Views on the STAR TREK Franchise

 

VIEWS ON THE STAR TREK FRANCHISE

Recently, Paramount Plus had announced that "STAR TREK: STRANGE NEW WORLDS" would end after five seasons.  "STAR TREK DISCOVERY" had already ended its fifth and final season during the spring of 2024 saw the final season.  Will the endings of these two shows signal the end of the franchise, which began in 1966 with "STAR TREK: THE ORIGINAL SERIES"?   I do not know.  But this question led me to contemplate my viewing history of the franchise and my personal opinions of those television shows that I had bothered to watch.

"Star Trek: The Original Series" (1966-1969
Set during the mid 23rd century, "STAR TREK: THE ORIGINAL SERIES" depicted the adventures of the Starfleet ship, USS Enterprise (NCC-1701) and its crew led by Captain James T. Kirk. This series lasted for three seasons and later, spawned an animated series in the 1970s and a series of movies between 1979 and 1991.

My father was a big fan of the series. I first saw it after it reached syndication. I might as well be honest. I did not like "THE ORIGINAL SERIES" when I first saw the reruns as a kid. It took the 1980s movies for me to appreciate them. Somewhat. But even after all of these years, I do not have a high opinion of them in compare to some of the other shows. And after years of watching the Trek franchise, I really wish that the franchise's creator, Gene Roddenberry, had never created this rule that humanity had evolved in a space of 200 to 300 years. I found that illogical and in the end, I believe that it proved to be a problem for all future TREK productions. Also, I was not impressed by the series' third season. I still remain unimpressed. The writing for "THE ORIGINAL SERIES" seemed to have spiraled into a decline by this last season.

"Star Trek: The Next Generation" (1987-1994)

During the 1970s, Gene Roddenberry created an animated series for the franchise called "STAR TREK: THE ANIMATED SERIES". I never saw it. But I certainly saw the second live-action series, "STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION". Airing between 1987 and 1994, this series depicted the adventures of Captain Jean-Luc Picard and his crew aboard the USS Enterprise (NCC-1701-D), during the mid-24th century.

"THE NEXT GENERATION" proved to be easier for me to become a regular viewer. At least for several seasons. I did not like Season One that much. I found most of the writing less than stellar. Once the series had moved past Season One, I became a deep fan. However, there were times when I found Jean-Luc Picard and his crew a little hard to swallow. Like "THE ORIGINAL SERIES", I believe "THE NEXT GENERATION" had went a bit overboard in presenting Humanity as evolved. This was especially conveyed in its portrayal of the majority of the main characters as ideal Starfleet officers. I found it a bit off putting. And I also found it difficult to keep up with the series' last two seasons. Like the first season, I was not that impressed by them. Mind you, I believe Season Seven had provided one of my favorite episodes of the entire TREK franchise - namely (7.24) "Pre-emptive Strike". However, I found many others like the Season Six episode, (6.10-6.11) "Chain of Command", vastly overrated.

"Star Trek: Deep Space Nine" (1993-1999)
Although familiar with both "THE ORIGINAL SERIES" and "THE NEXT GENERATION", the 1993-1999 series, "STAR TREK: DEEP SPACE NINE", was the first I had started to view on a regular basis. At least during its first two seasons. Then I became bored with the show and stopped. Why did I become bored with "DEEP SPACE NINE", I do not know. Several years had passed before I gave it another chance and eventually viewed it on a regular basis.

Unlike the other Trek shows, "DEEP SPACE NINE" was set aboard a space station that Starfleet was managing on behalf of the recently liberated homeworld of Bajor. The station, Deep Space Nine, also stood guard to a wormhole that led to the Gamma Quadrant and an alien empire. "DEEP SPACE NINE" was the first TREK series that Gene Roddenberry played no role in its creation. And the series proved to be the first one that starred a person of color, actor Avery Brooks, as Commander-later-Captain Benjamin Sisko.

