Favorite Voyager Actors

[HoneyBLilly]

So this started from a conversation with Jeff O'Connor last night on Shatnertage's first watch thread, sorry about that by the way, and we went from talking about Bride of Chaotica to talking about Broken Bow to talking about how bad ENT was to talking about how bad Stargate Universe was.

I maintaned that SGU was basically Voyager just not in Trekverse and he agreed just with bad actors.

So . . . who are your favorite actors or, in your opinion, the best? From least favorite to favorite. Or worst to best?

 

[TEACAKE'S PLEATHER DOME]

I maintaned that SGU was basically Voyager just not in Trekverse and he agreed just with bad actors.

 

[BlobVanDam]

My favourite actors on Voyager were definitely Robert Picardo, and Tim Russ. They both played their parts perfectly, and never missed a step. And they could always lift a scene up.

Chakotay, Harry Kim and Tom Paris were all equally poorly actored. Chakotay still had his moments though. He just had very limited emotional expression.

 

[od0_ital]

Robert Picardo & Tim Russ would top my list, and it helps that they've both been good in other stuff I've seen 'em in besides Star Trek.

 

[Quinton O'Connor]

I maintaned that SGU was basically Voyager just not in Trekverse and he agreed just with bad actors.

Gee whiz, I just spilled coffee.

Well let's see... where the heck was I? I do contend that SGU is Voyager with a crummier cast. Although there are some gems over there -- Robert Carlyle and David Blue in particular make the best of what they've got. The show also ties more directly into its franchise's overall mytharc, I'd say, although the results have been bland enough that I'm just striking the whole thing from memory.

Funny... when SGU was first announced and its premise solidified, there were a lot of Voyager jokes to be made. I tried my best to ignore it, hoping the execution would separate it, but alas, it's basically VOY if it were to focus more on the elements of VOY that many fans feel were thrown aside, at the expense of being a fairly bad show overall.

Aaaaanyway...

Kate Mulgrew is a class act -- no matter what a writer threw at her, she did her damnedest to make it work. Sometimes this meant Janeway was a superb character and sometimes it left me questioning the showrunners' aim -- 'just how desperado is this broad?' -- but no matter what, Mulgrew stands strong in my mind.

Robert Picardo is probably my favorite main actor in the whole of the franchise. A couple of DS9 reps come absurdly close, and some days I'll pick Nana Visitor over our beloved doctor, but he's just so freaking amazing at making even the most mundane scenes flash into life. A quality I think he shares with Mulgrew, really. And when the writers totally know what they're doing with The Doctor? It's almost electrifying how good an episode can be with Picardo's talent at the helm.

Jeri Ryan deserves similar credit; when she first arrived, many fans were very vocal about the implications. Still, Ryan brought Seven of Nine's characterization into the green, showcasing that no matter what an actress is wearing, she can make the personality of the role the best part.

If it weren't for Leonard Nimoy being ridiculously awesome, Tim Russ would be the best Vulcan Star Trek has ever known by a country mile. When you've got a kid like I was back then counting the days until the next Tuvok-centric episode (something I really do wish happened more often later on...) you know you've got an ace in the hole. Russ made Tuvok's quips positively to die for, selling every last one just as fast and funny as Christopher Judge's Teal'c but with a decidedly logical flair.

Those are my big four!

 

[exodus]

The Best:

Jeri Ryan
Roxanne Dawson
Robert Picardo
Tim Russ
Kate Mulgrew


The worst:

Garrett Wang
Jen Lien

It's a shame when younger and less experanced actors like Manu Intriaymi & Scarlett Palmers are more convincing actors than those older than them with supposedly more experance. I guess it goes to show, acting really is a gift.

 

[BlobVanDam]

If it weren't for Leonard Nimoy being ridiculously awesome, Tim Russ would be the best Vulcan Star Trek has ever known by a country mile. When you've got a kid like I was back then counting the days until the next Tuvok-centric episode (something I really do wish happened more often later on...) you know you've got an ace in the hole. Russ made Tuvok's quips positively to die for, selling every last one just as fast and funny as Christopher Judge's Teal'c but with a decidedly logical flair.

