Hee hee…. ;-D

I agree with you Red Dead Ryan. It’s time for Shatner to stop feeling “entitled” to be in every new Star Trek movie. However, Robert Picardo never expressed any such entitlement.

@22 Sebastian S

It is sooooo cool that you are a member of the Planetary Society.

I would love to be part of that society.

We have nothing similar down here in the South Island.

I will be content to continually and regularly visiting our observatory down here. We have amazing night skies.

# 24 BsS

You can still be a member; not to recruit, but if you’re interested go to planetary.org and check it out.

It’s a way to be actively involved in space exploration without ever having to leave your home! Robert Picardo has been on our board of directors for years, and is often at many of our functions. There are events for the PS held around the world, not just Pasadena. Membership is international…

@24 Seb S

I will certainly check it out!

I had a feeling it might have been the case in regards to international membership but wasn’t sure.

Thanks for the tip.

Picardo says that Abrams knows of his work. I wonder. Did Abrams watch Voyager?

Even The Admiral Archer’s beagle reference bugged me. So did the Cardassian Sunrise.

Picardo’s character in Voyager was the most interesting character in the show, and Picardo played him very well. He was often the only reason I’d enjoy Voyager episodes. Seven of Nine was the second most interesting character, but I think she sometimes gets dissed because of that astounding body and the way it was dressed.

Anyway, Picardo’s character arc was fascinating.

luv picado—he always does so much for fans n charity at the trek cons–ive only been to 1 con,0n the 40th anniv of trek in vegas he put on a great show of comedy n original songs…upstairs at quarks….loved him in borg 4d too–the humor in his character was great–dont forget about him in stargate atlantis too….johnny cab in total recall…i would like to see cameos or smaller parts for trek actors–not reprising the same roles they originally had tho….

I like Robert Picardo. Always very funny.

It’s interesting to contemplate the post-Trek careers of some of our favorite actors. The vast majority of the time, I am pleased to learn of what they have accomplished.

Sometimes, however, I am taken aback. Just a few moments ago, I learned that Dwight Shultz, who played a character I truly enjoyed (Reginald Barclay), had become a radio host and substitute for a certain controversial political commentator. I couldn’t imagine ever agreeing with Mr. Schultz’s political philosophy, on the whole. However, this doesn’t diminish my enjoyment of Barclay’s scenes in TNG.

On the other hand, William Shatner’s career has been mesmerizing and fascinating to following.

I hope to see more of Robert Picardo onscreen in the near future. He is truly a talented individual.

^^ “to follow.”

As corrected.

27.
Probably not, since Abrams himself said he wasn’t a big Trek fan.

I go as far back as remembering him in Innerspace the movie. Yeah I’m old.

# 26

BsS~

You’re welcome. See you around the galaxy…. ;-D

Don’t really have any desire to see any old Trek stars in subsequent Trek films. Leonard Nimoy’s Spock appearing was nice, but not really necessary as it turns out. I can imagine they’d have sought out Patrick Stewart had Mr Nimoy said no to the last film.

But I prefer to see this incarnation of Trek as an alt-universe, Fringe-style, so I don’t need to see characters from minor league TNG spinoffs that hardly anyone inthe mainstream cinema audience bothered to watch.

Embrace the new!

While I don’t have any issues if TNG, DS9, VGR or ENT faces make cameos here and there, I don’t think it should be a necessity for the filmmakers to go out of their way to shoehorn them in. The references to Admiral Archer’s beagles (in ST09), while a small bit, was a nice little nod to ENT (a series that died just as it got really good, ironically); even though we know that ‘admiral Archer’ would have to be about 150 years old for that joke to really work.

But if a sequel deals with hologram technology, maybe having Picardo play an ancestor of his own Dr. Lewis Zimmerman character might be amusing (I certainly loved his role in DS9’s “Doctor Bashir, I Presume….”), but if there isn’t an organic ‘entry point’ in the story for the character into the new storyline? Then don’t do it. You can’t just have lots of random cameos for the sake of fan service; then it becomes silly stunt casting that grinds the movie to a halt and pops the viewer right out of the story. But if a cameo by a former ST actor/character fits naturally into the story and the movie? Sure, why not?

While I wish Picardo success, I’m not really counting on seeing him in a JJ Abramsverse ST movie, but I wouldn’t mind it either (if the role were right).

“Fan service” — good phrase, and I will have to remember that! ;-)

Good posting, BTW.

# 38

Thanks Hat Rick, but sadly I can’t take credit for the term fan service. ;-)
I’ve heard it online before, but it does seem to fit the idea behind squeezing in ST actors into an episode or movie who really don’t have any real business being there.

Case in point? The Chekov/Scotty cameos in “Generations.”
I actually enjoyed Generations (a bit more than others on this site, from what I’ve read), and while I always enjoyed seeing Doohan’s Scotty again, the presence of Chekov and Scotty didn’t feel natural to the prologue sequence aboard the Enterprise B.

