#Director Robert Duncan McNeill

[my-supernatural-rewatch]

Episode Six: Skin

Dean Winchester in the Supernatural episode Skin

I love this episode. LOVE it. Loved it the first time I saw it, loved it the fifth (maybe sixth?) time I've seen it.

It's dark and scary and we get a monster version of Dean (!!!!) and Shape Shifters! (I love Shape Shifters. They might be my favorite monster!)

An email from a college friend of Sam's sends the boys on a hunt to prove Sam's friend didn't kill his girlfriend and brings them face to face with a Shape Shifter.

We find out in this episode that Sam still keeps in touch with some of his college friends and Dean very obviously thinks this is weird because hunters can't get close to people. "Period."

Breaks my heart that Dean feels this way not just because John pretty much isolated him and the boys - although we later find there were other adults...hello Bobby and Adam's mother whose name I forget...who John DID interact with. So John got to have friends, Sam got to have friends, but not Dean.

Sam responds by calling Dean anti-social and AGAIN I wonder what the fuck Sam was paying attention to for the first 18 years of his goddamn life.

This might be the only episode where Dean complains about having to drive a long way. "St. Louis is 400 miles behind us, Sam." But I suspect his grousing is related more to not wanting to go pal around with Sam's friends and less about putting mileage on the Impala.

So we meet Sam's friend (the guy arrested for killing his girlfriend is this friend's brother and why is Sam friend's with them both? Are they twins? I have questions with no answers.) and to get her to let them help, Sam lies and says Dean is a cop. And she believes him.

At this point in the series, anyone who believes either one of these guys is a cop really kind of deserves whatever befalls them.

Dean is, interestingly, still not on board with Sam lying to his friend.

In previous episodes Sam, because he is so wrapped up in finding John and finding Jessica's killer, has been the one to complain about taking a job with the old "Tihs isn't our kind of problem" but today it's Dean.

Again, methinks, because it's Sam and his friends and Dean is feeling bad about that. (We'll get to that in a minute.)

Smart Dean is back with an expository explanation of Shape Shifters lore. Thanks, Dean!

Dean also figures out that the shifter is escaping through the sewer and not flying, as Sam suggested. Dean ALSO figures out that the shifters shed the person they've shifted into's skin once they're ready to shift again.

Blergh...gross...but okay. Good thinking, Dean.

When Sam's friend gets pissed at him when she finds out he lied about Dean being a cop, Dean gives him a brother talk about how the lying is why it's difficult for hunters to have friends. Culminating in this line:

"Hey, man, like it or not, we are not like other people. But I’ll tell you one thing. This whole gig...it ain’t without perks." And then he hands a gun to Sam. So, again, we get a glimpse into how Dean sees violence as a perk of the life he's been forced to live.

So...they find the place the shifter is holding up in the sewers and it gets the drop on Dean. Sam helps him up, Dean tells Dean to "Get the son of a bitch" and the next thing we know, after a chase through the streets, it isn't Dean with Sam...it's Shifter Dean.

(Here's where I add that monster/evil/bad Dean is my favorite Dean only second to In Love with Cas Dean.)

I have more questions becsaue it is never really made clear WHEN the shifter had time to shift AND tie Dean up before joining Sam. The timing doesn't work. Oh well. Forget it, Jake, it's Supernatural.

So we know Dean is actually the shifter but Sam doesn't and when they get to the car Shifter Dean asks Sam for the keys.

Another question: Sam didn't drive the car in this episode...why did he have the keys?

Anyhoo...Sam is no dummy and quckly deducts that this is not Dean. He quizzes him about another time John hunted a Shape Shifter but he shifter already has Dean's memories so he has the right answer. No biggie...Sam tosses the keys to Dean, who hurt his left shoulder when the shifter hit him in the sewer, and Shifter Dean catches it with his LEFT hand. Confimring to Sam this is not his brother.

Good on ya, Sam.

But, like Dean, the shifter gets the drop on Sam, drags him to the sewers and Jensen Ackles gets to chew the scenery (actually, it's incredibly well-acted and, once again, early on in this series, we see Jensen's acting chops growing with each episode) and he gives a villain monologue that I'm printing in it's entirety here because it is very important to Dean's background. (It's mostly monologue. Sam interrupts a couple of times but not with anything of import.)

"He’s sure got issues with you. You got to go to college. He had to stay home. I mean, I had to stay home. With Dad. You don’t think I had dreams of my own? But Dad needed me. Where the hell were you?

See, deep down, I’m just jealous. You got friends. You could have a life. Me? I know I’m a freak. And sooner or later, everybody’s gonna leave me. 

You left. Hell, I did everything Dad asked me to, and he ditched me, too. No explanation, nothin’, just poof. Left me with your sorry ass.

Now, yeah, I'm sure the shifter is reveling in upsetting Sam. But lets' be honest, there's a better than good chance (and I believe 100% absolute) that this is what Dean thinks. He's jealous...he's bitter...of course he had fucking dreams but he learned early on his dreams didn't matter. But Sam's dreams? THOSE mattered, didn't they?

Then just to twist the knife, he stops talking as if he IS Dean and leaves Sam with this bit of creepiness: "But, still, this life? It’s not without its perks. I meet the nicest people. Like little Becky. You know, Dean would bang her if he had the chance. Let’s see what happens. "

Ick.

Shifter Dean takes off and we hear from Dean Dean who is in the sewer with Sam. When he comes to, Sam tells him that the shifter is pretending to be him and Dean responds, "He's not stupid; he picked the handsome one."

Yes, Dean. Yes, he did.

