THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Monday, January 16, 1995 TAG: 9501140033
SECTION: DAILY BREAK PAGE: E1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY LARRY BONKO, TELEVISION COLUMNIST
LENGTH: Long : 101 lines
TONIGHT IS THE night when you will see a woman at the helm of a starship for the first time in the ``Star Trek'' franchise, which has already produced 325 hours of television and feature films. It's a starship with 15 decks, a crew of 140, warp speed to the factor of 9.975 and, for the hungry crew, 14 varieties of tomato soup.
When ``Star Trek: Voyager'' signs on at 8 p.m. on WGNT, and thereby launches the United Paramount network, Kate Mulgrew starts off by telling a young crewman that it's wrong to refer to her as ``sir,'' and that ``ma'am'' is acceptable only in a crunch.
``I prefer to be be called `Captain,' '' and ``Captain'' it is throughout the two-hour premiere, which is corking-good science fiction television. ``Star Trek: Voyager'' has hit written all over it.
Mulgrew, cast as Capt. Kathryn Janeway, takes command of the Voyager (NCC 74656) as it awaits its crew at Deep Space Nine, where that pesky Ferengi Quark tries hustling cash from the visitors. What was supposed to be a routine patrol to round up a group of resistance fighters at odds with the Federation - that's the command that pays the salaries of the Voyager crew - turns into the mother of all space adventures.
After a ``magnetic polarized displacement wave'' overwhelms the Voyager, Janeway and her crew, plus the outlaw Maquis, are sent a zillion light years from home. And so the adventure begins.
Mulgrew, with large, square shoulders and hair tucked into a bun, is the coolest as she takes control of a starship under seige.
``Bring weapons' systems on line!''
The series is shot here on Stage 9 of the Paramount lot where Mulgrew and the other cast members met with TV writers this month as ``Star Trek: Voyager'' producers hustled to get episode No. 2, to air next Monday, delivered to the network.
Of the character she plays, Mulgrew said, ``The captain is erudite and a scientist who is at the top of her field. That does not exclude her being warm, compassionate and vulnerable.
``If all goes well, women will be in such positions of great power 400 years from now.''
Compassionate? Yes. Before Voyager heads for the galaxy's badlands, she phones home to make sure that her dog and puppies are well. The writers give hint of a love interest with a dude named Mark.
Now who knows when she'll see her loved ones or her dogs again? Producers Rick Berman, Michael Piller and Jeri Taylor intend to keep the crew far from home for at least five years.
In tonight's premiere, the captain is heard to say, ``Somewhere along the way, we'll find our way back.'' Not as long as the ratings soar.
At first blush, the characters in ``Star Trek: Voyager'' appear not quite as likeable as those in the original ``Star Trek'' or ``Star Trek: The Next Generation.'' They need more heart.
Tim Russ plays a tactical and security officer named Tuvok, who is a Vulcan. All Vulcan. None of this half Vulcan, half-human Mr. Spock stuff.
``He is not inhibited by human genes,'' said Russ. To satisfy longtime Trekkies - I refuse to call them Trekkers - the producers have included a half human. B'Elanna Torres (played by Roxann Biggs-Dawson) is 50 percent Klingon.
She said she never heard of Klingons before landing this role. She's done her research from manuals written by the producers.
Other regulars include Garrett Wang playing rookie officer Harry Kim, the one who insists on calling the captain ``sir,'' and Robert Duncan McNeill playing an outcast Federation officer named Lt. Tom Paris who's aboard because he's a nifty navigator. For comic relief, there is Neelix, a scavenging alien played by Ethan Phillips, and his female companion, Kes, of the underground-dwelling Ocampa race, played by Jennifer Lien.
There is also Doc Zimmerman (Robert Picardo) who isn't real at all but a holographic image who can heal in an instant. Robert Beltran plays the hotheaded Marquis captain (First Officer Chakotay), who becomes a reluctant ally of the Voyager crew.
Not too many laughs in that group.
McNeill said he's grateful for the role of Paris, but he never was a ``Star Trek'' fanatic. ``My father is devoted to `Star Trek.' I'm doing this for him. I could star in 20 Broadway shows and win the Oscar. It would not impress him as much as being in this series.''
UPN expects a large sampling tonight because it launches with a winner in the fourth ``Star Trek'' incarnation. When UPN gets rolling next week, it will be a mini network with a sitcom, and a pretty good one, ``Platypus Man,'' with Richard Jeni, following ``Voyager'' on Mondays at 9 p.m.
Then comes another sitcom at 9:30, ``Pig Sty,'' followed by two dramas on Tuesday nights. They are ``Marker'' and ``The Watcher.'' If the new network is to fly, it will do so on the wings of ``Star Trek: Voyager.''
The crew is out there in space 75 years from home with no place to refuel or pick up stores. And you think you had a lousy Monday. MEMO: Television Columnist Larry Bonko is in Los Angeles at the twice-yearly
Television Critics Association convention.
ILLUSTRATION: Color Photos
Kate Mulgrew
Tim Russ
Color photo
A routine mission turns into an epic adventure for the U.S.S.
Voyager.
by CNB