Speak up on the voices of Trek

[Stoek]

Tony Todd is an excellent choice. Totally forgot about him, maybe because I was trying to stick mostly to regulars. I can remember a lot of lines being given a lot of comedic or dramatic power because of his voice. Particularly when he casually mentions that earlier he had to restrain himself from killing Commander LaForge as Kurn and when he says his last words as the older Jake Sisko in "The Visitor".

Excellent point. On a tangential note please forgive my Geek, but it was Commander Riker that Kurn talks about having to refrain himself from killing. I would not know this except I just watched the episode (Sins Of The Father) just a couple of days ago.

Speaking of Klingons, JG Hertzler as Martok and honestly much like someone said about Jeffrey Combs (and I wholeheartedly agree) he is wonderful no matter who he's playing.

Another one that always kind of bugged me was Salome Jens, she just always sounds like she has a cold.

Also the two actresses playing the Duras sisters. I don't think they got on well with the teeth.

 

[Too Much Fun]

Speaking of Klingons, JG Hertzler as Martok and honestly much like someone said about Jeffrey Combs (and I wholeheartedly agree) he is wonderful no matter who he's playing.

Another nice choice I forgot about that I feel I should have mentioned. I don't mind the correction about Riker...it makes the quote even funnier. I read somewhere that during his performance as Laas, Hertzler was doing a Shatner impression.

I didn't notice the first time I watched it, but the last time I did (recently), I tried to listen for that, and he really does sound a bit like Shatner/Kirk at times. That was fun. His throaty Martok voice ruled. I love when he gets pissed at Quark and threatens to hang him by his ears. Speaking of cool Klingon voices, Robert O'Reilly as Gowron was a hoot, too.

 

[6079SmithW]

I love and think the best voices are Janeway and Picard. Janeway's because it is authoritative and adds to her no-nonsense attitude and Picard's because it commands authority as well, plus who doesn't love an English accent? I know other characters has English accents as well but Patrick Stewart beats them all.

I don't really hate any one specific character's voice but there were a lot of generic American accents that were kind of dull.

 

[DevilEyes]

Hate:
. . . Marina Sirtis' voice as Deanna - it's something about the way she talks

It's the phony accent. She sounds much better speaking in her natural London East End accent.

I think it's the combination of the phony accent and the way she's always trying to sound so caring, like she's always reminding us that she's supposed to be the tender caretaker female figure.

 

[BillJ]

HateHateHate (Would rather scoop out my ear drums with a rusty spoon than hear them speak another word):

Nana Visitor
Kate Mulgrew
Walter Koenig

Great (could listen to them read out of a phone book):

Patrick Stewart
Nichelle Nichols
William Shatner

 

[Alienesse]

My absolute favorites are Leonard Nimoy and Patrick Stewart. Another honorable mention is Robert Picardo. I was rather impressed with his singing abilities. Scott Bakula also has a very pleasant voice.

Not so great voices: Max Grodénchik, Robert Beltran, Ethan Philips, Salome Jens.

 

[Bill Morris]

Aside from the favorites already mentioned, Suzie Plakson, Vaughn Armstrong, Robert O'Reilly, Jeri Ryan, Alan Scarfe, Norman Lloyd, Christopher Lloyd, Christopher Plummer, . . .

 

[PikeFan]

Faves:
Umm, look at my name (LOL) on a serious note, I am totally infatuated with both Pikes, Bruce Greenwood and Jeffery Hunter. Hunter had more body language, but had command in his voice. Greenwood, oh god what he does to me when he whistles.... anyway, the commanding tone and mannerisms he exhibits, IMHO< are what makes a great Capt.

Scotty (love me some Scottish burr) Simon Pegg's more "watered-down" accent is original, I think it is a send-up to the greatness that is James Doohan.

Malcolm Reed, the quiet British soft, yet hard speech is awesome.

Chakotay makes me weak with his soft baritone.

(Could go on pervertedly forever, but I'll stop now )

Annoying:
Excessive.....pausing... Kirk (on a normal day I like him)
The Frenchman, Picard, with a British Shakespearean accent. (NOTE: I like his voice, but the CHARACTER needed a slight French lilt
Spock, his logic infuriates me (I'm too muck like Bones for my own good!)

 

[scotpens]

Scotty (love me some Scottish burr) Simon Pegg's more “watered-down” accent is original, I think it is a send-up to the greatness that is James Doohan.

James Doohan was a good actor, but whatever accent he was doing in Star Trek, it sure as hell wasn’t Scottish. Listen to Billy Connolly if you want to know what a real Scots accent sounds like.

 

[PianoWizzy]

Off topic, but....

@scotpens: out of curiosity, would you consider Craig Ferguson's accent Scottish?