For years, I thought "DEEP SPACE NINE" had the potential to be the best within the franchise. It featured multiple-arc narratives that permeated with politics and moral ambiguity. But I had noticed a few things. One, it reminded me too much of J. Michael Straczynski's science-fiction saga, "BABYLON 5". When I heard accusations that it had plagiarized the latter show, I was inclined to believe those accusations. I still do. More importantly, I think "BABYLON 5" handled its ambiguity and multiple story arcs a lot further and with better writing than "DEEP SPACE NINE". And once the series dove into the Dominion War arc during the last two seasons, I found it increasingly difficult to stick with the series. There were aspects of that arc that I enjoyed, but there were other aspects that I found frustrating . . . including the Dominion's occupation of Deep Space Nine in early Season Six. I also felt frustrated by the transformation of the Cardassian character Gul Dukat from a multi-complex villain to a one-dimensional antagonist by late Season Six. Despite being promising and a genuinely first-rate series, I do not believe "DEEP SPACE NINE" had ever really fulfilled its potential.

"Star Trek: Voyager" (1995-2001)
Like the previous TREK series, "STAR TREK: VOYAGER" made history with its own first. It became the franchise's first series to feature a woman as the lead character. Actress Kate Mulgrew was cast as Captain Kathryn Janeway, the commanding officer of the USS Voyager (NCC-74656). An alien named the Caretaker forced Voyager, Janeway and her crew into the Delta Quadrant, while they were searching for her Security officer, who had volunteered to act as a spy aboard a Maquis starship, commanded by a former Starfleet officer. As it turned, not only did the Caretaker draw Voyager into the Delta Quadrant, but also the Maquis crew. After a violent encounter with a race called the Kazon, the Maquis ship is destroyed and both crews merge under Janeway's command, as they set out to return to the Alpha Quadrant, some 70,000 light years away.

Unlike "THE NEXT GENERATION" or "DEEP SPACE NINE", I did not watch "VOYAGER" from the beginning. In fact, I had avoided the series like the plague for several years, due to the fandom's negative opinions of it and my own struggles to keep up with "NEXT GENERATION" and "DEEP SPACE NINE". But during the beginning of the series’ Season Five, a relative had convinced me to watch one of the series' episodes. I did . . . and became immediately hooked. While watching Season Five, I also began watching the show’s earlier seasons on Syndication. And I became even more of a fan. I can honestly say that "VOYAGER" was not the franchise's best series. But I thought it was still pretty damn good and viewed it just as good and bad as "NEXT GENERATION". Do not get me wrong. I thought "DEEP SPACE NINE" had the potential to be the franchise's best series. But I believe it had never lived up to that potential and in the end, struck me to be just as good as "NEXT GENERATION" and "VOYAGER".

"VOYAGER", like the other shows, had its share of flaws. Season One tried to portray most of its characters like those from "NEXT GENERATION". Once the series stopped trying to portray the Voyager crew like ideal Starfleet officers (aside from a few), and stamped them with their own brand of craziness and ambiguity, I managed to really enjoyed the series. I have also enjoyed the show's two-part episodes and their Holodeck/Holosuite episodes more than any other series. Aside from Season One, the only other series I am not that fond of was Season Six. That season had featured a handful of excellent episodes. But in the end, the series during its sixth season seemed to be going through the motions. Thank goodness I enjoyed the other five seasons, especially Season Seven. "VOYAGER" is the only TREK show in which I actually enjoyed the series finale.

"Star Trek: Enterprise" (2001-2005)
Following the end of "STAR TREK VOYAGER", the TREK franchise decided to create a series that served as a prequel to "THE ORIGINAL SERIES". Set in the mid-22nd century, during the 2150s, "STAR TREK: ENTERPRISE" depicted the adventures of Captain Jonathan Archer and his crew aboard the USS Enterprise (NX-01), during the years right before the creation of the United Federation of Planets. "ENTERPRISE" proved to be the only TREK series that used a pop-influenced song as its theme.

