or the past six years, Robert Duncan McNeill--or Robbie, as everyone calls him--has forged a spot for himself as Star Trek: Voyager's resident master of sarcasm. McNeill imbues his character, Tom Paris, with a subtle sense of ironic humor. Part ladies' man, part rebel, part holodeck storywriter, Paris is a key member of the bridge crew, in spite of his tendency to get himself into scrapes. McNeill was the first Voyager actor to venture behind the camera back in 1996, when he directed the episode "Sacred Ground." Since then, he's directed two more episodes: fourth season's "Unity" and sixth season's "Someone to Watch Over Me." Recently, McNeill sat down with Science Fiction Weekly to talk about the show.
It seems as if the season has just flown by. What's an episode that stands out for you as this season draws to a close?
McNeill: LeVar [Burton directed] an episode, a very funny episode--about aliens who hear about us and Starfleet's reputation in the Delta Quadrant, that we're able to win every battle. And then they proceed to impersonate us. We've been doing more comedies in the last year or so. Which I think is great. It's one of the things that is a lot of fun about Star Trek.
Does it make a difference when it's a director who's intimately familiar with the cast--be it yourself or one of your colleagues, such as someone like Burton--part of the Star Trek family?
McNeill: I think it does, because there's the whole history of the franchise. It's such a big part of what we do. When you bring in an actor such LeVar, who is a part of that history, there is a shorthand that you have, definitely. And also, for members of our show, we have a shorthand for each other. It's [also] good for a franchise like this that's been around for so long to have a shot in the arm every now and then with somebody new coming in, a new writer writing a script or a new director coming in. Or guest star. That's another [thing] that's great, that Star Trek still continues to get such a high caliber of actor to come in and do guest spots on the show.
How would you characterize this season as a whole?
McNeill: I would characterize this year as probably the year that was most relaxed for everyone. I think, getting to our sixth season, everyone realizes the routine. There was a lot of ease this year, which was nice.
What about the directions Tom Paris has gone in? Which episodes from this season stand out in your mind?
McNeill: I had quite a bit to do [early in the season]. I had one particularly big episode, "Alice." I really enjoyed doing that episode as an actor, because I had to chew the scenery a bit more than usual. And hit some higher emotional levels than I generally am used to doing. That was a lot of fun. Later in the season I've had a lot less to do. [Paris] is a lot of fun to play. He has fun on the show, and the part of the character reacting to the other characters. He's proven he's a leader, and can be a responsible person.
What was the challenge in playing Paris in the earlier seasons?
McNeill: After a while, playing the tough guy, the loner, got kind of boring--and unattractive after a while. I think the humor was really important to develop the character.
You've directed three episodes of Voyager so far. What kinds of things do you find yourself thinking about when you know you're directing an episode?
McNeill: [You worry] about, "Oh, I hope I get a good script." And you call the writers and ask them, "What's the script you've got for my slot when I direct? What's it about? Is there a lot of action? Am I going on location?"
What are your thoughts about the state of the B'Elanna Torres - Tom Paris relationship, which now seems to be deep in the background?
McNeill: The relationship has kind of sat there for a couple of years. It's stagnated. That's something I'd like to see changed by next year.
There was a time that it seemed like Paris was actively in conflict with Captain Janeway (Kate Mulgrew). Now, though, would you say that's been toned down?
McNeill: We were searching for a balance between the rebellious side and the responsible side back then. Since third season, the times he's been rebellious have been for good reason. I think that's been an important discovery for everybody along the way. He's still a rebel, but it's more of an activist behavior. It's not gambling on the holodeck to be the bad guy--these sort of clichéd "bad boy" things we tried early on.
When you think back to the different episodes you've filmed over time, does it seem as though six years have passed?
McNeill: We have done a lot of shows. It's hard to keep track of it.
In the past few seasons, Paris has developed a penchant for 20th-century lore. How did Paris's passion for history become linked with the recreational adventures he creates in the holodeck?
McNeill: They [decided] to use the holodeck to explore his 20th-century buff thing. So we can do all sorts of different things that took place in the 20th century.