I might get hurt for this, but I actually prefer Tuvok to Spock. Spock is awesome, don't get me wrong, but there was just something so perfect about Tim Russ's line delivery where everything sounded like a snipey backhanded comment, even though it was delivered emotionless and objectively. And to me he's the badass Vulcan.
Tim Russ really hit the mark with the Vulcan character.

But Spock will always be the original, and isn't too far behind for me.

 

[exodus]

If it weren't for Leonard Nimoy being ridiculously awesome, Tim Russ would be the best Vulcan Star Trek has ever known by a country mile. When you've got a kid like I was back then counting the days until the next Tuvok-centric episode (something I really do wish happened more often later on...) you know you've got an ace in the hole. Russ made Tuvok's quips positively to die for, selling every last one just as fast and funny as Christopher Judge's Teal'c but with a decidedly logical flair.

I might get hurt for this, but I actually prefer Tuvok to Spock. Spock is awesome, don't get me wrong, but there was just something so perfect about Tim Russ's line delivery where everything sounded like a snipey backhanded comment, even though it was delivered emotionless and objectively. And to me he's the badass Vulcan.
Tim Russ really hit the mark with the Vulcan character.

But Spock will always be the original, and isn't too far behind for me.

I agree.
However, at the same time even Russ admits he couldn't have played Tuvok so well had he not studied the mannerisms of Spock. Still with Spock being Half-Human, it allowed Nemoy to slip emotionally with Spock. Russ didn't have that, so IMO it showed how diciplined of an actor he is. Especially when followed up by Jolene Blalock.

However, I also want to give a shout out the often overlooked Mark Lenard as Serek.

 

[Shatnertage]

Returning the favor by bringing my first-watch thoughts into this thread (), I've got to say that Jeri Ryan is growing on me. I just saw "Bliss" last night and she basically carried the entire episode. That's my new yardstick for who I consider the best actors.

At this stage in my watching, if I was writing a script, I'd consider these the actors who could creditably carry an episode by themselves:

Kate Mulgrew (naturally)
Jeri Ryan
Robert Picardo
Tim Russ

Not so much:
Ethan Phillips (who has also grown on me)
Roxann Dawson
Jennifer Lien

No way:
Robert Beltran
Robert Duncan McNeill
Garrett Wang (though he sometimes showed flashes of it, cf "Timeless")

 

[Purdy Bear]

The best: Kate Mulgrew, Robert Picardo

This was not only from watching the series but from interviews. Both prepared properly being on the mark, knowing their lines etc, unlike some of the cast.



The worst: Beltram - Iv heard he often fell asleep while others acted and thus had to do a reshoot. I found his so called Native American blank stare somewhat annoying. He also has this way of acting which Iv seen a lot in American TV, where they love to half pant when saying lines to show emotions - it doesnt work for me!

Wang - Turned up late, etc etc.

 

[exodus]

Returning the favor by bringing my first-watch thoughts into this thread (), I've got to say that Jeri Ryan is growing on me. I just saw "Bliss" last night and she basically carried the entire episode. That's my new yardstick for who I consider the best actors.

At this stage in my watching, if I was writing a script, I'd consider these the actors who could creditably carry an episode by themselves:



Not so much:

Roxann Dawson

Dawson has carried at least 3.
"Faces", "Dreadnaut" & "Juggernaut"
In the first two the only person she's acting against mostly is herself.
Plus, Dawson & Russ are the only two actors completely on point with their character since day one.
They're the only ones that play their roles as if they always been those characters.
That's just messa two cents.

 

[Vinkula]

All of them!

 

[SPCTRE]

I think Jeri Ryan doesn't get enough credit for her perfomance as Seven. The reasons behind that unfortunate fact being quite obvious.

 

[TEACAKE'S PLEATHER DOME]

Kate Mulgrew is a class act -- no matter what a writer threw at her, she did her damnedest to make it work. Sometimes this meant Janeway was a superb character and sometimes it left me questioning the showrunners' aim -- 'just how desperado is this broad?' -- but no matter what, Mulgrew stands strong in my mind.

Desperado is part of her appeal though.. see the "won't back down" discussion, LOL. After all she was on her own out there in hostile space. I think Archer was in a similar (actually much more desperate) situation for all of Season 3.

