Skitz Interview where Beltran bashes Trek, Voyager, and Trek fans

[Lynx]

The lady doth protest too much, methinks.

Sure Robert Beltran may have had a raw deal from Season Three onwards, nowhere to go but down for Chakotay after Seska got killed off. She was a shortlived peak for his character. He could've taken the same option to follow Jennifer Lien... especially after an uneventful year or two.

I would add that some of the few favourite Voyager shows I rate highly featured Chuckles front and center... For instance, Unity (okay, how on earth did that get missed off the Fan Collectives anyway?)

The difference is that Beltran probably wanted to leave while Lien didn't want to leave, she was kicked out.

Personally I'm happy in a way that Beltran stayed. Otherwise they would have killed off Chakotay and that would have been a loss. As it is now, we have Chakotay in the books where the character can be better used than in the series.

 

[Nebusj]

The difference is that Beltran probably wanted to leave while Lien didn't want to leave, she was kicked out.

Personally I'm happy in a way that Beltran stayed. Otherwise they would have killed off Chakotay and that would have been a loss. As it is now, we have Chakotay in the books where the character can be better used than in the series.

Well, not necessarily. I mean, suppose they had Chakotay run across an enclave of his Vaguely Defined Indian Tribe people out in the Delta Quadrant for no particular reason and he chooses to stay, or if some spacetime anomaly morphs him into a foam icosahedron and the only way to recover him is going to be somewhere back in the Alpha Quadrant? Either way you get him out of the way while still leaving open bringing him back in case anyone thinks of a story for him to do. (``Quick, foam icosahedron Chakotay! You've got to keep the Captain's papers from sliding off her desk!'')

 

[Krieg1981]

Does anyone know where I can find Stuff like this, but for all series? I've always wondered how these people got along in real life!

 

[Natural]

lmao! His stock just went up a few points in my book. Had no idea he was such a funny guy, considering his character was so boring and lifeless. I'd have to agree with pretty much all of his points on voyager. I guess for him it was a mediocre gig, so he likes to laugh it up after the fact. I'm sure we all like to laugh it up and talk some shit about crappy jobs we've had in the past. Sure he was paid well, but like any actor he probably had other aspirations and being locked into a 7 year contract in a show he hated was probably a little distasteful. Sometimes it's not always about the money. Good for him for speaking his mind - There's so much pompous crap in hollywood interviews where people are talking but really saying nothing. It's refreshing to hear some honesty.

 

[Lynx]

^^
That's exactly what I admire with Beltran. He had the guts to stand up and say exactly what he thought about the whole thing instead of crawling for his "masters", pretending to be happy.

 

[Jeri]

I tend to think he was just resentful and retaliating; it's pretty simple.

 

[USS KG5]

So basically a sad bitter man with nothing else interesting to say given that Star Trek ended years ago.

To be fair - he said all this years ago.

 

[Mareika]

lmao! His stock just went up a few points in my book. Had no idea he was such a funny guy, considering his character was so boring and lifeless.

I met him at a convention and can say that he IS very funny.

And yes -he said all this years ago.

 

[Steven Of Nine]

He was a riot at the con we saw him at, in 2006, was extremely pleasant and personable in the autograph line, and seemed very down to earth. His talk included some really funny lines about Braga dating Ryan, and the rise in storylines for her during that period.

Let's see, a disgruntled employee slagging off their old job? Like, oh, everyone else in the working world.

Guy's a Tower in my book.

Again, Kai Beltran.

 

[kimc]

His talk included some really funny lines about Braga dating Ryan, and the rise in storylines for her during that period.

Oh I'm sure that was all just an amazing coincidence.

Let's see, a disgruntled employee slagging off their old job? Like, oh, everyone else in the working world.

Never happens!

 

[Lonemagpie]

^ ^ I was wasting time over at You Tube that day and watched several videos that included him, and I would say that actually Rickman is not particularly acerbic in person. I guess he could be described as matter-of-fact and low key.

Having met him, yes, that's exactly right - he's a bit shy, low-key, doesn't tolerate fools. That about sums it up.

 

[ria 75]

First, I would like to state for the record that despite what I'm about to say, Voyager is my favourite Star Trek, and Chakotay, my favourite character in it, mostly due to Beltran of course. (Which is probably true of most of you on this thread.)

I just watched the interview and I think the crack he took at the fans was mostly a joke. He called it being cruel. OK, he suggested that those who take it too seriously are dumb, but I'm sure he would admit to being stupid himself for going to work on Star Trek. Didn't he like it at first?

Having discovered how much of a funny guy he is in person, I must lament that part of him couldn't show more on Voyager. Star Trek does take itself very seriously, 99% of the time.