In the end, I tried to enjoy "ENTERPRISE". I really tried to embrace this show. I had no problems with the series being a prequel to the other shows. I enjoyed the relationship between Enterprise's First Officer, Sub-CommanderT'Pol and its chief engineer Commander Charles "Trip" Tucker. I also liked the Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Phlox. There were a handful of episodes that I enjoyed very much. I really enjoyed the Xindi story arc of Season Three. I just hated it ended with the ship being thrown back into Earth’s past . . . again. I loathed Season Four, but loved the Mirror Universe two-part episode, (4.18-4.19) "In a Mirror, Darkly". To this day, I regard it as one of the best TREK episodes I have seen. But overall, I never really became a fan of the series. It had failed to grab me the way the three TREK shows between 1987 and 2001 did. And when the media had announced its cancellation after four seasons, the announcement did not exactly come as a blow to me.

"Star Trek: Discovery" (2016-2024)
Despite the negative comments I had heard about "STAR TREK DISCOVERY", I was determined to watch the show. Eleven years had passed since the cancellation of "ENTERPRISE" and my curiosity had to be appeased. Like "DEEP SPACE NINE" and "VOYAGER" before it, "DISCOVERY" made history by its casting. The series featured the second female lead. However, it also featured the first woman of color as the lead. "DISCOVERY" also made history by featuring a biracial, LGBTQ couple as part of the cast.

I watched the first season of "DISCOVERY". And I loved it. The series started out in serialized form from Day One by following the narrative formula of "BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER" - a multiple episodes arc within one season. Most of the characters struck me as ambiguous, including the leading lady. I also loved how that first season set up the conflict between the Federation and the Klingon Empire. I do wish that leading character Michael Burnham had served as Discovery’s commanding officer from the beginning. Instead, her rank as a Starfleet Commander underwent changes, due to her role in the Federation-Klingon War. However, if Burnham had started out as Discovery's captain, I wonder if I would have enjoyed her Season One arc as much as I did. The casting of Martin-Green as the series' star proved to be controversial on many levels. Certain fans resented her position as the show's lead. They especially resented the revelation of her character, Burnham, as Spock's adoptive sister. These fans accused the showrunner of forgetting that the half-Vulcan/half-Human officer had never mentioned an adoptive sister in previous TREK productions. Yet, they had forgotten Spock's penchant for never discussing his family, unless circumstances forced him to do so.

Despite the hullaballoo over Burnham's character and the series' serialized arc, "DISCOVERY"'s Season Two featured another season-long arc - the Federation's conflict with a a rogue artificial intelligence. Unfortunately, this season featured Captain Christopher Pike as Discovery's temporary captain and the unnecessarily long presence of Spock, thanks to some contrived writing. Although many fans and critics enjoyed Anson Mount's portrayal of Pike, I found it dull and pretentious. Pike seemed to reek of what many regarded as the traditional Star Trek leading man, but without any real spark. Matters grew worse when the showrunner made the decision to send Discovery and the series into a new direction - namely 900 years in the future. Why? I had already written about that decision in another article. Needless to say, this decision changed the series' style and tone, making it difficult for me to enjoy the rest of the show's run. I tried to stick with "DISCOVERY" during its third and fourth season . . . and gave up. The only good that came from this period was Burnham's promotion to the starship's captain.

Other Trek Series (2020-Present)
Between the second and third seasons of "STAR TREK DISCOVERY", the franchise's showrunners released "STAR TREK: PICARD", a sequel to "STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION". Set around the beginning of the 25th century, the series focused Jean-Luc Picard dealing with his retirement from Starfleet and aging. I honestly thought this was going to be a limited series. Instead, "PICARD" lasted three seasons. Unfortunately. I enjoyed Season One, although I found the season finale badly written. I tried to give the series' second and third seasons a chance. Season Two proved to be some badly written mess involving time travel and an exploration of Picard's childhood. Season Three was more or less a convoluted nostalgia trip featuring "THE NEXT GENERATION" cast, the shapeshifting Changelings from the Dominion War and the Borg.

In 2022, the franchise released "STAR TREK: STRANGE NEW WORLDS", a spin-off of "DISCOVERY". The series featured the adventures of the USS Enterprise (NCC-1701), while under the command of Christopher Pike. The same Pike from Season Two of "DISCOVERY". The series managed to impress a great number of Trek fans and television critics. It had failed to impress me, aside from a handful of episodes. "STRANGE NEW WORLDS" seemed nothing more than an updated version of "THE ORIGINAL SERIES", only with the very dull Pike in command. Although it has not finished its run, I gave up on the series before the first season ended.