So there is an incredibly creepy scene where Shifter Dean first is charming and sweet to Becky, apologizing for lying and getting her to hang with him and have beers. Then he gets continually creepy with her and she freaks and Shifter Dean goes to town on her (but doesn't kill her). It is sufficiently upsetting...this episode really is like a mini-horror movie - and, again Jensen Ackles kills it.

We get shirtless Dean/Jensen Ackles when the shifter shifts out of Dean's skin. It's scary, and gross, and a little hot, and reminiscent of An Ameican Werewolf in London.

It's Sam's turn to be detained (but not arrested) by the cops and even though he told Dean to stay away from the sewers...Dean of course doesn't and finds Becky being held there...the shifter is pretending to be Becky and knocks Sam out at her apartment.

Good thing Dean didn't listen to Sam because guess who has to save his dumb ass?

The shifter gets a great line in to Sam about Dean, "Your brothers' got a lot of good qualities. You should appreciate him more than you do."

Creepy Shifter Dude speaks the motherfucking truth, Sam.

After Sam takes the shifter down by kicking him (seriously...KICKING him) we get a pretty awesome Sam/Dean fight that tears up poor Becky's parents' house.

But Dean comes in and saves Sam's cheese by shooting the shifter (with a silver bullet) after a bit of a pause...I mean he IS shooting himself...and then he makes sure to grab the Samulet (that we don't yet know is the Samulet) off the shifter's neck.

Dean gets blamed for Sam's girlfriend's murder...but he's dead (because the shifter died as Dean) and Dean's only lament is that he would have liked to have seen his own funeral. Ahahaha. Dean, you card.

We do get one final great line from Dean before he jokes about being dead. He apologizes to Sam, much to Sam's confusion, and says:

"I really wish things could be different. I wish you could just be Joe College."

And even though I believe Dean feels the things that the shifter said he did, I also believe him here. Dean can feel both these things at the same time. He can be jealous that his brother got to have even a taste of a normal life but also really be sad that he had to leave that life.

Oh Dean. You never cease to hurt my heart just a little bit.

Some notes for posterity:

The significant music from this episode comes from Iron Butterfly - In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida, Free - All Right Now, and Lynyrd Skynyrd - Poison Whiskey.

Sam and Dean pretty much get to be who they are in this episode, except Sam tells Becky that Dean is a cop from Bisbee, Arizona, to which Dean corrects him and tells her he's a detective.

This hunt takes place in St. Louis, Missouri

No kisses. Sam gets a hug from Becky and Dean gets a wave

This is the first episode with a monster version of Dean!

[raurquiz]

#happybirthday @robertdmcneill #RobertDuncanMcNeill #actor #director #NicolasLocarno #StarTrek #tng #Paris #Voyager #lowerdecks #theorville #mastersoftheuniverse #theouterlimits #thegifted #chuck #GirlfriendsGuidetoDivorce #Infested #TheResident #residentalien #startrek57

[aquamonstra]

Hey uhhhh Is there anyone else out there who's just a massive Robbie Duncan McNeill stan that I can just go full blorbo with? I have come to love this man so much and I need someone to reflect my enthusiasm back at me.

I know the Spiner stan fam is strong, but WHERE IS MY RDM STAN FAM???

[greatcometcas]

a spin-off of this poll from @humandisorderincarnatedean

full list below

other one-off* directors are:

David Jackson (1x07 Hook Man)

Paul Shapiro (1x13 Route 666)

Chris Long (1x17 Hell House)

Tony Wharmby (1x20 Dead Man’s Blood)

Whitney Ransick (1x18 Something Wicked)

Tim Iacofano (2x05 Simon Said)

Bradford May (2x15 Tall Tales)

Adam Kane (4x13 After School Special)

Rick Bota (5x19 Hammer of the Gods)

Jan Eliasberg (6x06 You Can’t Handle the Truth)

David Barrett (6x13 Unforgiven)

Charles Robert Carner (8x07 A Little Slice of Kevin)

Nick Copus (8x09 Citizen Fang)

Kevin Hooks (9x03 I’m No Angel)

Rob Spera (9x06 Heaven Can’t Wait)

Misha Collins (9x17 Mother’s Little Helper)

Darren Grant (14x05 Nightmare Logic)

John Fitzpatrick (14x16 Don’t Go In the Woods)

*pour one out for robbie duncan mcneill who is the reason i wanted to make this poll because of everything going on in 1x06 skin but it turns out he also directed the great escapist! thank you for your service!

[trillscienceofficer]

from Star Trek Monthly, March 1997

From Make-Up to Director's chair: lan Spelling meets the woman behind the Klingon forehead and finds out what's in store for the feisty B'Elanna Torres aboard the U.S.S. Voyager

“I'm sort of calculating the number of hours of my life that I've spent sitting right here, in this chair,” says Roxann Dawson with a laugh that rings simultaneously of amusement and resignation. Here, this chair, is in a make-up trailer on the Paramount Pictures studio lot, just a stone's throw from the sound stages and sets of Star Trek: Voyager. It is here that Dawson's daily transformation from pretty and petite actress into formidable half-Klingon/half-Human begins and ends. Truth be told, Dawson would probably need a calculator to figure out just how many hours she has actually spent in the chair.

As a make-up man alternately dabs at her face with a cotton swab and uses a blow dryer to set the make-up in place, Dawson chats away amiably about things past and to come on ST:VOY. “Several years have gone by already, haven't they?” she asks. “You know, it doesn't feel that way at all, to me, at least. Our first season was very short. We didn't do a full year of shows. The second season flew by. And right now, we're only part of the way through the third season. So, to me, it's still sort of new. Although I feel I know B'Elanna much better than I did at the very beginning, the whole idea of the show is still fresh for me. It's all still new. I like feeling that way. It means that I'm still challenged and interested in what we're doing on the show, in what I'm getting to do as this character.

