One thing that has always bugged me since the start of Voyager is the character of Tom Paris.
For those who may not remember, Robert Duncan McNeil (Paris) also played a Cadet in ST:TNG- "The First Duty". In it, McNeil plays Cadet Nicholas Locarno, leader of Nova Squadron in which Wesley took part. He was expelled after a coverup involving a death of another crew member.
Seeing that they would be using an actor who previously played another character in another series, why not use that same character in the NEW series, instead of creating a completely different character?
Look at it this way: both Locarno and Paris were involved in the deaths of fellow members of Starfleet, and both were disgraced from Starfleet itself. It would be a simple matter of transposing one character to another. What's the use of a completely new character?
Beats me. Comments?
------------------ I can resist anything....... Except Temptation
Posted by Montgomery (Member # 23) on :
As I recall, this was considered. The Locarno character was felt to be "too irredeemable", and perhaps too much of a smug git. Paris committed a perhaps similar crime, but in his case it made him impulsive, foolhardy and cynical.
The use of the Locarno character also would have involved a very, very grave risk....
Flashbacks involving Wesley "The boy!" Crusher. :-O
------------------ "You don't need eyes to see; you need VISION" - Faithless / Reverence
Posted by Aethelwer (Member # 36) on :
IIRC, the original intention was in fact to use Locarno, but they decided not to, probably for the reasons Monty mentioned.
------------------ Frank's Home Page John Linnell: "This song is called...it's called..." Audience: "Louisiana! Montana!" John Linnell: Don't tell me what it's called..."
Posted by Individual 5748 on :
I once read somewhere that the reason they didn't use Locarno was because they didn't like the name. However, this person may have just been saying this sarcastically.
------------------ "Questions, comments, bring them to me. Problems, take them to Kinis."
Posted by Elim Garak (Member # 14) on :
They never intended to use Locarno. They originally described the character that would become Paris as "Locarno-like ('The First Duty')" but nothing more (source: A Vision of the Future: Star Trek: Voyager). Incidentally, they ended up casting Robert McNeill, but he had to audition and had some competition.
Posted by Orion Syndicate (Member # 25) on :
I remember reading somewhere that they were going to use Locarno, but for some reason they pulled back at the last minute. It probably was the fact that what he did was irredeemable. Locarno was an excellent pilot, so is Paris so the character is basically the same. If Nick Locarno had been used, the character development would probably have been the same - his relationship with Harry, B'Elanna especially and with the rest of the crew.
------------------ Whenever people agree with me, I always feel I must be wrong.
Posted by Saltah'na (Member # 33) on :
Orion: That is exactly my idea. Had they used Locarno's Character, it would have made for some nice continuity and stuff. His character as of "The First Duty" is still too underdeveloped to be considered as "irredeemable" IMHO.
------------------ I can resist anything....... Except Temptation
Posted by Elim Garak (Member # 14) on :
Did your information come from official source material and interviews?
It would have been interesting but rather similar to having Miles O'Brien on DS9. I like how Voyager didn't reuse characters from TNG, except in guest spots.
Posted by Orion Syndicate (Member # 25) on :
I don't think they could reuse any of the characters because the mission was far too different to anything the others were doing. There was talk of Jonathan Frakes getting the job thus having Riker as captain, but they decided to be politically correct and give Genevieve Bujold the job and then Kate Mulgrew once Ms Bujold decided it wasn't for her.
With regards to O'Brien being on DS9, I would have liked to see more storylines regarding him and the Cardassians. There were some, but I don't think they developed it as much as they could have done. He made constant references to Setlik 3 and he was charged with treason against the Cardassian empire, but that was about it. It would have been interesting to see what they could have done, just like Worf and his standing in the Klingon empire.
------------------ Whenever people agree with me, I always feel I must be wrong.
Posted by TSN (Member # 31) on :
Erm... How could he be charged w/ treason against the Cardassians? He's not a Cardassian, nor even a citizen of the Cardassian Union.
------------------ Col. Maybourne: "Teal'c... It's good to see you well." Teal'c: "In my culture, I would be well within my rights to dismember you." -Stargate SG-1: "Touchstone"
Posted by Kosh (Member # 167) on :
Probly something he did in the first war against the Cardassians.
