On Saturday, the cast of Star Trek: Voyager reunited virtually to do an event with GalaxyCon. Since the beginning of the pandemic, the event company has been putting on live stream events with actors from fan-favorite franchises including Star Trek.
Kate Mulgrew (Captain Kathryn Janeway), Garret Wang (Ensign Harry Kim), Robert Duncan McNeil (Lieutenant Tom Paris), Robert Picardo (The Doctor) and Tim Russ (Tuvok) joined the GalaxyCon organizers to talk about their lives in the pandemic, the projects they’re working on now, and to share interesting and hilarious behind the scenes anecdotes.
At one point during the event, a fan asked about the actors’ favorite guest stars on the show, which prompted McNeil to recall how he found out that Robin Williams was a huge fan of the show.
A Between Takes Baseball Game
Gage Skidmore/Wikimedia Commons
McNeil said that at one point during the series, Voyager was filming at the same time as Williams’ iconic comedy, The Birdcage. He then revealed that the cast of Voyager used to go out behind the studio between takes or when they were on their breaks to play baseball. McNeil continued, saying that one day while they were having one of their casual games, Williams walked out and approached them.
At that point Mulgrew interrupted, yelling, “I played baseball with him!”
McNeil nodded and said that Williams joined the cast for a game. At some point, Williams talked to McNeil and told him that he was a big fan of the show. McNeil recalled that Williams said he loved Neelix, in particular. He also revealed that it was clear Williams was very knowledgeable about the show.
Apparently, Williams told McNeil that he’d always wanted to do a guest appearance on Star Trek.
Williams was Almost on ‘The Next Generation’
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According to StarTrek.com Williams was supposed to be on an episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation (TNG), but the timing never quite worked out. He was slated to appear in the episode “A Matter of Time.” The season five episode focused on Enterprise’s encounter with a time-traveling inventor named Berlinghoff Rasmussen.
The writers of the episode actually had Williams in mind when they were creating the character and penned it in the hopes that he’d accept the role. Unfortunately, his filming schedule for the feature film Hook prevented him from taking the role. It eventually went to Matt Frewer.
Williams Once Visited Another ‘Star Trek’ Crew Between Takes
Getty ImagesThe original model of the starship U.S.S. Enterprise from the television series “Star Trek” as it hangs on display at the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum in Washington, DC
Williams was a fan of Star Trek long before he met the Voyager crew. According to TrekMovie.com, Williams was a Trekkie all the way back in the 1970s when he was working on his breakthrough sitcom Mork and Mindy.
During a break in filming the show, Williams headed over to the soundstage where Star Trek: The Motion Picture was being filmed. He was welcomed onto the set by the cast, who showed him around the bridge of the Enterprise. Walter Koenig, the actor who played Ensign Pavel Chekov, wrote in his autobiography that Williams was in awe of the entire experience.
Unfortunately, Williams never got the chance to appear on Star Trek before his death in 2014. However, the franchise made a big impact on his life, the way it has for so many Trekkers around the world.
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