But yeah, Mulgrew really threw herself into every little element of the role, she was always very "present" unlike some we have discussed lol.

Robert Picardo is probably my favorite main actor in the whole of the franchise. A couple of DS9 reps come absurdly close, and some days I'll pick Nana Visitor over our beloved doctor, but he's just so freaking amazing at making even the most mundane scenes flash into life. A quality I think he shares with Mulgrew, really. And when the writers totally know what they're doing with The Doctor? It's almost electrifying how good an episode can be with Picardo's talent at the helm.

Picardo is an absolute GEM.

Jeri Ryan deserves similar credit; when she first arrived, many fans were very vocal about the implications. Still, Ryan brought Seven of Nine's characterization into the green, showcasing that no matter what an actress is wearing, she can make the personality of the role the best part.

And when you get Ryan and Picardo playing off each other you have some truly perfect scenes. It upsets me people can't look past 7's breasts and the designs of the producers because the actor absolutely created an amazing character that had nothing to do with any of the Barbie plans.

If it weren't for Leonard Nimoy being ridiculously awesome, Tim Russ would be the best Vulcan Star Trek has ever known

My favorite Vulcan ever is Soval, though he wasn't a main character sadly. Russ is truly excellent though.

My top actors would be Picardo, Mulgrew and Ryan. They should have given Russ some more to do. I think they were hampered by not having other Vulcans to interact with.. if you think about it Spock and T'Pol had a lot of storylines about their attempts to fit into Vulcan culture.

 

[HoneyBLilly]

My favorite Vulcan ever is Soval, though he wasn't a main character sadly. Russ is truly excellent though.

My top actors would be Picardo, Mulgrew and Ryan. They should have given Russ some more to do. I think they were hampered by not having other Vulcans to interact with.. if you think about it Spock and T'Pol had a lot of storylines about their attempts to fit into Vulcan culture.

Well Spock had the "fitting in to Vulcan culture" storylines because he was half-human. And T'Pol, confirmed rumor has it, was half-Romulan but it isn't established canon because ENT didn't get a fifth season.

And how did I see the Soval comment coming?

 

[TEACAKE'S PLEATHER DOME]

My favorite Vulcan ever is Soval, though he wasn't a main character sadly. Russ is truly excellent though.

My top actors would be Picardo, Mulgrew and Ryan. They should have given Russ some more to do. I think they were hampered by not having other Vulcans to interact with.. if you think about it Spock and T'Pol had a lot of storylines about their attempts to fit into Vulcan culture.

Well Spock had the "fitting in to Vulcan culture" storylines because he was half-human. And T'Pol, confirmed rumor has it, was half-Romulan but it isn't established canon because ENT didn't get a fifth season.

And how did I see the Soval comment coming?

Well yeah but there had to be the culture to try and fit in with in the first place.

Funny how Vorik and Tuvok didn't hang out much..

T'Pol's mother mentions that emotional control was always very hard for her in childhoold.. T'Pol is basically a lousy Vulcan who makes choices that only make her difficulties in Vulcan life worse. She has spent most of her career offworld, as an agent and then stationed on Earth and then on the NX-01.

 

[Skellington]

Subtract Picardo from Voyager and it might have been a better show.

Why? Because everyone else might have had to work that much harder. He was the best thing about it. Honourable mentions to Russ and Mulgrew.

 

[HoneyBLilly]

Well yeah but there had to be the culture to try and fit in with in the first place.

Funny how Vorik and Tuvok didn't hang out much..

They didn't. That could have been interesting to see . . . .

[/quote]T'Pol's mother mentions that emotional control was always very hard for her in childhoold.. T'Pol is basically a lousy Vulcan who makes choices that only make her difficulties in Vulcan life worse. She has spent most of her career offworld, as an agent and then stationed on Earth and then on the NX-01.[/QUOTE]

She kind of reminds me of my mother . . .

 

[od0_ital]

"Confirmed rumor"? Is that like an "off the record quote"?

 

[HoneyBLilly]

"Confirmed rumor"? Is that like an "off the record quote"?

"Confimed rumor" because it technically never happened but the producers said that it was going to.