I remember reading an interview with McNiel at the Great Link, that said what Elim said about Lacarno.
Lacarno was booted from Starfleet during TNG anyway.
------------------ Fool of a Took, throw yourself in next time!! Gandalf
Posted by TSN (Member # 31) on :
Kosh: My point is that a person can only commit treason, by definition, against someone to whom they owe allegiance. If O'Brien did something to the Cardassians, it might be espionage, or something, but it couldn't possibly be treason.
------------------ Col. Maybourne: "Teal'c... It's good to see you well." Teal'c: "In my culture, I would be well within my rights to dismember you." -Stargate SG-1: "Touchstone"
Posted by Omega (Member # 91) on :
Perhaps the Cardassians are so arrogant as to believe that EVERYONE owes them allegiance.
------------------ You are wise, witty, and wonderful, but you spend far too much time reading this sort of trash.
Posted by Sol System (Member # 30) on :
"Wait a minute, I'm not a citizen! You can't possibly convict me of treason if I'm not a citizen!"
"Yeah, yeah...tell it to the judge, buddy."
"But...you ARE the judge."
"Oh? In that case, bite me."
Cardassian justice.
------------------ "20th Century, go to sleep." -- R.E.M.
Posted by TSN (Member # 31) on :
Well, that's true...
------------------ Col. Maybourne: "Teal'c... It's good to see you well." Teal'c: "In my culture, I would be well within my rights to dismember you." -Stargate SG-1: "Touchstone"
Posted by Orion Syndicate (Member # 25) on :
Was it treason? I thought it was - what was the episode where they have that old friend of O'Brien (but really a Cardie) come on DS9 and entrap him?
------------------ Whenever people agree with me, I always feel I must be wrong.
Posted by Nim (Member # 205) on :
"Tribunal". O'Brien intends to go on a vacation with Keiko when he meets an old friend who is in fact a cardassian masquerading as O'Brien's old friend. The guy hides photon torpedoes in O'Brien's runabout without him knowing. So a nice Hideki-class patrol ship (my first sighting of...) stops Miles and he gets thrown into prison pending execution, being charged as a maquis-collaborator, I think.
------------------ An arboretum? On the Defiant? If you were any other man I would kill you where you stand!
(Worf "The Last Straw")
Posted by Omega (Member # 91) on :
One thing I never got about that ep: why in the galaxy was the Federation worrying about how to defend O'Brian at a trial that, by design, he can't win? They entered Federation space without permission, forcibly boarded a military craft, abducted a military officer, and harrassed another Federation citizin. You don't worry about how to defend him at his unfair trial. First you ask for him back, then you demand him back, then you forcibly retrieve him.
------------------ You are wise, witty, and wonderful, but you spend far too much time reading this sort of trash.
Posted by Timo (Member # 245) on :
The O'Briens probably weren't in Federation space when they were captured. After all, Bajor supposedly is far away from the Federation, at least relatively speaking. And the runabout was traveling at impulse. Perhaps the O'Briens were still within the Bajoran system, trying to steer clear of the star or something? *Bajoran* demands for prisoner extradition from Cardassia would surely fall on deaf ears.
The distance from Bajor to possible Fed reinforcements may also have been a factor in Starfleet not trying to effect a jailbreak for the Chief. There may simply not have been enough time. Whatever transportation Sisko had at the end of the episode to arrive to the trial in time, it must have been really fast (and really clandestine)...
Timo Saloniemi
Posted by TSN (Member # 31) on :
If if they were in Bajoran space, the Cardassians had no right to take them. The Feds would still be able to use the ask/demand/take strategy.
------------------ Col. Maybourne: "Teal'c... It's good to see you well." Teal'c: "In my culture, I would be well within my rights to dismember you." -Stargate SG-1: "Touchstone"
Posted by Orion Syndicate (Member # 25) on :
This was just a trial to show the Cardassians that their justice system works, and what better way to achieve this than to kill a Federation citizen under their legal system. It didn't matter who it was, as long as they had a history of hating the 'Cardies' and din't hide the fact. This would convince the public even more that he deserves to die. O'Brien was just unlucky.
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