While I adore Neelix, I think it would have been better if he was played as if he were a little more street smart instead of a bumbling misfit. I think it would have made his position as a trade negotiator more believable and we'd have less "What purpose did Neelix serve?" questions.
best acted Voyager episode
- Thread starter indolover
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QFT.
I get that Neelix might have known some people in the area and might have been a guide of some kind at the beginning... but after they left the area he was familiar with (and I find it hard to believe that it would have been such a large area) he should have joined the security detail or something like that. Having him as some sort of ambassador and cook just seemed silly.
I have a soft spot for Jen Lien's performance in Warlord. Great stuff!
That is another good one.
Lien did an outstanding job there.
"The Thaw"
Great stuff
CLOWN: She tricked me.
JANEWAY: Did she? Or was a part of you actually hoping to be defeated? Isn’t that why you allowed Captain Janeway to come here? Because you sensed she had the power to subdue you.
CLOWN: No. She lied. That was very un-Starfleet of her.
JANEWAY: Starfleet captains don’t easily succumb to fear.
CLOWN: What will become of us? Of me?
JANEWAY: Like all fear, you eventually vanish.
CLOWN: I’m afraid.
JANEWAY: I know.
CLOWN: Drat.
Brilliant episode based on Franklin D. Roosevelt's phrase "there is nothing more you have to fear than fear itself" and one of my favourites - loved Michael McKeon since I first saw him in Spinal Tap. Combined with the carnival atmosphere he added a touch of creepiness for all the coulrophobics among us.
Rett Mikhal
Captain
I thought the episode when Neelix dies and is brought back to life by Seven's nanoprobes really gave Philips a chance to act. He's not a bad actor for having a comedic character.
It sounds like you would like "Jetrel". I thought Philips did a wonderful job in that one. It also added depth to the character.
Score one for Mortal Coil. It is an underated episode because it is based on Neelix but it was really well acted.
Jetrel was a good Neelix episode but Mortal Coil was one of the best Voyager episodes from all 7 seasons in my opinion.
One ep. in seven years is still pretty sad IMO.
It kinda gives the impression those in charge didn't have confidence in him as an actor to give him more drama.
I don't think that is true at all. The writers just had a hard time writing for him. His character wasn't a bad character. Jeri Taylor provided a great back story for him. In Pathways, his chapters were the best. It's just unfortunante they didn't know how to use him and fit him in.
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I liked him in "Fair Trade" and Macrocosm, In "Jetral" and in "Alliances", in "Partruition" and "False Profits", "The Killing Game" and "Someone to watch over me", "Riddles and "Live fast and Prosper".
I agree, Neelix was really great in "Riddles"! I felt sorry for him when he told Tuvok that it would be selfish of him not to let Tuvok have the surgery just so he would like him and not just tolerate him.
I still have to find an episode where Chakotay doesn't annoy me. The character is so badly portayed by Robert. He is even worse when is off-camera or in the background. But that is probably something for the other thread...
I liked B'Elanna in "Barge of the Dead". But then, I think Roxanne did a great job throughout the whole series.
Janeway...wow this is difficult. I love "Counterpoint". Kate was also great in "The Disease" and "Equinox".
Tom Paris...I think I have to go with "Thirty Days" as I don't recall any other outstanding Paris episode atm.
The Doctor...another tough one. Robert Picardo is a genius. He played the hell out of that role. "Latent Image" was great, as was "Real Life" (that is the one with his holographic family isn't it?).
I still have to find an episode where Chakotay doesn't annoy me. The character is so badly portayed by Robert. He is even worse when is off-camera or in the background. But that is probably something for the other thread...
I liked B'Elanna in "Barge of the Dead". But then, I think Roxanne did a great job throughout the whole series.
Janeway...wow this is difficult. I love "Counterpoint". Kate was also great in "The Disease" and "Equinox".
Tom Paris...I think I have to go with "Thirty Days" as I don't recall any other outstanding Paris episode atm.
The Doctor...another tough one. Robert Picardo is a genius. He played the hell out of that role. "Latent Image" was great, as was "Real Life" (that is the one with his holographic family isn't it?).
I'm going to assume you meant Jeri Taylor, not Jeri Ryan.
Aren't most times on Voyager, the writers were also the creators of the show? The folks that created Neelix couldn't write for him and you don't find that a bad thing? Ethan Philips himself said that he often gave the writers ideas on the direction of his character, all of which they ignored much like they did with Beltran. IMO it doesn't sound like he was hard to write for, it just sounds like they didn't care. All the stronger actors got the majority of the lines and screen time.
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I found the idea of Seven being able to use her nanoprobes to bring people back to life a bit unbelievable and Mary Sue-ish. Not that Philips didn't do a good job with it but the implausibility of it was a bit off-putting for me.
I'm going to assume you meant Jeri Taylor, not Jeri Ryan.
Aren't most times on Voyager, the writers were also the creators of the show? The folks that created Neelix couldn't write for him and you don't find that a bad thing? Ethan Philips himself said that he often gave the writers ideas on the direction of his character, all of which they ignored much like they did with Beltran. IMO it doesn't sound like he was hard to write for, it just sounds like they didn't care. All the stronger actors got the majority of the lines and screen time.
Ha. Nice catch with Taylor. Tis fixed...
Could be a bit of both I guess. But I read quite a few of the official Star Trek Magazines where the writers were interviewed, and several of them mentioned they had a hard time finding stories for Neelix and found it easier to write for the Dr., Seven, Janeway, etc. Bryan Fuller mentioned it quite a bit; that he felt Neelix was being 'lost' as the seasons were progressing often asking Rick Berman what he had in mind for him and getting little direction back. In another article, both Bryan Fuller and Andre Bormanis both stated they felt Jeri Taylor was the only one who 'cared' about Neelix and once she dissappeared, it was up to the writers and Phillips to get him in episodes; where as for the other cast, anything with the Dr. or Seven in it pitched would get passed much more easily.
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