Was Admiral Marcus a descendant of Paxton?

[Karzak]

Not necessarily.

Nick Locarno was a one-time guest character on TNG. What is more likely is that had Berman, Piller and Taylor wanted to use the Locarno character on Voyager, a character payment would have had to go to Ron Moore (the credited writer of "The First Duty") each time Locarno appeared on Voyager.

Also important to remember: Jeri Taylor was once quoted as saying that even though the production initially wanted to use Locarno, they had also felt ultimately that the Locarno character had become "irredeemable" in their eyes, and thus difficult to transform into one of our weekly Starfleet heroes. Hence, the much easier (and cheaper) alternative of creating Tom Paris and his background. That they hired Bobby McNeil to play him is unsurprising as he had given them a great performance in "The First Duty." (And we got a great performance out of him because we respected him so much!")

 

[wulfio]

That's weird, I don't see him as irredeemable whatsoever. He went a long way to redeeming himself at the end of the episode even. In fact, that very thing was addressed in Lower Decks. I really doubt they thought that.

 

[Karzak]

That's weird, I don't see him as irredeemable whatsoever. He went a long way to redeeming himself at the end of the episode even. In fact, that very thing was addressed in Lower Decks. I really doubt they thought that.

Well, McNeill himself says so in this 1997 interview:

What McNeill would later learn was that Voyager's creators, Rick Berman, Michael Piller and Jeri Taylor, wanted him all along for Tom Paris to play many of the same edgy qualities that he had brought to Nick Locarno; only this time, the character would be redeemable. "Locarno seemed like a nice guy, but deep down he was a bad guy," says McNeill. "Tom Paris is an opposite premise in a way. Deep down he's a good guy. He's just made some mistakes."

The interview with Jeri Taylor saying same is on the TNG Season 5 DVD/Blu-Ray special feature "Memorable Missions, Year Five" ("The First Duty").

 

[Melakon]

Paris' backstory was slightly different than Locarno's too. One cadet died due to Locarno's showboating, but in Paris' words, "The ghosts of those three dead officers came to me in the middle of the night and taught me the true meaning of Christmas." So he confessed.

 

[wulfio]

I don't see what makes him the bad guy deep down. His final act was taking the fall by himself so the team could stay in the academy. A bad guy would have taken everyone down with him; especially Wesley for not sticking to the plan. It just sounds like spin to justify using a new character.

I honestly don't care that they renamed him. I'm just saying Locarno was not irredeemable, that's a specious argument. Paris's lesson learned in hindsight is nothing they couldn't have written for Locarno in hindsight. Just call a spade a spade, they didn't want to pay royalties. And I have no issues with that.

 

[OpenMaw]

I don't see what makes him the bad guy deep down. His final act was taking the fall by himself so the team could stay in the academy. A bad guy would have taken everyone down with him; especially Wesley for not sticking to the plan. It just sounds like spin to justify using a new character.

I honestly don't care that they renamed him. I'm just saying Locarno was not irredeemable, that's a specious argument. Paris's lesson learned in hindsight is nothing they couldn't have written for Locarno in hindsight. Just call a spade a spade, they didn't want to pay royalties. And I have no issues with that.

Bingo.

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

The difference is, Locarno initially tried to cover everything up and blame everything on Nova Squadron's dead teammate. It was only when confronted with the truth and backed against the proverbial wall, so to speak, that Locarno took the fall.

Tom Paris, on the other hand, decided of his own free will to admit the truth. He wasn't forced to do it. He could have gotten away with what he'd done for his entire career, and nobody would have ever known.

Locarno HAD to come clean, and only grudgingly did so. Paris CHOSE to. There's your difference.

 

[dswynne1]

The difference is, Locarno initially tried to cover everything up and blame everything on Nova Squadron's dead teammate. It was only when confronted with the truth and backed against the proverbial wall, so to speak, that Locarno took the fall.

Tom Paris, on the other hand, decided of his own free will to admit the truth. He wasn't forced to do it. He could have gotten away with what he'd done for his entire career, and nobody would have ever known.

Locarno HAD to come clean, and only grudgingly did so. Paris CHOSE to. There's your difference.

And yet Locarno could not have redeemed himself as a character from VOY? Think about it: you're kicked out of the Academy, probably did some time, and then you hear that the Maquis was recruiting. Why wouldn't Locarno not take a chance to be a hero for a change? Clearly, he thought highly of himself to want to pull off a stunt that had gotten him in trouble in the first place. Then, he gets captured, sent to New Zealand, and then gets an offer to have his record clean if he helps Janeway find his old allies within the Badlands.

The other poster is right. They could have used Locarno, but didn't for other reasons.

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

^ Well, of course the writers could have written Locarno out of that corner if they'd been able to use him. We can only judge what we actually *saw* of Locarno (and of Paris), though.

 

[Nyotarules]

One interesting family tidbit from ID: Carol sneaks aboard using her mother's maiden name, Wallace. The writers mentioned somewhere that it's a reference to Janet Wallace from TOS: "The Deadly Years" (who was originally going to be in Wrath of Khan, but the character was replaced by Carol), who was a former flame of Kirk's. It likely makes Janet Wallace and Carol Marcus cousins, both of whom Kirk slept with.

Too far fetched, TOS Wallace looked the same age as Kirk, unless the new Wallace is born 20 years earlier in the new universe in order to be Carol's mother.

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

^ No, King Daniel wasn't saying Janet was Carol's mother, he said they would probably be cousins. So Janet's mom or dad would be the sibling of Carol's mom.

 

[M'Sharak]

Wow, zombie thread.