Conclusion
Although I had enjoyed Season One of "STAR TREK DISCOVERY" very much, a part of me wondered if it had been wise for the TREK showrunners to allow the franchise to continue. I am sorry, but I feel that aside from "DISCOVERY"'s first season, the franchise seemed like a ghost of its past. I think the franchise should have ended after the cancellation of "STAR TREK: ENTERPRISE". Or perhaps after "STAR TREK: VOYAGER" had ended its run, four years earlier. I believe author F. Scott Fitzgerald had been right when he had proclaimed in his most famous novel that one cannot repeat the past.

Favorite Episodes of "STAR TREK VOYAGER" Season Six (1999-2000)

 

Below is a list of my favorite episodes from Season Six of "STAR TREK VOYAGER". Created by Rick Berman, Michael Piller and Jeri Taylor; the series starred Kate Mulgrew as Captain Kathryn Janeway:

FAVORITE EPISODES OF "STAR TREK VOYAGER" SEASON SIX (1999-2000)



1. (6.10) "Pathfinder" - Back on Earth, former Enterprise officer, Lieutenant Reginald Barclay, uses holograms to formulate a program that would enable Starfleet to communicate with the Voyager crew in the Delta Quadrant. Dwight Schultz, Marina Sirtis, Richard Herd and Richard McGonagle guest starred.





2. (6.14) "Memorial" - Following their return from an Away mission, four of Voyager's senior staff membrs start dreaming about of a species they have never seen before, engaged in a gruesome battle on an unknown planet. Lindsey Ginter and Scarlett Pommer guest starred.





3. (6.04) "Tinker, Tenor, Doctor, Spy" - An alien race, sizing up Voyager for a raid, taps into The Doctor's cognitive subroutines to make him their spy, unaware they are watching his new daydreaming program. Jay Leggett and Googy Gress guest starred.





4. (6.19) "Child's Play" - When the home world and parents of former Borg child Icheb are located, Seven of Nine has suspicions of their tale about Icheb's original assimilation by the Borg. Manu Intiraymi, Tracey Ellis, Scarlett Pommer and Mark Sheppard guest starred.





5. (6.05) "Alice" - Voyager acquires an alien space shuttle with a possessiveness artificial intelligence that jealously bonds with Tom Paris. Claire Rankin and Jon Fleck guest starred.





HM: (6.21) "Live Fast And Prosper" - A trio of con artists impersonate the Voyager crew and give the latter and the Federation a bad reputation. Kaitlin Hopkins, Gregg Daniel and Francis Guinan guest starred.

Favorite Episodes of "STAR TREK VOYAGER" Season Five (1998-1999)

 

Below is a list of my favorite episodes from Season Five of "STAR TREK VOYAGER". Created by Rick Berman, Michael Piller and Jeri Taylor; the series starred Kate Mulgrew as Captain Kathryn Janeway:



FAVORITE EPISODES OF "STAR TREK VOYAGER" SEASON FIVE (1998-1999)



1. (5.12) "Bride of Chaotica!" - The U.S.S. Voyager crew encounters photonic life forms that mistake warmongering characters in Tom Paris' 1930s serial holodeck program, "Captain Proton", as real. Martin Rayner and Nicholas Worth guest-starred.






2. (5.06) "Timeless" - A miscalculation by Ensign Harry Kim causes a fatal crash during Voyager's first test with slipstream travel. Fifteen years later in the future, survivors Kim, Commander Chakotay and The Doctor attempt to send a message back in time to prevent the tragedy. Christine Harnos and LeVar Burton, who also directed, guest-starred.






3. (5.15-5.16) "Dark Frontier" - While the Voyager crew plots the heist of a transwarp coil from a disabled Borg cube; ex-Borg drone Seven-of-Nine receives a communique from the Borg Queen, who wants to lure the former drone back into the Collective. Susanna Thompson guest-starred.






4. (5.09) "Thirty Days" - In a letter to his father, Chief Helmsman Tom Paris tells the story of the events leading up to his demotion to Ensign and sentence of thirty days in Voyager's brig. Willie Garson guest-starred.






