Tom Paris/Nick Locarno Question

[Therin of Andor]

I don't know if it makes a difference, but Rom never became an official regular, even though he was in pretty much every episode of the last 2 or 3 seasons, same goes for Nog.

Well they fall into the category of semi-regulars, then.

So would you call Nichelle Nichols a regular in TOS? She wasn't under contract until, I think it might have been Season Three, didn't appear in every episode, only got end credits in episodes in which she appeared, and featured in fewer episodes than Rom and Nog in DS9.

 

[Christopher]

^The only regulars in a TV series are those performers whose names are listed in the opening titles. Therefore, the only regulars in TOS were Shatner, Nimoy, and Kelley; and Kelley was only a regular in the second and third seasons. Everyone else was a recurring character.

Same with DS9. Even though its cast grew huge, only the nine actors listed in the opening titles qualify as regulars.

 

[JD]

I just checked and Rom and Nog were actually in alot less episodes than I thought.
According to Memory Alpha they were in:
Nog: 44/173
Rom: 33/173
I was thinking they were in closer to 100 each.

 

[Therin of Andor]

According to Memory Alpha they were in:
Nog: 44/173
Rom: 33/173
I was thinking they were in closer to 100 each.

It often felt like Nog was in more episodes than Jake!

 

[Therin of Andor]

^The only regulars in a TV series are those performers whose names are listed in the opening titles.

By one interpretation of the term, surely.

And.... what about shows with no opening cast credits?

 

[Allyn Gibson]

^The only regulars in a TV series are those performers whose names are listed in the opening titles.

By one interpretation of the term, surely.

By the interpretation of the term that determines who gets residuals.

Cirroc Lofton gets residuals for episodes of Deep Space Nine he didn't even appear in, by virtue of being a regular cast member with his name in the opening credits. Whereas someone like Max Grodenchik (which I've misspelled, no doubt) only gets residuals for the episodes in which he appears.

 

[Christopher]

^The only regulars in a TV series are those performers whose names are listed in the opening titles.

By one interpretation of the term, surely.

Yes -- by the standard interpretation of the term.

And.... what about shows with no opening cast credits?

Such as? Even modern shows that lack main title sequences still show the regular cast's names over the opening scene. In terms of the contractual requirements and definitions of regular status, the principle is the same. Generally the only shows without opening cast credits are animated shows, because of Hollywood's unfair devaluing of voice acting. Even so, in shows like The Simpsons and Futurama, there's a distinction drawn between "Starring" (the regulars) and "Also Starring" or "Guest Starring."

Of course, "regular" as a technical term can be inaccurate; Phil LaMarr and Lauren Tom were never billed as Futurama regulars even though they were in almost every episode.

 

[JD]

I've never undstood why voice actors are never in the actual credits. Like Lani Tupu or Johnathan Hardy in Farscape, they played just as big a role in the show as the live action actors, but never got main credits spots (except when Tupu's temporary status as regular for Crais).

 

[Christopher]

^Because voice acting doesn't get as much respect as onscreen acting. The myth is that it "doesn't count" because you don't see the performer's face -- when in reality voice acting is in some ways a more challenging discipline. Over the decades, it's been a struggle for voice artists to get recognition. Originally they got no credit at all, and Mel Blanc fought for and won the right to get a "Voice Characterization" credit for his work in Warner Bros. cartoons. But to this day, voice performers routinely get relegated to the end credits -- which means that, for the most part, they don't get residuals for their work. (I assume big-name voice actors like the cast of The Simpsons are an exception.)

 

[Amy Sisson]

The one place voice actors do get some recognition is at anime cons. Serious anime viewers/collectors follow the voice actors' careers. My brother-in-law was a guest at an anime con here in Houston -- he lives in Vancouver, so it was great getting a free visit with him! At the con, teenaged girls were squealing over all the male voice actors. It was pretty surreal.

 

[Therin of Andor]

Such as? Even modern shows that lack main title sequences still show the regular cast's names over the opening scene.

Actually, my favourite show as a kid, "The Magic Circle Club", and a follow-up series by the same creators/writers, with new characters and premise, "Adventure Island", relegated all actor credits to the end. Most actors didn't actually get a credit, sometimes just a still of their face! Only the writer, creator/producer and director got opening credits.

And Australia's huge prime time soap opera, "Number 96" (1972-77), also kept all actor credits until the end of each episode, so as not to compete with the resolution to each episode's new cliffhanger. Again, only the writer, producer and director (and creator when he complained) got opening credits.

 

[Christopher]

Yeah, I guess soap operas and other daytime TV programs don't show opening cast credits in the US either. That probably goes for kids' shows as well.

Still, as I said, even in the end credits there's generally a divide between main/regular cast and supporting cast. Credit position may vary, but it's a matter of contract and compensation.

