An episode of Star Trek: Voyager season 5 was effectively saved by Robert Duncan McNeill. McNeill played Tom Paris, a member of TravelerThe main cast of characters, as well as the ship’s pilot and sometimes the doctor. Tom was without a doubt the character who grew the most all over Travelerthere are seven seasons. He started the show as an arrogant and misanthropic ex-con who found his purpose and family as part of Traveler‘screw. Although Tom’s transformation was gradual, an episode of Traveler season 5 perfectly illustrated how much he had changed.
Traveler Season 5, Episode 9, “Thirty Days” began with Tom being demoted to the rank of Ensign by Captain Janeway (Kate Mulgrew) and thrown in prison. Through a letter to his father, Tom began to tell the story of why he was once again in prison, explaining how he had violated the Prime Directive and Janeway’s orders to help the inhabitants of an oceanic planet save their world despite of internal resistance. “Thirty Days” is one of the Travelerthe best episodes of Tom Paris thanks to the character study and Robert Duncan McNeill’s performance, but the episode was almost too different.
Robert Duncan McNeill Helped Create Star Trek: Voyager Season 5’s Best Tom Paris Episode
McNeill had an influence on the plot of “Thirty Days”
According to members of the TravelerFor the writing team, the idea for “Thirty Days” originally centered more on the ocean planet as a science fiction concept. However, the planet wasn’t a strong enough hook to base an entire episode on, and when given the opportunity, it was Robert Duncan McNeill who suggested that the plot focus on Tom Paris. Talking to Fantastic Cinema at the time of the episode’s airing, McNeill detailed the story of how he influenced the changes and why he thought “Thirty Days” was better for it. Read McNeill’s full quote below:
“I didn’t like the first version of that episode. We had the opportunity to look at it and say, ‘How can we improve it?’ The whole concept of Paris being in prison from the beginning, and telling it as a flashback in a letter to her father, brought in another element that was much darker and more interesting. of characters to play with. All those scenes with Paris in prison gave it a structure that was much more interesting and had much more mystery. I was really happy with it in the end. good show.”
Not only was McNeill right about the story changes that made the episode darker, but his idea of having Tom in prison and the episode being told via flashback added an element of intrigue from the start, giving “Thirty Days” a much stronger hook. stronger. THE Star Trek: Voyager the episode was effectively a mystery story, which helped keep the audience engaged and made the episode a departure from Voyager’s usual storytelling style. Likewise, the episode would never have worked if the main character wasn’t Tom Paris.
Why Star Trek: Voyager’s “Thirty Days” Would Never Have Worked Without Tom Paris’ Story
The episode wouldn’t have been cohesive enough to be a success
“Thirty Days” needed Tom’s character as its emotional core. The ocean planet idea alone certainly wasn’t enough to carry the episode, but even a similar plot focusing on a different character wouldn’t have worked as well. Tom’s personality and connection to the episode’s concept made him the perfect main characterBut beyond that, the real strength of “Thirty Days” was its exploration of Tom’s story and showing how much he’s changed since Travelerpilot episode.
Tom’s complicated relationship with his father had been hinted at before, but “Thirty Days” provided the clearest picture yet of their dynamic, revealing a lot about Tom as a person. Likewise, the episode saw the return of some of Tom’s bad boy tendencies, but in a way that didn’t make him any less likable. The contrast of Tom’s personality in season 5 with the return of these traits showed that Tom’s beliefs had changed and demonstrated how far he would go for a good cause. Star Trek: Voyager couldn’t have done better with a main character in “Thirty Days” than Tom Paris.
Source: Fantastic Cinemavol. 31