“I love B'Elanna as a character. She's different from any Klingon we've ever really seen on a Star Trek series before. Being half-Human and half-Klingon gives her a lot of dimension. I think she's developing quite nicely, that the writers are constantly finding different layers of her to explore. I sometimes feel they're reading my mind, that they're doing the kinds of things that I'd imagined for her. They're exploring not just her tough and strong sides, but her feminine side, her vulnerable side. We've seen a bit of humour here and there, too, and I think we're going to see her romantic side. They are allowing me to stretch in a lot of ways, which is a real pleasure for me as an actor to be able to try.”

B'Elanna, of course, has figured prominently in a number of major episodes over the last two seasons, perhaps most notably Persistence of Vision, Prototype, Dreadnought, The Thaw, The Swarm, Remember and Blood Fever. Throughout these shows, viewers have seen B'Elanna seduced by Chakotay (Robert Beltran), witnessed her battle robots, deal with a computer that spoke with her voice, come face-to-face with an evil clown, develop a new respect for the Doctor (Robert Picardo) while trying to help him recover his damaged programming, and handle the implications of terrifying dreams. Blood Fever, perhaps the best of all the so-called B'Elanna episodes, finds the chief engineer not only experiencing the Klingon version of heat, but delving deeper into a relationship with shipmate Tom Paris (Robert Duncan McNeill).

Dawson reports that she is pleased with the development thus far of B'Elanna's relationships with the other characters aboard the U.S.S. Voyager. She considers B'Elanna's bonds with Captain Janeway (Kate Mulgrew) and Chakotay quite close. She thinks there have been a handful of nice moments for B'Elanna with Kim (Garrett Wang), Tuvok (Tim Russ), the Doctor and Neelix (Ethan Phillips). She's hopeful that the writers will eventually get around to giving B'Elanna more interaction with Kes (Jennifer Lien). But it's the relationship with Paris that has Dawson—who dropped her maiden name [sic, it wasn't actually her maiden name], the Biggs part of Biggs-Dawson, from her professional name just before the third season of ST:VOY commenced—most intrigued at the moment. “I really like the way that they're developing it. I'm actually here at the studio today because we're tacking an extra scene onto Alter Ego,” she explains of the episode in which Tuvok and Kim both find themselves attracted to a holodeck-generated woman (Sandra Nelson), who turns out to be a lonely alien that infiltrated the ship's computer system. “When they put the show together (in the editing room), they realised it came in about a minute short. So Robbie and I and Bob (Picardo, who is directing the episode) are back here shooting a short scene in which Paris sort of compliments B'Elanna as they're walking down a corridor. It will help set the stage for what happens in Blood Fever, which was definitely one of my most interesting episodes.

“B'Elanna goes through a lot in that show, and you get to see a few sides of her that we either hadn't seen at all before or that wed only hinted at in earlier shows. As far as Paris goes, what the writers are doing, which I really like, is they're exploring the process of the relationship rather than trying to define it right away. Is it going to be a love interest situation? Will B'Elanna and Paris wind up just being friends? The answer is I really don't know. There are so many ways we can go with it and I love that I don't know for sure where it's going to go. Hopefully, that will continue. I'll get a script and say, ‘Oh, we're going to do THAT!?’ As an actress, I like that element of surprise, and I think our fans will too. At least, I hope they will.”

Throughout her days on ST:VOY, Dawson has been put through her paces by a number of actors-turned-directors. Star Trek: The Next Generation veterans Jonathan Frakes and LeVar Burton have helmed episodes, as have co-stars McNeill and Picardo, Tim Russ is gearing up to direct an episode next season and, guess what? So is Dawson. Smiling broadly, the actress explains that she has “always” wanted to direct and that she had previously called the shots on a few stage shows. She's smiling so much, in fact, that her make-up man grimaces. “I'm sorry,” she says to him softly and apologetically. “I know. No smiling or laughing.” She glances at her interviewer and explains. “If I smile or laugh it makes the make-up crinkle if it's not dry yet.”

To prepare for her stint behind the Star Trek: Voyager camera, Dawson is in the show's training programme, watching other directors at work and picking their brains for advice and suggestions whenever she can. If she's really going to do it, she wants to do it well. “I'm so excited and so frightened, and I want to be perfect, I think,” she says. “I respect people that do it well so much. I respect the art of directing, and it really is an art. I want to make sure that I feel I'm ready to handle it. Hopefully, the producers will feel at some point soon that I am ready and perhaps it will happen. I'm looking forward to that day. I really am. It'll probably happen next year. I guess my ultimate goal as a director will really be to bring to life whatever script they hand me.”

Clearly, Dawson seems content with her life in the Star Trek Universe, although she's looking forward to outside projects—the actress recently starred in a short film called Seeing Through Walls, playing a scientist who implants a knowledge chip into a prisoner's brain. The film will air on the US public broadcasting system sometime in 1997.

Dawson sounds ready for another couple of years spent aboard the U.S.S. Voyager. “Oh yeah, definitely,” she says, fighting a smile. “If they keep me on my toes as much as they have been, why would I want to leave? It's always been a pleasure to have a character to hold onto, to create over a period of time, to keep exploring the different facets of.

“I'm having so much fun with this character. Also, I love the people around here, the other actors, the producers, our crew. It's a great group. So, I'm just having a ball.”

[dominickeating-source]

SYFY Portal - Keating to try directing? by Michael Hinman (2002)

"It's been a long road" might be the opening line to the "Enterprise" theme, but it also could be applied to actor Dominic Keating. From his television bow as Tony in the British comedy series "Desmond's" in the late 1980s, to an unsuccessful attempt at a guest role for "Star Trek: Voyager," and finally as Lt. Malcolm Reed on the latest Star Trek series airing on UPN, Keating has traveled the road that many actors have tried to traverse.

