Did Ethan Phillips ever object to how Neelix was written?

Neelix is known as one of the most annoying and irritating characters in Star Trek. Basically, he's the Jar Jar Binks of Star Trek.

When Voyager was going, did Ethan Phillips ever have disagreements with or object to how his character was depicted? The reason I ask is because Wesley Crusher was also hated by many Trek fans, and Wil Wheaton himself agrees that the character of Wesley Crusher sucked.

Has anyone heard anything about how Ethan Phillips feels about the Neelix character?

 

As I understood it, Ethan couldn't really see the forest from the trees, whilst he was working on VOY. I'm under the impression that it was just a job to him at the time and it wasn't until after, probably due to refreshing his memory for conventions and whatnot, that he would later watch himself and notice Neelix' story arc and pick up other aspects that weren't apparent at the time. There are some interviews I've seen of him where he seems to suggest that this was the case ...

 

To compare Neelix with Jar-jar Binks is actually unfair to Neelix.

Jar-Jar is silly, annoying and irritating while Neelix has a lot more depth than that. Watch "Jetrel" and "Fair Trade" and you see what I mean.

As for Wesley Crusher, I never understood the hatred against him. OK, sometimes it was too much of the "Wesley saves the day" syndrome but I found him mostly sympathetic.

 

Neelix did have his moments, yes, but he was still very, very annoying and was one of the worst characters ever made in the history of sci-fi.

 

See I didn't know people didn't like Neelix. When I watched and are watching I'm not annoyed. There are times when Neelix comes into his own. The first few seasons his knowledge of that part of the quadrant had him called to the bridge. In fact just as an aside I was watching 'Displaced' last week and there is good ole Neelix scavenging parts for Tuvok to make a weapon. That was part of the Neelix character people disregarded him because of his appearance and he used that to get things done. They confided in him too and for the most part he provided an emotional balance.

I have no idea if Ethan objected but I hope he looks back and is proud of being part of an enjoyable show.

 

how dare you for saying that about neelix. ethan phillips is a great actor who worked VERY VERY hard to give us his best acting, and for you to say what you said about him is an insult to him and everything hes worked for. you should be ashamed of yourself. i met ethan one time and hes a very, very nice guy. you make me sick

 

Huh?

 

I'm guessing not, and that's why Neelix wasn't on the list with Kes and Harry as the characters they writers weren't sure they had any more stories for at the start of season 4.

My sense with Ethan Phillips has always been that he's a pro who stays in his lane. He's not going to complain about the script, he's just going to do his actual job: doing the best he can with the script he's given.

 

Wat.
Dude, are you alright?

 

He isn't a complainer. Kate quoted Ethan: For what they pay me(ethan) they could rub s*** on my face. (2007 convention quote.)
I will admit season one, I wanted to punch him a couple times but after that, I saw past how he affects me and more why he is who he is.
Where I stand, he was not annoying once kes left the ship. His jealousy was unpleasant for me to watch. I found his frustration with Janeway hilarious in "The cloud" and he had layers in the two noted episodes that were already mentioned.
What could be annoying about a man who just wants to find purpose among aliens? (The crew) To be appreciated? To ease the misery of the crew?
If he appears annoying from beginning to end of series, if you can't see his growth within his flaws, perhaps you are the one who needs to reflect on what your deal is. He is not as one dimensional as he seems. Not a jar jar.
With age I have learned to see this.

 

Agreed. It can't all be gloom and doom on the good ship Voyager.

 

Sheesh. We're not accusing him of eating babies. Chill out

 

So you're saying that because I don't like him, there's something wrong with me. Okay? Sounds like you're taking this as seriously as that Crashchaos fellow!

 

Take the red pill.

 

You haven't watched Stargate Universe, have you?

 

When VOY was on, Neelix and Kes were my least favorite elements of the show. Kes-focused and Neelix-focused episodes were a chore. Then there were the Kes/Neelix-focused episodes that were a real struggle. He was just always kind of annoying to me and the way he would bug Tuvok was particularly grating. He doesn't seem as bad when I watch it now, but then again, VOY in general is much more enjoyable to me now than it was when I was 12. Now he seems much 'cuter' in his interactions and I can appreciate his relationship with Mr. Vulcan much better. His dark episodes are great. Kes is also less annoying now, but she is still pretty boring.

 

Why would Ethan Philips have objected to the way Neelix was written? What was wrong with the character?

 

Okay, let me see if I can make sense of why people seem to be reacting with so much hostility. I'm not excusing their reactions at all, just trying to make sense of it.

Neelix was the heart of the show. He was like the neighborhood bartender who everyone turns to whenever they needed their morale boosted or a shoulder to cry on. And as the series progressed, he was embodied positive traits like kindness, compassion and optimism.

Also, I think that a lot of that warmth and positive attitude came from Ethan Philips himself. Of course, I don't know the guy from a hole in the wall but I was one of those people who felt that whatever friendliness and optimism we were seeing in Neelix was Philips's real life persona. So some people may be seeing hating on Neelix as a rejection of this positive values he brought to the show, as well as hating on the actor himself.

 

I liked Neelix, yes he was a bit whiny in the first season and a bit ( Jetrel excluded, which was excellent ) but he had great chemistry with Tuvok and The Doctor, and to a lesser extent Paris and Janeway.

He was one of the few characters on the show who genuinely grew and changed as the 7 years went on, the Neelix who left us in Homestead ( Love that scene with him and Tuvok ) was a far cry from the Neelix who first showed up in Caretaker.

 

Oh. Well, I have nothing against Ethan Phillips himself. He seems like a nice guy and I actually didn't find anything wrong with his acting as Neelix. I just hated the way they wrote his character.