Rain Robinson as a series regular

[ToddKent]

I searched to see if there was a thread about this but couldn't find one. If there is then please delete this, mods.

Just saw this article:

http://blastr.com/2011/04/see-who-almost-became-a-r.php

that says they VOY producers were considering bringing back the Rain Robinson character (from that time traveling 2-parter) and having her join the cast.

I kind of think it would have been interesting and would definitely made the show stand out from other Trek shows.

 

[lurok]

Hmmm...interesting. Don't really know much about Silverman except for VOY (and the Matt Damon song). Didn't think she was that great a guest star, but could have been interesting if writers knew how to write for her. But ultimately think B'Elanna was best foil for Paris (aggressive vs passive), and Seven for Doctor (lack of humour vs wittiest character in Trek). Those partnerships captured essence of drama better than I think Rain would have...

 

[exodus]

I enjoyed Rain Robinson's character in "Future's End" but I think her "cuteness" factor would have worn off after a while. Plus, Sara Silverman had many other and better things planned for the future of her career. I also wouldn't wish to see her typecast due to the character on Trek either.

 

[Shatnertage]

I thought she was nails-on-chalkboard bad on Voyager, didn't think she was that great on Larry Sanders, and haven't seen any of her other work.

In a nutshell, I'm really, really glad they didn't bring her back.

 

[backstept]

I think if she did become a regular then her brand of humor would probably not be what it is today . . .

 

[exodus]

I thought she was nails-on-chalkboard bad on Voyager, didn't think she was that great on Larry Sanders, and haven't seen any of her other work.

In a nutshell, I'm really, really glad they didn't bring her back.

Freakasaurus.

 

[froot]

I would have liked her as a series regular if they would have let her make poop jokes.

 

[TEACAKE'S PLEATHER DOME]

What could she have possibly done other than clean plasma conduits or help Neelix chop vegetables? I think the she would have rapidly turned into a one gag character (out of place in the future) unless they went all the way with her and fully developed what it would be like emotionally for someone to be removed that way from their planet, time, place forever.

 

[Markira]

I thought she was nails-on-chalkboard bad on Voyager, didn't think she was that great on Larry Sanders, and haven't seen any of her other work.

In a nutshell, I'm really, really glad they didn't bring her back.

Yes, this, exactly. Just not a fan of Silverman's, and thought she only got the Rain character right at most 50% of the time. The rest of the time, she was cheesy in the bad way.

 

[Markira]

I thought she was nails-on-chalkboard bad on Voyager, didn't think she was that great on Larry Sanders, and haven't seen any of her other work.

In a nutshell, I'm really, really glad they didn't bring her back.

Freakasaurus.

 

[janeway59]

She was cheesy, but it worked in that episode, but she would have overstayed her welcome if she were a regular. And I have not seen her in anything else that says she really has any talent

 

[GNDN]

When Future's End first aired, I was still watching Voy semi-regularly and was excited by the promo to see her on the show. The character was a bit underwhelming, but I could see her being developed if she were to have been whisked onboard.

She could have been used, not ad nauseum, to express some of the wonder of deep space. While encountering off-the-wall Delta Quad anomalies and such, the Voyager crew were so set on maintaining the by-the-book Starfleet approach, and utilizing their at-times esoteric treknology, that often the giddy fascination of discovery was lost.

 

[Unimatrix Zero]

I thought the lady we are discussing was too twenty first century to be a regular cast member of Voyager. Although she was great in the program, she would not have fitted in with the rest of the crew.

 

[GNDN]

I thought the lady we are discussing was too twenty first century to be a regular cast member of Voyager. Although she was great in the program, she would not have fitted in with the rest of the crew.

And that, as a television staple, would be exactly the point. Just as 7 was brought in to be a character that 'shook things up' a bit.

Many shows that have been on for years introduce a brash new 'fish out of water' type character to attract viewer interest or just to give the writers something new to play with. The trick is finding the right balance to avoid Jumping the Shark (does anyone still say that?)

 

[ToddKent]

She definitely would have worked better as a recurring character instead of s regular character...just popping up every so often when the story called for it instead of trying to figure out a way to cram her into every episode.

 

[henbane]

She was cheesy, but it worked in that episode, but she would have overstayed her welcome if she were a regular. And I have not seen her in anything else that says she really has any talent

This!

She was ok in one ep - but even after seeing the ep a few times I was "tired" of the character. Good decision not to include her as a regular.

 

[Greg Cox]

Damn! That would have been great. I always thought Rain was a great character and that Paris had way more chemistry with her than he ever had with B'Elanna. Talk about a lost opportunity!

You know, we've never had a transplanted 21st century person join a STAR TREK cast on a permanent basis. That could have been fun and different--and helped distinguish VOYAGER from the other shipboard shows.

Hmm. I wonder if it's too late to add her to VOYAGER in the books . . . .

(I'm only half-joking.)

 

[Akiraprise]

Rain was alright, don't know if I'd want her on the ship as a regular though. Rewatching the episode years later I was surprised at how dated it looks now.

 

[Greg Cox]

You know, if and when somebody makes a new STAR TREK tv show, they really ought to tell it from the POV of a contemporary person who finds themselves in the TREK future. It would be an ingenious way to reintroduce the universe to new viewers, by letting them discover TREK through the eyes of a character who doesn't already know what a Klingon or a tricorder is.

Kind of like the way the new DOCTOR WHO used Rose to reintroduce Doctor Who's mythology to a new generation . . . .

"What the bloody hell is a Dalek?"

 

[YellowSubmarine]

I love the idea, and I'm somehow sad that it wasn't realized. Perhaps not as a regular, but as a recurring character. I agree that her character wasn't all that great, but I loved how it brought freshness by the way she contrasted with the regulars.

There were many episodes where an accident lead to contact with people from the past or a less advanced species, but not even once did they explore the story of how this person joins this new world, how he adapts to it, how he accepts something he has deemed impossible so far, how he looks at the wonders that everyone else from the crew is taking from granted, etc.

The Future's End was a great opportunity to do that. And it was missed. Tom could have decided to bring her on board at the last moment, then they could have given an episode later in the season to her story, and then given her a few spots here and there afterwards.

For some unknown reason, I think that something like "The Haunting of Deck Twelve" would have worked better with someone like here telling a purposefully scary tale to the children as opposed to what Neelix did. But that could be only because I was never too fond of Neelix...