And now that he is attached to one of the most successful franchises in television history, Keating said that now's the time to really achieve some of his dreams, including some that went unrealized until his arrival on the "Enterprise" set.

"'Desmonds' was a half-hour show on Channel Four, and we enjoyed big success," of a TV star in some capacity, but when I came to America [in 1994], I spent a bit of time out in the cold. About two and a half years ago, a bit of momentum started to show through, doing some guest stars and getting regular work, and I could consider myself a working actor again."

Keating said his first run-in with Star Trek wasn't the kind most actors hope for. Two years ago, he was auditioning for a guest role on "Voyager," an audition that may not have given him a chance to work with Kate Mulgrew in company, but one that had future implications.

"The audition went real well, and I thought I was going to get the part," Keating said. "When I didn't get a call back, I was thinking that I'll never audition for them again. I don't like to put words in [co-creator] Rick Berman's mouth, but after he had seen me audition, I think they sort of earmarked me in some capacity. They brought me in for the first audition [for 'Enterprise'], and they went pretty swimmingly. I was the first one cast."

Through the first 10 episodes, Lt. Reed was more of a background character as Enterprise's weapons officer. But Keating said he has no qualms about the focus on Scott Bakula (Capt. Jonathan Archer), Jolene Blalock (Sub-Cmdr. T'Pol) and Connor Trinneer (Cmdr. Trip Tucker), especially since some of the first season's finer moments are expected to come by way of Reed.

"It's really started in the last few episodes, Malcolm Reed has had the light shone on him," Keating said. "Brannon [Braga] did warn me about it that their initial thrust at the start of the series would be on the captain, Trip and the Vulcan. I just turned up every day and did the best I could with what they gave me to do, and trusted with what they told me was true."

And Braga has stayed true to his word, because Keating said he has heard quite a bit of talk about one episode that will air on UPN Feb. 13.

"There's an episode coming up called 'Shuttlepod One,' and it's one of my most exciting and most memorable acting experiences, whether on stage or on the camera," he said. "What a fantastic piece of work we turned.

"It's between me and Trip, the engineer. We think we're marooned alone in space on Shuttlepod One. You could put this on in an off-Broadway venue and have it staged as a one-act. Rick is very pleased, and he just said some very complimentary things about it yesterday. I know that for the directors that work on the show, if you don't get a phone call from Rick, you've done real well."

Not getting that phone call from Berman is something Keating hopes happen if he ever makes his directorial debut on the show. Like Jonathan Frakes, LeVar Burton, Rene Auberjonois and Robert Duncan McNeill -- among others -- Keating said he is hoping to one day have a shot sitting in the big chair for an episode.

"I've already embarked on a directing course at an L.A. film school that Roxann Dawson (Lt. B'Elanna Torres, 'Voyager') had given me the number for," he said. "After I took the course in directing, I've noticed that my interest piqued more than ever in how each shot is being mapped out. I never had taken that much of an interest before as an actor, which usually was to just put me on the mark, tell me which way to turn, and I'll act it.

"But I've noticed that in the episodes that rolled by, my interest is a lot keener, and I can see myself definitely directing one of these episodes, and direct other stuff in the future. Of course, I haven't approached Rick or Brannon about this yet. They hired me as an actor, and I'm putting my two peas [ed: "2 p" (pence)] in at the moment."

The Paramount lot is bustling with Star Trek activity right now with not only a hit UPN series, but the tenth motion picture of the franchise as well. Having the cast of "Star Trek: The Next Generation" hanging around has been exciting for Keating, he said, especially in getting his chance to finally meet Patrick Stewart. And with a lot of talk focusing on "Star Trek: Nemesis," Keating said he hopes that his crew of the starship Enterprise might get their shot on the big screen some day.

"I would love to do [a movie]," he said. "I think they are filming 'Nemesis' around the corner from us. And by all accounts, this is the fourth movie for them, and this really might be it. I don't know, maybe Paramount might feel they have another one in them, so it's just a question on when they get us to do it. Will they wait for 'Voyager' to have a shot, or are they going to pass them by?

"If they did do a movie, would we all want to do that? Scott [Bakula] has a young family, and he's keen about spending as much time as possible with them. But it's probably a few years off yet, and maybe after seven years, if we did a movie once every 18 months or two years, that would be fantastic."

But in the here and now, "Enterprise" is just 10 episodes in with UPN beginning new episodes next Wednesday at 8 p.m. ET. Of course, that hasn't stopped some fans from recognizing Keating on the street.

"I was recognized in the post office this morning, and that's the first time a completely random guy has come up to me like that since the show started," he said. "I was posting some fan mail to some guys in Europe, and he came up and was so thrilled to see this guy from 'Enterprise.' I shook the guy's hand and introduced myself, and he introduced himself, I think his name was Jack.

"It was a good experience, but the funny thing was, I was standing in line wearing my scruffy old sweatpants and wasn't looking my best. I thought to myself that there was a pretty girl in front of me, and there will come a time when I wished I would've dolled myself up."

Keating pauses a moment, and laughs a little.

"My girlfriend is going to shout when she reads that. But we all carry a little vanity with us, and the time will eventually come when I can't leave the house a complete mess. But you know, who cares, maybe I can. It's certainly only a TV show, and it's not like we're saving the world . . ."

Jumping into character for just a moment: "Oh wait, captain. We are!"

Source: www.dominickeating.com

[ljones41]

"STAR TREK VOYAGER" Retrospective: (5.12) "Bride of Chaotica!"

"STAR TREK VOYAGER" Retrospective: (5.12) "Bride of Chaotica!"