That sequence was clearly written for the troika of Kirk, Spock and McCoy. Especially with Chekov telling the reporters “You, you and you; you’ve just become nurses, let’s go.” That line that would’ve been music to my ears if DeForest Kelley’s crusty Dr McCoy had said it. That ’emergency’ casting sounded like Berman said to the casting guys, “Oh, Nimoy and Kelly won’t do it? Well, just put ANY TOS ST cast member in there…. the fans will eat it up.” And IMO? It fell flat. Kirk, Scotty and Chekov don’t form quite the ‘troika’ as Kirk did with Spock and McCoy….

There are other such ill-fitted cameo moments throughout the show as well. The Sulu scenes in VGR’s “Flashback” episode for example. The Excelsior plotline has NOTHING to do with Tuvok’s ‘trauma virus’ in his brain, other than serving up an ‘offering’ for what was ST’s then-30th anniversary (something DS9 did with much more grace and panache in 1996’s “Trials and Tribble-ations”).

I really don’t think JJ Abrams will go that route, though. Prime Spock’s presence in 2009 was vital; indeed, one can argue that some of his actions (or perceived inactions) gave birth to the alternate timeline itself! But prime Kirk would’ve been extraneous. Even Abrams wisely put the kibosh on that. To not use William Shatner (even though a prime-Kirk hologram scene was written already, by Orci’s admission) shows a tremendous level of restraint on Abrams’ part. I seriously doubt he will shoehorn in other ST actors just to please their respective fans…

Been a Picardo fan ever since the Joe Dante film “Explorers” in 1985. He was buried under animatronic alien makeup, but also turned up as the blonde haired hero in a cheesy, badly dubbed Sci Fi movie within a movie playing during the drive in sequence.

I don’t think Dante has ever made a movie without Picardo and Dick Miller having at least bit parts in it.

#40 GC~

Agreed!
Picardo is a very talented actor, and IMO he was one of the few highlights of the otherwise ‘generic’ ST series, Voyager.

I’ve seen him on other roles here and there too, including the seemingly forgotten (but very good) late ’80s TV show, “China Beach”; he also played a doctor there as well. CB was the only TV show about the Vietnam war that I can recall. Certainly in prime time network TV….

Len Wiseman, should have asked Picardo reprise his role as the voice of Johnny Cab in the Total Recall remake

# 42

Now THAT would be a nice way to work in a Robert Picardo moment into a movie …. ;-)

Personally, I think the previous Trek personalities have paved the way for the new ones – like Kirk did for Picard, Picard did for Janeway, and Janeway did for Sisko. All the Trek films and shows had a base group of people who helped this franchise grow. To not show any homage to the past is disrespectful to those who came before and carried the torch.

TNGs first episode had DeForest Kelly on and later had James Doohan in a very good episode, “Relics”.

Abrams recreation of a completely different Trek universe and backgrounds for the original characters, to me, is unwarranted. Their were plenty of story lines that could have been used without blowing up the whole Trek universe. But I guess he wanted to make it his own and not follow what happened throughout the more than 24 years of original Trek programming. Even if he didn’t want to follow the Berman shows, he could have done something not as dark which is what Roddenberry was all about.

Now, it’s all about making money as opposed to what the show originally presented and was about – hope for our united future as a people without poverty and huger and racism.

# 44.
“TNGs first episode had DeForest Kelly on and later had James Doohan in a very good episode, “Relics”.”
______________________

Did you forget Leonard Nimoy in “Unification”? ;-D

And IMO, even though ST09 had Vulcan imploding and Amanda Grayson dying, I really don’t think it lacked the optimism of TOS; it’s characters’ lives unfolded differently, and in the case of Kirk, a bit more roughly, but the essentials are still there; a united humanity, reaching out to the stars and making friends in space (the Kirk/Spock friendship is that very idea in a microcosm). Despite some heavier turns here and there, I find the essential optimism of Roddenberry’s (albeit unrealistic) future to be largely intact. The Federation and Starfleet are (despite cosmetic changes) essentially the same organizations they were before….

And even though it’s an alternate ‘side’ universe to TOS, it DID initially spring from the Roddenberry/Berman prime universe; prime Spock came straight from the R/B-verse… and his (and Nero’s) time-traversing actions created the Abramverse.

New playground; familiar faces….. that’s how I see ST09 (and it’s sequel).

;-)

Love Picardo, but seriously, it is time the old guard from all the previous Trek series too a back seat. Those eras are completed now in terms of TV and movies.

TWOK lasers rocking in the background during the intro

“Until now, teleportation has been considered impossible….”

“Watch out! Here comes Genesis!”

#44

waitwaitwait

“like …..Janeway did for Sisko” ?

Hmmmm… Holodoc-Beta-Test-Run? And a funny argument between Bones and the Holodoc? xD

Oh and Archer would be nice as a cameo. After the Beagle-incident mentioned by Scotty in the last film xD

# 49

Some SERIOUS age makeup would be required… he’d be over 150 or so, wouldn’t he?