defend Tom Paris!
- Thread starter stj
- Start date
He was always third officer from the beginning even though in the pilot every one on board wanted to kill him and it was only his body guard chakotay who kept him frombeing beaten in a dark dead end between the holodeck and engineering.
In Resolutions Tom was the X0, not that anyone mentioned it since it was Kim wining and calling the shots to Captain Tuvok
In Resolutions Tom was the X0, not that anyone mentioned it since it was Kim wining and calling the shots to Captain Tuvok
You know, as a Voyager fan, I never really much cared for Tom Paris in the beginning. He seemed like such a womanizer to me and all he did(most of the time) was parade around the ship, scouting women. He didn't much appeal to me until the episode: "Thirty Days" when he was in the brig for disobeying a direct order. Then I started to respect him a little more as a character because he stuck up for what he believed in(even though he was shot down by the Captain). And I loved that ocean planet..thing. 
I REALLY liked him when he married B'Ellana Torres and thought that his character had changed dramatically from being somewhat of a prisoner/rebel to a man with a sense of purpose. But I do agree with some of the posters here..he went from a nothing to a hero way too quickly. And dammit he didn't earn his pip back until "Unimatrix Zero Prt. 1" right?!
After year five, and into year six, I thought that Paris was a 90's kinda guy cause he loved old cars, cartoons, and his Captain Proton holodeck program(which I found quite appealing despite a few disagreements).
I REALLY liked him when he married B'Ellana Torres and thought that his character had changed dramatically from being somewhat of a prisoner/rebel to a man with a sense of purpose. But I do agree with some of the posters here..he went from a nothing to a hero way too quickly. And dammit he didn't earn his pip back until "Unimatrix Zero Prt. 1" right?!After year five, and into year six, I thought that Paris was a 90's kinda guy cause he loved old cars, cartoons, and his Captain Proton holodeck program(which I found quite appealing despite a few disagreements).
I don't know, I thought the B'Elanna thing really hamstrung his character and hers. He should have been allowed to roam free and she should have been, too. I guess my antipathy towards stupid relationships is showing.
I also thought his car fixation was odd. Not so much the cars but having him romanticize the 20th century so. To me, that read more like what the writers and producers were into and then thrust onto his character.
Much like the stupid Vic Fontaine crap on DS9. It made NO sense and did little other than probably give the producers little fangasms.
I also thought his car fixation was odd. Not so much the cars but having him romanticize the 20th century so. To me, that read more like what the writers and producers were into and then thrust onto his character.
Much like the stupid Vic Fontaine crap on DS9. It made NO sense and did little other than probably give the producers little fangasms.
To begin with I hated Tom.
And I still do!
No actually I did warm to him.
I am growing more and more "rusty" on remembering episodes as Im not really re-watching ST of any kind at the moment but:
There was a short "story arc" where Tom became very lax and insubordinate over a few episodes which ended in him leaving the ship.
I remember this being done fairly subtly and when It was revealed as a ploy of Janeways I was (pleasently) surprised and it added to my likeing of Tom.
If anyone remembers this please post the episode titles.
And I still do!
No actually I did warm to him.
I am growing more and more "rusty" on remembering episodes as Im not really re-watching ST of any kind at the moment but:
There was a short "story arc" where Tom became very lax and insubordinate over a few episodes which ended in him leaving the ship.
I remember this being done fairly subtly and when It was revealed as a ploy of Janeways I was (pleasently) surprised and it added to my likeing of Tom.
If anyone remembers this please post the episode titles.
I agree. I've only seen probably 2 seasons worth of Voyager in total and Paris was one of a few characters I thought were interesting. "Thirty Days" is probably in my top 5 Voyager episodes...though once again its from a short list.
it was all about Raphael Sbarge. He appeared in 5 episodes and the Tom Paris is deush storyline climaxed with the episode Investigations, but I thought it was a three part arc even though Deathwish appears to have been two episodes before Investigations. So you want to see the few before Investigations and anything with Sbarge. Maneuvers showed him being a massive traitor.
The arc began with Alliances, when Jonas makes contact with the Kazon covertly offering them informtion.
In Threshold Jonas passes on information regarding Paris' Warp 10 flight.
In Meld, Paris starts his undercover work by starting a gambling pool about some daily technobabble particle buildup. Chakotay finds out and puts Paris on Report.
In Dreadnought, Pars shows up late to a meeting and looks like he just rolled out of bed. He also had recently had an argument with another officer. Jonas passe on information to the Kazon about Dreadnought.
In Life Signs, Paris is late for duty, the continuing pattern concerning Chakotay, who is advised by Janeway to attempt to solve the problem. Chakotay meets up with him at the mess hall and tries to talk to him. Paris makes a public display that he has a problem with Chakotay, which Jonas sees. Later, Paris is late again, Chakotay has reassigned someone else to take his place. Chakotay begins to escort Paris off the Bridge, Paris Pushes Chakotay to the ground, Janeway sends Paris to the Brig.
Jonas Passes on information about Paris' unhappiness to the kazon and is asked to damage the ships warp coils. He eventually talks to Seska, who gives him his instructions.
Investigations, the whole episode is about this plot, so I'm not gonna go too deep into it. But that's the backstory.
In Threshold Jonas passes on information regarding Paris' Warp 10 flight.
In Meld, Paris starts his undercover work by starting a gambling pool about some daily technobabble particle buildup. Chakotay finds out and puts Paris on Report.
In Dreadnought, Pars shows up late to a meeting and looks like he just rolled out of bed. He also had recently had an argument with another officer. Jonas passe on information to the Kazon about Dreadnought.
In Life Signs, Paris is late for duty, the continuing pattern concerning Chakotay, who is advised by Janeway to attempt to solve the problem. Chakotay meets up with him at the mess hall and tries to talk to him. Paris makes a public display that he has a problem with Chakotay, which Jonas sees. Later, Paris is late again, Chakotay has reassigned someone else to take his place. Chakotay begins to escort Paris off the Bridge, Paris Pushes Chakotay to the ground, Janeway sends Paris to the Brig.
Jonas Passes on information about Paris' unhappiness to the kazon and is asked to damage the ships warp coils. He eventually talks to Seska, who gives him his instructions.
Investigations, the whole episode is about this plot, so I'm not gonna go too deep into it. But that's the backstory.
Tom Paris was a womanizer in the beginning, or at least he wanted everyone to think that he was. Perhaps in the end of the day he was more talk than anything.
What I like about Tom is that he was funny. And that he appreciated second change when he saw one. He was more happy in the Delta Quadrant when all the crap in his life was left behind, and he grew up to be a man instead of adolescent boy. He fell in love with a woman who propably liked him the least among the ladies onboard and the man in Lineage was so much more wiser than the man in Caretaker, and he listened his heart instead of denying to even having one. If that is not growth to the better, I don't know what is.
And Tom had a great sense of humor, too. What's not to like?
What I like about Tom is that he was funny. And that he appreciated second change when he saw one. He was more happy in the Delta Quadrant when all the crap in his life was left behind, and he grew up to be a man instead of adolescent boy. He fell in love with a woman who propably liked him the least among the ladies onboard and the man in Lineage was so much more wiser than the man in Caretaker, and he listened his heart instead of denying to even having one. If that is not growth to the better, I don't know what is.
And Tom had a great sense of humor, too. What's not to like?