One of the aspects of "STAR TREK VOYAGER" that I have truly enjoyed over the other TREK shows were the holo programs featured or the episodes centered in the two Holodecks. One such holo program was "The Adventures of Captain Proton" stories created by Voyager’s Chief Pilot, Tom Paris. Captain Proton was featured in at least four episodes – three in Season Five and one in Season Seven. But without a doubt, my favorite happened to be the third Proton story titled, (5.12) "Bride of Chaotica!".

In short, "Bride of Chaotica!" began when Tom Paris (Robert Duncan McNeil) and Harry Kim (Garrett Wang) are enjoying the latest chapter of his Captain Proton program in one of the Holodecks. They are forced to leave it running when spatial distortions trap the ship and disrupt their control over the computer. Voyager’s command staff attempted to discover a way to free the ship from the spatial distortions. Unfortunately, extra-dimensional aliens that exist in a photonic state cross over from their own dimension through a distortion located in the holodeck. They are detected and attacked by Proton’s archenemy, Dr. Chaotica (Martin Rayner), who believes them to be from the Fifth Dimension, and whose holographic (photonic) weaponry - though harmless to humans - is deadly to the aliens. Eventually, the crew discover the war being waged between Chaotica and the Fifth Dimension and must defeat him by playing out their roles as the fictional Captain Proton (played by Tom Paris), his sidekick Buster Kincaid (Harry Kim), and Arachnia, Queen of the Spider People. Paris convinced Captain Janeway (Kate Mulgrew) to take on the latter role.

I might as well be frank. I LOVE "Bride of Chaotica!". I adore it. It is one of my favorite TREK episodes of all time. What am I saying? It is my favoriteTREK episode of all time. Screenwriters Bryan Fuller (creator of "DEAD LIKE ME" and "PUSHING DAISIES") and Michael Taylor created a first-rate episode filled with imagination, action and humor. Having the characters of Tom Paris’ Captain Proton holoprogram get drawn into a galactic war with an actual group of actual aliens that are photonic was a stroke of genius. And Fuller and Taylor, along with director Allan Kroeker, did an excellent job combining an original story with great characterization.

The cast was excellent, as always. Robbie McNeill and Garrett Wang revived their old magic as Tom and Harry – the two crewmembers who got more out of the Captain Proton holoprogram than anyone. Come to think of it, McNeill also managed to generate strong chemistry with Tim Russ (Lieutenant-Commander Tuvok) and Kate Mulgrew. The latter was superb as Queen Arachnia, although I think she may have been a little guilty of too much mugging, while expressing Janeway’s disregard for the Proton holoprogram. However, I loved her scene with Neelix (Ethan Phillips) that showcased Janeway’s caffine addiction. With that scene, she may have truly earned the nickname - Queen of the Delta Quadrant:

JANEWAY: "Coffee, black." NEELIX: "I'm sorry, Captain. We've lost another two replicators –" JANEWAY: "Listen to me very carefully because I'm only going to say this once. Coffee – black." NEELIX: (To replicator)"Coffee, black. While I've got your attention there are –" JANEWAY: (Holds up hand)"Coffee first."(drinks/inhales)"...Now, what's the problem?"

And then there is Dr. Chaotica, portrayed with great relish by Martin Rayner. The promise he had shown as a rich and over-the-top character in the Season Five premiere, (5.01) "Night" was fulfilled in this episode. The late Nicholas Worth ably supported both Mulgrew and Rayner as Chaotica’s ruthless, obsequious henchman, Lonzak.

As much as I love "Bride of Chaotica!", there is one aspect about it that disturbed me – namely the crew’s reaction to the Captain Proton hologram. It is quite apparent that they view it as nothing more than a childish piece of fiction for those of the immature mind. And it is quite apparent that they also view Tom Paris’ participation in it as childish. And they are not the only ones. I have read some reviews of the episodes. While most tend to sneer at it, along with anything else labeled "STAR TREK VOYAGER", at least two of them did not. Julia Houston seemed to view the holo program not only as Tom Paris’ personal fantasy, but also as an example of his imagination. Like me, she seemed annoyed by the inability of others to appreciate Paris' imagination . . . and his right to his own fantasy. Now Jim Wright did seem to enjoy the holo program and appreciate its uniqueness. But it also seemed that he viewed it as a sign of Paris’ immaturity . . . and as something that the Chief Pilot would have to give up in order to develop as an adult and ideal Starfleet officer.

Quite frankly, I agree with Julia Houston. I was very annoyed by the other Voyager crewmen’s snobbish reaction to Captain Proton. Okay, perhaps they did not care for it very much. But was there really any need for them to openly sneer at what he considered recreation and fantasy? What law was there that Tom’s pursuit of recreation had to be culturally high-brow or meaningful? Janeway, of all people, had no business to sneer. This is a woman who had spent two seasons indulging in her Lambada One holo program – a "Jane Eyre"/"Rebecca" Gothic romance. I must also admit that I was a little put-off by Jim Wright's assumption that Tom needed to give up the Proton program in order to become more mature as an adult. To me, this attitude seemed like a clear lack of appreciation for Tom’s vivid imagination. Perhaps it was more important to him and other "VOYAGER” fans that Tom become the stand-up Starfleet officer that Owen Paris and Janeway wanted him to be. Happily, Tom never stuck to his declaration of giving up the Proton program. He and Harry were still using it in the early Season Six episode called (6.05) "Alice". And a late Season Seven episode called (7.23) "Homestead" revealed that Tom had created another B-movie style program called "Invaders from the Ninth Dimension".

