QUEEN OF BRAGG CREEK

BYLINE: Louis B. Hobson -- The villainous Borg Queen is hiding out in Bragg Creek.

Resistance is futile. All classic western fans will be assimilated.

Susanna Thompson, who plays the menace of the universe on TV's Star Trek: Voyager, is in Bragg Creek filming the Turner Broadcasting System's remake of High Noon.

Smiling and radiant in her period makeup, Thompson took time out from her busy shooting schedule to talk to the Sun about a career which is in hyper-drive.

She was able to film the season finale of Star Trek: Voyager only because the producers of that series worked around her commitments to the popular ABC drama Once and Again. Her Once and Again character, Karen Sammler, is the former wife of the series protagonist played by Billy Campbell.

"We just got word that Once and Again has been renewed for 22 more episodes. We're all so very excited and happy."

She's just as excited about reviving her Borg Queen character for Voyager's season finale.

"It's a two-parter. The Borg Queen will be back to open Voyager's last season. I haven't seen that script yet, so maybe they'll do something really weird like have her head explode or have her spin through space.

"I'm up for anything."

This wonderfully cavalier attitude is probably why Thompson is so popular with the creators of the Star Trek series.

She has guest-starred on Next Generation, Deep Space Nine and Voyager.

"I'm not old enough to have had a shot at the original Star Trek series."

Thompson only decided to try her hand at film acting nine years ago. Before that, she was a stage actress in San Diego.

Last year, she starred as Harrison Ford's wife in Random Hearts. Her character died in a plane crash.

"Harrison is such a gentleman. It's a joy working with him. I only wish I'd lasted longer in the film."

In High Noon, Thompson plays a Quaker woman who marries a sheriff. She agreed to the union only because the lawman agreed to turn in his badge and become a farmer. No sooner are they married than an outlaw who has escaped from prison sends word that he will meet her husband at noon on the main street of the town.

This is a remake of the 1952 High Noon that starred Gary Cooper and Grace Kelly.

"People in the (film) industry are so hesitant about revisiting a classic film, but we do that every day in (live) theatre."

That doesn't mean she was blase about the inevitable comparisons with Kelly that will come when the film airs on TBS in August. "My heart skipped a beat or two, but then I convinced myself I'm not really stepping into her corsets. I'm just playing the same character."__The Calgary Sun (April 28, 2000)