In the episode, "The First Duty" where the cadet in Wesley's squad was killed in a crash was the squad commander, Nicholas Ricarno, the same actor who plays Tom Paris? because they look like exactly alike except he looks younger in this. So are they the same?
Same actor, yes. Former cadet Nick Locarno was going to be the Tom Paris "Maquis traitor/prisoner" character in VOY, but it was thought that, due to his guilt, Nick Locarno was beyond redemption. The VOY producers really liked the actor, though, so the less-guilty, more experienced former Starfleet officer, Tom Paris, was created. Had Locarno been used as a regular in VOY, Ronald D. Moore & Naren Shankar, writers of "The First Duty", would also have been owed a royalty for every episode in which he appeared. (Or maybe not, since they were both TNG staff writers.) This was the same reason the proposed subcommander T'Pau became T'Pol for ENT. (Later, T'Pau only guested for three episodes, and a royalty would have gone to the "Amok Time" TOS writer's estate.)
Yes, they are. And there's a complicated and often anecdotal story about how the Voyager writers first wanted to have Nick Locarno as their character, then thought better of it (because of dramatic and/or legal issues, depending on whom you ask), changed it to a "Locarno-like" character, and ultimately ended up casting actor Robert Duncan McNeill for that character anyway because he was such a darn good choice. I think there's something about this in the VOY forum FAQ? (Edit: Damn, that's cheating, writing fewer lines than me just to get in an earlier reply! ) Timo Saloniemi
I actually didnt know the story behind that until I joined Trek BBS. I had always heard the contraversy surrounding Tom Paris earlier years but they were always so vague I thought they were refering to "The First Duty" scenario and the name changed was a back story somehow.
Yep, same actor, slightly different character. Actually the picture of Tom Paris on his father's desk in "Pathfinder" was a picture of Robert Duncan McNeill in "The First Duty". Here's the Picture on Memory Alpha
^I still think they should have photoshopped the hair for the pic on the desk. Now it looks like Tom lightens his.
I had no idea things worked like that. So, suppose I write just one ST episode in season 1, and then never again. But a chracter I created for that episode, character X, then features on many episodes and seasons. I then continue to receive money for X, for every single episode he is in?
Yes. When the character appears in a new episode or movie. So Khan in ST II, Cochrane in FC, T'Pau in an episode of VOY and three episodes of ENT, etc. But no royalty if the character appears in a tie-in novel or comic. I don't think it always works for the staff writers, though, or characters created "in house" because there are characters like O'Brien, who was an unnamed two-line walk-on in "Encounter at Farpoint", but he later grew into a three dimensional character in subsequent episodes, then gained a full name, then a wife, a family, and then moved across to a new series. So, having Kira Nerys instead of Ro Laren in DS9, the EMH and Paris instead of Dr Selar and Nick Locarno in VOY, and T'Pol instead of T'Pau for ENT probably saved some royalties $$$$.
It's similar on Doctor Who. The character of the Doctor and his companion is owned by the BBC, as they were created by the producer and script editor. However, characters intended to be one-offs require payment to the creator - so everytime the Daleks appear, Terry Nation's estate gets a cheque. The same goes for K9 and the Cybermen.
^ In the Expanded Universe (and at least in Jeri Taylor's view) Taurik and Vorik are identical twin brothers.