Tom Paris as Captain of the Enterprise

Something I'd really love to see in Picard.

After his daughter matures to adulthood he moves to command positions and gets assigned to the Enterprise as her captain because he knows a thing or two about First Contact missions and navigating the way through hazards. His experiences in the Delta Quadrant make him uniquely qualified to explore where no one has gone before.

I see him as a sea captain of old, with beard and posture suited to his many years in space.

And, obviously, I would die a happy man if we had a scene like:

TOM: This is Thomas Paris, Captain, starship Enterprise. Do you require assistance, Stargazer?
SEVEN: Enterprise? This is Stargazer, Commander Hansen speaking. Your assistance is welcome...Captain Proton...but unnecessary.
TOM: Understood Commander Hansen. My compliments on your efficiency. We'll continue on to the Mines of Mercury, then. All the best to your crew, Commander.
SEVEN: And to you and your crew...your family...Captain Paris. Stargazer out.

 

Fan service. Way too much fanservice.

 

Did the show suddenly become Star Trek: Paris and nobody told me?

 

Yeah...that's like a cake made entirely of frosting.

 

It's more or less impossible to get Robert Duncan McNeil these days anyway. Remember, they did want to have Tom Paris in season 1 just for a single scene cameo, and though RDM was open to the idea, scheduling proved impossible to pull off.

I suspect the reason Lower Decks did manage to get him was because as a voice role, he wouldn't need to travel anywhere to record his lines. Especially since this was during the pandemic where everyone was recording their lines remotely anyway.

 

You say that like it's a bad thing.
How many streaming Trek shows are there now???
Might as well go for broke!

Hmm. Now there's an idea. But no. It's still Picard.

Absolutely. Sweet sweet frosting. Open that jar and pass me a spoon!

 

It is.

You can't eat just frosting is more the point.

 

It's not like it's going to happen. You and I both know this. It's just one little scene.

 

I don't tolerate fan service well. Small doses, from time to time.

 

We've got enough TNG fan service coming with S3.

 

I thought fans liked fan service?

 

Not when it pushes out Picard's main cast!

OT:

 

How about a custom-built phaser shaped like a ray gun?

 

Let's save Tom Paris for Star Trek: Janeway.

 

How about a sitcom of Tom and B'Elanna and their life trying to raise children in space?

 

Only if it's filmed live, in front of a studio audience.

 

It is a bad thing, in my opinion. A little fanservice is ok. Having a tribble on camera in a corner. Acknowledging a character from the novels in a line, that's nice.
Tom Paris as the captain of the Enterprise is incredibly unlikely. So for him to just warp in on Annika, make a quip about captain Proton and warp off, makes no sense.

 

Make it so!

Pilot episode: "Caretaker". Janeway insists on babysitting Miral even though she's a grown woman.

Pilot episode: "The Bat'leth of Both Worlds".

It's a character moment.

 

A character moment is when there's a celebration on Earth, or a Starbase, involving Seven's birthday or a promotion and Paris being invited.
"Hello Seven"
"Captan Paris. How wonderful you could make it."

There's a reason and it works in the plot. Paris being the captain of the Enterprise is, again, highly unlikely. Him actually by sheer luck being the ONLY one nearby when Seven needs help..... That's not a character moment, but fan service/fan wank.