Posted in: Paramount+, Star Trek, streaming, TV | Tagged: Ethan Phillips, paramount, star trek, Star Trek Picard, star trek: voyager, Terry Matalas

Star Trek: Picard Showrunner Having Fun with Vadic's Handler "Reveal"

Star Trek: Picard showrunner Terry Matalas had some fun "revealing" the higher power behind Vadic's quest to capture Jack Crusher.

Published Tue, 04 Apr 2023 16:37:11 -0500

by Tom Chang

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There's no question the delightful glee Star Trek: Picard showrunner Terry Matalas must have had with the sandbox of the franchise's past in the third and final season. The obvious sell for even among the most jaded of fans was the full reunion of The Next Generation cast. While we had crossover appeal that includes holdovers like Voyager favorite Jeri Ryan's Seven of Nine and Michelle Hurd's Raffi, there have been additional pleasant surprises along the way, including breakout new additions in Todd Stashwick's Captain Liam Shaw, Ed Speleers' Jack Crusher, Amanda Plummer's Vadic, and Ashlei Sharpe Chestnut's Ensign Sidney La Forge. The latest episode saw another familiar Voyager face in Tim Russ, reprising his role as Tuvok – and now, Matalas is teasing another familiar face from the UPN series… okay, not really.

Star Trek: Picard: Terry Matalas Trolls Identity of Vadic's Handler — Ethan Phillips in Star Trek: Voyager. Image courtesy of Paramount

Star Trek: Picard: Why Neelix? Why?!

Matalas teased the image of Vadic's real handler…you know…the one she cuts her Changeling hand off to communicate with as everyone's favorite Talaxian chef from the Delta Quadrant, "Next episode! Neelix's dark return" with the character's face superimposed on the mysterious amorphous villain. Neelix was played by Star Trek vet Ethan Phillips across all 168 episodes of the UPN series' run. Prior to Voyager, the actor had a presence in The Next Generation as the Ferengi Doctor Farek in the season three episode "Ménage à Troi" and make an uncredited cameo (along with Voyager co-star (Robert Picardo) as the Holodeck Nightclub Maître d' in the 1996 TNG film First Contact. Phillips would return as the Ferengi Ulis in the franchise prequel series Enterprise season one episode Acquisition.

Following Voyager's run and his 2002 appearance on Enterprise, Phillips remained active on TV, including appearances on AMC's Better Call Saul, HBO's Girls, CBS' The Good Wife, and HBO's Veep. He can be seen on the HBO Max space comedy Avenue 5 opposite Hugh Laurie. As much as I would want to see Neelix on Picard, he did leave the U.S.S. Voyager prior to their return to Earth to save his own Talaxian people in the Delta Quadrant, so there's that. Star Trek: Picard streams Thursdays on Paramount+.