Kate Mulgrew's kids like The X-Files better than Voyager -- but she's not panicking yet. "My boys are reflecting society," says Mulgrew of Ian, 13, and Alec, 12. "Everything they want to see is dark, negative, paranoid -- which is what most science fiction is these days. But I must believe it is a trend. Darkness may define this era, but it does not define this century, past or future." Star Trek, she concedes, "may be regarded as Pollyannaish, but the key to its success has always been hope and bonding. Some say Star Trek has peaked, but if it has, it's because Voyager has not piqued the imagination of our audience like TNG did. Their writers were on a real trajectory. It's also time Voyager kicked some ass. Janeway needs a more Kirk-like approach." And a better grasp of techno-speak: Mulgrew, 41, says her headiest -- and most humiliating -- memory since joining Voyager was going to the White House to meet 20 teenage girls who were devoting their lives to science. "I came away saying, 'OK, no more faking.' So I'm now reading Einstein, Newton, and Galileo. It may take me an hour to get through a paragraph, but I'm determined to know what I'm talking about on the bridge, even if it kills me." How does Mulgrew feel about the 30th birthday hoo-ha? "Like the baby in the family -- still trying to stake its own claim, yet looking back in awe at its revered grandfathers." Well, don't tell that to Shatner.by Michael Logan
Embarking on a fourth season of Star Trek: Voyager, Kate Mulgrew sounds upbeat about Captain Kathryn Janeway and her role on the show. "She's changed a great deal, and the biggest change is relaxation," laughs Mulgrew, who often talks about Janeway in the first person. "I am infinitely more relaxed now than I was when I did 'Caretaker.' I've distilled her, and I feel that authority is key - in my case, I would like to make it gracious, and human, and accessible." The former star of Heartbeat and Mrs. Columbo imbues Kathryn Janeway with much of her own spirit. Much has changed on Voyager since the pilot episode in January 1995 - Kes is leaving, a new Borg female will be joining the crew. Producers promise a seriousness which was less in evidence during the second and third seasons - higher stakes, more threatening aliens. "I think that to suffer any further losses would be almost too much for Janeway," Mulgrew admits. But she expects that the flip side, a sense of humor, will be more prevalent this season. "If I were lost for three years with that many people, I'd be getting pretty serious about getting home, and I would also be enjoying the absurdity of it," she says. The actress doesn't dwell on the potential for tragedy on Voyager, and sees her character as an exhilarating example of what Starfleet has come to exemplify among Trek audiences. "Being responsible for the 150 people on that ship does not daunt her. In fact, she says to herself, if this is the way it is, then we're going to uncover every stone and look into every nook and cranny that this galaxy has to offer us, she's nothing if not the most ardent investigator," Mulgrew enthuses. Executive producer Jeri Taylor wrote the novel Mosaic last year to fill in the gaps in Janeway's backstory. But how close is Kate to Kathryn? Asked whether she had specific role models for Janeway among women in the military or the space program, Mulgrew points out that she didn't have time to do any research when she got the part; she stepped in on a weekend's notice after the departure of Genevieve Bujold, who left after only a few days of shooting. "As I had the opportunity to meet women who could be like Janeway - women from NASA, the First Lady - I stole things from them without hesitation or embarrassment," she readily confesses. "My mother is an original and provocative thinker, so I took a lot of that from Mother. I have endowed her with characteristics and components that I myself do not possess - for instance, that walk, and a certain stature." The actress says that her character must be strong, skillful, and dangerous when thwarted - an articulate yet accessible captain. Mulgrew is challenged by technobabble, Star Trek's pseudo-scientific terminology for science and technology. "Janeway's language has got to have a fluidity and a music of its own, so that when I'm talking about a plasma field or a nebula, I know what I'm talking about and then underneath that I know what I'm feeling about it. It should be like a symphony of scientific thought. So two and a half hours are given each night to study," she said. Though she says she has no aspirations to direct, Mulgrew takes a strong interest in the filming. "I always say we have to work on the bridge- that could suffer a bit from cardboard cutout - everybody at their respective console reacting in a predictable manner," she professes. "These poor directors come in and they've got their shots lined up, and I say, well, let's try something different. And they very graciously often let me, because I know what [Janeway] would do. We use a lot of dolly shots, we're bringing the crane in, we're doing a lot of hand-held [camera], which makes the corridor stuff come alive." What does she think of her work when she watches the finished episodes? "It's hard, because the joy for me, the liquid lightning, is in the work itself, which is when somebody says 'Action' and then I go--in retrospect it's very hard for me not be altogether too critical," she says, claiming to be her own toughest critic. But she's been pleased with Janeway's progress "because I haven't let down--I put my war paint on when I go in there."continue...
to the Voyager crew page.
to the Star Trek page.
