Excellent Guest Stars...

[Farscape One]

Casting is a very important part of any television/movie production. You can have a brilliant script, phenomenal sets, superb visual effects... but if roles are not cast right, it can spoil an otherwise flawless production.

The main cast is obviously at the center, but there are guest stars who come in for an episode that are not only great in the role, but elevate the entire episode... even outshining the leads. Or have such great chemistry with soneone else that you really wish they appeared more.

I am curious to see who everyone here thinks were extraordinary guest stars.

I will start.

"RESISTANCE", Joel Grey as Caylem. The episode itself is okay, but his performance and interactions with Kate Mulgrew were ofc the charts superb. He was a tragic character, and felt such sorrow for him. I loved Janeway's gift to him at his death by pretending to be Ralkana and forgiving him. It was really touching, and every scene they were in together was very special.

Joel Grey turned an okay episode into an automatic rewatch every time it comes on tv. THAT is a special guest star.

 

[cosmic mouse]

Mark Harelik as Kashyk is my favorite. I loved his character and how he related and engaged with Janeway. He'd be my vote for the recurring character that never was. I'm not sure he outshined the Captain, but he sure brought out some of her best imho, and she really got challenged in a way that no crew member, save maybe Seven, was able to do.

 

[Farscape One]

He was another one I had in mind when I started this thread.

 

[Greg Cox]

Brad Douriff as the serial-killer guy (whose name escapes me).

 

[Farscape One]

Lon suder.

Hell, I love that man in EVERY role I have seen him in... Billy Bibbit in ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO'S NEST, Wormtongue in the LORD OF THE RINGS movies, Brother Edward in the BABYLON 5 episode "PASSING THROUGH GETHSEMANE", Boggs in THE X-FILES episode "Beyond the Sea", Chucky in the CHILD'S PLAY movies.

He and Jeffrey Combs are alike in that respect.

 

[Bad Thoughts]

James Read, who played Jaffen in Workforce I&II, did a great job of playing a supportive and honest partner. I wish that they had kept his character (rather than give the generic "I'm the captain,I can't love anyone but the ship" line).

 

[Thomas Eugene]

No idea what the actor's name is but I think the clown in THE THAW was excellent in his role.

I don't know if recurring characters count as guest stars but I think Marina Sirtis was a lot better Troi on VOY than on TNG. They gave her better material to work with and perhaps the actress had matured too.

Vaughn Armstrong seemed to be very good in every role we saw him in, most notably as Telek R'Mor in EYE OF THE NEEDLE, Two of Nine in SURVIVAL INSTINCT and Korath in ENDGAME.

 

[Farscape One]

Michael McKeon was The Clown.

And I agree.

 

[Greg Cox]

Lon suder.

Hell, I love that man in EVERY role I have seen him in... Billy Bibbit in ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO'S NEST, Wormtongue in the LORD OF THE RINGS movies, Brother Edward in the BABYLON 5 episode "PASSING THROUGH GETHSEMANE", Boggs in THE X-FILES episode "Beyond the Sea", Chucky in the CHILD'S PLAY movies.

He and Jeffrey Combs are alike in that respect.

He's also good in the movie adaptation of RAGTIME, playing a relatively "normal" character who gets radicalized over the course of the story.

 

[Kilana2]

Jeffrey Combs was oddly out of place in Voyager. He played great DS9 characters, but his one and only Voyager appearance was not even better than Dwaine The Rock Johnsons appearance.
Even J. G. Herztler was better as Hirogen.

Sarah Silverman did a great job as Rain Robinson. Lori Petty was awesome. Honorable mention: Gerrit Graham as Q2 who gave the Q another face. Kurtwood Smith is a well-known actor and a Trek veteran. I like him more as Federation President than in the role of Annorax.

 

[Refuge]

I had to look up the name Tom Wright. When I've seen him since in other things I say... There's Tuvix! I did not like the character Tuvix at all but he gave us one of the most compelling moments in Voyager - if not all Trek.

 

[Tracy Trek]

Ed Begly Jr. as Henry Starling.

 

[Ghislaine H. B. BRAEME]

I'd say that almost all guest stars were great (Sarah Silvermann as Rain Robinson; James Read as Jaffen; John Rhys-Davis as Leonardo di Vinci; Finlan McKeown as Michael Sullivan), but some were particularly stellar like Tom Wright's performance as Tuvix, Marek Harelik as Krashyk; J. Paul Boehmer as One, Kurtwood Smith as Annorax; Gerrit Graham as Quinn; Brad Dourif as Suder; Andrew Dick as EMH Mark 2; David Klennon as Cardassian Dr Moset and James Sloyan as Dr Jetrel).

My only disappointment were Virginia Madsen as Kellin (even if her romance with Chakotay worked pretty well contrary to Chakotay/Seven) and Lori Petty as Noss (the episode in which she played was frankly boring for me) .

 

[Greg Cox]

Amen regarding Sarah Silverman. I still wish she had been taken aboard as a regular, which was apparently discussed.

 

[Kilana2]

Amen regarding Sarah Silverman. I still wish she had been taken aboard as a regular, which was apparently discussed.

Interesting. In which function? Maybe instead of Seven. I don't know if both of them would have worked together.

 

[Bad Thoughts]

Interesting. In which function? Maybe instead of Seven. I don't know if both of them would have worked together.

Yes, bringing back Rain Robinson was one of the ideas discussed when the producers were thinking up ways of shaking up the formula, which eventually led to the creation of Seven of Nine.