For those who are annoyed by the usual comparison with Shakespeare as the only worthy thing, was it about the Skitz interview? Because I don't recall it being in his mouth, but only as a caption. And previous to Voyager at least, Beltran did do a lot of theatre, including Shakespeare I believe.

About the way Chakotay was written, I must sadly add that already in season 1, at the beginning, there was this whole bunch of episodes where each time, he had a scene where he would simply be grinning back at Janeway like a Cheshire cat at the hope-of-the-week-to-get-home, before that fell through.
And having done Native American Studies and knowing my Native American culture, I must say I wasn't quite comfortable with the way that aspect of him was turned on and off, and the way it was handled some of the times it was on. Sorry, I find it hard to be specific. The instant vision machine perhaps, triggered by child play-like passes with the hands? Here I might be pointing also to Beltran's acting. He was very committed in the episodes where he had a leading part. Too bad there wasn't puch to to with the rest. Or could he have done it?

So I have to ask two questions:
1) How much leeway does an actor have on Star Trek?
2) How poorly were the writers paid and what were their work conditions anyway? The recent and historical writers' strike drew attention on their complaints, which weren't new. They are as old as Hollywood. So let's shift a little blame back at the producers, shall we? Have you seen that David Duchovny movie where he's writing a show, along the lines of Six Feet Under, and the production turns it into a grotesque sitcom?

Now I can't sign off without saying this. What the f*** was that preposterous love affair with Seven about? Titillating the audience? I preferred Janeway's affair with a hologram. That was a better match. Honestly, everybody thrashes that episode, I don't see why. Is it that they don't like way the Irish theme was handled? Or is it that they hate it every time she has sex or romance? Star Trek really needs more sex. That's one redeeming quality about Enterprise: you get to see a wee bit more than usual. Sign of the times...

Which brings me to my closing statement: TV shows got SO much better in the 2000's (although Star Trek plays by rather different rules).
Maybe Voyager was done in the wrong decade... or just neglected to the benefit of DS9 - sorry if you've heard this many times before. I'm new.

 

[kimc]

Which brings me to my closing statement: TV shows got SO much better in the 2000's (although Star Trek plays by rather different rules).
Maybe Voyager was done in the wrong decade... or just neglected to the benefit of DS9 - sorry if you've heard this many times before. I'm new.

Welcome.

I'm intrigued by your last paragraph. It reminds me of something Mulgrew said at the end of the show about how Voyager would be appreciated more over time and it's starting to appear as if she was on to something given the number of posters who are rediscovering it. It does appear Voyager may have been before it's time. A woman captain was a really big deal and given the different standards she is held to vs the other captains it still does seem to be a big deal. I like to think that as people get more and more used to the idea of women in positions of power there will be an even bigger appreciation for Janeway and Voyager as a whole.

 

[ria 75]

Reply to kimc - although not quite this thread

Come to think of it, I agree, the world is not quite ready for women in positions of authority, in reality or fiction. Look at Admiral Cain in Battlestar Galactica! They have to be shrews!
I know a lot of people dislike Janeway/Mulgrew for the way she speaks and I believe some have problems with her natural authority, her taking herself seriously. All this would be accepted in a man.

Fiction is making progress in the female parts department but most popular heroins are basically action bimbos - a fair compromise for the male and female audience, if this doesn't stay that way too long.
There is more to the leading lady than Lara Croft. Must she always be as curvaceous as she is effective in combat? (I spare you the other examples, we all know them.)
Those characters are spiced with a few vulnerabilities but seldom with much erudition (that's more threatening!) or artistry. Or if she is really clever, like Sam Carter of SG1 for instance (out of this world clever, come on!), she is denied much femininity or love life. Which is true of any female character in a position of authority. (Example: Dr Weir in SGA.)

So I agree, Janeway is rather ahead of her time - actually, ahead of our time, that's the problem - especially if you look at all the attempts at showing Janeway as a woman (not an idealized one), and not just as a captain who does a man's job.

It is time to break down the barrier between the sexes - within the sexes.
Feminism is neither being the butch or the empowered bimbo. We have a too manly definition of femininity. I am inspired from the definition of femininity that I discovered in Native American studies: strong and strongly built, not necessarily too pretty, but empowered, yes; aware of her own worth, hard working, independent... originally an equal to man in authority...

Which might bring us back to Chakotay: being Amerindian, he should - theoretically - have no problem with Janeway's type of woman... which he proves in his tale-like narrative of their story in that early episode where they are left alone together on a planet.

Wow, I hadn't meant to write a whole essay.