Personally, I like the idea that Tom Paris would eventually become that successful holonovelist sometime in his future. But in the VOYAGER relaunch novels, he became a permanent Starfleet officer, achieving the rank of Lieutenant-Commander and Voyager’s new first officer. Ugh. What a waste of a vivid imagination that created the likes of the Proton holoprograms. In real life, I would compare Tom to the likes of George Lucas, Gene Roddenberry, J. Michael Stracynski and the two writers who had created this wonderfully imaginative episode – Fuller and Taylor. A girl can imagine - can't she?

[mrbensonmum]

TV Show - Star Trek: Voyager IX

Office days are never good for watching Voyager, you always start so late! But that's complaining at a high level, if I'm being completely honest.

Today I started with Episode 14 of Season 4, "Message in a Bottle." I like the design of the Prometheus, it has something fresh and new about it, even though the pillars in the sickbay somehow seem familiar to me. Did they borrow them from the set of DS9?

I've also watched "Year of Hell," and damn, was that two-parter good. Yes, the series has its flaws overall, no question about it, but episodes like these make it all worth watching, and I know there's still a lot more to come.

John Rhys-Davies as da Vinci is worth mentioning as well, a true delight, and we've seen him in the role before. You can definitely call it ideal casting.

Before the above-mentioned episode, some interesting themes were also addressed:

Propaganda and what it does to us (Nemesis S4E04)

Experiments on humans (Scientific Method S4E07)

What happens after death? (Mortal Coil S4E12) Just to name a few, and from this perspective, Voyager is incredibly diverse!

Unfortunately, there will soon be a change in the German dubbing voice for Robert Duncan McNeill (Tom Paris), and that's already annoying me. In English, that's not a problem, but in German, only relatively few voices are used for all the actors, which often leads to duplications. Just for comparison, at the moment, Tom Paris has the voice of Tom Vogt, who regularly voices Laurence Fishburn. I've already gotten used to that, and it fits pretty well. But from the fifth season onwards, he will be voiced by Erich Räuker, which means Tom Paris will sound like Richard Dean Anderson (Stargate SG-1). It's not about the actors themselves, please don't get me wrong. It's about the fact that the dubbing directors make such rather unwise decisions, much to the viewer's detriment. Also, often only well-known voices are cast, although there are enough different voices available. But one speaker usually has several regular actors, which drives one insane.

Well, now the Doctor still has his final appearance, and then let's see what else awaits us today. As I've mentioned so many times before, I still enjoy the whole thing.

[old-type-40]

SyFy just posted the first 5 minutes of season 2.

In one of the BTS vids from a few weeks ago in discussing season 2, there was mention that Ben and Kate might be getting kinkier. I thought it might be a joke but I guess not.

Also for those who are DS9 fans in addition to being part of the RA fandom, I noticed on my DVR that ep 2 of this season is titled "The Wire". There may be no connection to the well known DS9 ep. But I can't help but wonder given that Robert Duncan McNeill (aka Tom Paris from Star Trek Voyager) is both an exec producer and director for Resident Alien.

If there is a connection does this make Asta Bashir to Harry's Garak? And could you imagine if Garak had displayed murderous rage at somebody hurting Bashir right after they just met?

[byrcca]

Chiaroscuro. From the Italian, meaning light-dark. It’s a method that artists employ in paintings, drawings, photographs, and film to paint a picture using light and shadow, strong contrasts of highlight and darkness to make the subject appear (in paintings) three demential and immediate. The background falls away and the eye is drawn to most import and immediate aspects of the picture. It’s stunning, and sometimes shocking, and leaves an emotional impression with the viewer.

Blood Fever, s3 ep 16, is a masterpiece of the art, imo. It’s visually stunning. The use of limited lighting in some of the scenes on Voyager, hand-held, away team ‘wrist lights’ by Tom & B’Elanna when they’re trapped in the tunnels, and the dappled sunlight on the planet’s surface ramped up the emotional impact of a storyline that was all emotion anyway. From B’Elanna’s excitement at the thought of revamping her warp coils, to her embarrassment and shock over Vorik’s proposal and subsequent attack, to her own gradually escalating emotional imbalance once her blood fever started to take hold, (and let’s not forget Vorik’s own impulse to warp 10 outbursts of primal rage) the use of light and shadow became another character in this episode. Kudos to Lisa Klink (who else?!) and Andrew Robinson, in order: writer & director, and Roxann Dawson & Robert Duncan McNeill (yes, I have to look up how to spell his name every damn time), and Alexander Enberg for their outstanding work!

This is my own Blood Fever week ....don’t I wish! Actually, I just reached BF this week with my crappy collages, and I realized that I couldn’t limit myself to just Tom Tuesday & Torres Thursday. And even after adding a tribute to Vorik on Wednesday, I’m not done. So today’s post will be (yet again) a series of crappy collages in tribute to the stunningly beautiful cinematography in this episode.

Let’s start with an example of flat, ordinary lighting. Tom reacting to B’Elanna’s frenetic explanation & actions when she’s briefing him & Neelix about the mission before they beam down to the surface.

Because I took about 400 screen shots of this ep - most out of order - I’ll jump ahead in the episode and contrast that with a shot of B’Elanna in the tunnel, after she’s bitten Tom, run off, been found by Tom, Chakota, & Tuvok, and wrestled the gun away from the unnamed native Sikarian. The episode is chaotic & frenetic, and this little photo essay will be too!

B’Elanna is the focus here, as she is in most of the tunnel scenes. Tom isn’t incidental, like say Chakotay, but he’s more often muted than starkly contrasted. I like to think it’s because he’s torn, suspended between his own inner light & dark: he wants nothing more than to believe all the sweet words B’Elanna tells him about her secret desire for him, but he knows that it’s just the pon farr talking.

Back to B’Elanna. We get to clearly see that she’s slipped from the zipped up, boots polished, perfectly applied lipstick & helmet hair chief engineer, and yes, her condition is absolutely going to become as bad as Tuvok fears. Just give it time.