5. (5.26) "Equinox - Part I" - Voyager's crew discovers the U.S.S. Equinox, another Federation starship stranded in the Delta Quadrant that had a rougher journey in the Delta Quadrant. Captain Janeway and her crew are unaware of the other crew harboring a dark secret. John Savage, Titus Welliver, Rick Worthy and Olivia Birkelund guest-starred.






Honorable Mention: (5.22) "Someone to Watch Over Me" - When the Doctor decides to help Seven-of-Nine learn about social and romantic rituals, he is drawn into a bet with Paris on how she will behave during a diplomatic reception for a visiting alien. Scott Thompson and Brian McNamara guest-starred.

Alternate Versions of "STAR TREK" Women Characters

 

Below are images of alternate versions of female characters from the STAR TREK franchise. Most of the characters featured below are from episodes about the franchise's Mirror Universe. Those characters with the indicator [prime] next to their names are from the franchise's Prime Universe, who ended up in the Mirror Universe. As for the "STAR TREK VOYAGER" characters . . . they are either erroneous or fictionalized versions.

ALTERNATE VERSIONS OF "STAR TREK" WOMEN CHARACTERS



Commander T’Pol ("STAR TREK ENTERPRISE")





Lieutenant/Empress Hoshi Sato ("STAR TREK ENTERPRISE")





Captain Michael Burnham [prime Specialist] ("STAR TREK DISCOVERY")





Captain Sylvia Tilly [prime Cadet] ("STAR TREK DISCOVERY")





Empress Philippa Georgiou ("STAR TREK DISCOVERY")

Captain Michael Burnham ("STAR TREK DISCOVERY")

Lieutenant Nyota Uhura [prime] ("STAR TREK")





Lieutenant Marlena Moreau ("STAR TREK")





Intendant Kira Nerys ("STAR TREK DEEP SPACE NINE")





Jadzia Dax ("STAR TREK DEEP SPACE NINE")





Captain Kathryn Janeway [Kyrian historical program] ("STAR TREK VOYAGER")





Seven-of-Nine [Kyrian historical program] ("STAR TREK VOYAGER")





Captain Jenkins [the Doctor’s holonovel, "Protons Are Free"] ("STAR TREK VOYAGER")





Lieutenant Torrey [the Doctor’s holonovel, "Protons Are Free"] ("STAR TREK VOYAGER")





Three-of-Eight [the Doctor’s holonovel, "Protons Are Free"] ("STAR TREK VOYAGER")





Two-of-Three [the Doctor’s holonovel, "Protons Are Free" - the Paris Edition] ("STAR TREK VOYAGER")

"The Paris Temper" [PG] - 1/1

THE PARIS TEMPER

RATING: PG
SUMMARY: B'Elanna Torres reflects upon the darker side of her husband's nature. From Torres' POV. Told from late Season 7. Spoilers include "The Cloud", "Someone to Watch Over Me" and "Author, Author".
FEEDBACK: deerush1891@gmail.com - Be my guest. But please, be kind.
DISCLAIMER: B'Elanna Torres, Tom Paris and all other characters related to Star Trek Voyager belong to Paramount, Viacom and the usual Trek Powers to Be.




"THE PARIS TEMPER"

For as long as I can remember, many people have made a big deal about my temper. The famous, or maybe I should say infamous B'Elanna Torres temper. Naturally, many have attributed my volatile nature to my Klingon genes. Including myself. But a recent event and a deep look at those very close to me has given me doubts. Can one really attribute bad temper to one's ethnic background or species? Or is it simply a matter of individual personality?

The recent incident I had referred was a near death experience in Grethor. The Klingon version of Hell, otherwise known as the Barge of the Dead. About twenty months ago, I had nearly died while returning from an Away mission to collect the ship’s multi-spatial probe. During that period, I encountered my mother, Miral, in Grethor. Seeing her again reminded me of the numerous lectures she used to give me. Including several about my temper. In fact, one of Mother's favor subjects used to be about me learning to control my temper.