 

[B_L_T]

Robert Beltran is certaintly entitled to have his opinion, but I do belive it is in poor taste to insult the show that was paying him, and giving him the little bit of fame that he had. He threw in the towel and didn't even read his scripts anymore. He was still working so he should have put some effort into it.

The bottom line is that I do believe that it was in poor taste for him to insult the show when he was still collecting paychecks from it

 

[kimc]

Reply to kimc - although not quite this thread

Come to think of it, I agree, the world is not quite ready for women in positions of authority, in reality or fiction. Look at Admiral Cain in Battlestar Galactica! They have to be shrews!
I know a lot of people dislike Janeway/Mulgrew for the way she speaks and I believe some have problems with her natural authority, her taking herself seriously. All this would be accepted in a man.

Fiction is making progress in the female parts department but most popular heroins are basically action bimbos - a fair compromise for the male and female audience, if this doesn't stay that way too long.
There is more to the leading lady than Lara Croft. Must she always be as curvaceous as she is effective in combat? (I spare you the other examples, we all know them.)
Those characters are spiced with a few vulnerabilities but seldom with much erudition (that's more threatening!) or artistry. Or if she is really clever, like Sam Carter of SG1 for instance (out of this world clever, come on!), she is denied much femininity or love life. Which is true of any female character in a position of authority. (Example: Dr Weir in SGA.)

So I agree, Janeway is rather ahead of her time - actually, ahead of our time, that's the problem - especially if you look at all the attempts at showing Janeway as a woman (not an idealized one), and not just as a captain who does a man's job.

It is time to break down the barrier between the sexes - within the sexes.
Feminism is neither being the butch or the empowered bimbo. We have a too manly definition of femininity. I am inspired from the definition of femininity that I discovered in Native American studies: strong and strongly built, not necessarily too pretty, but empowered, yes; aware of her own worth, hard working, independent... originally an equal to man in authority...

Which might bring us back to Chakotay: being Amerindian, he should - theoretically - have no problem with Janeway's type of woman... which he proves in his tale-like narrative of their story in that early episode where they are left alone together on a planet.

Wow, I hadn't meant to write a whole essay.

Well if you meant to or not you end up writing quite a good one. You've made a lot of good points that I have to agree with.

I hate to say it but your desciption of the "empowered bimbo" reminds me a bit of Seven of Nine.

**dodges rotten tomatoes**

It was not secret she was bought onto the show to appeal to the desired demographic of younger males and thankfully the actress who played her was able to raise the character above the intention - at least until the writers made her into a Mary Sue by the final season. Such a pity.

As for Mulgrew she's a confident actress who imbued Janeway with the same confidence. I can see how Beltran would have occassional issues with that. Unfortunately his "acting as a cure for cancer" reflected that.

 

[Penguin]

Saw an interview with Beltran some years ago in Seattle Washington.

Only thing that remains in my miond of that interview was that Beltran spoke in a Falsetto voice during the entire interview.

Not sure if he was pulling the interviewers leg or if he was a little spaced out.

 

[exodus]

Did you guys ever see the Skitz interview where Robert Beltran bashes Trek, Shatner, Voyager, Trek writers, and Trek fans?

It's kind of old but here is the link to the video of it in case you haven't seen it:
http://www.associatedcontent.com/video/28155/robert_beltran_interview.html?post=true&cat=60

What do you think about Beltran's comments in this interview?

IMO his comments which crudely pointed out that nothing meaningful was gonna happen in Voyager before the last episode since it was an episodic formula show and thus needed to remain mostly the same for 7 seasons, and that the technobabble nonsense was a really bad substitute for good story, were spot-on.

IMO he was out of line by bashing all Trek fans, all Trek writers, and making fun of Shatner's name.

How come nobody understands his "bashing" of fans and so forth are just sarcastic jokes?

Anybody that's actually met and talked honestly with the man would know those comments aren't meant to be taken seriously. Beltran is famous for having a very dry, sarcastic wit.

 

[ria 75]

How come nobody understands his "bashing" of fans and so forth are just sarcastic jokes?

Anybody that's actually met and talked honestly with the man would know those comments aren't meant to be taken seriously. Beltran is famous for having a very dry, sarcastic wit.

I did, but I can understand you wouldn't read my rather lengthy #32 post, above.

Anyway, I'm glad somebody speaks for Beltran's humour. So far, we've had "He has the courage of his opinions" at best. He has both, but this particular interview is much more relevant of the humour.

 

[Lt_Wandrey]

That was...different. While he is entitled to his own opinion I think bashing the show that made you a household name is a bit in poor taste.