Backtracking to the bite... Alas, I had to lighten this pic just a smidge because I couldn’t count on it not just looking like a black square, but I’m swooning at the play of light on B’Elanna’s cranial ridges.

But Tom does get to shine after B’Elanna has run off down the tunnel, when he hails Voyager & lets slip in front of the entire bridge crew that she bit him. His hands are the focus as he’s attempting to track her life signs, but the director could have easily had Neelix shine his own wrist light on Tom. Instead, his face is barely lit & that bite noticeable but not glaringly obvious. We all know what it means when a Klingon bites someone on the face, but did she bite him because she wants him, or because she simply wants?

Because I don’t know how long I can make a tumblr post, I’m going to throw down some pics without much comment. Really, they’re so gorgeous, they speak for themselves. Cave kisses:

B’Elanna, after Tom has pushed her off of him:

And more, from earlier, of them trapped in the cave when she doesn’t comprehend what all the fuss is about and why everyone insists there’s something wrong with her:

Here’s Tom & B’Elanna in the dappled sunlight on the surface of the planet after they’ve accepted the reality that they‘re going to have to have sex to break the pon farr:

...part 2 👉

[thefirsthogokage]

I'm really doing this again.

Kid's copaganda I'm watching out of boredom, Turner & Hooch, Episode 4.

Oh right, a love triangle and a bigger story on a kids show. I had almost forgot that stupid. I'm guessing they are doing that for the parents?

Ahh! I missed that! I knew Robert Duncan McNeill had something to do with this show, I just though he was a director though. He's listed as an executive producer.

Lyndsy is not appreciated enough as an actress. All the roles I have seen are very different.

I know this actress. Where is she from...wait, is that the little blond cheerleader from Glee? The second mean blonde cheerleader? (IMDb-ing) Yup! Becca Tobin! She played Kitty Wilde (god what a dumb name).

I don't like the lighting in this scene. Now, wait, it's the coloring, the lighting is fine. Not vibrant enough by just a hair. A filter problem?

Oh look, now too much yellow.

Now too yellow and too bleached out?

It is pretty amazing that dogs know to look where people are pointing.

Oh wow, one shot change in coloring.

Oh well, at least it's not like the last thing I watched.

Oh damn, more bad lighting. I don't think I'd be noticing this if it weren't for the last show I was watching.

I think I know why it's like this. Lots of natural lighting. I think there are things going on because of what accommodations they had to do for covid. Couldn't have too many people on set, so they did lots of natural lighting on bigger sets.

Lighting in the car doesn't match the outside of the car. Oh look, it's the same amount of lighting in the car at night.

God I love Branden's character in this show.

Oh look, more breath cold condensation-ness at the wrong time of day proving this isn't filmed in SoCal.

Oh no way they wouldn't drive him directly to the back door, especially in the alley that big. These people have never made a cop show before.

I think I'm watching this show because of Lyndsy, Branden, and boredom.

How could he force the agents to do trash clean up when they weren't arrested for anything? Bad writing.

So, these people trying to kill the judge, who are supposed to be career bad guys, broke the glass door to get into the store to plant a tracking device on the judge's robe? They...they didn't know how to pick a lock? This show is so bad at criming.

So, this guy has been targeted by a sniper before, and they thought it was a good idea to walk him through a big wide open area with no cover and more places for a sniper to shoot from? And they don't get him cover after getting shot at? Great plan. Top notch job. God I hate this show.

Like, I can get exaggerating shit with the dog, I get that. But writing bad criming and bad law enforcement planning is just so, so painful.

Could they have really gotten their dad's old cop files? Is that legal?

None of the cop stuff feels right. None of it. Too much: "and how is this a thing?" "Is this something fixed so easily" and other questions I am way too tired to think of but I know exist.

Oh thank goodness, I can go to bed now.

[trekfm]

108: I Want to Direct NOW!

Robert Duncan McNeill on Star Trek's Directors' School.

To Star Trek fans, he is Tom Paris, the cocksure pilot of the USS Voyager. But in Hollywood, Robert Duncan McNeill is better known as a different kind of helmsman. From his first day of filming on the Voyager pilot "Caretaker," McNeill declared his intention to take a shot at the director's chair, following in the footsteps of fellow Trek such as stars Jonathan Frakes, Levar Burton, and Leonard Nimoy. Two years later, when Frakes was forced to pull out of shooting the third-season episode "Sacred Ground," McNeill got his chance. It was to be the first of eight Star Trek episodes he directed, four on Voyager and four on Enterprise, and would lead to an illustrious career working on everything from Dawson's Creek to The Orville.

In this episode of Primitive Culture, host Duncan Barrett is joined by McNeill to look back on his time at the Star Trek Directors' School, and to consider how those early experiences helped shape his career. We discuss the limited scope for auteurist flamboyance when playing within Trek's strict sandbox, the varied approaches that hired guns brought to the Voyager set week by week, and how the deftly handled comedy of "Someone to Watch Over Me" helped prepare him for his most recent work on Resident Alien and Turner & Hooch.

Chapters Intro (00:00:00) Eyeing Up the Chair (00:02:27) In Berman's Box (00:12:15) Voyager (00:27:25) Enterprise (00:45:50) Tom Paris Returns? (00:58:49)

Host Duncan Barrett

Guest Robert Duncan McNeill

Production Duncan Barrett (Editor and Producer) C Bryan Jones (Executive Producer) Matthew Rushing (Executive Producer)

New podcast episode!