Now, I am quite aware that I had inherited my temper from Mother. She could be just as volatile as me. I remembered quite well all of those quarrels she had with my father, John Torres. But as she grew older, Mother learned to exercise more control over her temper. But . . . not completely. Not when she had to raise a volatile and resentful daughter.

Other races - and I am just as guilty - have failed to realize that Klingons tend to frown upon displays of bad temper. My mother's people admired aggressiveness, cunning, and bravery of all kinds. A bad temper, they believed, had no place in battle. Nor did the lack of common sense. Mother used to point out my cousin R'Geyer as a perfect example of a Klingon warrior. He was brave, cunning, and very aggressive. And he possessed a great deal of common sense. Cousin R'Geyer, I might also add, always maintained a tight control of his temper. He once offered to teach me methods to control my own temper. Being resentful of Klingon customs of any kind and fearing I would be subjected to some archaic Klingon ceremony; I rejected his offer. Now, I wish I had accepted. Perhaps I would have been spared years of trouble and heartache.

My memories of Grethor and Mother's relations were not my only reminders that a bad temper was more than just a Klingon phenomenon. Other races could be just as volatile - Bajorans, Betazoids, Cardassians, the Hirogen, Kazons, Bolians, Talaxians and the Malon, just to name a few. Voyager's former nemesis, Seska, had possessed a temper just as volatile as mine. And she was a Cardassian. Tabor, a Bajoran, could also be rather volatile. Underneath that jovial obsequiousness, Neelix can be extremely bad-tempered. Do Vulcans possess a volatile nature, underneath their emotionless masks? Six years ago, I would have said no. Now, I am not so sure. I recalled Vorik's behavior on Sakaris IV - when he was in the throes of pon farr. I still shiver just thinking about it. And Tuvok once admitted that Vulcans without any control of their emotions can be more volatile and dangerous than many other races. Including Klingons. Perhaps I have spent so many years resenting my own temper and blaming it on my Klingon heritage that I had failed to see it in others.

And what about Humans? Too busy wallowing in self-disgust at my Klingon side, I failed to notice that other humans could be just as temperamental. I can honestly say that my father, Juan Torres, was not a temperamental man. In fact, one could easily label him as mild-mannered. Perhaps too mild-mannered for my mother. I could almost say the same about my mentor and Voyager's First Officer, Chakotay. Almost. Despite his mild exterior, Chakotay has one hell of a temper. He can usually keep it under control, but there are a few who are capable of making him lose control. People like Tuvok (whom Chakotay once resented for being a spy in his Maquis cell), our former Borg drone, Seven-of-Nine; Seska; and at times, even Captain Janeway. But the one person who possesses a special talent for getting under Chakotay's skin is my very own love bug, my husband Tom Paris. Aside from Chakotay, there is Harry Kim, who also has a temper underneath a mild exterior. My first friend aboard Voyager, Harry has a bad habit of losing control whenever something went wrong. Something that usually fell under his responsibility. I can still remember how he had lost his cool when we were trapped inside Sick Bay with that smart bomb.

There is also the Doctor, our "beloved" Emergency Medical Hologram. I cannot even count the number of times he has lost his temper. Come to think of it, the Doctor has even experienced a nervous breakdown. Twice. And over the same person. Both Harry and Ensign Ani Jetal had been seriously wounded during an Away mission a few years ago. After the Doctor saved Harry and failed to save Ensign Jetal, he became volatile. We thought his programming had malfunctioned and erased the memory. When that memory came back to haunt him a year-and-a-half later, we finally realized that he had suffered a mental breakdown and treated him as a person . . . and not a computer program. Even Seven, our former-Borg-turned-Ice-Princess, has a temper. I had been there when she struck an arms dealer, whom she suspected had violated her body for nanoprobes. And Kahless only knows how many quarrels she had engaged with both the Captain and Chakotay.