 

[JD]

The one place voice actors do get some recognition is at anime cons. Serious anime viewers/collectors follow the voice actors' careers. My brother-in-law was a guest at an anime con here in Houston -- he lives in Vancouver, so it was great getting a free visit with him! At the con, teenaged girls were squealing over all the male voice actors. It was pretty surreal.

I was reading about anime and it's related topics on wikipedia the other day, and apparently seiyu (Japanese voice actors) actually get a pretty good amount of respect there. It says they often reach a national level of celebrity, they have their own schools (it says there are 130) and there are even magazines devoted to them.

As I've been playing more video games and watching animated shows, I've even started to find voice actors that I really like, like James Arnold Taylor, Maurice LaMarche, and Phil Lamar.

 

[Lynx]

I've seen two different versions of why Locarno was changed to Paris.

One version is the copyright thing. It would have cost them a nice sum of money every time Locarno showed up on screen. I'm not sure if that's the truth, I have a feeling that something like that could have been settled in some acceptable way for both parts.

The second verion is that they were planning to use Nick Locarno as one of the main characters in the new series and that actor Robert Duncan McNeill was contracted for the role. But in the last moment, they changed their minds. They found Locarno to be too unsympathetic to become a main character. So they changed the name to Tom Paris and came up with a similar (too similar) background story.

Note also that Locarno is the name of a town in Switzerland while Paris is the name of the French capital!

However, I do think that this thing should be cleared up in the Star Trek Universe. So I have three possible solutions:

Solution 1: Nick Locarno was the result of a a love affair between Admiral Paris and another woman than his wife. The old Admiral helped Nick Locarno to be accepted at Starfleet Academy where he screwed it up. The similar accidents Nick and Tom had were coincidents. Tom's hatred to his father was because he found out about Nick Locarno's existence during his time at Starfleet Academy. A possible meeting between Tom and Nick would be something for coming books or movies, wouldn't it.

Solution 2: Tom Paris and Nick Locarno are the same persons and there was only one accident. Admiral Paris tried to cover it up by persuading all involved to use the name "Nick Locarno" during the trial so that the good name of Paris wouldn't be disgraced. However, Starfleet later gave the Admiral a reprimand for that sceme and the convicted pilot was revealed as Tom Paris. Tom's dislike of his father was further increased by that "Nick Locarno" scenario and the fact that Admiral Paris more and less pretended that the accused wasn't his son.

Solution 3. Tom Paris and Nick Locarno are twins separated at birth. The similarity between the accidents are coincidents, however Admiral Paris did his best to cover up the relationship between Nick Locarno and the Paris family. Tom did find out about it later which is one of the reasons he despises his father.

Voyager's mysteries-and how to solve them: http://lynx677.110mb.com/Voyagermysteries.html

 

[JD]

Lynx you might want to get rid of that last part. Those are some pretty clear story ideas.

 

[Johnhead99]

Does anyone remember if there was a book/short story where Paris turned out to have been Locarno the whole time? I can tell you it wasn't in a SNW book, because I never read any of those.

I've read about 260 ST novels -- and I don't remember one like this. Sorry.

 

[Lynx]

Lynx you might want to get rid of that last part. Those are some pretty clear story ideas.

Did you mean the "Twins Theory"?

Now that could be a good idea for a book.

 

[HappyDayRiot]

The idea that Paris and Locarno are the same person is almost as bad as the whole 'Janeway wasn't written inconsistently, she actually had brain damage due to an event no one can ever talk to her about EVER!!!" thing from Evolution.

 

[JB2005]

Lynx you might want to get rid of that last part. Those are some pretty clear story ideas.

Did you mean the "Twins Theory"?

Now that could be a good idea for a book.

exactly, so if it's mentioned here, then all kinds of merry hell could result...

 

[EmperorKalan]

The one place voice actors do get some recognition is at anime cons. Serious anime viewers/collectors follow the voice actors' careers. My brother-in-law was a guest at an anime con here in Houston -- he lives in Vancouver, so it was great getting a free visit with him! At the con, teenaged girls were squealing over all the male voice actors. It was pretty surreal.

I was reading about anime and it's related topics on wikipedia the other day, and apparently seiyu (Japanese voice actors) actually get a pretty good amount of respect there. It says they often reach a national level of celebrity, they have their own schools (it says there are 130) and there are even magazines devoted to them.

Back in '95, when I was trying to help launch an anime trade magazine (you never heard of it: a shift in the market prompted our investor to yank funding before we had Issue 1 together), that was something that was "on the list" for an article. My observation was that voice actors get more respect in Japan because they simply do far more dubbing: not just anime but everything they bring over from Hollywood, Hong Kong, and Europe.

There simply isn't as much VA work here (at least since TV killed radio shows) because all of Hollywood's live-action stuff is already in English. There's no need to dub a translation.

As I've been playing more video games and watching animated shows, I've even started to find voice actors that I really like, like James Arnold Taylor, Maurice LaMarche, and Phil Lamar.

Yes, I've started paying more attention to VA's too, especially since a friend went into the biz.