[data2364]

via memory-alpha

Jolene Blalock   (T’Pol) with John Billingsley (Phlox) and   „Star Trek: Voyager“ Actor Robert Duncan McNeill (Tom Paris) as Director   2003  during the filming of the “Star Trek: Enterprise”-Episode „Twilight“.

https://data2364.wordpress.com/2018/01/22/daily-star-trek-22-januar-2018/

[jamieroxx]

Happy Birthday. Today, Nov 9, 1964 – Robert Duncan McNeill, American actor, director, and producer was born. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Duncan_McNeill) #PropTroopers (www.PropTroopers.com for Custom #Cosplay #Costumes and #Accessories)

[trillscienceofficer]

“In the first year [of Star Trek: Voyager] I talked with [executive producer] Jeri Taylor about directing,” Roxann Dawson recalls her own route to the director's chair. “I had directed in the theater and I just liked bossing people around! I wanted to give it a try but I honestly didn't know if I'd like it. I told Jeri I'd love to learn, if they'd give me the opportunity. Then she and Rick Berman opened up Director in Training.” Over the course of seven seasons, [Robert Duncan] McNeill and Dawson, along with fellow VOYAGER cast members Tim Russ and Robert Picardo all helmed at least one episode of the show as directors. The process of swapping Starfleet uniform for megaphone involved going back to school. “We had DiT school,” explains prolific VOYAGER director David Livingston. “‘Director in Training,’ where Rick Berman would allow actors and crew to go through a training program, observing as much of production and post-production as their schedules would allow, showing a commitment to study. Even though I went to film school, I had never directed on a large scale until I got to STAR TREK. Rick offered me that opportunity.”

[...]

“I became a Director in Training and I could go into everything,” adds Dawson. "I observed other shows that were shooting at Paramount. I did so much observing, I would be on an all-nighter downtown in Los Angeles on Buffy the Vampire Slayer, then come into work on VOYAGER at 4am so I could take a nap. I learned a lot and put myself out there.” “Roxann would come and sit with me in the editing room,” remembers Livingston. “She was very observant, asked a lot of questions and it was clear she knew exactly what was going on. Roxann recognized that she needed to go through the process to be grounded, not only in the aesthetics of how to do this, but the technical aspects of it. I respected and admired her for that.” While directing his first episode of VOYAGER during season 6, John Bruno remembers Dawson's observant approach to DiT school: “I had one day on set in the conference room when I was shooting two overlapping cameras. Roxann was standing beside me, looking over my shoulder at my storyboards. I explained what I was doing, and then I realized she was going to direct a show. She was following me, and I didn't really know what I was doing!”

[...]

“The reason I started directing later [in the course of the show] is because I was pregnant and we waited until after I gave birth in order for me to start,” says Dawson, whose first directing assignment was the early season 6 episode ‘Riddles’. “How prepared can you be for something you've never done before? You can prepare and prepare and prepare, but if it's an experience you've never had before, for somebody who really likes to be prepared, it's torture. There are a million scenarios that you'll be facing, things that you couldn't possibly have prepared for because you had no idea and no experience. It's learning to deal with all that with grace under pressure.”

[...]

“You're with people that you love and want you to succeed,” Dawson says of the support she received from her fellow VOYAGER ensemble. “It made me a better actor. I began to understand that I'm not just dealing with this part of the pie, but the entire pie. All of a sudden there were so many moving parts of which I was this much a part of. Often, actors need to be myopic, they need to concentrate on what they're doing and I respect that. But as a director, I've come to respect and understand those insecurities, understand that actors need to do that in order to show up and do the job. But at the same time, I've had payback. I've been on the other side, I've paid my dues in terms of actors doing things that have cost me time and money and face. On every level! I've had payback because in the beginning I was one of those actors who judged every director that came in.”

[...]

“After the first time I directed, I was in so much physical pain, there was so much pressure I didn't know if I wanted to continue with it,” Dawson honestly recalls the aftermath of directing ‘Riddles’. “That was a learning experience. I would call my husband after the first few episodes I did and let him know if it was a two Advil day or a six Advil day. I literally was in physical pain!”

[...]

“After I did my first episode,” remembers Dawson, “Rick Berman came up to me at the wrap party for that season and said he liked ‘Riddles’. ‘So I'm going to give you another opportunity to fail.’ It was the oddest wording, I will never, ever forget that!” Dawson subsequently directed ‘Workforce, Part II’ during season 7, and has since become a highly sought-after director on some of modern television's biggest shows. “I just fell in love with it,” Dawson say[s], looking back. “It was trial by fire, especially moving out of this STAR TREK world into the rest of the world that didn't care whether you succeeded or not. Now it's a complete and utter joy. I love directing and I have loved it for a long time. I'm so glad and so grateful to Rick Berman and Jeri Taylor, who gave me this opportunity and literally changed my life.”

From “Star Trek: Voyager - A Celebration” by Ben Robinson (2020)

[spnepisodemasterlist]

Season 1, Episode 6: Skin

A serial killer shape-shifter adopts the likeness of Sam's college buddy to commit a gruesome murder. When the brothers investigate, the being "borrows" Dean's form to continue the killing spree. (Directly from IMDB)

Director: Robert Duncan McNeill

Writers: Eric Kripke, John Shiban

Set in: St. Louis, Missouri

I love the dark, gritty picture of this season, it’s so nostalgic 

“You’re kinda antisocial, you know that?”-Sam. “Yeah, whatever.”- Dean

“Well, what could you do?”, “Well me, not much, but Dean’s a cop.” Yeah sure he is. 

Dean is in denial about whether or not this is a case: it obviously is

First shifter episode

Dean’s absolutely not a morning person- neither am I. 5:30 in the morning is no reasonable time to be up any day (not even for monster hunting, much less to go to school)

Shedding shapeshifter (gross imagery)

Some major Dean character development

Annnddd thus... Dean becomes wanted for murder for the first time. 

Not the best episode, but also not one of the worst