Finally, there is Captain Janeway. Kathryn Janeway, our fearless leader, here in the Delta Quadrant. I must say that she controls her temper a hell of a lot better than I ever did. And her temper can be monstrous. Trust me, I know. I have seen it up close and personal. Experienced it. I have seen it when those aliens used the crew as guinea pigs for their medical experiments. Well, Starfleet and Ayala had. But I did personally witness the Janeway temper in action against myself, Chakotay, the Nyrians, Seven-of-Nine, Tom, Harry, Tuvok, Captain Ransom of the Equinox and countless other crewmen and hostile aliens. Let me put it this way - Kathryn Janeway’s temper can be a force of nature that would scare a Klingon warrior shitless. Only my mother's temper is equal.

There is one other person whose temper seemed to be equal to the Captain's. Namely my husband of eight months, Tom Paris. Do not laugh! Upon meeting Tom for the first time, a person can be struck by a few things about him. One, he is a very good-looking man, with brilliant blue eyes and a flashing smile. Tom is witty - although some of his jokes can be rather lame. And he also seemed to possess a very easy-going and even temper. That person would be right about Tom. Except for one thing - underneath the flashing smile, the easy-going manner and even temper lurks a volatile personality.

Like Captain Janeway, Tom can usually maintain great control over his temper. In fact, I'm afraid there are times when he may have succeeded too well. Meaning, Tom has this tendency to repress his emotions. To the point of putting the Vulcans to shame. As I have stated before, Vulcans do have emotions. But years of repressing their feelings have developed a side-effect for them. Every seven years of their adult life, Vulcans . . . or maybe I should say their men . . . well, to be honest, I'm not really sure. Anyway, every seven years, Vulcans suffer from this chemical imbalance in their brain and develop this emotional urge to mate. In other words, they go into heat. And when this happens, look out! I know what I'm talking about. I have seen it and experienced it - via a mind meld - first hand, thanks to one of my engineers, Ensign Vorik.

What does this have to do with Tom? Like the Vulcans, Tom has his own side effects from years of suppressing his emotions. One side effect is his sense of humor. First of all, he uses jokes to hide his true feelings. And when he does, his jokes tend to be rather caustic and almost cruel. Okay, he can be cruel. Kahless knows how many times I have been a victim of his wit during that first year in the Delta Quadrant, when we could barely stand one another. I can recall one incident in which I had made a nasty comment about one character in his Sandrine’s holoprogram. His name was Gaunt Gary, some pool hustler who made a pass at me when Tom first created the program. I called both him and Tom a pig. Apparently, my insult must have hit its target. For a while that damn Gaunt Gary would materialize and proposition me every time I walked into one of the Holodecks. Harry had to beg Tom to call off the joke after three weeks. Tom’s main victims have usually been Chakotay, Seska, Ensign Pat Murphy, Ken Dalby and a few others on his official shit list. Mind you, Tuvok gets on his nerves every once in a while. But I have a deep suspicion that those two like each other more than either of them care to admit.

However, Tom’s biting humor is nothing in compare to other dark facets of his personality. For one, Tom can be unforgiving. Very unforgiving. Take his father, for example. Tom blamed Admiral Owen Paris for pressuring him into joining Starfleet – a career he never wanted in the first place. And he has yet to forgive the Admiral for ostracizing him from the family, following the whole Caldik Prime incident. When Lieutenant Barclay from the Alpha Quadrant, Harry and Seven were finally able to establish visual communication with Starfleet, via the MIDAS Array, the crew had the opportunity to speak directly with other family members or friends. Tom convinced me to talk to my father for the first time in nearly twenty years. But when the opportunity came for him to talk with his family, Tom decided to hand over his allotted time slot to Harry. He called himself giving Harry the opportunity to speak with his parents. But I knew better. Tom simply wanted to avoid speaking with his father.

There are times that I wonder if he has ever forgiven Chakotay’s . . . holier-than-thou attitude toward Tom during the time the latter had spent in my old mentor’s Maquis cell. You see, Chakotay had immediately spotted Tom as a mercenary who had joined the Maquis for profit. Granted, he had been right, but Chakotay treated Tom as such and continued to do so during our first months in the Delta Quadrant. Judging from Tom’s willingness to needle Chakotay whenever the opportunity presented itself and his relish for pretending to be a malcontent during the time when Tuvok was trying to sniff out Seska’s spy, I suspect that he had enjoyed expressing hostility at the First Officer. A small part of me wondered if Tuvok had enjoyed it, as well.