 

[PikeFan]

I had heard in an interview he served with a Scotsman in WWII, perhaps an older dialect? Or is a total muck up?

 

[plynch]

I had heard in an interview he served with a Scotsman in WWII, perhaps an older dialect? Or is a total muck up?

And there're lots of Scots in Canada.

("In Canada we get to see 'em all." - Raffi)

Oddly, to my ears, Doohan is real and allthe real Scots song wrong. Maybe cuz I watched Star Trek 20000 times as a lad?

 

[trekkiebaggio]

I actually like Wallace Shawn's voice, it always cracks me up, especially when he laughs

As for ones I hate I can't really think at the moment. Kai Winn's I didn't really like, but that was more because of the smarmy smug holier-than-thou attitude she delivered her words with.

 

[PikeFan]

plynch, I was thinking this morning that perhaps it is another dialect from Scotland. Consider "northern" speak and "southern" speak here in the US. Totally different ways of talking.

 

[Stoek]

Scotty (love me some Scottish burr) Simon Pegg's more “watered-down” accent is original, I think it is a send-up to the greatness that is James Doohan.

James Doohan was a good actor, but whatever accent he was doing in Star Trek, it sure as hell wasn’t Scottish. Listen to Billy Connolly if you want to know what a real Scots accent sounds like.

Well given that acting is all about artifice, I would suspect that what Doohan was doing was using an accent that he (or the producers) felt would sound Scottish-esque but perhaps not be too offputting to the general tv audience of the time.

 

[PikeFan]

Scotty (love me some Scottish burr) Simon Pegg's more “watered-down” accent is original, I think it is a send-up to the greatness that is James Doohan.

James Doohan was a good actor, but whatever accent he was doing in Star Trek, it sure as hell wasn’t Scottish. Listen to Billy Connolly if you want to know what a real Scots accent sounds like.

I had heard in an interview he served with a Scotsman in WWII, perhaps an older dialect? Or is a total muck up?

And there're lots of Scots in Canada.

("In Canada we get to see 'em all." - Raffi)

Oddly, to my ears, Doohan is real and allthe real Scots song wrong. Maybe cuz I watched Star Trek 20000 times as a lad?

Scotty (love me some Scottish burr) Simon Pegg's more “watered-down” accent is original, I think it is a send-up to the greatness that is James Doohan.

James Doohan was a good actor, but whatever accent he was doing in Star Trek, it sure as hell wasn’t Scottish. Listen to Billy Connolly if you want to know what a real Scots accent sounds like.

Well given that acting is all about artifice, I would suspect that what Doohan was doing was using an accent that he (or the producers) felt would sound Scottish-esque but perhaps not be too offputting to the general tv audience of the time.

True. Having a Scotsman also added to the mix of characters.

 

[DevilEyes]

I forgot about Bruce Greenwood! Definitely one of my favorite voices in Trek, right next to Leonard Nimoy, Marc Alaimo and Patrick Stewart.

Annoying:
The Frenchman, Picard, with a British Shakespearean accent. (NOTE: I like his voice, but the CHARACTER needed a slight French lilt

Why? It's impossible for people to learn a second language perfectly? You've never met someone who learned English as a second language and speaks with a perfect British accent?

 

[PikeFan]

I forgot about Bruce Greenwood! Definitely one of my favorite voices in Trek, right next to Leonard Nimoy, Marc Alaimo and Patrick Stewart.

Annoying:
The Frenchman, Picard, with a British Shakespearean accent. (NOTE: I like his voice, but the CHARACTER needed a slight French lilt

Why? It's impossible for people to learn a second language perfectly? You've never met someone who learned English as a second language and speaks with a perfect British accent?

Ah, I see the logic in that I speak Spanish and was told it was slightly British in pronunciation by an English speaking Spaniard.

 

[Avon]

i know a french guy that sounds northern (uk) when he speaks english. so picard is possible.

i mean i'm welsh, i've lived in wales all my life but i dont sound even slightly welsh and have my dad's vaguely londonesque accent.

as for trek voices, i dont think any are particularly bad. oh wait rom. everyone except rom is ok. love o'briens voice. i could listen to him say 'moidered?' (and so forth) all day.

 

[Too Much Fun]

Why? It's impossible for people to learn a second language perfectly? You've never met someone who learned English as a second language and speaks with a perfect British accent?

That's such a perfect (and in retrospect, obvious) explanation for Picard's accent despite him supposedly being French, yet I would have never thought of it, even though it's very obvious.

This especially rings true to me right now after being in England where everyone I met seemed to speak English with the same kind of British accent, no matter where they were from (and many of them were clearly speaking it as a second language).