But when it comes to sheer vindictiveness, no one - and I mean no one - beats Thomas Eugene Paris. Tom can be a sweet, fun and all-around great guy. But for the sake of your own sanity, do not piss him off! There is nothing he would like better than to get even for any slight. In the worst possible way. I could bring up countless examples of Tom’s vindictive streak. But two incidents certainly come to mind.

The first centered on my old nemesis, Seven-of-Nine. About two years ago, the Doctor had encouraged Seven to study more about romance. And that Borg bi . . . I mean Seven . . . had decided to study my relationship with Tom. She must have spent nearly a month observing us before she opened her big mouth and exposed the nature of our more intimate relationship. In front of several crewmen in the Mess Hall. (Pauses) Okay. I am now calm. After all, it happened two years ago. And Seven and I have managed to bury the ax between us. Somewhat. Needless to say that Seven’s revelation had upset me very much. And as it turned out, I was not the only one who became upset.

I later learned that Tom had stumbled across the Doctor giving Seven another lesson in the art of courtship. Apparently, Tom manipulated the Doctor into making a bet that Seven’s lesson will end in disaster at the first social function. Which is exactly what happened at a diplomatic function that Chakotay held for a visiting Kadi representative named Tomin. When Tom realized that he was in danger of losing his bet, he inadvertently revealed it in front of Seven. She became pissed off that the Doctor would make a bet over her. And when a drunken Ambassador Tomin made a pass at her . . . well, Tom ended up winning his bet and humiliating Seven. However, he realized that he had hurt more than he originally planned and regretted his action. I did not.

Tom's penchant for vengeful payback expressed itself in the worst way possible over the Doctor's new holonovel, "Photons Be Free". The Doctor, bless his holographic heart, composed a novel about a "holographic medical officer serving aboard the U.S.S. Vortex". This particular doctor was treated as a virtual slave by a crew comprised by some very unpleasant characters. Even worse, the Vortex crew bore a slight resemblance to many of Voyager's crew. Among Vortex's crew was a rude, human Chief Engineer named Lieutenant Torrey; and the Medical Assistant, Lieutenant Marseilles (hmmm, another French city), who bore a strong physical resemblance to Tom - but with a moustache. And Lieutenant Marseilles happened to be something of a ladies' man, despite being married to Lieutenant Torrey. Aside from the Doctor, the only crewman portrayed with any sympathy was Seven-of-Nine. Her character turned out to be Three-of-Eight, who was sympathetic to the Doctor's character. I admit to being slightly annoyed by the Doctor's hint that he found me rude. But Tom . . . wow! "Photons Be Free" really upset him. And when someone crosses the line with Tom Paris, he strikes back. Hard.

It did not take Tom very long to get even with the Doctor's characterization of him. Being a very clever holoprogrammer, he managed to access the Doctor's program and . . . altered the novel. One, Tom made himself the novel's narrator and protagonist. He also altered the starship's name, calling it the U.S.S. Voyeur. The Doctor became this egotistical and obnoxious character who was more concerned with his extracurricular activities, and who possessed a bad comb-over. Then Tom took a swipe at the Doctor's infatuation with Seven by altering her Three-of-Eight character into Two-of-Three, a brainless and submissive former Borg whom the Doctor constantly seduced and gave Klingon aphrodisiacs and neck rubs. Not only did Tom take a swipe at the Doctor's character, he used the changes to let the latter know how he felt at the Doctor's take on his own character.

Kahless knows that I love Tom. He is a wonderful man who is capable of understanding me in a way that no one else has. He is charming, fun, intelligent and very creative. But like all other beings, he has his dark side. He can be sarcastic, unforgiving, vindictive and sometimes cruel. And during the past four years we have been together, I had to deal with this darker side of his nature, just as much as he has to deal with mine. But if there is one thing I have learned during my years with Tom - and with Voyager's other crew members - is that each and every one of us is not one thing or the other. We are all an interesting combination of many traits that we have to learn to balance. I am just learning how to maintain that balance. And I think I can say that Tom is learning, as well.